1. At a Glance
If Indian snacks were a Bollywood movie, Prataap Snacks would be that supporting actor who once stole the show, then disappeared for a few scenes, and is now awkwardly re-entering the frame with a new hairstyle and a gym membership.
Market cap stands at ₹2,635 crore, the stock is hovering around ₹1,102, up ~23% over six months, yet still nursing emotional damage from FY25. Sales for the latest quarter came in at ₹462 crore, with PAT of ₹5 crore, which is notable because last year this thing was busy making losses like a startup with free chips and no pricing power.
Operating margins are thin at ~4.4%, ROCE is still negative, and valuation metrics scream “premium FMCG” while profitability whispers “work in progress.” Debt is low at ₹55 crore, so at least the balance sheet is not crying. The big headline? A ₹425 crore greenfield Indore plant (60,000 MTPA) approved, despite current utilisation being only ~60%. Yes, that contradiction is intentional. Welcome to snacks investing.
2. Introduction
Prataap Snacks is the classic Indian consumption story that looked like a multibagger in theory and behaved like a diet plan in practice. Strong distribution, a recognisable brand (Yellow Diamond), Salman Khan on TV shouting at you to eat chips, and a presence across 27 states and 4 UTs. What could go wrong?
Well… margins. And execution. And a fire accident in FY25 that politely deleted ₹34.5 crore from the P&L as an “exceptional item.” Add rising input costs, price wars, and the reality that namkeen is not cigarettes (you can switch brands faster than you switch socks).
Q3 FY26 shows early signs of recovery. Revenue is up ~3.8% QoQ, PAT is back in black, and operating profit has stabilised after that ugly Dec-24 quarter. But before popping open a packet of Kurves in celebration, one question:
Is this a turnaround… or just a temporary sugar rush?
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Prataap Snacks makes food you eat when you’re bored, stressed, watching cricket, or pretending to work.
Their portfolio spans 150+ SKUs across:
- Extruded snacks (56%) – Rings, Kurves, Puffs, Chulbule
- Potato chips (21%)
- Namkeen (18%)
- Others (5%) – sweet snacks, pellets
They sell ~12 million packets a day, which sounds insane until you realise India eats snacks the way other countries drink water. Distribution is the real moat: 2.5 million retail outlets, 5,200+ distributors, and growing presence in Q-commerce and modern trade.
Manufacturing is spread across 16 plants (7 owned, 9 third-party), which helps reach but kills scale efficiency. The company now wants to consolidate smaller Indore units and shift North India production in-house to improve margins. Translation: outsourcing was convenient, now it’s expensive.
Exports exist (9 countries), but this is still a very desi, very India-centric crunch story.
4. Financials Overview
Quarterly Comparison Table (₹ crore)
| Metric | Latest Qtr (Dec-25) | YoY Qtr (Dec-24) | Prev Qtr (Sep-25) | YoY % | QoQ % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 461.58 | 444.61 | 431.89 | +3.8% | +6.9% |
| EBITDA | 20.30 | -5.41 | 22.90 | NA | -11.3% |
| PAT | 3.25 | -37.93 | 4.64 | NA | -30.0% |
| EPS (₹) | 1.36 | -15.89 | 1.94 | NA | -29.9% |
Annualised EPS (Q3 rule):
Average of Q1–Q3 FY26 EPS = (0.29 + 1.94 + 1.36) / 3 = 1.20
Annualised EPS =
