For investors who are starting fresh or even for ones who have been doing this for a good amount of time, when they look for what the “super investors” of India are doing with their portfolios…
The top names are almost always the same, and Madhusudan Kela is a name that usually appears in all searched.
Madhusudan Kela currently holds 15 stocks in his portfolio worth Rs 2883 cr, is a highly regarded investor and portfolio manager known for his astute approach to equity markets.
When this Warren Buffett of India makes such substantial changes to his portfolio, it is imperative to take a deep dive to see if these could potentially be the next multibaggers.
Does this Warren Buffet see some hidden potential in these companies, or does he see an upward trend or growth story waiting to unfold. Let us look at both these stocks.
Prataap Snacks Ltd
Prataap Snacks Limited is a leading player in India’s snack food sector. The company manufactures and markets a diverse portfolio of popular snack products, including potato chips, extruded snacks, and namkeen (traditional Indian snacks) under the well-known Yellow Diamond brand, and sweet snacks under the Rich Feast brand.
With a current market cap of Rs 2,778 cr, Prataap Snacks is a market leader in Rings and top 5 in Western Savoury Snacks. In the recent years, Prataap Snacks (Yellow Diamond + Avadh brands) has emerged as the market leader in the Extruded Snacks category.
Madhusudan Kela just bought a 4.6% stake in the company. As per Trendlyne, Kela now owns 11,00,000 shares of the company, worth Rs 128 cr.
So, what is it that caught the attention of this super investor?
The company’s financial ss are not yet out for the quarter ending March 2025. But the already existing numbers could give us a fair idea of what is possible Kela’s angle.
The company’s sales were at Rs 1,092 cr for FY19 and it jumped to Rs 1,618 cr for FY24, which is a compounded growth of 8% in 5 years.
For 9MFY25, April to December 2024, the company has already recorded sales of over Rs 1300 cr.
The EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) for Prataap Snacks was Rs 78 cr in FY19 which has grown to Rs 141 as of FY24, logging in a compound growth of about 13%. Between April and December 2024, the company has logged in Rs 44 cr in EBITDA.
The net profits for Prataap Snacks saw a compound growth of around 4% as it jumped form Rs 45 cr in FY19 to Rs 53 cr in FY24. However, for 9MFY25, the company has reported losses of Rs 23 cr, which makes us wonder what is it that Kela sees that we are not able to catch.
The share price of Prataap Snacks jumped from around Rs 465 in April 2020 to its price as on closing on 11th April 2025, which is Rs 1,164. That is a jump of 150% in 5 years.
The current price of Rs 1,164 is still a 20% discount on its all-time high price of Rs 1,459.
The company’s share is trading at a current PE of 42x, while industry median is just around 31x. The 10-year median PE for Prataap Snacks is 54x, while the industry median for the same period is a 30x.
Prataap Snacks is focussing on expanding namkeen footprint to ~44% of the snacks industry (currently contributes to around 16% of revenue). It also plans to Increase range selling and volumes of larger pack sizes.
Kopran Ltd
Incorporated in 1958, Kopran Ltd. is a fully integrated pharmaceutical company that manufactures and supplies high-quality formulations and active pharmaceutical ingredients globally.
With a market cap of Rs 918 cr, Kopran is a significant player in the pharmaceutical industry, which manufactures a wide range of both Finished Dosage Forms and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs).
Madhusudan Kela has been holding a 1.04% stake in Kopran since March 2023 as per data on Trendlyne.com, which he recently upped to 1.5% in March 2025.
This increase at the same time when the FII (Foreign Institutional Investments) for the company saw a jump of 0.86% in December 2024 to 1.12%. Now this jump might not be big, but it comes at a time when the markets are seeing a FII exodus.
As for the financials, the company’s sales jumped from Rs 358 cr in FY19 to Rs 615 cr in FY24 which is a compound jump of 11%. And between April and December 2024, the company logged in sales of Rs 457 cr.
EBITDA was Rs 46 cr in FY19 which saw a compound jump of 10% to Rs 74 cr in FY24. And for the 9MFY25, Kopran has recorded Rs 53 cr in EBITDA.
Looking at profits, Kopran’s profits went from Rs 24 cr in FY19 to Rs 51 cr in FY24, logging a compound growth of 16%. And between April and December 2024, the profits are at Rs 28 cr.
Kopran’s share price was around Rs 28 in April 2020 which has grown to its current price of Rs 190 (As on closing of 11th April 2025). This is a jump of about 578%.
Even at the current price of Rs 190, the company’s share is trading at a discount of almost 49% from its all-time high of Rs 370.
Kopran’s share is trading at a PE of 19x, while the industry median is 28x. The 10-year median PE of Kopran is 15x while the industry median for the same period is again 28x.
As per the communication by the company in March 2025, Kopran Ltd will merge with Kopran Laboratories Limited (KLL), another company within the same promoter group. KLL works in the Indian diagnostics industry and engages in marketing diagnostic equipment, consumables, and automation solutions to labs and hospitals.
According to the press release, the main reason for the amalgamation was the potential to grow in the diagnostics market, use the existing relationships of Kopran Laboratories Limited to market Kopran’s products, and for Kopran Ltd to increase profits by manufacturing diagnostic kits.
Big Moves… Yes or No?
Madhusudan Kela made some fresh moves in his portfolio – grabbing a fresh stake in Prataap Snacks and increasing his share in Kopran Ltd. It shows how one of India’s Warren Buffetts looks at his investments. Both shares are cheaper than their peak prices, and that has got investors looking. Kela’s history of successful investments makes you wonder – what is behind his moves here.
Prataap Snacks is grabbing a larger chunk of India’s exploding snack industry. They are eager to spread their namkeen variety and promote bigger package options. On the other hand, Kopran’s setting up for a leap in pharma and diagnostics, hitching a ride on a merger. They are using what they’ve already built to boost their earnings. They have their challenges—like Prataap’s latest financial troubles and the tough rivals that Kopran faces.
But Kela’s belief in these stocks shows his talent for finding worth in places where others might step away. Will Prataap be the next snack leader of India, or is it Kopran with the secret formula to harness diagnostics? We will just have to wait and see. In the meantime, let us keep an eye on these shares for now—they’re the silent challengers that might just shake things up when the timing’s perfect.
Note: We have relied on data from www.Screener.in and www.trendlyne.com throughout this article. Only in cases where the data was not available, have we used an alternate, but widely used and accepted source of information.
The purpose of this article is only to share interesting charts, data points and thought-provoking opinions. It is NOT a recommendation. If you wish to consider an investment, you are strongly advised to consult your advisor. This article is strictly for educative purposes only.
Suhel Khan has been a passionate follower of the markets for over a decade. During this period, He was an integral part of a leading Equity Research organisation based in Mumbai as the Head of Sales & Marketing. Presently, he is spending most of his time dissecting the investments and strategies of the Super Investors of India.
Disclosure: The writer and his dependents do not hold the stocks discussed in this article.
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