Acme Universal Safezone 9 Limited IPO

01At a glance

What the company does: manufactures industrial safety footwear under the ACME brand, in EVA-rubber, nitrile rubber, polyurethane and PVC sole variants, to IS 15298, EN ISO 20345 and ASTM F2413 standards (RHP p.132, RHP p.133).

Who pays it: industrial and institutional purchasers, distributors and dealers, and export markets; the largest customer was 12.13% of FY26 revenue and the top ten 47.71% (RHP p.142).

Why it is raising money: ₹895.62 lakh for machinery, ₹800.00 lakh for working capital and ₹362.40 lakh for solar power plants at three factories, with acquisitions and general corporate purposes left blank (RHP p.72).

How fast it has grown: revenue rose from ₹17,894.40 lakh in FY24 to ₹20,590.31 lakh in FY26, about 7.3% a year, while profit after tax fell from ₹756.48 lakh to ₹585.73 lakh, about 12.0% a year (our arithmetic, RHP p.45).

The one thing to understand: other income was ₹525.84 lakh against profit before tax of ₹781.63 lakh in FY26, 67.3% of it, and consists mainly of discounts received, duty drawback and export incentives rather than sales (our arithmetic, RHP p.45, RHP p.203).

02The business, in plain words

The company cuts leather and upper fabric, assembles uppers, injects or moulds soles, finishes and packs safety shoes at four factories, two in Madhya Pradesh and two in Uttar Pradesh, with quality inspection at each stage (RHP p.136, RHP p.137). Products run from general industrial footwear to fire-retardant, electrical-shock-resistant, chemical-resistant, antistatic and penetration-resistant ranges, and a women-specific range (RHP p.133, RHP p.135).

A factory or contractor must issue safety shoes to its workers → it orders from the company, a distributor or a trade portal → the company cuts, assembles, moulds and packs at Gwalior, Banmore, Kanpur or Unnao → the company keeps what is left after leather, polyurethane, steel toe caps, labour and interest.

The business began as a partnership, M/s Acme Fabrik Plast Co, formed in April 1994, was converted into a private limited company in November 2016 and into a public limited company in July 2025 (RHP p.132, AP p.1). Three channels carry the product: direct institutional accounts on rate contracts and annual supply agreements, a distributor and dealer network, and business-to-business and e-commerce portals (RHP p.142). India was 91.90% of FY26 revenue; the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, Israel and Bahrain together were 7.18% (RHP p.141). The corporate office and one extended factory are leased from the promoters, Nitin Tiwari and Ruchi Tiwari (RHP p.136).

Earnings equation: Profit = pairs sold × (realisation − leather, sole and component cost) − employee cost − depreciation − interest + export incentives and discounts received. In FY26 material consumed was ₹14,677.90 lakh, employee cost ₹3,105.84 lakh, depreciation ₹941.08 lakh and finance cost ₹318.32 lakh, against revenue of ₹20,590.31 lakh (RHP p.45).

03Where the money comes from

Source: RHP p.140.

Within India, the five largest states in FY26 were Maharashtra at 15.67%, Tamil Nadu 13.58%, Gujarat 13.30%, Uttar Pradesh 12.01% and Odisha 6.61% of revenue (RHP p.141). Exports go mainly to the United Arab Emirates at ₹680.27 lakh, Nigeria at ₹362.08 lakh and Israel at ₹353.81 lakh (RHP p.141).

Source: RHP p.142.

Close to half of revenue comes from ten customers, and the prospectus notes that the customers are not necessarily the same across years (RHP p.142). The prospectus does not disclose the names of those customers or how long the rate contracts run.

04The growth record

Source: RHP p.45, RHP p.46, RHP p.92.

Net worth was ₹4,195.65 lakh, ₹4,691.07 lakh and ₹5,276.79 lakh; total debt ₹4,450.96 lakh, ₹4,964.81 lakh and ₹5,804.58 lakh; return on net worth 19.82%, 1.81% and 11.75%; return on capital employed 12.48%, 2.52% and 5.54%; interest coverage 3.91, 0.73 and 1.80 times (RHP p.44, RHP p.92). Our arithmetic over the two years from FY24 to FY26: revenue rose about 7.3% a year, EBITDA about 2.0% a year and profit after tax fell about 12.0% a year; EBITDA margin narrowed 77 basis points and PAT margin 139 basis points (RHP p.45, RHP p.92).

FY25 is the year to look at: profit fell to ₹80.42 lakh on revenue of ₹18,735.58 lakh, while depreciation rose from ₹463.77 lakh to ₹754.57 lakh and finance cost from ₹253.51 lakh to ₹315.59 lakh as the new capacity came in (RHP p.45). Earnings per share are printed two ways in the same document: ₹5.65, ₹0.59 and ₹4.17 in the restated profit and loss statement, adjusted for the split and bonus, and ₹169.65, ₹67.42 and ₹4.17 in the key performance indicator table, which adjusts only the latest year (RHP p.45, RHP p.92).

05What the growth is made of

Capacity and its use. Installed soling capacity went from 33,15,000 units in FY24 to 41,15,000 in FY25 and 43,15,000 in FY26, while production went 25,76,048, 25,98,560 and 27,71,851 units, so utilisation fell from 77.71% to 63.15% and recovered only to 64.23% (RHP p.136). Revenue rose 4.70% in FY25 and 9.90% in FY26 (RHP p.92). Production rose 7.6% over the two years while revenue rose 15.1%, so realisation per pair rose as well as volume, though the prospectus does not print realisation per pair (our arithmetic, RHP p.136, RHP p.45).

The geographic mix moved: Uttar Pradesh went from ₹1,248.48 lakh to ₹2,272.76 lakh of domestic sales and Tamil Nadu from ₹2,125.39 lakh to ₹2,570.29 lakh, while Maharashtra was flat at about ₹2,900 lakh (RHP p.141). Exports were ₹1,598.53 lakh in FY24 and ₹1,560.90 lakh in FY26, so the growth is domestic (RHP p.140).

06Earnings quality

The item that needs explaining is other income. In FY26 it was ₹525.84 lakh against profit before tax of ₹781.63 lakh, so 67.3% of pre-tax profit did not come from selling shoes at a margin (our arithmetic, RHP p.45, RHP p.203). The largest single line is ₹236.35 lakh of discount received, which is a supplier credit, and ₹165.98 lakh more is duty drawback and RODTEP export incentives (RHP p.203). Other income has grown from ₹272.21 lakh in FY24 while operating profit has not (RHP p.45).

Operating cash flow covers profit comfortably over the three years, at 2.17 times, but that is mostly depreciation: ₹2,159.42 lakh of it over the period (our arithmetic, RHP p.46).

07The balance sheet

At March 2026, long-term borrowings were ₹1,383.78 lakh and short-term borrowings ₹4,420.81 lakh, a total debt the prospectus states as ₹5,804.58 lakh, against net worth of ₹5,276.79 lakh, a debt to equity ratio of 1.10 (RHP p.44, RHP p.92). Of the long-term borrowings, ₹1,339.07 lakh is unsecured loans from the promoters, ₹990.76 lakh from Nitin Tiwari and ₹348.31 lakh from Ruchi Tiwari (RHP p.48). Cash and bank balances were ₹326.45 lakh (RHP p.44).

Trade payables were ₹2,299.60 lakh, of which ₹1,125.75 lakh was owed to micro and small enterprises, and two material creditors accounted for ₹842.34 lakh (RHP p.44, RHP p.233). Property, plant and equipment was ₹6,278.34 lakh after three years of capital expenditure totalling ₹4,683.12 lakh (RHP p.44, RHP p.46). Contingent liabilities were ₹48.52 lakh, all bank guarantees (RHP p.47).

After the issue: at the upper band the fresh issue raises ₹3,593.17 lakh before expenses, against net worth of ₹5,276.79 lakh; none of it repays debt, so total debt of ₹5,804.58 lakh stands unless it is repaid from operations (our arithmetic, RHP p.44, RHP p.72).

08What the money is for

Source: RHP p.72.

The solar plants are 500 KWp at Gwalior, 400 KWp at Banthar and 180 KWp at Banmore, 1,080 KWp in all, on a quotation from Sun N Sand Energies Limited dated February 25, 2026 (AP p.5).

The machinery is knife cutting machines, a nesting station, a foam pouring machine, an upper link moulding conveyor and an air oven, from GBOS Automate and Wenzhou Sogu Technology, on quotations dated February 24 and March 9, 2026, converted at ₹94.78 to the dollar; no orders have been placed and there are no definitive agreements with those vendors (RHP p.76, RHP p.77).

The prospectus states that the proposed capital expenditure does not contemplate an increase in overall installed capacity and is directed at intermediate processes (RHP p.34). Inorganic growth and general corporate purposes together are capped at 35% of gross proceeds, acquisitions alone at 25% and general corporate purposes alone at 15% or ₹1,000.00 lakh, whichever is lower (RHP p.72).

Into the business the whole issue: 50,60,800 new shares, ₹3,593.17 lakh at the upper band before expenses (our arithmetic, RHP p.58). To selling shareholders nothing: there is no offer for sale (RHP p.1).

09Who is selling

No one. The issue is 50,60,800 new shares issued by the company, of which 2,54,400 are reserved for the market maker, leaving a net issue of 48,06,400 shares (RHP p.58). Of the net issue, not more than 23,98,400 shares are for qualified institutional buyers, at least 16,83,200 for individual investors and at least 7,24,800 for non-institutional investors (RHP p.58).

10Promoters

The promoters are Nitin Tiwari, Managing Director, reappointed with effect from January 19, 2026, and Ruchi Tiwari, Director since November 2016 (RHP p.48). Aryan Tiwari is the only other member of the promoter group (RHP p.64). The business was run as the partnership M/s Acme Fabrik Plast Co from April 1994 before incorporation in November 2016 (RHP p.132).

Promoter economics: Nitin Tiwari holds 1,02,23,250 shares, 72.85% of the capital before the issue, at an average cost of ₹6.21 a share, and Ruchi Tiwari 30,60,000 shares, 21.81%, at ₹3.53 a share, as certified on July 25, 2026 (RHP p.65).

Those holdings were built from the 1994 partnership and the November 2016 subscription at ₹100 a share, the 2018 takeover of the proprietorship M/s Matrix Footcare Solution, the 2019 amalgamation of Acme Safetech Private Limited, the 10-for-1 split of October 2025 and the 2-for-1 bonus of February 2026 (RHP p.59, RHP p.67).

Remuneration was ₹180.00 lakh a year to Nitin Tiwari and ₹72.00 lakh a year to Ruchi Tiwari in each of FY24, FY25 and FY26; rent of ₹57.00 lakh and ₹40.20 lakh a year was paid to them for premises (RHP p.48). Promoter loans outstanding to the company were ₹1,339.07 lakh at March 2026 (RHP p.48).

No promoter shares are pledged or encumbered (RHP p.62), and no promoter shares were purchased or sold in the six months before the filing (RHP p.66).

11Who already owns it

The company had 26 shareholders at the date of the prospectus, 3 in the promoter and promoter group and 23 in the public (RHP p.63, RHP p.64). Promoters held 94.66% before the issue, and with Aryan Tiwari's 0.22% the promoter group held 94.88%; after the issue the promoters would hold about 69.6% (our arithmetic, RHP p.66, RHP p.58). No shareholder other than the two promoters holds 1% or more (RHP p.65).

The 23 public shareholders came in through a preferential allotment of 21,842 shares at ₹1,900 each in October 2024, the only cash issue the company has made since incorporation apart from the original subscription (RHP p.59, RHP p.60). The largest of them, Manoj Agarwal, Sanjay Popatlal Jain and Jignesh Amrutlal Thobhani, hold 1,02,630 shares each, 0.73% (RHP p.64).

The prospectus names Jignesh Amrutlal Thobhani as the contact person for the market maker, JSK Securities, and lists an allottee of the same name among those 23 shareholders (RHP p.56, RHP p.60). The paid-up capital is 1,40,32,620 shares of ₹10 before the issue and 1,90,92,620 after it (RHP p.58).

12What changed just before the IPO

• Manufacturing was consolidated: the two units at Dada Nagar, Kanpur, were discontinued and production moved to Banthar, Unnao (RHP p.136).
• The company became a public limited company on July 8, 2025 (AP p.1).
• A preferential allotment of 21,842 shares at ₹1,900 each was made on October 26, 2024 to thirteen allottees (RHP p.59, RHP p.60).
• The ₹100 share was split into ten ₹10 shares on October 31, 2025 (RHP p.59).
• A bonus of two shares for every one held, 93,55,080 shares, was allotted on February 20, 2026 out of free reserves (RHP p.59, RHP p.61).
• Installed capacity rose from 33,15,000 units in FY24 to 43,15,000 in FY26, and utilisation fell from 77.71% to 64.23% (RHP p.136).
• Depreciation rose from ₹463.77 lakh in FY24 to ₹941.08 lakh in FY26 as that capacity came in, and profit fell to ₹80.42 lakh in FY25 (RHP p.45).
• A chief financial officer and a company secretary were appointed with effect from January 19, 2026, the same date on which the Managing Director was reappointed (RHP p.48).
• Other income rose from ₹272.21 lakh in FY24 to ₹525.84 lakh in FY26 (RHP p.45).

13Capacity and expansion

Source: RHP p.136, certified by P.L. Engineering Services, Chartered Engineer, on September 18, 2026; the capacity of the final stage of production is taken as the capacity of the company. The company runs four factories: the owned registered office and factory at Gwalior, a leased extended factory at Girwai, Gwalior, a leased unit at Banmore in Morena district, and leased units at Jajmau, Kanpur and at the Leather Technology Park, Banthar, Unnao (RHP p.136).

The proposed machinery is stated not to raise installed capacity but to improve intermediate processes and throughput (RHP p.34). With utilisation at 64.23%, the unused capacity at March 2026 was about 15,43,149 units (our arithmetic, RHP p.136).

14Market size and industry structure

As claimed: the industry chapter relies on a report from Dun & Bradstreet, which the prospectus identifies as the D&B Report and flags as prepared for the issuer (RHP p.35, RHP p.99). The prospectus does not print a rupee size for the Indian industrial safety footwear market in the pages read.

The part that is addressable: industrial safety footwear sold to Indian industrial and institutional purchasers, plus exports to the Gulf, Africa and Israel (RHP p.141).

What the company is today: ₹20,590.31 lakh of FY26 revenue and 27,71,851 pairs of production across four plants (RHP p.45, RHP p.136). Because the prospectus gives no rupee market size for the segment, the company's share of its market cannot be worked out from the document.

Structure, as the prospectus describes it: participants in both the organised and the unorganised sector, no entry barriers, and competition from manufacturers, traders, suppliers and importers of shoes, soles and leather (RHP p.143).

15Competitive position

Source: RHP p.91. What the company offers against them, on its own account, is four plants covering every stage in-house from leather cutting to sole injection, certifications to IS 15298, EN ISO 20345 and ASTM F2413, and a range spanning fifteen product families for different hazards (RHP p.133, RHP p.143). It is the smallest of the four by revenue, at about 0.28 times Liberty Shoes and 0.38 times Mallcom (our arithmetic, RHP p.91). The prospectus states there are no entry barriers in the industry (RHP p.143).

16Peers the company named

Peers named in the offer document: Liberty Shoes Limited, Superhouse Limited and Mallcom (India) Limited (RHP p.91).

Source: RHP p.91; the peer prices are BSE closing prices of July 27, 2026 and the peer figures are audited consolidated FY26 figures. The prospectus prints the industry P/E as a highest of 54.74, a lowest of 20.76 and an average of 38.77 (RHP p.90). Of the three, only Mallcom (India) is principally a personal protective equipment maker; Liberty Shoes and Superhouse are broader footwear and leather companies, and all three are between 2.6 and 3.6 times this company's revenue (our arithmetic, RHP p.91).

17Valuation at the issue price

At the upper band of ₹71, with the full 50,60,800 new shares added to the 1,40,32,620 shares outstanding (our arithmetic, RHP p.58):

Source: RHP p.90, RHP p.91, RHP p.45. At the lower band of ₹65 the market capitalisation is ₹12,410.20 lakh (our arithmetic, RHP p.58). Enterprise value on the shares after the issue, with March 2026 total debt of ₹5,804.58 lakh and cash of ₹326.45 lakh, is ₹19,033.89 lakh, 12.6 times FY26 EBITDA of ₹1,515.19 lakh (our arithmetic, RHP p.44, RHP p.92). Adding the gross proceeds to March 2026 net worth gives a book value of about ₹8,869.96 lakh, or ₹46.46 a share, which the upper band is 1.5 times (our arithmetic, RHP p.44).

The three peers the prospectus names traded at 40.82, 54.74 and 20.76 times earnings on July 27, 2026, a median of 40.82 times (RHP p.91). At the upper band the issue is priced at 23.1 times FY26 profit on the enlarged share count and 17.0 times FY26 earnings per share on the prospectus's own pre-issue basis. On FY24 profit of ₹756.48 lakh, the same market capitalisation would be 17.9 times (our arithmetic, RHP p.45).

18Risks, in plain words

Earnings mix: other income was ₹525.84 lakh against profit before tax of ₹781.63 lakh in FY26 (RHP p.45, RHP p.203) → two thirds of pre-tax profit comes from supplier discounts, duty drawback, RODTEP and a government grant rather than from the sale of shoes → duty drawback and RODTEP alone were ₹165.98 lakh (RHP p.203).

Utilisation: installed capacity rose from 33,15,000 units in FY24 to 43,15,000 in FY26 while utilisation fell from 77.71% to 64.23% (RHP p.136) → the added capacity carries depreciation whether it runs or not → depreciation rose from ₹463.77 lakh to ₹941.08 lakh over the same period (RHP p.45).

Customers: the top ten were 47.71% of FY26 revenue and the largest 12.13%, and the prospectus states the customers are not the same across years (RHP p.142) → nearly half the revenue turns over with a set of accounts that changes → the company works on work orders and rate contracts, not long-term volume commitments (RHP p.28, RHP p.142).

Leases and related parties: the corporate office and one factory are leased from the promoters, and three of the four factories are leased from third parties or state agencies (RHP p.136) → operations depend on lease renewals → rent of ₹97.20 lakh a year was paid to the promoters in each of the three years (RHP p.48).

Debt and promoter loans: total debt was ₹5,804.58 lakh at March 2026 against net worth of ₹5,276.79 lakh, and interest coverage was 1.80 times (RHP p.92) → ₹1,339.07 lakh of that debt is unsecured promoter loans → none of the issue proceeds repays debt (RHP p.48, RHP p.72).

Raw material: leather, polyurethane, EVA, rubber and steel toe caps are the main inputs, ₹1,139.07 lakh of purchases were imported in FY26 and the top supplier was 15.92% of purchases (RHP p.31, RHP p.141, RHP p.142) → polyurethane and synthetic inputs are petroleum derivatives, so crude prices and the rupee pass through → the prospectus discloses no active currency hedging policy (RHP p.36).

Trademarks: three oppositions are pending against the company's applications for the ACME mark and the Acme Safety Shoes device (RHP p.231) → the brand under which the whole business sells is contested → the prospectus asserts use since 1973 in its counter statement (RHP p.231).

Statutory dues and records: the prospectus discloses delays in depositing GST, provident fund and ESIC dues, discrepancies in forms filed with the Registrar of Companies, and errors in return of allotment filings (RHP p.30, RHP p.31, RHP p.32) → penalties may follow → three indirect tax matters of ₹85.00 lakh are outstanding, including an unreconciled input tax credit notice of ₹78.25 lakh (RHP p.232).

Export obligations: the prospectus flags non-fulfilment of export obligations under the EPCG scheme as a risk (RHP p.33) → unmet obligations would bring back duty and interest → exports were ₹1,560.90 lakh in FY26, below the ₹1,598.53 lakh of FY24 (RHP p.140).

Issue-specific: the market-maker reservation is 2,54,400 of the 50,60,800 shares (RHP p.58). An individual investor must apply for at least two lots of 1,600 shares, ₹2,27,200 at the upper band (our arithmetic, BSE issue page for ACMEUNIV).

19Litigation and regulatory matters

There are no criminal proceedings against the company, its promoters or its directors, no actions by statutory or regulatory authorities against them, no direct tax matters and no disciplinary action by SEBI or a stock exchange against the promoters in the last five financial years (RHP p.230, RHP p.232). The three GST matters comprise two notices over duplicate e-way bills, ₹6.55 lakh and ₹0.14 lakh, and an unreconciled input tax credit notice of ₹78.25 lakh dated February 11, 2026 (RHP p.232).

20Related-party transactions

Source: RHP p.48. Related-party dealings in FY26 other than loan movements come to ₹364.40 lakh, or 46.6% of profit before tax (our arithmetic, RHP p.45, RHP p.48). Loans outstanding to the promoters at March 2026 were ₹990.76 lakh to Nitin Tiwari and ₹348.31 lakh to Ruchi Tiwari, with rent payable of ₹28.03 lakh and remuneration payable of ₹16.31 lakh (RHP p.48). Ram Kumar Tiwari, the father of Nitin Tiwari, was repaid ₹113.03 lakh in FY24 (RHP p.48).

21What the offer document does not say

Realisation per pair, and therefore the split of the revenue increase between volume and price, is not disclosed. The rupee size of the Indian industrial safety footwear market is not given in the pages read. The names of the top ten customers, the tenor of the rate contracts and the customer retention rate are not disclosed.

What the ₹895.62 lakh of machinery will add in pairs, given that the prospectus says installed capacity will not rise, is not stated. The terms on which the ₹1,339.07 lakh of promoter loans are held, and when they are repayable, are not set out. The issue price, the issue expenses and the amounts for acquisitions and general corporate purposes are left blank.

22Five questions for management

1. What was realisation per pair in FY24, FY25 and FY26, and how much of the 15.1% revenue increase over two years came from price rather than pairs?
2. Who pays the ₹236.35 lakh of discount received in FY26, on what terms, and is it a volume rebate from suppliers of leather and polyurethane?
3. Why did utilisation fall from 77.71% to 64.23% while installed capacity was raised by 10,00,000 units, and what utilisation does the new ₹895.62 lakh of machinery assume?
4. On what terms are the ₹1,339.07 lakh of unsecured promoter loans held, at what interest, and when are they repayable?
5. What export obligation remains outstanding under the EPCG scheme, by when must it be met, and what duty and interest would be payable if it is not?

24Draft to final: what changed

The objects and their amounts are unchanged between the draft, as amended by its addendum, and the final document: ₹362.40 lakh for solar, ₹895.62 lakh for machinery and ₹800.00 lakh for working capital (AP p.5, RHP p.72). The latest audited year is FY26 in both, with the same revenue of ₹20,590.31 lakh and the same profit of ₹585.73 lakh (AP p.7, RHP p.45).

The promoters, their holdings, the lead manager and the registrar are unchanged (AP p.1, RHP p.1). Between the draft and the final document the company also filed an addendum, dated after the draft of July 27, 2026, that revised the definitions, risk factors, objects, business and approvals chapters of the draft.

2Sources and cited facts

This study was read from 2 documents the company filed. The 101 figures it cites are listed under the document each came from, with the page and the sentence as printed.