1. At a Glance
Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd is what happens when scale, ambition, and government policy walk into a sugar mill… and only two walk out smiling.
Market cap is hovering around ₹5,262 Cr, while enterprise value balloons to ₹11,456 Cr—because debt refuses to leave the party. The stock trades near ₹24.7, down ~11% in 3 months and ~33% over 1 year, which is not exactly a victory lap.
Latest Q3 FY26 (Dec 2025) numbers show ₹2,273 Cr revenue (QoQ down, YoY struggling) and PAT loss of ₹38 Cr, which—believe it or not—is actually better than earlier disasters. ROCE is at ~10.6%, interest coverage is a scary 0.16, and book value is negative ₹10.9. Yes, negative. That’s not a typo, that’s accumulated trauma.
Sugar refining is booming, exports are strong, branded sugar is flexing, ethanol is limping, and debt is sitting on Renuka’s chest like a gym bro who skipped leg day. Curious how all this fits together? Good. Read on.
2. Introduction
Shree Renuka Sugars is not a newbie mill trying to find its footing. Incorporated in 1995, it is one of India’s largest integrated sugar players with sugar mills, refineries, distilleries, and cogeneration plants—basically a full buffet of sugar economics.
On paper, Renuka looks powerful:
• 4th largest sugar manufacturer in India
• Largest sugar refiner in India
• Madhur brand with ~33% share in branded sugar
• 75% exports in FY24
And yet, financially, it behaves like someone earning well but drowning in EMIs. Despite revenue of ₹9,398 Cr, the company reported a TTM loss of ₹578 Cr, negative net worth, and borrowings of ₹6,266 Cr as of the latest quarter.
So what’s going on? Is this a cyclical pain story, a policy casualty, or just aggressive expansion funded by debt at the wrong time? Let’s break the sugarcane stalk
layer by layer.
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Think of Renuka as a sugar supply chain on steroids.
Sugar Milling
This is the traditional crushing of sugarcane into raw sugar. Sounds simple, but cane availability, weather, government pricing, and farmer politics decide whether you make money or tears.
In FY24, cane crushing fell to 4.6 Mn MT from 5.67 Mn MT in FY22 due to poor weather. Less cane = less sugar = less margin.
Sugar Refining
This is where Renuka shines. Imported raw sugar is refined into white sugar for export.
Revenue from refining jumped 116% between FY22 and FY24, driven by:
- Better realizations (₹27,913/MT → ₹55,426/MT)
- Strong export demand
This segment now contributes ~70% of Q1 FY25 revenue. Basically, refining is paying everyone’s bills—except interest.
Distillery (Ethanol)
Produces rectified spirit, ENA, and absolute alcohol. Sounds great in an ethanol-blending India story, right? Except government restrictions slapped limits on ethanol from cane juice and B-heavy molasses.
Production dropped from 164.8 Mn liters (FY22) to 156.4 Mn liters (FY24).
Cogeneration & Power
Uses bagasse and coal to generate power. Sales to grid dropped from 257 Mn units (FY22) to 177 Mn units (FY24). Power is now a side hustle, not the
