1. At a Glance
If castor oil were a Bollywood hero, Jayant Agro‑Organics Ltd would be the dependable character actor — always present, rarely stealing the spotlight, but essential to the plot. With a market cap of ₹528 Cr, a current price hovering around ₹176, and a bruising –36.7% one-year return, the stock has clearly annoyed momentum investors. The latest quarter (Q3 FY26, Dec-25) delivered ₹587 Cr in revenue (+1.3% QoQ) but PAT of just ₹6.33 Cr, down 51% YoY, reminding everyone that commodity-linked specialty chemicals can be emotionally volatile.
Valuations look modest on paper: P/E ~11.9, P/B ~0.9, EV/EBITDA ~7.4. But margins are thin (OPM ~3–4%), ROE is a polite ~10%, and the business lives and dies by castor seed prices, export demand, and working-capital gymnastics. Dividend yield sits at ~1.4% — a small consolation prize. Curious yet cautious? Good. Let’s dig in.
2. Introduction
Jayant Agro-Organics (JAOL) is a classic Indian export-heavy chemical story: technically sound, globally relevant, cyclically moody. Founded in 1992, part of the Jayant Agro Group, the company has built a strong niche in castor-based oleochemicals with presence in 70+ countries. It manufactures 80+ products, touching everything from pharma and cosmetics to polymers, lubricants, aerospace, and agriculture.
But here’s the twist — despite this impressive application list, the numbers refuse to party. Over the last few years, sales growth has been flat to negative, margins swing with raw material cycles, and profits have a habit of shrinking when investors least expect it. So the big question: is this a boring
compounder temporarily stuck in a castor slump, or a structurally low-margin exporter forever at the mercy of agri cycles?
Ready for some forensic accounting with light roasting? Let’s proceed.
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
In simple terms, JAOL buys castor seeds, processes them into castor oil, and then upgrades that oil into value-added derivatives like Hydrogenated Castor Oil (HCO), Dehydrated Castor Oil, Sebacic Acid, and pharma-grade oils.
Revenue mix FY23:
- Castor Oil ~59%
- Derivatives ~41%
Geography FY23:
- Exports ~84%
- Domestic ~16%
This means two things:
- You earn dollars (good).
- You inherit global commodity mood swings (bad).
The company also runs wind power capacity (~3.2 MW combined with subsidiaries), mainly to look ESG-friendly and shave a bit off energy costs. Subsidiaries like Ihsedu Agrochem handle backward integration (seed crushing), while JVs with Japanese partners add technical depth.
Sounds solid. But does the P&L agree? Let’s check.
4. Financials Overview
Quarterly Comparison (Q3 FY26 — Dec 2025)
Consolidated, ₹ Cr
| Metric | Latest Qtr | YoY Qtr | Prev Qtr | YoY % | QoQ % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 587.30 | 579.79 | 499.60 | +1.3% | +17.6% |
| EBITDA | 17.57 | 26.91 | 22.53 | –34.7% | –22.0% |
| PAT | 6.33 | 13.83 | 9.21 | –51.1% | –31.3% |
| EPS (₹) | 2.31 | 4.72 | 3.22 | –51.1% | –28.3% |
Commentary:
Revenue stayed alive,
