Bayer CropScience Limited

Basic Materials — Agricultural Inputs · NSE

₹3,638.40+₹60.90 (+1.70%)

DalalBaazaar Score

59 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

Moderate

Driven by high debt relative to equity, small-cap size, which brings sharper price swings.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, but sales are shrinking. Debt is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 7:49 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Bayer CropScience Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the agriculture business in India, Germany, Bangladesh, and internationally.

IndustryAgricultural Inputs

SectorBasic Materials

Employees1,074

Annual revenue₹5,498 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹5,498 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹13 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹17 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 1,074 employees supports ₹5.12 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹5.12 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are TATA STEEL LIMITED, JSW STEEL LIMITED, ULTRATECH CEMENT LIMITED, ASIAN PAINTS 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?The numbers suggest a real one

ROCE has stayed above 15% in every year available and stands at 27.9%. Returns that high normally get competed away; when they persist, something is protecting them, and its ROE of 23.2% against a peer median of 22.3% is consistent with that. What that something is — brand, scale, switching costs, regulation — the accounts cannot tell you.

Peer median ROE22.3%

What is the outlook?

7 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 10.5% and earnings to grow about 11.3% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+10.5%

Est. earnings growth+11.3%

Analysts7

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +11% while net margin moved -18% 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+11%

Margin effect-18%

DalalBaazaar Score

59/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Revenue CAGR of only 3.6% — barely ahead of inflation
✗ Profit has declined at 3.1% a year
✗ Profit is compounding slower than revenue — margins are being squeezed as the business grows
✗ Latest-year revenue growth of -4.2% is below the longer-term trend — momentum is fading

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

58/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

69/ 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

22.3x

3Y Median

34.5x

40 monthly readings · mean 33.7x · range 23.7x–41.4x

Sector Median

28.7x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 35% below its 3y median of 34.5x. 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 22% below the peer median of 28.7x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

34.5x median over 40 months · -35%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

28.7x median of 4 peers · -22%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

EV/EBITDA

16.1x

PEG

1.45

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well3

Cash generation is improving
Free cash flow is up 91% over 3 years.
High return on capital employed
ROCE of 27.9% is the mark of a business that converts capital into profit efficiently.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention2

Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 28.0% to 23.2% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 34.9% to 27.9% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

2 items require attention · 1 high · 1 watch

🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 2.76x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🟡Margins are compressingFinancial
EBITDA margin is down 2.9 points over 3 years.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Capital compounds at a high rate
ROCE of 27.9% 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.
Priced below its own history
The stock trades 35% 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 22% below the sector median. Either the market sees a problem the numbers do not show, or the discount closes.
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?

Margins are being competed away
EBITDA margin has fallen from 19.9% to 17.0%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.
Leverage amplifies any setback
Debt/Equity of 2.76x. Interest is payable whether or not the business has a good year.
Growth barely outpaces inflation
Revenue compounding at 3.6% 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.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 28.0% to 23.2%. 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
Small 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 15%✓ 17.0%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Revenue growth stays above 4% a year✗ 3.6% CAGR
Latest reported year was -4.2%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹1,014 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.1x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 25%✓ 27.9%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

9 / 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

6 good · 2 neutral · 3 weak

Market Cap

₹16,352 Cr

Small Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

22.3x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

5.51x

Rich

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

EPS (TTM)

₹162.9

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

23.2%

Strong

Strong capital efficiency

ROCE

27.9%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

2.76x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

-4.2%

Shrinking

Sales are contracting

Profit Growth (YoY)

15.4%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

4.12%

Healthy

Meaningful cash return while you hold the stock

Free Cash Flow

₹1,014 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

19.4x

Improving

Below the trailing multiple — the street expects earnings to grow into the price

Operating Margin

17.3%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

13.1%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

1.92

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.22

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

16%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

3615.8 / 3870.4

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

44.7

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹4,945 Cr	₹4,892 Cr	₹5,314 Cr	₹5,498 Cr	+3.6%
EBITDA	₹983 Cr	₹1,046 Cr	₹767 Cr	₹935 Cr	-1.7%
EBITDA Margin	19.9%	21.4%	14.4%	17.0%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹758 Cr	₹741 Cr	₹568 Cr	₹689 Cr	-3.1%
EPS	₹168.71	₹164.77	₹126.38	₹153.35	-3.1%
ROE	28.0%	26.0%	19.9%	23.2%	—
ROCE	34.9%	32.0%	24.0%	27.9%	—
Total Debt	₹74 Cr	₹47 Cr	₹105 Cr	₹82 Cr	+3.6%
Free Cash Flow	₹532 Cr	₹906 Cr	₹219 Cr	₹1,014 Cr	+24.0%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 3.6% a year over 3 years.

🟡 EBITDA has been broadly flat over 3 years (-1.7% a year).

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 19.9% to 17.0% over 3 years (-2.9 pts).

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has shrunk at 3.1% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EPS has shrunk at 3.1% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 28.0% to 23.2% over 3 years (-4.7 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 34.9% to 27.9% over 3 years (-7.0 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 3.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has grown at 24.0% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹5,699 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹2,734 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹1,415 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹1,079 Cr

Capex

-₹65 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

12.1%

Insider Holding

71.7%

Corporate Actions

Next Earnings

05 Nov 2026

Dividend Rate

₹150

Ex-Dividend Date

05 Aug 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

5 Buy · 3 Hold · 0 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹5,126.43

+40.9% vs CMP

Target Range

₹4,450 – ₹5,780

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
TATA STEEL LIMITED	19.8x	10.8%
JSW STEEL LIMITED	12.0x	24.7%
ULTRATECH CEMENT LIMITED	37.6x	11.1%
ASIAN PAINTS LIMITED	46.9x	22.3%

Recent News

1 positive3 mixed2 general

Bayer CropScience (NSEI:BAYERCROP) Stock Forecast & Analyst Predictions

Simply Wall Street, 12 OctAnalyst view

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

Bayer Cropscience (BAYERCROP) Share/Stock Price Live, NSE

TechGraph, 09 Oct

Bayer CropScience Q1 FY27 Profit Up 15% on Strong Margins

HDFC Sky, 06 AugResults

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

Bayer Crop Shares Jump 4% on Rs 2,207 Cr Promoter Block Deal

Equitypandit, 08 JulPrice 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.

Bayer CropScience Shares Surge Nearly 5% In Trade — What's Driving The Rally?

NDTV Profit, 08 JulPrice 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.

Bayer AG buys 11.9% stake in Bayer CropScience for ₹2,207 crore

BusinessLine, 09 Jul

Watch Items

Revenue growth is negative (-4.2%) on the latest reported period — check if this is one-off or a trend.
Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongFinancial Health · Profitability

MiddlingBusiness Quality · Valuation · Risk

WeakGrowth

Points for each in the Score ↑

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.

1 of 5 tripwires tripped — Revenue growth stays above 4% a year · see Key things to watch ↑