Okay so IOL Chemicals.
They make the powder inside your paracetamol.
They tripled the plant.
It’s still only about 55% full.
Profit still jumped 88% in April–June 2026.
Nearly tripled from the March low
The stock closed at ₹201.15 on 9 October 2026.
Its 52-week low was ₹68.82, on 13 March 2026.
So it nearly tripled in seven months, which is pretty wild.
It flipped into stage 2 on 29 May 2026.
Stage 2 means a steady uptrend.
The 40-week average is around ₹136 now, and the price sits far above it.
In July it hit ₹171, slipped to ₹146, then kept climbing.
It made a 52-week high of ₹209.39 on 1 October.
No clear ceiling in the last 40 weeks.
Zooming out: the last 5 years
The powder inside your painkillers
IOL makes APIs.
That’s the active powder inside a medicine.
Ibuprofen is the big one.
Paracetamol, metformin and clopidogrel are growing fast.
There’s a chemicals side too, mainly ethyl acetate and acetic anhydride.
The company turned 40 this year and ships to over 80 countries.
Exports were 28.5% of sales in April–June 2026.
Watch it in under 90 seconds
The good and the bad
What’s working
The plant is already paid for
Paracetamol capacity went from 3,600 to 10,800 tonnes a year.
Only about 55% is used so far.
So each extra tonne goes mostly to profit.
Less dependence on ibuprofen
Ibuprofen had a long slump when customers cut their stock.
Now other medicines are 43% of pharma sales.
tbh I like this part the most
New projects, paid from own cash
In September 2026 they announced about ₹500 crore of new projects.
Ibuprofen goes to 18,000 tonnes a year by December 2027.
Debt is only ₹135 crore.
What’s bugging me
P/E far above its usual level
P/E is 33.5 right now.
Its usual level is about 18.6.
That’s near the top of its own ten-year range.
One huge quarter, calmer guidance
Sales grew 37% in April–June 2026 source.
Management still only guided 15–20% for the year.
Some of it may be export shipments landing early.
Plants keep eating the cash
Over five years, plant spending used up 111% of operating cash.
Free cash was only about ₹49 crore last year.
tbh that’s thin for this much growth
Did they do what they said?
They hit the margin number and blew past the sales one.
The paracetamol plant came in late though.
It reached 55%, not 65%.
The yearly sales range also moved four times in eight months.
“Most of our products have very high capacity utilization, and I think that was the main reason for the improvement in EBITDA margins”
— Management, IOL Chemicals, call on 29 September 2026
My take: So fuller plants did most of the work.
I like that more than a one-time price bump.
The numbers
Revenue
Revenue is just sales.
Last 12 months: ₹2,523 crore.
The 12 months before that: ₹2,129 crore.
PAT
PAT is profit after tax.
It was ₹168 crore over the last 12 months.
The 12 months before, it was ₹105 crore.
OPM
OPM is the share of sales left as operating profit.
It was 12% over the last 12 months, up from 10%.
April–June 2026 alone hit 14%.
ROE
ROE is profit compared to the owners’ money in the business.
It was 7.9% in the year to March 2026, and 9.6% back in March 2023.
That’s the part I don’t love yet.
EPS and P/E
EPS is profit per share.
It’s ₹5.72 for the last 12 months, up from ₹3.58.
P/E is 33.5 now.
Back in March 2026 it was 17.5.
Dates to watch
That’s IOL for today. See you tomorrow with the next one. — Roshan, Sector Alpha
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Prices as of 9 October 2026 · results to Apr–Jun 2026 · business analysis from 10 October 2026
Sector Alpha shows what has happened in published results and market data, and explains the business behind it, so you can study a stock yourself. It is never a recommendation to buy or sell, and Sector Alpha is not registered with SEBI as an adviser. Data as of 12 October 2026. Full data page: https://sectoralpha.in/stocks/IOLCP