A-1 Limited

Basic Materials — Chemicals · BSE

₹5.15−₹0.08 (−1.53%)

DalalBaazaar Score

59 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

Moderate

Driven by negative free cash flow, micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, with both sales and profits growing well. Cash generation is currently the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:08 pm

Mixed / neutral. No major red flags jump out, but nothing here screams "obviously cheap" either. This is a name that needs a peer comparison and a view on near-term earnings triggers before sizing a position.

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

The 60-second version of A-1 Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

A-1 Limited engages in the trading of various chemicals and acid products in India and internationally.

IndustryChemicals

SectorBasic Materials

Employees14

Annual revenue₹338 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹338 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹2 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹4 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 14 employees supports ₹24.11 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

EBITDA margin3.7%

Net margin1.8%

Revenue / employee₹24.11 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are PIDILITE INDUSTRIES LTD, SRF LTD, UPL LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

PIDILITE INDUSTRIES LTDP/E 57.8x · ROE 24.4%

SRF LTDP/E 33.8x · ROE 15.4%

UPL LIMITEDP/E 21.5x · ROE 6.1%

What is its competitive advantage?Some evidence

ROCE of 17.2% is above what capital typically costs, which suggests some pricing power, though not yet the sustained, wide gap that marks a durable advantage.

ROCE17.2%

ROE11.1%

Peer median ROE15.4%

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +2% while net margin moved +62% relative to itself. What this cannot tell you is which products, customers or geographies did the work — that lives in the segment disclosures of the annual report.

Revenue effect+2%

Margin effect+62%

DalalBaazaar Score

59/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✓ Beta of -0.18 — historically steadier than the index
✗ Micro Cap: thinner liquidity and sharper drawdowns are normal
✗ Profits have swung sharply from year to year — earnings are hard to forecast
✗ Negative free cash flow means dependence on external funding

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

60/ 100

Average

How good the business is, ignoring the share price entirely.

Valuation

60/ 100

Fair

What you are being asked to pay, ignoring how good the business is.

A reasonable business at a reasonable price — neither the quality nor the valuation stands out in either direction.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

32.2x

3Y Median

198.6x

40 monthly readings · mean 285.0x · range 38.4x–880.2x

Sector Median

33.8x

median of 3 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 84% below its 3y median of 198.6x. Cheaper than its own history, which is worth a reason too: the market may be pricing in something the backward-looking numbers do not show.

🟡Against its sector it is priced broadly in line with the peer median of 33.8x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

198.6x median over 40 months · -84%

vs. sector peers

Fair

33.8x median of 3 peers · -5%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

P/E (Trailing)

32.2x

P/B

4.61x

EV/EBITDA

22.4x

PEG

1.75

Dividend Yield

0.97%

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well4

Return on equity is rising
ROE has improved from 7.5% to 11.1%.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 12.2% to 17.2%.
Valuation below its historical average
At 32.2x the stock trades 84% below its own median of 198.6x.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention4

Debt is rising
Total debt is up 194% over 3 years — worth checking what it funded.
Free cash flow is negative
The business is not currently covering its capital spending from operations.
Receivables growing faster than sales
Receivables are up 104% against revenue growth of 2% — customers are taking longer to pay.
Inventory building faster than sales
Inventory is up 177% against revenue growth of 2% — stock may not be moving.

Red Flags

5 items require attention · 4 high · 1 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 194% over 3 years, from ₹14 Cr to ₹42 Cr.
🔴Profit up while operating cash flow fallsFinancial
Reported profit rose but cash generated by operations declined — worth checking whether earnings are being supported by non-cash items or working capital.
🔴Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 104% against revenue up 2% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.
🔴Inventory building faster than salesFinancial
Inventory up 177% against revenue up 2% — stock may not be moving.
🟡Free cash flow is negativeFinancial
Free cash flow was -₹19 Cr in the latest year.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Priced below its own history
The stock trades 84% below its own median multiple. If the business performs as it has and simply re-rates back to normal, that gap is return on its own.
Earnings have proved durable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years. Consistency lowers the risk that any single bad year is structural rather than cyclical.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

The debt load needs earnings to hold up
Debt is 3.4x EBITDA. At that level a downturn in earnings turns a manageable balance sheet into a refinancing problem, and lenders get paid before shareholders.
Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 104% against revenue up 2%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
Growth barely outpaces inflation
Revenue compounding at 0.7% a year is close to the rate prices rise, so the business is gaining little ground in real terms. That leaves the share price dependent on a re-rating rather than on earnings growth.
Earnings are hard to forecast
Profit has swung sharply from year to year, so any single year — good or bad — is a weak guide to the next. Cyclical earnings deserve lower multiples for that reason.
Size brings its own risk
Micro Cap businesses are thinly traded, so exits are harder in a falling market and single events move the price more than they would for a larger company.

🟡 Key Things to WatchMeasurable tripwires, set against where this company stands today

1EBITDA margin holds above 2%✓ 3.7%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x✗ 3.4x
Already stretched, so this is a reduction target rather than a level to hold. Around 3x is where lenders typically start attaching conditions.
3Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹19 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Revenue growth stays above 4% a year✗ 0.7% CAGR
Latest reported year was 170.5%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
5ROCE stays above 14%✓ 17.2%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

8 / 11 checks passed

✗ Strong return on equity (ROE ≥ 15%)
✓ Strong return on capital employed (ROCE ≥ 15%)
✗ Healthy net margin (≥ 10%)
✗ Generates positive free cash flow
✓ Manageable leverage (Debt/Equity < 1.0)
✓ Adequate short-term liquidity (Current Ratio ≥ 1.0)
✓ Revenue growing year-over-year
✓ Profit growing year-over-year
✓ Not trading at an extreme valuation (P/E < 40x)
✓ Not buying right at the 52-week high
✓ Short-term technical trend isn't bearish

Price history

Quick Metrics

4 good · 6 neutral · 1 weak

Market Cap

₹237 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

32.2x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

4.61x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹0.16

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

11.1%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

17.2%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

0.77x

Moderate

Moderate leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

170.5%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

438.5%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

0.97%

Modest

Small cash return — most of the return has to come from the price

Free Cash Flow

-₹19 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

CMP

₹5.15

Operating Margin

3.0%

Weak

Thin margins leave little room for error

Net Margin

1.9%

Weak

Very little revenue reaches the bottom line

Current Ratio

1.73

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

-0.18

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

5.7 / 5.4

Bullish alignment (short > long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

33.5

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹331 Cr	₹206 Cr	₹328 Cr	₹338 Cr	+0.7%
EBITDA	₹11 Cr	₹7 Cr	₹10 Cr	₹12 Cr	+5.8%
EBITDA Margin	3.2%	3.4%	3.1%	3.7%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹4 Cr	₹1 Cr	₹4 Cr	₹6 Cr	+18.4%
EPS	₹0.08	₹0.02	₹0.08	₹0.13	+18.3%
ROE	7.5%	2.3%	7.3%	11.1%	—
ROCE	12.2%	4.7%	12.7%	17.2%	—
Total Debt	₹14 Cr	₹11 Cr	₹21 Cr	₹42 Cr	+43.3%
Free Cash Flow	₹16 Cr	₹11 Cr	-₹12 Cr	-₹19 Cr	—

🟡 Revenue has been broadly flat over 3 years (0.7% a year).

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 5.8% a year over 3 years.

🟡 EBITDA Margin has held roughly flat at 3.7% over 3 years.

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 18.4% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 18.3% a year over 3 years.

🟢 ROE has risen from 7.5% to 11.1% over 3 years (+3.6 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 12.2% to 17.2% over 3 years (+5.0 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 43.3% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has turned negative, from ₹16 Cr to -₹19 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹105 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹51 Cr

Total Debt

₹42 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹0 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

-₹16 Cr

Capex

-₹3 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

73.0%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹0.05

Ex-Dividend Date

18 Sept 2026

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
PIDILITE INDUSTRIES LTD	57.8x	24.4%
SRF LTD	33.8x	15.4%
UPL LIMITED	21.5x	6.1%

Recent News

1 mixed5 general

A-1 LIMITED Share Price - Live A1L Stock Price & Chart

Upstox, 16 Oct

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Simply Wall Street, 18 Oct

A-1 Ltd. Lower Circuit Today: Price, Data and Peers

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453% return in 3 yrs: Multibagger stock declares bonus shares; do you own it? Check ratio, stock return and record date

Livemint, 16 Oct

A-One Steels India Ltd | Stock Share Price Live

MarketSmith India, 11 Oct

A-1 Limited Wins ₹38.70 Crore Order; Shares Rise 1.8%

HDFC Sky, 10 AugPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move, which is not by itself a change in the business. Worth finding the cause before reading it as either good or bad.

Watch Items

Trading very close to its 52-week low — worth checking whether this reflects a temporary setback or a structural problem.
Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟡Business QualityAdequate11.5/20

🟡Financial HealthAdequate12/20

🟢GrowthStrong13.1/20

🟡ProfitabilityModerate8.5/15

🟡ValuationFair9.5/15

🔴RiskHigh4/10

Unremarkable in both directions

A reasonable business at a reasonable price. Nothing here is alarming and nothing is compelling, which usually means the decision rests on things this data cannot see — the industry's direction, management's intent, and what else is available to you. 4 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

This thesis breaks if

✓EBITDA margin holds above 2%3.7%
✗Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x3.4x
✗Free cash flow remains positive-₹19 Cr
✗Revenue growth stays above 4% a year0.7% CAGR
✓ROCE stays above 14%17.2%