APT Packaging Limited

Consumer Cyclical — Packaging & Containers · BSE

₹72.92−₹1.08 (−1.46%)

DalalBaazaar Score

68 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

REASONABLE

Risk

Moderate

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

In simple words: Reasonable but unspectacular business quality, 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, 6:49 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

APT Packaging Limited manufactures and sells co-extruded tubes and related activities in India and internationally. The company offers decoration products, such as label tube, offset printing, screen printing, and hot foiling.

IndustryPackaging & Containers

SectorConsumer Cyclical

Annual revenue₹22 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹22 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.

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA LTD., TITAN COMPANY LIMITED, TRENT LTD, AVENUE SUPERMARTS LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

Compared side by side in Peers ↓

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 10.0% are at or below what the capital likely costs. That is the financial pattern of a business competing largely on price, where advantage has to come from execution rather than position.

Peer median ROE25.9%

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +56% while net margin moved -189% 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+56%

Margin effect-189%

DalalBaazaar Score

68/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✓ Beta of 0.27 — 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

71/ 100

Good

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

Valuation

67/ 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

25.0x

1.3Y Median

137.9x

16 monthly readings · mean 129.8x · range 46.1x–263.1x

Sector Median

69.2x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 82% below its 1.3y median of 137.9x. 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 64% below the peer median of 69.2x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

137.9x median over 16 months · -82%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

69.2x median of 4 peers · -64%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

EV/EBITDA

29.2x

PEG

—

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well3

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 10.1% to 14.3% over 3 years.
Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 68% over 3 years.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 6.2% to 10.0%.

🔴 What Needs Attention0

Nothing stands out as clearly deteriorating on the years of data available.

Red Flags

3 items require attention · 1 high · 2 watch

🔴Free cash flow negative for 3 yearsFinancial
The business has not covered its capital spending from operations for several years running, which has to be funded externally.
🟡Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 82% against revenue up 56% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.
🟡Shareholders have been dilutedOwnership
Shares outstanding are up 124% over 3 years — each existing share owns a smaller slice of the company.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 10.1% to 14.3%. If that holds, profit compounds faster than sales and today's multiple looks cheaper in hindsight than it does now.
Deleveraging frees up earnings
Debt is down 68% 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 82% 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 64% below the sector median. Either the market sees a problem the numbers do not show, or the discount closes.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 82% against revenue up 56%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
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

1Revenue growth stays above 12% a year✓ 16.0% CAGR
Latest reported year was 125.7%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 12%✓ 14.3%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✗ 2.1x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
4Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹3 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
5ROCE stays above 8%✓ 10.0%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

7 / 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

₹86 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

25.0x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

4.97x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹2.92

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

9.7%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

10.0%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

0.39x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

125.7%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

15300.0%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

None

No dividend yield reported — usually means no payout, but verify if one was recently initiated

Free Cash Flow

-₹3 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

Operating Margin

16.9%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

12.0%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

1.53

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.27

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

12%

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

68.5 / 68.6

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

62.8

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹14 Cr	₹13 Cr	₹13 Cr	₹22 Cr	+16.0%
EBITDA	₹1 Cr	-₹1 Cr	₹2 Cr	₹3 Cr	+30.0%
EBITDA Margin	10.1%	-11.4%	12.0%	14.3%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	-₹1 Cr	-₹3 Cr	₹0 Cr	₹2 Cr	—
EPS	₹-2.21	₹-4.8	₹0.68	₹1.46	—
ROCE	6.2%	-13.0%	93.7%	10.0%	—
Total Debt	₹21 Cr	₹21 Cr	₹23 Cr	₹7 Cr	-31.9%
Free Cash Flow	₹0 Cr	-₹1 Cr	-₹1 Cr	-₹3 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 16.0% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 30.0% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 10.1% to 14.3% over 3 years (+4.2 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has turned positive, from -₹1 Cr to ₹2 Cr.

🟢 EPS has turned positive, from ₹-2.21 to ₹1.46.

🟢 ROCE has risen from 6.2% to 10.0% over 3 years (+3.8 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 31.9% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has turned negative, from ₹0 Cr to -₹3 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹26 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹10 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹0 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹1 Cr

Capex

-₹4 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

67.3%

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA LTD.	25.2x	13.4%
TITAN COMPANY LIMITED	68.5x	36.7%
TRENT LTD	87.2x	25.9%
AVENUE SUPERMARTS LIMITED	69.9x	12.7%

Recent News

3 positive1 mixed2 general

BHAVIK ENTERPRISES LTD. Stock/Share price , NSE/BSE Forecast News and Live Quotes

Equitymaster, 15 Oct

APT Packaging Reports Strong FY26 Results with Revenue Growth of 65.48%

scanx.trade, 29 AprResults

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

Tata Power Company consolidated net profit rises 10.95% in the June 2026 quarter

Business Standard, 27 JulResults

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

Apt Packaging net profit surges 18,482% in Q1FY27 on revenue growth

scanx.trade, 27 JulResults

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

MANIKA PLASTECH LTD. Stock/Share price , NSE/BSE Forecast News and Live Quotes

Equitymaster, 23 Sept

Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers standalone net profit rises 24.14% in the March 2026 quarter

Business Standard, 29 AprResults

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

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongBusiness Quality · Financial Health · Growth · Valuation

MiddlingProfitability

WeakRisk

Points for each in the Score ↑

Good business at a fair price

A sound business at a reasonable valuation. Suitable for a long-term holding, with the valuation and the direction of margins worth watching rather than the business itself. 1 high-severity red flag sits above this conclusion and should be read first.

2 of 5 tripwires tripped — Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x; Free cash flow remains positive · see Key things to watch ↑