Ludlow Jute & Specialities Limited

Consumer Cyclical — Textile Manufacturing · BSE

₹300.00₹0.00 (0.00%)

DalalBaazaar Score

51 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

High

Driven by moderate debt load, negative free cash flow, micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity.

In simple words: Reasonable but unspectacular business quality, with both sales and profits growing well. Cash generation is currently the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 7:01 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Ludlow Jute & Specialities Limited manufactures and sells jute goods in India and internationally.

IndustryTextile Manufacturing

SectorConsumer Cyclical

Employees705

Annual revenue₹529 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹529 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹3 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹8 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 705 employees supports ₹75.1 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

Revenue / employee₹75.1 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 14.4% 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 has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved -3% while net margin moved +1137% 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-3%

Margin effect+1137%

DalalBaazaar Score

51/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

• Beta of 0.84 — moves roughly with the market
✗ Micro Cap: thinner liquidity and sharper drawdowns are normal
✗ Profits have swung sharply from year to year — earnings are hard to forecast
✗ Negative free cash flow means dependence on external funding

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

49/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

77/ 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

17.9x

3Y Median

144.8x

40 monthly readings · mean 153.7x · range 20.0x–375.6x

Sector Median

69.2x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 88% below its 3y median of 144.8x. 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 74% below the peer median of 69.2x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

144.8x median over 40 months · -88%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

69.2x median of 4 peers · -74%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

EV/EBITDA

12.6x

PEG

0.14

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well3

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 3.1% to 8.0% over 3 years.
Return on equity is rising
ROE has improved from 0.8% to 8.7%.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 4.3% to 14.4%.

🔴 What Needs Attention0

Nothing stands out as clearly deteriorating on the years of data available.

Red Flags

4 items require attention · 3 high · 1 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 77% over 3 years, from ₹121 Cr to ₹214 Cr.
🔴Profit up while operating cash flow fallsFinancial
Reported profit rose but cash generated by operations declined — worth checking whether earnings are being supported by non-cash items or working capital.
🔴Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 120% against revenue up -3% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.
🟡Free cash flow is negativeFinancial
Free cash flow was -₹50 Cr in the latest year.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 3.1% to 8.0%. If that holds, profit compounds faster than sales and today's multiple looks cheaper in hindsight than it does now.
Priced below its own history
The stock trades 88% 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 74% below the sector median. Either the market sees a problem the numbers do not show, or the discount closes.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

The debt load needs earnings to hold up
Debt is 5.0x EBITDA. At that level a downturn in earnings turns a manageable balance sheet into a refinancing problem, and lenders get paid before shareholders.
Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 120% against revenue up -3%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
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.
Several serious flags at once
3 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 6%✓ 8.0%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x✗ 5.0x
Already stretched, so this is a reduction target rather than a level to hold. Around 3x is where lenders typically start attaching conditions.
3Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹50 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Interest cover stays above 3x✗ 2.6x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
5ROCE stays above 11%✓ 14.4%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

5 / 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

3 good · 7 neutral · 1 weak

Market Cap

₹323 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

17.9x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

1.74x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹16.78

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

8.7%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

14.4%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

1.15x

Moderate

Moderate leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

67.6%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

43.2%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

None

No dividend yield reported — usually means no payout, but verify if one was recently initiated

Free Cash Flow

-₹50 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

Operating Margin

6.7%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

3.0%

Weak

Very little revenue reaches the bottom line

Current Ratio

1.15

Adequate

Adequate, but no real cushion

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.84

Market-like

Moves roughly in line with the market

52W Range Position

55%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

313.0 / 328.2

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

36.7

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹543 Cr	₹473 Cr	₹298 Cr	₹529 Cr	-0.8%
EBITDA	₹17 Cr	₹0 Cr	₹9 Cr	₹43 Cr	+35.8%
EBITDA Margin	3.1%	0.1%	2.9%	8.0%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹1 Cr	-₹13 Cr	-₹11 Cr	₹16 Cr	+129.3%
EPS	₹1.24	₹-11.64	₹-9.82	₹15	+129.6%
ROE	0.8%	-7.6%	-6.3%	8.7%	—
ROCE	4.3%	-4.6%	-1.0%	14.4%	—
Total Debt	₹121 Cr	₹120 Cr	₹147 Cr	₹214 Cr	+20.9%
Free Cash Flow	-₹13 Cr	₹11 Cr	-₹17 Cr	-₹50 Cr	—

🟡 Revenue has been broadly flat over 3 years (-0.8% a year).

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 35.8% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 3.1% to 8.0% over 3 years (+4.9 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 129.3% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 129.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 ROE has risen from 0.8% to 8.7% over 3 years (+7.9 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 4.3% to 14.4% over 3 years (+10.2 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 20.9% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹452 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹266 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹0 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

-₹18 Cr

Capex

-₹33 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

81.6%

Corporate Actions

Ex-Dividend Date

04 Sept 2023

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

1 positive1 negative4 general

Ludlow Jute & Specialities Ltd. Key Financial Ratios – Valuation, Profitability & More

Value Research, 29 Aug

Ludlow Jute & Specialities Ltd Downgraded to Sell Amid Mixed Financial and Technical Signals

MarketsMojo, 12 OctAnalyst view

🔴Potentially negativeAn analyst opinion changing, which moves the price without changing the business.

Ludlow Jute Completes Regulatory Publication Following Strong Q3FY26 Performance

scanx.trade, 12 Feb

Ludlow Jute Q1FY27 net profit rises 43% to ₹6.43 lakh on revenue surge

scanx.trade, 12 AugResults

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

LUDLOW JUTE & SPECIALITIES LTD Share Price

Upstox, 21 Mar

Ludlow Jute & Specialities schedules 47th AGM on Sep 11, 2026

scanx.trade, 11 Sept

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongValuation

MiddlingBusiness Quality · Growth · Profitability

WeakFinancial Health · Risk

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

3 of 5 tripwires tripped — Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x; Free cash flow remains positive; Interest cover stays above 3x · see Key things to watch ↑