Dalmia Bharat Sugar and Industries Limited

Consumer Defensive — Confectioners · NSE

₹480.00−₹2.35 (−0.49%)

DalalBaazaar Score

50 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

Moderate

Driven by micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity, falling profits.

In simple words: The business is earning a fairly low return on the money invested in it, but sales are shrinking. The direction of profits is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 7:46 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Dalmia Bharat Sugar and Industries Limited engages in the sugar business in India and internationally. It operates through Sugar, Distillery, and Others segments.

IndustryConfectioners

SectorConsumer Defensive

Employees2,232

Annual revenue₹3,618 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹3,618 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹7 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹14 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 2,232 employees supports ₹1.62 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹1.62 Cr

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 9.6% 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 is the outlook?

1 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 8.9% and earnings to grow about 1.5% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+8.9%

Est. earnings growth+1.5%

Analysts1

What has been driving growth?

Sales and margins have both contributed to where profit is now. Over 3 years revenue moved +11% while net margin moved -15% 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-15%

DalalBaazaar Score

50/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Revenue CAGR of only 3.7% — barely ahead of inflation
✗ Profit has declined at 1.8% a year
✗ Profit is compounding slower than revenue — margins are being squeezed as the business grows
✗ Latest-year revenue growth of -10.0% is below the longer-term trend — momentum is fading
✗ Profit fell 82.1% in the latest year

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

48/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

59/ 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

19.1x

3Y Median

12.0x

40 monthly readings · mean 11.4x · range 6.1x–16.6x

Sector Median

43.3x

median of 4 sector peers

⚠️Current valuation is approximately 59% above its 3y median of 12.0x. 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 56% below the peer median of 43.3x.

vs. its own history

Expensive

12.0x median over 40 months · +59%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

43.3x median of 4 peers · -56%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

EV/EBITDA

10.3x

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 Attention1

Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 11.8% to 9.6% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

2 items require attention · 1 high · 1 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 297% over 3 years, from ₹454 Cr to ₹1,803 Cr.
🟡Inventory building faster than salesFinancial
Inventory up 63% against revenue up 11% — stock may not be moving.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Cheaper than its peers
It trades 56% 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?

The debt load needs earnings to hold up
Debt is 3.5x EBITDA. At that level a downturn in earnings turns a manageable balance sheet into a refinancing problem, and lenders get paid before shareholders.
The price already assumes success
The stock trades 59% above its own median multiple. At this level the business has to deliver just to stand still, and a stumble is repriced twice — lower earnings on a lower multiple.
Growth barely outpaces inflation
Revenue compounding at 3.7% 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.
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 12%✓ 14.4%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x✗ 3.5x
Already stretched, so this is a reduction target rather than a level to hold. Around 3x is where lenders typically start attaching conditions.
3Revenue growth stays above 4% a year✗ 3.7% CAGR
Latest reported year was -10.0%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
4Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹95 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
5ROCE stays above 8%✓ 9.6%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

6 / 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

4 good · 4 neutral · 3 weak

Market Cap

₹3,885 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

19.1x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

1.20x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹25.11

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

7.3%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

9.6%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

0.56x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

-10.0%

Shrinking

Sales are contracting

Profit Growth (YoY)

-82.1%

Falling

Profits are shrinking

Dividend Yield

1.25%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

₹95 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

10.3x

Improving

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

Operating Margin

1.0%

Weak

Thin margins leave little room for error

Net Margin

5.8%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

1.58

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.05

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

85%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

432.4 / 439.7

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

64.5

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹3,245 Cr	₹2,899 Cr	₹3,725 Cr	₹3,618 Cr	+3.7%
EBITDA	₹505 Cr	₹496 Cr	₹539 Cr	₹519 Cr	+0.9%
EBITDA Margin	15.6%	17.1%	14.5%	14.4%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹250 Cr	₹272 Cr	₹366 Cr	₹237 Cr	-1.8%
EPS	₹30.9	₹33.66	₹45.15	₹29.12	-2.0%
ROE	9.2%	9.3%	11.3%	7.3%	—
ROCE	11.8%	11.6%	10.2%	9.6%	—
Total Debt	₹454 Cr	₹1,430 Cr	₹1,044 Cr	₹1,803 Cr	+58.4%
Free Cash Flow	₹365 Cr	-₹624 Cr	₹267 Cr	₹95 Cr	-36.1%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 3.7% a year over 3 years.

🟡 EBITDA has been broadly flat over 3 years (0.9% a year).

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 15.6% to 14.4% over 3 years (-1.2 pts).

🟡 PAT (Net Profit) has been broadly flat over 3 years (-1.8% a year).

🟡 EPS has been broadly flat over 3 years (-2.0% a year).

🔴 ROE has fallen from 9.2% to 7.3% over 3 years (-1.9 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 11.8% to 9.6% over 3 years (-2.2 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 58.4% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has shrunk at 36.1% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹5,521 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹2,286 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹328 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹219 Cr

Capex

-₹124 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.3%

Insider Holding

83.4%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹6

Ex-Dividend Date

03 Jul 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

1 Buy · 0 Hold · 0 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹560

+16.7% vs CMP

Target Range

₹560 – ₹560

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

2 mixed4 general

Dalmia Bharat Sugar incorporates wholly owned subsidiary in UAE

scanx.trade, 15 Oct

Dalmia Bharat Sugar And Industries (DALMIASUG) Share Price rises 8.99% today

Univest, 05 OctPrice 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.

Dalmia Bharat Sugar And Industries Ltd. Key Financial Ratios – Valuation, Profitability & More

Value Research, 21 Sept

Sugar stocks rally up to 7%; Dalmia Bharat, Dhampur, Avadh hit 52-wk highs

Business Standard, 13 Aug

Dalmia Bharat Sugar and Industries Limited (NSE:DALMIASUG) Released Earnings Last Week And Analysts Lifted Their Price Target To ₹560

Simply Wall Street, 11 AugAnalyst view

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

Sugar Stocks surge up to 10% as Global Sugar Prices Hit 14-Month High; Balrampur Chini, Dalmia Bharat Sugar, Renuka Sugars Gain

India Infoline, 19 Aug

Watch Items

Revenue growth is negative (-10.0%) 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

MiddlingBusiness Quality · Valuation · Risk

WeakGrowth · Profitability

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.

2 of 5 tripwires tripped — Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x; Revenue growth stays above 4% a year · see Key things to watch ↑