Crestchem Limited

Basic Materials — Specialty Chemicals · BSE

₹159.00−₹3.75 (−2.30%)

DalalBaazaar Score

76 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

REASONABLE

Risk

Moderate

Driven by short-term liabilities exceed short-term assets, micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, with both sales and profits growing well. Short-term liquidity is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 7:03 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Crestchem Limited manufactures, markets, and exports nutrition-chemical products in India and internationally.

IndustrySpecialty Chemicals

SectorBasic Materials

Employees5

Annual revenue₹30 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹30 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹9 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹247 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 5 employees supports ₹5.91 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹5.91 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are ASIAN PAINTS LIMITED, PIDILITE INDUSTRIES LTD, SRF LTD, UPL 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 37.8%. Returns that high normally get competed away; when they persist, something is protecting them, and its ROE of 27.4% 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 has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +78% while net margin moved +120% 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+78%

Margin effect+120%

DalalBaazaar Score

76/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✓ Beta of 0.79 — 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

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

80/ 100

Excellent

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

Valuation

86/ 100

Cheap

What you are being asked to pay, ignoring how good the business is.

A good business currently available at an undemanding price — the combination this framework is built to look for.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

14.4x

3Y Median

25.9x

40 monthly readings · mean 27.7x · range 8.6x–64.5x

Sector Median

40.4x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 44% below its 3y median of 25.9x. 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 40.4x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

25.9x median over 40 months · -44%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

40.4x median of 4 peers · -64%

vs. generic bands

Cheap

Below 15x

EV/EBITDA

0.6x

PEG

0.25

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well5

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 5.8% to 246.6% over 3 years.
Cash generation is improving
Free cash flow is up 163506% over 3 years.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 34.4% to 37.8%.
High return on capital employed
ROCE of 37.8% 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 Attention0

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

Red Flags

2 items require attention · 1 high · 1 watch

🔴Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 21963% against revenue up 78% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.
🟡Short-term liquidity is tightFinancial
Current ratio of 0.90 — near-term obligations exceed near-term assets.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Capital compounds at a high rate
ROCE of 37.8% 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.
Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 5.8% to 246.6%. 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 44% 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.
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?

Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 21963% against revenue up 78%. 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 16% a year✓ 21.1% CAGR
Latest reported year was 84.0%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 245%✓ 246.6%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹3,591 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4ROCE stays above 35%✓ 37.8%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.
5Valuation vs its own median of 25.9x✓ 14.4x today
A re-rating above its own history needs a reason; without one it is just a higher price.

Investment Checklist

8 / 10 checks passed

✓ Strong return on equity (ROE ≥ 15%)
✓ Strong return on capital employed (ROCE ≥ 15%)
✗ Healthy net margin (≥ 10%)
✓ Generates positive free cash flow
✗ 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

7 good · 4 neutral · 0 weak

Market Cap

₹48 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

14.4x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

4.83x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹11.02

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

27.4%

Strong

Strong capital efficiency

ROCE

37.8%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

Not available

No data

Source didn't return this field

Revenue Growth (YoY)

84.0%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

170.7%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

0.94%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

₹3,591 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

Operating Margin

14.3%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

9.8%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

0.90

Adequate

Adequate, but no real cushion

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.79

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

77%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

151.2 / 139.8

Bullish alignment (short > long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

46.2

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹17 Cr	₹21 Cr	₹25 Cr	₹30 Cr	+21.1%
EBITDA	₹1 Cr	₹3 Cr	₹4 Cr	₹73 Cr	+321.7%
EBITDA Margin	5.8%	14.3%	15.0%	246.6%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹1 Cr	₹2 Cr	₹3 Cr	₹3 Cr	+57.6%
EPS	₹2.31	₹7.15	₹9.09	₹9.05	+57.6%
ROE	25.2%	43.8%	36.5%	27.4%	—
ROCE	34.4%	60.5%	49.1%	37.8%	—
Free Cash Flow	₹2 Cr	₹0 Cr	₹2 Cr	₹3,591 Cr	+1078.3%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 21.1% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 321.7% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 5.8% to 246.6% over 3 years (+240.8 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 57.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 57.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 ROE has risen from 25.2% to 27.4% over 3 years (+2.3 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 34.4% to 37.8% over 3 years (+3.4 pts).

🟢 Free Cash Flow has grown at 1078.3% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹16 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹6 Cr

Total Debt

—

Cash & Equivalents

₹0 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹3,592 Cr

Capex

-₹2 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

29.7%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹1.5

Ex-Dividend Date

30 Jul 2026

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
ASIAN PAINTS LIMITED	46.9x	22.3%
PIDILITE INDUSTRIES LTD	57.8x	24.4%
SRF LTD	33.8x	15.4%
UPL LIMITED	21.5x	6.1%

Recent News

1 positive2 negative3 general

Crestchem Ltd. Key Financial Ratios – Valuation, Profitability & More

Value Research, 30 Aug

Crestchem fined ₹1,06,200 by BSE for late cash flow statement filing

scanx.trade, 04 AugRegulatory

🔴Potentially negativeRegulatory and legal actions carry a financial cost and a governance question. The second usually matters more than the first.

Crestchem Ltd Downgraded to Sell Amid Mixed Technicals and Valuation Concerns

MarketsMojo, 29 SeptAnalyst view

🔴Potentially negativeAn analyst opinion changing, which moves the price without changing the business.

Crestchem's Oleo Biosciences Commences Business After INC-20A Filing

scanx.trade, 07 May

Marico, JK Tyre, IG Petrochemicals, Kokuyo Camlin, Cheviot Dividend Record Date: Last Day To Buy Shares To Qualify

NDTV Profit, 29 JulCapital return

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

CRESTCHEM LTD. Share Price

Upstox, 18 Mar

Watch Items

Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.
1 metric couldn't be retrieved for this stock — this is more common for smaller or thinly-covered listings.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongBusiness Quality · Financial Health · Growth · Profitability · Valuation

WeakRisk

Points for each in the Score ↑

Attractive on both counts

A good business currently available at an undemanding price — the combination this framework exists to look for. The work left is qualitative: whether the advantage the numbers imply is one you can identify and expect to last. 1 high-severity red flag sits above this conclusion and should be read first.

All 5 tripwires holding · see Key things to watch ↑