Piccadily Agro Industries Limited

Consumer Defensive — Beverages - Wineries & Distilleries · NSE

₹590.00−₹5.10 (−0.86%)

DalalBaazaar Score

70 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

Moderate

Driven by negative free cash flow, small-cap size, which brings sharper price swings.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, 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, 6:09 pm

Caution warranted. Multiple fundamental metrics — flagged in red below — point to either valuation stretch, leverage risk, or weakening profitability. This doesn't mean avoid the stock outright, but it does mean the burden of proof is on the growth story to justify the current price.

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Piccadily Agro Industries Limited engages in the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages in India and internationally. It operates in two segments, Sugar and Distillery.

IndustryBeverages - Wineries & Distilleries

SectorConsumer Defensive

Employees339

Annual revenue₹1,038 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹1,038 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹13 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹23 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 339 employees supports ₹3.06 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

EBITDA margin23.1%

Net margin13.3%

Revenue / employee₹3.06 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LTD., ITC LTD, NESTLE INDIA LIMITED, BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES LTD. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LTD.P/E 42.5x · ROE 21.5%

ITC LTDP/E 16.6x · ROE 27.4%

NESTLE INDIA LIMITEDP/E 59.8x · ROE 79.9%

BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES LTDP/E 44.1x · ROE 51.0%

What is its competitive advantage?Some evidence

ROCE of 20.0% is above what capital typically costs, which suggests some pricing power, though not yet the sustained, wide gap that marks a durable advantage.

ROCE20.0%

ROE15.3%

Peer median ROE51.0%

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +70% while net margin moved +261% 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+70%

Margin effect+261%

DalalBaazaar Score

70/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ P/E of 41.1x is demanding — it needs sustained high growth to justify
✓ P/E is 22% below its own historical median of 53.0x — cheap by its own standards
✗ P/B of 6.34x is a steep premium to book

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

78/ 100

Good

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

Valuation

57/ 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

41.1x

1.4Y Median

53.0x

17 monthly readings · mean 52.4x · range 41.5x–67.7x

Sector Median

43.3x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 22% below its 1.4y median of 53.0x. 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 is priced broadly in line with the peer median of 43.3x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

53.0x median over 17 months · -22%

vs. sector peers

Fair

43.3x median of 4 peers · -5%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

P/E (Trailing)

41.1x

P/B

6.34x

EV/EBITDA

26.4x

PEG

0.49

Dividend Yield

0.17%

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well5

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 10.1% to 23.1% over 3 years.
Return on equity is rising
ROE has improved from 9.6% to 15.3%.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 15.0% to 20.0%.
Valuation below its historical average
At 41.1x the stock trades 22% below its own median of 53.0x.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention4

Debt is rising
Total debt is up 245% over 3 years — worth checking what it funded.
Free cash flow is negative
The business is not currently covering its capital spending from operations.
Receivables growing faster than sales
Receivables are up 250% against revenue growth of 70% — customers are taking longer to pay.
Inventory building faster than sales
Inventory is up 115% against revenue growth of 70% — stock may not be moving.

Red Flags

4 items require attention · 2 high · 2 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 245% over 3 years, from ₹154 Cr to ₹531 Cr.
🔴Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 250% against revenue up 70% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.
🟡Free cash flow is negativeFinancial
Free cash flow was -₹75 Cr in the latest year.
🟡Inventory building faster than salesFinancial
Inventory up 115% against revenue up 70% — stock may not be moving.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Capital compounds at a high rate
ROCE of 20.0% 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.
Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 10.1% to 23.1%. 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 22% 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.
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?

Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 250% against revenue up 70%. 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
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.
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

1Revenue growth stays above 15% a year✓ 19.5% CAGR
Latest reported year was 17.4%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 21%✓ 23.1%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✗ 2.2x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
4Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹75 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
5ROCE stays above 17%✓ 20.0%
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

6 good · 2 neutral · 3 weak

Market Cap

₹5,816 Cr

Small Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

41.1x

Expensive

Expensive — verify against sector peers

P/B Ratio

6.34x

Rich

Steep premium to book — needs high, durable returns to justify

EPS (TTM)

₹14.34

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

15.3%

Strong

Strong capital efficiency

ROCE

20.0%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

0.59x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

17.4%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

12.4%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

0.17%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

-₹75 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

CMP

₹590

Operating Margin

13.4%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

13.1%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

1.63

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

-0.67

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

25%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

592.5 / 633.2

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

40.0

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹609 Cr	₹779 Cr	₹818 Cr	₹1,038 Cr	+19.5%
EBITDA	₹61 Cr	₹150 Cr	₹189 Cr	₹240 Cr	+57.5%
EBITDA Margin	10.1%	19.2%	23.0%	23.1%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹22 Cr	₹110 Cr	₹102 Cr	₹138 Cr	+83.3%
EPS	₹2.37	₹11.67	₹10.84	₹14.21	+81.7%
ROE	9.6%	32.3%	15.0%	15.3%	—
ROCE	15.0%	37.1%	20.1%	20.0%	—
Total Debt	₹154 Cr	₹172 Cr	₹308 Cr	₹531 Cr	+51.1%
Free Cash Flow	-₹5 Cr	₹29 Cr	-₹270 Cr	-₹75 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 19.5% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 57.5% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 10.1% to 23.1% over 3 years (+13.0 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 83.3% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 81.7% a year over 3 years.

🟢 ROE has risen from 9.6% to 15.3% over 3 years (+5.6 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 15.0% to 20.0% over 3 years (+5.0 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 51.1% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹1,639 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹738 Cr

Total Debt

₹531 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹15 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹118 Cr

Capex

-₹193 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.2%

Insider Holding

73.2%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹1

Ex-Dividend Date

18 Sept 2026

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LTD.	42.5x	21.5%
ITC LTD	16.6x	27.4%
NESTLE INDIA LIMITED	59.8x	79.9%
BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES LTD	44.1x	51.0%

Recent News

1 positive3 mixed2 general

If EPS Growth Is Important To You, Piccadily Agro Industries (NSE:PICCADIL) Presents An Opportunity

Simply Wall Street, 03 Jul

Share Price Falls 16%: Piccadily Agro Industries Stock Slumps Amid Profit Booking After Q1 Results

NDTV Profit, 12 AugPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move rather than a change in the business. If the figures on this page have not moved, the fall is either an opportunity or news they have yet to catch up with.

Piccadily Agro Industries Share Price Gains 5% Amid Rally

Univest, 02 JulPrice 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.

Piccadily Agro shares crash 18% as Q1 expenses outpace revenue growth

Business Standard, 12 AugPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move rather than a change in the business. If the figures on this page have not moved, the fall is either an opportunity or news they have yet to catch up with.

Piccadily Agro Q1 Profit Rises 15% to ₹21.3 Cr; Revenue Up 18%

HDFC Sky, 12 AugResults

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

Piccadily Agro Inds. | Stock Share Price Live

MarketSmith India, 20 Jul

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟢Business QualityStrong15.8/20

🟡Financial HealthAdequate12/20

🟢GrowthStrong18.5/20

🟢ProfitabilityStrong12/15

🔴ValuationDemanding6.7/15

🟡RiskModerate4.5/10

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

This thesis breaks if

✓Revenue growth stays above 15% a year19.5% CAGR
✓EBITDA margin holds above 21%23.1%
✗Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x2.2x
✗Free cash flow remains positive-₹75 Cr
✓ROCE stays above 17%20.0%