Aspira Pathlab & Diagnostics Limited

Healthcare — Diagnostics & Research · BSE

₹120.95+₹5.40 (+4.67%)

DalalBaazaar Score

48 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

High

Driven by the company is currently loss-making, micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity, falling profits.

In simple words: The company is currently losing money, though profits are falling even as sales grow. The direction of profits is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:03 pm

Caution warranted. Multiple fundamental metrics — flagged in red below — point to either valuation stretch, leverage risk, or weakening profitability. This doesn't mean avoid the stock outright, but it does mean the burden of proof is on the growth story to justify the current price.

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Aspira Pathlab & Diagnostics Limited owns, manages, runs, and administers various diagnostics centers primarily in India.

IndustryDiagnostics & Research

SectorHealthcare

Employees168

Annual revenue₹25 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹25 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹0 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹8 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 168 employees supports ₹14.9 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

EBITDA margin7.9%

Net margin0.2%

Revenue / employee₹14.9 lakh

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are SUN PHARMACEUTICAL IND L, CIPLA LTD, DR. REDDY S LABORATORIES, APOLLO HOSPITALS ENTER. L. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

SUN PHARMACEUTICAL IND LP/E 34.9x · ROE 14.5%

CIPLA LTDP/E 31.8x · ROE 9.8%

DR. REDDY S LABORATORIESP/E 31.0x · ROE 8.8%

APOLLO HOSPITALS ENTER. LP/E 54.3x · ROE 22.0%

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 2.5% 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.

ROCE2.5%

ROE0.4%

Peer median ROE14.5%

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +73% while net margin moved -133% 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+73%

Margin effect-133%

DalalBaazaar Score

48/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ ROE of 0.4% is weak

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

55/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

20/ 100

Expensive

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.

vs. its own history

Not enough price and earnings history

vs. sector peers

Not enough peers with a usable P/E

vs. generic bands

N/A

No P/E — the company is lossmaking

P/E (Trailing)

Not meaningful

P/B

10.17x

EV/EBITDA

63.3x

PEG

—

Dividend Yield

None

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well3

Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 16% over 3 years.
Cash flow has turned positive
Free cash flow moved from negative to positive over 3 years.
Very low debt
Debt/Equity of 0.27x leaves the balance sheet with plenty of headroom.

🔴 What Needs Attention1

Margins are compressing
EBITDA margin has slipped from 12.8% to 7.9% over 3 years.

Red Flags

3 items require attention · 1 high · 2 watch

🔴Thin interest coverageFinancial
Operating profit covers interest only 1.2x — little room if earnings dip.
🟡Interest coverage is deterioratingFinancial
Cover has fallen from 7.8x to 1.2x.
🟡Margins are compressingFinancial
EBITDA margin is down 4.9 points over 3 years.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Deleveraging frees up earnings
Debt is down 16% over 3 years. Every rupee of interest not paid drops to the bottom line, so profit can grow even if revenue does not.
Self-funding with balance-sheet headroom
Positive free cash flow of ₹1 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 12.8% to 7.9%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.
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 15% a year✓ 20.0% CAGR
Latest reported year was 17.6%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 6%✓ 7.9%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Interest cover stays above 3x✗ 1.2x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
4Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹1 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
5Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 1.0x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.

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

3 good · 2 neutral · 6 weak

Market Cap

₹124 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

Not meaningful

Loss-making

Earnings are negative, so a P/E multiple can't be read here

P/B Ratio

10.17x

Rich

Steep premium to book — needs high, durable returns to justify

EPS (TTM)

₹-0.45

Loss-making

Negative earnings per share — the business is losing money

ROE

0.4%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

2.5%

Weak

Low return on total capital employed

Debt/Equity

0.27x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

17.6%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

-97.5%

Falling

Profits are shrinking

Dividend Yield

None

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

Free Cash Flow

₹1 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

CMP

₹120.95

Operating Margin

-1.1%

Weak

Thin margins leave little room for error

Net Margin

-1.6%

Weak

Very little revenue reaches the bottom line

Current Ratio

1.47

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.48

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

71%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

123.5 / 107.3

Bullish alignment (short > long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

43.9

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹14 Cr	₹13 Cr	₹22 Cr	₹25 Cr	+20.0%
EBITDA	₹2 Cr	-₹1 Cr	₹4 Cr	₹2 Cr	+2.1%
EBITDA Margin	12.8%	-6.1%	17.8%	7.9%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	-₹0 Cr	-₹3 Cr	₹2 Cr	₹0 Cr	—
EPS	₹-0.09	₹-2.6	₹2.01	₹0.05	—
ROE	-0.7%	-26.3%	17.0%	0.4%	—
ROCE	1.8%	-18.6%	15.7%	2.5%	—
Total Debt	₹2 Cr	₹2 Cr	₹2 Cr	₹2 Cr	-5.7%
Free Cash Flow	-₹0 Cr	₹1 Cr	₹2 Cr	₹1 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 20.0% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 2.1% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 12.8% to 7.9% over 3 years (-4.9 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has turned positive, from -₹0 Cr to ₹0 Cr.

🟢 EPS has turned positive, from ₹-0.09 to ₹0.05.

🟢 ROE has risen from -0.7% to 0.4% over 3 years (+1.1 pts).

🟡 ROCE has held roughly flat at 2.5% over 3 years.

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 5.7% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has turned positive, from -₹0 Cr to ₹1 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹19 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹6 Cr

Total Debt

₹2 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹1 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹1 Cr

Capex

-₹1 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

89.0%

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
SUN PHARMACEUTICAL IND L	34.9x	14.5%
CIPLA LTD	31.8x	9.8%
DR. REDDY S LABORATORIES	31.0x	8.8%
APOLLO HOSPITALS ENTER. L	54.3x	22.0%

Recent News

1 mixed1 negative4 general

Aspira Pathlab & Diagnostics Upper Circuit Today

Univest, 13 Oct

Aspira Pathlab & Diagnostics Lower Circuit Streak: Day 2

Univest, 13 Oct

Aspira Pathlab & Diagnostics Limited Sets March 27, 2026 as Record Date for Open Offer Under SEBI Takeover Regulations

scanx.trade, 27 MarM&A

🟡Mixed / dependsAcquisitions change the balance sheet before they change the earnings. Look at what was paid, how it was funded, and whether debt rose.

GAUDIUMIVF Stock Price and Chart — NSE:GAUDIUMIVF

TradingView, 20 Jul

Himatsingka Seide consolidated net profit declines 54.22% in the June 2026 quarter

Business Standard, 12 AugResults

🔴Potentially negativeReported deterioration, which feeds the growth and margin inputs on this page directly.

Aspira Pathlab board approves ₹65 crore right issue

scanx.trade, 12 Sept

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🔴Business QualityWeak6.2/20

🟢Financial HealthStrong13.7/20

🟢GrowthStrong18.4/20

🔴ProfitabilityWeak2.6/15

🔴ValuationDemanding2.6/15

🔴RiskHigh4.4/10

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. 1 high-severity red flag sits above this conclusion and should be read first.

This thesis breaks if

✓Revenue growth stays above 15% a year20.0% CAGR
✓EBITDA margin holds above 6%7.9%
✗Interest cover stays above 3x1.2x
✓Free cash flow remains positive₹1 Cr
✓Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x1.0x