1. At a Glance – Assam’s Premium Tea, But Profits Playing Hide & Seek
Market Cap: ₹118 Cr.
Current Price: ₹380
Stock P/E: 20.7
Price to Book: 0.72
ROE: 6.02%
ROCE: 8.96%
Debt: ₹86.8 Cr
3-Month Return: -3.8%
1-Year Return: -23.1%
B & A Ltd is a 110-year-old tea aristocrat selling premium Assam CTC tea — yet trading below book value. Sounds like a royal palace with leaking pipes.
Q3 FY26 (Dec 2025) reported:
- Revenue: ₹80.88 Cr
- Net Loss: ₹5.51 Cr
- EPS: -18.84
Yes, premium tea. Yes, century-old legacy. Yes, ranked No.1 in auction pricing for Gatoonga estate.
And still — losses in the latest quarter.
Add to that a CARE rating downgrade from BBB+ to BBB in December 2025. Capital structure stretched. Debt up. Cash losses in FY25. But H1 FY26 showed strong recovery margins.
So is this just seasonal tea drama? Or is the kettle boiling over?
Let’s brew the facts slowly.
2. Introduction – When 1915 Meets 2025
Founded in 1915 as Barasali Tea Company. Acquired by Late H.P. Barooah in 1950. Today managed by Somnath Chatterjee, who has been associated for over three decades.
This isn’t some new-age startup selling matcha on Instagram.
This is old-school Assam tea royalty.
Nine tea estates in Upper Assam. Five processing facilities. Producing CTC tea — the backbone of Indian chai.
And here’s the interesting part:
In FY25:
- Production dropped 27% to 3.78 million kg.
- Revenue fell 17% to ₹134.31 Cr.
- PBILDT margin turned negative (-3.94%).
But in H1 FY26:
- Revenue grew 7% YoY.
- PBILDT margin improved to 26.99%.
- PAT margin at 23.32%.
That’s not recovery. That’s mood swings.
So the big question — is B&A a seasonal business misunderstood by markets? Or a small player getting squeezed by costs and debt?
Let’s understand what they actually do.
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Simple.
They grow tea. They process tea. They sell tea.
Mostly CTC (Crush, Tear and Curl) tea.
Their tea is considered superior quality and commands premium pricing in auctions. Estates like:
- Gatoonga
- Mokrung
- Salkathoni
Ranked among top in All India Batting Order in terms of auction prices.
But here’s the twist.
They also own a subsidiary — B&A Packaging India Ltd — manufacturing paper sacks and flexible laminates used for packaging tea, carbon black, chemicals.
Revenue split (9MFY24):
So they grow tea and sell the bag it
