Gulf Oil Lubricants India Limited

Basic Materials — Specialty Chemicals · NSE

₹1,093.00+₹27.70 (+2.60%)

DalalBaazaar Score

74 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

REASONABLE

Risk

Low

Driven by small-cap size, which brings sharper price swings.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, with both sales and profits growing well. Nothing obvious stands out as stretched — the usual checks on business quality and management still apply.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:10 pm

Constructive picture on fundamentals. Profitability, leverage and growth metrics are broadly healthy on this snapshot. That said, valuation should still be checked against direct sector peers (not just the generic P/E bands used here) before treating this as a buy signal.

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Gulf Oil Lubricants India Limited manufactures, markets, and trades automotive and non-automotive lubricants, and synergy products for use in the automobile and industrial sectors in India and internationally.

IndustrySpecialty Chemicals

SectorBasic Materials

Employees638

Annual revenue₹4,048 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹4,048 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹9 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹14 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 638 employees supports ₹6.34 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

EBITDA margin14.2%

Net margin8.6%

Revenue / employee₹6.34 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are ASIAN PAINTS LIMITED, PIDILITE INDUSTRIES LTD, SRF LTD, UPL LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

ASIAN PAINTS LIMITEDP/E 46.9x · ROE 22.3%

PIDILITE INDUSTRIES LTDP/E 57.8x · ROE 24.4%

SRF LTDP/E 33.8x · ROE 15.4%

UPL LIMITEDP/E 21.5x · ROE 6.1%

What is its competitive advantage?The numbers suggest a real one

ROCE has stayed above 15% in every year available and stands at 29.2%. Returns that high normally get competed away; when they persist, something is protecting them, and its ROE of 22.6% against a peer median of 22.3% is consistent with that. What that something is — brand, scale, switching costs, regulation — the accounts cannot tell you.

ROCE29.2%

ROE22.6%

Peer median ROE22.3%

What is the outlook?

5 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 6.9% and earnings to grow about 14.2% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+6.9%

Est. earnings growth+14.2%

Analysts5

What has been driving growth?

Growth has come mainly from selling more, rather than from keeping more of each sale. Over 3 years revenue moved +35% while net margin moved +11% 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+35%

Margin effect+11%

DalalBaazaar Score

74/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

• Revenue CAGR of 10.6% is steady
• Profit CAGR of 14.4%

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

76/ 100

Good

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

Valuation

72/ 100

Cheap

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

A good business currently available at an undemanding price — the combination this framework is built to look for.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

14.5x

3Y Median

16.9x

40 monthly readings · mean 17.4x · range 11.2x–25.8x

Sector Median

40.4x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 14% below its 3y median of 16.9x. 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 40.4x.

vs. its own history

Fair

16.9x median over 40 months · -14%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

40.4x median of 4 peers · -64%

vs. generic bands

Cheap

Below 15x

P/E (Trailing)

14.5x

P/B

3.51x

EV/EBITDA

8.4x

PEG

1.01

Dividend Yield

4.67%

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well4

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 12.1% to 14.2% over 3 years.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 26.7% to 29.2%.
High return on capital employed
ROCE of 29.2% is the mark of a business that converts capital into profit efficiently.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention1

Debt is rising
Total debt is up 52% over 3 years — worth checking what it funded.

Red Flags

1 item require attention · 1 high

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 52% over 3 years, from ₹373 Cr to ₹567 Cr.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Capital compounds at a high rate
ROCE of 29.2% means each rupee reinvested earns well above what capital costs. If the company can keep deploying at this rate, growth creates value rather than just consuming cash.
Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 12.1% to 14.2%. If that holds, profit compounds faster than sales and today's multiple looks cheaper in hindsight than it does now.
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.
Self-funding with balance-sheet headroom
Positive free cash flow of ₹298 Cr alongside low debt means growth, buybacks or dividends need no outside money — and a downturn can be absorbed rather than refinanced.
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?

Size brings its own risk
Small 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

1Revenue growth stays above 8% a year✓ 10.6% CAGR
Latest reported year was 30.6%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 12%✓ 14.2%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹298 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 1.0x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 26%✓ 29.2%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

10 / 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

9 good · 2 neutral · 0 weak

Market Cap

₹5,416 Cr

Small Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

14.5x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

3.51x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹75.13

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

22.6%

Strong

Strong capital efficiency

ROCE

29.2%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

0.36x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

30.6%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

28.0%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

4.67%

Healthy

Meaningful cash return while you hold the stock

Free Cash Flow

₹298 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

CMP

₹1,093

P/E (Forward)

10.5x

Improving

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

Operating Margin

11.0%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

8.6%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

1.85

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.60

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

54%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

1085.1 / 1112.3

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

46.6

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹2,991 Cr	₹3,293 Cr	₹3,623 Cr	₹4,048 Cr	+10.6%
EBITDA	₹361 Cr	₹483 Cr	₹546 Cr	₹574 Cr	+16.7%
EBITDA Margin	12.1%	14.7%	15.1%	14.2%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹232 Cr	₹308 Cr	₹360 Cr	₹348 Cr	+14.4%
EPS	₹47.16	₹62.17	₹72.42	₹69.72	+13.9%
ROE	19.7%	23.8%	24.6%	22.6%	—
ROCE	26.7%	30.5%	31.8%	29.2%	—
Total Debt	₹373 Cr	₹365 Cr	₹467 Cr	₹567 Cr	+14.9%
Free Cash Flow	₹250 Cr	₹314 Cr	₹342 Cr	₹298 Cr	+6.1%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 10.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 16.7% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 12.1% to 14.2% over 3 years (+2.1 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 14.4% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 13.9% a year over 3 years.

🟢 ROE has risen from 19.7% to 22.6% over 3 years (+2.9 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 26.7% to 29.2% over 3 years (+2.4 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 14.9% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has grown at 6.1% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹3,015 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹1,431 Cr

Total Debt

₹567 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹1,136 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹350 Cr

Capex

-₹51 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

8.9%

Insider Holding

68.7%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹51

Ex-Dividend Date

04 Sept 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

5 Buy · 0 Hold · 0 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹1,625.2

+48.7% vs CMP

Target Range

₹1,515 – ₹1,900

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
ASIAN PAINTS LIMITED	46.9x	22.3%
PIDILITE INDUSTRIES LTD	57.8x	24.4%
SRF LTD	33.8x	15.4%
UPL LIMITED	21.5x	6.1%

Recent News

1 positive3 mixed2 general

Gulf Oil Lubricants India (GULFOILLUB.NS) Slips 2.62% to ₹1,089.30, Holding Mid-Range Between Key Levels

https://www.siam.in/, 09 Oct

Buy Gulf Oil Lubricants India; target of Rs 1488: ICICI Securities

Moneycontrol.com, 01 Jun

Gulf Oil shares rise 5% on Q4 results; Choice says 'Buy' for 55% upside

Business Standard, 29 MayPrice 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.

Gulf Oil Lubricants Reports Q1 Standalone Net Profit Of ₹1.27B Vs ₹967M YoY

Sahi, 03 AugResults

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

Is Gulf Oil Lubricants India a Good Buy After Its Q1 FY27 Results?

Univest, 11 SeptResults

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

Gulf Oil Lubricants recommends ₹30 per share final dividend for FY26

scanx.trade, 20 AugCapital return

🟢Potentially positiveCash or shares returned to holders. A buyback is only good value if the shares were cheap when bought.

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟢Business QualityStrong14.1/20

🟢Financial HealthStrong17.8/20

🟢GrowthStrong13.4/20

🟢ProfitabilityStrong11.5/15

🟢ValuationAttractive10.7/15

🟢RiskLow6.7/10

Attractive on both counts

A good business currently available at an undemanding price — the combination this framework exists to look for. The work left is qualitative: whether the advantage the numbers imply is one you can identify and expect to last. 1 high-severity red flag sits above this conclusion and should be read first.

This thesis breaks if

✓Revenue growth stays above 8% a year10.6% CAGR
✓EBITDA margin holds above 12%14.2%
✓Free cash flow remains positive₹298 Cr
✓Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x1.0x
✓ROCE stays above 26%29.2%