The laminate business just got itself a shiny new IPO. Manilam Industries India Limited is walking into the NSE SME platform with a ₹39.95 crore book-built issue, priced between ₹65 and ₹69 per share, and a post-issue P/E of 23.85x. Not exactly plywood pricing for a plywood-adjacent business.
Pre-IPO market cap stands at ₹150.75 crore. The company posted a PAT of ₹7.38 crore for FY25 and ₹3.16 crore for the six months ended September 2025. Margins have improved, borrowings have reduced, and solar panels are coming. Everything looks nicely polished.
But is this premium laminate or just good marketing polish?
Let’s sand it down layer by layer.
1. At a Glance – The 30-Second Elevator Pitch
Manilam Industries is raising ₹39.95 crore via a mix of fresh issue (₹32.42 crore) and OFS (₹7.53 crore). Price band ₹65–₹69. Post-issue P/E at upper band: 23.85x. Pre-issue EPS: ₹4.30. Post-issue EPS dilution brings it to ₹2.89.
PAT margin? 5.33%.
EBITDA margin? 14.39%.
ROE (Sep 2025)? 8.35% (down from 24.80% in March 2025).
Total borrowings (Mar 2025)? ₹62.44 crore.
Subscription on Day 2? 0.65x overall. QIB portion? 0.00x. NII? Slightly over 1x. Retail? 0.85x.
Anchor investors have put in ₹11.30 crore with 30-day and 90-day lock-ins.
This isn’t a blockbuster rush. It’s more like a “let’s see how it goes” kind of IPO.
So the big question: Is this a growth story in decorative laminates, or just another SME issue trying to look designer?
2. Introduction – The Laminate Layer Cake
Decorative laminates. Sounds glamorous. Reality? It’s a brutally competitive, highly fragmented business where everyone claims to have the best “finish.”
Manilam Industries, incorporated in 2015, manufactures decorative laminates and trades plywood. Manufacturing plant in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. Experience centres in Bangalore, Delhi, and Chennai. Total employees: 152 as of Feb 10, 2026.
The business operates B2B. Distributors place orders directly with the plant. No D2C glamour here. No influencer kitchen tours. Just steady dealer networks.
Now here’s where it gets interesting.
Revenue for FY23: ₹148.82 crore.
FY24: ₹138.04 crore.
FY25: ₹142.16 crore.
That’s not exactly hockey-stick growth. It’s more of a polite fluctuation.
PAT:
- FY23: ₹1.53 crore
- FY24: ₹3.10 crore
- FY25: ₹7.38 crore
Margins improved from FY24 onwards. EBITDA margin improved to 14.39% (Sep 2025).
But whenever margins suddenly improve in a fragmented industry, investors should ask: operational efficiency or temporary tailwind?
Are we seeing structural improvement or timing advantage?
3.
