S Chand And Company Limited

Communication Services — Publishing · NSE

₹137.90−₹2.13 (−1.52%)

DalalBaazaar Score

65 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

REASONABLE

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 both sales and profits growing well. Nothing obvious stands out as stretched — the usual checks on business quality and management still apply.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:08 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 S Chand And Company Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

S Chand And Company Limited, an education content company, engages in the publishing of books in India. The company publishes a range of books, including school, higher academic, competition and reference, technical and professional, and children's books.

IndustryPublishing

SectorCommunication Services

Employees2,000

Annual revenue₹794 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹794 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹10 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹20 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 2,000 employees supports ₹39.7 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

EBITDA margin19.9%

Net margin9.6%

Revenue / employee₹39.7 lakh

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED, VODAFONE IDEA LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITEDP/E 39.8x · ROE 20.2%

VODAFONE IDEA LIMITEDP/E 3.6x · ROE —

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 10.0% 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.

ROCE10.0%

ROE7.2%

Peer median ROE20.2%

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 +31% while net margin moved -13% 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+31%

Margin effect-13%

DalalBaazaar Score

65/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ ROE of 7.2% is weak

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

62/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

84/ 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

6.8x

3Y Median

12.2x

40 monthly readings · mean 11.3x · range 6.4x–15.2x

Sector Median

21.7x

median of 2 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 44% below its 3y median of 12.2x. 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 69% below the peer median of 21.7x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

12.2x median over 40 months · -44%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

21.7x median of 2 peers · -69%

vs. generic bands

Cheap

Below 15x

P/E (Trailing)

6.8x

P/B

0.46x

EV/EBITDA

3.3x

PEG

1.43

Dividend Yield

2.90%

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well4

Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 10% over 3 years.
Valuation below its historical average
At 6.8x the stock trades 44% below its own median of 12.2x.
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 Attention0

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

Red Flags

1 item require attention · 1 high

🔴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.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Priced below its own history
The stock trades 44% 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 69% 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 ₹39 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?

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.

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

1EBITDA margin holds above 18%✓ 19.9%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Revenue growth stays above 7% a year✓ 9.6% CAGR
Latest reported year was 11.6%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹39 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.9x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 8%✓ 10.0%
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

8 good · 2 neutral · 1 weak

Market Cap

₹486 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

6.8x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

0.46x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹20.23

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

7.2%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

10.0%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

0.13x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

11.6%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

19.5%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

2.90%

Healthy

Meaningful cash return while you hold the stock

Free Cash Flow

₹39 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

CMP

₹137.9

P/E (Forward)

5.3x

Improving

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

Operating Margin

-17.6%

Weak

Thin margins leave little room for error

Net Margin

8.8%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

2.63

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.40

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

18%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

140.5 / 138.4

Bullish alignment (short > long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

37.5

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹604 Cr	₹658 Cr	₹716 Cr	₹794 Cr	+9.6%
EBITDA	₹112 Cr	₹115 Cr	₹146 Cr	₹158 Cr	+12.3%
EBITDA Margin	18.5%	17.4%	20.4%	19.9%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹66 Cr	₹57 Cr	₹64 Cr	₹76 Cr	+4.8%
EPS	₹18.8	₹16.08	₹18.03	₹21.54	+4.6%
ROE	7.4%	6.0%	6.4%	7.2%	—
ROCE	10.1%	7.3%	10.0%	10.0%	—
Total Debt	₹152 Cr	₹133 Cr	₹108 Cr	₹136 Cr	-3.5%
Free Cash Flow	₹65 Cr	₹104 Cr	₹75 Cr	₹39 Cr	-16.0%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 9.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 12.3% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 18.5% to 19.9% over 3 years (+1.4 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 4.8% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 4.6% a year over 3 years.

🟡 ROE has held roughly flat at 7.2% over 3 years.

🟡 ROCE has held roughly flat at 10.0% over 3 years.

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 3.5% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has shrunk at 16.0% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹1,395 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹345 Cr

Total Debt

₹136 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹104 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹75 Cr

Capex

-₹36 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

3.1%

Insider Holding

55.0%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹4

Ex-Dividend Date

29 May 2026

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED	39.8x	20.2%
VODAFONE IDEA LIMITED	3.6x	—

Recent News

1 positive1 mixed4 general

Sebi Exempts DKJ Trust from Open Offer in S Chand Deal

HDFC Sky, 13 Oct

S Chand And Company Share Price Target 2027, 2028 and 2030: Long Term Analyst Forecast

Univest, 11 AugAnalyst view

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

S Chand And Company Ltd. Shareholding Pattern – Promoters, FIIs & DIIs

Value Research, 30 Aug

S Chand fixes May 29 record date for ₹4 interim dividend

scanx.trade, 22 MayCapital return

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

S Chand And Company Share: Bull Case vs Bear Case for 2026

Univest, 18 Sept

S Chand And Company Ltd. Key Financial Ratios – Valuation, Profitability & More

Value Research, 04 Sept

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟡Business QualityAdequate12/20

🟢Financial HealthStrong17.8/20

🟡GrowthModest10.4/20

🔴ProfitabilityWeak6.2/15

🟢ValuationAttractive12.8/15

🟡RiskModerate6.2/10

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 18%19.9%
✓Revenue growth stays above 7% a year9.6% CAGR
✓Free cash flow remains positive₹39 Cr
✓Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x0.9x
✓ROCE stays above 8%10.0%