Prime Fresh Limited

Consumer Defensive — Food Distribution · BSE

₹157.05−₹3.15 (−1.97%)

DalalBaazaar Score

57 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

High

Driven by high debt relative to equity, negative free cash flow, micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, with both sales and profits growing well. Debt is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:59 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Prime Fresh Limited engages in sourcing, handling, sorting, grading, warehousing, ripening, storage, packaging, and distribution of fruits and vegetables in India. It also exports its products to approximately 6 countries.

IndustryFood Distribution

SectorConsumer Defensive

Employees643

Annual revenue₹274 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹274 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹5 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹7 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 643 employees supports ₹42.6 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

Revenue / employee₹42.6 lakh

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.

Compared side by side in Peers ↓

What is its competitive advantage?Some evidence

ROCE of 19.6% is above what capital typically costs, which suggests some pricing power, though not yet the sustained, wide gap that marks a durable advantage.

Peer median ROE51.0%

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 +176% while net margin moved -5% 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+176%

Margin effect-5%

DalalBaazaar Score

57/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✓ Beta of 0.05 — historically steadier than the index
✗ Micro Cap: thinner liquidity and sharper drawdowns are normal
✗ High leverage magnifies any downturn in earnings
✗ Negative free cash flow means dependence on external funding

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

56/ 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

15.1x

3Y Median

39.8x

40 monthly readings · mean 41.9x · range 16.7x–74.7x

Sector Median

43.3x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 62% below its 3y median of 39.8x. 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 65% below the peer median of 43.3x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

39.8x median over 40 months · -62%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

43.3x median of 4 peers · -65%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

EV/EBITDA

10.9x

PEG

0.40

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well1

Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention1

Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 23.8% to 19.6% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

5 items require attention · 5 high

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 101% over 3 years, from ₹5 Cr to ₹9 Cr.
🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 9.59x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🔴Free cash flow negative for 4 yearsFinancial
The business has not covered its capital spending from operations for several years running, which has to be funded externally.
🔴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 239% against revenue up 176% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Capital compounds at a high rate
ROCE of 19.6% 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.
Priced below its own history
The stock trades 62% 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 65% below the sector median. Either the market sees a problem the numbers do not show, or the discount closes.
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 9.59x. Interest is payable whether or not the business has a good year.
Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 239% against revenue up 176%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
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
5 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 30% a year✓ 40.2% CAGR
Latest reported year was 15.7%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 5%✓ 7.3%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹14 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.5x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 17%✓ 19.6%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

6 / 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 · 5 neutral · 2 weak

Market Cap

₹218 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

15.1x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

2.39x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹10.37

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

14.5%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

19.6%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

9.59x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

15.7%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

49.2%

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

-₹14 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

Operating Margin

9.6%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

5.4%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

5.68

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.05

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

157.3 / 166.5

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

51.1

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹99 Cr	₹149 Cr	₹207 Cr	₹274 Cr	+40.2%
EBITDA	₹8 Cr	₹10 Cr	₹14 Cr	₹20 Cr	+38.3%
EBITDA Margin	7.7%	6.9%	6.8%	7.3%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹5 Cr	₹7 Cr	₹9 Cr	₹13 Cr	+37.7%
EPS	₹4.05	₹5.11	₹6.69	₹9.4	+32.4%
ROE	16.7%	11.2%	12.9%	14.5%	—
ROCE	23.8%	15.8%	18.4%	19.6%	—
Total Debt	₹5 Cr	₹0 Cr	₹4 Cr	₹9 Cr	+26.3%
Free Cash Flow	-₹1 Cr	-₹11 Cr	-₹11 Cr	-₹14 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 40.2% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 38.3% a year over 3 years.

🟡 EBITDA Margin has held roughly flat at 7.3% over 3 years.

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 37.7% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 32.4% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 16.7% to 14.5% over 3 years (-2.2 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 23.8% to 19.6% over 3 years (-4.2 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 26.3% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹120 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹21 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹9 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

-₹12 Cr

Capex

-₹2 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

67.0%

Corporate Actions

Ex-Dividend Date

20 Sept 2024

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 mixed5 general

Prime Fresh Ltd. 52 Week Low Streak extends on weakness

Univest, 05 Oct

Prime Fresh Limited: ਨਾਸਿਕ ਪ੍ਰੋਜੈਕਟ ਲਈ NHB ਨਾਲ ਕੀਤਾ ਵੱਡਾ ਸਮਝੌਤਾ, ਸ਼ੁਰੂ ਹੋਵੇਗਾ ਕੰਮ

Whalesbook, 15 Oct

Prime Fresh signs grant agreement with NHB for Nashik vegetable cluster

scanx.trade, 15 Oct

Prime Fresh Ltd. Share Price Falls 9.86%: Full Analysis

Univest, 21 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.

Prime Fresh Ltd. Shareholding Pattern – Promoters, FIIs & DIIs

Value Research, 31 Aug

Prime Fresh independent director resigns citing personal commitments

scanx.trade, 05 Oct

Watch Items

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

StrongGrowth · Valuation

MiddlingFinancial Health · Profitability

WeakBusiness Quality · 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. 5 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

1 of 5 tripwires tripped — Free cash flow remains positive · see Key things to watch ↑