S H Kelkar and Company Limited

Basic Materials — Specialty Chemicals · NSE

₹139.52+₹3.74 (+2.75%)

DalalBaazaar Score

51 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

Moderate

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 on this snapshot stands out as an immediate concern — the usual checks on business quality and management still apply.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 7:46 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

The 60-second version of S H Kelkar 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 H Kelkar and Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and supplies fragrances, flavors, and aroma ingredients in India, Europe, and internationally.

IndustrySpecialty Chemicals

SectorBasic Materials

Employees650

Annual revenue₹2,359 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹2,359 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹3 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹11 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 650 employees supports ₹3.63 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹3.63 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are ASIAN PAINTS LIMITED, PIDILITE INDUSTRIES LTD, SRF LTD, UPL 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 9.4% 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?

1 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 13.7% and earnings to grow about 78.2% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+13.7%

Est. earnings growth+78.2%

Analysts1

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 +41% while net margin moved -20% 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+41%

Margin effect-20%

DalalBaazaar Score

51/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ ROE of 5.1% is weak

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

45/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

69/ 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

21.8x

3Y Median

31.6x

40 monthly readings · mean 32.0x · range 18.5x–46.9x

Sector Median

40.4x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 31% below its 3y median of 31.6x. 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 46% below the peer median of 40.4x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

31.6x median over 40 months · -31%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

40.4x median of 4 peers · -46%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

EV/EBITDA

11.4x

PEG

5.17

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

Margins are compressing
EBITDA margin has slipped from 12.7% to 10.7% over 3 years.

Red Flags

1 item require attention · 1 high

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 66% over 3 years, from ₹620 Cr to ₹1,029 Cr.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Priced below its own history
The stock trades 31% 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 46% 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 12.7% to 10.7%. 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 4.1x EBITDA. At that level a downturn in earnings turns a manageable balance sheet into a refinancing problem, and lenders get paid before shareholders.
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

1Revenue growth stays above 9% a year✓ 12.0% CAGR
Latest reported year was 14.1%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 9%✓ 10.7%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x✗ 4.1x
Already stretched, so this is a reduction target rather than a level to hold. Around 3x is where lenders typically start attaching conditions.
4Interest cover stays above 3x✓ 3.1x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
5Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹57 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.

Investment Checklist

8 / 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

5 good · 5 neutral · 1 weak

Market Cap

₹1,931 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

21.8x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

1.42x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹6.39

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

5.1%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

9.4%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

0.76x

Moderate

Moderate leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

14.1%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

77.3%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

0.72%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

₹57 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

14.2x

Improving

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

Operating Margin

8.1%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

3.6%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

1.27

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.37

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

23%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

138.9 / 148.5

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

44.0

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹1,677 Cr	₹1,833 Cr	₹2,113 Cr	₹2,359 Cr	+12.0%
EBITDA	₹213 Cr	₹299 Cr	₹303 Cr	₹253 Cr	+5.9%
EBITDA Margin	12.7%	16.3%	14.3%	10.7%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹61 Cr	₹122 Cr	₹73 Cr	₹69 Cr	+4.2%
EPS	₹4.53	₹8.93	₹5.31	₹5	+3.3%
ROE	5.7%	10.1%	5.8%	5.1%	—
ROCE	7.9%	14.3%	10.5%	9.4%	—
Total Debt	₹620 Cr	₹666 Cr	₹832 Cr	₹1,029 Cr	+18.4%
Free Cash Flow	₹128 Cr	₹47 Cr	-₹80 Cr	₹57 Cr	-23.8%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 12.0% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 5.9% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 12.7% to 10.7% over 3 years (-2.0 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 4.2% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 3.3% a year over 3 years.

🟡 ROE has held roughly flat at 5.1% over 3 years.

🟢 ROCE has risen from 7.9% to 9.4% over 3 years (+1.5 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 18.4% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has shrunk at 23.8% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹2,913 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹1,551 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹64 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹263 Cr

Capex

-₹206 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

8.0%

Insider Holding

66.9%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹1

Ex-Dividend Date

13 Feb 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

1 Buy · 0 Hold · 0 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹270

+93.5% vs CMP

Target Range

₹270 – ₹270

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
ASIAN PAINTS LIMITED	46.9x	22.3%
PIDILITE INDUSTRIES LTD	57.8x	24.4%
SRF LTD	33.8x	15.4%
UPL LIMITED	21.5x	6.1%

Recent News

1 positive4 mixed1 general

SHK Forecast — Price Target — Prediction for 2027

TradingView, 25 JunAnalyst view

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

S H Kelkar and Company Limited Just Beat EPS By 228%: Here's What Analysts Think Will Happen Next

Simply Wall Street, 03 AugAnalyst view

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

S H Kelkar and Company Share Price Target 2026: Bull Case Rs 185,

Univest, 30 JunAnalyst view

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

S H Kelkar soars after Q1 PAT climbs 76% YoY to Rs 45 cr

Business Standard, 29 JulResults

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

S H Kelkar & Company Ltd. Share Price Live Today

CNBC TV18, 03 Jan

S H Kelkar reports 14% revenue surge in Q1FY27, EBITDA up 21%

scanx.trade, 29 JulResults

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

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongValuation

MiddlingFinancial Health · Growth · Risk

WeakBusiness Quality · Profitability

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

1 of 5 tripwires tripped — Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x · see Key things to watch ↑