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sector view

Speciality chemicals: reading a three-year de-stocking cycle

Volumes flat, prices down, margins halved. We separate what is cyclical from what is structural in the coverage set.

Kavita Nair

Analyst — Materials

19 Aug 20268 min read

The pattern

Reported

Across the coverage set, reported volumes have been broadly flat for three years while realisations have fallen. EBITDA margin at Ratnagiri Speciality Chemicals moved from 18.1% in FY2024 to 11.3% in FY2026 on that basis.

Customer inventories built during an earlier shortage are being worked down. That process ends; the question is when.

Our view

Our view

We read this as cyclical rather than structural, because the contracts and the molecule approvals are intact. A holder who disagrees would point to leverage: net debt to EBITDA of 2.8x leaves little room if the recovery takes another two years. Both readings are defensible from the same disclosures.

Sources

  • Annual reports FY2024–FY2026Volume and realisation disclosures.

This note is published for information only. It is not investment advice, not a recommendation, and not a solicitation to buy or sell any security. Figures were current at the date of publication and are not updated afterwards.