LT Foods Limited

Consumer Defensive — Packaged Foods · NSE

₹417.05−₹2.55 (−0.61%)

DalalBaazaar Score

71 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

REASONABLE

Risk

Low

Driven by small-cap size, which brings sharper price swings.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, with modest growth. Nothing on this snapshot stands out as an immediate concern — the usual checks on business quality and management still apply.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 7:02 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

LT Foods Limited, a fast-moving consumer goods company, engages in the specialty rice and rice-based food business in India, the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and internationally.

IndustryPackaged Foods

SectorConsumer Defensive

Employees1,327

Annual revenue₹10,894 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹10,894 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹6 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹11 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 1,327 employees supports ₹8.21 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹8.21 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?Some evidence

ROCE of 18.4% 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 ROE51.0%

What is the outlook?

2 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 5.5% and earnings to grow about 19.6% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+5.5%

Est. earnings growth+19.6%

Analysts2

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 +58% while net margin moved -2% 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+58%

Margin effect-2%

DalalBaazaar Score

71/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✓ ROCE of 18.4% is comfortably above a typical cost of capital
• ROCE has been broadly stable
✗ EBITDA margin of 11.3% is thin — little cushion if costs rise
✗ Net margin of 5.5% is slim
• Revenue has compounded at 16.5% a year, which is the base these returns are earned on

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

73/ 100

Good

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

Valuation

67/ 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

22.6x

3Y Median

22.5x

40 monthly readings · mean 21.2x · range 13.2x–28.5x

Sector Median

51.7x

median of 4 sector peers

🟡Currently trading close to its 3y median of 22.5x — the market is paying about what it usually pays for this company.

🟢Against its sector it trades 56% below the peer median of 51.7x.

vs. its own history

Fair

22.5x median over 40 months · +1%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

51.7x median of 4 peers · -56%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

EV/EBITDA

12.9x

PEG

1.43

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well2

Cash generation is improving
Free cash flow is up 429% over 3 years.
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

1 item require attention · 1 watch

🟡Debt is increasingFinancial
Total debt is up 32% over 3 years.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Capital compounds at a high rate
ROCE of 18.4% 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.
Cheaper than its peers
It trades 56% 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 ₹551 Cr alongside low debt means growth, buybacks or dividends need no outside money — and a downturn can be absorbed rather than refinanced.
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?

Size brings its own risk
Small 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

1Revenue growth stays above 12% a year✓ 16.5% CAGR
Latest reported year was 26.4%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 9%✓ 11.3%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹551 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 1.3x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 15%✓ 18.4%
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 · 6 neutral · 0 weak

Market Cap

₹14,482 Cr

Small Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

22.6x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

3.20x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹18.44

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

13.8%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

18.4%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

0.36x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

26.4%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

8.9%

Modest

Slow profit growth

Dividend Yield

0.96%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

₹551 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

13.8x

Improving

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

Operating Margin

9.2%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

5.5%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

1.76

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.39

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

53%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

414.6 / 426.5

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

46.7

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹6,896 Cr	₹7,740 Cr	₹8,635 Cr	₹10,894 Cr	+16.5%
EBITDA	₹748 Cr	₹1,025 Cr	₹1,086 Cr	₹1,226 Cr	+17.9%
EBITDA Margin	10.8%	13.2%	12.6%	11.3%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹403 Cr	₹593 Cr	₹605 Cr	₹625 Cr	+15.8%
EPS	₹12.5	₹17.09	₹17.43	₹18.01	+12.9%
ROE	14.6%	17.6%	15.7%	13.8%	—
ROCE	18.8%	22.2%	20.2%	18.4%	—
Total Debt	₹1,221 Cr	₹917 Cr	₹1,261 Cr	₹1,610 Cr	+9.7%
Free Cash Flow	₹104 Cr	₹554 Cr	₹223 Cr	₹551 Cr	+74.2%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 16.5% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 17.9% a year over 3 years.

🟡 EBITDA Margin has held roughly flat at 11.3% over 3 years.

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 15.8% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 12.9% a year over 3 years.

🟡 ROE has held roughly flat at 13.8% over 3 years.

🟡 ROCE has held roughly flat at 18.4% over 3 years.

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 9.7% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has grown at 74.2% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹9,064 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹4,544 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹233 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹910 Cr

Capex

-₹360 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

16.1%

Insider Holding

61.6%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹4

Ex-Dividend Date

18 Sept 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

1 Buy · 1 Hold · 0 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹519

+24.4% vs CMP

Target Range

₹518 – ₹520

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 positive3 mixed2 general

LT Foods (NSEI:LTFOODS) Stock Forecast & Analyst Predictions

Simply Wall Street, 04 OctAnalyst view

🟡Mixed / dependsBroker commentary — an opinion about the price rather than new information about the business.

LT Foods details margin pressures and working capital gains in Q1FY27 call

scanx.trade, 30 Jul

L T Foods Ltd Dividend History, Yield & Record Date

INDmoney, 09 OctCapital return

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

LT Foods Ltd. Shareholding Pattern – Promoters, FIIs & DIIs

Value Research, 30 Aug

LT Foods Share Price Rises 5.52%: Today’s Stock Analysis

Univest, 24 AugPrice 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.

LT Foods shares rise 4% on strong Q1 results

BusinessLine, 08 AugPrice 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.

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongFinancial Health · Growth · Risk

MiddlingBusiness Quality · Profitability · Valuation

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.

All 5 tripwires holding · see Key things to watch ↑