Delta Corp shares hit new 52-week low, fall 23% in 2 sessions on tax blow

Delta Corp shares fell nearly 6% to their new 52-week low of Rs 135 on the NSE in Tuesday's early trade as the tax implications on the casino operator weighed on investor sentiments for the second straight session. The price action was accompanied by volume action with over 1,25 crore shares changing hands around 9:30 am.

The stock has lost more than 23% in the last two sessions, after the company received a notice from the government to pay tax of Rs 111.4 billion along with interest and penalty for the period July 2017 to March 2022, on Friday.

The tax payment notice to the company exceeds its current market capitalisation of Rs 3752.81 crore.

As per the filing to the exchanges, the alleged shortfall relates to Delta Corp and its two subsidiaries, Highstreet Cruises and Entertainment Pvt. Ltd and Delta Pleasure Cruise Company Private Limited. The total outstanding for Delta Corp stands at over Rs 628 crore, it is at Rs Rs 3,289.94 crore for Highstreet Cruises and Rs 1,765.21 crore for Delta Pleasure Cruise Company, the exchange filing said.

Delta said that the GST amount claimed is based on the gross bet value of all games played at the casinos during the relevant period, adding that a show-cause notice will be issued to the company if it fails to pay.

The tax notice comes at a time when the company, valued at over $566 million, is already facing heat over the recent move in July by the country's Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council to impose a 28% indirect tax on the money collected by gaming companies from customers, Reuters reported.

The stock has been a market laggard and given negative returns of over 29% in the past 12 months as against 15% returns given by the Nifty during this period.

The stock's underperformance has been more pronounced this year as the price has eroded over 34% on a year-to-date basis.

The stock has also fallen below its 50-day and 200-day Simple Moving Averages (SMAs).

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