Vikram Thermo (India) Ltd Forensic Report - SOIC x StockScans Report

as of Sep 2026

Vikram Thermo (India) Ltd's record shows seven years of clean audit opinions, but that clean surface sits over a pattern of rising promoter pay, a demerger that routed losses away from reported earnings, and a persistent gap between cash flow and profit.

Key findings

  1. Promoter family remuneration has escalated sharply through repeated shareholder approvals, with the father-son MD-WTD pair earning ₹4.06 crore combined in FY2025-26 and a third relative's pay proposed to rise 47% in FY2026-27 Major - Mr. Dhirajlal Patel, Chairman & Managing Director, received ₹2.56 crore in FY2025-26, up from ₹2.13 crore in FY2024-25 and ₹40.65 lakh in FY2021-22. His son Mr. Ankur Patel and Mr. Dineshkumar Patel, both Whole Time Directors, each received ₹1.51 crore in FY2025-26, up from ₹31.35 lakh and ₹30.59 lakh respectively in FY2020-21. The FY2025-26 AGM notice proposes raising Mr. Vikalp Dhirajlal Patel's monthly remuneration from ₹1.99 lakh to ₹2.93 lakh, a 46.6% increase effective 1st April 2026. Aggregate director and KMP remuneration rose 71.43% in FY2022-23 versus a 31.10% average employee increase, and promoter e-voting on Mr. Ankur Patel's commission in September 2024 polled only 58.64% of held shares with 6,788,830 invalid votes. The Board also paid ₹2 crore to the legal heirs of Mr. Chimanlal Patel, a director who died on 16-Nov-2022, described as a "tribute".
  2. A demerger of the Aromatic Chemicals business into Vikram Aroma Limited, effective 4 May 2024, reshaped reported results through discontinued-operations presentation and an exceptional item of 25.34 crore in FY2024-25 Major - The NCLT-approved scheme, effective 4 May 2024, transferred all debts, contingent liabilities, and tax obligations of the demerged unit to Vikram Aroma Limited. In FY2024-25, net profit before tax after exceptional items was 18.79 crore versus 44.14 crore before, an exceptional loss of 25.34 crore. Discontinued operations reported a net loss after tax of 25.66 crore for FY2024-25, compared to ₹67.65 lakh in FY2023-24. Shareholders received 1 share of Vikram Aroma Limited for every 10 shares held, with 31,35,785 shares issued.
  3. Operating cash flow has consistently lagged reported profit, with cumulative CFO covering only 69% of EBITDA over ten years, while dividends have risen faster than free cash flow generation Minor - Cumulative CFO of ₹152 crore covered only 0.69x of cumulative EBITDA of ₹221 crore over the ten-year history through FY2026. FY2025 CFO of ₹23.64 crore covered only 0.70x of PAT of ₹33.76 crore, the weakest single-year ratio in FY2022-FY2026, and free cash flow was negative at ₹-17.11 crore. FY2026 CFO of ₹51.58 crore covered 1.34x of PAT of ₹38.50 crore, the only year in the period where CFO exceeded PAT. The dividend for FY2023-24 was ₹0.75 per share with total outflow of ₹2.35 crore, up from ₹1.57 crore the prior year.
  4. A single BSE fine for late XBRL filing of related-party transactions from 2022 remains unresolved after three years of waiver requests, while the company otherwise reports no regulator penalties or director disqualifications Minor - BSE imposed a fine for late XBRL submission of Related Party Transactions for the quarter ended 30th September 2022, and the company's waiver application remains pending as of the FY2025-26 Annual Report. The same fine was disclosed in each annual report from FY2022-23 through FY2024-25, with the company citing "human error" and PDF compliance. The FY2021-22 report stated no non-compliance or penalty was imposed by stock exchanges, SEBI, or statutory authorities, and a May 2024 certificate confirmed no directors were debarred or disqualified.
  5. Revenue recognition is a recurring audit focus, but customer concentration is absent and doubtful-debt provisions have risen with receivables Minor - The auditor identified Revenue Recognition as the sole Key Audit Matter in FY2025-26, and recoverability of trade receivables was a Key Audit Matter in FY2021-22 and FY2019-20. No single customer accounted for 10% or more of revenue in any year from FY2019-20 through FY2025-26. Provision for doubtful debts including ECL rose from ₹0.76 crore in FY2018-19 to ₹4.68 crore as at March 31, 2026, while receivable days were 125 in FY2025-26, 128 in FY2024-25, and 142 in FY2023-24.
  6. Seven consecutive years of clean audit opinions and clean CARO clauses, with only minor IEPF transfer delays and a secretarial-audit qualification in earlier years Minor - The statutory auditor issued unqualified opinions on standalone financial statements and internal financial controls for each year from FY2019-20 through FY2025-26, with no fraud reported under Section 143(12). CARO clauses on wilful default, fund diversion, related party transactions, cash losses, whistle-blower complaints, and statutory dues were all clean across the same period. Minor lapses include IEPF transfer delays of 36 days in FY2019-20, 15 days in FY2020-21, and 26 days in FY2024-25, plus a secretarial-audit qualification in FY2019-20 for failure to provide prior intimation of a Board meeting. The auditor also reported a difference in current assets as per books and quarterly returns filed in FY2025-26.
  7. Statutory auditor J.T. Shah & Co. completed its maximum five-year term in FY2021-22 and was re-appointed for a second consecutive five-year term through FY2026-27, with no resignations or actions against the auditor disclosed across any year reviewed Minor - M/s. J.T. Shah & Co. was appointed at the AGM held 28 September 2018 for five consecutive years up to FY2021-22, and the Board proposed re-appointment for another five years until the FY2026-27 AGM. No resignation of statutory auditors occurred during FY2021-22, FY2022-23, or FY2024-25. The firm holds an ICAI Peer Review certificate.
  8. Contingent liabilities are disclosed but immaterial in amount, with no disputed statutory dues, no pending investigations, and the only notable contingent exposure being the transfer of tax liabilities to Vikram Aroma Limited under the 2024 demerger scheme Clean - The auditor's report for FY2024-25 states pending litigations' impact is disclosed in Note 40, with no material foreseeable losses on long-term contracts. The FY2021-22 report confirms no disputed dues of Income tax, Sales tax, Provident Fund, ESI, Excise, Customs, or cess not deposited. The NCLT sanction order for the demerger confirms no investigation or winding-up proceedings are pending against either company.

What to watch

Bottom line: This is a company with a clean audit record and no regulatory findings of fraud, but the record shows a consistent pattern of promoter pay rising faster than employee pay, a demerger that moved losses and tax liabilities off the books, and cash flow that has persistently lagged reported profit. The risk sits in related-party compensation and the gap between reported earnings and cash generation, so watch the AGM votes on director pay and the resolution of the BSE fine.