AirLife Gases Pvt Ltd
Pune helium and specialty-gas supplier that has gone upstream — controlling stake in Canada's Royal Helium (Nov 2025) and a deal for US helium processor GNG (Jul 2026) — ₹183 Cr revenue and ₹12.5 Cr profit in FY25, funded by a ₹143.5 Cr round at ₹900 backed by Ashish Kacholia.
Market cap
₹1,277 Cr
1.06 Cr shares
P/E ratio
86.89
Sector average 40
Book value
₹63.98
P/B 18.76
1-year return
+37.61%
52w ₹1,200 – ₹2,350
Currently 0% of the way through its 52-week range.
Indicative price history
1Y change
+37.61% ₹872 → ₹1,200
52-week band in this window: ₹872.01 – ₹1,233.08. Weekly indicative marks, not exchange-traded prices.
Key highlights
- FY25 revenue about ₹183 Cr and PAT about ₹12.5 Cr; operating margin 10.9% after an 8.6% trough in FY24.
- About 52.9% of Royal Helium (Saskatchewan) acquired through the Keranic transaction that closed 28 Nov 2025; definitive agreement for a controlling stake in US processor GNG signed July 2026.
- ₹143.5 Cr raised Apr–Sep 2025 at ₹900 a share (post-money about ₹958 Cr) from Ashish Kacholia, Shiv Sehgal, Neo Alternatives and others.
- UnlistedZone indicative rate ₹1,200 (31 Jul 2026), lot 500, 52-week range ₹1,200–₹2,350; implied market cap about ₹1,277 Cr.
About AirLife Gases
AirLife Gases Private Limited is a Pune-based supplier of helium and specialty gases to Indian and overseas customers — MRI and healthcare, semiconductor and electronics, welding, fibre optics, diving, balloons and laboratory users. Founded in 2019 by Kiran Karnawat (Chairman and CEO), the company began as an importer and distributor that sourced helium in ISO containers and cylinders, and has since positioned itself as a multinational, vertically integrated helium business. Its stated plan is to own molecules from the well-head to the customer: a US liquefaction plant and an Indian storage and trans-fill facility are the next capex items.
The upstream push came in two steps. In October 2025 an AirLife affiliate joined the private placement that financed Keranic Industrial Gas's combination with Royal Helium Ltd, a Saskatchewan helium producer then in CCAA protection; the transaction closed on 28 November 2025 and AirLife emerged with about 52.9% of the fully diluted shares after subscribing US$2.0 million of subscription receipts, US$0.93 million of shares and buying a further 31.8 million Keranic shares. Royal's Steveville plant (15,000 Mcf/day of raw gas) was to restart within 12 weeks. In July 2026 AirLife signed a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling stake in GNG, a US helium gathering, processing and liquefaction company, which it describes as creating a fully integrated global helium supply chain.
Financially the trading business has been flat: dealer and research notes put FY24 revenue at about ₹188 Cr and FY25 at about ₹183 Cr (down 3%), with operating margin falling from 26.4% in FY23 (helium-shortage pricing) to 8.6% in FY24 as Russian supply returned to Asia, then recovering to 10.9% in FY25 when profit after tax was about ₹12.5 Cr. Between April and September 2025 the company raised roughly ₹143.5 Cr at ₹900 a share from investors including Ashish Kacholia (about ₹15 Cr), Shiv Sehgal and Neo Alternatives, at a post-money valuation of about ₹958 Cr; a further ₹65–70 Cr round for the US liquefier and Indian storage facility has been discussed. Management projections cited by dealers (for example FY26 revenue of ₹412 Cr) are unaudited and depend on the Royal Helium and GNG assets performing.
Ownership is with the Karnawat family (Kiran and Rupali Karnawat are the registered directors) alongside the 2025 financial investors; the exact split is not public. The registry record that matches the directors, city and 2019 incorporation is 'Airlife Gases and Products Private Limited', CIN U40107PN2019PTC187074, RoC Pune, incorporated 7 October 2019 with ₹1 lakh paid-up capital at its last aggregator snapshot (FY21) — the capital base has clearly grown since, and the name and CIN should be confirmed on MCA21 before relying on them.
At the UnlistedZone indicative rate of ₹1,200 a share (as of 31 July 2026) and the roughly 1.064 Cr shares implied by both UnlistedZone's ₹1,277 Cr market capitalisation and the ₹958 Cr post-money value at ₹900, the company is valued at about ₹1,277 Cr — roughly 100 times FY25 profit of ₹12.5 Cr and about 7 times sales. UnlistedZone's 52-week range is ₹1,200–₹2,350, so the quote has already halved from its peak; the only hard transaction reference is the ₹900 round in 2025.
Verification status (10 Oct 2026): the Royal Helium transaction (amounts, 52.9% stake, closing date) is from the companies' press releases on Newsfile and gasworld coverage; the GNG agreement is from the July 2026 press release; revenue, margins, PAT, the fundraise and valuation are from Planify and UnlistedZone research notes (dealer sources, unaudited); the ISIN, price, lot and 52-week range are from UnlistedZone's page. CIN and incorporation date are from a registry aggregator record under a slightly different name. Balance-sheet lines, cash flows, FY24 profit, headcount, face value and the shareholding split are estimates and are marked as such.
Where the revenue comes from
- Helium supply (bulk ISO containers & cylinders)70%
Imported and, from FY26, own-sourced helium for MRI, semiconductor, welding, fibre-optic and balloon customers (estimate)
- Specialty & rare gases20%
High-purity and calibration gas mixtures, neon, krypton, xenon and others for labs and electronics (estimate)
- Equipment, trans-fill & services10%
Cylinder trans-filling, storage, logistics and gas-handling equipment (estimate)
Products & services
Bulk helium
Liquid and gaseous helium in ISO containers, tube trailers and cylinder packs for MRI, semiconductor, fibre-optic and research users.
Cylinder helium & balloon gas
High-purity and balloon-grade helium cylinders distributed through trans-fill stations and dealers across India.
Specialty & rare gases
Calibration mixtures, neon, krypton, xenon and other high-purity gases for electronics, lighting and laboratories.
Upstream helium (Royal Helium, GNG)
Helium wells and the Steveville processing plant in Saskatchewan via the 52.9% Royal Helium stake, and US gathering, processing and liquefaction through the pending GNG acquisition.
What works
- • Scarce commodity with structural demand: helium is non-substitutable in MRI, semiconductors and fibre optics, and India imports all of it; a domestic supplier with its own upstream molecules is unusual.
- • Vertical integration under way — 52.9% of Royal Helium (Saskatchewan wells and the Steveville plant) and a controlling-stake agreement for US processor GNG give AirLife supply security that pure importers lack.
- • Marquee backing: the 2025 round of about ₹143.5 Cr at ₹900 brought in Ashish Kacholia, Shiv Sehgal and Neo Alternatives, funding the acquisitions without heavy debt.
- • Profitable base business: about ₹183 Cr revenue and ₹12.5 Cr PAT in FY25 with margins recovering from the FY24 trough.
What to watch
- • Valuation: at ₹1,200 the implied market capitalisation of about ₹1,277 Cr is roughly 100 times FY25 earnings; the quote is 49% below its ₹2,350 52-week high and 33% above the ₹900 round price, so marks are volatile and thin.
- • Helium price cycle: operating margin swung from 26.4% in FY23 to 8.6% in FY24 as Russian supply returned to Asia; revenue has been flat at ₹183–188 Cr for two years.
- • Execution risk abroad: Royal Helium was bought out of CCAA insolvency and its plant had to be restarted; GNG is a pending acquisition; both add Canadian and US operating, regulatory and currency exposure to a ₹180 Cr Indian distributor.
- • Disclosure: no audited statements, annual report, CIN confirmation or shareholding pattern is publicly available; registry aggregators still show a ₹1 lakh capital snapshot under a slightly different company name.
Compare with peers
| Company | Price | Market cap | P/E | P/B | Rev CAGR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AirLife GasesThis page | ₹1,200.00 | ₹1,277 Cr | 86.89 | 18.76 | -2.66% |
| Vadilal Chemicals | ₹10.00 | ₹4.87 Cr | 2.04 | 0.14 | +6.22% |
| Matrix Gas | ₹3.38 | ₹135.2 Cr | 7.04 | 1.28 | +17.38% |
| Credo Advanced Chemicals | ₹49.00 | ₹367.5 Cr | 38.58 | 1.99 | +10.94% |
Latest reported year: FY25 ending 31 Mar 2025.