``Rumours of the company rewarding its shareholders with a bonus were doing rounds in the market. Since the stock is speculators' favourite and today being last day of the settlement on BSE, rumours might have been spread to help out some operators to unwind their positions,'' said a dealer with an NSE member.

The scrip hit the upper band of the filter on BSE as it touched Rs 1157 but closed marginally lower at Rs 1155.25 which translates into a gain of 7.8 per cent over its previous day's close. Nearly 14.7 lakh shares were traded at the counter. Similarly on NSE, the scrip opened at Rs 1080 but as the trading progressed, it soontouched the upper end of the filter at Rs 1160.8 level.

Marketmen expect the company to pay a bonus in 1:2 ratio. According to an analyst with a leading brokerage house, ``With most of the software companies like Infosys and NIIT announcing bonus issues, there will be pressure on Satyam Computers to follow suit.''

In the event of a bonus from Satyam, it will be the company's first bonus issue. The company has till now not given any bonus shares as it has a fairly large equity capital at Rs 26 crore for a software company. Other software companies like Infosys Limited and Pentafour Software have equity base of Rs 32 crore (after giving bonus three times) and Rs 17 crore, respectively.

As on March 31, 1998, the company's reserves stood at Rs 77 crore, which translates into a book value of nearly Rs 40 on an equity of Rs 26.02 crore. If the company announces a bonus of 1:2 in line with the market expectation, the equity will rise to Rs 39 crore.

According to analysts, as the company's performance infuture is likely to be impressive, it can easily service the additional equity. The company is now focussing on changing its revenue mix to offshore software development. With the sops given in the budget to accelerate exports, the company's bottomline should get a big boost. Further, the company will benefit from fresh initiatives taken by the government to promote E-commerce and internet applications. The company's subsidiary Satyam Infoway has already started operations as a Internet service provider. Satyam Infoway has introduced its internet trial pack -- Discover 25 -- at a price of Rs 990 for 25 hours.