Wanbury Limited

Healthcare — Drug Manufacturers - Specialty & Generic · NSE

₹193.50+₹7.19 (+3.86%)

DalalBaazaar Score

62 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

Very High

Driven by high debt relative to equity, negative free cash flow, micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, 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, 7:49 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Wanbury Limited manufactures and sells formulations and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) in India and internationally.

IndustryDrug Manufacturers - Specialty & Generic

SectorHealthcare

Employees1,200

Annual revenue₹644 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹644 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹10 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹45 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 1,200 employees supports ₹53.7 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

Revenue / employee₹53.7 lakh

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are SUN PHARMACEUTICAL IND L, DR. REDDY S LABORATORIES, CIPLA LTD, DIVI S LABORATORIES LTD. 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?The numbers suggest a real one

ROCE has stayed above 15% in every year available and stands at 28.4%. Returns that high normally get competed away; when they persist, something is protecting them, and its ROE of 45.8% against a peer median of 14.5% is consistent with that. What that something is — brand, scale, switching costs, regulation — the accounts cannot tell you.

Peer median ROE14.5%

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +29% while net margin moved -592% 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+29%

Margin effect-592%

DalalBaazaar Score

62/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✓ Beta of 0.18 — historically steadier than the index
✗ Micro Cap: thinner liquidity and sharper drawdowns are normal
✗ High leverage magnifies any downturn in earnings
✗ 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

62/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

85/ 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

11.9x

2Y Median

17.2x

28 monthly readings · mean 20.3x · range 9.9x–34.4x

Sector Median

33.3x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 31% below its 2y median of 17.2x. 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 64% below the peer median of 33.3x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

17.2x median over 28 months · -31%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

33.3x median of 4 peers · -64%

vs. generic bands

Cheap

Below 15x

EV/EBITDA

3.1x

PEG

—

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well2

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 4.8% to 44.9% over 3 years.
High return on capital employed
ROCE of 28.4% is the mark of a business that converts capital into profit efficiently.

🔴 What Needs Attention0

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

Red Flags

5 items require attention · 5 high

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 107% over 3 years, from ₹109 Cr to ₹224 Cr.
🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 1.55x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🔴Free cash flow negative for 3 yearsFinancial
The business has not covered its capital spending from operations for several years running, which has to be funded externally.
🔴Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 108% against revenue up 29% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.
🔴Inventory building faster than salesFinancial
Inventory up 130% against revenue up 29% — stock may not be moving.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Capital compounds at a high rate
ROCE of 28.4% means each rupee reinvested earns well above what capital costs. If the company can keep deploying at this rate, growth creates value rather than just consuming cash.
Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 4.8% to 44.9%. 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 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 64% below the sector median. Either the market sees a problem the numbers do not show, or the discount closes.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

Leverage amplifies any setback
Debt/Equity of 1.55x. Interest is payable whether or not the business has a good year.
Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 108% against revenue up 29%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
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
5 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

1EBITDA margin holds above 43%✓ 44.9%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹28 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
3Interest cover stays above 3x✗ 3.0x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
4Revenue growth stays above 7% a year✓ 8.9% CAGR
Latest reported year was 1.5%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
5Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.8x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.

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

4 good · 4 neutral · 3 weak

Market Cap

₹677 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

11.9x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

4.00x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹16.28

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

45.8%

Strong

Strong capital efficiency

ROCE

28.4%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

1.55x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

1.5%

Modest

Modest growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

-76.7%

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

-₹28 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

Operating Margin

7.4%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

8.6%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

1.19

Adequate

Adequate, but no real cushion

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.18

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

16%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

206.2 / 233.6

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

26.4

Oversold zone

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹498 Cr	₹574 Cr	₹594 Cr	₹644 Cr	+8.9%
EBITDA	₹24 Cr	₹73 Cr	₹88 Cr	₹289 Cr	+129.0%
EBITDA Margin	4.8%	12.7%	14.8%	44.9%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	-₹10 Cr	₹56 Cr	₹31 Cr	₹66 Cr	—
EPS	₹-3.18	₹16.89	₹8.98	₹19.42	—
ROE	—	200.3%	51.5%	45.8%	—
ROCE	—	64.6%	27.8%	28.4%	—
Total Debt	₹109 Cr	₹116 Cr	₹177 Cr	₹224 Cr	+27.4%
Free Cash Flow	₹7 Cr	-₹13 Cr	-₹23 Cr	-₹28 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 8.9% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 129.0% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 4.8% to 44.9% over 3 years (+40.1 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has turned positive, from -₹10 Cr to ₹66 Cr.

🟢 EPS has turned positive, from ₹-3.18 to ₹19.42.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 200.3% to 45.8% over 3 years (-154.5 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 64.6% to 28.4% over 3 years (-36.2 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 27.4% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has turned negative, from ₹7 Cr to -₹28 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹518 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹373 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹2 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹32 Cr

Capex

-₹60 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

2.1%

Insider Holding

50.3%

Corporate Actions

Ex-Dividend Date

29 Jul 2010

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
SUN PHARMACEUTICAL IND L	34.9x	14.5%
DR. REDDY S LABORATORIES	31.0x	8.8%
CIPLA LTD	31.8x	9.8%
DIVI S LABORATORIES LTD	83.0x	17.5%

Recent News

2 mixed4 general

Buzzing Stock: Wanbury declines 5% after USFDA inspection; Rallis India slips 2% post Q2 earnings

Moneycontrol.com, 21 JulResults

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

Wanbury Limited's (NSE:WANBURY) 25% Dip In Price Shows Sentiment Is Matching Earnings

Simply Wall Street, 24 JanResults

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

Wanbury Ltd Spurts 3.27%

Business Standard, 15 Jul

Wanbury vs Nifty 50: 1Y Return -22.90% vs -11.35%

Univest, 13 Oct

Wanbury achieves record operational EBITDA of ₹108 crore in FY26

scanx.trade, 01 Jul

Wanbury Shares Tank 7% In Trade — What's Spooking Investors?

NDTV Profit, 21 Jul

Watch Items

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

StrongBusiness Quality · Profitability · Valuation

MiddlingGrowth

WeakFinancial Health · Risk

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

2 of 5 tripwires tripped — Free cash flow remains positive; Interest cover stays above 3x · see Key things to watch ↑