Bengal Tea & Fabrics Limited

Consumer Defensive — Farm Products · BSE

₹136.05+₹1.00 (+0.74%)

DalalBaazaar Score

58 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

High

Driven by high debt relative to equity, negative free cash flow, micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity.

In simple words: The business is earning a fairly low return on the money invested in it, with modest growth. Debt is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:55 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Bengal Tea & Fabrics Limited engages in the tea and real estate businesses in India and internationally. The company manufactures and trades black tea, CTC & orthodox, leaf & dust, and tea seeds. The company was incorporated in 1983 and is based in Kolkata, India.

IndustryFarm Products

SectorConsumer Defensive

Employees1,477

Annual revenue₹51 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹51 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹9 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹12 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 1,477 employees supports ₹3.4 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

Revenue / employee₹3.4 lakh

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LTD., ITC LTD, NESTLE INDIA LIMITED, BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES LTD. 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 4.6% 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 ROE51.0%

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +1% while net margin moved +1893% 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+1%

Margin effect+1893%

DalalBaazaar Score

58/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✓ Beta of 0.28 — historically steadier than the index
✗ Micro Cap: thinner liquidity and sharper drawdowns are normal
✗ High leverage magnifies any downturn in earnings
✗ 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

56/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

76/ 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

18.5x

3Y Median

388.2x

40 monthly readings · mean 329.0x · range 1.4x–724.4x

Sector Median

43.3x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 95% below its 3y median of 388.2x. 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 57% below the peer median of 43.3x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

388.2x median over 40 months · -95%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

43.3x median of 4 peers · -57%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

EV/EBITDA

22.0x

PEG

0.11

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well2

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 3.2% to 11.7% over 3 years.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 0.9% to 4.6%.

🔴 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

🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 4.68x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🟡Debt is increasingFinancial
Total debt is up 34% over 3 years.
🟡Free cash flow is negativeFinancial
Free cash flow was -₹6 Cr in the latest year.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 3.2% to 11.7%. If that holds, profit compounds faster than sales and today's multiple looks cheaper in hindsight than it does now.
Priced below its own history
The stock trades 95% 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 57% below the sector median. Either the market sees a problem the numbers do not show, or the discount closes.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

Leverage amplifies any setback
Debt/Equity of 4.68x. Interest is payable whether or not the business has a good year.
Growth barely outpaces inflation
Revenue compounding at 0.5% 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 10%✓ 11.7%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹6 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
3Revenue growth stays above 4% a year✗ 0.5% CAGR
Latest reported year was 0.7%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 1.5x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 8%✗ 4.6%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

6 / 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 · 4 neutral · 4 weak

Market Cap

₹123 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

18.5x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

0.63x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹7.35

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

2.3%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

4.6%

Weak

Low return on total capital employed

Debt/Equity

4.68x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

0.7%

Modest

Modest growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

34.7%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

1.10%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

-₹6 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

Operating Margin

-2.2%

Weak

Thin margins leave little room for error

Net Margin

12.6%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

10.46

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.28

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

19%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

138.2 / 140.4

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

47.6

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹50 Cr	₹40 Cr	₹54 Cr	₹51 Cr	+0.5%
EBITDA	₹2 Cr	-₹17 Cr	₹4 Cr	₹6 Cr	+55.3%
EBITDA Margin	3.2%	-41.7%	7.0%	11.7%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹0 Cr	-₹3 Cr	₹84 Cr	₹4 Cr	+172.4%
EPS	₹0.25	₹-3.73	₹92.85	₹4.99	+171.3%
ROE	0.2%	-3.1%	43.7%	2.3%	—
ROCE	0.9%	2.5%	4.2%	4.6%	—
Total Debt	₹7 Cr	₹6 Cr	₹5 Cr	₹9 Cr	+10.3%
Free Cash Flow	₹1 Cr	₹75 Cr	₹17 Cr	-₹6 Cr	—

🟡 Revenue has been broadly flat over 3 years (0.5% a year).

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 55.3% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 3.2% to 11.7% over 3 years (+8.5 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 172.4% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 171.3% a year over 3 years.

🟢 ROE has risen from 0.2% to 2.3% over 3 years (+2.1 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 0.9% to 4.6% over 3 years (+3.8 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 10.3% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has turned negative, from ₹1 Cr to -₹6 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹219 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹23 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹1 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

-₹2 Cr

Capex

-₹3 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

84.8%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹1.5

Ex-Dividend Date

31 Jul 2026

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LTD.	42.5x	21.5%
ITC LTD	16.6x	27.4%
NESTLE INDIA LIMITED	59.8x	79.9%
BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES LTD	44.1x	51.0%

Recent News

6 general

Bengal Tea & Fabrics Ltd. Key Financial Ratios – Valuation, Profitability & More

Value Research, 31 Aug

Bengal Tea & Fabrics Ltd. Shareholding Pattern – Promoters, FIIs & DIIs

Value Research, 03 Sept

The Grob Tea Company Ltd. Share Price News and Analysis

Univest, 17 Aug

NEAGI Stock Price and Chart — NSE:NEAGI

TradingView, 21 Apr

McLeod Russel India to sell three tea gardens in Assam to repay debt

Business Standard, 29 Apr

Jay Shree Tea & Industries Share Price News and Analysis

Univest, 20 Aug

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongGrowth · Valuation

MiddlingBusiness Quality · Financial Health · Profitability

WeakRisk

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.

3 of 5 tripwires tripped — Free cash flow remains positive; Revenue growth stays above 4% a year; ROCE stays above 8% · see Key things to watch ↑