1. At a Glance – Acid Hai, Valuation Acid Trip Hai
A-1 Limited is that rare BSE mainboard stock which sells acids for a living but has ended up giving acid trips to investors. With a market capitalisation of about ₹2,144 crore, a current price hovering near ₹1,864, and a stock P/E of an eye-watering 854, this company has achieved what most chemical traders only dream of: becoming more expensive than their own product catalogue. Over the last three months, the stock has delivered a 104% return, six months around 224%, and one year a ridiculous 386%, all while the latest quarterly PAT politely collapsed by about 93% year-on-year. Sales in the Sep 2025 quarter stood at ₹63.14 crore, down nearly 19% YoY, and PAT was a microscopic ₹0.07 crore. ROCE is a modest 10.6%, ROE sits around 7.8%, and operating margins are thinner than lab gloves at 2–3%. Yet the market seems convinced this is not a chemical trading company but some kind of future-defining molecule. Curious already? Good. Because the numbers get more entertaining as we go.
2. Introduction – Welcome to the Chemical Bazaar With a Meme Valuation
Incorporated in 2004, A-1 Limited is not new, not disruptive, and definitely not a secret startup. It is a straightforward wholesale trader of acids and chemicals, with an attached transportation business that moves these hazardous liquids across India in tankers. This is not AI, not EV batteries, not semiconductors. This is nitric acid, sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid, urea, methanol and friends. The kind of stuff that makes your chemistry teacher proud and your valuation professor cry.
And yet, here we are. A stock trading at more than 44 times book value, with earnings that barely clear a few crores annually, commanding a market cap north of ₹2,000 crore. The company’s own quarterly results for Sep 2025 show revenue of ₹63 crore and PAT of ₹0.07 crore. If you blink, you miss the profit. If you calculate the P/E, you need a calculator and emotional strength.
So what’s going on? Is the market pricing in future growth, structural change, or just vibing? Is A-1 Limited a boring chemical trader misunderstood by the masses, or a case study in how momentum can overpower fundamentals? Let’s put on our funny auditor glasses and go line by line through this acid-soaked balance sheet.
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
At its core, A-1 Limited is a middleman. A very busy, very chemical-smelling middleman. The company procures bulk chemicals like nitric acid, sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid, ethyl acetate, methanol, formaldehyde, urea, and a long alphabet of industrial substances from large producers such as GNFC, GSFC, Hindalco, Nirma, SRF, GACL, and Grasim. It then sells these chemicals to industrial clients across India.
The client list is actually impressive on paper: BPCL, Reliance Industries, Vedanta, Amul, IOL Chemicals, Meghmani, Munitions India, sugar companies, and more. This tells you one thing clearly: demand is real, recurring, and industrial. No influencer marketing needed.
The second leg of the business is transportation. A-1 owns and operates a fleet of chemical tankers and provides PAN-India logistics to customers, mostly on demand. This vertical contributes around 3% of FY23 revenue, so don’t
imagine this is a logistics powerhouse. It’s more like a helpful add-on that ensures chemicals reach factories without blowing up highways.
Revenue breakup for FY23 was roughly 95% sale of goods, 3% transport receipts, and 2% lifting income. Translation: this is a trading company, not a manufacturer. Margins are therefore thin, working capital is heavy, and profitability depends on volume, spreads, and disciplined execution. Now ask yourself: should such a business trade at 854 times earnings? Hold that thought.
4. Financials Overview – Quarterly Reality Check
Result type detected: Quarterly Results (Sep 2025). Locked.
EPS annualisation rule applied: Quarterly EPS × 4.
Quarterly Comparison Table (₹ crore, EPS in ₹)
| Metric | Latest Qtr (Sep 2025) | Same Qtr LY (Sep 2024) | Prev Qtr (Jun 2025) | YoY % | QoQ % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 63.14 | 77.76 | 64.69 | -18.8% | -2.4% |
| EBITDA | 1.19 | 2.50 | 1.86 | -52.4% | -36.0% |
| PAT | 0.07 | 0.97 | 0.60 | -92.8% | -88.3% |
| EPS (₹) | 0.06 | 0.84 | 0.52 | -92.9% | -88.5% |
Annualised EPS based on latest quarter: ₹0.06 × 4 = ₹0.24.
At a stock price of ~₹1,864, this implies a P/E of roughly 7,700× on annualised current earnings. Even the reported trailing EPS of ₹2.18 gives a P/E above 850×, which is what the market is quoting. Either way, profitability has collapsed sharply this quarter. Revenue is down, margins are down, PAT is almost gone. And yet, the stock chart is partying. How comfortable are you with that disconnect?
5. Valuation Discussion – Fair Value Range (Educational Only)
Let’s do this calmly, without drama, just numbers.
P/E Method
- Normalised EPS (TTM): ₹2.18
- Reasonable P/E for chemical trading peers (median): ~15–25
- Fair value range = ₹33 to ₹55
EV/EBITDA Method
- FY25 EBITDA (approx.): ₹10 crore
- Enterprise Value: ~₹2,161 crore
- Current EV/EBITDA ≈ 216×
- Reasonable multiple for traders: 6–10×
- Implied EV range: ₹60–100 crore
- After adjusting debt, equity value remains a fraction of current market cap
DCF (Simplified, Conservative)
- Cash flows volatile and inconsistent
- Low margins, high working capital
- Even optimistic assumptions struggle to justify triple-digit valuations, let alone four-digit prices
Conclusion: All three methods suggest a fair value range that is dramatically below the current market price.
Disclaimer: This fair value range is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice.
Now the real question: what is the market seeing that these methods
