Orient Ceratech Limited

Basic Materials — Specialty Chemicals · NSE

₹42.50+₹0.28 (+0.66%)

DalalBaazaar Score

59 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

Low

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

In simple words: The business is earning a fairly low return on the money invested in it, 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, 6:07 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 Orient Ceratech Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Orient Ceratech Limited engages in the producing and trading of aluminum refractories and monolithic products in India. The company operates through two segments: Alumina Refactories & Monolithics Products & Bauxite Ores; and Power Generation.

IndustrySpecialty Chemicals

SectorBasic Materials

Employees278

Annual revenue₹400 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹400 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹5 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹13 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 278 employees supports ₹1.44 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

EBITDA margin13.2%

Net margin5.5%

Revenue / employee₹1.44 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.

ASIAN PAINTS LIMITEDP/E 46.9x · ROE 22.3%

PIDILITE INDUSTRIES LTDP/E 57.8x · ROE 24.4%

SRF LTDP/E 33.8x · ROE 15.4%

UPL LIMITEDP/E 21.5x · ROE 6.1%

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 9.8% 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.

ROCE9.8%

ROE7.2%

Peer median ROE22.3%

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 +33% while net margin moved +16% 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+33%

Margin effect+16%

DalalBaazaar Score

59/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ ROE of 7.2% is weak

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

59/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

74/ 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

18.1x

3Y Median

39.9x

40 monthly readings · mean 37.1x · range 19.1x–59.6x

Sector Median

40.4x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 55% below its 3y median of 39.9x. 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 55% below the peer median of 40.4x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

39.9x median over 40 months · -55%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

40.4x median of 4 peers · -55%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

P/E (Trailing)

18.1x

P/B

1.69x

EV/EBITDA

10.2x

PEG

1.17

Dividend Yield

0.82%

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well6

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 11.0% to 13.2% over 3 years.
Cash generation is improving
Free cash flow is up 43% over 3 years.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 7.6% to 9.8%.
Valuation below its historical average
At 18.1x the stock trades 55% below its own median of 39.9x.
Very low debt
Debt/Equity of 0.13x leaves the balance sheet with plenty of headroom.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention2

Debt is rising
Total debt is up 170% over 3 years — worth checking what it funded.
Inventory building faster than sales
Inventory is up 95% against revenue growth of 33% — stock may not be moving.

Red Flags

2 items require attention · 2 high

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 170% over 3 years, from ₹15 Cr to ₹40 Cr.
🔴Inventory building faster than salesFinancial
Inventory up 95% against revenue up 33% — stock may not be moving.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 11.0% to 13.2%. 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 55% 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 55% 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 ₹40 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.
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

1EBITDA margin holds above 11%✓ 13.2%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Revenue growth stays above 7% a year✓ 9.9% CAGR
Latest reported year was 2.2%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹40 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.7x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 8%✓ 9.8%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

8 / 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 · 6 neutral · 1 weak

Market Cap

₹508 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

18.1x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

1.69x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹2.35

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

7.2%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

9.8%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

0.13x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

2.2%

Modest

Modest growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

97.2%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

0.82%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

₹40 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

CMP

₹42.5

Operating Margin

12.9%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

6.4%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

3.12

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.43

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

38%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

44.7 / 44.5

Bullish alignment (short > long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

25.4

Oversold zone

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹301 Cr	₹312 Cr	₹324 Cr	₹400 Cr	+9.9%
EBITDA	₹33 Cr	₹36 Cr	₹34 Cr	₹53 Cr	+16.6%
EBITDA Margin	11.0%	11.6%	10.4%	13.2%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹14 Cr	₹19 Cr	₹10 Cr	₹22 Cr	+15.4%
EPS	₹1.19	₹1.59	₹0.83	₹1.83	+15.4%
ROE	5.5%	6.9%	3.5%	7.2%	—
ROCE	7.6%	8.9%	5.9%	9.8%	—
Total Debt	₹15 Cr	₹58 Cr	₹72 Cr	₹40 Cr	+39.3%
Free Cash Flow	₹28 Cr	-₹42 Cr	-₹4 Cr	₹40 Cr	+12.6%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 9.9% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 16.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 11.0% to 13.2% over 3 years (+2.2 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 15.4% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 15.4% a year over 3 years.

🟢 ROE has risen from 5.5% to 7.2% over 3 years (+1.8 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 7.6% to 9.8% over 3 years (+2.1 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 39.3% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has grown at 12.6% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹416 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹114 Cr

Total Debt

₹40 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹8 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹51 Cr

Capex

-₹11 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

80.2%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹0.35

Ex-Dividend Date

17 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

2 positive1 negative3 general

Orient Ceratech Share Price News: Price, Valuation, Peers

Univest, 20 Aug

There's A Lot To Like About Orient Ceratech's (NSE:ORIENTCER) Upcoming ₹0.35 Dividend

Simply Wall Street, 13 SeptCapital return

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

Orient Ceratech MD Manan Shah resigns effective Sep 30, 2026

scanx.trade, 30 SeptManagement

🔴Potentially negativeA senior departure, and an auditor's resignation especially, is worth understanding before anything else in this report.

Orient Ceratech Share Price Forecast: 3 Year Outlook to 2030

Univest, 22 Jul

Orient Ceratech FY26 net profit surges 94.2% on higher revenue

scanx.trade, 27 MayResults

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

Orient Ceratech Share: Bull Case vs Bear Case for 2026

Univest, 17 Sept

Watch Items

Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.
RSI is in oversold territory — could mean either a bargain or a stock still falling for good reason. Check the 'why' before assuming reversal.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟡Business QualityAdequate9/20

🟢Financial HealthStrong15.6/20

🟢GrowthStrong13.3/20

🔴ProfitabilityWeak6.2/15

🟢ValuationAttractive10.7/15

🔴RiskHigh4.4/10

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

✓EBITDA margin holds above 11%13.2%
✓Revenue growth stays above 7% a year9.9% CAGR
✓Free cash flow remains positive₹40 Cr
✓Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x0.7x
✓ROCE stays above 8%9.8%