1. At a Glance – Welcome to the Twilight Zone of Indian Markets
Soma Papers & Industries Ltd is currently trading at ₹96.4 with a market capitalisation of roughly ₹1,113 crore, despite reporting zero operating revenue, a negative ROE of -141%, and a business that literally shut its factory doors back in August 2004. Yes, you read that right. The company stopped manufacturing coated paper more than two decades ago, but its stock price is still very much alive, kicking, and doing bhangra with a 3-month return of ~34%. The trailing P/E sits at an eye-watering 4,838, ROCE is chilling at -69%, and promoter holding has collapsed from ~49.5% to 0.60% in the latest quarter. This is not a turnaround story; this is a Netflix thriller. Latest quarterly results show no sales, negative operating profit, and earnings driven entirely by “other income” and fair value accounting magic. And yet, investors are lining up like it’s a clearance sale at D-Mart. Curious? Confused? Slightly scared? Perfect. Let’s go deeper.
2. Introduction – Once a Paper Company, Now a Corporate Reincarnation Experiment
Once upon a time, Soma Papers was an actual paper manufacturer. Real machines. Real coated paper. Real products like chromo paper, art paper, and carbonless paper sold under the Diamond Cote™ brand. Then in 2004, reality hit harder than a pulp price crash. Manufacturing was declared unviable, operations were stopped, and the factory lights went off.
Most companies would quietly fade into oblivion after that. Soma Papers chose chaos.
Over the years, the company remained listed, reported negligible activity, and survived mostly on balance sheet juggling. Then came the great corporate pivot — not into adjacent paper products, not packaging, not recycling — but straight into pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, healthcare services, lab consumables, software, global staffing, and life sciences consulting. Basically, if it sounded modern and buzzword-compliant, it was added to the object clause.
Fast forward to FY25–FY26, and suddenly Soma Papers is no longer just about paper. It has acquisitions, subsidiaries, defence contracts, IT hardware orders, open offers, preferential allotments, auditor resignations, and promoter exits — all while the core company still reports zero revenue. If corporate India were a soap opera, Soma Papers would be on its 1,200th episode with no clear protagonist.
So the question every investor must ask: is this a phoenix preparing to rise, or just smoke with excellent PR?
3. Business Model – WTF Do
They Even Do?
Originally, Soma Papers manufactured coated paper used in labels, magazines, brochures, calendars, and office stationery. Installed capacity was around 10,000 MT, and the plant was located near Mumbai. All very normal. All very dead.
Post-2004, there is no manufacturing activity. No revival. No production restart announced in the data. Instead, the company amended its Memorandum of Association to allow:
Pharmaceutical manufacturing and trading
Healthcare and nutraceutical products
Lab consumables and diagnostic kits
Software solutions for life sciences
Global staffing and HR solutions
Liquor, mineral water, soups (yes, really)
In FY23, the company generated no operating revenue at all. Income came from dividends, fair value gains on financial instruments, and gains on sale of investments. In plain English: Soma Papers is currently a financial shell with optional future ambitions, not an operating business.
More recently, action has shifted to subsidiaries like KS Smart Solutions, which have bagged government and defence-related contracts. However, based strictly on the standalone financials provided, Soma Papers itself still does not generate sales from operations.
So what’s the business model today? Officially: diversified opportunities. Practically: wait, acquire, dilute, repeat.
Does that sound exciting or terrifying to you?
4. Financials Overview – Quarterly Results That Exist Without Sales
Result Type Detected: QUARTERLY RESULTS
(Annualised EPS = Latest EPS × 4)
Below is a cold, emotionless look at the numbers.
Quarterly Comparison Table (₹ crore)
| Metric | Latest Qtr (Sep 2025) | Same Qtr Last Year | Previous Qtr | YoY % | QoQ % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0% | 0% |
| EBITDA | -0.03 | -0.45 | -0.02 | NA | -50% |
| PAT | -0.03 | -0.45 | -0.02 | 93% | -50% |
| EPS (₹) | -0.21 | -3.21 | -0.14 | 93% | -50% |
Annualised EPS: -0.84
Calculated P/E: Meaningless (negative earnings)
Witty commentary time: When revenue is zero, margins are philosophical
