1. At a Glance
India’s softest towel meets the hardest margins. Trident, king of wheat-straw paper and bathroom luxury, is in the “P/E looks expensive but margins feel cheap” club. Q1 FY26 saw ₹140 Cr in profit, yet the stock feels like it’s drying on the clothesline.
2. Introduction with Hook
Picture this: You’re the world’s largest wheat straw paper king and towel prince, but investors still treat you like bargain bin bath linen. That’s Trident. It smells like dividends, feels like growth, but trades like a hand-me-down.
- Q1 PAT up 89% YoY
- OPM back to 17% (finally fluff in margins)
But don’t get cozy just yet — paper is printing cash, but textiles? More like textile tension.
3. Business Model (WTF Do They Even Do?)
They spin yarn, weave towels, print bedsheets, and bleach the hell out of wheat straw to make paper. And then they sell it all like it’s FabIndia with an industrial twist.
Business Lines:
- Home Textiles: Terry Towels, Bedsheets – exports galore
- Paper: Copier king of North India
- Chemicals: Sulphuric acid that screams industrial hygiene
Basically, Trident is “Dmart for your bathroom, Xerox for your office, and acid for your batteries.”
4. Financials Overview
| Metric | Q1 FY26 | Q1 FY25 | YoY Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ₹1,707 Cr | ₹1,494 Cr | +14% |
| EBITDA | ₹292 Cr | ₹231 Cr | +26% |
| Net Profit | ₹140 Cr | ₹91 Cr | +54% |
| EPS | ₹0.27 | ₹0.18 | +50% |
Like their towels — performance is soft, but finally soaking up profits again.
5. Valuation
Let’s thread this needle.
Method 1: P/E Based
TTM EPS = ₹0.85
P/E Range = 25x – 35x (textiles with FMCG envy)
Fair Value Range = ₹21 – ₹30
Method 2: EV/EBITDA
TTM EBITDA ≈ ₹977 Cr
EV/EBITDA = 10x – 13x
Implied FV = ₹27 – ₹35
If you’re paying 35x for towels, you probably wear Gucci flip-flops to Big Bazaar.
6. What’s Cooking – News, Triggers, Drama
- Q1 FY26 profit up 89% — smells like revival
- ₹500 Cr fundraise via NCDs — gearing up or just leveraging softness?
- Paper biz margins highest in the segment
- Global demand shaky — exports are still a “work in progress”
Basically, towel’s fluffed, but cotton demand is still cotton candy — looks big, dissolves fast.
7. Balance Sheet
| Item | FY25 |
|---|---|
| Equity Capital | ₹510 Cr |
| Reserves | ₹4,111 Cr |
| Borrowings | ₹1,635 Cr |
| Total Assets | ₹7,161 Cr |
Debt isn’t scary. Just mildly inconvenient — like a wet towel in winter.
8. Cash Flow – Sab Number Game Hai
| Year | CFO | CFI | CFF | Net Cash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY23 | ₹1,426 Cr | -₹1,160 Cr | -₹410 Cr | -₹144 Cr |
| FY24 | ₹287 Cr | -₹728 Cr | ₹340 Cr | -₹100 Cr |
| FY25 | ₹945 Cr | -₹205 Cr | -₹682 Cr | ₹57 Cr |
Operating cash flow is legit. But investing cash flow is hungrier than a hostel mess queue.
9. Ratios – Sexy or Stressy?
| Metric | FY25 |
|---|---|
| ROCE | 9.5% |
| ROE | 8.3% |
| PAT Margin | 6.3% |
| D/E | 0.40x |
| OPM % (TTM) | 14% |
Financials are dryer-fresh, but definitely not catwalk-ready.
10. P&L Breakdown – Show Me the Money
| Year | Revenue | EBITDA | PAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY23 | ₹6,332 Cr | ₹947 Cr | ₹442 Cr |
| FY24 | ₹6,809 Cr | ₹940 Cr | ₹350 Cr |
| FY25 | ₹6,987 Cr | ₹911 Cr | ₹371 Cr |
That’s a W-shaped profit chart if you squint really hard (and drink something strong).
11. Peer Comparison
| Company | Rev (Cr) | PAT (Cr) | P/E |
|---|---|---|---|
| KPR Mill | ₹6,388 | ₹797 | 53x |
| Welspun Living | ₹10,545 | ₹639 | 21x |
| Vardhman Textile | ₹9,861 | ₹851 | 17x |
| Trident | ₹6,951 | ₹437 | 36.8x |
Looks like the middle child in a disciplined textile family — behaves well, still doesn’t get inheritance.
12. Miscellaneous – Shareholding, Promoters
| Class | Jun 2025 |
|---|---|
| Promoters | 73.7% |
| FIIs | 3.0% |
| DIIs | 0.1% |
| Public | 23.2% |
- Zero promoter drama
- FIIs finally noticing again
- Retail flocking in with the confidence of a towel wrapped at the beach
13. EduInvesting Verdict™
Trident is a hybrid of margin-rich paper and fashion-confused textiles. It’s got steady earnings, decent cash flow, but also valuation inflation. Management has kept it clean, dividends flowing, and debt reasonable — but growth is still ironing out wrinkles.
A reliable bathmat — dry, clean, and just soft enough. Not exciting, but doesn’t slip.
Metadata:
Written by EduInvesting Team | 24 July 2025
Tags: Trident Ltd, Textiles, Paper, Towel Stocks, EduInvesting Premium
