01 — At a Glance
The Plywood Raja Who’s Borrowing to Build an Empire
- 52-Week High / Low₹859 / ₹630
- TTM Revenue₹5,103 Cr
- TTM PAT₹243 Cr
- TTM EPS₹10.7
- Annualised EPS (Q3 FY26)₹11.07
- Book Value₹111
- Price to Book6.23x
- Dividend Yield0.15%
- Debt / Equity0.67x
- New UP Capex₹1,130 Cr
Auditor’s Opening Note: Century Plyboards closed Q3 FY26 with ₹1,350 Cr revenue (+18.4% YoY), operating profit ₹170 Cr, PAT ₹69.3 Cr (+18.5% YoY) and EPS ₹2.87. Annualised EPS (Q1+Q2+Q3 avg ×4) stands at ₹11.07. Market cap ₹15,316 Cr, CMP ₹689, P/E 63.2x (industry 30.7x). Debt jumped to ₹1,643 Cr. New ₹1,130 Cr Uttar Pradesh plant announced. OCF turned negative in FY25. The wood is growing. The balance sheet is stretching. The valuation is… breathing heavily.
02 — Introduction
Welcome to the Most Overpriced Piece of Wood in India
Century Plyboards. 29% share in organised plywood. 13 plants. 18,493 retailers. Exports to 16 countries. And now a shiny new ₹1,130 Cr greenfield project in Uttar Pradesh. Sounds like a growth story straight out of a startup pitch deck — except this one has been around since 1982 and is currently trading at 63x earnings while ROCE sits at a sleepy 10.4%.
Q3 FY26 delivered the highest quarterly revenue ever. New particle-board unit in Tamil Nadu went live in June 2025. CEO Sanjay Agarwal re-appointed for five more years. But debt is up, operating cash flow turned negative last year, and the stock has given negative returns in the last three and six months. Management is talking 15-17% revenue growth and 12-13% margins next year. The market is saying “we’ll believe it when we see the cash”.
Promoters hold 72.64%. Zero pledge. Family-run like your friendly neighbourhood timber mart. Except this one borrows ₹1,643 Cr to expand. Let’s open the books, roast the numbers, and figure out if this plywood empire is built on solid teak or just expensive veneer.
Concall Note (Feb 2026): “Significant improvement in the quality of earnings… plywood industry growing 6-7%, we are doing 15%+.” — Management. Translation: we are eating everyone’s lunch in plywood while the rest of the industry is still figuring out how to spell MDF.
03 — Business Model: WTF Do They Even Do?
They Chop Trees, Glue Them, and Sell Boards at Premium Prices
Century buys timber, chemicals and base materials, turns them into plywood (43% revenue), MDF (35%), laminates (15%) and particle board (7%). 29% market share in organised plywood while 70% of the market is still the unorganised “bhaiya from the local market” gang. They have 13 plants in India, three overseas, 3,924 dealers and 18,493 retailers. Capacity utilisation: plywood 81%, laminates 89%, MDF 72%, particle board now 102% after the new Chennai unit.
New bets: Manish Malhotra designer laminates, Sainik MR plywood insourcing, and now the ₹1,130 Cr UP complex for plywood + massive MDF. Management wants to be the one-stop wood-panel shop for real estate, furniture and interiors. Simple business. Massive capex. Zero debt in the old days. Today? Debt-to-equity 0.67x and rising. Classic “growth needs money” story.
Plywood43%Revenue share
MDF35%Revenue share
Laminates15%Revenue share
Particle Board7%Revenue share
Royalty? None. But raw-material imports + chemical prices = permanent headache. BIS certification is now mandatory — cheap Chinese imports getting blocked. Management is smiling like they just won the lottery.
💬 Drop a comment: Do you still buy plywood from the local carpenter or have you gone full Century Ply? Be honest — your kitchen depends on it.
04 — Financials Overview
Q3 FY26: The Numbers That Make Auditors Sweat
Result type: Quarterly Results | Q3 FY26 EPS: ₹2.87 | Annualised EPS (Avg Q1+Q2+Q3 ×4): ₹11.07 | TTM EPS: ₹10.7
| Metric (₹ Cr) |
Q3 FY26
Dec 2025 |
Q3 FY25
Dec 2024 |
Q2 FY26
Sep 2025 |
YoY % |
QoQ % |
| Revenue | 1,350 | 1,140 | 1,386 | +18.4% | -2.6% |
| EBITDA | 170 | 130 | 175 | +30.8% | -2.9% |
| EBITDA % | 12.6% | 11.4% | 12.6% | +120 bps | Flat |
| PAT | 69.3 | 58.5 | 68.8 | +18.5% | -0.7% |
| EPS (₹) | 2.87 | 2.42 | 3.10 | +18.6% | -7.4% |
P/E Recalculated: TTM EPS ₹10.7 ÷ CMP ₹689 = 64.4x (screener shows 63.2x — rounding). Industry median 30.7x. Century trades at 105% premium. Management blames seasonality and says margins will hit 12-13% next year. OCF was –₹3 Cr in FY25. The numbers are growing. The cash is… taking a holiday.
05 — Valuation: Fair Value Range
What’s This Overpriced Wood Actually Worth?
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