Dhanlaxmi Crop Science Limited

Consumer Defensive — Farm Products · NSE

₹55.00₹0.00 (0.00%)

DalalBaazaar Score

28 / 100

🔴 Weak

Verdict

HIGH RISK

Risk

High

Driven by negative free cash flow, the company is currently loss-making, micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity.

In simple words: The company is currently losing money, but sales are shrinking. Cash generation is currently the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:10 pm

Caution warranted. Multiple fundamental metrics — flagged in red below — point to either valuation stretch, leverage risk, or weakening profitability. This doesn't mean avoid the stock outright, but it does mean the burden of proof is on the growth story to justify the current price.

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Dhanlaxmi Crop Science Limited engages in the manufacturing and processing business of agriculture seeds in India.

IndustryFarm Products

SectorConsumer Defensive

Employees52

Annual revenue₹38 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹38 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹-1 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹2 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 52 employees supports ₹73.3 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

EBITDA margin2.4%

Net margin-1.3%

Revenue / employee₹73.3 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.

HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LTD.P/E 42.5x · ROE 21.5%

ITC LTDP/E 16.6x · ROE 27.4%

NESTLE INDIA LIMITEDP/E 59.8x · ROE 79.9%

BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES LTDP/E 44.1x · ROE 51.0%

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 0.8% 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.

ROCE0.8%

ROE-1.1%

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 -18% 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-18%

Margin effect-120%

DalalBaazaar Score

28/ 100

Weak

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Revenue has contracted at 6.5% a year
✗ Profit fell 105.7% in the latest year

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

27/ 100

Weak

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

Valuation

25/ 100

Expensive

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

Weak on business quality and not cheap enough to compensate.

vs. its own history

Not enough price and earnings history

vs. sector peers

Not enough peers with a usable P/E

vs. generic bands

N/A

No P/E — the company is lossmaking

P/E (Trailing)

Not meaningful

P/B

1.98x

EV/EBITDA

108.8x

PEG

—

Dividend Yield

None

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well1

Very low debt
Debt/Equity of 0.23x leaves the balance sheet with plenty of headroom.

🔴 What Needs Attention7

Margins are compressing
EBITDA margin has slipped from 9.6% to 2.4% over 3 years.
Debt is rising
Total debt is up 310% over 3 years — worth checking what it funded.
Free cash flow is negative
The business is not currently covering its capital spending from operations.
Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 26.3% to -1.1% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 30.5% to 0.8% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.
Receivables growing faster than sales
Receivables are up 85% against revenue growth of -18% — customers are taking longer to pay.
Inventory building faster than sales
Inventory is up 727% against revenue growth of -18% — stock may not be moving.

Red Flags

8 items require attention · 7 high · 1 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 310% over 3 years, from ₹3 Cr to ₹11 Cr.
🔴Thin interest coverageFinancial
Operating profit covers interest only 0.5x — little room if earnings dip.
🔴Free cash flow negative for 3 yearsFinancial
The business has not covered its capital spending from operations for several years running, which has to be funded externally.
🔴The company is lossmakingFinancial
Net profit of -₹0 Cr in the latest reported year.
🔴Significant margin compressionFinancial
EBITDA margin has fallen 7.3 points, from 9.6% to 2.4%.
🔴Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 85% against revenue up -18% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.
🔴Inventory building faster than salesFinancial
Inventory up 727% against revenue up -18% — stock may not be moving.
🟡Interest coverage is deterioratingFinancial
Cover has fallen from 19.2x to 0.5x.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

No clear supporting case emerges from the available numbers.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

Margins are being competed away
EBITDA margin has fallen from 9.6% to 2.4%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.
The debt load needs earnings to hold up
Debt is 11.6x EBITDA. At that level a downturn in earnings turns a manageable balance sheet into a refinancing problem, and lenders get paid before shareholders.
Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 85% against revenue up -18%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 26.3% to -1.1%. 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.
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.

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

1EBITDA margin holds above 0%✓ 2.4%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x✗ 11.6x
Already stretched, so this is a reduction target rather than a level to hold. Around 3x is where lenders typically start attaching conditions.
3Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹15 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Interest cover stays above 3x✗ 0.5x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
5ROCE stays above 8%✗ 0.8%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

4 / 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

1 good · 3 neutral · 7 weak

Market Cap

₹90 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

Not meaningful

Loss-making

Earnings are negative, so a P/E multiple can't be read here

P/B Ratio

1.98x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹-0.3

Loss-making

Negative earnings per share — the business is losing money

ROE

-1.1%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

0.8%

Weak

Low return on total capital employed

Debt/Equity

0.23x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

-0.1%

Shrinking

Sales are contracting

Profit Growth (YoY)

-105.7%

Falling

Profits are shrinking

Dividend Yield

None

No dividend yield reported — usually means no payout, but verify if one was recently initiated

Free Cash Flow

-₹16 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

CMP

₹55

ROA

0.4%

Weak

Assets generate little profit

Operating Margin

-66.1%

Weak

Thin margins leave little room for error

Net Margin

-1.3%

Weak

Very little revenue reaches the bottom line

Current Ratio

3.79

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

52W Range Position

100%

Near high

Near its 52-week high

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

25.8 / 25.2

Bullish alignment (short > long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

56.4

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹47 Cr	₹64 Cr	₹129 Cr	₹38 Cr	-6.5%
EBITDA	₹4 Cr	₹7 Cr	₹13 Cr	₹1 Cr	-41.3%
EBITDA Margin	9.6%	10.8%	9.8%	2.4%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹3 Cr	₹5 Cr	₹9 Cr	-₹0 Cr	—
EPS	₹1.83	₹2.87	₹6.54	—	—
ROE	26.3%	29.0%	18.9%	-1.1%	—
ROCE	30.5%	37.9%	25.9%	0.8%	—
Total Debt	₹3 Cr	₹1 Cr	₹7 Cr	₹11 Cr	+60.0%
Free Cash Flow	₹6 Cr	-₹0 Cr	-₹14 Cr	-₹15 Cr	—

🔴 Revenue has shrunk at 6.5% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA has shrunk at 41.3% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 9.6% to 2.4% over 3 years (-7.3 pts).

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has turned negative, from ₹3 Cr to -₹0 Cr.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 26.3% to -1.1% over 3 years (-27.4 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 30.5% to 0.8% over 3 years (-29.8 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 60.0% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has turned negative, from ₹6 Cr to -₹15 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹64 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹18 Cr

Total Debt

₹11 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹1 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

-₹14 Cr

Capex

-₹1 Cr

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

Compare with

Equitymaster, 16 Oct

DHANLAXMI CROP SCIENCE L Share Price

Upstox, 05 May

Dhanlaxmi Crop Science Ltd IPO Status, GMP, Price & Dates Today

Alice Blue, 25 Jun

Dhanlaxmi Crop Science SME IPO to hit Dalal Street on Dec 9, shares to list on Dec 16

Moneycontrol.com, 04 Dec

Dhanlaxmi Crop Science IPO Date, Price, GMP, Review, Detail

IndiaIPO, 09 Dec

Dhanlaxmi Crop Science IPO Allotment Status - Check Steps, Subscription Status & Company Overview

Groww, 21 Feb

Watch Items

Revenue growth is negative (-0.1%) on the latest reported period — check if this is one-off or a trend.
Trading very close to its 52-week high — momentum-driven entries here carry more mean-reversion risk.
Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🔴Business QualityWeak4.7/20

🟡Financial HealthAdequate10.1/20

🔴GrowthWeak2.4/20

🔴ProfitabilityWeak2.5/15

🔴ValuationDemanding5.1/15

🔴RiskHigh3/10

Weak on the fundamentals

Poor scores on business quality without a price low enough to compensate. There is no obvious argument for owning this over a stronger company at a similar valuation. 7 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

This thesis breaks if

✓EBITDA margin holds above 0%2.4%
✗Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x11.6x
✗Free cash flow remains positive-₹15 Cr
✗Interest cover stays above 3x0.5x
✗ROCE stays above 8%0.8%