Apcotex Industries Limited

Basic Materials — Specialty Chemicals · NSE

₹596.50+₹8.60 (+1.46%)

DalalBaazaar Score

63 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

REASONABLE

Risk

Low

Driven by micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, with both sales and profits growing well. Nothing on this snapshot stands out as an immediate concern — the usual checks on business quality and management still apply.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:07 pm

Constructive picture on fundamentals. Profitability, leverage and growth metrics are broadly healthy on this snapshot. That said, valuation should still be checked against direct sector peers (not just the generic P/E bands used here) before treating this as a buy signal.

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Apcotex Industries Limited manufactures and sells specialty emulsion polymers in India and internationally.

IndustrySpecialty Chemicals

SectorBasic Materials

Employees616

Annual revenue₹1,427 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹1,427 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹7 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹14 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 616 employees supports ₹2.32 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

EBITDA margin13.7%

Net margin7.1%

Revenue / employee₹2.32 Cr

Who are its competitors?

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

ASIAN PAINTS LIMITEDP/E 46.9x · ROE 22.3%

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 21.0% is above what capital typically costs, which suggests some pricing power, though not yet the sustained, wide gap that marks a durable advantage.

ROCE21.0%

ROE16.3%

Peer median ROE22.3%

What is the outlook?

1 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 15.0% and earnings to fall about 27.1% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+15.0%

Est. earnings growth-27.1%

Analysts1

What has been driving growth?

Sales and margins have both contributed to where profit is now. Over 3 years revenue moved +33% while net margin moved -30% 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+33%

Margin effect-30%

DalalBaazaar Score

63/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

• Revenue CAGR of 10.1% is steady
✗ Profit has declined at 2.1% a year
✗ Profit is compounding slower than revenue — margins are being squeezed as the business grows

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

63/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

70/ 100

Cheap

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

19.2x

3Y Median

33.0x

40 monthly readings · mean 32.8x · range 19.5x–58.6x

Sector Median

40.4x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 42% below its 3y median of 33.0x. 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 trades 52% below the peer median of 40.4x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

33.0x median over 40 months · -42%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

40.4x median of 4 peers · -52%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

P/E (Trailing)

19.2x

P/B

4.98x

EV/EBITDA

16.1x

PEG

—

Dividend Yield

1.34%

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well6

Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 36% over 3 years.
Cash flow has turned positive
Free cash flow moved from negative to positive over 3 years.
High return on capital employed
ROCE of 21.0% is the mark of a business that converts capital into profit efficiently.
Valuation below its historical average
At 19.2x the stock trades 42% below its own median of 33.0x.
Very low debt
Debt/Equity of 0.16x leaves the balance sheet with plenty of headroom.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention4

Margins are compressing
EBITDA margin has slipped from 15.4% to 13.7% over 3 years.
Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 22.7% to 16.3% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 24.1% to 21.0% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.
Receivables growing faster than sales
Receivables are up 78% against revenue growth of 33% — customers are taking longer to pay.

Red Flags

1 item require attention · 1 watch

🟡Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 78% against revenue up 33% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Capital compounds at a high rate
ROCE of 21.0% means each rupee reinvested earns well above what capital costs. If the company can keep deploying at this rate, growth creates value rather than just consuming cash.
Deleveraging frees up earnings
Debt is down 36% over 3 years. Every rupee of interest not paid drops to the bottom line, so profit can grow even if revenue does not.
Priced below its own history
The stock trades 42% 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.
Cheaper than its peers
It trades 52% below the sector median. Either the market sees a problem the numbers do not show, or the discount closes.
Self-funding with balance-sheet headroom
Positive free cash flow of ₹159 Cr alongside low debt means growth, buybacks or dividends need no outside money — and a downturn can be absorbed rather than refinanced.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

Margins are being competed away
EBITDA margin has fallen from 15.4% to 13.7%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.
Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 78% against revenue up 33%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 22.7% to 16.3%. Each rupee of equity earns less than it did, so profit growth increasingly depends on raising more capital rather than on the existing base working harder.
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

1Revenue growth stays above 8% a year✓ 10.1% CAGR
Latest reported year was 39.9%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 12%✓ 13.7%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹159 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.5x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 18%✓ 21.0%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

11 / 12 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
✓ Analyst consensus isn't majority-sell
✗ Short-term technical trend isn't bearish

Price history

Quick Metrics

7 good · 4 neutral · 0 weak

Market Cap

₹3,093 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

19.2x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

4.98x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹31.09

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

16.3%

Strong

Strong capital efficiency

ROCE

21.0%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

0.16x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

39.9%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

311.6%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

1.34%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

₹159 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

CMP

₹596.5

P/E (Forward)

21.3x

Flat

At or above the trailing multiple — no earnings uplift is being priced in

Operating Margin

19.8%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

10.1%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

1.66

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.28

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

71%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

597.2 / 608.3

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

49.3

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹1,069 Cr	₹1,113 Cr	₹1,378 Cr	₹1,427 Cr	+10.1%
EBITDA	₹164 Cr	₹120 Cr	₹132 Cr	₹196 Cr	+6.0%
EBITDA Margin	15.4%	10.7%	9.6%	13.7%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹108 Cr	₹54 Cr	₹54 Cr	₹101 Cr	-2.1%
EPS	₹20.82	₹10.39	₹10.43	₹19.56	-2.1%
ROE	22.7%	10.3%	9.8%	16.3%	—
ROCE	24.1%	13.7%	14.3%	21.0%	—
Total Debt	₹152 Cr	₹188 Cr	₹189 Cr	₹96 Cr	-14.0%
Free Cash Flow	-₹66 Cr	₹12 Cr	₹35 Cr	₹159 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 10.1% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 6.0% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 15.4% to 13.7% over 3 years (-1.6 pts).

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has shrunk at 2.1% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EPS has shrunk at 2.1% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 22.7% to 16.3% over 3 years (-6.3 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 24.1% to 21.0% over 3 years (-3.0 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 14.0% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has turned positive, from -₹66 Cr to ₹159 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹986 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹365 Cr

Total Debt

₹96 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹32 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹203 Cr

Capex

-₹44 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.6%

Insider Holding

59.3%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹8

Ex-Dividend Date

12 Jun 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

1 Buy · 0 Hold · 0 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹700

+17.4% vs CMP

Target Range

₹700 – ₹700

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
ASIAN PAINTS LIMITED	46.9x	22.3%
PIDILITE INDUSTRIES LTD	57.8x	24.4%
SRF LTD	33.8x	15.4%
UPL LIMITED	21.5x	6.1%

Recent News

2 positive3 mixed1 general

Apcotex Industries: Best Stock in Its Sector? Key Metrics

Univest, 23 Sept

Here's What We Like About Apcotex Industries' (NSE:APCOTEXIND) Upcoming Dividend

Simply Wall Street, 08 JunCapital return

🟢Potentially positiveCash or shares returned to holders. A buyback is only good value if the shares were cheap when bought.

APCOTEXIND Forecast — Price Target — Prediction for 2027

TradingView, 25 JunAnalyst view

🟡Mixed / dependsBroker commentary — an opinion about the price rather than new information about the business.

Apcotex Industries shares locked in 20% upper circuit as profit more than doubles in Q4

Upstox, 07 MayResults

🟡Mixed / dependsA results event. The figures on this page update once the new statements reach the data feed, which usually lags the announcement.

Apcotex Industries Standalone Net Profit Surges to ₹79 Crore vs ₹19.2 Crore YoY

Sahi, 29 JulResults

🟢Potentially positiveReported improvement. Check whether it came from volume, price or a one-off item before treating it as a trend.

Earnings call transcript: Apcotex posts record Q1 2026 revenue, shares fall 5.2%

Investing.com, 30 JulPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move rather than a change in the business. If the figures on this page have not moved, the fall is either an opportunity or news they have yet to catch up with.

Watch Items

Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟡Business QualityAdequate12.6/20

🟢Financial HealthStrong17.6/20

🔴GrowthWeak7.7/20

🟡ProfitabilityModerate9.5/15

🟢ValuationAttractive10.7/15

🟡RiskModerate5.2/10

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.

This thesis breaks if

✓Revenue growth stays above 8% a year10.1% CAGR
✓EBITDA margin holds above 12%13.7%
✓Free cash flow remains positive₹159 Cr
✓Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x0.5x
✓ROCE stays above 18%21.0%