Shakti Press Limited

Industrials — Specialty Business Services · BSE

₹8.87+₹0.03 (+0.34%)

DalalBaazaar Score

57 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

High

Driven by negative free cash flow, micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity, a beta above 1.3, so it swings harder than the index.

In simple words: The business is earning a fairly low return on the money invested in it, 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, 6:07 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 Shakti Press Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Shakti Press Limited provides printing and packaging solutions in India. The company offers duplex cartons, corrugated boxes, paper plates, and printed labels; and notebooks, copier and rule papers, and exercise books.

IndustrySpecialty Business Services

SectorIndustrials

Annual revenue₹78 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹78 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹2 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹5 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation.

EBITDA margin5.2%

Net margin2.1%

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD., SIEMENS LTD, ABB INDIA LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD.P/E 30.1x · ROE 15.2%

SIEMENS LTDP/E 88.8x · ROE 10.5%

ABB INDIA LIMITEDP/E 92.6x · ROE 19.1%

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 10.5% 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.

ROCE10.5%

ROE6.3%

Peer median ROE15.2%

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 +845% while net margin moved -72% 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+845%

Margin effect-72%

DalalBaazaar Score

57/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Beta of 1.44 — amplifies market moves in both directions
✗ Micro Cap: thinner liquidity and sharper drawdowns are normal
✗ Profits have swung sharply from year to year — earnings are hard to forecast
✗ Negative free cash flow means dependence on external funding

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

55/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

88/ 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

2.8x

3Y Median

30.4x

40 monthly readings · mean 74.6x · range 2.7x–296.0x

Sector Median

88.8x

median of 3 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 91% below its 3y median of 30.4x. 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 97% below the peer median of 88.8x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

30.4x median over 40 months · -91%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

88.8x median of 3 peers · -97%

vs. generic bands

Cheap

Below 15x

P/E (Trailing)

2.8x

P/B

0.14x

EV/EBITDA

4.5x

PEG

0.07

Dividend Yield

None

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well3

Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 5.6% to 10.5%.
Valuation below its historical average
At 2.8x the stock trades 91% below its own median of 30.4x.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention2

Margins are compressing
EBITDA margin has slipped from 27.1% to 5.2% over 3 years.
Free cash flow is negative
The business is not currently covering its capital spending from operations.

Red Flags

3 items require attention · 2 high · 1 watch

🔴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.
🔴Significant margin compressionFinancial
EBITDA margin has fallen 21.9 points, from 27.1% to 5.2%.
🟡Free cash flow is negativeFinancial
Free cash flow was -₹6 Cr in the latest year.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Priced below its own history
The stock trades 91% 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 97% 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?

Margins are being competed away
EBITDA margin has fallen from 27.1% to 5.2%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.
The debt load needs earnings to hold up
Debt is 3.4x EBITDA. At that level a downturn in earnings turns a manageable balance sheet into a refinancing problem, and lenders get paid before shareholders.
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
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
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 84% a year✓ 111.4% CAGR
Latest reported year was 887.5%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 3%✓ 5.2%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x✗ 3.4x
Already stretched, so this is a reduction target rather than a level to hold. Around 3x is where lenders typically start attaching conditions.
4Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹6 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
5Interest cover stays above 3x✗ 2.7x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.

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

6 good · 3 neutral · 2 weak

Market Cap

₹4 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

2.8x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

0.14x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹3.2

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

6.3%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

10.5%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

0.53x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

887.5%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

2356.9%

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

-₹6 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

CMP

₹8.87

Operating Margin

3.1%

Weak

Thin margins leave little room for error

Net Margin

2.0%

Weak

Very little revenue reaches the bottom line

Current Ratio

2.05

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

1.44

High swing

Swings more than the market in both directions

52W Range Position

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

9.2 / 11.0

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

17.1

Oversold zone

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹8 Cr	₹12 Cr	₹13 Cr	₹78 Cr	+111.4%
EBITDA	₹2 Cr	₹2 Cr	₹2 Cr	₹4 Cr	+21.9%
EBITDA Margin	27.1%	19.7%	15.9%	5.2%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹1 Cr	₹0 Cr	₹0 Cr	₹2 Cr	+38.1%
EPS	₹1.24	₹0.95	₹0.13	₹3.28	+38.3%
ROE	3.4%	2.6%	0.4%	6.3%	—
ROCE	5.6%	5.9%	5.7%	10.5%	—
Total Debt	₹12 Cr	₹13 Cr	₹13 Cr	₹14 Cr	+5.2%
Free Cash Flow	-₹1 Cr	-₹0 Cr	₹2 Cr	-₹6 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 111.4% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 21.9% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 27.1% to 5.2% over 3 years (-21.9 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 38.1% a year over 3 years.

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

🟢 ROE has risen from 3.4% to 6.3% over 3 years (+2.9 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 5.6% to 10.5% over 3 years (+4.9 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 5.2% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹49 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹23 Cr

Total Debt

₹14 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹0 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

-₹6 Cr

Capex

-₹0 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

8.2%

Corporate Actions

Ex-Dividend Date

25 Mar 2003

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD.	30.1x	15.2%
SIEMENS LTD	88.8x	10.5%
ABB INDIA LIMITED	92.6x	19.1%

Recent News

6 general

Shakti Press raises authorized share capital to ₹50.43 crore

scanx.trade, 25 Jun

Shakti Press rights issue date extended. Size, allotment date, other details

Livemint, 15 May

Big Update On Shakti Press Rights Issue: Subscription Date Extended | Full Details Inside

Goodreturns, 15 May

Shakti Press Ltd. INR 49 Crore Rights Issue to Strengthen Working Capital and Drive Growth Currently Open, Issue Closes on May 29, 2026

TheWire.in, 18 May

Shakti Press Rights Issue 2026 Date, Price, Allotment, Ratio

IPO Watch, 29 May

Shakti Press Ltd. Key Financial Ratios – Valuation, Profitability & More

Value Research, 27 Aug

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.
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 QualityAdequate10.2/20

🟡Financial HealthAdequate11.8/20

🟢GrowthStrong14.7/20

🔴ProfitabilityWeak4.5/15

🟢ValuationAttractive13.2/15

🔴RiskHigh2.7/10

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

This thesis breaks if

✓Revenue growth stays above 84% a year111.4% CAGR
✓EBITDA margin holds above 3%5.2%
✗Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x3.4x
✗Free cash flow remains positive-₹6 Cr
✗Interest cover stays above 3x2.7x