United Foodbrands Limited

Consumer Cyclical — Restaurants · NSE

₹680.40+₹17.15 (+2.59%)

DalalBaazaar Score

29 / 100

🔴 Weak

Verdict

HIGH RISK

Risk

Very High

Driven by high debt relative to equity, short-term liabilities exceed short-term assets, the company is currently loss-making.

In simple words: The company is currently losing money, though profits are falling even as sales grow. Debt is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:10 pm

Caution warranted. Multiple fundamental metrics — flagged in red below — point to either valuation stretch, leverage risk, or weakening profitability. This doesn't mean avoid the stock outright, but it does mean the burden of proof is on the growth story to justify the current price.

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

United Foodbrands Limited owns and operates a chain of casual dining restaurants under the Barbeque Nation brand name.

IndustryRestaurants

SectorConsumer Cyclical

Employees5,170

Annual revenue₹1,336 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹1,336 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹-4 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹15 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 5,170 employees supports ₹25.8 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

EBITDA margin14.7%

Net margin-4.4%

Revenue / employee₹25.8 lakh

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA LTD., TITAN COMPANY LIMITED, TRENT LTD, AVENUE SUPERMARTS LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA LTD.P/E 25.2x · ROE 13.4%

TITAN COMPANY LIMITEDP/E 68.5x · ROE 36.7%

TRENT LTDP/E 87.2x · ROE 25.9%

AVENUE SUPERMARTS LIMITEDP/E 69.9x · ROE 12.7%

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 1.4% 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.

ROCE1.4%

ROE-19.1%

Peer median ROE25.9%

What is the outlook?

1 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 15.4% and earnings to grow about 153.2% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+15.4%

Est. earnings growth+153.2%

Analysts1

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +8% while net margin moved -420% 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+8%

Margin effect-420%

DalalBaazaar Score

29/ 100

Weak

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Return on equity is negative
✗ ROE has fallen by 23.3 points over the period

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

31/ 100

Weak

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

Valuation

26/ 100

Expensive

What you are being asked to pay, ignoring how good the business is.

Weak on business quality and not cheap enough to compensate.

vs. its own history

Not enough price and earnings history

vs. sector peers

Not enough peers with a usable P/E

vs. generic bands

N/A

No P/E — the company is lossmaking

P/E (Trailing)

Not meaningful

P/B

8.57x

EV/EBITDA

17.9x

PEG

—

Dividend Yield

None

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well0

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

🔴 What Needs Attention6

Margins are compressing
EBITDA margin has slipped from 18.9% to 14.7% over 3 years.
Debt is rising
Total debt is up 29% over 3 years — worth checking what it funded.
Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 4.2% to -19.1% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 9.3% to 1.4% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.
Receivables growing faster than sales
Receivables are up 85% against revenue growth of 8% — customers are taking longer to pay.
Short-term liquidity is tight
Current ratio of 0.42 — near-term obligations exceed near-term assets.

Red Flags

8 items require attention · 4 high · 4 watch

🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 2.76x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🔴Thin interest coverageFinancial
Operating profit covers interest only 0.2x — little room if earnings dip.
🔴The company is lossmakingFinancial
Net profit of -₹59 Cr in the latest reported year.
🔴Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 85% against revenue up 8% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.
🟡Debt is increasingFinancial
Total debt is up 29% over 3 years.
🟡Interest coverage is deterioratingFinancial
Cover has fallen from 0.6x to 0.2x.
🟡Margins are compressingFinancial
EBITDA margin is down 4.2 points over 3 years.
🟡Short-term liquidity is tightFinancial
Current ratio of 0.42 — near-term obligations exceed near-term assets.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

No clear supporting case emerges from the available numbers.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

Margins are being competed away
EBITDA margin has fallen from 18.9% to 14.7%. 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 4.5x EBITDA. At that level a downturn in earnings turns a manageable balance sheet into a refinancing problem, and lenders get paid before shareholders.
Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 85% against revenue up 8%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
Growth barely outpaces inflation
Revenue compounding at 2.8% 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.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 4.2% to -19.1%. Each rupee of equity earns less than it did, so profit growth increasingly depends on raising more capital rather than on the existing base working harder.

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

1EBITDA margin holds above 13%✓ 14.7%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x✗ 4.5x
Already stretched, so this is a reduction target rather than a level to hold. Around 3x is where lenders typically start attaching conditions.
3Interest cover stays above 3x✗ 0.2x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
4Revenue growth stays above 4% a year✗ 2.8% CAGR
Latest reported year was 43.4%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
5Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹94 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.

Investment Checklist

5 / 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

2 good · 2 neutral · 7 weak

Market Cap

₹2,662 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

Not meaningful

Loss-making

Earnings are negative, so a P/E multiple can't be read here

P/B Ratio

8.57x

Rich

Steep premium to book — needs high, durable returns to justify

EPS (TTM)

₹-9.97

Loss-making

Negative earnings per share — the business is losing money

ROE

-19.1%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

1.4%

Weak

Low return on total capital employed

Debt/Equity

2.76x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

43.4%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

-112.8%

Falling

Profits are shrinking

Dividend Yield

None

No dividend yield reported — usually means no payout, but verify if one was recently initiated

Free Cash Flow

₹94 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

CMP

₹680.4

P/E (Forward)

57.2x

Operating Margin

5.7%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

-2.7%

Weak

Very little revenue reaches the bottom line

Current Ratio

0.42

Tight

Tight short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

1.00

Market-like

Moves roughly in line with the market

52W Range Position

75%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

689.5 / 726.6

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

45.1

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹1,231 Cr	₹1,249 Cr	₹1,230 Cr	₹1,336 Cr	+2.8%
EBITDA	₹233 Cr	₹212 Cr	₹212 Cr	₹196 Cr	-5.5%
EBITDA Margin	18.9%	17.0%	17.2%	14.7%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹17 Cr	-₹13 Cr	-₹28 Cr	-₹59 Cr	—
EPS	₹4.32	₹-3.44	₹-7.11	₹-15.13	—
ROE	4.2%	-3.4%	-7.7%	-19.1%	—
ROCE	9.3%	5.8%	4.6%	1.4%	—
Total Debt	₹685 Cr	₹686 Cr	₹758 Cr	₹885 Cr	+9.0%
Free Cash Flow	₹82 Cr	₹133 Cr	₹110 Cr	₹94 Cr	+4.9%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 2.8% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA has shrunk at 5.5% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 18.9% to 14.7% over 3 years (-4.2 pts).

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has turned negative, from ₹17 Cr to -₹59 Cr.

🔴 EPS has turned negative, from ₹4.32 to ₹-15.13.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 4.2% to -19.1% over 3 years (-23.3 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 9.3% to 1.4% over 3 years (-7.9 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 9.0% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has grown at 4.9% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹1,437 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹1,116 Cr

Total Debt

₹885 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹26 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹223 Cr

Capex

-₹129 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

19.3%

Insider Holding

50.3%

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

2 Buy · 1 Hold · 0 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹965

+41.8% vs CMP

Target Range

₹725 – ₹1,205

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA LTD.	25.2x	13.4%
TITAN COMPANY LIMITED	68.5x	36.7%
TRENT LTD	87.2x	25.9%
AVENUE SUPERMARTS LIMITED	69.9x	12.7%

Recent News

2 mixed4 general

United Foodbrands hits 5% upper circuit as firm swings to profit in Q1

Business Standard, 04 AugResults

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

United Foodbrands incorporates UK subsidiary for restaurant operations

scanx.trade, 14 Oct

Should You Think About Buying United Foodbrands Limited (NSE:UFBL) Now?

Simply Wall Street, 22 May

United Foodbrands Share: Bull Case vs Bear Case for 2026

Univest, 29 Sept

United Foodbrands Q1 Results: Stock in 5% upper circuit after profit returns, margin expands

CNBC TV18, 04 AugResults

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

Barbeque Nation Hosp Share Price - Live NSE: UFBL Stock Price & Chart

Upstox, 05 May

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🔴Business QualityWeak6.2/20

🔴Financial HealthStretched7.2/20

🔴GrowthWeak7.6/20

🔴ProfitabilityWeak2.5/15

🔴ValuationDemanding2.6/15

🔴RiskHigh3.3/10

Weak on the fundamentals

Poor scores on business quality without a price low enough to compensate. There is no obvious argument for owning this over a stronger company at a similar valuation. 4 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

This thesis breaks if

✓EBITDA margin holds above 13%14.7%
✗Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x4.5x
✗Interest cover stays above 3x0.2x
✗Revenue growth stays above 4% a year2.8% CAGR
✓Free cash flow remains positive₹94 Cr