Himadri Speciality Chemical Limited

Basic Materials — Specialty Chemicals · NSE

₹660.90−₹1.95 (−0.29%)

DalalBaazaar Score

71 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

REASONABLE

Risk

Low

Driven by negative free cash flow.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, with both sales and profits growing well. Cash generation is currently the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:58 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Himadri Speciality Chemical Limited manufactures and sells carbon materials and chemicals in India and internationally. The company operates through Carbon Materials and Chemicals and Power segments. It offers anode materials, LFP cathodes, and recycling materials.

IndustrySpecialty Chemicals

SectorBasic Materials

Employees1,161

Annual revenue₹4,658 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹4,658 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹16 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹22 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 1,161 employees supports ₹4.01 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹4.01 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.

Compared side by side in Peers ↓

What is its competitive advantage?Some evidence

ROCE of 21.0% is above what capital typically costs, which suggests some pricing power, though not yet the sustained, wide gap that marks a durable advantage.

Peer median ROE22.3%

What is the outlook?

1 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 29.7% and earnings to grow about 10.7% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+29.7%

Est. earnings growth+10.7%

Analysts1

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +12% while net margin moved +212% 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+12%

Margin effect+212%

DalalBaazaar Score

71/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

• P/E of 38.9x already prices in growth
✓ P/E is 27% below its own historical median of 53.4x — cheap by its own standards
✗ P/B of 6.49x is a steep premium to book

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

77/ 100

Good

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

Valuation

57/ 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

38.9x

3Y Median

53.4x

40 monthly readings · mean 54.1x · range 39.2x–83.7x

Sector Median

40.4x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 27% below its 3y median of 53.4x. 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 is priced broadly in line with the peer median of 40.4x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

53.4x median over 40 months · -27%

vs. sector peers

Fair

40.4x median of 4 peers · -4%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

EV/EBITDA

33.0x

PEG

0.76

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well6

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 9.7% to 22.1% over 3 years.
Return on equity is rising
ROE has improved from 9.5% to 16.0%.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 13.5% to 21.0%.
High return on capital employed
ROCE of 21.0% is the mark of a business that converts capital into profit efficiently.
Very low debt
Debt/Equity of 0.22x leaves the balance sheet with plenty of headroom.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention0

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

Red Flags

4 items require attention · 1 high · 3 watch

🔴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.
🟡Free cash flow is negativeFinancial
Free cash flow was -₹68 Cr in the latest year.
🟡Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 38% against revenue up 12% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.
🟡Inventory building faster than salesFinancial
Inventory up 40% against revenue up 12% — stock may not be moving.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Capital compounds at a high rate
ROCE of 21.0% 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 9.7% to 22.1%. 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 27% 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.
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?

Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 38% against revenue up 12%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
Growth barely outpaces inflation
Revenue compounding at 3.7% 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.

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

1EBITDA margin holds above 20%✓ 22.1%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹68 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
3Revenue growth stays above 4% a year✗ 3.7% CAGR
Latest reported year was 57.9%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.7x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 18%✓ 21.0%
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

6 good · 3 neutral · 2 weak

Market Cap

₹33,347 Cr

Mid Cap

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

P/E (Trailing)

38.9x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

6.49x

Rich

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

EPS (TTM)

₹16.97

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

18.5%

Strong

Strong capital efficiency

ROCE

21.0%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

0.22x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

57.9%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

29.6%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

0.12%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

-₹250 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

31.9x

Improving

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

ROA

10.7%

Good

Assets are working hard

Operating Margin

16.6%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

15.3%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

2.07

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.25

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

60%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

667.7 / 686.8

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

38.0

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹4,172 Cr	₹4,185 Cr	₹4,599 Cr	₹4,658 Cr	+3.7%
EBITDA	₹405 Cr	₹678 Cr	₹898 Cr	₹1,029 Cr	+36.4%
EBITDA Margin	9.7%	16.2%	19.5%	22.1%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹216 Cr	₹411 Cr	₹556 Cr	₹751 Cr	+51.5%
EPS	₹5.13	₹9.16	₹11.17	₹15.02	+43.1%
ROE	9.5%	13.5%	14.9%	16.0%	—
ROCE	13.5%	19.5%	20.9%	21.0%	—
Total Debt	₹842 Cr	₹605 Cr	₹313 Cr	₹770 Cr	-2.9%
Free Cash Flow	-₹29 Cr	₹352 Cr	₹276 Cr	-₹68 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 3.7% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 36.4% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 9.7% to 22.1% over 3 years (+12.4 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 51.5% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 43.1% a year over 3 years.

🟢 ROE has risen from 9.5% to 16.0% over 3 years (+6.5 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 13.5% to 21.0% over 3 years (+7.4 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 2.9% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹6,306 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹1,544 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹165 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹382 Cr

Capex

-₹450 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

5.9%

Insider Holding

57.4%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹0.8

Ex-Dividend Date

22 May 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

0 Buy · 1 Hold · 0 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹720

+8.9% vs CMP

Target Range

₹720 – ₹720

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 positive1 mixed4 general

Himadri Speciality Chemicals Share Price - Live NSE: HSCL Stock Price & Chart

Upstox, 16 Oct

Himadri's H1FY27 profit rises 29% to ₹460 crore on speciality growth

Business Standard, 18 OctResults

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

Multibagger chemical stock Himadri Speciality up 40% in last 6 months- should investors buy or hold? Experts decode

TradingView, 14 Oct

Himadri Speciality Up 40% in 6 Months: Buy or Hold? Risks

Univest, 14 Oct

Himadri Speciality Chemical Q2 Results: નેટ પ્રોફિટ **₹231 કરોડ**ને પાર, કંપની હવે ટાયર બિઝનેસમાં ઝંપલાવશે

Whalesbook, 16 OctResults

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

Himadri Speciality Chemical shares slip as large-cap stock hits rule-based decline screen

Indiatimes, 25 Aug

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongBusiness Quality · Financial Health · Growth · Profitability

MiddlingValuation · Risk

Points for each in the Score ↑

Good business at a fair price

A sound business at a reasonable valuation. Suitable for a long-term holding, with the valuation and the direction of margins worth watching rather than the business itself. 1 high-severity red flag sits above this conclusion and should be read first.

2 of 5 tripwires tripped — Free cash flow remains positive; Revenue growth stays above 4% a year · see Key things to watch ↑