India Pesticides Limited

Basic Materials — Agricultural Inputs · NSE

₹127.40+₹0.11 (+0.09%)

DalalBaazaar Score

57 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

Moderate

Driven by negative free cash flow, micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity, falling profits.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, but sales are shrinking. Cash generation is currently the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:06 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 India Pesticides Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

India Pesticides Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the agrochemicals business in India and internationally.

IndustryAgricultural Inputs

SectorBasic Materials

Employees1,126

Annual revenue₹1,055 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹1,055 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹11 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹18 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 1,126 employees supports ₹93.7 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

EBITDA margin18.0%

Net margin11.4%

Revenue / employee₹93.7 lakh

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are TATA STEEL LIMITED, JSW STEEL LIMITED, ULTRATECH CEMENT LIMITED, ASIAN PAINTS LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

TATA STEEL LIMITEDP/E 19.8x · ROE 10.8%

JSW STEEL LIMITEDP/E 12.0x · ROE 24.7%

ULTRATECH CEMENT LIMITEDP/E 37.6x · ROE 11.1%

ASIAN PAINTS LIMITEDP/E 46.9x · ROE 22.3%

What is its competitive advantage?Some evidence

ROCE of 16.1% is above what capital typically costs, which suggests some pricing power, though not yet the sustained, wide gap that marks a durable advantage.

ROCE16.1%

ROE11.9%

Peer median ROE22.3%

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +20% while net margin moved -30% 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+20%

Margin effect-30%

DalalBaazaar Score

57/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Revenue CAGR of only 6.2% — barely ahead of inflation
✗ Profit has declined at 5.8% a year
✗ Profit is compounding slower than revenue — margins are being squeezed as the business grows
✗ Latest-year revenue growth of -8.5% is below the longer-term trend — momentum is fading
✗ Profit fell 34.7% in the latest year

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

52/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

83/ 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

13.6x

3Y Median

24.2x

40 monthly readings · mean 25.8x · range 12.2x–43.9x

Sector Median

28.7x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 44% below its 3y median of 24.2x. 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 53% below the peer median of 28.7x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

24.2x median over 40 months · -44%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

28.7x median of 4 peers · -53%

vs. generic bands

Cheap

Below 15x

P/E (Trailing)

13.6x

P/B

1.45x

EV/EBITDA

8.2x

PEG

—

Dividend Yield

0.59%

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well3

Valuation below its historical average
At 13.6x the stock trades 44% below its own median of 24.2x.
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 Attention5

Margins are compressing
EBITDA margin has slipped from 23.7% to 18.0% over 3 years.
Debt is rising
Total debt is up 765% over 3 years — worth checking what it funded.
Free cash flow is negative
The business is not currently covering its capital spending from operations.
Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 18.5% to 11.9% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 24.8% to 16.1% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

3 items require attention · 2 high · 1 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 765% over 3 years, from ₹13 Cr to ₹110 Cr.
🔴Significant margin compressionFinancial
EBITDA margin has fallen 5.6 points, from 23.7% to 18.0%.
🟡Free cash flow is negativeFinancial
Free cash flow was -₹30 Cr in the latest year.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Priced below its own history
The stock trades 44% 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 53% 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 23.7% to 18.0%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.
Growth barely outpaces inflation
Revenue compounding at 6.2% 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 18.5% to 11.9%. 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.
Several serious flags at once
2 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

1EBITDA margin holds above 16%✓ 18.0%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹30 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
3Revenue growth stays above 5% a year✓ 6.2% CAGR
Latest reported year was -8.5%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.6x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 13%✓ 16.1%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

6 / 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

5 good · 3 neutral · 3 weak

Market Cap

₹1,467 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

13.6x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

1.45x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹9.35

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

11.9%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

16.1%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

0.11x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

-8.5%

Shrinking

Sales are contracting

Profit Growth (YoY)

-34.7%

Falling

Profits are shrinking

Dividend Yield

0.59%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

-₹30 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

CMP

₹127.4

P/E (Forward)

10.8x

Improving

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

Operating Margin

11.8%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

10.4%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

3.19

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.35

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

130.9 / 135.7

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

32.9

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹882 Cr	₹679 Cr	₹827 Cr	₹1,055 Cr	+6.2%
EBITDA	₹209 Cr	₹99 Cr	₹134 Cr	₹190 Cr	-3.0%
EBITDA Margin	23.7%	14.6%	16.2%	18.0%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹143 Cr	₹60 Cr	₹82 Cr	₹120 Cr	-5.8%
EPS	₹12.44	₹5.24	₹7.14	₹10.4	-5.8%
ROE	18.5%	7.3%	9.1%	11.9%	—
ROCE	24.8%	10.1%	12.5%	16.1%	—
Total Debt	₹13 Cr	₹26 Cr	₹60 Cr	₹110 Cr	+105.3%
Free Cash Flow	-₹31 Cr	₹37 Cr	-₹61 Cr	-₹30 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 6.2% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA has shrunk at 3.0% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 23.7% to 18.0% over 3 years (-5.6 pts).

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has shrunk at 5.8% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EPS has shrunk at 5.8% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 18.5% to 11.9% over 3 years (-6.7 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 24.8% to 16.1% over 3 years (-8.7 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 105.3% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹1,337 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹326 Cr

Total Debt

₹110 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹18 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹62 Cr

Capex

-₹91 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.1%

Insider Holding

75.2%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹0.75

Ex-Dividend Date

24 Aug 2026

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
TATA STEEL LIMITED	19.8x	10.8%
JSW STEEL LIMITED	12.0x	24.7%
ULTRATECH CEMENT LIMITED	37.6x	11.1%
ASIAN PAINTS LIMITED	46.9x	22.3%

Recent News

1 positive1 mixed1 negative3 general

India Pesticides (NSEI:IPL) - Stock Analysis

Simply Wall Street, 14 Oct

India Pesticides Dividend 2026: ₹0.75, Record Date 24 Aug

INDmoney, 16 OctCapital return

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

India Pesticides Share Price: Technical and Fundamental View

Univest, 13 Oct

India Pesticides stock on fire! Agrochemical stock zooms 11% - what's fuelling the rally?

TradingView, 16 Sept

India Pesticides shares gain up to nearly 15% on product approvals from UK, Argentina

CNBC TV18, 16 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.

India Pesticides Q1FY27 profit falls 34% on Pretilachlor demand slump

scanx.trade, 02 AugResults

🔴Potentially negativeReported deterioration, which feeds the growth and margin inputs on this page directly.

Watch Items

Revenue growth is negative (-8.5%) on the latest reported period — check if this is one-off or a trend.
Trading very close to its 52-week low — worth checking whether this reflects a temporary setback or a structural problem.
Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟡Business QualityAdequate11.8/20

🟢Financial HealthStrong13/20

🔴GrowthWeak6.2/20

🟡ProfitabilityModerate8.2/15

🟢ValuationAttractive13.2/15

🔴RiskHigh4.4/10

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

This thesis breaks if

✓EBITDA margin holds above 16%18.0%
✗Free cash flow remains positive-₹30 Cr
✓Revenue growth stays above 5% a year6.2% CAGR
✓Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x0.6x
✓ROCE stays above 13%16.1%