P.P. Books Limited IPO

01At a glance

What the company does: develops and publishes curriculum-aligned books for schools following CBSE, CISCE and State Board syllabi, about 1,223 titles, and has them printed and bound by third-party vendors (DRHP p.183, DRHP p.185).

Who pays it: schools and their authorised vendors and distributors, plus parents and students through an office counter, in-school retail units and two websites; 959 customers in FY26 (DRHP p.35, DRHP p.200). The largest customer brought 4.21% of FY26 revenue and the top ten 19.86%; the document does not name them (DRHP p.35, DRHP p.36).

Why it is raising money: ₹34.0 crore of the fresh issue is for working capital and ₹3.5 crore for repaying loans, both in FY28; the general corporate purposes amount is blank (DRHP p.95, DRHP p.96). There is no offer for sale (DRHP p.1).

How fast it has grown: revenue from ₹25.3 crore in FY24 to ₹72.9 crore in FY26, about 69.6% a year, and profit after tax from ₹0.37 crore to ₹14.0 crore, about 514.5% a year (our arithmetic, DRHP p.68).

The one thing to understand: profit has not turned into cash. Operating cash flow was −₹4.7 crore in FY24, −₹1.6 crore in FY25 and −₹10.4 crore in FY26 (DRHP p.69), because money owed by customers rose to ₹70.4 crore at March 31, 2026, close to a full year of revenue (DRHP p.67). The gap was filled with loans from banks, finance companies, other companies and the promoters (DRHP p.272).

02The business, in plain words

What P.P. Books does

P.P. Books publishes school education books for students from pre-primary to higher secondary levels, for schools affiliated with CBSE, CISCE and State Boards (DRHP p.183). The catalogue had about 1,223 titles: 114 pre-primary, 540 primary, 556 secondary and 13 higher secondary, all under the brand P.P. Publications (DRHP p.184). Subjects include English, Hindi, Mathematics, Science, Social Science, Environmental Studies, Arts and Crafts, General Knowledge and Computer Studies (DRHP p.184).

A school picks titles for each class → the school tells its authorised vendor or distributor → the vendor orders from the company → outside printers print and bind the books → a warehouse operator ships them → the company invoices for what was dispatched (DRHP p.204).

The company does not print or bind anything itself. It engaged 31 third-party printers and binders in FY26 against 22 in FY24 (DRHP p.113). Authors are outside contributors paid by royalty or lump sum; there were 46 in FY26 (DRHP p.33, DRHP p.113). The company buys paper itself, and the vendors handle ink, binding material and packaging (DRHP p.208, DRHP p.209). Most stock sits at a third-party warehouse in Sonipat, Haryana, run under a service agreement whose fee is 1.15% of MRP with a minimum guarantee of ₹72.8 crore of annual MRP sales (DRHP p.214, DRHP p.215).

It also runs retail units inside some schools that offer the full prescribed book set, including other publishers' books, notebooks and stationery, and sells online through pppublications.com and academicbag.in (DRHP p.185). The company was incorporated in Delhi on December 19, 2016, and the business started as P.P. Publications in 2005 according to the commissioned industry report (DRHP p.75, DRHP p.179). It had 167 full-time employees at March 31, 2026, 138 of them in sales (DRHP p.212).

Earnings equation: Revenue = books sold × average revenue per book. The company sold 29,70,208 books in FY26 against 12,89,697 in FY24 (DRHP p.113). It does not give prices per title.

03Where the money comes from

By school level (₹ crore):

Source: DRHP p.190, converted from ₹ lakh. Primary and secondary books were 97.86% of FY26 revenue (DRHP p.324).

By channel in FY26: own books through distributors to schools ₹68.1 crore (93.43%), the office counter ₹2.3 crore (3.13%), its own website ₹0.13 crore, and other publishers' books, notebooks and stationery sold through in-school units and academicbag.in ₹2.4 crore (3.26%) (DRHP p.200). The document separately labels 57.72% of FY26 revenue as institutional and 42.28% as direct to consumers, without explaining how that split relates to the 93.43% sold through distributors (DRHP p.185).

By state in FY26: Delhi 24.43%, Uttar Pradesh 14.40%, Maharashtra 8.58%, Punjab 7.95% and Haryana 7.06% (DRHP p.37). The company had no export sales (DRHP p.293).

By season: in FY26 the January to March quarter brought 103% of the year's revenue, while October to December was negative at (9)%; in FY24 the last quarter was 122% (DRHP p.33, DRHP p.34). The document does not explain the negative quarters.

P.P. Books customers: how concentrated the revenue is

Source: DRHP p.35. Revenue does not depend on a few customers: the top ten brought ₹14.5 crore of FY26 revenue (DRHP p.35). Customers numbered 851 in FY24 and 959 in FY26 (DRHP p.35). The customers are not named because the company calls the information commercially sensitive (DRHP p.36). There are no long-term agreements with most of them (DRHP p.35).

On the supply side the document gives no top-ten supplier figure. Purchases came 93.22% from Delhi in FY26 (DRHP p.325), and purchases from ASPV Industries Private Limited, a promoter group company, were ₹6.7 crore in FY26 against total raw material purchases of ₹23.9 crore (DRHP p.71, DRHP p.284).

04The growth record

P.P. Books financials: revenue, profit and margins

Source: DRHP p.67, DRHP p.68, DRHP p.69, DRHP p.113, converted from ₹ lakh. Revenue went from ₹25.3 crore in FY24 to ₹72.9 crore in FY26 and profit after tax from ₹0.37 crore to ₹14.0 crore (DRHP p.68). RoE is worked on average equity; on year-end net worth the document gives 33.14%, 79.13% and 72.31% (DRHP p.113, DRHP p.112).

Our arithmetic over FY24 to FY26: revenue grew about 69.6% a year and profit after tax about 514.5% a year (our arithmetic, DRHP p.68); EBITDA grew about 280.6% a year (our arithmetic, DRHP p.113). EBITDA margin moved from 5.66% to 28.49%, up 2,283 basis points, so from 5.7% to 28.5% rounded (DRHP p.113). Revenue rose 39.9% in FY25 and 105.5% in FY26 (our arithmetic, DRHP p.68).

The year ends on March 31 throughout. The restated profit differs from the audited one: ₹0.74 crore audited and ₹0.37 crore restated for FY24, and ₹13.6 crore audited and ₹14.0 crore restated for FY26 (DRHP p.295). The adjustments cover income tax, deferred tax, prior-period errors and gratuity, for which no provision had been made in the books before an actuarial valuation in FY26 (DRHP p.295). There are no auditor qualifications needing adjustment (DRHP p.253). FY24 and FY25 were audited by the previous auditor, Mangla and Mangla, and the present auditor relied on those reports (DRHP p.253).

What sits around the record:

• Industry: school education publishing (DRHP p.183).
• Cash: operating cash flow was −₹10.4 crore in FY26 (DRHP p.69). Over FY24 to FY26 the company reported ₹18.6 crore of profit after tax and −₹16.7 crore of operating cash flow (our arithmetic, DRHP p.68, DRHP p.69). Trade receivables absorbed ₹30.3 crore in FY26 (DRHP p.69).
• Receivables: trade receivables were ₹70.4 crore at March 31, 2026 (DRHP p.67), against ₹30.6 crore at March 31, 2024 (DRHP p.67). Receivable days were 418, 366 and 278 (DRHP p.113). Working-capital days were 116 in FY26 (DRHP p.113).
• Other income was ₹0.57 crore in FY26, 3.01% of profit before tax, so 3.0% rounded (DRHP p.302).
• Debt: borrowings were ₹34.5 crore at March 31, 2026 (DRHP p.67); debt to equity 1.79 times, so 1.8× (DRHP p.113). Net of ₹1.4 crore of cash, debt was about 1.6× FY26 EBITDA (our arithmetic, DRHP p.304, DRHP p.305). Return on capital employed was 37.98%, so 38.0% rounded (DRHP p.113). Finance cost was ₹2.4 crore in FY26 (DRHP p.68).
• Loans from promoters: ₹8.4 crore at March 31, 2026, unsecured, at 6% (DRHP p.272, DRHP p.340).
• Customers: the largest customer was 4.21% of FY26 revenue, so 4.2% rounded, the top five 13.51%, so 13.5%, and the top ten 19.86%, so 19.9% (DRHP p.35). Delhi was 24.43% of FY26 revenue, so 24.4% (DRHP p.37).
• Related-party purchases: ₹7.8 crore in FY26 from ASPV Industries, Sumer Book Depot and Rama Publishing House (our arithmetic, DRHP p.71). ASPV Industries alone was about 27.9% of FY26 purchases (our arithmetic, DRHP p.71, DRHP p.284).
• Contingent liabilities: none at March 31, 2026 (DRHP p.70).
• Pay: directors' remuneration, all of it paid to promoters, was ₹0.40 crore in FY24 and ₹0.36 crore in FY26 (DRHP p.284).
• Use of the issue: ₹34.0 crore of the fresh issue is for working capital and ₹3.5 crore for debt repayment (DRHP p.95).

05What the growth is made of

Revenue rose ₹47.5 crore from FY24 to FY26 (our arithmetic, DRHP p.68). By school level (our arithmetic, DRHP p.190):

• Primary: up ₹23.4 crore, from ₹12.0 crore to ₹35.3 crore.
• Secondary: up ₹23.3 crore, from ₹12.7 crore to ₹36.0 crore.
• Stationery and other publishers' goods: up ₹0.76 crore.

Volume: books sold rose from 12,89,697 in FY24 to 16,72,425 in FY25 and 29,70,208 in FY26, about 2.3 times over two years (DRHP p.113). Titles went from 738 to 1,223 and sales staff from 67 to 141 (DRHP p.113).

Realisation, read from the filing: revenue per book sold was about ₹197 in FY24 and about ₹245 in FY26 (our arithmetic, DRHP p.68, DRHP p.113). At FY24 revenue per book, FY26 volume would have brought about ₹58.4 crore, so roughly ₹33.0 crore of the rise is volume and about ₹14.5 crore is realisation and mix (our arithmetic, DRHP p.68, DRHP p.113). The document does not say whether "books sold" includes other publishers' books sold through the in-school units, so this split is approximate.

New places: Maharashtra went from ₹0.84 crore in FY24 to ₹6.3 crore in FY26, Punjab from ₹1.3 crore to ₹5.8 crore and Karnataka from ₹0.19 crore to ₹2.8 crore (DRHP p.37). The management discussion credits FY26 growth to “higher sales of our educational books and publications” and higher demand from schools and distributors (DRHP p.324).

The company states an internal plan to raise its school network from about 10,000 schools in FY2026-27 to about 12,000 over the medium term (DRHP p.193). That is the company's stated plan, not a figure this study tests.

06Earnings quality

The item that needs explaining is why ₹14.0 crore of FY26 profit came with −₹10.4 crore of operating cash flow (DRHP p.68, DRHP p.69). Receivables rose ₹30.3 crore in the year (DRHP p.69). At March 31, 2026, ₹4.9 crore of receivables were disputed but still treated as good, ₹1.4 crore of them more than three years old (DRHP p.282). Sundry balances of ₹0.41 crore were written off in FY26 (DRHP p.285). The company states that it does not have any formal credit policy for customers (DRHP p.42).

On the cost side, gross margin, revenue less materials and the change in stock, went from about 57.7% in FY24 to about 72.2% in FY26 (our arithmetic, DRHP p.68). Travel and event promotion was ₹5.8 crore in FY26, the largest overhead, and warehouse expenses rose from nil in FY24 to ₹1.9 crore (DRHP p.285). Trade payables of ₹3.5 crore owed to non-small suppliers were more than three years overdue at March 2026 (DRHP p.275). Cash in hand was ₹0.77 crore against ₹0.59 crore in banks at March 31, 2026 (DRHP p.283).

07The balance sheet

At March 31, 2026 total assets were ₹81.4 crore: trade receivables ₹70.4 crore, inventories ₹7.4 crore, property, plant and equipment ₹1.4 crore (mostly a car and leasehold improvements), cash ₹1.4 crore and short-term advances ₹0.58 crore (DRHP p.67, DRHP p.278). Against them: trade payables ₹23.8 crore, short-term borrowings ₹31.2 crore, long-term borrowings ₹3.4 crore and net worth ₹19.3 crore (DRHP p.67).

Borrowings of ₹34.5 crore were made up of (DRHP p.336, DRHP p.337):

• Secured bank and finance company loans: ₹10.1 crore, mainly a Kotak Mahindra Bank overdraft of ₹6.0 crore at 8.15% and a Bajaj Finance overdraft of ₹3.7 crore at 9.75%.
• Unsecured term loans from nine banks and finance companies: ₹4.5 crore at 13.75% to 15%, all sanctioned between December 2025 and January 2026 (DRHP p.271, DRHP p.98 to DRHP p.100).
• Loans from other companies: ₹11.5 crore from five body corporates, at 9% except Pasa Credit and Investment Limited at 12% (DRHP p.337, DRHP p.339).
• Loans from the promoters: ₹8.4 crore at 6% (DRHP p.337, DRHP p.340).

The secured loans are backed by mortgages on properties owned by Poonam Gupta and by personal guarantees of all four promoters (DRHP p.273). The company reports delays in some repayments of principal or interest that appear in credit-information reports, though no default or restructuring (DRHP p.227).

Source: DRHP p.95, DRHP p.335. The capitalisation statement leaves the post-issue column blank (DRHP p.335).

08What the money is for

P.P. Books IPO objects: what the money is for

Source: DRHP p.95, DRHP p.109. The rupee size of the issue depends on a price not yet set (DRHP p.95).

Working capital, ₹34.0 crore: to be used in FY28 (DRHP p.96). The board approved working-capital estimates on September 4, 2026 that rest on receivable days of 287 for FY27 and 299 for FY28 and on trade payables falling (DRHP p.104, DRHP p.105). These are the company's own assumptions; the balance of the requirement is to come from internal accruals and borrowings (DRHP p.104).

Debt repayment, ₹3.5 crore: from the loans listed with ₹13.6 crore outstanding at August 31, 2026; the company says the choice of loans is not yet determined and may include other borrowings, including new ones (DRHP p.100, DRHP p.101). Prepayment penalties are to come from internal accruals (DRHP p.97).

The objects have not been appraised by any bank, and no monitoring agency is required because the issue is below ₹50 crore (DRHP p.50, DRHP p.79). No part of the proceeds goes to promoters or directors (DRHP p.110).

Into the business the fresh issue of up to 58,73,600 shares, at a price not yet set (DRHP p.95). To selling shareholders nothing: there is no offer for sale (DRHP p.1).

09Who is selling

P.P. Books IPO offer for sale: who is selling

Nobody. The issue is a fresh issue of up to 58,73,600 shares of ₹10, and the cover marks the offer for sale "Not Applicable" (DRHP p.1, AP p.1). The fresh issue is of up to 58,73,600 shares (DRHP p.95), and the offer for sale is none (DRHP p.1). The promoters and promoter group will not take part in the issue (DRHP p.94).

10Promoters

The promoters are Prateek Gupta, Aman Gupta, Parvesh Kumar Gupta and Poonam Gupta (DRHP p.246). The document states that Parvesh Kumar Gupta and Poonam Gupta are spouses, that Prateek Gupta and Aman Gupta are brothers, and that they are the sons of Parvesh Kumar Gupta and Poonam Gupta (DRHP p.232). The promoter group tables list Neha Gupta as Prateek Gupta's spouse and Gauri Gupta as Aman Gupta's spouse (DRHP p.248).

• Prateek Gupta, 38, Chairman and Managing Director, director since December 19, 2016, about fifteen years in school book publishing (DRHP p.229, DRHP p.231).
• Aman Gupta, 35, Whole-Time Director, director since December 19, 2016 (DRHP p.229).
• Parvesh Kumar Gupta, 67, Whole-Time Director from April 13, 2026, over twenty-five years in the trade (DRHP p.230, DRHP p.231).
• Poonam Gupta, 59, Non-Executive Director since December 19, 2016, in charge of editorial work (DRHP p.230, DRHP p.231).

Pay: directors' remuneration was ₹0.40 crore in FY24 and ₹0.36 crore in FY26 (DRHP p.284). Each executive promoter is entitled to about ₹0.12 crore a year (DRHP p.232, DRHP p.233). Neha Gupta and Gauri Gupta were each paid ₹0.12 crore in FY26 (DRHP p.72).

Loans: promoters lent the company ₹8.4 crore at March 31, 2026, at 6% and repayable on demand (DRHP p.272, DRHP p.340). Before that, the company lent money the other way: ₹4.3 crore to Prateek Gupta and ₹6.4 crore to Aman Gupta between FY22 and FY25, interest-free, which the company says contravened Section 185 of the Companies Act; all was repaid by FY25 and a compounding application was filed on September 29, 2026 (DRHP p.36).

Property and guarantees: the registered office is rented from Poonam Gupta at ₹0.02 crore a month, and properties owned by Poonam Gupta are mortgaged for the company's bank loans; all four promoters give personal guarantees (DRHP p.214, DRHP p.273). Three trademark applications used by the company are in Aman Gupta's name and not yet registered, used under a no-objection letter (DRHP p.48, DRHP p.214).

Other businesses: each promoter owns a proprietary firm in a similar line: Rama Publishing House (Prateek Gupta), Sumer Book Depot (Aman Gupta), Suman Publications (Parvesh Kumar Gupta) and P.P. Publications (Poonam Gupta) (DRHP p.56, DRHP p.247). ASPV Industries Private Limited, a packaging maker where Prateek Gupta and Aman Gupta are directors, sold goods worth ₹6.7 crore to the company in FY26 (DRHP p.229, DRHP p.383, DRHP p.71). A non-compete agreement covers P.P. Inventions Private Limited and the proprietary firms, though the document dates the P.P. Inventions agreement both July 21 and July 29, 2026 (DRHP p.56, DRHP p.228, DRHP p.383).

Cases: 11 tax matters against the promoters, ₹0.50 crore in all; no criminal or regulatory cases (DRHP p.46).

Promoter economics: the four promoters subscribed to 2,500 shares each at ₹10 at incorporation in 2016, and in December 2025 gave 1,000 shares each to Neha Gupta and Gauri Gupta (from Parvesh Kumar Gupta and Poonam Gupta) and one share to Narendra Kumar Aggarwal (from Prateek Gupta) as gifts (DRHP p.87, DRHP p.88). On September 1, 2026 a bonus of 1,500 shares for each share held turned 10,000 shares into 1,50,10,000 (DRHP p.86). The average cost works out at ₹0.01 a share for each promoter (DRHP p.62, AP p.7). No promoter shares are pledged (DRHP p.88).

11Who already owns it

P.P. Books promoter holding before and after the IPO

Source: DRHP p.88, DRHP p.93; the after-issue column is our arithmetic. Narendra Kumar Aggarwal, promoter group, holds 1,501 shares (DRHP p.88). There are 1,50,10,000 shares of ₹10 before the issue held by 7 shareholders, and up to 2,08,83,600 after it (DRHP p.85, DRHP p.93). The promoters' 79.99% becomes about 57.5%, so 80.0% → 57.5% (our arithmetic, DRHP p.85). Promoters and promoter group together go from 100% to about 71.9% (our arithmetic, DRHP p.92). The document leaves the after-issue percentages blank (DRHP p.88).

No fund, company or outside person holds shares. Shares equal to 20% of the post-issue capital held by the promoters are to be locked in for three years (DRHP p.89).

12What changed just before the IPO

• Revenue and profit: revenue went from ₹25.3 crore in FY24 to ₹72.9 crore in FY26 and profit after tax from ₹0.37 crore to ₹14.0 crore (DRHP p.68).
• Receivables: receivable days went from 418 to 278 (DRHP p.113).
• Directors' pay: ₹0.40 crore in FY24 and ₹0.36 crore in FY26 (DRHP p.284).
• Bonus issue: 1,500 new shares for each share held, allotted September 1, 2026, capitalising ₹15.0 crore of reserves (DRHP p.86). This is also the last allotment before the IPO, at no price (DRHP p.86).
• Share split: none; the capital history shows only the incorporation shares and the bonus (DRHP p.85).
• Pre-IPO placement: none; no primary issue other than the bonus in the 18 months before filing (DRHP p.116).
• Public company: converted under a resolution of May 12, 2026, with a fresh certificate dated June 18, 2026 (DRHP p.75).
• Auditor: Mangla & Mangla Associates resigned on December 20, 2025, citing other assignments, and KRA & Company was appointed on January 19, 2026 (DRHP p.77). Before that, MAAG & Associates resigned on September 30, 2024 (DRHP p.48).
• Board and officers: Parvesh Kumar Gupta became Whole-Time Director and two independent directors joined in April 2026; a CFO and a company secretary were appointed on June 19, 2026; the audit committee was formed on June 19, 2026 (DRHP p.71, DRHP p.244, DRHP p.6).
• New loans: nine unsecured term loans from banks and finance companies sanctioned between December 2025 and January 2026, and a Kotak Mahindra Bank overdraft of ₹8.9 crore sanctioned in August 2025 (DRHP p.98 to DRHP p.100).
• Loans to promoters stopped: ₹6.1 crore of loans to promoters at March 31, 2024 had been repaid by March 2025 (DRHP p.283, DRHP p.36).
• Restatement: FY24 profit cut from ₹0.74 crore audited to ₹0.37 crore restated, and gratuity booked for the first time (DRHP p.295).
• Company law matters: ROC forms filed up to 3,024 days late, some GST returns up to 134 days late, and some ESI and EPF returns late (DRHP p.44, DRHP p.45, DRHP p.47).
• Dividend: none in the last three financial years (DRHP p.250).

13Capacity and expansion

Source: DRHP p.113, DRHP p.214. The document gives no installed capacity or utilisation; it states that the company does not print or bind in-house (DRHP p.207). A further 2,000 sq ft in Delhi taken on June 1, 2026 is under construction and its approvals have not been obtained (DRHP p.214, DRHP p.215). The issue funds no capital expenditure (DRHP p.95). Property, plant and equipment were ₹1.4 crore at March 31, 2026 (DRHP p.67).

14Market size and industry structure

P.P. Books industry: market size and growth

As claimed: the chapter is drawn from the "Industry Report on School Books Publishing, Retail Distribution, & Stationery Market" released September 19, 2026 by Ken Research Private Limited, which the company commissioned and paid for, exclusively for the issue (DRHP p.125, DRHP p.55). The report says the India school books publishing market was ₹23,900 crore in FY26, up from ₹18,200 crore in FY21, about 5.6% a year (DRHP p.132). It defines that market as publishers' revenue from authoring, printing and publishing K-12 textbooks, workbooks and supplementary books (DRHP p.132).

The part that is addressable: the company publishes books for CBSE, CISCE and State Board schools in India and has no exports (DRHP p.183, DRHP p.293). The commissioned report puts the CBSE segment at ₹12,600 crore, State Boards at ₹9,100 crore and ICSE at ₹2,200 crore in FY26 (DRHP p.135). The company also sells some stationery and other publishers' books, which the report sizes separately as school stationery retail distribution, ₹15,500 crore in FY26, and school books retail distribution, ₹17,500 crore in FY26 (DRHP p.141, DRHP p.137).

What the company is today: FY26 revenue of ₹72.9 crore (DRHP p.68) is about 0.3% of the report's ₹23,900 crore publishing market (our arithmetic, DRHP p.68, DRHP p.132).

Size over time: the commissioned report projects the publishing market at ₹31,700 crore by FY31, about 5.8% a year, citing private school growth and the NCERT revision cycle, which it says will be completed across all 12 grades by FY27 to FY28 (DRHP p.132). The report says the total school-going population fell from 25.4 crore in FY21 to 24.8 crore in FY26 and projects it at 26.2 crore by FY31 (DRHP p.126). It reports private unaided school enrolment of 9.1 crore in FY21 and projects 11.8 crore by FY31, with the share rising from 36% to 45% (DRHP p.127).

Segments: by channel, retail inside schools was about 45% of the FY26 publishing market, direct-to-school about 35% and direct-to-consumer about 20% (DRHP p.133). Offline sales were about 85% and online about 15% (DRHP p.134). The company sells mostly through distributors to schools, with small in-school and online sales (DRHP p.200).

What drives demand: the report names private school enrolment, where it says schools prescribe publisher-developed book sets, rising literacy (about 77% in 2023), curriculum revisions under NEP 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework, and the number of schools, about 14.7 lakh (DRHP p.158). Private unaided schools account for about 32% of elementary enrolment by the report's figure (DRHP p.158).

Structure: the report calls the market highly fragmented, with large publishers, government bodies such as NCERT and State Boards that set price benchmarks, and many regional firms (DRHP p.178). It names Chetana Education, Dachepalli Publishers, Rachna Sagar and PM Publishers, and lists P.P. Books among regional publishers (DRHP p.178, DRHP p.179). Entry barriers it names are content investment, adoption cycles of one to three academic years and school relationships (DRHP p.171).

Inputs and trade: in the report's description, paper is about 60% of cost and is paid within about 10 days, printing and binding about 40% and paid over six to eight months, while schools and institutions pay in 60 to 120 days; peak sales fall between March 15 and March 31 (DRHP p.168). Printed books generally attract nil GST (DRHP p.173).

Rules: books must follow board syllabi and NEP 2020, and content is protected under the Copyright Act (DRHP p.173). The company holds one registered trademark in its own name (DRHP p.214).

What the chapter says can go wrong: price caps and tender discounts in direct-to-school sales, piracy and photocopying, fragmentation, unsaleable stock after syllabus changes, and rising paper, printing and freight costs that small publishers cannot pass on (DRHP p.169). For distributors it adds seasonal stock risk, online discounting and long credit to schools (DRHP p.41).

15Competitive position

P.P. Books competitors

Source: DRHP p.115 for the listed peers, DRHP p.182 for the unlisted ones (from the commissioned report), converted from ₹ lakh. Dachepalli's revenue is about 1.3 times the company's and Chetana's about 1.5 times (our arithmetic, DRHP p.115). The listed peers' inventory days were 292 and 323 against the company's 69 (DRHP p.115).

What the company puts forward: a curriculum-aligned catalogue, school relationships, a sales-led model with 141 sales staff, an outsourced production model and digital support material (DRHP p.111, DRHP p.113). Against that: no long-term customer contracts, a quarter of revenue from Delhi, all printing done by outside vendors, related-party purchases and promoter firms in a similar line (DRHP p.35, DRHP p.37, DRHP p.51, DRHP p.56).

16Peers the company named

Peers named in the offer document: Dachepalli Publishers Limited and Chetana Education Limited (DRHP p.112).

Both publish K-12 school books; both are larger in revenue, have lower margins and carry much more stock (DRHP p.115). The document gives their P/E as 10.04 and 6.12 on September 29, 2026 (DRHP p.112), but its own summary line prints the peer P/E range as 4.52 to 4.74 with an average of 4.63 (DRHP p.111). The company's FY26 EPS is ₹9.30 after the bonus (DRHP p.111). With no price band, no P/E for the company can be stated.

17Risks, in plain words

P.P. Books IPO risks

Financial: cash and receivables: operating cash flow was negative in FY24, FY25 and FY26 (DRHP p.69) → profit has not yet come in as cash, so growth is funded with debt → receivables were ₹70.4 crore at March 31, 2026 against FY26 revenue of ₹72.9 crore (DRHP p.67, DRHP p.68).

Financial: debt: borrowings were ₹34.5 crore, ₹31.2 crore of them short-term, including ₹11.5 crore from other companies and ₹8.4 crore from promoters repayable on demand (DRHP p.67, DRHP p.272, DRHP p.44) → lenders can call short-term money quickly → finance cost was ₹2.4 crore in FY26 (DRHP p.68).

Business: seasonality: almost all revenue is booked in January to March (DRHP p.33) → a delay in school adoptions or deliveries in that window can cost a whole year's sale → the last quarter was 103% of FY26 revenue (DRHP p.34).

Customers: schools' choice: revenue depends on schools adopting the books each year, without long-term contracts (DRHP p.31, DRHP p.35) → a school can switch publishers at the next session → the top ten customers were 19.86% of FY26 revenue (DRHP p.35).

Suppliers: printers and paper: all printing and binding is outsourced and paper is the main input (DRHP p.38, DRHP p.51) → vendor delays or paper price rises hit the season → 31 printers and binders were used in FY26 (DRHP p.113).

Promoters: related parties: the company buys from a promoter group company and promoter firms, and earlier lent promoters money in breach of Section 185 (DRHP p.36, DRHP p.71) → terms may not be at arm's length and a compounding order is pending → ASPV Industries purchases were ₹10.9 crore in FY25 and ₹6.7 crore in FY26 (DRHP p.71).

Regulation: filings: GST, ESI, EPF and ROC filings have been late (DRHP p.44, DRHP p.47) → penalties may follow → one ROC form was filed 3,024 days late (DRHP p.47).

Business: digital learning: smart classrooms and digital platforms may reduce demand for printed books (DRHP p.34, DRHP p.35) → the company's sales are almost all print → online sales were 0.21% of FY26 revenue (DRHP p.185).

Issue-specific: the working-capital object rests on the company's own receivable and payable assumptions, and the objects are not appraised (DRHP p.50, DRHP p.105) → actual needs may differ → ₹34.0 crore is earmarked for FY28 (DRHP p.95).

18Litigation and regulatory matters

Cases against P.P. Books and its promoters

Summary: 7 tax matters against the company for ₹0.35 crore and 26 criminal complaints and 2 civil matters by the company for ₹3.3 crore (DRHP p.46). Criminal: none against the company, promoters, directors or key managers (DRHP p.46). Regulatory: none (DRHP p.46). By the company: cheque-dishonour complaints under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act against book dealers

and a recovery suit against Central Book Hill for ₹0.07 crore (DRHP p.344, DRHP p.368, DRHP p.369). Against the company: a recovery suit by Sethi Book Store for under ₹0.01 crore, listed among the company's civil cases (DRHP p.369, DRHP p.370). Promoters: the largest demand is against Poonam Gupta for AY 2011, ₹0.02 crore plus interest of ₹0.04 crore (DRHP p.372); three cheque cases filed by promoters (DRHP p.46). Section 185:

compounding application for loans to promoters filed September 29, 2026, no order yet (DRHP p.36). Creditors: one material creditor owed ₹3.5 crore (DRHP p.377).

19Related-party transactions

Source: DRHP p.71, DRHP p.72, DRHP p.73, converted from ₹ lakh; the promoters' row adds Parvesh Kumar Gupta, Poonam Gupta, Aman Gupta and Prateek Gupta (our arithmetic). Sumer Book Depot was also lent ₹1.5 crore in FY26 and ₹6.0 crore in FY25 (DRHP p.73). Salaries of ₹0.12 crore each went to Neha Gupta and Gauri Gupta in FY26 (DRHP p.72). Rent of ₹0.05 crore was paid to Poonam Gupta in FY26 (DRHP p.71). Balances at March 31, 2026: loans from promoters ₹8.4 crore and a trade payable to ASPV Industries of ₹6.2 crore (DRHP p.73).

What appeared or changed in the two years before filing: loans to Prateek Gupta and Aman Gupta stopped after FY25; the promoters became net lenders to the company in FY26; purchases from Sumer Book Depot and Rama Publishing House and rent to Poonam Gupta started in FY26; printing and binding by the promoters' HUFs stopped after FY25 (DRHP p.71, DRHP p.72, DRHP p.36). The company says these transactions were at arm's length (DRHP p.57).

20What the offer document does not say

The customers are not named. Prices per title and returns from schools are not given, so the realisation arithmetic in section 04 cannot be separated into price and mix, and the negative October to December quarters are not explained (DRHP p.34). Suppliers' concentration is not given, except that 93.22% of purchases came from Delhi (DRHP p.325).

What ASPV Industries, a packaging maker, sold to the company is not described beyond "purchase of goods" (DRHP p.71, DRHP p.383). Margins by school level or channel are not given. The financial statements of the group companies are left to the company website (DRHP p.382). The issue size in rupees, the price band, general corporate purposes and issue expenses are blank (DRHP p.95). The after-issue shareholding is blank (DRHP p.88).

Some inconsistencies are recorded as document matters, not business ones: the peer P/E summary prints 4.52 to 4.74 while the peer table shows 10.04 and 6.12 (DRHP p.111, DRHP p.112); the commissioned report shows FY26 EBITDA of ₹20.4 crore and profit of ₹13.6 crore, the audited and not the restated figures (DRHP p.182, DRHP p.295); the non-compete with P.P. Inventions is dated July 21 and July 29, 2026 (DRHP p.228, DRHP p.383);

the risk factors say the logo is registered and also that the company does not enjoy the protection of a registered trademark (DRHP p.48); the debtors' age table counts ₹4.9 crore of disputed receivables as good (DRHP p.282); 93.43% of revenue is described as sold through distributors to schools while 42.28% is labelled direct to consumer (DRHP p.200, DRHP p.185);

the creditors' table shows ₹11.6 crore owed to 122 creditors against trade payables of ₹23.8 crore at March 31, 2026 (DRHP p.377, DRHP p.67); and the business chapter refers to “Our Manufacturing unit” and its water supply for production while the company says it does not print or bind in-house (DRHP p.212, DRHP p.207).

21Five questions for management

1. Why were October to December revenues negative in FY24, FY25 and FY26, and how much revenue is reversed each year through book returns?
2. What goods did ASPV Industries supply for ₹10.9 crore in FY25 and ₹6.7 crore in FY26, and on what price basis?
3. How much of the ₹70.4 crore of receivables at March 31, 2026 had been collected by September 2026, and why are ₹4.9 crore of disputed receivables treated as good?
4. Of the 29,70,208 books sold in FY26, how many were the company's own titles, and what was the average realisation per own title?
5. How much of the ₹11.5 crore of loans from other companies and the ₹8.4 crore from promoters will be repaid from the ₹3.5 crore debt object, and which loans will remain?

1Sources and cited facts

This study was read from 1 document the company filed. The 193 figures it cites are listed under the document each came from, with the page and the sentence as printed.