Prism Johnson Limited

Basic Materials — Building Materials · NSE

₹101.55+₹2.30 (+2.32%)

DalalBaazaar Score

51 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

Low

Driven by small-cap size, which brings sharper price swings.

In simple words: The business is earning a fairly low return on the money invested in it, but sales are shrinking. Whether sales start growing again is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:10 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 Prism Johnson Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Prism Johnson Limited, an integrated building materials company, manufactures and sells cement, tiles, and ready-mixed concrete in India and internationally. It operates through three segments: Cement, HRJ, and Ready Mixed Concrete (RMC).

IndustryBuilding Materials

SectorBasic Materials

Employees4,803

Annual revenue₹7,326 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹7,326 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹1 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹10 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 4,803 employees supports ₹1.53 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

EBITDA margin10.4%

Net margin1.0%

Revenue / employee₹1.53 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are ULTRATECH CEMENT LIMITED, GRASIM INDUSTRIES LTD, AMBUJA CEMENTS LTD, SHREE CEMENT LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

ULTRATECH CEMENT LIMITEDP/E 37.6x · ROE 11.1%

GRASIM INDUSTRIES LTDP/E 34.8x · ROE 5.5%

AMBUJA CEMENTS LTDP/E 20.4x · ROE 7.4%

SHREE CEMENT LIMITEDP/E 49.7x · ROE 7.0%

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 8.7% 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.

ROCE8.7%

ROE4.8%

Peer median ROE7.4%

What is the outlook?

2 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 4.5% and earnings to grow about 16.7% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+4.5%

Est. earnings growth+16.7%

Analysts2

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +2% while net margin moved -169% 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+2%

Margin effect-169%

DalalBaazaar Score

51/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Revenue CAGR of only 0.5% — barely ahead of inflation
✗ Latest-year revenue growth of -4.5% is below the longer-term trend — momentum is fading

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

48/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

67/ 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

37.6x

2Y Median

70.0x

28 monthly readings · mean 64.7x · range 31.7x–99.8x

Sector Median

36.2x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 46% below its 2y median of 70.0x. 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 36.2x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

70.0x median over 28 months · -46%

vs. sector peers

Fair

36.2x median of 4 peers · +4%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

P/E (Trailing)

37.6x

P/B

3.34x

EV/EBITDA

8.0x

PEG

—

Dividend Yield

None

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well5

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 5.6% to 10.4% over 3 years.
Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 15% over 3 years.
Return on equity is rising
ROE has improved from -8.6% to 4.8%.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from -0.0% to 8.7%.
Valuation below its historical average
At 37.6x the stock trades 46% below its own median of 70.0x.

🔴 What Needs Attention0

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

Red Flags

1 item require attention · 1 high

🔴Thin interest coverageFinancial
Operating profit covers interest only 1.9x — little room if earnings dip.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 5.6% to 10.4%. 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 46% 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.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

Growth barely outpaces inflation
Revenue compounding at 0.5% 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.
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.

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

1EBITDA margin holds above 8%✓ 10.4%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Interest cover stays above 3x✗ 1.9x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
3Revenue growth stays above 4% a year✗ 0.5% CAGR
Latest reported year was -4.5%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
4Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹145 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
5Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 1.9x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.

Investment Checklist

7 / 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

3 good · 6 neutral · 2 weak

Market Cap

₹5,112 Cr

Small Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

37.6x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

3.34x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹2.7

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

4.8%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

8.7%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

0.77x

Moderate

Moderate leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

-4.5%

Shrinking

Sales are contracting

Profit Growth (YoY)

4040.0%

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

₹145 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

CMP

₹101.55

P/E (Forward)

41.4x

Flat

At or above the trailing multiple — no earnings uplift is being priced in

Operating Margin

5.4%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

2.4%

Weak

Very little revenue reaches the bottom line

Current Ratio

1.01

Adequate

Adequate, but no real cushion

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.41

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

10%

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

106.6 / 108.8

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

22.6

Oversold zone

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹7,210 Cr	₹7,331 Cr	₹6,780 Cr	₹7,326 Cr	+0.5%
EBITDA	₹403 Cr	₹510 Cr	₹610 Cr	₹759 Cr	+23.4%
EBITDA Margin	5.6%	7.0%	9.0%	10.4%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	-₹103 Cr	₹181 Cr	₹80 Cr	₹73 Cr	—
EPS	₹-2.05	₹3.6	₹1.59	₹1.45	—
ROE	-8.6%	13.0%	5.4%	4.8%	—
ROCE	-0.0%	9.6%	6.6%	8.7%	—
Total Debt	₹1,656 Cr	₹1,739 Cr	₹1,497 Cr	₹1,411 Cr	-5.2%
Free Cash Flow	₹223 Cr	-₹22 Cr	₹348 Cr	₹145 Cr	-13.4%

🟡 Revenue has been broadly flat over 3 years (0.5% a year).

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 23.4% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 5.6% to 10.4% over 3 years (+4.8 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has turned positive, from -₹103 Cr to ₹73 Cr.

🟢 EPS has turned positive, from ₹-2.05 to ₹1.45.

🟢 ROE has risen from -8.6% to 4.8% over 3 years (+13.3 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from -0.0% to 8.7% over 3 years (+8.7 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 5.2% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has shrunk at 13.4% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹7,333 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹5,492 Cr

Total Debt

₹1,411 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹477 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹503 Cr

Capex

-₹358 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

9.0%

Insider Holding

76.8%

Corporate Actions

Ex-Dividend Date

06 Aug 2019

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

1 Buy · 1 Hold · 1 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹131

+29.0% vs CMP

Target Range

₹99 – ₹163

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
ULTRATECH CEMENT LIMITED	37.6x	11.1%
GRASIM INDUSTRIES LTD	34.8x	5.5%
AMBUJA CEMENTS LTD	20.4x	7.4%
SHREE CEMENT LIMITED	49.7x	7.0%

Recent News

1 positive3 mixed2 general

Prism Johnson ends QBE joint venture, subsidiary ceases to exist

scanx.trade, 18 OctPartnership

🟡Mixed / dependsA partnership, whose value depends entirely on terms that a headline will not carry. Worth reading the filing before assuming either way.

CESC Signs 49.5 MW Wind PPA With Prism Johnson; Shares Flat

HDFC Sky, 25 Sept

PRSMJOHNSN Forecast — Price Target — Prediction for 2027

TradingView, 26 JunAnalyst view

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

Prism Johnson shares jump 11% after securing contracts from Coal India subsidiaries

The Economic Times, 19 AugPrice 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.

Price Action | Prism Johnson up 8% on successful bidder for coal supply; IT stocks shine

Moneycontrol.com, 19 Aug

Prism Johnson consolidated net profit rises 4003.54% in the June 2026 quarter

Business Standard, 07 AugResults

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

Watch Items

Revenue growth is negative (-4.5%) 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.
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 QualityWeak8.7/20

🟡Financial HealthAdequate12.7/20

🔴GrowthWeak7.6/20

🟡ProfitabilityModerate7.1/15

🟡ValuationFair9.5/15

🟡RiskModerate4.9/10

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. 1 high-severity red flag sits above this conclusion and should be read first.

This thesis breaks if

✓EBITDA margin holds above 8%10.4%
✗Interest cover stays above 3x1.9x
✗Revenue growth stays above 4% a year0.5% CAGR
✓Free cash flow remains positive₹145 Cr
✓Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x1.9x