KRBL Limited

Consumer Defensive — Packaged Foods · NSE

₹394.00+₹0.20 (+0.05%)

DalalBaazaar Score

56 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

Moderate

Driven by high debt relative to equity, small-cap size, which brings sharper price swings.

In simple words: Reasonable but unspectacular business quality, but sales are shrinking. Debt is the main factor to watch.

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 KRBL Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

KRBL Limited manufactures and markets rice products in India and internationally. The company operates through Agri and Energy segments. The Agri segment offers agricultural commodities, such as rice, furfural, seed, bran, bran oil, etc.

IndustryPackaged Foods

SectorConsumer Defensive

Employees3,085

Annual revenue₹6,073 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹6,073 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹11 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹16 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 3,085 employees supports ₹1.97 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹1.97 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are NESTLE INDIA LIMITED, BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES LTD, TATA CONSUMER PRODUCT LTD, DABUR INDIA LTD. 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 14.8% 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 ROE51.0%

What has been driving growth?

Sales and margins have both contributed to where profit is now. Over 3 years revenue moved +14% while net margin moved -19% 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+14%

Margin effect-19%

DalalBaazaar Score

56/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Revenue CAGR of only 4.4% — barely ahead of inflation
✗ Profit has declined at 2.6% a year
✗ Profit is compounding slower than revenue — margins are being squeezed as the business grows
✗ Latest-year revenue growth of -5.6% is below the longer-term trend — momentum is fading

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

53/ 100

Average

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 reasonable business at a reasonable price — neither the quality nor the valuation stands out in either direction.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

11.9x

3Y Median

13.5x

40 monthly readings · mean 13.6x · range 9.0x–20.7x

Sector Median

51.7x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 12% below its 3y median of 13.5x. 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 77% below the peer median of 51.7x.

vs. its own history

Fair

13.5x median over 40 months · -12%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

51.7x median of 4 peers · -77%

vs. generic bands

Cheap

Below 15x

EV/EBITDA

9.5x

PEG

—

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well3

Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 32% over 3 years.
Cash flow has turned positive
Free cash flow moved from negative to positive over 3 years.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention2

Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 14.9% to 11.2% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 19.6% to 14.8% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

3 items require attention · 1 high · 2 watch

🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 2.92x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🟡Margins are compressingFinancial
EBITDA margin is down 3.4 points over 3 years.
🟡Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 62% against revenue up 14% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Deleveraging frees up earnings
Debt is down 32% over 3 years. Every rupee of interest not paid drops to the bottom line, so profit can grow even if revenue does not.
Cheaper than its peers
It trades 77% 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 19.1% to 15.7%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.
Leverage amplifies any setback
Debt/Equity of 2.92x. Interest is payable whether or not the business has a good year.
Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 62% against revenue up 14%. 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 4.4% 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 14.9% to 11.2%. 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.

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

1EBITDA margin holds above 14%✓ 15.7%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Revenue growth stays above 4% a year✓ 4.4% CAGR
Latest reported year was -5.6%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹865 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.2x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 12%✓ 14.8%
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

4 good · 5 neutral · 2 weak

Market Cap

₹9,018 Cr

Small Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

11.9x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

1.55x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹33.13

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

11.2%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

14.8%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

2.92x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

-5.6%

Shrinking

Sales are contracting

Profit Growth (YoY)

73.1%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

1.14%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

₹865 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

10.5x

Improving

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

Operating Margin

19.0%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

12.6%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

8.06

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.27

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

67%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

391.4 / 401.4

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

47.5

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹5,341 Cr	₹5,365 Cr	₹5,573 Cr	₹6,073 Cr	+4.4%
EBITDA	₹1,021 Cr	₹854 Cr	₹758 Cr	₹956 Cr	-2.2%
EBITDA Margin	19.1%	15.9%	13.6%	15.7%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹701 Cr	₹596 Cr	₹476 Cr	₹648 Cr	-2.6%
EPS	₹29.78	₹25.69	₹20.8	₹28.31	-1.7%
ROE	14.9%	12.3%	9.1%	11.2%	—
ROCE	19.6%	16.4%	12.1%	14.8%	—
Total Debt	₹250 Cr	₹545 Cr	₹407 Cr	₹170 Cr	-12.1%
Free Cash Flow	-₹419 Cr	₹141 Cr	₹864 Cr	₹865 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 4.4% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA has shrunk at 2.2% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 19.1% to 15.7% over 3 years (-3.4 pts).

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has shrunk at 2.6% a year over 3 years.

🟡 EPS has been broadly flat over 3 years (-1.7% a year).

🔴 ROE has fallen from 14.9% to 11.2% over 3 years (-3.8 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 19.6% to 14.8% over 3 years (-4.8 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 12.1% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has turned positive, from -₹419 Cr to ₹865 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹6,598 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹791 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹110 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹933 Cr

Capex

-₹68 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

4.7%

Insider Holding

72.7%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹4.5

Ex-Dividend Date

18 Sept 2026

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
NESTLE INDIA LIMITED	59.8x	79.9%
BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES LTD	44.1x	51.0%
TATA CONSUMER PRODUCT LTD	59.3x	7.5%
DABUR INDIA LTD	34.7x	17.2%

Recent News

1 positive2 mixed3 general

KRBL Share Price News: Rs 430.65, market cap and ratios

Univest, 24 Aug

Price Action | Honaasa Consumer hits 52-week high on robust earnings; Welspun Living, KRBL up 5-9%

Moneycontrol.com, 14 AugResults

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

Here's Why KRBL (NSE:KRBL) Has Caught The Eye Of Investors

Simply Wall Street, 25 Aug

Why stocks of rice exporters LT Foods, KRBL jumped up to 13% on Monday?

Business Standard, 24 Aug

KRBL shares climb 6% after Q1 profit jumps 73%, margins expand sharply

CNBC TV18, 14 AugResults

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

KRBL setup strengthens as earnings inflection looms; Motilal Oswal’s Shivangi Sarda says buy

The Economic Times, 28 AugResults

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

Watch Items

Revenue growth is negative (-5.6%) on the latest reported period — check if this is one-off or a trend.
Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongFinancial Health · Valuation

MiddlingBusiness Quality · Profitability · Risk

WeakGrowth

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. 1 high-severity red flag sits above this conclusion and should be read first.

All 5 tripwires holding · see Key things to watch ↑