Gujarat Containers Limited

Consumer Cyclical — Packaging & Containers · BSE

₹168.65−₹8.85 (−4.99%)

DalalBaazaar Score

51 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

High

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

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, 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, 6:07 pm

Mixed / neutral. No major red flags jump out, but nothing here screams "obviously cheap" either. This is a name that needs a peer comparison and a view on near-term earnings triggers before sizing a position.

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Gujarat Containers Limited manufactures and sells steel barrels in India. The company's products include galvanized, epoxy, composite, all side welded, open top, M.S. plain, non-return valve, and GP sheet barrels.

IndustryPackaging & Containers

SectorConsumer Cyclical

Employees92

Annual revenue₹141 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹141 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹5 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹9 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 92 employees supports ₹1.53 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

EBITDA margin9.0%

Net margin5.2%

Revenue / employee₹1.53 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA LTD., TITAN COMPANY LIMITED, TRENT LTD, AVENUE SUPERMARTS LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA LTD.P/E 25.2x · ROE 13.4%

TITAN COMPANY LIMITEDP/E 68.5x · ROE 36.7%

TRENT LTDP/E 87.2x · ROE 25.9%

AVENUE SUPERMARTS LIMITEDP/E 69.9x · ROE 12.7%

What is its competitive advantage?Some evidence

ROCE of 17.8% is above what capital typically costs, which suggests some pricing power, though not yet the sustained, wide gap that marks a durable advantage.

ROCE17.8%

ROE12.8%

Peer median ROE25.9%

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +7% while net margin moved -38% 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+7%

Margin effect-38%

DalalBaazaar Score

51/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Revenue CAGR of only 2.1% — barely ahead of inflation
✗ Profit has declined at 12.7% a year

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

47/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

77/ 100

Cheap

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

10.1x

3Y Median

11.0x

40 monthly readings · mean 10.5x · range 7.7x–13.2x

Sector Median

69.2x

median of 4 sector peers

🟡Currently trading close to its 3y median of 11.0x — the market is paying about what it usually pays for this company.

🟢Against its sector it trades 85% below the peer median of 69.2x.

vs. its own history

Fair

11.0x median over 40 months · -9%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

69.2x median of 4 peers · -85%

vs. generic bands

Cheap

Below 15x

P/E (Trailing)

10.1x

P/B

1.65x

EV/EBITDA

7.8x

PEG

—

Dividend Yield

0.89%

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well3

Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 79% over 3 years.
Cash generation is improving
Free cash flow is up 50% over 3 years.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention3

Margins are compressing
EBITDA margin has slipped from 13.6% to 9.0% over 3 years.
Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 31.9% to 12.8% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 44.4% to 17.8% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

3 items require attention · 1 high · 2 watch

🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 7.46x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🟡Profit is decliningFinancial
Net profit is down 34% over 3 years.
🟡Margins are compressingFinancial
EBITDA margin is down 4.7 points over 3 years.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Deleveraging frees up earnings
Debt is down 79% over 3 years. Every rupee of interest not paid drops to the bottom line, so profit can grow even if revenue does not.
Cheaper than its peers
It trades 85% 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?

Margins are being competed away
EBITDA margin has fallen from 13.6% to 9.0%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.
Leverage amplifies any setback
Debt/Equity of 7.46x. Interest is payable whether or not the business has a good year.
Growth barely outpaces inflation
Revenue compounding at 2.1% 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.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 31.9% to 12.8%. 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.
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 7%✓ 9.0%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Revenue growth stays above 4% a year✗ 2.1% CAGR
Latest reported year was 31.7%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹17 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.3x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 15%✓ 17.8%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

8 / 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

6 good · 4 neutral · 1 weak

Market Cap

₹95 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

10.1x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

1.65x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹16.76

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

12.8%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

17.8%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

7.46x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

31.7%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

125.8%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

0.89%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

₹17 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

CMP

₹168.65

Operating Margin

11.3%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

6.0%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

4.64

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

-0.30

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

68%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

170.7 / 169.2

Bullish alignment (short > long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

48.0

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹132 Cr	₹137 Cr	₹150 Cr	₹141 Cr	+2.1%
EBITDA	₹18 Cr	₹15 Cr	₹15 Cr	₹13 Cr	-11.2%
EBITDA Margin	13.6%	11.2%	9.8%	9.0%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹11 Cr	₹9 Cr	₹8 Cr	₹7 Cr	-12.7%
EPS	₹19.59	₹15.96	₹14.64	₹13.05	-12.7%
ROE	31.9%	20.6%	16.2%	12.8%	—
ROCE	44.4%	30.0%	23.8%	17.8%	—
Total Debt	₹21 Cr	₹25 Cr	₹22 Cr	₹4 Cr	-40.7%
Free Cash Flow	₹11 Cr	₹6 Cr	-₹2 Cr	₹17 Cr	+14.5%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 2.1% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA has shrunk at 11.2% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 13.6% to 9.0% over 3 years (-4.7 pts).

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has shrunk at 12.7% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EPS has shrunk at 12.7% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 31.9% to 12.8% over 3 years (-19.1 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 44.4% to 17.8% over 3 years (-26.7 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 40.7% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has grown at 14.5% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹70 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹12 Cr

Total Debt

₹4 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹1 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹18 Cr

Capex

-₹1 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

61.9%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹1.5

Ex-Dividend Date

12 Aug 2026

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA LTD.	25.2x	13.4%
TITAN COMPANY LIMITED	68.5x	36.7%
TRENT LTD	87.2x	25.9%
AVENUE SUPERMARTS LIMITED	69.9x	12.7%

Recent News

1 positive2 mixed3 general

Gujarat Containers Lower Circuit Today: Price, Data and Peers

Univest, 16 Oct

Gujarat Containers Ltd. Shareholding Pattern – Promoters, FIIs & DIIs

Value Research, 30 Aug

Rossell Techsys consolidated net profit rises 116.36% in the June 2026 quarter

Business Standard, 28 JulResults

🟢Potentially positiveReported improvement. Check whether it came from volume, price or a one-off item before treating it as a trend.

Gujarat Pipavav Port Share Price Target 2026: Rs 159 to 183

Univest, 05 OctAnalyst view

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

Pyramid Technoplast Share Price Jumps Pcb Approval Boosts Rs 586Cr Co

Alice Blue, 24 SeptPrice 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.

Maersk backs India's container manufacturing push with 1,000-box order to DCM Shriram

ET Infra, 24 Jun

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🔴Business QualityWeak8.8/20

🟢Financial HealthStrong14.5/20

🔴GrowthWeak5/20

🟡ProfitabilityModerate7.1/15

🟢ValuationAttractive10.4/15

🟡RiskModerate5.3/10

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. 1 high-severity red flag sits above this conclusion and should be read first.

This thesis breaks if

✓EBITDA margin holds above 7%9.0%
✗Revenue growth stays above 4% a year2.1% CAGR
✓Free cash flow remains positive₹17 Cr
✓Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x0.3x
✓ROCE stays above 15%17.8%