1. PCBL:
ICICI Direct maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on this black carbon manufacturer with a target price of Rs 500, indicating a potential upside of 18.1%. Analysts Chirag Shah and Shashank Kanodia highlight the recent acquisition of Aquapharm Chemicals, which reported a Q1FY25 EBITDA of Rs 55 crore with 75% capacity utilization. Shah and Kanodia said, “Aquapharm’s performance is promising, with EBITDA expected to rise to Rs 80-90 crore by Q4FY25.”
PCBL reported net sales of Rs 2,144 crore in Q1FY25, with carbon black sales volumes reaching 154 KT, up 25% YoY. Net profit for the quarter was Rs 118 crore, supported by the highest-ever EBITDA of Rs 358 crore. The company’s near-term capacity expansion aims to increase carbon black production to 10 lakh tonnes, with further medium-term plans for an additional 4 lakh tonnes.
Shah and Kanodia note that the company targets a five times increase in PAT, reaching Rs 2,500 crore by FY29. They also highlight strong export performance, with export volumes reaching 21% of total sales in Q1FY25 and expected to grow to 45% by FY27, supporting robust long-term growth.
2. Ipca Laboratories:
Sharekhan upgrades its rating on this pharma company to ‘Buy’ with a higher target price of Rs 1,600. This indicates a potential upside of 15.6%. The company's Q1FY25 sales grew 32.9% YoY to Rs 2,092 crore. The analyst attributes this growth to the integration of the Unichem business, and strong domestic and international sales. IPCA has surpassed the Indian Pharmaceutical Market (IPM) growth of 8-9% with a 11.6% increase in the domestic brand. The company appears in a screener of stocks that have outperformed their respective industry over the past month.
Unichem's integration is expected to add to profitability, with EBITDA set to reach Rs 225 crore by FY25 from Rs 100 crore in FY24. The company plans to launch 4-5 new products in the US market in FY25 and expand its international presence. Bayshore, now part of Unichem, will handle distribution of IPCA’s US products.
Analysts highlight the company’s promising growth prospects, driven by strong API demand and capacity expansion. It has set up a new 50MT API plant at Ratlam, nearing commercialization. Despite short-term cost pressures, new plants and increased formulation opportunities are expected to drive future growth.
3. EPL:
Motilal Oswal maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on this plastic packaging company with a target price of Rs 275, indicating an upside of 9.7%. In Q1FY25, the company’s net profit grew 18% YoY to Rs 64.2 crore, and revenue increased by 10.2% YoY to Rs 1,013 crore. According to analyst Sumant Kumar, improved operating performance in the US and Europe drove profits higher. The EBITDA margin grew by 610 bps to 15.8% in the US region.
Revenue growth was driven by broad-based regional performance, and a 6% YoY increase in the personal care segment, which now contributes 47% to total revenue. Kumar also highlights the company’s strong momentum in Brazil, where new customer acquisitions are driving the Brazil plant's utilization rate to 65-70%. He expects the firm to post revenue CAGR of 8% and adjusted net profit CAGR of 30% over FY25-26.
EPL is experiencing significant demand for sustainable products, with the share of sustainable tubes rising to 29% of total volume in Q1FY25, up from 21% in Q1FY24. The company aims to sustain double-digit growth with margins exceeding 20%.
4. Hindalco Industries:
Axis Direct has reaffirmed its ‘Buy’ rating for Hindalco Industries, a key player in aluminum and aluminum products, with a target price of Rs 715, indicating a potential upside of 6.3%. In Q1FY25 the company's net profit rose 25.3% YoY to Rs 3,074 crore, driven by higher EBITDA. Its operating revenue increased 7.6% YoY to Rs 57,013 crore, fueled by higher sales from its upstream and aluminium business, and copper business segments.
Analyst Aditya Welekar highlights that the downstream capex for its extrusion plant in Silvassa, Gujarat and flat rolled products (FRP) plant in Odisha is nearly complete and is expected to operate at full capacity from Q4FY25. For upstream projects, alumina expansion in Odisha will commence first, followed by the Copper smelter (280-300 kt) and a 180-pot Aluminium smelter (180 ktpa) expansion in Aditya with RE-RTC power. Each of these projects will have a capex of Rs 8,000 crore.The company is also in the process of securing Stage I & II forest clearances. It owns several key assets, including the Chakla coal mine (5.5 mtpa), Meenakshi West (5 mtpa), and Meenakshi mine (12 mtpa). Welekar anticipates that the company's expansion projects will result in EBITDA and revenue growth of 6% and 7.7 % respectively for FY25-26, with PAT and EPS growth of 11% over the same period
5. Fineotex Chemical:
KRChoksey retains its ‘Buy’ rating on this small cap Fineotex Chemical with a target price of Rs 529, indicating a potential upside of 44.5%. This specialty chemicals company reported a net profit of Rs 28.8 crore in Q1FY25, a 12% rise YoY. Revenue grew 7.3% YoY to Rs 146.8 crore, although it declined by 7% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) due to lower realizations, while volume growth was maintained, according to analyst Unnati Jadhav.
Jadhav highlights that during the quarter, the company allotted 9.7 lakh fully paid-up equity shares and issued 26.3 lakh share warrants, each convertible into one equity share, were issued at Rs 346 per share. The company raised a total of Rs 56.2 crore this quarter. An additional round of 28.2 lakh equity shares and warrants, both priced at Rs 387.4 per share, has also been announced, totaling Rs 192.5 crore.
Jadhav notes multiple triggers coming into play for next year such as increasing cotton demand, inorganic international opportunities and the expansion of cleaning and hygiene segment. She expects EPS estimates for FY 25-26 to be Rs 13.7 and Rs 17.5, respectively, with a revenue CAGR of 23% and a PAT CAGR of 32% over the same period.
Note: These recommendations are from various analysts and are not recommendations by Trendlyne.
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