Manali Petrochemicals Limited

Basic Materials — Specialty Chemicals · NSE

₹84.83+₹2.84 (+3.46%)

DalalBaazaar Score

69 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

REASONABLE

Risk

Low

Driven by micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity.

In simple words: Reasonable but unspectacular business quality, with both sales and profits growing well. Nothing obvious stands out as stretched — 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 Manali Petrochemicals Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Manali Petrochemicals Limited manufactures and sells petrochemical products in India, the European Union and United Kingdom, and internationally.

IndustrySpecialty Chemicals

SectorBasic Materials

Employees337

Annual revenue₹1,021 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹1,021 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹13 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹12 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 337 employees supports ₹3.03 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹3.03 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are ASIAN PAINTS LIMITED, PIDILITE INDUSTRIES LTD, SRF LTD, UPL 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 11.7% 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 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 -13% while net margin moved +195% 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-13%

Margin effect+195%

DalalBaazaar Score

69/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✓ Beta of 0.56 — historically steadier than the index
✗ Micro Cap: thinner liquidity and sharper drawdowns are normal
✗ Profits have swung sharply from year to year — earnings are hard to forecast

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

68/ 100

Good

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

Valuation

84/ 100

Cheap

What you are being asked to pay, ignoring how good the business is.

A good business currently available at an undemanding price — the combination this framework is built to look for.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

8.1x

3Y Median

35.3x

40 monthly readings · mean 37.2x · range 10.7x–81.0x

Sector Median

40.4x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 77% below its 3y median of 35.3x. 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 80% below the peer median of 40.4x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

35.3x median over 40 months · -77%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

40.4x median of 4 peers · -80%

vs. generic bands

Cheap

Below 15x

EV/EBITDA

9.7x

PEG

0.22

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well5

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 8.6% to 12.5% over 3 years.
Return on equity is rising
ROE has improved from 4.9% to 10.1%.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 6.9% to 11.7%.
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 Attention0

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

Red Flags

2 items require attention · 1 high · 1 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 65% over 3 years, from ₹83 Cr to ₹137 Cr.
🟡Inventory building faster than salesFinancial
Inventory up 41% against revenue up -13% — stock may not be moving.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 8.6% to 12.5%. 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 77% 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 80% 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 ₹48 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?

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.

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

1EBITDA margin holds above 10%✓ 12.5%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹48 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
3Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 1.1x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
4ROCE stays above 9%✓ 11.7%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.
5Valuation vs its own median of 35.3x✓ 8.1x today
A re-rating above its own history needs a reason; without one it is just a higher price.

Investment Checklist

9 / 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

7 good · 4 neutral · 0 weak

Market Cap

₹1,459 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

8.1x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

1.14x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹10.47

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

10.1%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

11.7%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

0.11x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

17.1%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

350.6%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

0.59%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

₹48 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

Operating Margin

26.9%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

16.9%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

4.51

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.56

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

85%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

84.7 / 79.9

Bullish alignment (short > long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

49.7

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹1,175 Cr	₹1,031 Cr	₹894 Cr	₹1,021 Cr	-4.6%
EBITDA	₹101 Cr	₹75 Cr	₹82 Cr	₹127 Cr	+8.2%
EBITDA Margin	8.6%	7.2%	9.1%	12.5%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹51 Cr	₹19 Cr	₹29 Cr	₹130 Cr	+36.9%
EPS	₹2.95	₹1.12	₹1.7	₹7.56	+36.8%
ROE	4.9%	1.8%	2.7%	10.1%	—
ROCE	6.9%	3.6%	4.3%	11.7%	—
Total Debt	₹83 Cr	₹103 Cr	₹129 Cr	₹137 Cr	+18.1%
Free Cash Flow	₹47 Cr	₹50 Cr	-₹120 Cr	₹48 Cr	+0.3%

🔴 Revenue has shrunk at 4.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 8.2% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 8.6% to 12.5% over 3 years (+3.9 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 36.9% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 36.8% a year over 3 years.

🟢 ROE has risen from 4.9% to 10.1% over 3 years (+5.3 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 6.9% to 11.7% over 3 years (+4.8 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 18.1% a year over 3 years.

🟡 Free Cash Flow has been broadly flat over 3 years (0.3% a year).

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹1,596 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹314 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹357 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹116 Cr

Capex

-₹69 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.3%

Insider Holding

52.3%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹0.5

Ex-Dividend Date

21 Sept 2026

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
ASIAN PAINTS LIMITED	46.9x	22.3%
PIDILITE INDUSTRIES LTD	57.8x	24.4%
SRF LTD	33.8x	15.4%
UPL LIMITED	21.5x	6.1%

Recent News

1 positive2 mixed3 general

Manali Petrochemicals shareholders approve all AGM resolutions

scanx.trade, 16 Oct

Rising stocks: Milky Mist Dairy Food, Manali Petrochemicals, Vardhman Textiles, Godrej Agrovet - What's behind surge?

Livemint, 01 Sept

Manali Petrochemicals Ltd. (MANALIPETC) Share Price rises 4.58% near 52-week high

Univest, 06 OctPrice 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.

Manali Petrochemicals Share Price Analysis

Kalkine India, 05 Oct

Manali Petrochemicals posts sharp first-quarter profit surge on stronger sales

Indiatimes, 20 AugResults

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

We Think That There Are Issues Underlying Manali Petrochemicals' (NSE:MANALIPETC) Earnings

Simply Wall Street, 29 MayResults

🟡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

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongBusiness Quality · Financial Health · Profitability · Valuation

MiddlingGrowth

WeakRisk

Points for each in the Score ↑

Attractive on both counts

A good business currently available at an undemanding price — the combination this framework exists to look for. The work left is qualitative: whether the advantage the numbers imply is one you can identify and expect to last. 1 high-severity red flag sits above this conclusion and should be read first.

All 5 tripwires holding · see Key things to watch ↑