1. At a Glance
Meet Kothari Industrial Corporation Ltd (KICL) – a company with more business pivots than your neighbourhood chaiwala who turned into a momo vendor post-COVID. CMP is ₹527 with a ₹4,943 Cr market cap, up 1,886% in one year (yes, you read that right). The balance sheet, however, is still allergic to profits – FY25 sales of ₹112 Cr with ₹-18 Cr PAT. ROE = -17.2%, ROCE = -13.7%, and OPM a glorious -13%. Book value is ₹19.5, so the stock trades at 27x P/B. It’s basically Tesla valuation on a company that sells rusk, drones, and sometimes fertilizers.
2. Introduction
Once upon a time in 1970, Kothari was a fertilizer company. Fast forward to today, and it is a full-blown identity crisis. Fertilizers? Leased out to Coromandel. FMCG? Making rusks and cookies like a small-town bakery. Healthcare? Hand sanitizers and masks during COVID. Hotels? Why not. Drones? Sure, add some AI buzzwords and investors will lap it up.
The stock went from ₹27 to ₹625 in a year – a multibagger story that screams “operator-driven” louder than a Bollywood villain’s evil laugh. The business mix is chaos – fertilizers 31%, FMCG 32%, hotels 22%, drones 14% (FY23 revenue split). Basically, every new trend, they’re in. If India’s next big theme is selling space dosa on Mars, Kothari will issue a press release tomorrow.
Question for you: When was the last time you saw a company doing fertilizer + drones + cookies + hotels under one roof?
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
- Fertilizers: Old Ennore plant shut due to raw material shortage. Now leased to Coromandel. Kothari earns rental and some small production.
- FMCG & Health: Launched sanitizers, face masks during COVID. Added biscuits, rusks, cookies. Basically competing with Parle-G, but with balance sheet losses.
- Hotels: Entered hospitality to diversify. Because nothing says “fertilizer company” like running a 3-star hotel near the highway.
- Drones: Newest gamble – manufacturing & marketing drones. Perhaps to spray fertilizers on fields or deliver rusks to your balcony.
- Environmental JV: Recent tie-ups for Swachh Bharat & agri commodities trading.
In short, the business model is “try everything, stick to nothing, issue press
