National Peroxide Ltd H1FY26 Results: When Hydrogen Peroxide Meets Hydrogen Confusion — A Deep Dive into a Bleaching Giant Losing Its Shine
1. At a Glance
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Wadia Group’s chemical child that looks like it just had a midlife crisis — National Peroxide Ltd (NPL). Trading at ₹519 a share, with a market cap of ₹299 crore, this once-mighty peroxide powerhouse is now looking more like a fizzling soda than an industrial catalyst.
The company reported H1FY26 revenue of ₹134.94 crore and PAT of ₹1.26 crore, which, if you squint, looks like a rounding error for its illustrious cousins at Bombay Dyeing or Britannia. The stock has tanked 39.6% in one year, wiping out shareholder confidence faster than hydrogen peroxide whitens your teeth.
With ROE at -0.39%, ROCE at a sad 0.20%, and EV/EBITDA sitting near 19.8x, NPL is essentially saying: “We exist, please notice us.” Yet, somehow, the promoters (Wadia Group) continue to hold 70.8%, proving either strong conviction or Olympic-level denial.
2. Introduction
Once upon a time, hydrogen peroxide was the cool kid in the chemical club — everyone needed it for textiles, paper bleaching, and disinfection. National Peroxide Ltd was the local don supplying half of India’s demand. Fast forward to FY26, and that same don now looks like he’s running a sleepy laundromat.
NPL’s story is one of ambition, chemistry, and a few too many boardroom PowerPoints. They’ve survived since 1954, and yet, in a world chasing “green hydrogen” and “sustainable chemicals,” our peroxide hero still hasn’t managed to bubble back to glory.
Recent headlines include a CFO resignation (September 2025), a credit rating downgrade (India Ratings: IND A-/Negative), and a half-year profit of ₹1.26 crore — barely enough to cover the electricity bill of the Kalyan plant.
The company’s margins are on a rollercoaster — Operating Profit Margin has crashed from 16% (FY23) to 4% (TTM). Revenue is down 16% YoY, and profit growth is sitting at -149%, which is finance-speak for “Houston, we have a problem.”
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
In plain terms, National Peroxide manufactures hydrogen peroxide — a clear liquid used for bleaching textiles, pulp, paper, and chemical synthesis, and occasionally for cleaning wounds when your childhood doctor was feeling extra dramatic.
The company’s Kalyan facility has an installed capacity of 1.5 lakh MTPA (50% w/w) — roughly half of India’s hydrogen peroxide capacity. In short, if India is bleaching something, there’s a 50% chance it came from NPL.
NPL is also trying to dabble in the future — with plans for a 10,000 MTPA electronic-grade hydrogen peroxide plant (for semiconductor and solar manufacturing) and a hybrid power project, costing ₹200 million (₹20 crore). Of that, ₹3.9 crore has been spent so far, meaning they’ve possibly built the gate and laid the foundation stone.
Revenue composition is 99% from manufactured goods — they don’t trade or import, just make and sell. And with exports forming 25% of revenue, they are partially insulated from domestic sluggishness. But when your domestic operations are so dull, exporting doesn’t fix much — it just delays the pain.
4. Financials Overview
Let’s break down the latest numbers — Q2FY26 (ended September 2025).
