Fresita Proteins Limited

Consumer Defensive — Packaged Foods · BSE

₹156.15−₹3.15 (−1.98%)

DalalBaazaar Score

55 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

High

Driven by high debt relative to equity, negative free cash flow, micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity.

In simple words: The business is earning a fairly low return on the money invested in it, with both sales and profits growing well. Debt is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:08 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 Fresita Proteins Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Fresita Proteins Limited engages in the sourcing, processing, trading, and distribution of agricultural products, edible oils, and other agri commodities in India and internationally.

IndustryPackaged Foods

SectorConsumer Defensive

Employees8

Annual revenue₹16 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹16 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹3 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹4 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 8 employees supports ₹2.02 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

EBITDA margin4.0%

Net margin2.8%

Revenue / employee₹2.02 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 0.7% 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.

ROCE0.7%

ROE0.5%

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 +179% while net margin moved -593% 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+179%

Margin effect-593%

DalalBaazaar Score

55/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✓ Beta of -2.70 — historically steadier than the index
✗ Micro Cap: thinner liquidity and sharper drawdowns are normal
✗ High leverage magnifies any downturn in earnings
✗ Profits have swung sharply from year to year — earnings are hard to forecast
✗ Negative free cash flow means dependence on external funding

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

56/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

65/ 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

18.6x

2Y Median

1249.5x

28 monthly readings · mean 1817.1x · range 181.7x–4810.0x

Sector Median

51.7x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 99% below its 2y median of 1249.5x. 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 51.7x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

1249.5x median over 28 months · -99%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

51.7x median of 4 peers · -64%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

P/E (Trailing)

18.6x

P/B

8.93x

EV/EBITDA

206.9x

PEG

—

Dividend Yield

None

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well2

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 0.2% to 4.0% over 3 years.
Valuation below its historical average
At 18.6x the stock trades 99% below its own median of 1249.5x.

🔴 What Needs Attention1

Free cash flow is negative
The business is not currently covering its capital spending from operations.

Red Flags

4 items require attention · 3 high · 1 watch

🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 5.14x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🔴Free cash flow negative for 4 yearsFinancial
The business has not covered its capital spending from operations for several years running, which has to be funded externally.
🔴Profit up while operating cash flow fallsFinancial
Reported profit rose but cash generated by operations declined — worth checking whether earnings are being supported by non-cash items or working capital.
🟡Shareholders have been dilutedOwnership
Shares outstanding are up 420% over 3 years — each existing share owns a smaller slice of the company.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 0.2% to 4.0%. 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 99% 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.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

Leverage amplifies any setback
Debt/Equity of 5.14x. Interest is payable whether or not the business has a good year.
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.
Several serious flags at once
3 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

1Revenue growth stays above 31% a year✓ 40.7% CAGR
Latest reported year was 18.6%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 2%✓ 4.0%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹76 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4ROCE stays above 8%✗ 0.7%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.
5Valuation vs its own median of 1249.5x✓ 18.6x today
A re-rating above its own history needs a reason; without one it is just a higher price.

Investment Checklist

7 / 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

3 good · 3 neutral · 5 weak

Market Cap

₹140 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

18.6x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

8.93x

Rich

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

EPS (TTM)

₹8.41

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

0.5%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

0.7%

Weak

Low return on total capital employed

Debt/Equity

5.14x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

18.6%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

8809.8%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

None

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

Free Cash Flow

-₹76 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

CMP

₹156.15

Operating Margin

-25.2%

Weak

Thin margins leave little room for error

Net Margin

15.3%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

288.13

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

-2.70

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

84%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

147.6 / 120.2

Bullish alignment (short > long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

48.9

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹6 Cr	₹1 Cr	₹24 Cr	₹16 Cr	+40.7%
EBITDA	₹0 Cr	₹0 Cr	₹0 Cr	₹1 Cr	+267.4%
EBITDA Margin	0.2%	1.6%	0.1%	4.0%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	-₹0 Cr	₹0 Cr	₹0 Cr	₹0 Cr	—
EPS	₹-0.19	₹0.11	₹0.03	₹0.51	—
ROE	-1.4%	0.8%	0.2%	0.5%	—
ROCE	0.5%	0.8%	0.8%	0.7%	—
Free Cash Flow	-₹0 Cr	-₹0 Cr	-₹0 Cr	-₹76 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 40.7% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 267.4% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 0.2% to 4.0% over 3 years (+3.7 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has turned positive, from -₹0 Cr to ₹0 Cr.

🟢 EPS has turned positive, from ₹-0.19 to ₹0.51.

🟢 ROE has risen from -1.4% to 0.5% over 3 years (+1.9 pts).

🟡 ROCE has held roughly flat at 0.7% over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹87 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹0 Cr

Total Debt

—

Cash & Equivalents

₹8 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

-₹76 Cr

Capex

—

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

80.7%

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

6 general

Fresita Proteins (BSE:519242) - Stock Analysis

Simply Wall Street, 13 Oct

Sarda Proteins shareholders approve name change to Fresita Proteins

scanx.trade, 29 Jul

Sarda Proteins Share Price and stock news near yearly high

Univest, 25 Sept

FRESITA PROTEINS LIMITED

Equitypandit, 21 Mar

Sarda Proteins board approves name change subject to MCA approval

scanx.trade, 22 Jul

MKPL Stock Price and Chart — NSE:MKPL

TradingView, 10 Jul

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟡Business QualityAdequate10.2/20

🟡Financial HealthAdequate10.6/20

🟢GrowthStrong13/20

🟡ProfitabilityModerate7.9/15

🟡ValuationFair9.1/15

🔴RiskHigh3.7/10

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

This thesis breaks if

✓Revenue growth stays above 31% a year40.7% CAGR
✓EBITDA margin holds above 2%4.0%
✗Free cash flow remains positive-₹76 Cr
✗ROCE stays above 8%0.7%
✓Valuation vs its own median of 1249.5x18.6x today