1. At a Glance – Sweet on Paper, Bitter on Charts
Dhampur Sugar Mills Ltd (DSML) is that old-school baniya ji who owns a sugar mill, distillery, power plant, chemical unit, and still gets ignored at the family function. Founded in 1933, this 90-year-old sugar veteran is currently sitting at a market cap of ₹744 crore, trading at ₹116, which is 0.66× book value. Yes, cheaper than some IPO issue prices of companies that haven’t even seen one sugar season.
In Q3 FY26, DSML reported ₹667.44 crore revenue and ₹26.54 crore PAT, with quarterly profit up 75% YoY. Sounds solid, right? Yet the stock is down ~23% over 1 year and ~18% over 3 years. Classic sugar sector behaviour: good numbers, bad mood.
The company operates across sugar, ethanol, power, chemicals, and potable spirits, making it one of the more diversified sugar plays. But returns remain anaemic: ROCE 5.86%, ROE 4.44%. That’s not “sweet compounding”, that’s diabetic returns.
So the big question:
👉 Is Dhampur a misunderstood ethanol story… or just another cyclical sugar headache wearing a diversification wig?
2. Introduction – The Sugar Industry’s Most Confused Overachiever
Dhampur Sugar is not a newbie riding the ethanol wave. It’s a fully integrated sugar complex that has been doing ethanol before ethanol became a Twitter buzzword. Cane crushing, molasses, ethanol, power from bagasse, chemicals, potable spirits – if it comes from sugarcane, Dhampur has probably tried monetising it.
And yet, despite all this integration, shareholders have suffered:
- 5-year stock CAGR: –5%
- 3-year profit CAGR: –30%
- Dividend payout: basically zero lately
This is the tragedy of Indian sugar companies. They do everything right operationally but are stuck between:
- Government pricing controls
- Cyclical cane availability
- Ethanol pricing caps
- And investor patience running out faster than molasses in peak season
Dhampur, to its credit, has reduced debt, diversified revenue streams, and added value-added products like
ethyl acetate and spirits. But the market still asks: “Boss, where is the return?”
Before we judge, let’s understand what this company actually does.
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Think of Dhampur as a sugarcane-maximising machine.
Step 1: Crush Cane
Dhampur operates two integrated units in Uttar Pradesh:
- Dhampur Unit:
- Sugar: ~15,000 TCD
- Co-gen: 78.5 MW
- Distillery: 350 KLPD
- Ethyl Acetate: 140 MT/day
- Rajpura Unit:
- Sugar: ~9,000 TCD
- Co-gen: 48 MW
Total crushing capacity: ~24,000 TCD.
Step 2: Squeeze Every Molecule
From the same cane:
- Sugar is sold (bulk + branded)
- Molasses → Ethanol / ENA / RS
- Bagasse → Power
- Ethanol → Ethyl Acetate
- ENA → Country liquor
Nothing is wasted. This is the Marwari version of zero-waste capitalism.
Step 3: Monetise Side Hustles
Dhampur also dabbles in:
- Trading of sugar & agro products
- E-commerce (don’t ask, even they don’t talk much about it)
- Machinery sales & services
In 9M FY25, revenue mix looked like this:
- Sugar: 59.6%
- Ethanol: 18.7%
- Chemicals: 11.3%
- Power: 6%
- Potable Spirits: 3.6%
So yes, sugar is still king, but ethanol + chemicals are slowly trying to stage a coup.
4. Financials Overview – Quarter Ka Sach
Quarterly Performance Table (₹ crore)
| Metric | Latest Qtr (Q3 FY26) | YoY Qtr (Q3 FY25) | Prev Qtr (Q2 FY26) | YoY % | QoQ % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 667.44 | 412.00 | 504.00 | 62.0% | 32.4% |
| EBITDA | 56.00 | 42.00 | 10.00 | 33.3% | 460% |
| PAT | 26.54 | 15.15 | -8.00 | 75.2% | NM |
| EPS (₹) | 4.12 | 2.31 | -1.23 | 78.4% | NM |
