All analyses
AI analysis

Bogala Graphite Lanka PLC: research report

Moderately overvaluedbearishAug 11, 2026

Bogala’s profits are growing, but the share price already demands a very high valuation. The latest March quarter ranked among its weakest comparable March results.

Reports without a focus are public, one per stock per day. Generation usually takes about 15 minutes, and we'll notify you when it's ready.

Why bearish

  • The P/E of 47.08 sits at the 91st sector percentile, leaving little valuation support if earnings disappoint.
  • Net margin was 15.1%, ranking third-worst among four comparable March quarters.
  • The company has zero gearing, but its 270.9% payout ratio and 0.37 times dividend cover make the current distribution difficult to sustain from earnings alone.

Against this. Audited 2025 net profit grew 71.3% despite a 6.6% revenue decline, showing a substantial improvement in profitability.

Operating margin
31.9%sector 11.3%
latest quarter
Net margin
16.9%sector 6.3%
latest quarter
Return on equity
20.3%sector 11.4%
full year to Dec 31, 2025
P/E
42.1sector 12.0
earnings Rs 2.92 per share
P/B
7.60sector 1.63
book Rs 16.19 per share
Dividend yield
6.34%sector 2.05%
trailing twelve months

Current figures, updated daily from filings to Jun 30, 2026. The report below was written on Aug 11, 2026. Sector figures are the median of 29 listed companies in the same sector.

Overview

Bogala Graphite Lanka mines, processes and sells Sri Lankan vein graphite, with activity spanning extraction, purification and value-added industrial products. Its customer base covers friction materials, foundry and refractory uses, lubricants and specialty applications, while research activity targets graphene-based products.

The central change is improved annual profitability despite lower revenue. However, the latest quarter sits near the weak end of Bogala’s comparable March history, creating a tension between the annual recovery and the current operating print.

Price performance

The share closed at LKR 139 on 2026-08-11. Over one year it gained 115.4%, far ahead of the ASPI’s 9.4% rise, although the six-month return was negative at 6.5% while the index fell 9.6%.

The price is positioned at 72.4% of its 52-week range, 18.2% below the high. Recent volatility and trading volume are both below the company’s own longer-term norms, so the strong annual advance has not been accompanied by current market activity at the same intensity.

Valuation

Bogala trades at 47.08 times earnings and 9.19 times book value, placing it at the 91st and 96th sector percentiles respectively. Its 20.3% audited return on equity provides some justification for a premium to book value, but does not remove the substantial premium implied by the earnings multiple.

The dividend yield is 5.8%, also in the sector’s top decile. No dividend history series is supplied, so the direction of the payout cannot be established; the available record shows a confirmed first interim dividend of LKR 8.00 per share with an ex-date of 2025-08-21.

News and sentiment

Coverage was normal over the 90-day window, with five material articles: four neutral and one negative. Recent company disclosures concerned board committee changes and an indirect change of control after Graphit Kropfmühl GmbH, which owns 86.46%, was transferred to an Asbury Advanced Materials subsidiary.

Bogala stated that operations and management were unchanged. The first interim dividend was confirmed with an ex-date of 2025-08-21 and payment on 2025-09-10; no undated corporate actions are currently listed.

Financials

The latest quarter to 2026-03-31 produced revenue of LKR 450 million and net profit of LKR 68 million. Gross, operating and net margins were 45.8%, 20.8% and 15.1%, respectively. The corresponding March 2025 margins were 41.4%, 21.4% and 16.1%, but that quarter was filed on a group basis versus the latest company basis, so the comparison is not like-for-like.

On a valid same-basis comparison, the latest gross, operating and net margins each ranked third-worst among four comparable March quarters. The audited year to 2025-12-31 was stronger in absolute direction: revenue fell 6.6%, while net profit grew 71.3% to LKR 276 million. The gap between quarterly operating profit and net profit was LKR 26 million, meaning finance costs, tax, associates and foreign-exchange effects still removed a meaningful share of operating earnings.

Risks

Cash conversion is the main balance-sheet risk: the 2025 ratio was 0.74 times, so accounting operating profit did not fully arrive as operating cash. That matters alongside the 71.3% annual net profit growth, because the earnings improvement was not completely matched by cash generation.

Financial leverage is not currently a constraint. Total debt was LKR 0, gearing was 0.0% of owners’ equity and interest cover was 1,557 times, while the current ratio was 4.85. The more immediate risk is therefore earnings quality and valuation sensitivity rather than refinancing pressure. Manufacturing exporters also face a sector backdrop of labour shortages, while higher fuel costs and 7.3% inflation can pressure operating costs.

Outlook

The next information event is the filing for the quarter ending 2026-06-30. As at 2026-08-11, it was due now and the exchange timing range was 2026-07-30 to 2026-10-26; that filing will supersede the March-based analysis and show whether the weak comparable-quarter ranking persisted.

The manufacturing backdrop is supportive for exporters, with merchandise exports up 6.3% year on year, but labour availability remains a constraint. The data cannot establish whether Bogala’s indirect ownership change will alter customers, products or capital allocation, although the company has reported no operational or management changes.

About this report. Generated on Aug 11, 2026 from market data up to Aug 11, 2026, 5 material news articles over 90 days and financials to Mar 31, 2026. Every figure is drawn from EquityLK's own data on this company. AI research can contain errors, so treat it as a starting point, not investment advice.

Previous reports