Prataap Snacks Limited

Consumer Defensive — Packaged Foods · NSE

₹1,060.00+₹0.60 (+0.06%)

DalalBaazaar Score

39 / 100

🔴 Weak

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

High

Driven by high debt relative to equity, micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity, a very high earnings multiple, which leaves little margin for disappointment.

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, 6:09 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 Prataap Snacks Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Prataap Snacks Limited manufactures and sells packaged snacks in India and internationally. It provides chips, extruded snacks, namkeen, and pellets, as well as fryums, cakes, sweet snacks, and popcorn under the Yellow Diamond and Avadh brands.

IndustryPackaged Foods

SectorConsumer Defensive

Employees1,134

Annual revenue₹1,716 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹1,716 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹1 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹5 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 1,134 employees supports ₹1.51 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

EBITDA margin5.3%

Net margin0.6%

Revenue / employee₹1.51 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are NESTLE INDIA LIMITED, BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES LTD, TATA CONSUMER PRODUCT LTD, DABUR INDIA LTD. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

NESTLE INDIA LIMITEDP/E 59.8x · ROE 79.9%

BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES LTDP/E 44.1x · ROE 51.0%

TATA CONSUMER PRODUCT LTDP/E 59.3x · ROE 7.5%

DABUR INDIA LTDP/E 34.7x · ROE 17.2%

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 2.8% 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.

ROCE2.8%

ROE1.4%

Peer median ROE51.0%

What is the outlook?

2 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 11.7% and earnings to grow about 87.2% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+11.7%

Est. earnings growth+87.2%

Analysts2

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +5% while net margin moved -54% 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+5%

Margin effect-54%

DalalBaazaar Score

39/ 100

Weak

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Revenue CAGR of only 1.5% — barely ahead of inflation
✗ Profit has declined at 21.8% a year

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

40/ 100

Weak

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

Valuation

26/ 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.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

220.4x

3Y Median

51.8x

40 monthly readings · mean 89.5x · range 38.6x–282.5x

Sector Median

51.7x

median of 4 sector peers

⚠️Current valuation is approximately 326% above its 3y median of 51.8x. 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 327% above the peer median of 51.7x.

vs. its own history

Expensive

51.8x median over 40 months · +326%

vs. sector peers

Expensive

51.7x median of 4 peers · +327%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

P/E (Trailing)

220.4x

P/B

3.62x

EV/EBITDA

27.9x

PEG

—

Dividend Yield

0.05%

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well2

Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 24% over 3 years.
Cash flow has turned positive
Free cash flow moved from negative to positive over 3 years.

🔴 What Needs Attention2

Receivables growing faster than sales
Receivables are up 65% against revenue growth of 5% — customers are taking longer to pay.
Valuation above its historical average
At 220.4x the stock trades 326% above its own median of 51.8x.

Red Flags

3 items require attention · 2 high · 1 watch

🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 6.45x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🔴Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 65% against revenue up 5% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.
🟡Profit is decliningFinancial
Net profit is down 52% over 3 years.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Deleveraging frees up earnings
Debt is down 24% over 3 years. Every rupee of interest not paid drops to the bottom line, so profit can grow even if revenue does not.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

Leverage amplifies any setback
Debt/Equity of 6.45x. Interest is payable whether or not the business has a good year.
Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 65% against revenue up 5%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
The price already assumes success
The stock trades 326% 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 1.5% 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.

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

1EBITDA margin holds above 3%✓ 5.3%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Interest cover stays above 3x✓ 3.5x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
3Revenue growth stays above 4% a year✗ 1.5% CAGR
Latest reported year was 4.9%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
4Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹30 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
5Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.5x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.

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

3 good · 4 neutral · 4 weak

Market Cap

₹2,537 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

220.4x

Expensive

Expensive — verify against sector peers

P/B Ratio

3.62x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹4.81

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

1.4%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

2.8%

Weak

Low return on total capital employed

Debt/Equity

6.45x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

4.9%

Modest

Modest growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

128.3%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

0.05%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

₹50 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

CMP

₹1,060

P/E (Forward)

39.2x

Improving

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

ROA

1.0%

Weak

Assets generate little profit

Operating Margin

1.0%

Weak

Thin margins leave little room for error

Net Margin

0.6%

Weak

Very little revenue reaches the bottom line

Current Ratio

1.94

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.09

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

52%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

1069.0 / 1124.3

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

49.3

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹1,642 Cr	₹1,610 Cr	₹1,699 Cr	₹1,716 Cr	+1.5%
EBITDA	₹73 Cr	₹150 Cr	₹59 Cr	₹91 Cr	+7.6%
EBITDA Margin	4.5%	9.3%	3.5%	5.3%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹20 Cr	₹53 Cr	-₹34 Cr	₹10 Cr	-21.8%
EPS	₹8.51	₹22.22	₹-14.36	₹4.06	-21.9%
ROE	3.0%	7.3%	-5.0%	1.4%	—
ROCE	1.0%	9.9%	-4.8%	2.8%	—
Total Debt	₹60 Cr	₹81 Cr	₹76 Cr	₹45 Cr	-8.9%
Free Cash Flow	-₹4 Cr	₹51 Cr	-₹14 Cr	₹30 Cr	—

🟡 Revenue has been broadly flat over 3 years (1.5% a year).

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 7.6% a year over 3 years.

🟡 EBITDA Margin has held roughly flat at 5.3% over 3 years.

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has shrunk at 21.8% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EPS has shrunk at 21.9% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 3.0% to 1.4% over 3 years (-1.6 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 1.0% to 2.8% over 3 years (+1.8 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 8.9% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has turned positive, from -₹4 Cr to ₹30 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹927 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹228 Cr

Total Debt

₹45 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹33 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹50 Cr

Capex

-₹20 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

53.2%

Insider Holding

26.4%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹0.5

Ex-Dividend Date

18 Sept 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

1 Buy · 1 Hold · 0 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹1,197.5

+13.0% vs CMP

Target Range

₹1,045 – ₹1,350

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
NESTLE INDIA LIMITED	59.8x	79.9%
BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES LTD	44.1x	51.0%
TATA CONSUMER PRODUCT LTD	59.3x	7.5%
DABUR INDIA LTD	34.7x	17.2%

Recent News

3 mixed3 general

Prataap Snacks (BSE:540724) Stock Forecast & Analyst Predictions

Simply Wall Street, 07 OctAnalyst view

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

Prataap Snacks rises after recording turnaround performance in Q4

Business Standard, 28 AprResults

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

Promoter buys half a percent stake in Euro Pratik Sales, Authum Investment picks up 1.3% Prataap Snacks...

Moneycontrol.com, 26 May

Prataap Snacks Share Pros and Cons 2026 | DIAMONDYD Potato Chips Analysis

Univest, 10 Aug

Prataap Snacks to attend Emkay Confluence 2026 on August 14

scanx.trade, 11 Aug

Prataap Snacks Limited (NSE:DIAMONDYD) Just Released Its Third-Quarter Results And Analysts Are Updating Their Estimates

Simply Wall Street, 10 FebAnalyst view

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

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🔴Business QualityWeak7.5/20

🟢Financial HealthStrong13.3/20

🔴GrowthWeak5/20

🔴ProfitabilityWeak4.5/15

🔴ValuationDemanding4.9/15

🔴RiskHigh3.9/10

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

This thesis breaks if

✓EBITDA margin holds above 3%5.3%
✓Interest cover stays above 3x3.5x
✗Revenue growth stays above 4% a year1.5% CAGR
✓Free cash flow remains positive₹30 Cr
✓Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x0.5x