The Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Limited

Basic Materials — Agricultural Inputs · NSE

₹734.00−₹0.70 (−0.10%)

DalalBaazaar Score

23 / 100

🔴 Weak

Verdict

HIGH RISK

Risk

Very High

Driven by high debt relative to equity, short-term liabilities exceed short-term assets, negative free cash flow.

In simple words: The company is currently losing money, 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, 6:49 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

The Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Limited manufactures and markets fertilizers and petrochemicals in India. It operates through Fertilizer and Petrochemical segments.

IndustryAgricultural Inputs

SectorBasic Materials

Employees1,481

Annual revenue₹3,151 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹3,151 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹-1 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹8 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 1,481 employees supports ₹2.13 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹2.13 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are TATA STEEL LIMITED, JSW STEEL LIMITED, ULTRATECH CEMENT LIMITED, ASIAN PAINTS 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?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 14.2% 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 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 -0% while net margin moved -106% 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-0%

Margin effect-106%

DalalBaazaar Score

23/ 100

Weak

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Revenue has contracted at 0.0% a year
✗ Profit fell 196.0% in the latest year

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

21/ 100

Weak

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

Valuation

20/ 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

EV/EBITDA

209.7x

PEG

—

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well0

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

🔴 What Needs Attention2

Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 48.1% to -2.9% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 56.8% to 14.2% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

10 items require attention · 5 high · 5 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 116% over 3 years, from ₹1,842 Cr to ₹3,985 Cr.
🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 2.95x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🔴Thin interest coverageFinancial
Operating profit covers interest only 0.8x — little room if earnings dip.
🔴The company is lossmakingFinancial
Net profit of -₹40 Cr in the latest reported year.
🔴Significant margin compressionFinancial
EBITDA margin has fallen 20.1 points, from 27.9% to 7.8%.
🟡Interest coverage is deterioratingFinancial
Cover has fallen from 1.2x to 0.8x.
🟡Free cash flow is negativeFinancial
Free cash flow was -₹1,107 Cr in the latest year.
🟡Inventory building faster than salesFinancial
Inventory up 26% against revenue up -0% — stock may not be moving.
🟡Short-term liquidity is tightFinancial
Current ratio of 0.93 — near-term obligations exceed near-term assets.
🟡Low reported insider holdingOwnership
Reported insider holding is 0.0%. For Indian companies this field is an unreliable proxy — check the official promoter shareholding in the exchange filing.

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 27.9% to 7.8%. 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 16.3x EBITDA. At that level a downturn in earnings turns a manageable balance sheet into a refinancing problem, and lenders get paid before shareholders.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 48.1% to -2.9%. 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.
Several serious flags at once
5 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

1EBITDA margin holds above 6%✓ 7.8%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x✗ 16.3x
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✗ -₹1,107 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Interest cover stays above 3x✗ 0.8x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
5ROCE stays above 11%✓ 14.2%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

3 / 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

₹47,495 Cr

Mid Cap

Mid-sized — more growth headroom, but sharper swings than large caps

P/E (Trailing)

Not meaningful

Loss-making

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

P/B Ratio

34.35x

Rich

Steep premium to book — needs high, durable returns to justify

EPS (TTM)

₹-1.64

Loss-making

Negative earnings per share — the business is losing money

ROE

-2.9%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

14.2%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

2.95x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

20.2%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

-196.0%

Falling

Profits are shrinking

Dividend Yield

0.05%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

-₹1,107 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

Operating Margin

-2.9%

Weak

Thin margins leave little room for error

Net Margin

-1.8%

Weak

Very little revenue reaches the bottom line

Current Ratio

0.93

Adequate

Adequate, but no real cushion

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.21

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

20%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

754.5 / 785.2

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

33.8

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹3,156 Cr	₹2,939 Cr	₹2,440 Cr	₹3,151 Cr	-0.0%
EBITDA	₹879 Cr	₹556 Cr	₹311 Cr	₹245 Cr	-34.7%
EBITDA Margin	27.9%	18.9%	12.7%	7.8%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹613 Cr	₹128 Cr	₹41 Cr	-₹40 Cr	—
EPS	₹9.47	₹1.98	₹0.64	₹-0.61	—
ROE	48.1%	9.4%	3.0%	-2.9%	—
ROCE	56.8%	18.3%	19.2%	14.2%	—
Total Debt	₹1,842 Cr	₹1,810 Cr	₹3,717 Cr	₹3,985 Cr	+29.3%
Free Cash Flow	₹545 Cr	₹106 Cr	-₹14 Cr	-₹1,107 Cr	—

🟡 Revenue has been broadly flat over 3 years (-0.0% a year).

🔴 EBITDA has shrunk at 34.7% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 27.9% to 7.8% over 3 years (-20.1 pts).

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has turned negative, from ₹613 Cr to -₹40 Cr.

🔴 EPS has turned negative, from ₹9.47 to ₹-0.61.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 48.1% to -2.9% over 3 years (-51.0 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 56.8% to 14.2% over 3 years (-42.6 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 29.3% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has turned negative, from ₹545 Cr to -₹1,107 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹5,967 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹4,617 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹144 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

-₹996 Cr

Capex

-₹111 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.1%

Insider Holding

0.0%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹0.39

Ex-Dividend Date

19 Sept 2025

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
TATA STEEL LIMITED	19.8x	10.8%
JSW STEEL LIMITED	12.0x	24.7%
ULTRATECH CEMENT LIMITED	37.6x	11.1%
ASIAN PAINTS LIMITED	46.9x	22.3%

Recent News

2 mixed4 general

FACT Share Price Rise: Price Action and Sector Analysis

Univest, 09 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.

The Fertilisers And Chemicals Travancore - Cohance Lifesciences among 5 stocks showing RSI trending up

The Economic Times, 22 Sept

Volumes jump at Fertilizers & Chemicals Travancore Ltd counter

Business Standard, 25 Aug

Fertiliser Stocks Jump Up To 10% — FACT, Paradeep Phosphates, NFL Gain. Here's Why

NDTV Profit, 25 Aug

The Fertilisers And Chemicals Travancore Ltd. (FACT) Share Price Rises 4.12% Today

Univest, 21 AugPrice 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.

Why did FACT, RCF, NFL and other fertiliser stocks rally up to 14% today? Explained

Livemint, 25 Aug

Watch Items

Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.
Reported insider holding is low — cross-check the official promoter shareholding % in the company's exchange filing.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

MiddlingRisk

WeakBusiness Quality · Financial Health · Growth · Profitability · Valuation

Points for each in the Score ↑

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

3 of 5 tripwires tripped — Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x; Free cash flow remains positive; Interest cover stays above 3x · see Key things to watch ↑