BASF India Ltd

Price story Before the numbers, the tape. A stock price moves through four repeating seasons: a flat base (stage 1), an advance (2), a top (3), a decline (4). Where the price sits in that cycle frames everything below.

BASF India Ltd trades at ₹3,723, in a downtrend and 49 weeks into that stage. That is −3.1% against its own 200-day average. It sits at 31% of a 52-week range of ₹3,286 to ₹4,688. On relative strength it has been ahead of the NIFTY 500 on a trailing-13-week view for 1 straight week.

Today the stock is in a downtrend — week 49 of stage 4, confirmed. At ₹3,723 it trades −3.1% versus its 200-day average and sits at 31% of its 52-week range (₹3,286–₹4,688).

Against the market, two honest reads. Cumulative: over the last 10.3 years the stock moved +381% while the NIFTY 500 moved +274% — ahead of the index over the full window. Recent form: on a trailing-13-week view the stock has been ahead for 1 straight week — the ribbon below is that same metric, week by week.

What would end the trend, mechanically: two Friday closes in a row below the 200-day line. That is the exit rule — no debates.

→ The trend is one thing; the bill is another. Are you paying up for it? Next: the P/E sits at the 13th percentile of its own range.

Valuation P/E is the price of ₹1 of annual profit: how many rupees the market pays for each rupee the company earns in a year.

BASF India Ltd trades at 38.4× P/E, near the bottom of its own range — cheaper only 13% of the time. Its long-run median P/E is 51.0×, measured across 5.7 years of weekly readings. This places the multiple against the stock’s own record, and says nothing about what the business is worth.

Today's P/E of 38.4× is near the bottom of its own range — cheaper only 13% of the time, against a long-run median of 51.0× measured over 5.7 years of weekly readings. This is a comparison against the stock's own history — not a claim about what it is worth.

Why the multiple sits where it does: over the past year annual EPS moved −12.3% against a −26.4% price move — earnings outran the price, pushing the multiple DOWN its own range.

The price move, decomposed: over 5y, of the +6.5%/yr price move, ~+13.9%/yr came from earnings growth and ~−7.4 pp from the multiple (compressing). The split is the honest approximate (price return minus earnings growth); it makes the rally itself visible instead of hiding it behind the percentile.

Put together: the multiple is low against its own past, so the story rests on the earnings line underneath it, not the multiple.

→ Cheap or dear rides on the earnings. Are they actually growing? Next: the fundamental stage — where the business sits in its arc, and how growth has compounded.

Stage: No read Every business sits somewhere on a fundamental arc, and this page names the spot before anything else. The last twelve quarters of revenue, profit and EPS growth — plus the return the business earns on its capital — are read as curves: Deteriorating (the curves are falling), Turning around (a trough has just formed and the last few quarters lift off it), Improving (the climb off the trough is sustained), Consistent (steadily positive with healthy returns), Topping out (still high but decelerating from the peak). When the curves genuinely disagree the read is Mixed; too little history is No read. CAGR (compound annual growth rate) is the smooth yearly pace that turns the starting value into the latest one — the fairest way to compare growth across different time spans. Read the columns together: if the 1-year number towers over the 10-year, recent growth is running hotter than the long-run trend. A dash means that window is not held, or the base year was a loss (where a growth rate is not meaningful).

BASF India Ltd reads as no read on its fundamental arc. Under eight usable quarters on the growth trio — not enough history for an honest trajectory read. The read is built from 10 quarters across 1 curve, on partial evidence.

Why it matters: with too little history, an honest page says so instead of guessing a trajectory.

Fewer than eight usable quarters on the growth curves — this page will not guess a trajectory from a stub of history.

→ The stage names the trajectory. Next: the revenue line that produces it, quarter by quarter.

4-Factor Sector Score

45.0/100 — rank 12 of 20 in Chemicals - Organic · 94% evidence confidence

BASF India Ltd scores 45.0 out of 100 against the 20 companies it is compared with in Chemicals - Organic, ranking 12. Balanced evidence: keep at normal research priority and require another comparable period before raising conviction.

The four contributions add to the total exactly: 12.4 + 12.5 + 12.3 + 7.8 = 45. This is the SAME number shown on the sector comparison — it is computed once, for the whole peer set, and read here.

What would change it: The read weakens if profit growth turns negative or margin improvement reverses while sector-relative strength deteriorates.

Revenue Revenue is the top line: everything the company billed its customers in the period.

BASF India Ltd reported ₹3,444 Cr of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, +4.8% year on year. That is the 2nd straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 20 years it has compounded at 16.7% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at ₹14,944 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹15,078 Cr.

BASF India Ltd reported ₹3,444 Cr of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, +4.8% year on year. That is the 2nd straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 20 years it has compounded at 16.7% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at ₹14,944 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹15,078 Cr.

FY26 revenue came in at ₹14,944 Cr (+1.1% on the year), capping 20 years at 16.7% compound. The latest quarter (Mar 26) printed ₹3,444 Cr, +4.8% year on year — the 2nd consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth.

Pace check: the last four quarters averaged +0.1% growth against the decade's 16.7% — the current year is running slower than its own long-run rate.

Acceleration check: trailing-twelve-month revenue grew −0.4% over the last 4 quarters against +13.8%/yr over the last 8 — rolling over; TTM profit −12.5% vs −28.8%/yr — accelerating.

→ Revenue grew — did margins hold as it scaled? Next: 3.0% this quarter (+1.0 pp YoY).

Operating margin Operating margin is what is left of every ₹100 of sales after running the business, before interest and tax. It is the cleanest read on pricing power and cost control.

BASF India Ltd's operating margin is 3.0% in the Mar 26 quarter, +1.0 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 9 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 4.0% to 13.0%. The current quarter is running below every full year in that window.

BASF India Ltd's operating margin is 3.0% in the Mar 26 quarter, +1.0 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 9 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 4.0% to 13.0%. The current quarter is running below every full year in that window.

The latest quarter's operating margin is 3.0%, +1.0 pp against the same quarter a year ago. Across 9 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 4.0%–13.0%.

Why the margin moved: operating margin went +1.7 pp year on year while gross margin went +2.4 pp — the gain came mostly from the gross line: input costs and pricing.

→ Margins held — did that reach the bottom line? Next: profit +155.6% in the latest quarter.

Net profit Net profit is what survives every cost, interest and tax — the number EPS, dividends and book value all grow from.

BASF India Ltd earned ₹69.0 Cr of net profit in the Mar 26 quarter, +155.6% year on year. It is the 2nd consecutive quarter of growth. Full-year FY26 profit was ₹420 Cr. The 20-year compound rate is 11.8%. That is 2.0% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned ₹27.0 Cr.

BASF India Ltd earned ₹69.0 Cr of net profit in the Mar 26 quarter, +155.6% year on year. It is the 2nd consecutive quarter of growth. Full-year FY26 profit was ₹420 Cr. The 20-year compound rate is 11.8%. That is 2.0% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned ₹27.0 Cr.

Mar 26 profit was ₹69.0 Cr, +155.6% year on year — the 2nd consecutive quarter of growth. On the full year, FY26 printed ₹420 Cr (−12.3%), and the 20-year compound rate is 11.8%.

Why profit moved: revenue contributed +4.8% and the margin +1.0 pp — the quarter was revenue-led, with the margin roughly flat.

Pace comparison, last four quarters: profit +26.0% vs revenue +0.1%. Profit is growing faster than sales — fixed costs are being spread over a bigger base, and each extra rupee of revenue drops more to the bottom line.

→ Profit rose — but did the cash follow? Next: 73% of the last 3 years' profit arrived as cash.

Cash flow — the router The P&L says what was earned; the cash-flow statement says what actually arrived. Operating cash flow (CFO) against profit is the cleanest lie detector in the accounts.

Over the last 3 fiscal years 73% of BASF India Ltd's reported profit arrived as operating cash — most of the profit is real cash. In FY26 that was ₹−110 Cr of operating cash against ₹420 Cr of profit. After ₹156 Cr of capital spending, ₹−266 Cr was left as free cash.

FY26: operating cash of ₹−110 Cr against reported profit of ₹420 Cr, leaving free cash of ₹−266 Cr after ₹156 Cr of capital spending. Across the last 3 fiscal years the conversion rate is 73% of profit.

Cash-flow readings here are annual — that is the resolution our series carries, so this section moves once a year.

Why conversion sits at 73%: the cash cycle tightened 20 days between FY08 and FY26 — cash that used to wait in the cycle now reaches the bank sooner.

Router verdict: no single sink dominates — the next section checks both the working-capital cycle and the capital spending.

→ So follow the cash to where it goes. Next: a 40-day cycle and ₹513 Cr of building.

Where the cash goes Working capital is the cash tied up between paying suppliers and getting paid: debtor days (customers owe), inventory days (stock waits), and the cash conversion cycle (the whole loop, in days of sales).

BASF India Ltd's cash conversion cycle runs 40 days in FY26, down from 60 days in FY08. Capital spending ran ₹513 Cr over the last 3 years. At FY26 sales of ₹14,944 Cr each day of that cycle holds about ₹40.9 Cr, so roughly ₹1,638 Cr sits inside the business at any moment.

FY26: debtors at 67 days, inventory at 77 days — roughly 2.5 months of stock waiting to sell; that is where the cash sits while it waits — for a full cycle of 40 days, tighter than FY08's 60.

The full loop: cash goes out to suppliers and production on day 0; stock waits 77 days to sell; customers pay about 67 days after that; and suppliers themselves are paid at 104 days — netting out to the 40-day cycle.

In money terms: at FY26 sales of ₹14,944 Cr, each day of the cycle holds about ₹40.9 Cr — so the 40-day loop keeps roughly ₹1,638 Cr sitting inside the business at any moment.

On the investment side: capital spending of ₹513 Cr over the last 3 fiscal years against ₹343 Cr of depreciation — building somewhat ahead of wear-and-tear. Capital work-in-progress stands at ₹160 Cr (FY26) — capacity paid for but not yet earning.

The synthesis: neither the cycle nor the build-out is hoarding the cash — the machine is reasonably clean.

→ Does all this activity actually earn its cost of capital? Next: ROCE is 15% and the ROIC − WACC spread is +0.0 pp.

Return on capital Return on capital employed (ROCE) is the profit the whole business earns on all the money in it — equity and debt together. It is the single best test of whether growth creates value or just size.

BASF India Ltd earns a ROCE of 15% in FY26. Return on invested capital clears the cost of that capital by +0.0 percentage points, so growth here is not yet paying for the capital it uses. The wiring behind it is 2.8% net margin on 1.77× asset turns.

FY26 ROCE is 15%.

🚨 Why the return is what it is — the wiring (FY26): 2.8% net margin × 1.77× asset turns × 2.13× balance-sheet leverage ≈ 10.6% on equity. Margin does its share; leverage is a meaningful part of the equation.

The capstone test — ROIC − WACC: 12.0% − 12.0% = a +0.0 pp spread. The 12.0% is a standing assumption for the cost of capital in India, not a per-stock estimate — read the sign and the size of the spread, not the decimals. Negative — growth at these returns destroys value until the returns recover.

→ Returns like these — is the balance sheet borrowing to make them? Next: debt-to-equity is 0.03.

Debt Debt-to-equity says how much of the business is funded by borrowings. Low is the safe corner; the trend matters as much as the level.

BASF India Ltd carries total debt of ₹133 Cr against shareholder equity of ₹3,957 Cr as of Mar 26, a debt-to-equity of 0.03 — effectively unlevered. On the annual view that ratio went from 0.05 in FY22 to 0.03 in FY26. The returns elsewhere on this page are therefore earned rather than borrowed.

Mar 26: total debt of ₹133 Cr against shareholder equity of ₹3,957 Cr — a debt-to-equity of 0.03. On the annual view, debt-to-equity went from 0.05 (FY22) to 0.03 (FY26). The returns on this page are earned, not borrowed.

→ Who owns this, and are they adding or leaving? Next: the register is quiet.

Ownership Who owns the stock, quarter by quarter: promoters (the controlling owners), foreign and domestic institutions, and the public. Steady accumulation by people close to the numbers is a signal; a quiet register is also an answer.

No holder of BASF India Ltd moved a full percentage point over the last two years — the register is quiet. Domestic institutions moved +0.3 points over the same window, to 6.3%. The register is read on the four disclosed classes only; nothing is inferred between filings.

The register over the last two years — Foreign institutions: +0.9 points over 8 quarters to 5.2%; Domestic institutions: +0.3 points over 8 quarters to 6.3%; Promoters: +0.0 points over 8 quarters to 73.3%.

→ One last check: does the safety math agree? Next: the balance-sheet safety line.

Safety line The Z-score estimates how far a company sits from balance-sheet distress — above roughly 3 is safe, below roughly 1.8 is the danger zone. It was built for manufacturers, so it is not applied to banks and lenders.

BASF India Ltd: the Z-score reads 5.60. A Z-score above roughly 3 reads as safe and below roughly 1.8 as the distress zone, so this sits well clear of distress. It is a distance-to-distress estimate from the balance sheet, not a forecast of failure.

Why it matters: a Z-score of 5.60 sits well clear of the distress zone — the balance sheet is not the risk here.

The safety line in one sentence: the Z-score reads 5.60.

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