Kewal Kiran Clothing Limited

Consumer Cyclical — Apparel Manufacturing · NSE

₹447.10−₹7.20 (−1.58%)

DalalBaazaar Score

59 / 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, 6:08 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 Kewal Kiran Clothing Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Kewal Kiran Clothing Limited manufacturing, marketing, and retailing of branded readymade garments and finished accessories in India and internationally.

IndustryApparel Manufacturing

SectorConsumer Cyclical

Employees1,868

Annual revenue₹1,204 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹1,204 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹12 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹20 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 1,868 employees supports ₹64.4 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

EBITDA margin20.1%

Net margin11.8%

Revenue / employee₹64.4 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.

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 17.6% is above what capital typically costs, which suggests some pricing power, though not yet the sustained, wide gap that marks a durable advantage.

ROCE17.6%

ROE14.9%

Peer median ROE25.9%

What is the outlook?

1 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 21.4% and earnings to grow about 19.8% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+21.4%

Est. earnings growth+19.8%

Analysts1

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 +55% while net margin moved -23% 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+55%

Margin effect-23%

DalalBaazaar Score

59/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✓ Beta of 0.24 — historically steadier than the index
✗ Micro Cap: thinner liquidity and sharper drawdowns are normal
✗ High leverage magnifies any downturn in earnings
✓ Profits have been consistent from year to year

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

60/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

60/ 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

18.7x

3Y Median

22.2x

40 monthly readings · mean 26.1x · range 17.3x–41.3x

Sector Median

69.2x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 16% below its 3y median of 22.2x. 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 73% below the peer median of 69.2x.

vs. its own history

Fair

22.2x median over 40 months · -16%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

69.2x median of 4 peers · -73%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

P/E (Trailing)

18.7x

P/B

2.94x

EV/EBITDA

11.2x

PEG

3.10

Dividend Yield

0.89%

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well2

Cash generation is improving
Free cash flow is up 218% over 3 years.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention4

Debt is rising
Total debt is up 94% over 3 years — worth checking what it funded.
Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 21.8% to 15.1% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 28.8% to 17.6% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.
Receivables growing faster than sales
Receivables are up 89% against revenue growth of 55% — customers are taking longer to pay.

Red Flags

3 items require attention · 2 high · 1 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 94% over 3 years, from ₹66 Cr to ₹128 Cr.
🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 9.50x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🟡Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 89% against revenue up 55% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Cheaper than its peers
It trades 73% 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?

Leverage amplifies any setback
Debt/Equity of 9.50x. Interest is payable whether or not the business has a good year.
Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 89% against revenue up 55%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 21.8% to 15.1%. 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

1Revenue growth stays above 12% a year✓ 15.8% CAGR
Latest reported year was 19.4%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 18%✓ 20.1%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹163 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.5x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 15%✓ 17.6%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

9 / 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

5 good · 5 neutral · 1 weak

Market Cap

₹2,755 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

18.7x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

2.94x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹23.87

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

14.9%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

17.6%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

9.50x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

19.4%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

18.3%

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

₹163 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

CMP

₹447.1

P/E (Forward)

12.7x

Improving

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

ROA

8.4%

Good

Assets are working hard

Operating Margin

14.7%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

11.8%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

3.27

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.24

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

24%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

467.8 / 493.3

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

37.2

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹774 Cr	₹855 Cr	₹998 Cr	₹1,204 Cr	+15.8%
EBITDA	₹154 Cr	₹194 Cr	₹195 Cr	₹242 Cr	+16.2%
EBITDA Margin	19.9%	22.7%	19.6%	20.1%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹119 Cr	₹154 Cr	₹144 Cr	₹142 Cr	+6.0%
EPS	₹19.31	₹25	₹23.44	₹23.03	+6.0%
ROE	21.8%	22.8%	17.6%	15.1%	—
ROCE	28.8%	29.3%	19.2%	17.6%	—
Total Debt	₹66 Cr	₹20 Cr	₹164 Cr	₹128 Cr	+24.7%
Free Cash Flow	₹51 Cr	₹126 Cr	-₹72 Cr	₹163 Cr	+47.1%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 15.8% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 16.2% a year over 3 years.

🟡 EBITDA Margin has held roughly flat at 20.1% over 3 years.

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 6.0% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 6.0% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 21.8% to 15.1% over 3 years (-6.6 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 28.8% to 17.6% over 3 years (-11.1 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 24.7% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has grown at 47.1% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹1,497 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹377 Cr

Total Debt

₹128 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹176 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹183 Cr

Capex

-₹21 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

8.6%

Insider Holding

74.3%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹4

Ex-Dividend Date

14 May 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

2 Buy · 0 Hold · 0 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹714

+59.7% vs CMP

Target Range

₹608 – ₹820

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 mixed3 general

Half Yearly Results, Half yearly Earnings for Kewal Kiran Clothing

The Economic Times, 15 OctResults

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

Kewal Kiran Clothing vs Nifty 50: Returns Compared

Univest, 01 Oct

Compare with KEWAL KIRAN CLOTH

Equitymaster, 08 Oct

Kewal Kiran Clothing shares jump 5.6% after Q3 results

BusinessLine, 11 FebPrice 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.

Kewal Kiran Clothing Limited Board Meeting Scheduled for May 9, 2026 to Consider FY26 Results

scanx.trade, 24 AprResults

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

Innerwear and Apparel Brand Stocks: Kewal Kiran, Dollar Industrie

Univest, 08 Oct

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟢Business QualityStrong13.1/20

🟡Financial HealthAdequate12.5/20

🟡GrowthModest10.9/20

🟡ProfitabilityModerate8.2/15

🟡ValuationFair9.3/15

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

This thesis breaks if

✓Revenue growth stays above 12% a year15.8% CAGR
✓EBITDA margin holds above 18%20.1%
✓Free cash flow remains positive₹163 Cr
✓Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x0.5x
✓ROCE stays above 15%17.6%