JK Salt Limited IPO

01At a glance

What the company does: buys raw salt made by solar evaporation of sub-soil brine, mostly in Gujarat, and washes, dries, grades and iodises it into five-times refined free-flow iodised salt, Double Fortified Salt and refined half-dry salt at one refinery in Santalpur, District Patan, Gujarat; it also trades raw salt (DRHP p.132).

Who pays it: Government entities, dealers and distributors, and other salt makers, 154 customers in FY26 (DRHP p.27, DRHP p.132). The largest named buyer is the Directorate of Food and Consumer Affairs, Ranchi, whose public distribution order brought ₹43.8 crore, 25.48% of FY26 revenue (DRHP p.26). The top five customers were 46.49% of FY26 revenue and the top ten 62.15% (DRHP p.27).

Why it is raising money: ₹25.0 crore of the fresh issue is for working capital, ₹4.0 crore in FY27 and ₹21.0 crore in FY28; the general corporate purposes amount is blank (DRHP p.84, DRHP p.92). There is no offer for sale (DRHP p.1).

How fast it has grown: revenue from operations from ₹132.4 crore in FY24 to ₹171.9 crore in FY26, about 13.9% a year, and profit after tax from ₹2.3 crore to ₹6.9 crore, about 73.0% a year (our arithmetic, DRHP p.53).

The one thing to understand: revenue includes freight. ₹44.2 crore of FY26 revenue was freight recovered from customers, while freight paid out was ₹55.7 crore (DRHP p.213, DRHP p.215). Net sales of salt were ₹127.7 crore (DRHP p.213). Government orders, nil in FY24 and FY25, were 38.67% of FY26 sales of products (DRHP p.133).

02The business, in plain words

What JK Salt does

JK Salt was incorporated on January 22, 2020 as JK Salt Private Limited and became a public company with a fresh certificate dated July 10, 2026 (DRHP p.2, DRHP p.163). It refines raw salt and trades raw salt (DRHP p.132). The steps, all done at its own refinery (DRHP p.144, DRHP p.145):

• Raw salt: bought from private salt makers around Santalpur and Boru in Gujarat, mostly from April to June, and stored in open heaps (DRHP p.144).
• Washing: five washing stages with brine and fresh water, then a centrifuge (DRHP p.144).
• Drying and sorting: a fluid bed dryer, sieves, a pin mill and colour sorters (DRHP p.144, DRHP p.145).
• Iodising and fortifying: potassium iodate is dripped in; Double Fortified Salt also gets iron (DRHP p.145).
• Packing and dispatch: 18 form-fill-seal packing machines, packs of 500 grams to 50 kilograms, dispatched mainly by rail (DRHP p.145).

A state food department, a dealer or another salt maker places an order or wins a tender award → the company refines raw salt into iodised or fortified salt, or buys refined salt from others when demand runs ahead → it packs the salt under its own brand or the buyer's brand and sends it by rail → it is paid the price plus, for delivered sales, the freight (DRHP p.132, DRHP p.203).

The refinery sits on Survey Nos. 310 and 311 at Santalpur (5,564 and 9,611 sq. mtrs.), with labour quarters and storage sheds on Survey No. 312 (30,453 sq. mtrs.); all three plots are owned (DRHP p.132, DRHP p.149, DRHP p.150). A captive solar plant of 1,345 kW (AC) at Village Bhutedi, Banaskantha, on land sub-leased for 29 years, supplements power (DRHP p.147, DRHP p.150).

The company holds BIS licences under IS 7224:2006 and IS 16232:2014 and an FSSAI licence (DRHP p.133). It had 67 permanent employees at August 31, 2026 (DRHP p.147). It sells some products as white label under customers' brands and has signed actress Hema Malini as brand ambassador (DRHP p.132, DRHP p.146).

Earnings equation: Revenue = tonnes of salt sold × price per tonne + freight recovered. The document gives tonnes produced, not tonnes sold, and gives no price list, so the equation can only be approached through production (see section 04).

03Where the money comes from

By product, gross sale of products (₹ crore):

Source: DRHP p.133, converted from ₹ lakh. Gross sales less cash discounts and rate differences give net sales of ₹90.8 crore, ₹112.0 crore and ₹127.7 crore; freight recovered from customers adds ₹41.5 crore, ₹33.5 crore and ₹44.2 crore to reach revenue from operations (DRHP p.213).

By customer type: Government entities were ₹50.4 crore, 38.67% of FY26 sales of products, and nil in FY24 and FY25 (DRHP p.133). The FY26 Government sales were a Jharkhand public distribution order of 3,99,162.55 quintals of iodised salt worth ₹43.8 crore, 25.48% of revenue, and a Himachal Pradesh order of 43,435.75 quintals of Double Fortified Salt worth ₹6.6 crore, 3.85% of revenue (DRHP p.26).

By state, FY26 share of revenue from operations: Jharkhand 33.64%, West Bengal 26.94%, Bihar 10.53%, Uttar Pradesh 8.82%, Rajasthan 6.92%, Odisha 4.85% (DRHP p.138). Gujarat fell from 16.26% in FY25 to 2.35% in FY26 (DRHP p.138). There are no exports in the state table (DRHP p.139).

JK Salt customers: how concentrated the revenue is

Source: DRHP p.27. The document does not give the largest customer's share or name the top customers in this table. Read from the filing: the single Jharkhand order at 25.48% of FY26 revenue (DRHP p.26) is more than half of the top five's 46.49% (DRHP p.27). Of 154 customers in FY26, around 60 have been repeat customers over three years (DRHP p.27). Customers are not obliged to order any minimum quantity (DRHP p.27).

On the supply side, the top ten raw material suppliers were 25.14% of FY26 raw material purchases, against 83.78% in FY25 and 88.79% in FY24 (DRHP p.26).

04The growth record

JK Salt financials: revenue, profit and margins

Source: DRHP p.52, DRHP p.53, DRHP p.54, DRHP p.95, DRHP p.97, converted from ₹ lakh. Revenue from operations went from ₹132.4 crore in FY24 to ₹171.9 crore in FY26 and profit after tax from ₹2.3 crore to ₹6.9 crore (DRHP p.53). The company's EBITDA adds interest, depreciation and amortisation to profit before tax and extraordinary items and takes out other income; margins are on revenue from operations, which includes freight recovered (DRHP p.97).

Our arithmetic over FY24 to FY26: revenue grew about 13.9% a year and profit after tax about 73.0% a year (our arithmetic, DRHP p.53); EBITDA grew about 37.7% a year (our arithmetic, DRHP p.97). EBITDA margin moved from 5.28% to 7.71%, up 243 basis points, so from 5.3% to 7.7% rounded (DRHP p.97). Revenue rose 9.96% in FY25 and 18.06% in FY26 (DRHP p.257, DRHP p.255).

The year ends on March 31 throughout. Restatement changed profit a little: FY26 profit after tax was ₹6.86 crore audited and ₹6.93 crore restated, FY24 ₹2.68 crore audited and ₹2.32 crore restated, mainly for gratuity, an interest subsidy and tax (DRHP p.206). The auditor qualified the FY24 and FY25 audit reports because stock statements given to the bank were not produced for audit; the restated statements need no adjustment for it (DRHP p.192, DRHP p.193). FY24 profit includes an extraordinary insurance claim of ₹0.30 crore (DRHP p.53, DRHP p.260).

What sits around the record:

• Cash: operating cash flow was ₹21.3 crore in FY26, ₹0.45 crore in FY25 and ₹2.0 crore in FY24 (DRHP p.54). In FY26 inventories released ₹12.7 crore (DRHP p.54).
• Other income was ₹0.08 crore in FY26, about 1.0% of profit before tax (our arithmetic, DRHP p.53).
• Debt: borrowings were ₹22.3 crore at March 31, 2026, debt to equity 1.72 times, so 1.7× (DRHP p.239, DRHP p.97), and net of ₹1.27 crore of cash and bank balances about 1.6× FY26 EBITDA (our arithmetic, DRHP p.52, DRHP p.97). Return on capital employed was 32.35%, so 32.4% rounded (DRHP p.97). Finance cost was ₹3.0 crore in FY26 (DRHP p.53).
• Promoter loans: unsecured loans from the four promoters and their relatives were ₹11.8 crore at March 31, 2026, repayable on demand (DRHP p.59, DRHP p.41).
• Customers and suppliers: the top five customers were 46.49% of FY26 revenue, so 46.5% rounded, and the top ten 62.15%, so 62.2% (DRHP p.27); Government entities were 38.67% of FY26 sale of products, so 38.7% (DRHP p.133); the top ten raw material suppliers were 25.14% of FY26 raw material purchases, so 25.1% (DRHP p.142).
• Freight: freight recovered from customers was ₹44.2 crore of FY26 revenue (DRHP p.213).
• Contingent liabilities: ₹1.2 crore of bank guarantees at March 31, 2026 (DRHP p.56).
• Capacity: refinery utilisation was 60.40% in FY26, so 60.4% rounded (DRHP p.140).
• Cases: one income tax matter of ₹0.04 crore against promoter Manish Gupta; no criminal cases against the company or promoters (DRHP p.264, DRHP p.262).
• Use of the issue: ₹25.0 crore of the fresh issue is for working capital (DRHP p.84).

05What the growth is made of

Revenue from operations rose ₹39.5 crore from FY24 to FY26 (our arithmetic, DRHP p.53). By source (our arithmetic, DRHP p.213):

• Sale of manufactured goods: up ₹33.7 crore, from ₹87.7 crore to ₹121.4 crore.
• Traded raw salt: up ₹3.1 crore, from ₹3.2 crore to ₹6.2 crore, after ₹50.8 crore in FY25.
• Freight recovered: up ₹2.7 crore, from ₹41.5 crore to ₹44.2 crore.
• Cash discounts and rate differences: ₹2.7 crore in FY26 against ₹2.6 crore in FY24.

Volume: refined free-flow iodised salt produced was 2,12,609.75 MT in FY24, 1,61,356.43 MT in FY25 and 2,08,725.00 MT in FY26; half-dry salt 34,082.17 MT, 13,532.53 MT and 37,194.00 MT (DRHP p.139, DRHP p.140).

Realisation, read from production: sale of manufactured goods per tonne produced was about ₹3,554 in FY24 and about ₹4,937 in FY26 (our arithmetic, DRHP p.213, DRHP p.139, DRHP p.140). This is production, not tonnes sold, and the company bought ₹11.6 crore of refined salt from others in FY26 against ₹0.62 crore in FY24 to meet orders (DRHP p.53, DRHP p.132), so the arithmetic does not separate price, mix and bought-in salt.

The document gives no tonnes sold and no prices, so the increase cannot be split into volume and price. That is the finding. The management discussion puts FY26 growth down to a shift from trading raw salt to selling its own refined salt, with sale of manufactured goods up 98.34% on FY25 (DRHP p.255).

06Earnings quality

The item that needs explaining is freight. Freight recovered from customers counts as revenue, ₹44.2 crore in FY26, while freight outward is an expense, ₹55.7 crore (DRHP p.203, DRHP p.215). The gap was ₹11.6 crore in FY26 against ₹0.37 crore in FY24 (our arithmetic, DRHP p.213, DRHP p.215). Margins quoted on revenue from operations are therefore struck on a figure that includes this pass-through.

On cash, FY26 operating cash flow of ₹21.3 crore came after inventories fell from ₹19.0 crore to ₹6.3 crore; raw material stock fell from ₹10.8 crore to ₹0.26 crore (DRHP p.54, DRHP p.211, DRHP p.212). In FY25 inventories rose ₹8.9 crore and operating cash flow was ₹0.45 crore (DRHP p.54). Stock and receivables reported to the bank each quarter differed from the books by up to ₹7.7 crore, at March 2024, which the company puts down to book-closing entries made after filing (DRHP p.237). Process losses were 29.92%, 26.54% and 21.25% of raw salt in FY24 to FY26 (DRHP p.30).

07The balance sheet

At March 31, 2026 total assets were ₹47.8 crore: property, plant and equipment ₹12.7 crore, capital work in progress ₹8.1 crore, trade receivables ₹14.6 crore, inventories ₹6.3 crore, other current assets ₹1.6 crore, short-term advances ₹2.3 crore, cash and bank ₹1.27 crore and other non-current assets ₹0.75 crore (DRHP p.52). Against them: long-term borrowings ₹20.1 crore, short-term borrowings ₹2.3 crore, trade payables ₹10.5 crore, other liabilities and provisions ₹1.9 crore and net worth ₹13.0 crore (DRHP p.52).

Borrowings of ₹22.3 crore at March 31, 2026 were (DRHP p.240, DRHP p.246, DRHP p.247):

Source: DRHP p.221, DRHP p.222. The Yes Bank cash credit limit of ₹17.5 crore was undrawn at March 31, 2026, against ₹15.4 crore drawn a year earlier (DRHP p.210, DRHP p.240). The bank loans carry personal guarantees of the four promoters and five relatives and corporate guarantees of J K Chem Food Industries and Pinnacle Detergents LLP (DRHP p.223).

Source: DRHP p.239, DRHP p.84, DRHP p.99. The capitalisation statement leaves the post-issue column blank (DRHP p.239). A rights issue of 10,00,000 shares at ₹50 brought ₹5.0 crore on September 27, 2026, after the balance sheet date (DRHP p.99). The company has agreed to pay ₹2.90 crore for a partnership firm's refinery and has paid ₹2.40 crore of token money for land, to be funded from internal accruals and bank finance (DRHP p.29, DRHP p.136).

08What the money is for

JK Salt IPO objects: what the money is for

Source: DRHP p.84, DRHP p.90. The rupee size of the fresh issue depends on a price not yet set, so the share of each object cannot be worked out (DRHP p.84).

Working capital, ₹25.0 crore: ₹4.0 crore in FY27 and ₹21.0 crore in FY28 (DRHP p.92). The company's own estimate, approved by its board, puts the working capital gap at ₹31.8 crore in FY27 and ₹51.4 crore in FY28, against ₹13.0 crore at March 2026, assuming inventory of 68 and 73 days and receivables of 40 and 45 days (DRHP p.85, DRHP p.86). The company links the higher stock to a second manufacturing unit it plans in Gujarat during FY27 and FY28 (DRHP p.87, DRHP p.88). The objects have not been appraised, and no monitoring agency will be appointed because the issue is below ₹50 crore (DRHP p.92, DRHP p.63).

Into the business the fresh issue of up to 63,08,000 shares, at a price not yet set (DRHP p.84). To selling shareholders nothing: there is no offer for sale (DRHP p.1).

09Who is selling

JK Salt IPO offer for sale: who is selling

Nobody. The whole issue is a fresh issue of up to 63,08,000 shares of ₹10, amount not set (DRHP p.84), and the document marks the offer for sale “NOT APPLICABLE AS THE ENTIRE ISSUE CONSTITUES FRESH ISSUE OF EQUITY SHARES” (DRHP p.1, AP p.1). The issue is 26.50% of the post-issue capital (DRHP p.2). The promoters and promoter group will not take part in the issue (DRHP p.83).

10Promoters

The promoters are Jugal Kishore Modi, Manish Gupta, Manoj Kumar Gupta and Abhishek Modi (DRHP p.182). The document states that Jugal Kishore Modi is the father of Abhishek Modi and that Manoj Kumar Gupta and Manish Gupta are brothers (DRHP p.180). Holdings: Jugal Kishore Modi 33,75,000 shares (19.29%), Manish Gupta 25,00,000 (14.29%), Manoj Kumar Gupta 25,00,000 (14.29%) and Abhishek Modi 22,50,000 (12.86%), 60.73% in all (DRHP p.75, DRHP p.77).

• Jugal Kishore Modi, 68, Non-Executive Director since incorporation, about 36 years in salt (DRHP p.167, DRHP p.169).
• Manish Gupta, 51, Managing Director, a director since January 20, 2021, about 25 years in salt, in charge of raw salt buying, sales and tenders (DRHP p.167, DRHP p.169).
• Manoj Kumar Gupta, 45, Whole-Time Director, a director since January 20, 2021, about 20 years in salt, in charge of accounts and finance (DRHP p.168, DRHP p.170).
• Abhishek Modi, 36, Whole-Time Director since incorporation, about 13 years in salt, in charge of non-tender sales (DRHP p.168, DRHP p.170).

Pay: remuneration to the four was ₹0.66 crore in FY24 and FY25 and ₹0.54 crore in FY26 (DRHP p.57). Salaries to four relatives were ₹0.40 crore in FY26 (DRHP p.58). From August 17, 2026 the approved terms are up to ₹1.00 lakh a month each for Manish Gupta and Manoj Kumar Gupta and ₹1.75 lakh a month each for Abhishek Modi and Jugal Kishore Modi (DRHP p.171).

Loans: the four promoters' unsecured loans to the company were ₹10.3 crore at March 31, 2026 and their relatives' ₹1.5 crore, at 12% a year or less, repayable on demand; interest on them was ₹1.28 crore in FY26 (DRHP p.59, DRHP p.58, DRHP p.223).

Other businesses: the promoter group includes Maa Shakambari Salt India Private Limited, which trades raw salt, shares the company's registered office and is owned by Divya Modi, Nikita Gupta and Sarita Gupta (DRHP p.186, DRHP p.187, DRHP p.188). It also includes Pinnacle Detergents LLP, Ganpati Natural Salt LLP, J K Chem Food Industries, Jai Shri Shyam Salt Company, Rajshree Salt Industries and Santosh Salt Suppliers among others (DRHP p.186). Manish Gupta is a partner of Pinnacle Detergents LLP and Ganpati Natural Salt LLP (DRHP p.167). The company has no non-compete agreement (DRHP p.166).

Guarantees and pledges: the promoters, five relatives, J K Chem Food Industries and Pinnacle Detergents LLP guarantee the Yes Bank loans (DRHP p.223). No promoter shares are pledged (DRHP p.77).

Cases: one income tax matter of ₹0.04 crore against Manish Gupta; no criminal or regulatory cases against the promoters (DRHP p.264, DRHP p.263).

Promoter economics: the promoters' shares came from the 2020 subscription at ₹10 (Jugal Kishore Modi and Abhishek Modi), the conversion of loans into 23,50,000 shares on March 20, 2022, rights shares at ₹50 on September 27, 2026 and the 4:1 bonus on September 28, 2026 (DRHP p.71, DRHP p.76, DRHP p.77). The capital structure puts their average cost after the bonus at ₹5.56 for Jugal Kishore Modi and Abhishek Modi and ₹6.00 for Manish Gupta and Manoj Kumar Gupta (DRHP p.78). Only the four promoters took the rights shares; five promoter group members renounced 5,50,000 entitlements in their favour (DRHP p.71).

11Who already owns it

JK Salt promoter holding before and after the IPO

Source: DRHP p.75, DRHP p.79; the after-issue column is our arithmetic. There are 1,75,00,000 shares of ₹10 before the issue and 9 shareholders (DRHP p.70, DRHP p.82). If all 63,08,000 new shares are issued the total becomes 2,38,08,000 shares (our arithmetic, DRHP p.70, DRHP p.84), and the promoters' 60.73% becomes about 44.6%, so 60.7% → 44.6% (our arithmetic, DRHP p.70, DRHP p.77). Promoters and promoter group together go from 100% to about 73.5% (our arithmetic, DRHP p.79). The document leaves the after-issue percentages blank (DRHP p.79).

The promoter group table names Saroj Modi as Jugal Kishore Modi's spouse, Divya Modi as Abhishek Modi's spouse, Nikita Gupta as Manish Gupta's spouse, Sarita Gupta as Manoj Kumar Gupta's spouse, and Vidhya Agrawal as mother of Manish Gupta and Manoj Kumar Gupta (DRHP p.185). No fund or company holds shares. 47,64,000 promoter shares are to be locked in for three years as the minimum promoters' contribution (DRHP p.79, DRHP p.80).

12What changed just before the IPO

• Revenue and profit: revenue from operations went from ₹132.4 crore in FY24 to ₹171.9 crore in FY26 and profit after tax from ₹2.3 crore to ₹6.9 crore (DRHP p.53).
• Receivables: 32 days in FY24 and 28 days in FY26 as computed by the company (DRHP p.86).
• Promoter pay: ₹0.66 crore in FY24 and ₹0.54 crore in FY26 (DRHP p.57).
• Sales mix: traded raw salt was 44.75% of FY25 sales of products and 4.79% of FY26; Government entities went from nil to 38.67% (DRHP p.133).
• Rights issue: 10,00,000 shares at ₹50 on September 27, 2026, ₹5.0 crore, to the four promoters (DRHP p.71).
• Bonus issue: 4:1, 1,40,00,000 shares on September 28, 2026, taking the count to 1,75,00,000 (DRHP p.71).
• Last allotment before the IPO: the rights issue at ₹50 a share in September 2026, followed by the bonus (DRHP p.71).
• Converted to a public company: shareholders approved on June 24, 2026; fresh certificate July 10, 2026 (DRHP p.2).
• Board and officers: directors re-designated on August 17, 2026; CFO Mithun Goswami and Company Secretary Muskan Omprakash Khandal from September 1, 2026; independent directors Neha Jain and Ankit Jain from September 4, 2026; audit committee formed September 16, 2026; director Sushil Kumar Kala ceased on January 25, 2025 (DRHP p.172, DRHP p.173, DRHP p.181).
• Debt: the ₹15.4 crore cash credit drawn at March 2025 was repaid, and ₹6.4 crore of solar term loans were taken in FY26 (DRHP p.210, DRHP p.221).
• Acquisition: a reconstituted partnership deed dated September 25, 2026 gives the company 99% of a partnership firm's refinery at Bhachau, Kutch, with permission for 103,200 MT a year, for ₹2.90 crore, effective January 31, 2027 (DRHP p.28, DRHP p.29, DRHP p.136).
• Start-up status: lost after turnover passed ₹100 crore in FY24 (DRHP p.33).
• Auditor: R Dangayach & Co throughout; no change in the last three years (DRHP p.67, DRHP p.192).
• Dividend: none in the last three financial years (DRHP p.190).

13Capacity and expansion

Source: DRHP p.139, DRHP p.140. Utilisation is worked on approved capacity and certified by a chartered engineer (DRHP p.140). Half-dry salt output is shown separately, 37,194 MT in FY26 (DRHP p.140). The Double Fortified Salt unit is approved for 86,346 MT a year within the same total (DRHP p.139).

The planned addition is the Bhachau refinery of the partnership firm, with permission for 103,200 MT a year; its land is in the name of the existing partners and its licences belong to the firm (DRHP p.28, DRHP p.29). The issue-funded objects add no capacity (DRHP p.84). The document calls the Santalpur refinery's utilisation “substantially optimal” (DRHP p.29, DRHP p.136) while its own table shows 60.40% (DRHP p.140). The step from capacity to revenue cannot be made from the filing.

14Market size and industry structure

JK Salt industry: market size and growth

As claimed: the chapter is taken from a report titled “Salt Industry” dated September 28, 2026 by Infomerics Analytics & Research Private Limited, commissioned and paid for by the company for the issue (DRHP p.104). The commissioned report sizes the market in tonnes and trade dollars; it gives no rupee value for the Indian salt market or for refined edible salt (DRHP p.110 to DRHP p.116).

Global salt production was about 270.0 million metric tonnes in 2022 and 2023, 275.0 in 2024 and 270.0 in 2025, and the report estimates 273.0 in 2026 (DRHP p.110). China made 56.0 million tonnes in 2025, the United States 40.0 and India 30.0, together about 47% of world output (DRHP p.111).

The part that is addressable: the company sells refined iodised salt, Double Fortified Salt and half-dry salt, mainly for eating (DRHP p.132). The commissioned report puts India's yearly requirement at 63 lakh tonnes for edible use, cattle included, and 118 lakh tonnes for industrial use (DRHP p.114, DRHP p.115). It does not size the refined, iodised or fortified segment, Government procurement, or the eastern states where the company sells most.

What the company is today: the refinery produced 2,08,725 MT of refined iodised salt in FY26 (DRHP p.140). Against the edible requirement of 63 lakh tonnes, that is about 3.3% (our arithmetic, DRHP p.114, DRHP p.115, DRHP p.140); the two figures are for different periods and the report does not say which year its requirement figure covers.

Size over time: India produced 30.00 million tonnes in 2020, 26.56 in 2021, 26.60 in 2022, 30.80 in 2023, 34.00 in 2024 and 30.00 in 2025, and the commissioned report estimates 32.31 in 2026 (DRHP p.113). Our arithmetic: output in 2025 was the same as in 2020, so no growth over the five years shown (our arithmetic, DRHP p.113). Salt exports rose from US$205.25 million in FY22 to US$448.57 million in FY25 and were US$388.14 million in FY26, while imports were US$0.95 million in FY26 (DRHP p.115, DRHP p.116).

Segments: the report divides the market by product (edible, industrial, raw), processing level (raw, refined, iodised, fortified), end use (household, food processing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, water treatment) and customer (B2C, B2B and B2G, that is sales to consumers, businesses and government) (DRHP p.108). The company sits in refined, iodised and fortified edible salt sold to businesses and government (DRHP p.132).

What drives demand: the commissioned report rates as high, over one to seven years, demand for refined edible salt, government focus on iodisation and fortification, government and institutional procurement, packaged food growth and industrial use in chemicals (DRHP p.116, DRHP p.117). It names the National Iodine Deficiency Disorders Control Programme, mandatory iodisation of salt sold for eating, FSSAI fortification standards and public distribution of iodised salt as policy support (DRHP p.118, DRHP p.119).

Structure: Gujarat made 84.25% of India's salt, Tamil Nadu 7.83% and Rajasthan 6.25% (DRHP p.114). The chapter describes competition on purity, raw salt sourcing, refining and fortification capability, price and supply reliability (DRHP p.122). Barriers to entry it names are raw salt sourcing relationships, processing and testing plant, food safety compliance, logistics and an institutional track record (DRHP p.123, DRHP p.124). It names Saboo Sodium Chloro Limited and Goyal Salt Limited as key players (DRHP p.129). The business chapter calls the industry highly competitive, with organised and unorganised players (DRHP p.146).

Inputs and trade: raw salt is the main input and comes from solar evaporation, so weather sets supply (DRHP p.113, DRHP p.142). The report notes that salt is a high-volume, low-value commodity, so freight is a large part of the delivered cost (DRHP p.118). India is a net exporter, with a trade surplus of US$387.19 million in FY26 (DRHP p.116).

Rules: the business needs Salt Commissioner permissions for production, BIS licences for iodised and fortified salt, an FSSAI licence, a factory licence, pollution consents from the Gujarat Pollution Control Board and Legal Metrology registration (DRHP p.265 to DRHP p.269). Salt sold for eating must be iodised, subject to exemptions (DRHP p.119).

What the chapter says can go wrong: weather dependence, volatile raw salt prices and availability, high transport costs and intense price competition are rated high, and quality and fortification compliance medium (DRHP p.118). The risk list adds supply chain disruption and competition from branded players (DRHP p.124, DRHP p.128). The chapter does not discuss Government tender prices, the share of tenders the company wins, or seasonality of demand.

15Competitive position

JK Salt competitors

Source: DRHP p.97, DRHP p.98, converted from ₹ lakh. Goyal Salt's revenue is about 1.2 times the company's and Saboo Sodium Chloro's about 0.4 times (our arithmetic, DRHP p.98). Goyal Salt has plants in Rajasthan and Gujarat; Saboo Sodium Chloro sells branded salt in North India (DRHP p.129). The commissioned report's own peer table gives different ratios for the same year, for example RoCE of 30.00% for the company (DRHP p.129).

What the company puts forward: a refinery near the salt pans and a railway siding, in-house testing, BIS and FSSAI licences, Government tender experience and long customer relationships (DRHP p.94, DRHP p.135). Against that: one refinery with no backup site, raw salt stored on some land without written agreements, one state order at a quarter of revenue, and some brand names not registered (DRHP p.37, DRHP p.35, DRHP p.26, DRHP p.32).

16Peers the company named

Peers named in the offer document: Goyal Salt Limited and Saboo Sodium Chloro Limited (DRHP p.96).

Goyal Salt is somewhat larger than the company with a higher margin; Saboo Sodium Chloro is smaller with a thin margin (DRHP p.98). The document gives their P/E as 16.09 and 30.38 at September 25, 2026 prices, an average of 23.24 (DRHP p.95, DRHP p.96). The company's FY26 EPS is ₹5.55 on 1,25,00,000 bonus-adjusted shares, which leaves out the 10,00,000 rights shares (DRHP p.216). With no price band, no P/E for the company can be stated.

17Risks, in plain words

JK Salt IPO risks

Customers: one Jharkhand public distribution order brought 25.48% of FY26 revenue (DRHP p.26) → tenders are won by bidding and may not repeat → Government sales were nil in FY24 and FY25 and 38.67% of FY26 sales of products (DRHP p.133).

Customers: concentration: the top ten customers were 62.15% of FY26 revenue (DRHP p.27) → customers need not order any minimum quantity → the share rose from 44.60% in FY24 (DRHP p.27).

Suppliers and weather: raw salt is harvested mostly from April to June and stored in open heaps (DRHP p.27, DRHP p.144) → rain can cut supply and wash away stock → the company has an insurance claim of ₹3.1 crore pending for stock and plant lost in floods in September 2025 (DRHP p.34).

Business: freight: freight outward was ₹55.7 crore in FY26 (DRHP p.215) → rail freight rises or disruption cannot always be passed on → freight and transport were 32.89% of FY26 revenue (DRHP p.28).

Business: one site: all refining is at Santalpur with no backup facility (DRHP p.37) → a local event could stop production → raw salt heaps sit on some plots used without written agreements (DRHP p.35).

Financial: promoter loans: ₹11.8 crore of unsecured loans from promoters and relatives are repayable on demand (DRHP p.41) → a call would strain cash → they were about 53% of borrowings at March 2026 (our arithmetic, DRHP p.59, DRHP p.239).

Financial: working capital: the company estimates its working capital need rising to ₹51.4 crore by FY28 (DRHP p.86) → it has named no other source if issue money falls short (DRHP p.30) → ₹21.0 crore of the ₹25.0 crore object falls in FY28 (DRHP p.92).

Regulation: records: the auditor qualified FY24 and FY25 over stock statements, and stock and receivables reported to the bank differed from the books by up to ₹7.7 crore (DRHP p.193, DRHP p.237) → the bank relies on these statements for the credit line → the cash credit limit is ₹17.5 crore (DRHP p.240).

Regulation: filings and approvals: past delays in company law filings, some unregistered vehicle loan charges, provident fund deposits up to 122 days late, and a pending pollution consent for Survey No. 311 (DRHP p.30, DRHP p.31, DRHP p.41, DRHP p.271) → penalties may follow → no show cause notice has been received (DRHP p.31).

Promoters: Maa Shakambari Salt India Private Limited, a promoter group company, trades raw salt from the company's registered office (DRHP p.188) → the two may pursue the same business → after the issue the promoters alone would hold about 44.6% (our arithmetic, DRHP p.70, DRHP p.77).

Issue-specific: the Bhachau refinery deal is not complete and ₹2.2 crore of the price is still due (DRHP p.29) → its licences sit with the firm and its land with the existing partners → it is effective only from January 31, 2027 (DRHP p.136).

18Litigation and regulatory matters

Cases against JK Salt and its promoters

Criminal: none against the company, promoters, directors, key managers or the group company (DRHP p.262, DRHP p.263). Regulatory: no actions by statutory or regulatory authorities against the company, promoters or directors (DRHP p.262, DRHP p.263). Tax: no tax cases against the company (DRHP p.264). Creditors: five material creditors, none of them small enterprises, were owed ₹5.8 crore at March 31, 2026 (DRHP p.264). Receivables: ₹0.14 crore of receivables is shown as disputed (DRHP p.212).

19Related-party transactions

Source: DRHP p.57, DRHP p.58, DRHP p.59, converted from ₹ lakh. Other items: rent of ₹0.12 crore a year to Pinnacle Detergents LLP, sales to J K Chem Food Industries of ₹0.38 crore and purchases from it of ₹0.25 crore in FY26, and advances received from Shikha Ghiria, listed as a director's sister, of ₹0.88 crore in FY26 (DRHP p.57, DRHP p.58, DRHP p.59). Read from the filing: the FY24 purchases from Jai Shree Shyam Salt Company were about 70% of that year's raw salt purchases of ₹41.5 crore (our arithmetic, DRHP p.58, DRHP p.213).

What appeared or changed in the two years before filing: purchases from Jai Shree Shyam Salt Company stopped after FY24; sales to Maa Shakambari Salt India Private Limited stopped after FY25 while it began paying expenses on the company's behalf; advances from Shikha Ghiria appeared from FY25; and promoter loans rose from ₹9.4 crore at March 2024 to ₹11.8 crore at March 2026 (DRHP p.58, DRHP p.59). The company says it uses related parties for easy proximity and quick execution (DRHP p.38).

20What the offer document does not say

The names and shares of the largest customers, other than the two state orders, are not given. Tonnes sold and prices are not given, so growth cannot be split into volume and price. Margins by product, or for refined salt against traded raw salt, are not given. The name and the financial figures of the partnership firm whose refinery is being taken over are not given (DRHP p.28, DRHP p.136).

What the ₹2.40 crore of token money for land will pay for, and what the second manufacturing unit will cost, are not stated (DRHP p.136, DRHP p.87). The commissioned industry report gives no rupee market size. The issue size, price band, general corporate purposes and issue expenses are blank (DRHP p.84). The after-issue shareholding is blank (DRHP p.79). Financial details of the group company are left to the company website (DRHP p.188).

Some inconsistencies are recorded as document matters, not business ones: the risk factors call trading “a substantial majority” of revenue while it was 4.79% of FY26 sales of products (DRHP p.27, DRHP p.133); raw material consumed is ₹42.5 crore in the business chapter, ₹63.0 crore including packing in the risk factors and ₹69.8 crore in the restated accounts (DRHP p.142, DRHP p.27, DRHP p.53);

the refinery is called “substantially optimal” in use against 60.40% utilisation (DRHP p.29, DRHP p.140); the risk factors say 99% of the partnership firm has been acquired while the business chapter says it is proposed (DRHP p.28, DRHP p.136); the promoters' average cost is ₹5.56 and ₹6.00 in the capital structure but ₹5.00 and ₹5.56 in the abridged prospectus (DRHP p.78, AP p.7);

the March 2022 allotment shows an issue price of nil in one table and ₹10 in another (DRHP p.71, DRHP p.76); the risk factors say some vehicle loan charges were not filed while the borrowings note says all charges were registered (DRHP p.31, DRHP p.223); the commissioned report prints two different returns on net worth for the company for FY26, 52.61% and 72.61%

and describes the peer set as being in metal recycling and secondary aluminium (DRHP p.129, DRHP p.130).

21Five questions for management

1. How many tonnes of salt were sold in FY24, FY25 and FY26, and at what average price per tonne before freight?
2. What share of FY26 refined salt sales was salt bought from third parties, given purchases of refined salt rose to ₹11.6 crore?
3. Which tenders does the company hold for FY27, and what share of FY26 revenue is expected to repeat from the Jharkhand public distribution order?
4. What were the revenue, profit and borrowings of the partnership firm at Bhachau, and what will the land bought with the ₹2.40 crore token cost in total?
5. How much freight did the company pay that customers did not reimburse in FY26, and on which routes?

1Sources and cited facts

This study was read from 1 document the company filed. The 160 figures it cites are listed under the document each came from, with the page and the sentence as printed.