Altman Z″
Needs current assets and current liabilities.
A plain-language read of the business, how it actually earns, where the edge is, and the economics of every reported segment — taken from the annual report and investor presentation, not a one-line industry label.
Trading at 93.0x earnings against its own median of 41.8x: 2.0 standard deviations above its usual range. This compares the company with its own history, not with other companies.
How to read this: Price shows the closing price with its 50-day (amber) and 200-day (grey) averages; bars at the bottom are daily volume, green on up days and red on down days; dashed lines mark the 52-week high and low. vs Nifty 50 starts both at 100 so you can see which did better over the period. P/E shows what the market paid for each rupee of profit, inside the band it usually trades in. Drawdown shows how far below its best price the share has been. Hover anywhere for the numbers on that day.
The three to six things that actually matter about this company, each with the exact filing and note it came from — never a fact without the context that makes it meaningful.
What the numbers mean when read together — computed from the filings, not a score.
Net margin has narrowed from 5.3% to 2.8% year-on-year — profitability per rupee of sales is shrinking.
Why this reading: Noted with caution — worth watching, but not yet conclusive on its own. Business has ups and downs; one soft reading is not a verdict.
Quarter net margin 2.8% vs 5.3% four quarters earlier. Sustained compression signals pricing pressure, cost inflation, or mix deterioration.
Borrowings rose 515% over two years while the company also carries ₹529 cr in investments. Why borrow at interest while parking money elsewhere is a fair question.
Why this reading: Noted with caution — worth watching, but not yet conclusive on its own. Business has ups and downs; one soft reading is not a verdict.
Borrowings moved to ₹400 cr from ₹65 cr. Simultaneous large investments can be legitimate treasury management, or a sign that reported cash is not freely available.
Operating cash is 245% of trailing profit — the earnings are converting to real cash, not just accruals.
Why this reading: A positive signal: cash conversion at or above ~0.9 means reported profit is showing up as actual cash.
Operating cash ₹368 cr against trailing net profit ₹150 cr. Consistent conversion near or above 1.0 is a hallmark of genuine earnings.
Debt rose over 3 years, and most of it (824%) has turned into fixed assets and projects under construction — the borrowing is building the business.
Why this reading: A positive signal: leverage taken on is visibly becoming productive capacity, not disappearing.
New borrowing ₹330 cr largely matched by an asset build of ₹2,719 cr. Debt that funds capacity is a different thing from debt that funds nothing.
Free cash flow is positive and consistent — the business funds itself after capex.
Why this reading: A positive signal in the numbers, shown for balance alongside the concerns.
Latest free cash flow ₹169 cr. Negative in only 1 of 8 years. A self-funding business needs less external capital and dilutes less.
Every score below is calculated here from the reported numbers — none of it is asserted. Open the notebook at the foot of the section to see each formula with this company's figures in it.
Needs current assets and current liabilities.
Piotroski F-Score — fundamental momentum — Joseph Piotroski, University of Chicago, 2000, in a study of whether accounting signals could improve returns among cheap stocks.
Nine yes-or-no tests across profitability, leverage and operating efficiency. Each pass scores one. It asks a narrow question: is this business getting better or worse on its own terms, year over year?
How to read it7 or more suggests improving fundamentals; 3 or fewer suggests deterioration. It measures direction, not quality — a weak company improving can score higher than a strong one holding steady.
Where it failsA single year of comparison, so one unusual year distorts it. Says nothing about valuation, competitive position or management. Piotroski designed it to rank already-cheap stocks, not to judge a company in isolation.
Needs trade receivables, current assets, other expenses.
Accruals are -3.9% of assets. Free cash flow negative in 1 of 8 years.
DuPont decomposition — Devised inside the DuPont Corporation in the 1920s and still the standard way to read a return on equity.
Splits return on equity into its three sources, so the same headline number can be traced to very different businesses.
How to read itA 20% ROE built on margin and turnover is a different proposition from a 20% ROE built on 3× leverage. The first survives a downturn; the second amplifies it.
Where it failsA single year. Negative equity makes it meaningless. Leverage is structural for lenders, so the third term carries no signal there.
Capital is going in far faster than revenue is coming out. For a business mid-build that is expected — the test is whether it converts.
cumulative operating cash flow ÷ cumulative net profit
₹3,026 cr ÷ ₹2,587 cr, over 8 years
1.17×
Above 1.0 means cash exceeds reported profit — the healthier reading.(net profit − operating cash flow) ÷ average total assets
(₹150 − ₹368) cr ÷ average assets
-3.9%
Negative means cash exceeded profit — the healthier reading. Positive above ~10% is where accruals start to dominate earnings.net margin × asset turnover × leverage
6.6% × 0.40 × 1.46
3.8%
Splits ROE into whether returns come from operations or from borrowing.EBIT ÷ finance cost
₹244 cr ÷ ₹37 cr
6.59×
How many times operating profit covers the interest bill.borrowings ÷ net worth
₹400 cr ÷ ₹3,911 cr
0.10×
Read against the sector — infrastructure carries more than software.growth in fixed assets + CWIP, against growth in revenue
capital +328% vs revenue +69%, FY2023 to FY2026
259pp gap
Money going in far faster than revenue coming out. For an incubator this is expected — the test is whether it eventually converts.Needs more balance-sheet detail (only 3 of 6 flags testable).
NOPAT over equity plus debt less cash, at a notional 25% tax. Incremental ROIC is the return on money put in since then — the number that decides whether growth creates value or consumes it.
Return on invested capital, and incremental ROIC — Standard in corporate finance; the incremental form was popularised by Michael Mauboussin as the test of whether growth creates value.
ROIC measures what the business earns on all the capital it employs — equity plus debt, less cash. Incremental ROIC asks a sharper question: what has it earned on the money put in since a chosen year?
How to read itROIC comfortably above the cost of capital — call it 11–13% in India — means growth compounds. Below it, growth consumes. Incremental below headline means recent investment is earning less than the legacy business.
Where it failsDistorted in the year of a large acquisition. Understated for companies mid-build, where capital is deployed but capacity has not yet been commissioned — an incubator will look poor until it does not.
Read downward. Cash can cover EBITDA and still not survive capex — the third rung is where a capital-hungry business shows itself.
The earnings quality ladder — Not a named model — the standard sequence an analyst walks when testing whether reported profit is real.
Three ratios read in order, each stricter than the last.
How to read itRead downward. Each rung failing where the one above passed tells you exactly where the cash is going.
Where it failsA single year of heavy capex depresses the third rung legitimately. Judge it across a cycle.
The growth rate that makes today's market value equal the discounted cash flows, at a 11.5% discount rate and 4.0% terminal growth. Not a forecast — the arithmetic of what is already in the price. Compare it with what the business has actually delivered.
Reverse DCF — the growth already in the price — A standard inversion of discounted cash flow, used to avoid the forecasting problem entirely.
Instead of forecasting cash flows and deriving a value, it takes today's market value as given and solves for the growth rate that would justify it. The output is not a view — it is the arithmetic of what the market is currently assuming.
How to read itCompare it with what the business has actually delivered. A price implying 30% a year against a decade of 15% is a demanding assumption; the reverse is a modest one.
Where it failsUseless when free cash flow is negative or unusually depressed, which is common mid-capex. Highly sensitive to the discount rate — a point either way moves the answer materially.
Against a policy rate near 6%, most sound Indian corporates borrow between 7% and 10%.
Cost of debt — Interest expense over average borrowings — the effective rate the company actually pays.
What the lenders charge, which is a market verdict on credit quality that no rating agency delay affects.
How to read itAgainst a policy rate near 6%, most sound Indian corporates borrow between 7% and 10%. Read the direction over years as much as the level.
Where it failsUnderstated where a large share of interest is capitalised into projects under construction. Not meaningful for lenders, where interest is cost of goods.
Models that need these lines are withheld rather than estimated: net worth, current assets, current liabilities, trade receivables, inventory, net block. Nothing on this page is back-solved from a figure the company did not publish.
Each framework below is a set of stated, mechanical criteria from published work, run against this company's own filed numbers. Passing or failing a screen is not a verdict — different frameworks disagree by design, and that disagreement is itself informative.
Benjamin Graham's stated criteria for a defensive stock, applied to the filed numbers. A company failing several is not disqualified — Graham designed these to be deliberately strict.
Two ratios only: what the business earns on its capital, and what you pay for those earnings. Designed to be ranked across a universe rather than read in isolation.
The fundamental half of William O'Neil's framework. The market and leadership components are judgement calls and are not scored here.
The characteristics long-term holders commonly look for: cash-backed earnings, high returns on capital, and debt that never forces a decision.
Bars are revenue; the line is net margin. Revenue rising while the line falls is the shape worth noticing.
Operating cash first, then what the business spent and raised.
One year is a snapshot. These are the two lines that matter across a cycle.
Rising debtor or inventory days against flat sales is the earliest visible sign of stress.
Set your own assumptions and watch the numbers move. A scenario calculator — the outputs are the arithmetic of your inputs.
One canonical set of figures — the same numbers used everywhere else on this page and on the screener.
How the register has moved over recent quarters — the direction matters more than the level.
Promoter held steady from 57.49% to 57.48% across these quarters.
FII rose from 6.01% to 7.71% across these quarters.
MF trimmed from 17.36% to 16.93% across these quarters.
Other trimmed from 19.14% to 17.88% across these quarters.
Where cash gets stuck. A rising inventory or debtor line against flat sales is the earliest sign of trouble in the numbers.
| Measure | FY2019 | FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debtor days
How long customers take to pay | 142 | 51 | 37 | 65 | 30 | 46 | 108 | 110 |
| Inventory days
How long stock sits before it sells | 556 | 278 | 243 | 259 | 279 | 268 | 209 | 310 |
| Payable days
How long the company takes to pay suppliers | 190 | 113 | 100 | 97 | 63 | 49 | 120 | 157 |
| Cash conversion cycle
Debtor + inventory − payable days | 509 | 217 | 180 | 228 | 247 | 265 | 197 | 263 |
| Working capital days | 205 | 64 | 56 | 108 | 99 | 115 | 106 | 133 |
| ROCE %
Return on capital employed | — | 50.0% | 40.0% | 41.0% | 32.0% | 19.0% | 21.0% | 6.0% |
| Metric | Q2 FY27 | Q1 FY27 | Q2 FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross margin | 70.8% | 71.5% | 74.6% |
From the quarterly results and the earnings call, read by FinMinutes. Latest quarter, read in full.
Read using the Pharmaceuticals framework (named in the filing read). Primary valuation lens: P/E excluding one-time exclusivity gains.
Read more closely in this sector: Status of each US-filed plant · Price erosion stated · One-product dependence.
The shape of the business over time (annual) — read the direction, not the single print.
| Line | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue from operations | 1,010 | 1,320 | 1,340 | 1,051 | 2,608 | 2,269 |
| Other income | 68 | 133 | 46 | 62 | 53 | 4 |
| Depreciation | 32 | 39 | 48 | 55 | 167 | 187 |
| Finance cost | 12 | 9 | 13 | 7 | 41 | 37 |
| Profit before tax | 468 | 668 | 560 | 406 | 643 | 207 |
| Net profit (owners) | 362 | 454 | 411 | 300 | 484 | 150 |
| EPS (₹) | 14.23 | 17.83 | 16.16 | 11.80 | 19.14 | 4.68 |
Exceptional items, total income and EBITDA are read from the filed statements.
| Metric | Sep 2023 | Dec 2023 | Mar 2024 | Jun 2024 | Sep 2024 | Dec 2024 | Mar 2025 | Jun 2025 | Sep 2025 | Dec 2025 | Mar 2026 | Jun 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 231 | 220 | 253 | 488 | 604 | 676 | 840 | 549 | 556 | 545 | 619 | 422 |
| Other Income | 20 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 16 | 22 | -4 | 6 | 16 | 1 | -18 | 12 |
| Expenses | 133 | 154 | 180 | 363 | 398 | 439 | 611 | 437 | 435 | 449 | 520 | 421 |
| Depreciation | 12 | 13 | 17 | 31 | 38 | 44 | 54 | 45 | 44 | 47 | 51 | 50 |
| Finance cost | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 |
| Profit before tax | 105 | 65 | 71 | 103 | 174 | 205 | 161 | 63 | 84 | 41 | 20 | -43 |
| Net Profit | 80 | 47 | 53 | 75 | 138 | 153 | 117 | 46 | 66 | 29 | 8 | -45 |
| EPS | 3.13 | 1.84 | 2.10 | 2.96 | 5.44 | 6.01 | 4.73 | 1.28 | 1.94 | 0.96 | 0.51 | -0.63 |
| Item | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equity Capital | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 38 |
| Reserves | 1,155 | 1,502 | 1,710 | 2,025 | 3,623 | 3,873 |
| Borrowings | 143 | 97 | 70 | 65 | 486 | 400 |
| Net block | 441 | 534 | 663 | 670 | 3,107 | 3,369 |
| CWIP | 96 | 30 | 165 | 179 | 334 | 178 |
| Investments | 542 | 598 | 536 | 904 | 337 | 529 |
| Total Assets | 1,474 | 1,830 | 1,966 | 2,254 | 5,480 | 5,727 |
| Line | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash from operations | 383 | 330 | 457 | 358 | 673 | 368 |
| Cash from investing | -311 | -136 | -195 | -362 | -388 | -251 |
| Cash from financing | -76 | -156 | -242 | -14 | -327 | -165 |
| Free cash flow | 272 | 255 | 171 | 307 | 357 | 169 |
| Net change in cash | -5 | 37 | 20 | -18 | -42 | -48 |
Cash from operations is the number profit has to answer to. Free cash flow is what remains after the business pays for its own growth.
The part no one reads: the auditor's opinion, the contingent liabilities buried in the notes, the covenants, and the claims in the deck placed beside the figures that test them.
Where analysts pressed management on the earnings call, and exactly how management answered — the questions that were hardest to answer are usually the ones that matter.
These are coverage counts, not ratings. Each one asks a fixed set of questions of the filings and reports how many the company answered. A company that discloses nothing counts nothing here — that is a statement about the disclosure, not about the business.
The same read, applied to the companies this one competes with.
Cohance Lifesciences Ltd. reported revenue of ₹477 cr for July to September 2026, −14.2% on the year and +12.9% on the quarter. That is slower than this quarter has grown in recent years (+76.7% on average). Over the last four quarters revenue comes to ₹2,063 cr, −21.3% on the four before.
Operating profit (EBITDA) was ₹35.4 cr, a margin of 7.4%, −1,435 bps on the year and +715 bps on the quarter. Over the last 8 quarters the margin has ranged from 0.3% to 35.1%, averaging 18.2%. Operating costs grew +1.5%, faster than revenue at −14.2%, so operating profit grew less than sales.
Net profit was ₹2.3 cr, −96.6% on the year and — on the quarter, with earnings per share of ₹0.40. Profit before other income, one-offs and tax fell 134.0%, so 37 points of the headline growth came from outside the core business. Profit over the last four quarters totals −₹5.9 cr, −101.5% on the four before.
Of the 13 companies in Pharmaceuticals that have reported Q2 FY27 so far, Cohance Lifesciences Ltd. ranks 13th on revenue growth; the sector median is +12.9%. Its margin moved −1,435 bps on the year against a sector median of +12 bps.
Pharma quarters swing with US generic launches and price erosion, while India formulations grow more steadily. Currency gains and other income can be material, so headline profit needs a check against operating profit.
On earnings per share of ₹1.24 over the last four quarters, the stock at ₹464.55 trades at 374.6 times trailing earnings.
Operating margin fell sharply on the year. Pricing, input costs, or mix?
Source: Results filing
Inventory is piling up against sales. Slow demand, or stocking ahead?
Source: Balance sheet
Borrowing rose while cash also rose. Why borrow while holding the cash?
Source: Balance sheet
Could not run on this quarter: Other income carrying profit, Exceptional items that recur, IPO money used as stated, Related-party transactions, Promoter pledges and allotments, Earlier promises against delivery. The filing did not carry these lines.
Net profit a year ago, each driver's change, and net profit now. Blue added profit, red took it away.
| Balance sheet | Sep '26 | Last year end | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trade receivables | ₹469 cr | ₹681 cr | ▼ 31.1% |
| Inventory | ₹734 cr | ₹562 cr | ▲ 30.6% |
| Cash | ₹98.6 cr | ₹49.1 cr | ▲ 100.7% |
| Bank balances | ₹9.2 cr | ₹10.5 cr | ▼ 12.7% |
| Long-term borrowings | ₹28.1 cr | ₹50.5 cr | ▼ 44.3% |
| Short-term borrowings | ₹200 cr | ₹119 cr | ▲ 67.5% |
| Trade payables | ₹364 cr | ₹285 cr | ▲ 28.0% |
| Net block | ₹1,943 cr | ₹1,990 cr | ▼ 2.4% |
| Capital work in progress | ₹216 cr | ₹173 cr | ▲ 24.6% |
| Equity | ₹3,912 cr | ₹3,911 cr | ▲ 0.0% |
| Total assets | ₹5,680 cr | ₹5,730 cr | ▼ 0.9% |
| Cash flow, year to date | This year | Last year |
|---|---|---|
| Operating cash flow | ₹188 cr | ₹261 cr |
| Capital expenditure | −₹108 cr | −₹89.7 cr |
| Investing cash flow | −₹46.7 cr | −₹194 cr |
| Financing cash flow | −₹92.5 cr | −₹82.9 cr |
Receivables at 95 days of sales (−14 days against the last year end). Inventory at 149 days of sales (+59 days).
Other matter: “”We did not review the interim financial results of one subsidiary included in the Statement, whose financial information reflects total assets of ₹21.51 crore as at 30 September 2026, and total revenues of ₹3.39 crore and ₹6.83 crore, total net… Read in full
We did not review the interim financial results of one subsidiary included in the Statement, whose financial information reflects total assets of ₹21.51 crore as at 30 September 2026, and total revenues of ₹3.39 crore and ₹6.83 crore, total net profit after tax of ₹0.42 crore and ₹1.12 crores, total comprehensive income of ₹0.42 crore and ₹1.11 crore, for the quarter and year-to-date period ended on 30 September 2026, respectively, and net cash outflows of ₹7.45 crores for the period ended 30 September 2026, as considered in the Statement. These interim financial results have been reviewed by other auditors whose review report has been furnished to us by the management, and our conclusion in so far as it relates to the amounts and disclosures included in respect of these subsidiary is based solely on the review report of such other auditor and the procedures performed by us as stated in paragraph 3 above.
Filing p. consolidated limited review report p.16-17
Merger of erstwhile Cohance Lifesciences Limited into Suven Pharmaceuticals Limited completed with name change to Cohance Lifesciences Limited. (p. ress release p.2 & consolidated note 2)
Appointment / designation update of Executive Director as approved by Board of Directors. (p. outcome letter p.1)
Disclosure regarding industrial incident at manufacturing facility and subsequent regulatory inspection notice/closure order. (p. outcome letter p.2)
Tax: Consolidated tax credit of ₹13.02 crore (current tax ₹1.43 crore, deferred tax credit ₹14.45 crore / net tax credit ₹13.02 crore) on Loss before tax of ₹10.75 crore for Q2 FY27
| Metric | Q2 FY27 | Q1 FY27 | Q2 FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross margin | 70.8% | 71.5% | 74.6% |
Maintains USFDA compliant manufacturing facilities across India and US; company remains focused on progressing regulatory commitments and maintaining compliance standards.
Facilities are compliant with regulatory requirements across key global operating sites.
Specialty Chemicals revenue declined 40.6% YoY due to AgChem pricing pressure, lower volumes and programme phasing, while API+ revenue grew supported by selective pricing actions.
AgChem pricing pressure and programme phasing impacted Specialty Chemicals top line.
Platform is diversified across Pharma CDMO (35% revenue share in Q2), API+ (56% revenue share) and Specialty Chemicals (9% revenue share), with Sapala nucleic acid business growing 33.6% YoY.
Balanced revenue mix across multiple CRDMO, API+, and nucleic acid chemistry offerings reduces single-product reliance.
Read using the Pharmaceuticals framework (named in the filing read). Primary valuation lens: P/E excluding one-time exclusivity gains.
Read more closely in this sector: Status of each US-filed plant · Price erosion stated · One-product dependence.
| Metric | Guidance | For | Against earlier guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
| H2 FY27 YoY Revenue and EBITDA Growth Target | Grow YoY | H2 FY2027 | unchanged or first given |
Held for next quarter's said-then-did check.
| Segment | Revenue | YoY | Result | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contract Development and Manufacturing Operations (CDMO) | ₹477 cr | ▼ 14.2% | −₹10.8 cr | ▼ 112.8% |
| Q3 FY24 | Q4 FY24 | Q1 FY25 | Q2 FY25 | Q3 FY25 | Q4 FY25 | Q1 FY26 | Q2 FY26 | Q3 FY26 | Q4 FY26 | Q1 FY27 | Q2 FY27 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ₹220 cr | ₹253 cr | ₹488 cr | ₹604 cr | ₹676 cr | ₹840 cr | ₹549 cr | ₹556 cr | ₹545 cr | ₹619 cr | ₹422 cr | ₹477 cr |
| YoY | — | — | +40% | +161% | +207% | +232% | +13% | −8% | −19% | −26% | −23% | −14% |
| EBITDA margin | 30.0% | 28.9% | 25.6% | 33.9% | 35.1% | 27.3% | 20.4% | 21.8% | 17.4% | 16.0% | 0.3% | 7.4% |
| Other income, % of PBT | 22% | 24% | 18% | 9% | 11% | −2% | 10% | 19% | 2% | −90% | — | — |
| Exceptional items | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tax rate | 29% | 25% | 27% | 21% | 25% | 27% | 26% | 21% | 29% | 58% | — | — |
| Net profit | ₹47.0 cr | ₹53.0 cr | ₹75.0 cr | ₹138 cr | ₹153 cr | ₹117 cr | ₹46.0 cr | ₹66.4 cr | ₹29.0 cr | ₹8.0 cr | −₹45.2 cr | ₹2.3 cr |
| YoY | — | — | −38% | +73% | +226% | +121% | −39% | −52% | −81% | −93% | −198% | −97% |
| Core profit YoY | — | — | −45% | +86% | +259% | +206% | −32% | −57% | −78% | −77% | −197% | −134% |
| EPS | ₹1.84 | ₹2.10 | ₹2.96 | ₹5.44 | ₹6.01 | ₹4.73 | ₹1.28 | ₹1.94 | ₹0.96 | ₹0.51 | −₹0.63 | ₹0.40 |
| Flags | · | · | 1 | 1 | ✓ | ✓ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Each quarter is read with the same rules. Balance-sheet and cash checks run on half-year and annual quarters; filing-read checks run where a read exists.