Control Print Limited

Industrials — Business Equipment & Supplies · NSE

₹590.90−₹1.80 (−0.30%)

DalalBaazaar Score

54 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

High

Driven by high debt relative to equity, micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity, falling profits.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, though profits are falling even as sales grow. Debt is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:57 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Control Print Limited engages in the manufacture and sale of coding and marking machines and consumables in India and internationally.

IndustryBusiness Equipment & Supplies

SectorIndustrials

Employees822

Annual revenue₹482 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹482 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹9 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹19 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 822 employees supports ₹58.6 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

Revenue / employee₹58.6 lakh

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD., SIEMENS LTD, ABB INDIA 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?Some evidence

ROCE of 16.0% is above what capital typically costs, which suggests some pricing power, though not yet the sustained, wide gap that marks a durable advantage.

Peer median ROE15.2%

What has been driving growth?

Sales and margins have both contributed to where profit is now. Over 3 years revenue moved +58% while net margin moved -48% 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+58%

Margin effect-48%

DalalBaazaar Score

54/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ ROE of 9.6% is weak
✗ ROE has fallen by 8.4 points over the period

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

54/ 100

Average

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

24.3x

3Y Median

21.7x

40 monthly readings · mean 20.0x · range 8.4x–31.1x

Sector Median

88.8x

median of 3 sector peers

⚠️Current valuation is approximately 12% above its 3y median of 21.7x. Paying more than usual needs a reason — faster growth, a better balance sheet, or a re-rating you believe in.

🟢Against its sector it trades 73% below the peer median of 88.8x.

vs. its own history

Fair

21.7x median over 40 months · +12%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

88.8x median of 3 peers · -73%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

EV/EBITDA

10.2x

PEG

—

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well1

Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention2

Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 18.0% to 9.6% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 20.4% to 16.0% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

3 items require attention · 2 high · 1 watch

🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 1.51x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🔴Significant margin compressionFinancial
EBITDA margin has fallen 7.7 points, from 26.6% to 19.0%.
🟡Inventory building faster than salesFinancial
Inventory up 88% against revenue up 58% — stock may not be moving.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Cheaper than its peers
It trades 73% 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 26.6% to 19.0%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.
Leverage amplifies any setback
Debt/Equity of 1.51x. Interest is payable whether or not the business has a good year.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 18.0% to 9.6%. 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.
Several serious flags at once
2 high-severity checks triggered. Individually each has an explanation; together they raise the chance that something structural is wrong rather than a one-off.

🟡 Key Things to WatchMeasurable tripwires, set against where this company stands today

1Revenue growth stays above 12% a year✓ 16.6% CAGR
Latest reported year was 3.8%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 17%✓ 19.0%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹23 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 13%✓ 16.0%
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

3 good · 6 neutral · 2 weak

Market Cap

₹945 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

24.3x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

2.09x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹24.36

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

9.6%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

16.0%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

1.51x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

3.8%

Modest

Modest growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

-54.2%

Falling

Profits are shrinking

Dividend Yield

1.69%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

₹23 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

Operating Margin

9.1%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

8.0%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

3.26

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.28

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

27%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

602.3 / 592.5

Bullish alignment (short > long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

50.1

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹304 Cr	₹359 Cr	₹425 Cr	₹482 Cr	+16.6%
EBITDA	₹81 Cr	₹90 Cr	₹89 Cr	₹91 Cr	+4.1%
EBITDA Margin	26.6%	25.1%	20.9%	19.0%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹53 Cr	₹54 Cr	₹100 Cr	₹44 Cr	-6.2%
EPS	₹32.36	₹33.63	₹62.56	₹27.26	-5.6%
ROE	18.0%	16.3%	24.3%	9.6%	—
ROCE	20.4%	21.1%	16.3%	16.0%	—
Total Debt	₹6 Cr	₹7 Cr	₹8 Cr	₹7 Cr	+7.2%
Free Cash Flow	₹27 Cr	₹8 Cr	₹23 Cr	₹23 Cr	-4.9%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 16.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 4.1% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 26.6% to 19.0% over 3 years (-7.7 pts).

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has shrunk at 6.2% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EPS has shrunk at 5.6% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 18.0% to 9.6% over 3 years (-8.4 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 20.4% to 16.0% over 3 years (-4.4 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 7.2% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has shrunk at 4.9% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹581 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹130 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹18 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹50 Cr

Capex

-₹26 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

1.7%

Insider Holding

59.4%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹10

Ex-Dividend Date

10 Jul 2026

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD.	30.1x	15.2%
SIEMENS LTD	88.8x	10.5%
ABB INDIA LIMITED	92.6x	19.1%

Recent News

2 positive1 mixed1 negative2 general

Control Print Limited (NSE:CONTROLPR) Pays A ₹6.00 Dividend In Just Three Days

Simply Wall Street, 06 JulCapital return

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

Control Print Share Price: Good Buy After Q1 FY27 Results?

Univest, 09 SeptResults

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

Control Print consolidated net profit declines 52.94% in the June 2026 quarter

Business Standard, 23 JulResults

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

Control Print Ltd. Shareholding Pattern – Promoters, FIIs & DIIs

Value Research, 30 Aug

Control Print fixes July 10 record date for ₹6 final dividend

scanx.trade, 29 JunCapital return

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

The Control Print Bull Case

Univest, 09 Sept

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongFinancial Health

MiddlingBusiness Quality · Valuation

WeakGrowth · Profitability · Risk

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. 2 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

All 5 tripwires holding · see Key things to watch ↑