PI Industries Limited

Basic Materials — Agricultural Inputs · NSE

₹2,190.00−₹13.80 (−0.63%)

DalalBaazaar Score

52 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

High

Driven by high debt relative to equity, negative free cash flow, falling profits.

In simple words: Reasonable but unspectacular business quality, but sales are shrinking. Debt is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:57 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

PI Industries Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and distributes of agricultural chemicals in India, rest of Asia, North America, Europe, and internationally. It operates through Agro Chemicals and Pharma segments.

IndustryAgricultural Inputs

SectorBasic Materials

Employees3,715

Annual revenue₹6,670 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹6,670 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹20 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹30 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 3,715 employees supports ₹1.80 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹1.80 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are TATA STEEL LIMITED, JSW STEEL LIMITED, ULTRATECH CEMENT LIMITED, ASIAN PAINTS 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 14.7% 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 is the outlook?

21 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 14.9% and earnings to grow about 19.7% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+14.9%

Est. earnings growth+19.7%

Analysts21

What has been driving growth?

Sales and margins have both contributed to where profit is now. Over 3 years revenue moved +3% while net margin moved +4% 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+4%

DalalBaazaar Score

52/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Revenue CAGR of only 1.1% — barely ahead of inflation
✗ Profit CAGR of only 2.4%
✗ Latest-year revenue growth of -10.4% is below the longer-term trend — momentum is fading
✗ Profit fell 38.9% in the latest year

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

52/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

49/ 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

28.3x

3Y Median

33.8x

40 monthly readings · mean 35.4x · range 23.4x–54.7x

Sector Median

28.7x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 16% below its 3y median of 33.8x. 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 is priced broadly in line with the peer median of 28.7x.

vs. its own history

Fair

33.8x median over 40 months · -16%

vs. sector peers

Fair

28.7x median of 4 peers · -1%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

EV/EBITDA

16.6x

PEG

11.73

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well2

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 26.0% to 30.0% over 3 years.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention2

Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 17.1% to 11.8% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 20.3% to 14.7% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

4 items require attention · 3 high · 1 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 636% over 3 years, from ₹47 Cr to ₹342 Cr.
🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 3.05x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🔴Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 109% against revenue up 3% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.
🟡Free cash flow is negativeFinancial
Free cash flow was -₹644 Cr in the latest year.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 26.0% to 30.0%. If that holds, profit compounds faster than sales and today's multiple looks cheaper in hindsight than it does now.
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?

Leverage amplifies any setback
Debt/Equity of 3.05x. Interest is payable whether or not the business has a good year.
Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 109% 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.
Growth barely outpaces inflation
Revenue compounding at 1.1% a year is close to the rate prices rise, so the business is gaining little ground in real terms. That leaves the share price dependent on a re-rating rather than on earnings growth.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 17.1% to 11.8%. Each rupee of equity earns less than it did, so profit growth increasingly depends on raising more capital rather than on the existing base working harder.
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 28%✓ 30.0%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹644 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
3Revenue growth stays above 4% a year✗ 1.1% CAGR
Latest reported year was -10.4%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.2x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 12%✓ 14.7%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

5 / 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

1 good · 6 neutral · 4 weak

Market Cap

₹33,224 Cr

Mid Cap

Mid-sized — more growth headroom, but sharper swings than large caps

P/E (Trailing)

28.3x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

2.96x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹77.28

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

11.8%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

14.7%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

3.05x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

-10.4%

Shrinking

Sales are contracting

Profit Growth (YoY)

-38.9%

Falling

Profits are shrinking

Dividend Yield

0.68%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

-₹644 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

20.6x

Improving

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

Operating Margin

15.5%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

17.9%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

4.22

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.36

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

2261.7 / 2386.2

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

31.0

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹6,458 Cr	₹7,612 Cr	₹7,903 Cr	₹6,670 Cr	+1.1%
EBITDA	₹1,679 Cr	₹2,184 Cr	₹2,518 Cr	₹2,004 Cr	+6.1%
EBITDA Margin	26.0%	28.7%	31.9%	30.0%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹1,230 Cr	₹1,682 Cr	₹1,660 Cr	₹1,321 Cr	+2.4%
EPS	₹81.04	₹110.83	₹109.42	₹87.06	+2.4%
ROE	17.1%	19.3%	16.3%	11.8%	—
ROCE	20.3%	21.3%	20.6%	14.7%	—
Total Debt	₹47 Cr	₹191 Cr	₹184 Cr	₹342 Cr	+94.5%
Free Cash Flow	₹1,175 Cr	₹1,416 Cr	₹563 Cr	-₹644 Cr	—

🟡 Revenue has been broadly flat over 3 years (1.1% a year).

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 6.1% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 26.0% to 30.0% over 3 years (+4.0 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 2.4% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 2.4% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 17.1% to 11.8% over 3 years (-5.3 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 20.3% to 14.7% over 3 years (-5.6 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 94.5% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has turned negative, from ₹1,175 Cr to -₹644 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹13,444 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹2,213 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹283 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹474 Cr

Capex

-₹1,118 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

40.4%

Insider Holding

46.2%

Corporate Actions

Next Earnings

17 Nov 2026

Dividend Rate

₹15

Ex-Dividend Date

07 Aug 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

8 Buy · 10 Hold · 7 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹2,805

+28.1% vs CMP

Target Range

₹2,010 – ₹5,300

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
TATA STEEL LIMITED	19.8x	10.8%
JSW STEEL LIMITED	12.0x	24.7%
ULTRATECH CEMENT LIMITED	37.6x	11.1%
ASIAN PAINTS LIMITED	46.9x	22.3%

Recent News

1 positive3 mixed2 general

PI Industries (NSEI:PIIND) Stock Forecast & Analyst Predictions

Simply Wall Street, 14 OctAnalyst view

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

PI Industries Shares Decline 2.20% to Rs 2,669.90

Moneycontrol.com, 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.

Earnings call transcript: PI Industries Q1 2026 stock falls as growth stays muted

Investing.com, 12 AugResults

🟡Mixed / dependsA results event. The figures on this page update once the new statements reach the data feed, which usually lags the announcement.

PI Industries Share Price: technical and fundamental view

Univest, 14 Oct

Stock Radar: PI Industries showing signs of a rebound after 30% fall from highs; time to buy?

The Economic Times, 27 Jul

PI Industries fixes record date for ₹10 final dividend

scanx.trade, 17 JulCapital return

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

Watch Items

Revenue growth is negative (-10.4%) on the latest reported period — check if this is one-off or a trend.
Trading very close to its 52-week low — worth checking whether this reflects a temporary setback or a structural problem.
Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongBusiness Quality

MiddlingFinancial Health · Profitability · Valuation · Risk

WeakGrowth

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.

2 of 5 tripwires tripped — Free cash flow remains positive; Revenue growth stays above 4% a year · see Key things to watch ↑