Hikal 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.

Hikal Ltd trades at ₹229, in a downtrend and 52 weeks into that stage. That is +2.4% against its own 200-day average. It sits at 64% of a 52-week range of ₹156 to ₹269. On relative strength it has been ahead of the NIFTY 500 on a trailing-13-week view for 9 straight weeks.

Today the stock is in a downtrend — week 52 of stage 4, confirmed. At ₹229 it trades +2.4% versus its 200-day average and sits at 64% of its 52-week range (₹156–₹269).

Against the market, two honest reads. Cumulative: over the last 10.3 years the stock moved +150% while the NIFTY 500 moved +274% — behind the index over the full window. Recent form: on a trailing-13-week view the stock has been ahead for 9 straight weeks — 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 96th 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.

Hikal Ltd trades at 73.8× P/E, at the pricey end of its own range (96th percentile). Its long-run median P/E is 36.5×, measured across 10.4 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 73.8× is at the pricey end of its own range (96th percentile), against a long-run median of 36.5× measured over 10.4 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 −153.8% against a −33.3% price move — the price outran earnings, pushing the multiple UP its own range.

The price move, decomposed: over 5y, of the −15.1%/yr price move, ~−22.9%/yr came from earnings growth and ~+7.8 pp from the multiple (expanding); over 10y, of the +7.1%/yr price move, ~−1.3%/yr came from earnings growth and ~+8.4 pp from the multiple (expanding). 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 full 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: Deteriorating 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).

Hikal Ltd reads as deteriorating on its fundamental arc. Deteriorating — revenue, profit and EPS growth are shrinking (revenue growth −8.0% latest against +9.0% at its 12-quarter best), ROCE slipping at -0.9%. The read is built from 12 quarters across 4 curves, on full evidence.

🚨 Why it matters: falling curves mean every cheap-looking ratio below needs a discount for direction.

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

4-Factor Sector Score

24.8/100 — rank 24 of 24 in Pharma - API & CRAMS · 80% evidence confidence

Hikal Ltd scores 24.8 out of 100 against the 24 companies it is compared with in Pharma - API & CRAMS, ranking 24. Balanced evidence: keep at normal research priority and require another comparable period before raising conviction.

The four contributions add to the total exactly: 5.7 + 7.2 + 5.9 + 6 = 24.8. 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.

Hikal Ltd reported ₹519 Cr of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, −6.0% year on year. Over 10 years it has compounded at 6.3% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at ₹1,713 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹1,711 Cr.

Hikal Ltd reported ₹519 Cr of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, −6.0% year on year. Over 10 years it has compounded at 6.3% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at ₹1,713 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹1,711 Cr.

FY26 revenue came in at ₹1,713 Cr (−7.9% on the year), capping 10 years at 6.3% compound. The latest quarter (Mar 26) printed ₹519 Cr, −6.0% year on year.

Pace check: the last four quarters averaged −8.0% growth against the decade's 6.3% — the current year is running slower than its own long-run rate.

Acceleration check: trailing-twelve-month revenue grew −8.0% over the last 4 quarters against −2.1%/yr over the last 8 — rolling over.

→ Revenue slipped — did margins hold as it scaled? Next: 20.0% this quarter (−2.0 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.

Hikal Ltd's operating margin is 20.0% in the Mar 26 quarter, −2.0 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 13.0% to 23.0%. The current quarter sits inside that band.

Hikal Ltd's operating margin is 20.0% in the Mar 26 quarter, −2.0 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 13.0% to 23.0%. The current quarter sits inside that band.

The latest quarter's operating margin is 20.0%, −2.0 pp against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 13.0%–23.0%.

🚨 Why the margin moved: operating margin went −2.1 pp year on year while gross margin went +0.3 pp — the loss came mostly below the gross line: operating leverage, with costs spread over a bigger revenue base.

→ Margins slipped — did that reach the bottom line? Next: profit −72.0% 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.

Hikal Ltd earned ₹14.0 Cr of net profit in the Mar 26 quarter, −72.0% year on year. The full FY26 year was a loss of ₹49.0 Cr. That is 2.7% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned ₹50.0 Cr. 3 of the last 12 reported quarters were loss-making.

Hikal Ltd earned ₹14.0 Cr of net profit in the Mar 26 quarter, −72.0% year on year. The full FY26 year was a loss of ₹49.0 Cr. That is 2.7% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned ₹50.0 Cr. 3 of the last 12 reported quarters were loss-making.

Mar 26 profit was ₹14.0 Cr, −72.0% year on year. On the full year, FY26 printed ₹−49.0 Cr (−153.8%).

🚨 Why profit moved: revenue contributed −6.0% and the margin −2.0 pp — the quarter was revenue-led despite a thinner margin.

Pace comparison, last four quarters: profit −260.4% vs revenue −8.0%. Profit is growing slower than sales — costs are eating the growth before it reaches the bottom line.

→ Profit rose — but did the cash follow? Next: 327% 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 327% of Hikal Ltd's reported profit arrived as operating cash — the cash follows the profit. In FY26 that was ₹302 Cr of operating cash against ₹−49.0 Cr of profit. After ₹106 Cr of capital spending, ₹196 Cr was left as free cash.

FY26: operating cash of ₹302 Cr against reported profit of ₹−49.0 Cr, leaving free cash of ₹196 Cr after ₹106 Cr of capital spending. Across the last 3 fiscal years the conversion rate is 327% 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 327%: the cash cycle stretched 20 days between FY21 and FY26 — more of each rupee of profit waits inside the cycle before arriving.

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 138-day cycle and ₹483 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).

Hikal Ltd's cash conversion cycle runs 138 days in FY26, up from 118 days in FY21. Capital spending ran ₹483 Cr over the last 3 years. At FY26 sales of ₹1,713 Cr each day of that cycle holds about ₹4.7 Cr, so roughly ₹648 Cr sits inside the business at any moment.

FY26: debtors at 94 days, inventory at 172 days — roughly 5.7 months of stock waiting to sell; that is where the cash sits while it waits — for a full cycle of 138 days, looser than FY21's 118.

The full loop: cash goes out to suppliers and production on day 0; stock waits 172 days to sell; customers pay about 94 days after that; and suppliers themselves are paid at 128 days — netting out to the 138-day cycle.

In money terms: at FY26 sales of ₹1,713 Cr, each day of the cycle holds about ₹4.7 Cr — so the 138-day loop keeps roughly ₹648 Cr sitting inside the business at any moment.

On the investment side: capital spending of ₹483 Cr over the last 3 fiscal years against ₹416 Cr of depreciation — building somewhat ahead of wear-and-tear. Capital work-in-progress stands at ₹94.0 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 4% and the ROIC − WACC spread is −9.0 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.

Hikal Ltd earns a ROCE of 4% in FY26. Return on invested capital clears the cost of that capital by −9.0 percentage points, so growth here is not yet paying for the capital it uses. The wiring behind it is −2.9% net margin on 0.72× asset turns.

FY26 ROCE is 4%.

🚨 Why the return is what it is — the wiring (FY26): −2.9% net margin × 0.72× asset turns × 1.97× balance-sheet leverage ≈ −4.1% on equity. Margin does its share; leverage is a meaningful part of the equation.

The capstone test — ROIC − WACC: 3.0% − 12.0% = a −9.0 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 0.57.

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.

Hikal Ltd carries total debt of ₹684 Cr against shareholder equity of ₹1,199 Cr as of Mar 26, a debt-to-equity of 0.57. On the annual view that ratio went from 0.63 in FY22 to 0.57 in FY26. Read the returns elsewhere on this page with that leverage in mind.

Mar 26: total debt of ₹684 Cr against shareholder equity of ₹1,199 Cr — a debt-to-equity of 0.57. On the annual view, debt-to-equity went from 0.63 (FY22) to 0.57 (FY26). Read the returns on this page with that leverage in mind.

→ Who owns this, and are they adding or leaving? Next: Foreign institutions cut 5.7 points over 8 quarters.

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.

Foreign institutions cut 5.7 points of Hikal Ltd over 8 quarters, the biggest move on the register. That takes foreign institutions to 1.0% of the company. Domestic institutions moved +4.1 points over the same window, to 7.2%. The register is read on the four disclosed classes only; nothing is inferred between filings.

The register over the last two years — Foreign institutions: −5.7 points over 8 quarters to 1.0%; Domestic institutions: +4.1 points over 8 quarters to 7.2%; Promoters: +0.0 points over 8 quarters to 68.8%.

Why the register moved: rotation — foreign institutions −5.7 points against domestic institutions +4.1 points over 8 quarters, with promoters holding steady — one class of institutions handing the register to the other, not a verdict change by the people closest to the numbers.

→ 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.

Hikal Ltd: the Z-score is not available for this stock, so we say so rather than invent one. It is a distance-to-distress estimate from the balance sheet, not a forecast of failure. The debt, cash-flow and return sections above carry the balance-sheet evidence this page does hold, and each of them states its own reporting date.

The safety line in one sentence: the Z-score is not available for this stock, so we say so rather than invent one.

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