Huhtamaki India Limited

Consumer Cyclical — Packaging & Containers · NSE

₹240.00+₹14.68 (+6.52%)

DalalBaazaar Score

64 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

REASONABLE

Risk

Low

Driven by micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity.

In simple words: Reasonable but unspectacular business quality, 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, 7:03 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Huhtamaki India Limited engages in the manufacture and sale of packaging materials in India.

IndustryPackaging & Containers

SectorConsumer Cyclical

Employees2,500

Annual revenue₹2,389 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹2,389 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 2,500 employees supports ₹95.6 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

Revenue / employee₹95.6 lakh

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.

Compared side by side in Peers ↓

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 12.0% 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 ROE25.9%

What is the outlook?

1 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 12.0% and earnings to grow about 33.3% in the year to 2027. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+12.0%

Est. earnings growth+33.3%

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 -18% while net margin moved +191% 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-18%

Margin effect+191%

DalalBaazaar Score

64/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✓ Beta of -0.20 — historically steadier than the index
✗ Micro Cap: thinner liquidity and sharper drawdowns are normal
✗ Profits have swung sharply from year to year — earnings are hard to forecast

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

62/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

84/ 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

13.3x

4Y Median

18.9x

44 monthly readings · mean 24.2x · range 10.4x–51.0x

Sector Median

69.2x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 30% below its 4y median of 18.9x. 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 81% below the peer median of 69.2x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

18.9x median over 44 months · -30%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

69.2x median of 4 peers · -81%

vs. generic bands

Cheap

Below 15x

EV/EBITDA

8.8x

PEG

0.40

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well6

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 5.9% to 8.8% over 3 years.
Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 65% over 3 years.
Cash generation is improving
Free cash flow is up 404% over 3 years.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 8.7% to 12.0%.
Very low debt
Debt/Equity of 0.11x 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

No automated checks triggered

None of the automated financial checks below were triggered on the years of data available. That is not the same as a clean bill of health — see what could not be checked.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 5.9% to 8.8%. If that holds, profit compounds faster than sales and today's multiple looks cheaper in hindsight than it does now.
Deleveraging frees up earnings
Debt is down 65% over 3 years. Every rupee of interest not paid drops to the bottom line, so profit can grow even if revenue does not.
Priced below its own history
The stock trades 30% 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 81% 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 ₹182 Cr alongside low debt means growth, buybacks or dividends need no outside money — and a downturn can be absorbed rather than refinanced.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

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.

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

1EBITDA margin holds above 7%✓ 8.8%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹182 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
3Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.7x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
4ROCE stays above 9%✓ 12.0%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.
5Valuation vs its own median of 18.9x✓ 13.3x today
A re-rating above its own history needs a reason; without one it is just a higher price.

Investment Checklist

8 / 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

7 good · 4 neutral · 0 weak

Market Cap

₹1,813 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

13.3x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

1.34x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹18.07

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

10.6%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

12.0%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

0.11x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

22.5%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

75.5%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

0.83%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

₹69 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

8.8x

Improving

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

ROA

4.8%

Average

Average asset productivity

Operating Margin

8.1%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

5.2%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

2.20

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

-0.20

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

50%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

235.6 / 254.1

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

47.9

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹2,917 Cr	₹2,481 Cr	₹2,451 Cr	₹2,389 Cr	-6.4%
EBITDA	₹171 Cr	₹214 Cr	₹157 Cr	₹210 Cr	+7.2%
EBITDA Margin	5.9%	8.6%	6.4%	8.8%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹50 Cr	₹123 Cr	₹88 Cr	₹118 Cr	+33.5%
EPS	₹6.57	₹16.27	₹11.65	₹15.65	+33.6%
ROE	6.6%	10.7%	7.4%	9.1%	—
ROCE	8.7%	37.5%	9.9%	12.0%	—
Total Debt	₹410 Cr	₹255 Cr	₹149 Cr	₹144 Cr	-29.4%
Free Cash Flow	₹36 Cr	₹179 Cr	₹76 Cr	₹182 Cr	+71.5%

🔴 Revenue has shrunk at 6.4% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 7.2% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 5.9% to 8.8% over 3 years (+2.9 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 33.5% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 33.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 ROE has risen from 6.6% to 9.1% over 3 years (+2.6 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 8.7% to 12.0% over 3 years (+3.3 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 29.4% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has grown at 71.5% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2025

Total Assets

₹2,004 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹711 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹95 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹238 Cr

Capex

-₹55 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.7%

Insider Holding

69.6%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹2

Ex-Dividend Date

23 Apr 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

1 Buy · 0 Hold · 0 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹463

+92.9% vs CMP

Target Range

₹463 – ₹463

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

3 positive3 mixed

Huhtamaki India Share Price Jumps 14% on Wednesday; Here's Why

Dalal Street Investment Journal, 22 JulPrice 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 Is Huhtamaki India Share Price Falling Key Reasons 2026

Univest, 15 JunPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move rather than a change in the business. If the figures on this page have not moved, the fall is either an opportunity or news they have yet to catch up with.

Why You Might Be Interested In Huhtamaki India Limited (NSE:HUHTAMAKI) For Its Upcoming Dividend

Simply Wall Street, 19 AprCapital return

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

Huhtamaki India Reports Flat Q4 Revenue at ₹6.13B as Net Profit Dips 2.3% YoY

Sahi, 12 MayResults

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

Earnings call transcript: Huhtamaki India Q2 2026 profit surge lifts shares

Investing.com, 27 JulResults

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

Huhtamaki India standalone net profit rises 75.34% in the June 2026 quarter

Business Standard, 21 JulResults

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

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongFinancial Health · Valuation

MiddlingBusiness Quality · Growth · Profitability

WeakRisk

Points for each in the Score ↑

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.

All 5 tripwires holding · see Key things to watch ↑