Confused about AUM, ROA and ROE in NBFC’s? Gain clarity now.

1. NBFC — Supply Chain Financing

sgfinserve.com | NSE: SGFIN

Business Mix & Portfolio

• Part of APL Apollo Group (Group’s flagship co., APL Apollo Tubes Limited is India’s largest structured steel manufacturer)

• Supply Chain Financing continues to be the core of our franchise, further strengthened by the commercialization of the Factoring & TReDS business

  • Became one of < 1% of NBFCs offering Factoring & TReDS solutions

2. FY23-26: PAT CAGR 91% & Net Inerest Income CAGR 81%

FY25: A regulatory pause lending in H1 to comply with Type II NBFC licensing norms muted growth

FY26: Leadership transition (H2) + downward revision in guidance (after Q2 results)

3. FY26: PAT up 58% & Net Interest Income up 44% YoY

4. Q1FY27: PAT up 119% & Net Interest Income up 92%

PAT up 27% & Net Interest Income up 31% QoQ

Q1 FY27 was SG Finserve’s strongest quarter so far. :

• Should not extrapolate the 27% sequential profit growth.

• Q1 benefited from the rapid deployment of equity raised around March–April.

  • The objective was to build the loan book early so that the larger earning base contributes throughout FY27.

• Management itself expects future sequential growth to normalise toward a more sustainable level.

  • After normalising for this capital injection, underlying sequential growth may have been closer to 14–15% rather than 27%.

  • 8–10% QoQ profitability growth would be a sustainable target going forward.

5. Business Metrics: Strong Return Ratios

Management guidance:

• ROA: 4.5–5% (sustainable)

• ROE: 14–16% target

6. Outlook: 30-35% PAT CAGR

6.1 Management Guidance and Future Outlook

Over a period of three to four years, we plan to grow our AUM around 25% to 30% growth. However, profitability we are targeting to grow at 30% to 35% CAGR.

GROWTH, RETURNS & ASSET QUALITY

• AUM: 25 - 30% CAGR

• PAT: 30 - 35% CAGR

• RoA: 4.5% - 5.0%

• RoE: 14% - 16%

• Cost/Income: 13% - 17%

• NPAs: NIL

FY27 PAT & Equity: INR300 crores PBT translates to around INR225 crores kind of a PAT. So, it roughly reaches around INR1,700 crores kind of equity base as FY27 closing.

FY30 AUM: we are targeting to reach INR10,000 crores.

• FY27 Management Guidance

  • FY27 closing AUM / Loan Book ~₹5,500 Cr

  • PBT ~₹300 Cr

  • Implied PAT ~₹225 Cr

  • RoA 4.5–5.0%

  • RoE 14–16% trajectory

  • Cost-to-Income13–17%; management intends to stay below ~15%

  • Asset quality — Aspiration to maintain NIL NPA

  • Equity raise — None planned in FY27

  • Expected FY27 closing equity ~₹1,700 Cr

  • Leverage strategy — Gradually move from ~2.2x to ~3x

• FY27 PBT Guidance Looks Conservative

  • Management indicated that ~₹280 Cr annualised PBT is almost a “no-brainer” at the current base

  • Characterised the ₹300 Cr guidance as carrying a conservative cushion — effectively “under-commit and over-deliver.”

• AUM Outlook: ₹5,500 Cr FY27 → ₹10,000 Cr FY30

  • Management acknowledged that current growth velocity is faster than originally expected and said some earlier FY30 objectives could potentially be achieved by FY29.

• No Equity Raise Expected Until Around ₹10,000 Cr AUM

“We don’t plan to raise any equity because we don’t need to raise any equity.”

• Core Growth Strategy: “Deepening + Widening”

  • Deepening means:

    • financing more dealers within existing anchor ecosystems,

    • increasing wallet share,

    • adding products to existing corporates,

    • moving from channel finance into factoring/invoice finance.

  • Widening

    • new corporate anchors,

    • new MSME customers,

    • new geographies,

    • new products,

    • adjacent financial services.

• APL Apollo Dependence Should Continue Falling

  • SG Finserve originally grew largely from the APL Apollo ecosystem.

  • Management now expects roughly:

    • ~1/3 AUM: APL Apollo ecosystem

    • ~1/3: non-APL Apollo working-capital / supply-chain finance

    • ~1/3: businesses beyond traditional supply-chain finance

• Factoring & TReDS — Emerging Second Growth Engine

  • Factoring has only recently been commercialised but is gaining traction.

  • Roughly 5% of current AUM

  • Management expects factoring to become much larger because:

  • very few banks/NBFCs currently offer it,

  • TReDS is gaining acceptance,

  • regulatory support has improved,

  • B2B sectors not suited to traditional dealer financing can use factoring.

  • This is potentially SG Finserve’s most important new growth vertical.

• LAP + Digital Lending Are Next

  • Management specifically identified two potential lending products:

  • Management sees LAP as a natural cross-sell opportunity to existing MSME borrowers.

  • Its existing digital infrastructure and MSME customer base provide the platform to potentially launch digital business lending.

• Insurance Broking — Likely From Q4 FY27 or Later

  • SG Finserve has incorporated SG Insurance Brokers.

  • It will be a fee-based B2B broking/cross-selling business targeted at the company’s existing ecosystem.

  • Possible products include:

    • trade credit insurance,

    • keyman insurance,

    • employee/group health,

    • other MSME/corporate insurance products.

6.2 Q1 FY27 Performance vs FY27 Guidance – SG Finserve

We are on track to maintain our return on asset ranging from 4.5% to 5%, and we have already seen in Q1 that we already achieved 5.1%.

We are on track to grow our return on equity. We have already expanded from 12% in FY26 to 14% in Q1. Our aspiration is to grow from 14% to 16% as we move forward. Our aspiration is to maintain top-notch credit quality.

What is ahead?

• AUM growth: much faster than the 25–30% long-term framework

• Profit growth: far ahead of 30–35% CAGR guidance

• RoA: above upper end

• Cost efficiency: substantially better than guidance

• Asset quality: exactly on target

What is merely on track?

• ₹300 Cr FY27 PBT: Q1 run-rate supports it comfortably

• ₹225 Cr PAT: requires only modest growth from Q1

• ₹5,500 Cr AUM: only ~21% additional growth required from June levels

What still needs improvement?

RoE: 14% is only the lower end of the 14–16% target. The next leg depends on increasing leverage and deploying capital efficiently.

7. Valuation Analysis — SG Finserve

7.1 Valuation Snapshot

• Current Price — ₹703.6

• Market cap — ₹4,636.4 Cr

For a stock promising 25-30% long-term AUM CAGR and 30-35% PAT CAGR over the long-term with nil NPA the forward valuations of ~2.3× P/B (FY28) provide an opportunity for re-rating of multiples closer to 3× P/B

7.2 Opportunity at Current Valuation

Strong head-room to grow

• Not cheap at current valuation — The opportunity comes from earnings compounding, not immediate undervaluation.

• FY27 earnings appear reasonably de-risked. Management has said that the current run-rate gives it clear visibility toward the FY27 target.

  • The company does not require an exceptional acceleration from Q1 levels to meet FY27 guidance.

• Earnings growth if delivered will compress the valuation. This creates an opportunity even without a significant rerating.

  • This shows both the opportunity and the limitation: earnings must continue growing, and the market must retain at least a reasonable premium multiple.

• Growth may be funded without additional equity dilution

  • Management expects to grow to approximately ₹10,000 Cr AUM by FY30 without raising additional equity, supported by:

    • retained earnings,

    • current capital adequacy of around 32%,

    • leverage rising gradually from 2.2× toward 3×,

    • strong internal profitability.

• RoE has room to improve

  • The opportunity is that SG Finserve is currently underleveraged relative to its target structure.

    • If the company can: maintain RoA near 5%, increase leverage toward 3×, keep credit costs negligible

      • RoE could move toward 16% without requiring higher lending yields or materially greater operating risk.

      • This would justify a higher P/B multiple than a conventional NBFC generating only 11–13% RoE.

• New products provide optionality not fully included in forecasts

  • The current profit projections are predominantly based on lending.

  • Additional potential businesses include:

    • LAP cross-selling,

    • digital MSME lending,

    • B2B insurance broking,

    • international supply-chain finance through GIFT City,

    • longer-term AIF and other financial-services opportunities.

    • The formal strategy includes scaling supply-chain finance, deep-tier finance, factoring, invoice finance and TReDS, followed by LAP and digital lending.

    • Insurance broking could also add fee income without requiring lending capital, although management does not expect a meaningful launch before Q4 FY27 and regulatory approvals remain necessary.

At ₹703.60, the market is already paying for:

• high growth,

• 5% RoA,

• negligible credit costs,

• successful execution of the ₹225 Cr FY27 PAT target.

The valuation becomes attractive around FY28–FY29 earnings, but only if execution remains strong.

The opportunity is not that SG Finserve is cheap today. The opportunity is that a high-quality lending franchise may grow earnings fast enough to make today’s valuation look cheap in two to three years.

7.3 Risk at Current Valuation

The biggest risk is not SG Finserve’s current balance sheet—it is the amount of future performance already embedded in the price.

• Trade at premium multiples for an NBFC currently generating around 14% RoE.

  • Earnings disappointment can cause a double impact — lower earnings estimate + lower valuation multiple.

• SGFIN already discounts strong FY27 execution

  • The current price is therefore not supported by present earnings alone.

  • It depends on the successful delivery of FY27 and FY28 growth.

• Nil NPA may not be permanently sustainable

  • Management itself acknowledged that lending accidents and losses may eventually occur, even though the stated aspiration remains nil NPA.

  • Current valuation appears to price in:

    • negligible credit costs,

    • no major borrower failures,

    • continued recoverability,

    • stable supply-chain relationships.

• Funding costs could compress spreads

  • Interest expenses grew faster than interest income during Q1.

  • This risk becomes more relevant as SG Finserve grows beyond its existing group ecosystem and increasingly competes for external borrowers.

• Expansion into LAP and digital lending can change the risk profile

  • Supply-chain finance benefits from:

    • identifiable transaction flows,

    • anchor relationships,

    • shorter duration,

    • high repayment velocity.

  • LAP and digital MSME lending can behave differently

    • They can also dilute the low-credit-cost characteristics of the existing supply-chain franchise.

    • Investors should not automatically assign current nil-NPA record to new products before they are tested.

• Adjacent businesses may distract management. SGFIN is simultaneously exploring:

  • insurance broking,

  • GIFT City,

  • AIF,

  • ARC,

  • LAP,

  • digital lending,

  • broader financial services.

• Management’s 5–10-year vision is to become a comprehensive financial-services provider rather than only an NBFC. This creates optionality, but also the risk of:

  • management bandwidth dilution,

  • premature diversification,

  • regulatory complexity,

  • higher fixed expenses,

  • capital allocation mistakes,

  • entering businesses without an established competitive advantage.

• The risks are higher that opportunity for new entrants in the stock

  • Existing holders can hold and ride the momentum.

Previous Coverage of SGFIN

Don’t like what you are reading? Will do better. Let us know at hi@moneymuscle.in

Don’t miss reading our Disclaimer

1. Retail Focussed NBFC

piramalfinance.com | NSE: PIRAMALFIN

2. FY22-26: A period of transition

3. FY26: PAT up 210% & Net Interest Income up 32% YoY

4. Q1-27: PAT up 67% & Net Interest Income up 43% YoY

PAT down 8% & Net Interest Income up 6% QoQ

• AUM grew by 25%

  • Core growth business—which excludes the discontinued legacy book and now represents 98% of total AUM—increased by 32% year-on-year.

On the overall demand environment, yes, we are seeing strong demand, and that has resulted in a solid 25% growth at the consolidated level
Demand has remained positive across most categories, resulting in broad-based growth.
The first quarter surprised positively. Typically, first-quarter asset quality numbers tend to be weaker, but this year we did not see that seasonality. The numbers were actually quite strong across the board.

With El Nino, we will need to monitor customers whose incomes depend more on agriculture. The rains during the first few days of July have eased some of those concerns, but it is still something to watch.

5. Outlook: 25% AUM Growth; 50% PAT growth

5.1 Management Guidance and Outlook

Bottom-line growth driven by improving profitability

• Confident in achieving its original FY2027 guidance for AUM growth, profit growth, and Return on AUM (ROAUM).

• Aiming for a 2.5% ROAUM by Q4, up from 1.9% in Q1

  • driven by operating leverage as the loan book grows against stabilised baseline staffing costs.

• Retail opex to AUM ratio is expected to improve

  • improvement of 40-50 basis points of value over the next 4-5 quarters.

• Long-term leverage goal (AUM to equity) of 4.5x to 5x

  • enabled by their domestic credit rating upgrade

  • strategic shift towards lower-risk, larger-ticket lending.

• Gold loans network rollout aims to reach 200 branches by the end of March 2027.

  • To shift staffing models to reach 100% branch penetration for personal loans in the next two to three quarters.

• Sourcing from cross-selling unsecured disbursements is expected to materially improve, bringing lower opex and credit costs.

  • Digital loans business will remain agile — prepared to quickly scale down volumes if current historically low risk levels begin to rise.

• Capital Raise and M&A: Approved an enabling resolution to raise up to ₹4,000 Cr to comfortably support growth requirements.

  • Open to inorganic acquisitions if appropriate valuations arise — nothing is currently imminent

5.2 Q1 FY27 Performance vs FY27 Guidance

On-track — Sustained Delivery Required

• AUM growth of 25% — same as guidance

  • Growth in their continuing businesses reached 32% year-on-year in Q1

  • AUM growth has sustained at these levels for several quarters

• PAT growth of 67% is ahead of 50% growth guidance

  • Required run-rate to achieve FY27 target is high

  • Required quarterly run-rate for PAT the next 3 quarters is ~₹600 Cr vs the ₹461 Cr PAT delivered in Q1 FY27

6. Valuation Analysis

6.1 Valuation Snapshot — Piramal Finance

• Current Market Price — ₹2,130

• Market cap — ₹48,513 Cr

• FY27 PAT = 1.5 X FY26 PAT

• FY28 PAT =3% X average(FY26 AUM, FY27 AUM)

• PIRAMALFIN trades at 1.6 P/B (×) on FY27 estimates.

• For a company guiding to deliver 50% PAT growth with ROAUM closer to 2.5% — the P/B multiple provides an opportunity of re-rating closer to 2 P/B (×)

6.2 Opportunity at Current Valuation

• Consistent Growth: Core business delivered a 32% year-on-year AUM growth — driven by 44% year-on-year surge in retail loan disbursements.

  • Demand situation looks strong to the management

• Credit Rating Upgrade Advantage: Domestic rating upgrade to AA+

  • will lower the cost of borrowing — improve margins

  • enable the company to increase its leverage while aggressively targeting larger-ticket, lower-risk borrowers — enable the growth ahead

• “Hidden” Capital Reserve:

  • The balance sheet contains roughly ₹9,000 Cr of embedded regulatory capital via deferred tax assets and legacy investments; this will naturally unlock over time, providing a substantial long-term safety net.

• Flexibility for Expansion:

  • Approved resolution to raise up to ₹4,000 Cr

  • Openness to opportunistic mergers and acquisitions,

  • PIRAMALFIN has the ammunition to sustain its growth into FY28.

• Increased Profitability: RoA improving to 2.5% in FY27 to 3% by FY28 creates the opportunity as bottom-line grows faster than the top-line

• Multiple Re-rating: Opportunity of being re-rated at around 2(×) P/B if FY27 guidance is delivered and PIRAMALFIN shows progress on executing FY28 guidance.

6.3 Risk at Current Valuation

• Early signs of financial stress among salaried IT sector customers, specifically in Southern India.

  • Stress is currently manifesting as higher bounce rates in secured loan products rather than unsecured ones.

• Wholesale lending portfolio (which includes real estate and corporate mid-market lending) is experiencing highly elevated prepayment rates.

  • In Q1, the company received 74% of its disbursed amounts back as repayments — 61% of all contractual repayments due for the entire FY2027 year have already been paid by borrowers.

  • While this indicates robust asset quality and strong borrower cash flows, it acts as a severe headwind to actually growing the wholesale AUM.

• Asset quality in the LAP segment saw a slight sequential deterioration in Q1, going back to Q3 levels.

  • This uptick removed some of the comfort they had built up in the previous quarter, stating that their “seat belts are very much on” regarding LAP asset quality.

• Sluggish organic demand in the small-ticket housing loan segment (under 35 lakhs).

  • Forced to pivot its growth strategy toward larger-ticket sizes and mass-affluent home loans.

• Piramal’s digital lending business—which is primarily embedded finance conducted through fintech partnerships—is highly cyclical and dependent on the overall health and activity of the fintech sector.

  • Portfolio’s risk is currently at historic lows (allowing the company to operate at historically high volumes),

  • Management warned that this is not a “steady as she comes” business.

  • Volumes can move up or down quite meaningfully, and the company is prepared to aggressively cut back on this business if risk metrics begin to tick upward.

• Execution Risk: PIRAMALFIN is on-track to deliver FY27 guidance. The challenge is to consistently deliver on the FY28 guidance.

Previous coverage on PIRAMALFIN

Don’t like what you are reading? Will do better. Let us know at hi@moneymuscle.in

Don’t miss reading our Disclaimer

1. Public Sector Bank

bankofmaharashtra.bank.in | NSE: MAHABANK

Products & Services

2. FY22-26: PAT CAGR of 57% & Net Interest Income CAGR of 23%

3. FY 26: PAT up 27% & Net Interest Income up 17% YoY

4. Q4-26: PAT up 27% & Net Interest Income up 15% YoY

PAT & Net Interest Income flat QoQ

5. Business Metrics: Strong & Improving Ratios

6. Outlook: 15% NII growth

6.1 Management Guidance

Optimistic yet cautious outlook — Emphasizing profitable growth with zero compromise on asset quality rather than mindlessly chasing top-line expansion.

Growth and Profitability Targets

• Loan Growth: Despite 27% year-on-year advances growth in Q1 — not to revise initial full-year loan growth guidance at 18%

  Net Interest Income (NII): Committed to guidance of 15% NII growth.

• Net Interest Margin (NIM):

  • NIM guidance is set at 3.75%, though bank outperformed Q1 with 3.85%

  • Expects yields on advances to potentially go up

    • 53% their loan book is repo-linked and they have recently approved MCLR hikes, both of which will benefit the bank during upcoming interest resets.

Asset Quality and Strict Underwriting

• NPA Guidance: Gross NPA below 2% and Net NPA below 0.25%.

• Credit Cost: below 1%

• Underwriting Benchmarks: Halting lending to individuals with a TransUnion CIBIL score below 681. All recent sanctions strictly within the prime and super-prime categories.

Operational Expansion and Capital Strategy

• Cost-to-Income Ratio: below 40%

• Branch Expansion: Aggressively expand physical footprint by opening 200 new branches annually

• Capital Raising: To fund double-digit credit growth — to raise up to ₹5,000 crores in equity

  • Waiting on government approval

  • Intends to execute this raise at an opportune time during FY27

Deposit Strategy and Outlook

• Resource Mobilization: Structural shift of retail funds from banking deposits to alternative assets like mutual funds and SIPs

  • Avoiding reliance on high-cost bulk deposits.

  • Leaning heavily on refinance options (which carry a blended cost of 6% to 6.5% and have no CRR/SLR requirements) to fund credit growth while protecting profit margins.

Upcoming Catalysts: Maharashtra Debt Waiver Scheme Expects a government agricultural debt waiver scheme to materialize within FY27, which could provide a major boost to the bank.

• Out of an eligible portfolio of ~₹3,500 Cr, the maximum expected haircut to the bank is ~₹450-500 Cr.

• Potential loss is heavily buffered, as the bank already holds ₹1,700 Cr in provisions and has a ₹1,100 Cr technical write-off (TWO) book against these accounts.

• As a result, recoveries from this scheme will incrementally boost operating profits,

• Government’s incentive of ₹50,000 for prompt-paying farmers is expected to bring a significant influx of savings account (CASA) balances into the bank.

7.FY26 Performance vs FY26 Guidance

Q1 FY27 largely outperformed the full-year guidance targets

Slight miss on NII, deposit growth and CASA ratio

Areas of Out-performance (Beating Guidance)

• Advances Growth: Grew by 26.90% vs guidance of 18%.

• Total Business Growth: Grew by 19.10% vs guidance of 16-17%.

• Net Interest Margin (NIM): 3.85% exceeding the guidance of 3.75%

• Return on Assets (ROA): 1.90% beating the targeted 1.80%

• Return on Equity (ROE): 24.65%, well above the target of 20% or more.

• Asset Quality:

  • Gross NPA fell to 1.45% and Net NPA to 0.13%.

  • Both beat the guidance of keeping GNPA below 2% and NNPA below 0.25%

• Efficiency (Cost-to-Income Ratio): 35.04%, vs guidance of below 40%

• Capital Adequacy (CRAR): 18.64%, vs the 18% target

• Provision Coverage Ratio (PCR): 98.55% vs the 98% guidance.

Areas Where Guidance Was Met

• Credit Cost: At 0.99%, line with the guidance of keeping it below 1%.

• RAM vs. Corporate Ratio: At 63:37, in line with guidance of a 60:40 (+/- 2%).

Areas of Slight Underperformance (Missing Guidance)

• Deposit Growth: 12.93% vs the guidance of 14-15%.

  • Attributed to avoiding high-cost bulk deposits and Certificates of Deposit (CDs) to protect margins, opting for cheaper refinance alternatives instead.

• CASA Ratio: 48.51% below the target of ~50%

• Net Interest Income (NII) Growth: Grew by 14.53%, lagging the target of 15%

8. Valuation Analysis

8.1 Valuation Snapshot — Bank of Maharashtra

• Current Market Price — ₹84

• Market cap — ₹64,865.7 Cr

• Not extremely cheap on P/B because the stock already trades around ~2× book, but it is still reasonable on FY27 P/B if the bank can grow deliver on 15% NII growth and profitability supported by

• Valuations are entering Private bank territory.

• MAHABANK is trading at premium valuations compared to other public sector banks.

  • The premium valuations are justified given its preformance relate to its peer

8.2 Opportunity at Current Valuation

NIM’s guidance is conservative — Profitability could surprise

The guidance is conservative on profitability, NIM, ROA, ROE and asset-quality ratios. It is less conservative on deposit growth, CASA retention, fee income growth and slippage control.

Corporate PipelineStrong — providing growth visibility

Undisbursed corporate sanction pipeline of roughly ₹34,500 crore, ensuring high visibility for continued double-digit corporate credit growth.

Upcoming Catalyst: Maharashtra Debt Waiver Scheme A major near-term upside lies in the anticipated Maharashtra state agricultural debt waiver scheme.

• Recoveries from this scheme will directly and incrementally boost operating profits.

• The government scheme also includes a ₹50,000 incentive for prompt-paying farmers, which will be credited directly to their savings accounts. The bank estimates this will bring a massive influx of low-cost CASA (Current Account Savings Account) deposits—calculated at roughly ₹775 crores—into the bank.

8.3 Risk at Current Valuation

Premium Valuations — Similar to top private sector banks
Raises the bar of performance for MAHABANK. Valuations now demand significantly superior performance compare to its public sector peers

Macroeconomic and Geopolitical Headwinds — West Asia crisis is a significant risk.

• Bank took a proactive and prudent step by creating a specific “global geopolitical uncertainties provision” of ₹200 crores in Q4 FY26.

• MAHABANK warned that the fallout of these geopolitical shocks could begin impacting the loan book in subsequent quarters.

The “War for Deposits” and Funding Constraints

• Management acknowledges an “irreversible” structural shift where household savings are moving away from traditional bank deposits into alternative asset classes like mutual funds and SIPs.

• Elevated CD Ratio: Because of this deposit squeeze, the bank’s deposit growth (12.93%) significantly lagged its stellar credit growth (26.90%) in Q1 FY27. This mismatch pushed the Domestic Credit-Deposit (CD) Ratio to an elevated 86.58%.

• Declining CASA Ratio: The bank’s CASA ratio dropped from 52.51% at the end of FY26 to 48.51% in Q1 FY27.

• Reliance on Refinance: To fund loan growth while avoiding expensive bulk deposits, the bank is relying heavily on alternative refinance options (utilizing roughly ₹19,000 crores).

  • If these refinance avenues become more expensive or dry up, the bank could struggle to fund its aggressive credit expansion without sacrificing profit margins.

Pockets of Asset Quality Stress

• Agriculture NPAs: The Gross NPA in the agriculture portfolio remains notably higher than the rest of the book, standing at 7.58% in Q1 FY27.

• MSME & SMA Bumps: In Q1 FY27, Gross NPAs in the micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) segments saw a slight quarter-on-quarter increase.

Equity Dilution

• Shareholder approvals to raise up to ₹5,000 crores in equity.

• Impending capital raise leads to near-term equity dilution for existing shareholders.

Guidance execution

Can MAHABANK grow advances at ~18%, maintain CASA near 50%, keep NIM around 3.75%, and still keep slippages below 1%?

That is the core risk investors should track.

Previous coverage of MAHABANK

Don’t like what you are reading? Will do better. Let us know at hi@moneymuscle.in

Don’t miss reading our Disclaimer

Stock Ideas at moneymuscle.in

1. Cables & Conductors + Power EPC Projects

jdcables.in | BSE - SME: 544524

Core business: cables, wires and conductors

In FY26, the business is dominated by cables and wires.

• Cables & Wires~76%

• Aluminium Conductors~24%

JD Cables sells mainly into the power infrastructure ecosystem. Its customer universe includes:

• State electricity boards / DISCOMs

• EPC contractors

• Infrastructure companies

• Utilities

• Industrial customers

• Power transmission and distribution projects

Management said they are majorly supplying to EPC contractors and are also participating directly in government tenders for cable supply.

JD Cables has two operating production facilities with combined installed capacity of around 28,000 km per annum — 6,000 km at Unit I and 22,000 km at Unit II.

New business: EPC / infrastructure projects

JD Cables is expanding beyond manufacturing into EPC.

So JD Cables is becoming:

• Earlier: cable/conductor manufacturer

• Now: cable/conductor manufacturer + EPC/infrastructure contractor

2. FY24-26: PAT up 163% & Revenue up 90% CAGR

3. H2 FY26: PAT up 69% & Revenue up 70% YoY

PAT up 66% & Revenue up 101% HoH

• EBITDA margin fell from H1 FY26 level because of higher other expenses, EPC-related costs, and bulk-supply execution.

  • Other expenses increased because the company started the EPC business and incurred expenditure where bills/invoices were pending.

• Raw material ratio actually improved, so margin pressure was not from raw material

4. FY26: PAT up 44% & Revenue up 46% YoY

5. Business Metrics: Stable Return Ratios

• ROE: still healthy, but no longer extraordinary.

  • Fall is mostly because of IPO-led net-worth expansion.

• ROCE: more important to watch.

  • FY26 ROCE of 23.11% is good, but the decline from 43.84% shows capital efficiency has reduced after expansion.

    • IPO money increased capital employed before full earnings came in.

    • New facility/capex has not yet fully ramped up.

    • Working capital increased due to fast growth and EPC entry.

    • H2 margins declined versus H1, which reduced operating return on capital.

    • EPC business can be more capital-intensive, so ROCE may stay under pressure if execution is not cash-efficient.

6. Outlook: Growing at 50-60%+ CAGR

6.1 FY27 Guidance

• FY27 revenue growth

  • 50–60% revenue growth in FY27.

  • Expect similar 50–60% growth even in FY28

• Core cables & conductors growth

  • Expected to grow 30–40% in FY27.

  • EPC is the accelerator on top.

• EPC revenue

  • Expects minimum ₹200 Cr from EPC in FY27 — can go higher (₹30 Cr in FY26)

• Order book

  • ₹515 Cr / ₹500 Cr+ as of March 2026.

  • Order-book execution timeline is usually around 1.5 years.

• FY27-end order book target — at least ₹700–800 Cr by FY27 end, calling this a conservative expectation.

• Tender pipeline — ₹1,000 Cr+ tenders, across EPC and cables, with outcomes pending.

• Margins — 12–13% EBITDA margin

• EPC margin — Expectation is around 8%, but management said exact margin can be confirmed once project completion advances.

• New products margin:

  • Newer products such as HTLS, AL-59, MVCC and HT cables are expected to have better margins than existing products and management expects these margins to be double digit.

• Capacity ramp-up:

  • Conductor division is ready and awaiting electricity connection; cable division expected to start in the next two months.

  • New unit to operate at a good pace by September and reach 70–80% utilization next year.

• Longer-term capacity ambition

  • Capacity can be expanded 3x–4x within the next two years, depending on order book and demand.

• Capex

  • FY27 capex guidance is around ₹20–30 Cr, depending on order inflow and new-unit ramp-up.

  • Company is also procuring adjacent land near the new factory.

JD cables is growing into a ~₹1,000 Cr revenue company by FY29, driven by three levers:

• Core cables/conductors growing 30–40%

• EPC scaling from ₹30 Cr to ₹200 Cr+

• New Dankuni capacity and new products supporting higher volumes

This is no longer a simple cable/conductor capacity expansion story. FY27 growth now depends heavily on EPC execution, working-capital funding, and tender conversion.

Order book, capacity expansion, and tender pipeline support the growth narrative.

Margins are guided closer to 12–13% EBITDA, not the H1 FY26 level of ~16%; EPC can absorb cash; and management openly accepts that high growth can keep cash flows under pressure.

6.2 FY26 Performance vs FY26 Guidance

FY26 vs guidance: mostly positive, but not perfect.

• Growth and order book: delivered / ahead

• Margins: lower than H1 run-rate

• Capacity expansion: delayed

• EPC entry: stronger than expected

• Cash flow / working capital: watch closely

7. Valuation Analysis — JD Cables

7.1 Valuation Snapshot

• Current Market Price — ₹244.05

• Market cap — ₹ 550.36 Cr

• Assumptions — lower end of the 50-60% growth till FY28

• On FY26 actuals, the stock trades at: 17.4× P/E, 12× EV/EBITDA, 1.5× sales

  That is a fair-to-slightly-rich trailing valuation for a small SME-listed company with rising EPC exposure.

• On FY27 guidance, the valuation falls sharply which makes it attractive.

• On FY28 guidance, it becomes optically cheap at 8.3× P/E, 5.6× EV/EBITDA, 0.7× sales

• It is cheap only if three things happen:

  • Revenue growth actually lands at 50–60%.

  • EBITDA margin stays around 12–13%.

  • EPC growth does not destroy cash flow.

• The biggest risk is working capital + debt + EPC execution.

  • Management has already acknowledged that growth can pressure cash flows, especially because debtor and inventory days rise during rapid expansion.

7.2 Opportunities at Current Valuation

Valuation looks ordinary on FY26, but attractive if FY27/FY28 growth comes through.

• Strong earnings growth can make current valuation look cheap

  • If guidance is delivered the valuations are not demanding for a company growing at 50-60% with revenue scaling to ₹1,000 Cr by FY29.

• Order book gives revenue visibility

  • If execution is smooth, FY27 revenue visibility is stronger than what a normal small manufacturing company would have.

• EPC can create a step-change in scale

  • The biggest upside lever is EPC.

  • The core cables and conductors business can grow 30–40%, while overall revenue growth is expected at 50–60%.

• Capacity expansion supports growth

  • Existing two units were already operating at high utilization: 82.43% at Unit I and 84.56% at Unit II in FY26.

  • Upcoming Unit III with 28,000 km capacity, effectively creating a major capacity expansion runway.

    • New unit to run at a good pace by September and reach 70–80% utilization next year.

  • New capacity comes onstream just as order book and EPC revenue are scaling.

• New products can improve the quality of growth

  • Newer products should have better margins than existing products

  • If growth comes only from lower-margin EPC, valuation may not rerate much.

  • But if new products contribute meaningfully and margins stay healthy, the market can value JD Cables more like a growing cables/conductors platform rather than just a contractor.

8.3 Risks at Current Valuation

If execution slips, the valuation is no longer cheap.

• Growth guidance is aggressive

  • Guiding for 50–60% revenue growth till FY28

  • That is a big ask for a company with a limited track record in public markets

  • If growth comes in at 25–30% instead of 50–60%, the stock can quickly move from “cheap forward valuation” to “fairly valued small-cap.”

• Margin has already softened

  • In the latest call, management accepted that the sustainable margin expectation is now around 12–13% EBITDA, not the earlier H1 FY26 level of ~15–16%.

  • If the market is valuing JD Cables as a high-growth manufacturing company, then margins matter.

  • If EPC becomes a larger part of the mix, the business may grow faster while margins stay lower.

• EPC can grow revenue but hurt cash flow

  • EPC can scale revenue quickly, but it usually brings:

    • execution delays,

    • billing milestones,

    • retention money,

    • receivable build-up,

    • inventory build-up,

    • higher working-capital requirement,

    • lower margin visibility.

  • Management itself acknowledged that growth and EPC can keep cash flow negative, because debtor and inventory days rise in a 50–60% growth phase.

  • So the risk is: PAT grows, but cash does not.

• Debt risk can rise in FY27

  • Management said they may take bank debt to fund working capital and EPC execution if they win more tenders.

  • JD Cables becomes a business where:

    • revenue grows → receivables grow → debt grows → interest cost grows → PAT quality weakens

• New capacity execution risk — new facility important for FY27 growth.

  • The conductor division ready but awaiting electricity connection

  • The cable division expected to start byJul/Aug 26

  • Any delay in can push revenue into later quarters.

  • At this valuation, the market may not tolerate delayed capacity ramp-up.

• Tender conversion is not yet proven at larger scale

  • Management has participated in ₹1,000 Cr+ tenders, but also said conversion ratio is difficult to state because this is a relatively newer area of participation for them.

  • This creates uncertainty while valuation assumes JD Cables winning and executing large orders.

  • If tender wins are delayed or conversion is lower, the forward valuation case weakens.

Don’t like what you are reading? Let us know at hi@moneymuscle.in

Don’t miss reading our Disclaimer

Stock Ideas at moneymuscle.in

1. EV manufacturer/assembler — 2Ws & 3Ws

zelioebikes.com | BSE - SME: 544563

• Core business is low-speed electric scooters

  • Affordable EVs with no licence, no registration, low maintenance and low running cost.

  • Low-speed e-scooters are the main revenue driver;

    • Expanding into high-speed scooters and electric 3-wheelers/e-rickshaws.

• Manufacturing footprint: started with Hisar/Ladwa plant;

  • Expanding through Odisha/Cuttack, Coimbatore and Patan plants to serve East, South and 3W/chassis demand.

• Sells through a dealer network across 25+ states, with management targeting 550+ dealers in FY27.

  • Dealer-led service network supported by company service engineers

  • Spare-parts availability through Zelio Auto Components, its wholly owned subsidiary.

• Business model is profitable growth, not subsidy-led growth

  • Profitable since inception — growth has come without heavy subsidy dependence.

• Strategic focus: become an organized brand in the fragmented low-speed EV segment, increase localization from ~30% toward 80%, and scale nationally while maintaining margins.

2. FY23-26: PAT up 110% & Revenue up 83% CAGR

3. H2 FY26: PAT up 84% & Revenue up 82% YoY

PAT up 39% & Revenue up 31% HoH

4. FY26: PAT up 77% & Revenue up 80% YoY

5. Business Metrics: Stable Return Ratios

• FY26 ROE fell compared with FY25 because IPO equity increased the equity base.

• On an increased capital base FY26 ROCE remained strong at ~28% — business generates attractive operating returns on capital.

6. Outlook: Growing at 75-80%+ CAGR

6.1 FY27 Guidance

• I am committed to sustaining 75% to 80% year-on-year revenue growth as our structural trajectory. Not a one-time event, but a repeatable engine.

• Sustaining 75% to 80% from here on a larger foundation, wider distribution, and a diversified portfolio is a number grounded in real assets, real capacity, and a market opportunity that is still largely untapped.

• This year we will definitely acquire more than 10% share in the market.

  • Within 2 to 3 years, we will acquire more than 20%-30% of the EV market.

• We are launching two high-speed EV models, targeting a 550+ dealer network across 25+ states with focused activation in South India and Northeast.

• FY27; is the first full year of simultaneous East India and South India revenue from Cuttack and Coimbatore.

• We are targeting more than 125,000 units scale for this year.

6.2 FY26 Performance vs FY26 Guidance

FY26 execution was strong vs guidance — financials beat, 2W volume beat, 3W ramp missed.

• Revenue: ₹313.68 Cr vs ₹260-280 Cr guidance — Beat

• Margin: “Constant and same” vs H1 level

  • FY26 EBITDA & PAT margins ahead of H1 FY26 margins

• 2W Units: FY26 target >60,000 vs 70,000+ delivered — Beat

• 3W Units: FY26 target 1,000 units vs 800 units delivered — Miss

7. Valuation Analysis — Zelio E-Mobility

7.1 Valuation Snapshot

• Current Market Price — ₹567.45

• Market cap — ₹ 1,200.16 Cr

• Assumptions

  • 70% growth till FY28

  • FY29 growth of 50% growth is illustrative to show how the numbers will look if 75%+ structural growth plays out

    • Its too early to consider FY29 as part of any investment decision

• FY26 valuation is rich — 38× trailing P/E is acceptable only if FY27–FY28 growth is very strong and margins hold.

• If guidance is met, valuation becomes much more reasonable. The stock moves from expensive on FY26 to fair-to-reasonable on FY27.

• The real investment case is not FY27 alone, but FY27 + FY28 compounding.

7.2 Opportunities at Current Valuation

The opportunity is that the market may still be underestimating the size of the FY28 business if FY27 execution is delivered.

• Valuation compression

  • If FY27 guidance is delivered, the stock becomes ~23–24x FY27E PAT; if FY28 growth remains strong, valuation can look cheap in hindsight.

• Capacity-led growth without immediate large capex pressure

  • Capacity increased from 72,000 units to 240,000 units.

  • FY27 guidance is >125,000 units, which means the company is not yet close to full capacity utilisation.

  • There is visible capacity headroom till FY28 if the structural growth of 75-80% plays out.

• Low-speed EV category leadership

  • Zelio is focused on low-speed EV scooters: no license, no registration, no mandatory insurance, and pricing around ₹50,000–75,000.

  • Management says this segment is 8–10 lakh units annually, around 40–45% of EV 2W volumes, and growing 20–25% per annum.

  • Most EV attention is on Ola, Ather, TVS, Bajaj high-speed scooters. Zelio is playing a different market: Bharat mobility, students, homemakers, senior citizens, gig workers and Tier-2/Tier-3 users.

  • If Zelio becomes the organized leader in low-speed EVs, it can get a premium. The market may value it not as a small assembler, but as a profitable category leader.

• Market-share expansion

  • H1 FY26 call management spoke of 4–5% market share and a 5–6% target.

  • In the FY26 call, tone became more aggressive: FY27 volumes are expected to cross 10% market share, with management talking about 20–30% share over 2–3 years.

• New geography monetisation

  • FY27 is the first year where the company expects simultaneous contribution from:

    • Ladwa / Hisar — North and West India

    • Cuttack / Odisha East and Northeast India

    • Coimbatore / Tamil Nadu South India

    • Patan / Haryana 3W and chassis

  • Cuttack reduces transportation cost and delivery timelines for East/Northeast,

  • Coimbatore opens South India as a dedicated revenue corridor.

• Product-mix expansion

  • Zelio is moving from mostly low-speed 2W into:

    • High-speed EV models — Brand expansion + higher ASP potential

    • 3W / e-rickshaw — Higher ticket size, new dealer category

    • Auto Components Supply-chain control + spare parts availability

  • Management said it is launching two high-speed EV models and scaling the 3W business through the Patan plant.

8.3 Risks at Current Valuation

The risk is that the stock is already pricing in very clean FY27 execution.

• Valuation risk: FY27 has to deliver

  • If FY27 revenue comes below guidance, valuation does not leave much protection.

  • If FY27 lands below ₹500 Cr, the stock remains expensive even after one more year of growth.

• Management has raised the bar sharply

  • Management is now targeting >125,000 units, 550+ dealers, and 75–80% YoY revenue growth as a “structural trajectory.” That is a very high bar after already growing 81.8% in FY26.

  • They have built capacity, but the market will now demand proof of dealer productivity, service quality, working capital control and repeat demand.

• Cash-flow risk: profit did not convert into cash in FY26

  • FY26 consolidated PAT was ₹28.39 Cr, but consolidated operating cash flow was negative ₹11.20 Cr. The drag came mainly from working capital, increases in inventory, short-term loans and advances and other current assets

  • If growth requires continued supplier advances and inventory build-up, accounting profits may keep rising while free cash flow remains weak.

• 3-wheeler ramp risk

  • 3W is being presented as a second growth engine, but actual scale is still low. If 3W ramp is further delayed, FY27/FY28 upside becomes more dependent on low-speed 2W alone.

• Low-speed EV data opacity risk

  • Slow-speed EVs do not appear in Vahan registration data because they do not require registration. Management clarified this when an investor questioned the mismatch between Vahan data and reported sales.

  • investors have limited independent monthly data to verify volumes. This makes trust in management disclosures more important.

• Import/localisation execution risk

  • Management earlier said the company was around 30% localised and wanted to move toward 80% localisation.

  • Localisation can improve margins, but execution is not automatic. Until localisation is proven, Zelio remains exposed to imported components, supply-chain disruption, currency movement and quality consistency.

• Competition risk

  • Management argues that low-speed EV is a large Bharat market and that Zelio can gain share.

  • But the same attractiveness can invite larger OEMs, regional assemblers and aggressive pricing.

  • Management itself discussed the possibility of larger players like Bajaj, Hero and TVS entering if the market becomes big enough.

  • Current margins assume Zelio can grow without heavy discounting. If competition intensifies, the company may have to choose between volume growth and margin protection.

Don’t like what you are reading? Let us know at hi@moneymuscle.in

Don’t miss reading our Disclaimer

Stock Ideas at moneymuscle.in

1. Solar EPC + Power T&D Infrastructure

sugslloyds.com | BSE - SME: 544501

2. FY23-26: PAT up 132% & Revenue up 103% CAGR

3. H2 FY26: PAT up 69% & Revenue up 58% YoY

PAT up 44% & Revenue up 45% HoH

H2 revenue was strong, but H2 core EBITDA margin was softer than H1. Management attributed Q4 margin pressure partly to a shifted MAHAGENCO project and extra costs due to local/land-related issues.

4. FY26: PAT up 20% & Revenue up 27% YoY

We have overachieved our guidance for financial year ‘26, delivering a turnover of INR300 crores against our stated guidance of INR270 crores

FY26 guidance was exceeded, and order book improved sharply. But the quality of growth is not yet clean because receivables doubled, operating cash flow remained negative, and cash balance stayed negligible.

FY26 was back-ended. This matches management’s comment that Q4/H2 is typically stronger. But it also explains why receivables spike at year-end.

5. Business Metrics: Stable Return Ratios

• FY26 ROE fell compared with FY25 because IPO equity increased the equity base.

• On an increased capital base FY26 ROCE remained strong at ~29% — business generates attractive operating returns on capital.

• The caution is that FY26 operating cash flow was negative.

  • So even though ROE and ROCE look good, the quality of these returns depends on whether receivables convert into cash.

• For FY27, the key monitorable is not only ROE/ROCE. It is whether high ROCE converts into positive operating cash flow.

6. Outlook: Growing at 70%+ CAGR

6.1 FY27 Guidance

FY27 Guidance

FY27 Margins: As I said during my introductory call, we have been growing almost like an 1.7, 1.8x over the last year and we will maintain the momentum. And we have been able to retain both the EBITDA margin as well as the PAT margin. We are very confident that we will be able to maintain at least the trend over the next year and more.

Order book:

• Our order book as of now stands around INR825 crores

• Oder-book Pipeline:

  • Total tenders which are at various stages of evaluation is around INR1,225 crores — around 200 to 300 out of these we are going to book

FY28: Our target of INR1,000 crores revenue by financial year ‘28 is firmly on track.

7. Valuation Analysis — Sugs Lloyd

7.1 Valuation Snapshot

• Current Market Price — ₹126.45

• Market cap — ₹ 293.54 Cr

• Sugs Lloyd looks optically very cheap on FY27/FY28 earnings if management hits the ₹600 Cr / ₹1,000 Cr revenue path.

• The company is not being valued like a high-growth infra-compounder. It is being valued like a risky SME EPC name. The market is probably discounting four things:

  • Cash flow risk — FY26 CFO was negative despite strong PAT.

  • Receivable risk — receivables are very high relative to revenue.

  • Execution risk — revenue has to move from ₹300 Cr to ₹600 Cr to ₹1,000 Cr very quickly.

  • SME/liquidity discount — lower institutional participation, lower disclosure depth, higher volatility.

7.2 Opportunities at Current Valuation

• Current valuation is not demanding

  • Forward valuation becomes very cheap if FY27/FY28 guidance is met

  • If Sugs delivers FY27 numbers, the market may not allow it to trade at 5x earnings for long. Even an 8–10x FY27 P/E gives meaningful upside.

• Order book supports the growth case

  • This is the biggest reason the valuation is interesting.

  • Management said the current order book is heavily Power T&D-led, with Power T&D expected to be the largest contributor going forward.

  • The order book is not only large; it is moving toward Power T&D / smart grid / ADMS / SCADA-type projects, which can get better market valuation than plain solar EPC if execution is good.

• Business mix shift can drive re-rating

  • FY26 revenue was still solar-heavy:

  • But the order book is now ~86% Power T&D. That is a major mix shift.

  • If the market starts viewing Sugs Lloyd as a Power T&D / grid automation / RDSS execution company instead of just a small EPC contractor, the multiple

• What is already priced in?

  • Priced in: Growth risk, SME liquidity risk, receivable risk, EPC risk, and cash-flow weakness.

  • Not fully priced in: FY27 ₹600 Cr revenue delivery, order-book conversion, Power T&D re-rating, positive CFO.

Opportunity is not just earnings growth. It is earnings growth + multiple re-rating.

8.3 Risks at Current Valuation

• Operating cash flow was negative — That is the key problem.

  • The cash-flow statement shows working-capital absorption was heavy, mainly due to the sharp increase in receivables and other assets.

• Receivables risk — profits stuck in balance sheet

  • Trade receivables increased from ₹70.56 Cr to ₹159.25 Cr. That is more than 50% of FY26 revenue. Other current assets also rose to ₹42.76 Cr, and other non-current assets stood at ₹50.28 Cr.

  • Cheap earnings can become a value trap if receivables keep rising.

• FY27 execution risk — valuation depends on a steep ramp

  • Sugs Lloyd has to roughly double revenue in FY27, then grow another ~67% in FY28.

  • This is a very steep ramp for a working-capital-heavy company

• Order-book conversion risk

  • FY27 revenue needs both execution of existing orders and fresh order inflows.

  • Any execution delay, site issue, working-capital bottleneck, or billing delay can hurt FY27 numbers.

• Large-order concentration risk

  • A major part of the order-book jump came from the large ~₹640 Cr order

  • They expect ₹200–250 Cr billing from this order in FY27, with balance moving to FY28.

  • If this large order slows down, FY27 growth can disappoint. Large orders improve visibility, but they also increase concentration and execution dependence.

• Business-mix risk — Power T&D shift is not yet proven in revenue

  • FY26 revenue was still slightly solar-heavy:

  • The order book has shifted to Power T&D, but FY26 revenue did not yet show that shift.

    The market may wait for FY27 numbers before valuing Sugs Lloyd as a Power T&D / smart-grid company. Until then, it may continue to get an EPC discount.

• Government/DISCOM exposure risk

  • Management says they prefer projects funded by Government of India or multilateral agencies, which reduces payment risk. But billing still often flows through government entities/DISCOMs.

  • Even if ultimate funding is secure, project approvals, billing certification, retention release, and collection timelines can stretch. This is exactly why receivables matter.

• SME listing and liquidity risk

  • Sugs Lloyd is listed on the SME platform — listed on September 5, 2025.

  • SME stocks can have lower liquidity, wider spreads, higher volatility, and sharper drawdowns.

  • Entry may be easy; exit during bad news may not be.

The main risk is not overvaluation. The main risk is quality of growth.

Don’t like what you are reading? Let us know at hi@moneymuscle.in

Don’t miss reading our Disclaimer

Stock Ideas at moneymuscle.in

1. Leading Pre-Engineered Buildings Player

mbel.in | NSE: MBEL

Business Segments

2. FY22-26: PAT up 54% & Revenue up 16% CAGR

3. Q4 FY26: PAT down 5% & Revenue up 17% YoY

PAT up 6% & Revenue up 4% QoQ

Q4 was an execution quarter, not a margin quarter.
MBEL delivered the revenue number and exited FY26 with a strong order book. Q4 exposed the key risk in MBEL: growth is visible, but margins are vulnerable to FX, steel, freight and export-mix changes.

4. FY26: PAT up 20% & Revenue up 27% YoY

FY26 was a strong growth year. Revenue grew 27%, PAT grew 20%, and order inflow/order book improved. But EBITDA growth lagged revenue growth, so operating leverage did not fully show up.

Segment performance

• Phenix / PEB — ₹985 Cr Main growth engine; ~78% of revenue

• Proflex / self-supported roofing — ₹275 Cr. Smaller but strong niche business

• M&B is not only an export story. Domestic industry/infra remains the base.

  • Export is the upside lever, especially for Phenix.

  • Exports are scaling fast, mainly North America.

  • MEB’s reiterates that Sanand is India’s only PEB facility with AISC and CWB certifications, which supports the US and Canada opportunity.

  • Exports also bring volatility — FX, freight, tariffs and delivery/revenue recognition timing.

• Balance sheet and capital allocation

  • FY26 balance sheet improved after IPO.

  • Net debt/equity fell from 0.61x in FY25 to 0.12x in FY26. — leverage is now comfortable.

  • FY27 planned capex is ~₹100 Cr, so capital efficiency needs to hold.

5. Business Metrics: Stable Return Ratios

ROE fell from 28.6% to 19.2% in FY26, but this is not necessarily due to business deterioration alone. FY26 included the IPO, which increased equity/net worth sharply.

RoCE fell from 26.3% to 23.1%, but remains strong. This is more important operationally because it captures return on capital employed, not just shareholder equity. A 23% RoCE is still healthy for an engineering/manufacturing business.

The concern is the direction: FY25 was peak return efficiency, FY26 normalized lower. Revenue and PAT grew, but margin pressure, higher working capital, and expanded capital base pulled return ratios down.

With FY27 capex planned, return ratios may remain under pressure unless revenue growth and margins improve.

Can MBEL grow while keeping RoCE above 20%?
If yes, valuation comfort improves. If RoCE drops below 18–20%, the market may treat it as a lower-quality growth business.

6. Outlook: 25% Growth in FY27

6.1 FY27 Guidance

FY27 guidance is positive on growth but cautious on margin

For FY '27, we remain confident of delivering top-line growth of around 25% year-on-year, supported by the strong order book already in hand and the continued rise in demand for preengineered buildings and self-supported roofing systems across different sectors. At the same time, we expect some near-term challenges. The impact of the Iran conflict is likely to be reflected in the short term, particularly through margin pressure and execution delays. Labor availability constraints, which are typical in the first quarter, along with monsoon-related challenges in Q2, may also result in softer performance in the first half of the year.

We feel that this is a bit premature for us to give any margin guidance for FY26- 27 for three very clear reasons.

• One, the whole costing currently, as you know, steel prices have gone up by 20% just in the last quarter.

• Then the freights are very uncertain. On the export freight availability of containers and freight, it keeps on fluctuating very widely.

• FX, we are not able to control exactly. While of course, we have a good export order book of about INR280 crores, we are hopeful of a continued stronger margin profile, but we want to wait and watch for at least one more quarter before which we will give any specific margin guidance.

Implied FY27 revenue & margin:

• At 23–25% growth, FY27 revenue could be roughly ₹1,550–1,575 Cr.

• Similar margins as FY26

Order book visibility — strongest part of the outlook.

• As on 31 Mar 2026, unexecuted order book stood at ₹ 1,083 crore, representing a 35 % YoY growth

  • Proflex division accounted for 20% (₹212 crore)

  • Phenix division accounted for 80% (₹871 crore)

    • Within the Phenix, export orders were ₹279crore

Management said the existing order book and visible pipeline provide strong future execution visibility.

Export outlook

• Exports remain the key margin and growth lever.

• Focus on North America, supported by Sanand’s AISC certification for the US and CWB certification for Canada.

  • 25% reduction in US sectoral import tariff should improve competitiveness and traction.

• The earnings call was not all rosy. Management said US order closures have become slower due to inflationary pressures, so they want to balance margin improvement with building a good order book.

H1 vs H2 outlook

FY27 is likely to be H2-heavy. MBEL warned:

• Q1 may be softer due to labor availability constraints.

• Q2 may be impacted by monsoon.

• Iran conflict may cause short-term execution delays and margin pressure.

• They specifically asked investors to judge the business on a full-year basis, not quarter by quarter.

For FY27, the key question is not whether revenue can grow. MBEL has order book support. The key question is whether MBEL can deliver 25% growth while holding ~12.5–13% EBITDA margin and keeping CFO positive.

7. Valuation Analysis — M&B Engineering

7.1 Valuation Snapshot

• Current Market Price — ₹286.6

• Market cap — ₹ 1,637.9 Cr

• MBEL looks reasonably valued, not expensive — but not a screaming bargain unless FY27 guidance is delivered .

• EV/EBITDA still looks reasonable even conservatively.

• For a company guiding ~25% revenue growth, with export scale-up, order book visibility and a net-cash balance sheet, 14x FY27E P/E is not expensive.

• Sensitivity — margin matters more than revenue

  • Stock is not very sensitive to revenue guidance, because 25% growth is already assumed. The real upside comes if PAT margin improves from 7.35%. The real downside comes if margin slips below 7%.

7.2 Opportunities at Current Valuation

• Reasonable valuation with execution upside

  • Not deep value because FY26 cash flow was weak and management has not given FY27 margin guidance.

  • The rerating trigger is simple: deliver 25% growth + hold 12.5–13% EBITDA margin + turn CFO positive.

  • Valuation is not demanding for 20–25% growth

• Export scale-up can change the margin profile

  • Exports are still only ~13% of revenue, so there is room to scale.

  • Sanand is a key advantage because it is India’s only PEB manufacturing unit with both AISC and CWB certifications, supporting US and Canada access.

  • If North America scales from ~13% revenue share toward 18–20%, MBEL can get both revenue growth and better realization. That can support EBITDA margin recovery, provided freight / FX / tariffs don’t offset the benefit.

8.3 Risks at Current Valuation

• The market is probably discounting three risks:

  • Margins are not guided for FY27.
    Management refused margin guidance because of steel-price inflation, freight volatility, FX and geopolitical uncertainty.

  • FY26 cash conversion was weak.
    PAT was healthy, but operating cash flow was negative due to working-capital absorption. So valuation should not be judged only on P/E.

  • FY27 capex is high.
    Management guided for around ₹100 Cr capex in FY27, including Sanand expansion, part Cheyyar expansion and regular capex.

• US order closures have slowed

  • US order closures have become “longish” due to inflationary pressure. They are trying to balance margin improvement and order-book creation.

  • If US orders take longer to convert, FY27 export revenue may disappoint. That would reduce the margin-upside narrative.

• Return ratios may normalize lower

  • With ₹100 Cr capex in FY27, ROCE may remain under pressure unless revenue ramps quickly and margins stabilize.

The stock is cheap only if FY27 earnings scale. If PAT stays near ₹90–100 Cr, current valuation becomes ordinary, not cheap.

Risk is moderate, not high — but very margin-sensitive.

Don’t like what you are reading? Let us know at hi@moneymuscle.in

Don’t miss reading our Disclaimer

Stock Ideas at moneymuscle.in

1. Designs & Manufactures Gold Jewellery

utssavjewels.com | NSE - SME: UTSSAV

Utssav was established in 2007 and manufactures/designs/wholesales gold and diamond jewellery. Its core is 18K, 20K and 22K CZ / rose gold jewellery, but it has now diversified into plain casting jewellery, natural diamond jewellery and lab-grown diamond jewellery. The model is 100% B2B, supplying retailers across India and now trying to scale exports.

2. FY23–26: PAT CAGR of 102% & Revenue CAGR of 69%

3. H2-26: PAT up 95% & Revenue up 88% YoY

PAT up 1% & Revenue up 43% HoH

H2 FY26 margins softened because the product mix moved toward lower-margin / higher-gold-value categories, especially plain gold and 22K jewellery.

4. FY26: PAT up 136% & Revenue up 79% YoY

• Quality of performance is mixed because operating cash flow remained negative despite strong profits.

  • So the FY26 story is: — Great growth. Better margins. Weak cash conversion. Rising working capital.

  • Strong operating growth, helped by festive/wedding demand, repeat business, deeper market penetration and new client additions

    • 112 new clients in FY26, while continuing to expand across India and abroad.

• Product mix shifted sharply toward 22K jewellery — 22K jewellery became the largest category, rising from 36.6% of revenue in FY25 to 59.5% in FY26.

• Inventory and receivables rose sharply. That is why profits did not convert into operating cash.

  • Growth is being funded through working capital and debt, not internal cash generation yet.

5. Business metrics: Strong & Improving Return Ratios

• Utssav is generating strong accounting returns, but operating cash flow was negative in FY26.

• Can Utssav keep ROE/ROCE high while funding growth without debt and working capital running ahead of profits

• For FY27, watch whether ROCE stays above 20–25% after more borrowing and inventory build.

  • That will confirm if Utssav is compounding capital or only scaling revenue.

6. Outlook: FY27 Growth of 60%; ₹5K Cr by FY30

6.1 Guidance

FY27

• We are looking out for growth around 60% from last year.

• Around 30% to 40%, I'm looking for a volume growth this year. And around 60% as business growth.

• 4% to 4.5% PAT margin and EBITDA around 7% to 8%

Maintaining previous guidance

• FY 2030, we look around INR4,000 to INR5,000 crores

  • With same margins. Or maybe a better margin if, because we recently started Real Diamonds. As their sales will increase and percentage starts growing in our company, so margins might improve

  • Annual capacity: Approximately around 6 to 7 tons.

• FY27 growth guidance

  • 60% revenue growth in FY27

  • Volume growth of 35–40% — remaining growth dependent on gold price movement and value mix.

• Margin guidance

  • EBITDA margin of 7–8% and PAT margin of 4–4.5%.

  • Guiding for a lower normalized margin due to the addition of plain gold jewellery, which is lower-margin than some other categories.

• Capacity expansion

  • Capacity ~2,500 kg, with utilization around 65%, rising up to 90% in season, and expected FY27 utilization of 70–75%.

  • Acquiring more space/buildings and eventually moving capacity toward 6–7 tonnes per year.

  • ~₹50 Cr capex / additional funds for the year, to be funded through bank borrowing, not equity — debt/equity should remain below 1x.

• Diamond jewellery opportunity

  • Diamond jewellery is currently small, about 2% of revenue

  • To reach more than ₹200 Cr annual sales in the next two years.

  • It broadens the product mix, but management also said blended margins will still likely remain around 7–8% EBITDA and 4%+ PAT

• Export / UAE subsidiary

  • Exports are currently tiny — very bullish on the UAE subsidiary.

  • Once the UAE subsidiary starts, export sales could jump to 10–20% immediately.

  • Looking at GCC, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia through distributor partnerships and exhibitions.

  • Key upside lever — but it is still unproven.

  • FY26 exports were only ₹9.47 Cr

• Long-term FY30 target

  • Maintained its earlier target of ₹4,000–5,000 Cr business by FY30 — very aggressive growth from FY26 revenue of about ₹1,155 Cr.

6.2 FY26 Performance vs FY26 Guidance

• We are confident of closing the year in the range of INR1,100 crores to INR1,200 crores

• 9% to 10% should be EBITDA sustainable.

Strong P&L delivery. Weak Cash-flow delivery

• Revenue: As per guidance

• EBITDA Margin: Lower than the 9-10% guidance range given in H1-26

• PAT Margin: Stronger than 4.5–5% range given in H1-26

• Cash flow: Weak — Negative operating cash-flow despite solid growth

7. Valuation Analysis — Utssav CZ Gold

7.1 Valuation Snapshot

Current Market Price= ₹307.50; Market Cap = ₹742.55 Cr

• Attractively priced on a FY26 basis

• Opportunity to re-rate to ~15-20× P/E based on FY27 EPS

• Cheaper than Sky Gold on FY26 valuations

  • Utssav is much smaller than Sky Gold

• Longer-term story of FY30 if delivered — opportunity for significant upside ~5×

Utssav CZ Gold Jewels appears undervalued on FY26 metrics — with re-rating potential as it delivers on FY27 guidance

7.2 Opportunity at Current Valuation

• Attractive Valuations: At FY26 P/E of ~13×, EV/EBIDTA of ~10× the valuations don’t seem to be discounting FY26 performance. Potential for re-rating of multiples based on FY26 execution

  • Utssav is much smaller not as established than Sky Gold — reason for significant discount compared to Sky Gold

• Forward Valuations are not demanding: With a At FY27 P/E of ~9×, EV/EBIDTA of ~6× there is a strong margin of safety in the stock even if guidance is not fully met

• Large Headroom for Growth:

  • Transition toward organized jewellery retail is a structural tailwind

  • New Capacity coming in to support near-term growth

  • Vision of ₹4,000-5,000 Cr revenue by FY30 provides a longer term story in Utssav

• Global Optionality:

  • Expanding exports to UAE etc will improve margins

7.3 Risk at Current Valuation

• Lowered Guidance: Guidance of 60-70% growth for FY27 in H1 FY26 earnings call reduced to 60% for FY27 during H2 FY25 earnings call

  • Typical risks with any small-cap with limited track-record of management as public company persist

• Quality of Earnings — Negative cash flow as typically seen in a high growth company

  • Risk is profits do not convert to cash

Previous Coverage of Utssav CZ Gold Jewels Ltd

Don’t like what you are reading? Will do better. Let us know at hi@moneymuscle.in

Don’t miss reading our Disclaimer

Complete coverage of YATHARTH

1. Super specialty hospital chain

yatharthhospitals.com | NSE: YATHARTH

2. FY22–25: PAT CAGR 40% & Revenue CAGR 32%

3. Q4-26: PAT up 16% & Revenue up 47% YoY

PAT up 4% & Revenue up 6% QoQ

4. FY26: PAT up 30% & Revenue up 36% YoY

5. Business Metrics: Weakening Ratios — Impacted by Expansions & Acquisitions

• Yatharth is in a heavy expansion phase.

  • Fixed assets including goodwill increased, borrowings rose and the company has acquired/started multiple hospitals.

• Denominator of ROE/ROCE has increased before the full profit contribution has come through.

• That is not necessarily bad.

  • But it means FY27/FY28 must prove that the capital deployed can earn strong returns.

    ---

6. Outlook: 36%+ Revenue Growth; Stable Margin

6.1 Outlook for FY26 — Yatharth Hospital

• For next 3 years, we do expect 8% to 10% ARPOB growth clearly.

• FY27:

  • Our guidance remains the same, as we have always maintained that last few years the company has grown close to around 30%. I think in the upcoming years also, including this year, we remain on track for that.

• FY27 revenue growth — growth should surpass FY26 growth of 36%.

• EBITDA margin — continues to guide for 24–25% consolidated EBITDA margin

  • FY27 EBITDA should be better than FY26, despite new hospital ramp-up.

• Bed expansion — target of 5,000 beds over next 3 years

  • May reach this target earlier.

  • 70% of future bed additions may come through acquisitions and around 30% through greenfield/brownfield expansion

• New hospital ramp-up

  • New Delhi / Model Town — 300 beds

    • Current occupancy: ~32% on 100 census beds

    • Monthly revenue: ~₹6 Cr

    • ARPOB: ~₹40k

    • Expected EBITDA break-even: 14–15 months, likely FY27 H2

  • Faridabad Sector-20 — 400 beds

    • Current occupancy: ~52% on 100 census beds

    • Monthly revenue: ~₹8–9 Cr

    • ARPOB: ~₹38k

    • Expected EBITDA break-even: month 10–11, likely FY27 H2

  • These two hospitals are the main FY27 operating leverage trigger. If they break even in H2 FY27, reported EBITDA margin can improve.

• Agra — integrated from February 2026.

  • Capacity: 250 beds

  • Monthly revenue: ~₹7 Cr

  • ARPOB: ~₹26–27k

  • EBITDA margin: management said around 18%

  • Role: feeder hub for oncology and high-value specialties into NCR hospitals

• Gurugram — next major growth asset.

  • 250-bed under-construction super-speciality hospital

  • Sector 40, Central Gurugram

  • Acquisition cost: ~₹100 Cr

  • Additional outlay: ~₹100 Cr

  • Total proposed outlay: ~₹200 Cr

  • Expected operationalisation: April 2027

  • ARPOB potential: ₹50k+

  • Expected EBITDA break-even: around 15 months after operationalisation

  • Gurugram is more FY28 than FY27 — It improves long-term ARPOB potential but will require capital and may create initial ramp-up losses.

• ARPOB — ARPOB growth should be close to 10% driven by

  • new premium hospitals

  • higher private insurance/cash mix

  • international patients

  • better speciality mix.

• Occupancy outlook

  • FY26 occupancy was 68%, and Q4 FY26 occupancy was 71%.

  • Yatharth can grow revenue without adding too many new beds immediately, simply by increasing census beds and occupancy in the recently added hospitals.

• Payer mix — Government business ~35% of revenue.

  • Management wants to reduce this to ~25% over the next two financial years.

6.2 FY26 Performance vs FY26 Guidance

Revenue, margins In-line, capacity expansion on schedule

I think we are being actually a bit conservative when we’re seeing 30% revenue growth. We feel that this number should be easily overachieved

• Revenue Growth: Over-achieved 30% growth as per guidance

• EBITDA Margin: Guidance just met at the lower end of the 24-25% guidance range

• FY26 added 950 beds operationally: New Delhi, Faridabad Sector-20 and Agra.

  • This is a very large expansion — around 59% increase over FY25 operational capacity of ~1,605 beds.

7. Valuation Analysis

7.1 Valuation Snapshot — Yatharth Hospital

Current Market Price= ₹790; Market Cap = ₹7,912 Cr

• Fully-priced from an FY26 perspective — Yatharth’s valuation is ahead of current return ratios.

  • The stock is not expensive because growth is weak — growth is strong.

  • It is expensive because ROE is only ~10.4% and ROCE is only ~12–16%, while the stock trades at ~4.3x book and ~44x earnings.

  • For valuation comfort, the company must show that expansion converts into higher returns.

  • The key trigger is not just revenue growth. The real trigger is: ROE moving toward 15%+ and ROCE moving toward 18–20% while maintaining 24–25% reported EBITDA margin.

  • Until then, the stock deserves a growth premium, but not a large margin of safety.

• Reasonably priced from an FY27 perspective as full year impact of profitable Agra hospital is felt. – possibility of re-rating of multiples

• Opportunity emerges beyond FY28 as addition of beds is completed and operations start stabilizing with integration of New Delhi (Model Town)/ Fairdabad hospital.

7.2 Opportunity at Current Valuation

• The opportunity is in FY28/FY29 earnings catch-up if the 5,000-bed plan is executed on-time with efficiency.

  • Limited opportunity in FY26 valuation.

• Doubling of capacity to approximately 5,000 beds within 3 years is not yet discounted

• Management is targeting ~5,000 beds over the next 3 years, compared with current operational capacity of around 2,555 beds and announced capacity of ~3,255 beds could create a 3x opportunity in YATHARTH

  • 2x beds +

  • improving APROB

  • improving occupancy

  • improving margins — as hospitals mature

  • improving payor mix with reduction of government schemes.

7.3 Risk at Current Valuation

• Risks in execution towards 5,000 bed is the biggest risk

• Margin of safety is limited at current valuations is limited.

  • Delays in expansion could lead to a negative reaction in the stock price

  • The new hospitals are promising, but not fully mature. Delay in break-even can hurt reported margins and market confidence.

• 70% of future beds may come through acquisitions. This leads to

  • Integration risk — acquired hospitals may not ramp as planned.

  • Capital allocation risk — paying too much for assets can depress ROCE.

  • Goodwill risk — goodwill has already increased meaningfully after acquisitions.

  • At high valuation, the market is assuming acquisitions will be disciplined and profitable.

Recent Coverage of YATHARTH

Don’t like what you are reading? Will do better. Let us know at hi@moneymuscle.in

Don’t miss reading our Disclaimer

Stock Ideas at moneymuscle.in

1. Manufacturing of Casting Gold Jewelry

skygold.co.in | NSE: SKYGOLD

2. FY22–25: PAT CAGR of 102% & Revenue CAGR of 68%

3. Q4-26: PAT up 151% & Revenue up 81% YoY

PAT up 57% & Revenue up 8% QoQ

Key drivers for PAT margin expansion are advanced gold, gold metal loans, and our high margin diamond business, along with operating leverages from scale

4. FY26: PAT up 228% & Revenue up 103% YoY

5. Business Metrics: Strong Return Ratios

ROCE guidance of 27%+ by FY30

6. Outlook: PAT CAGR of 35% for FY26-30

6.1 Guidance — Sky Gold & Diamonds

• FY27 Guidance:

  • FY27 Revenue projected at ~8,100 crore

  • EBITDA margin expected in the range of ~7.0-7.5%

  • PAT margin guided at 4.5% - 4.75%

  • Focus on capital efficiency, advance gold and margin expansion

  • Key Growth Levers

    • Portfolio strengthened through strategic acquisitions, expanding TAM and product depth

    • Manufacturing footprint expanded to 1,35,000 sq. ft.

    • Opening of Dubai Office

• FY30 Guidance

  • Revenue expected to be ~₹18,000 -19,000 crore

  • PAT margin projected to be ~5.25%+, aggregating to ₹ 945 crores

  • ROCE of 27% +

  • CFO/PAT of ~20% +

  • Net debt positive, driven by improvements in the working capital cycle

  • Advance gold expected to contribute ~30% of volumes by FY30, is 11.5% in FY26

• Key Growth Levers

  • Exports mix to improve

  • Product mix upgraded with higher design complexity and value-added jewellery, supporting differentiation and margin expansion

  • Expansion into emerging categories such as 18kt, 9kt, and diamond-studded jewellery

• Business Quality by FY30

  • Balanced domestic and export revenue mix

  • Improving ROCE, supported by margin expansion and stronger asset turns

  • Strong corporate governance, consistent positive operating cash flows, and a resilient balance sheet

Revenue Guidance

• Targeting a sustainable annual revenue growth of 30% to 35%.

• A Shift in Focus: Management explicitly stated they wish to avoid specific long-term revenue guidance going forward because gold price volatility, which is beyond their control, can make top-line figures a “misnomer”. They prioritize “cash in the bank” over “vanity” top-line numbers.

Volume Guidance

• Moving away from specific volume targets for the same volatility reasons as revenue

• Of the projected 30-35% revenue growth, management expects 27% to 28% to come directly from volume increases.

• Aggressively scaling its “advanced gold” business (where they only record job fees as revenue).

  • Segment grew from 5.7% in FY25 to 11–12% in FY26,

  • Target of reaching 30% by FY30.

Margin Guidance

• PAT Margin Targets:

  • Conservative 5.25% PAT margin by FY30 — , a 75 bps expansion

• Gross Margin Drivers:

  • Expect expansion of 60 to 90 basis points driven by a better mix of advanced gold and studded jewelry.

• Margin Levers:

  • Advanced Gold: As the share of advanced gold increases, absolute profit and margins improve even if the top-line revenue appears lower.

  • Interest Cost Reduction: Current interest expenses account for 1.25% of sales. By transitioning to a net debt-free balance sheet by FY30, they see a combined 200-basis-point margin expansion opportunity as interest costs drop to zero.

  • Value-Added Products: Growth in high-margin 18K, 9K, and diamond-studded jewelry (currently 1.5% of sales) will further bolster margins.

6.2 FY26 Performance vs FY26 Guidance

Delivered Ahead of FY26 Revenue Guidance

• Revenue: Ahead of FY26 guidance (₹6,295 Cr vs ₹6,100 Cr guidance)

• Margins: FY26 = 4.5% ahead of PAT margin guided at 4.25%+

• Volume Targets: (kg per month)

  • Back on track after lagging in Q2

    • Q2 FY26: 580 target vs 554 achieved

    • Q3 FY26: 630 vs 631 achieved

    • Q4 FY26: 650 ACHIEVED

7. Valuation Analysis

7.1 Valuation Snapshot — Sky Gold

Current Market Price= ₹519.05; Market Cap = ₹8,065.5 Cr

• Reasonably priced on a FY27 basis with 24x P/E and 14x EV/EBIDTA for a stock promising 35% CAGR for FY26-30

• Opportunity to re-rate to to a 25x+ PE based on FY30 EPS.

  • Opportunity to ~3×

Sky Gold & Diamonds appears undervalued on FY30 metrics — with re-rating potential as it delivers on FY30 guidance

8.2 Opportunity at Current Valuation

• Guidance for FY30

  • Multi-year visibility: Guidance for FY30 (though far away) provides a longer term view on the stock

  • Attractive Forward Valuations: The valuations don’t seem to be discounting FY30 guidance

  • Potential for re-rating of multiples based on execution

• Cash-flow turnaround

  • Management on the Q4 call that Q4 exit revenue run-rate of around ₹7,650 Cr is already close to FY27 revenue guidance of ₹8,100 Cr, so incremental working capital required for FY27 growth should be low.

  • If CFO turns meaningfully positive in FY27, the market may stop looking at Sky Gold as a “working-capital-heavy business” and start valuing it as a high-growth, cash-generating business.

• Debt reduction can create re-rating

  • 50%+ net debt reduction in FY27, driven by land monetization and operational improvement.

  • This matters because current valuation concern is not just P/E; it is cash conversion and leverage.

  • If debt falls sharply, the equity story improves.

• Advance gold model — can improve ROCE and cash conversion

  • This reduces inventory funding, lowers receivable intensity, and improves capital efficiency.

  • Was 11.5% of FY26 volumes, and management targets ~30% by FY30.

    • Advance gold exit run-rate is already close to 20%, versus annual FY26 mix of around 11–12%.

    • Even if reported revenue gets deflated because only making charges are booked, PAT, CFO and ROCE can improve. This can make the business higher quality than the historical financials suggest.

  • Margin expansion opportunity

    • Management said gross margin improved due to lower gold loss, advance gold, and value-added products such as 18K, 9K, diamond-studded jewellery and co-creation designs. It expects further gross-margin expansion from advance gold and studded jewellery.

    • Even a 50–100 bps PAT margin improvement on a ₹8,000–10,000 Cr revenue base can materially increase PAT.

• Export opportunity

  • Exports were around 11–12% of FY26 revenue, versus around 6% in FY25

  • Wants to move toward 20% export share.

  • Focus markets are UAE/Middle East, Malaysia, Singapore and potentially the UK.

  • Exports matter because management says export receivable days and ROCE are better than domestic business.

  • If exports scale to 20%, Sky Gold gets a larger addressable market, better customer diversification and potentially better working-capital quality.

• Capacity runway without major immediate capex

  • Q4 FY26 monthly volume was around 650 kg, while existing capacity is around 1.2 tonnes per month, implying roughly 55% utilization.

  • Capacity should not be a problem until around March 2028. — supports operating leverage and reduces near-term capex pressure.

    A 30–35% PAT compounder with improving ROCE, falling debt, positive CFO and a more asset-light / advance-gold-led model.

8.3 Risk at Current Valuation

• Valuation has limited margin of safety in the short-term

  • Sky Gold is not cheap on FY27 guidance — ff FY27 PAT comes below guidance, valuation quickly becomes expensive.

  • Margin of safety will start emerging from FY28 as FY27 guidance is delivered

• Profit is not converting into cash

  • Even if FY27 PAT is ₹340 Cr, CFO guidance of ₹180–225 Cr means CFO/PAT may still be only around 52–65%.

  • That is a big improvement from negative CFO, but still not excellent cash conversion.

• FY30 target is ambitious

  • Strong upside case, but it depends on multiple things going right at once: exports, advance gold, value-added mix, diamond/studded jewellery, unorganized-market expansion, working-capital discipline, and no major gold-price or credit-cycle shock.

1. Net CFO turns positive.

2. Inventory and receivables grow slower than revenue.

3. Debt does not rise materially again despite high growth.

Until then, the P&L deserves credit, but the cash-flow quality deserves caution.

Last coverage of SKYGOLD

Previous coverage of SKYGOLD

https://www.moneymuscle.in/t/skygold

Don’t like what you are reading? Will do better. Let us know at hi@moneymuscle.in

Don’t miss reading our Disclaimer

Stock Ideas at moneymuscle.in

1. Exporting Preserved Gherkins & Pickled Vegetables

fresharaagroexports.com | NSE - SME: FRESHARA

3rd Largest Gherkin Exporter

• Specializes in procurement, processing, and exporting preserved gherkins and pickled vegetables.

• 2 facilities in Tirupattur, Tamil Nadu

• Exports to 40+ countries, including Europe, USA & Russia.

FY26:

• Completed the acquisition of Aceitunas Sarasa, S.A.U., a Spanish company with expertise in the B2C segment of table olives and gherkins in Spain.

• Acquisition is expected to strengthen Freshara’s presence in the Spanish olive market while also enhancing the European and global footprint for gherkins exported from India.

• Acquisition enables Freshara to unlock value as it seeks to establish a stronger presence in countries where olives are a preferred consumer product and where gherkins are expected to gain increased traction through access to a broader customer base and established distribution network.

2. FY22–26: PAT CAGR of 149% & Revenue CAGR of 31%

3. H2 FY26: PAT up 30% & Revenue up 38% YoY

PAT up 51% & Revenue up 51% HoH

4. FY26: PAT up 30% & Revenue up 35% YoY

The weakening margin story has a counterintuitive structure

• Gross margin— consolidated wins

  • Spain’s branded olive business, selling 97% B2C directly to supermarkets, has an implied gross margin of 46.5% — more than double India’s 22.3%.

  • This pulls the consolidated gross margin up to 24.3%. Olives as a product command structurally better gross economics than bulk gherkin exports.

  • This is the long-term case for the acquisition.

The weaker consolidated margin is not only because Spanish numbers were included for the last 10 weeks of Q4-26. It is because the Spain business, during the included period, added revenue but at lower operating/PAT margin after overheads, finance cost and integration costs.

5. Business Metrics: Strong Return Ratios

6. Outlook: Revenue growth of upto 50% for FY27

6.1 Management Guidance — Freshara Agro Exports

• Highly optimistic about the revenue growth prospects.

  • Combined business operations could contribute to growth of up to 50%

• Driven by increasing exports to global markets and expectations of improved margins during the current year

• Implemented the Jar Packing operations at its second production unit, thereby enhancing its production capabilities and strengthening its operational infrastructure

6.2 Performance vs FY26 Guidance

Partially delivered FY26 guidance

• Revenue: growth of 35% in FY26 vs guidance of 30% growth

  • supported by inorganic growth due to the Spanish acquisition

• Weaker Margins: Spanish acquisition impacted consolidated margins while the the standalone margins remained strong

• Capacity Expansion delivered — will support growth till FY27

7. Valuation Analysis

7.1 Valuation Snapshot — Freshara Agro Exports

• CMP ₹214; Mcap ₹502.88 Cr;

• Assumptions:

  • Conservative growth of 35% on consolidated basis against the management guidance of up to 50% growth in FY26

    • Growth is conservative given the FY22-26 track-record of delivering ~30% revenue CAGR in-line with the 35% growth in FY26

  • Conservative assumption of stable margins even though management is guiding for stronger margins

Attractive Valuations:

• Freshara looks attractive on FY26 multiples, and also at forward valuations multiples given the business is expected to growth at 35%.

• Scope for valuation re-rating if FY26 guidance is delivered

• Valuations are undemanding — provide flexibility to sustain periods where performance is not as per guidance

• Freshara, is trading at a discount

  • reflecting its smaller scale

  • question marks on its ability to deliver a smooth integration on the Spanish acquisition

  • limited track record as listed company

Looking undervalued on FY26 and FY27E basis provided execution stays on track. Multiples leave significant room for re-rating. — opportunity of a serious upside.

7.2 Opportunities at Current Valuation

• FY27 growth can make current valuation look cheap: Trading at a discount for a company guiding to grow ~50% till FY27 with margin expansion

• Management guidance for margin expansion

  • Margin expansion opportunity from jar packing + B2C Spain

    • Freshara implemented jar-packing operations at its second production unit in FY26. Management says this strengthened production capability and operational infrastructure. It also acquired the business of Aceitunas Sarasa, which gives access to Spain’s B2C table olives and gherkins market.

• Significant runway for growth and margin expansion if it leverages the olives brand to transition from a B2B supplier of gherkins to a B2C brand

7.3 Risks at Current Valuation

• Negative operating cash flow

  • Massive working capital build-up (inventory +receivables) is consuming cash.

  • Profit is on paper, not in the bank.

• Cash erosion

  • The company is fully reliant on debt to fund operations, creating refinancing exposure.

• Inventory concentration risk:

  • Inventories went up 2.7x to ₹144 Cr in FY26 from ₹54 Cr in FY25.

  • Management attributes this to proactive stockpiling against crude oil & geopolitical risk — but this is a drag on working capital

In February 2026, Management made a strategic decision to proactively increase inventory levels for raw and packaging materials This conscious stockpiling was executed to hedge against polentiaJ supply chain disruptions and anticipated hikes in crude oil prices stemming from geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran. Consequently, this short-term investment in safety stock is reflected as an increase in working capital on the Balance Sheet

• Integration risk — Spanish acquisitions

  • Two Spanish entities (Conservas Selectas Españolas, Gandin Invest) acquired Jan–Feb 2026.

  • First-ever consolidated financials — no prior year comparison.

  • Integration, culture, and regulatory complexity is high.

• High leverage & borrowings

  • Consolidated short-term and long-term borrowings: ₹14,121L. LT borrowings jumped up.

  • Total debt to equity is stretched.

  • Finance costs more than doubled in FY26 over FY25.

• Receivables concentration

  • Trade receivables — FY26 at ₹149.92 Cr.

  • At 42% of revenues, collection risk and debtor days have worsened.

• Equity dilution

  • 23.16L fully convertible warrants at ₹168/share issued Mar 2026. On conversion, equity base expands. Full dilution impact not yet reflected.

Previous Coverage of Freshara Agro Exports Ltd

Don’t like what you are reading? Let us know at hi@moneymuscle.in

Don’t miss reading our Disclaimer

Stock Ideas at moneymuscle.in

1. Pharmaceutical Company

senorespharma.com | NSE: SENORES

Regulated markets — the core business

• Serves US, Canada and UK through approved ANDAs and marketing/distribution partnerships.

• Model is to identify specialty and complex niche products, develop them, get approvals, and commercialize them through partners or its own platforms.

CDMO / CMO business

Focuses on specialty products, government supplies and controlled substances, with contracts for more than 40 products across the US, Canada, UK, South Africa, UAE, Israel, Denmark, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam.

Emerging markets business

• Sells generic products in 40+ countries, mainly emerging markets.

• Top emerging markets include the Philippines, Peru, Ghana, Nigeria, Myanmar, Guatemala and Kenya.

• Lower-margin than regulated markets, but it gives geographical diversification.

India branded generics

• Critical-care injectable products in India through hospitals and distributors.

• Still a small business, but management is using hospital approvals and field-force expansion to grow it.

API business

Strategically useful because it can reduce dependence on third-party suppliers and improve cost control. But it also requires capital and execution.

2. FY23-26: PAT up 48% & Revenue up 25% CAGR

3. Q4 FY26: PAT up 105% & Revenue up 58% YoY

PAT up 9% & Revenue up 9% QoQ

4. FY26: PAT up 108% & Revenue up 62% YoY

• Acquisition of Zoraya Pharmaceuticals

  • Zoraya is being established as strategic initiative to strengthen vertical integration, from the acquired ANDA portfolio to be commercialized under the Zoraya platform, which will serve as a dedicated market-facing brand.

• Acquisition of Apnar Pharmaceuticals

• Entered U.S. Federal Market via Strategic JV

  • Entered into a 70% joint venture, Amerisyn, in the U.S., creating a direct pathway to supply pharmaceuticals to federal, veterans, and defense sectors.

  • Opens access to a high entry barrier market and is expected to drive future growth

5. Business Metrics: Improving Return Ratios

6. Outlook: 50-60% PAT Growth in FY27

6.1 FY27 Guidance

Guiding for 30–40% revenue growth this fiscal year, with profit after tax expected to expand at an even sharper 50–60% clip

We expect steady-state EBITDA margins to return to around 29–31%, which we have consistently guided for and delivered over the last few quarters. That should happen as we ramp up on the Apnar over the next few quarters.

Management emphasized that this top-line guidance is currently a conservative, “minimum achievable” estimate.

Because of external uncertainties—such as issues with shipping lines and inflationary pressures in the US—they are choosing to wait for one or two quarters to observe global macroeconomic conditions before potentially revising this guidance upwards.

Regulated Markets & US Operations

• Growth strategy for its US operations, setting a target to build ₹2,500-3,000 Cr in revenue from the US over the next 3 to 4 years. Key drivers for this outlook include:

  • Product Rollouts: Senores has 51 approved ANDAs, of which 20 are currently launched. They plan to commercialize 90% to 95% of these approved ANDAs over the next 6 to 8 quarters.

  • Upnar Facility Contributions:

    • Newly acquired Upnar plant projected to generate ₹80-100 Cr FY27 revenue with the potential to scale to ₹180-200 Cr within 2-3 years.

  • US Joint Venture (Amiring): The strategic JV focused on US government procurement contracts is expected to contribute approximately ₹50-80 Cr in its first year, operating at strong EBITDA margins averaging around 40%.

Emerging Markets

• Expecting revenue to reach approximately ₹180 crores in FY27.

• Segment’s EBITDA margin, currently around 18-19%, is expected to settle between 20-21% in FY27.

• Anticipates an additional 200 to 300 basis point jump in margins once segment revenue crosses the ₹220-250 Cr threshold.

India Branded Generics

• To achieve ₹60-70 Cr in FY27.

Capital Expenditure & Cash Flow

• CapEx: Total capital expenditure planned for FY27 is around ₹200 Cr.

• Cash Flow: Bolstered by disciplined working capital management, the company expects to generate positive free cash flow in FY27.

6.2 FY26 Performance vs FY26 Guidance

• Achieved FY26 guidance

• Raised FY27 guidance when compared to the outlook for FY27 provided during Q3-FY26 earnings call

FY26 Guidance

• Confident of delivering at least 50% growth in top line and 100% growth in PAT for FY26 over FY25.

FY27 Onwards

• Revenue Growth: So post this year FY 27 I think sustainable growth on a CAGR basis should be between 25 and 30%. That is what we’ve targeted. I mean with a positive launches it this could well exceed but from our internal target perspective — at least 30% CAGR sustainable growth over over next 3 to 5 years is very much visible for us and which will continue to deliver.

• PAT Growth: 20 to 30% is what we are looking at from next year onwards

  • PAT as a percentage will improve by couple of hundred bips that’s what we are looking at

7. Valuation Analysis — Senores Pharmaceuticals

7.1 Valuation Snapshot

• Current Market Price — ₹1,052.6

• Market cap ₹ — 4,847.60 Cr

• Assumptions:

  • Revenue growth at 35% for FY27 — mid-point of guidance

  • PAT growth at 55% for FY27 — mid-point of guidance

  • Stable EBITDA margins

• Market cap is already ahead of FY26 fundamentals and is waiting for FY27 earnings to justify it.

• If FY27 guidance is delivered, the stock moves from expensive on FY26 earnings to reasonable-but-still-premium on FY27 earnings.

• But on the 3–4 year US revenue opportunity, the stock still has meaningful upside if management executes.

  • The key valuation trigger is: ₹2,500-3,000 Cr US revenue with stable margins

  • If that happens, Senores can justify a 2-3x market cap.

  • But if US revenue scales slower than guided, the current valuation already leaves limited margin of safety.

7.2 Opportunities at Current Valuation

• FY27 earnings can make today’s valuation look reasonable

  • Senores is not cheap on FY26 numbers. The opportunity is not “value stock cheapness.” The opportunity is earnings catch-up + execution-led re-rating.

• Regulated-market business is already high-margin

  • 64% of total revenue, with 39% EBITDA margin — The strongest part of the business.

  • That matters because a high-growth, high-margin regulated-market business can deserve a premium valuation if execution continues.

• 30 approved ANDAs are yet to launch

  • This is the biggest operating trigger.

  • 90–95% of the 51 approved ANDAs expected to be commercialized over 6–8 quarters, though peak revenue may take 2–5 years.

  • FY27/FY28 earnings can grow faster than the market expects if these pending launches convert into revenue without major pricing pressure.

• Apnar can unlock capacity and improve operating leverage

  • Apnar is important because it gives Senores an India-based regulated-market manufacturing asset.

  • Apnar has USFDA, MHRA and Health Canada approvals, 5 ANDAs / 15 strengths approved, and acquired products with total addressable market of about USD 722 Mn.

  • Apnar suppressed FY26 margins by about 100 bps because expenses came before revenue.

• US revenue aspiration can create multi-year upside

  • Management’s longer-term aspiration is much larger than FY26 revenue.

  • On the Q4 call, they spoke about building ₹2,500-3,000 Cr, even ₹3,000–4,000 Cr, of US revenue over the next 3–5 years.

  • This is the big long-term optionality.

  • If the US business scales even to the lower end of management’s aspiration, current valuation can still leave meaningful upside.

Senores is not a margin-of-safety stock. It is an execution-led compounding opportunity

8.3 Risks at Current Valuation

• FY27 growth is already priced in

  • Delivering FY27 guidance will require exceptionally strong performance

  • If FY27 earnings disappoint even slightly, the stock can de-rate sharply because the FY26 valuation does not offer much protection.

• Cash conversion risk: PAT is not yet converting well into cash

  • FY26 PAT of ₹121.5 Cr, but net cash flow from operating activities was only ₹62 Cr.

  • At 45x FY26 earnings, weak cash conversion is a valuation risk.

  • The market may tolerate it during a high-growth phase, but only if FY27 shows improvement.

• Revenue turning in to Receivables + other financial assets

  • Trade receivables of ₹324.8 Cr and other current financial assets of ₹172.7 Cr as of Mar-26. That is ₹497.5 Cr — very high versus FY26 revenue of ₹632.6 Cr — as % of revenue ~79%

  • Management explained on the call that other financial assets relate to profit-share / unbilled revenue under the B2B model and should be collected over 1–6 months.

  • If this line item keeps rising, the market may start questioning earnings quality.

• Apnar ramp-up risk

  • Apnar is now central to FY27.

  • Management expects Apnar to contribute ₹80–100 Cr revenue in FY27, after only modest Q4 contribution.

  • They also said Apnar suppressed FY26 margins by around 100 bps because costs came before revenue.

• ANDA commercialization risk

  • This is the biggest opportunity, but at current valuation it is also a risk.Approval is not revenue. Senores still has to launch, gain market share, manage US price erosion, collect profit share, and convert sales into cash.

  • Launch delays, lower-than-expected market share, or pricing pressure in US generics could turn opportunity to risk

• Free cash flow risk

  • Management said FY27 capex could be around ₹200 Cr, including ₹100 Cr of IPO-funded sterile manufacturing and another ₹100 Cr for other growth/maintenance capex. They also suggested FY27 free cash flow should be positive.

    The risk is in the definition.

    IPO funds can finance capex, but they do not make free cash flow positive. True free cash flow is:

    Net CFO − capex

    FY26 net CFO was only ₹62 Cr. To generate true positive FCF after ₹200 Cr capex, Senores needs a very large jump in operating cash flow.

    Risk trigger: CFO improves, but not enough to cover capex.

Previous Coverage of SENORES

Don’t like what you are reading? Let us know at hi@moneymuscle.in

Don’t miss reading our Disclaimer

Stock Ideas at moneymuscle.in

1. Shipping & Oilfield Services Provider

greatship.com | NSE: GESHIP

GE Shipping is India’s largest private-sector shipping and offshore oilfield services company. It operates through two major segments:

Shipping Business

GE Shipping operates a diversified fleet of 39 vessels with total deadweight tonnage of 3.19 million DWT.

• Crude carriers — 5 vessels — 15.25 years average age

• Product carriers — 15 vessels — 15.39 years

• Gas carriers — 4 vessels — 17.27 years

• Dry bulk carriers — 15 vessels — 11.62 years

Offshore Business

The offshore business is housed under Greatship India Ltd. It has:

• Jack-up rigs — 4

• Platform supply vessels — 4

• Anchor Handling Tugs AHTSVs — 9

• Multipurpose support vessels — 2

• ROV support vessels — 4

This gives GE Shipping exposure to both global freight cycles and offshore oil & gas activity

2. FY22-26: PAT CAGR 47% & Revenue CAGR 15%

GE Shipping’s last five years have been strong.

• NAV rose from ₹538/share in FY21 to ₹1,796/share in FY26, implying a strong NAV compounding cycle.

• NAV growth was not only due to fleet-value mark-to-market gains; a large part came from cash profits generated by ships over the cycle.

  • That matters because shipping companies are often valued by NAV.

  • If NAV growth is only due to asset-price inflation, it can reverse quickly.

  • But if ships are generating cash and converting that NAV into cash flow, the valuation base becomes more credible.

• Still, the business remains cyclical. GE Shipping’s earnings are strongly linked to:

  • tanker freight rates,

  • dry bulk rates,

  • LPG rates,

  • offshore rig/vessel utilisation,

  • second-hand vessel prices,

  • forex movement,

  • ship sale gains.

3. Q4-26: PAT up 188% & Revenue up 35% YoY

PAT up 29% & Revenue up 7% QoQ

• Q4 was also helped by unusual market conditions.

• Middle East disruption changed trade patterns, increased long-haul sourcing, tightened tanker and LPG markets, and caused a freight-rate spike in March and April.

• Asset prices also rose by 10–20% during the quarter.

4. FY-26: PAT up 26% & Revenue up 3%

Profit grew much faster than revenue driven by strong margins, asset sale gains, forex gains, lower finance costs and favourable freight-market conditions.

Results are excellent — but it also means FY26 earnings should not be blindly treated as normalised earnings.

Normalised PAT grew from ₹2,437 Cr to ₹2,688 Cr, a much more modest increase of 10% than reported PAT.

5. Business Metrics: Return Ratios Muted by Cash on Balance Sheet

Strong capital discipline and fleet optimization strategy

ROCE is especially useful here because GESHIP has large cash on books.

ROE can be diluted by excess cash sitting in equity. Despite that, the company delivered normalised ROCE of 17%.

That means the operating asset base — shipping fleet plus offshore assets — is earning strong returns in the current cycle.

But, shipping ROCE is not stable. It can fall sharply when freight rates fall or vessel values correct.

6. Outlook — Great Eastern Shipping Company

6.1 FY27 Outlook

• GE Shipping enters FY27 with reasonable near-term coverage of capacity — Q1 FY27 operating-day coverage

  • Crude carriers 52%

  • Product carriers 66%

  • LPG carriers 100%

  • Dry bulk 76%

• Offshore category Q1 FY27 operating-day coverage

  • Jack-up rigs 79%

  • AHTSV 89%

  • MPSVV 84%

  • PSV / ROVSV 97%

• Management also said offshore vessel capacity is largely locked in for FY27, with about 80–85% of offshore vessel days covered.

• This reduces near-term earnings risk.

Management is not giving formal earnings guidance because a large part of the fleet remains exposed to spot markets. That is deliberate.

GE Shipping prefers spot exposure because management believes spot markets outperform time-charter markets over long periods. The reason is simple: shipping markets can move violently during disruptions, and long-term charters often cap upside.

Management’s most important comment from the earnings call:

Current yield is a trap.

It means the company itself does not want to buy vessels only because today’s freight rates look attractive. Management said some of its best historical purchases happened when current yield was close to zero — in other words, when the market was weak and assets were cheap.

Capital allocation: disciplined, but asset prices are high

GE Shipping is selling older ships and replacing them with newer ships. Management calls these “switch transactions.” That is different from aggressive fleet expansion because the company is selling high and buying high, rather than only buying high.

The global orderbook is now rising. BIMCO says the global shipping orderbook reached a 17-year high by the end of Q1 2026, equivalent to 17% of the global fleet, boosted recently by record crude tanker contracting.

Management also said crude tanker supply risk is more relevant in CY27/CY28 and that it does not see major shipyard slippages yet.

So the correct view is:

FY27 macro is supportive, but FY28 supply risk is rising.

7. Valuation Analysis — GE Shipping

7.1 Valuation Snapshot

Current Market Price= ₹1550.7; Market Cap = ₹21,886.5 Cr

• At a P/E of 7.4x Reported PAT vs a P/E of of 8.1x on Normalised PAT is is optically cheap. But GESHIP is a cyclical shipping company, so 7–8x earnings is not automatically cheap as FY26 is a favourable-cycle earnings year.

• At 1.3x P/B , GESHIP is not deep value. This valuation is justified only if GESHIP can sustain mid-teens ROE. The company delivered normalised consolidated ROE of 17% and ROCE of 16% in FY26.

• For shipping companies, P/NAV is more relevant than P/B, because ships are carried at depreciated historical cost in accounting books, while NAV reflects market value of fleet assets.

  • Current price is below consolidated NAV, so there is still NAV upside. But the discount is not huge. If vessel values fall 15–20%, this NAV cushion can disappear quickly.

• GESHIP has large net cash. That makes EV-based valuation more attractive than market-cap-based valuation.

  • The operating business is not expensive on EV/core EBITDA.

• Cash on balance sheet angle — This is the most interesting valuation lens.

  • The balance sheet shows cash & cash equivalents of ₹4,336.90 Cr, bank balances of ₹1,174.44 Cr, current investments of ₹2,391.53 Cr, and total borrowings of roughly ₹1,049 Cr.

  • That means 25–36% of the market cap is backed by cash / liquid treasury assets.

  • You are paying roughly ₹14,000–16,400 Cr for the operating shipping + offshore business, depending on how conservative you are with cash.

  • On ex-cash P/E, the operating business is available at ~5–6x normalised earnings. — That is attractive.

• Free cash flow after asset sales in FY26 was ~₹1,276 Cr . GESHIP is available at a free cash flow yield of 5.83% which makes valuations quite attractive

• But it is still a cyclical shipping stock.

  • At current levels current holders of the stock can keep riding the momentum seen in the stock price — till the sipping cycle supports

  • For new entrants — the cash-adjusted valuation makes the risk-reward attractive, but the stock is not cheap enough to ignore shipping-cycle risk.

7.2 Opportunity at Current Valuation

The biggest opportunity: cash-backed valuation

This is the strongest argument at current price.

The market is not giving full value to the cash-rich balance sheet. The stock looks fair on P/B, but attractive on ex-cash earnings.

NAV rerating opportunity

If FY27 earnings remain strong and vessel values do not correct sharply, the stock can rerate toward NAV.

FY27 earnings visibility is better than it looks — GESHIP enters Q1-27 with meaningful operating-day coverage:

The stock is not only trading cheap on past earnings; there is reasonable near-term visibility for Q1 FY27.

Spot-market upside remains open

Management prefers spot exposure because shipping rates can move sharply during disruptions. This is important because FY27 starts in a favourable macro environment:

• tanker markets are benefiting from longer routes,

• LPG remains strong,

• dry bulk has been better than seasonal expectations,

• offshore vessels are well-covered,

• geopolitical disruption has created tonne-mile demand.

If disruption continues and spot rates stay strong, GESHIP can earn more than what fixed-charter companies can capture.

Offshore upside is underappreciated

The offshore business is not the main reason most investors buy GESHIP, but it is becoming more relevant.

Management said the offshore vessels business delivered its best profit since FY2016, and most vessel-side days for FY27 are already covered. It also noted that three rigs come up for repricing in FY27.

If rig repricing is favourable, offshore can add another earnings lever beyond shipping.

Capital allocation optionality

GESHIP has a net-cash balance sheet. Management said it remains prepared for both outcomes: if markets stay strong, spot exposure helps; if markets weaken, cash can be used to invest.

GESHIP is positioned to buy assets when weaker players are stressed. This is the long-term opportunity beyond FY27 earnings.

GESHIP is still an opportunity at current valuations, but not a screaming bargain. The stock is attractive on ex-cash valuation and P/NAV, fair on P/B, and risky on shipping-cycle normalisation. For a fresh investor, the right approach is staggered entry, not aggressive buying.

7.3 Risks at Current Valuations — GESHIP

NAV risk: current discount can vanish if vessel values correct

The strongest valuation support is consolidated NAV of around ₹1,796/share. At ₹1,550, the stock trades at about 0.86x NAV.

But shipping NAV is linked to vessel values. Management said asset prices rose 10–20% during Q4 because of tight markets and Middle East disruption.

A 15–20% correction in vessel values can wipe out the apparent NAV discount.

“Current yield is a trap” risk

Management’s most important warning was that current yield can be a trap. They said the company has historically done best on purchases when current yield was close to zero, not when freight rates were already strong.

This applies to investors too.

At current price, GESHIP looks cheap on FY26 earnings. But FY26 was a favourable cycle year.

Investors may be buying a low P/E that is based on unusually high earnings.

Orderbook risk rises in CY27/CY28

Management said the orderbook has built up, especially in crude tankers, and supply risk is mainly a CY27/CY28 issue. It also said scrapping is low because markets are strong.

GESHIP also highlights high orderbook levels across key vessel categories, especially LPG.

FY27 may remain strong, but FY28 can become more difficult if new vessel supply arrives while disruption-led demand fades.

Cash on balance sheet is a cushion, not fully surplus cash

The cash-backed valuation is attractive. GESHIP has strong cash + bank balances and around ₹7,903 Cr including current investments. This makes ex-cash valuation look cheap. But all cash is not surplus. Shipping companies need cash for:

• fleet replacement,

• dry-docking,

• downturn survival,

• offshore asset deployment,

• opportunistic vessel purchases,

• dividends and possible buybacks.

Deducting all cash from market cap may overstate the margin of safety. Some cash is strategic operating capital.

Offshore repricing risk

The offshore business is a positive, but it has specific FY27 risks. Management said three rigs come up for repricing in FY27: one has completed a short-term contract and is awaiting next business, while two come off in the second half. It also discussed ONGC tender uncertainty.

If rig repricing is weaker than expected or tender delays continue, offshore profitability may not improve as much as the market expects.

Q1 FY27 coverage helps, but does not remove cycle risk

GESHIP has good near-term coverage for Q1 FY27 — this protects near-term revenue visibility.

But it does not protect full-cycle valuation.

Q1 FY27 can be strong while FY28 still weakens due to freight normalisation or new supply.

• The real risk is valuation-cycle risk: investors may be valuing FY26/FY27 earnings and NAV as if they are sustainable mid-cycle numbers.

• At current valuations, GESHIP is still attractive on ex-cash valuation and P/NAV, but the margin of safety is not deep enough to ignore cyclicality.

• The downside risk comes from freight-rate normalisation, vessel-value correction.

Previous Coverage of GESHIP

Don’t like what you are reading? Will do better. Let us know at hi@moneymuscle.in

Don’t miss reading our Disclaimer

Five sections. One verdict per section. A final ranking at the end.

1. Business Growth

Before you look at profits, look at the engine producing them.

A bank’s business growth — how fast it is growing loans and gathering deposits — tells you whether it is building a durable franchise or simply riding a credit cycle.

Two banks can show identical loan growth numbers. But if one is funding that growth with cheap, stable CASA deposits while the other is scrambling for expensive bulk deposits — they are not the same business.

Three metrics to understand business growth:

• Advances growth — is the loan book actually expanding?

• Deposit growth — is the funding keeping pace?

• CASA ratio and CASA growth — is that funding cheap and sticky?

When all three move together, that is a bank worth owning. When they diverge — that is the red flag hiding in plain sight.

1. IOB’s growth is impressive — but raise an eyebrow.

• Advances grew 24.2%. Total business up 20.8%.

• That is the fastest in the pack by a wide margin.

• But when a bank grows loans 24%, the quality of what it lent matters enormously.

• Check back at the asset quality section before getting excited.

2. Mahabank is quietly building the best liability franchise.

• CASA ratio of 52.5% — highest in the group. By far.

• It also grew that CASA base by 12.5%.

• A high CASA ratio that keeps growing means cheap, sticky funding. That is a structural advantage — not a one-year fluke.

• Combined with 21.7% advance growth, this is a bank firing on both cylinders.

3. Bank of Baroda made a smart choice.

• Loan growth was a modest 12%. But deposit growth was 16.2% — the second highest.

• It chose to strengthen its funding base rather than chase loan growth.

• That is disciplined balance sheet management. Investors should respect it.

4. Union Bank is the single biggest concern in this section.

• Deposits grew just 2.7%. CASA grew 1.7%.

• Yet advances grew 9.7%.

• A bank growing loans 3.6x faster than deposits is either burning liquidity or paying high rates for bulk deposits.

• Both are margin killers. Both show up later in profitability.

5. The CASA story separates long-term compounders from rate-cycle victims.

• Mahabank (52.5%) and Central Bank (47.3%) have structurally cheap funding.

• PNB (32.2%) and PSB (30.8%) are at the bottom.

• In a falling rate environment, high-CASA banks protect NIM. Low-CASA banks suffer.

Mahabank is the standout — quality growth, not just volume growth. IOB gets a conditional star — watch asset quality. Union Bank is the red flag. Its deposit franchise is not keeping pace with its loan book.

2. Profitability — Who Is Actually Earning From Their Growth?

A bank can grow its loan book at 20% and still destroy shareholder value — if its margins are thin, its costs are bloated, and its core income is shrinking. Six metrics tell the full story:

• NIM — are they lending at a good spread?

• ROA — are assets being sweated efficiently?

• ROE — is shareholder capital being rewarded?

• Cost-to-income ratio — how much is eaten before profit is made?

• NII growth — is the lending business growing?

• Operating profit growth — profits from operations before provisioning for bad loans growing?

• PAT growth — is the bottom line actually moving?

1. Mahabank is the most profitable PSB. It is not close.

• ROA of 1.86% and ROE of 23.2% are not just PSB-best numbers.

• They are numbers that mid-tier private banks would be proud of.

• NIM of 3.9% is a full 100 basis points above the sector median.

• NII grew 17.1% and operating profit grew 16.2% — the core engine is compounding, not just the bottom line.

• Cost-to-income of 37.1% means it keeps more of every rupee earned than any other bank here.

• This is not one strong metric. This is every profitability metric pointing in the same direction.

2. IOB’s 56% net profit growth needs context — and caution.

• 56% bottom-line growth sounds extraordinary.

• But dig deeper: NII grew 15.5% and operating profit grew 15.4%.

• The core business is genuinely strong. But a 56% net profit print on 15% operating profit growth implies significant below-the-line tailwinds — lower provisions, treasury gains, or a low base effect.

• Structural earnings power? Real, but not 56% real.

3. The ROA threshold that separates quality from mediocrity is 1%.

• Above 1% ROA: Mahabank, Indian Bank, IOB, Union Bank, SBI, Bank of Baroda.

• Below 1% ROA: UCO Bank (0.79%), PSB (0.79%), Central Bank (0.89%), PNB (0.89%).

• Banks below 1% ROA are not generating returns that justify their risk.

• Full stop.

4. The cost problem at Central Bank and PSB is structural — not cyclical.

• Central Bank spends 58.6 paise of every rupee of income on operating costs.

• PSB spends 61 paise. The worst in the group.

• This is not a bad quarter. This is overstaffing, underproductive branches, and legacy technology.

• PSB’s 30% net profit growth looks impressive until you see its 61% cost-to-income ratio.

• You cannot grow your way out of that. The math simply does not work.

5. PNB and Union Bank have a core income problem — and it is getting worse.

• PNB’s Net Interest Income fell 1.9% in FY26.

• Union Bank’s NII fell 1.5%. Its operating profit fell 7.9%.

• Growing a loan book while core lending income shrinks means margins are compressing faster than volume can compensate.

• That gap has to close — through repricing or cost cuts. Neither is easy or quick.

6. Non-interest income growth reveals who has a business beyond lending.

• SBI grew non-interest income 17.9% — by far the best in the group.

• PNB (15.2%) and PSB (13.5%) also showed strong non-interest income growth.

• This matters because fee income, insurance, and treasury gains reduce dependence on the credit cycle.

• UCO Bank’s non-interest income fell 21.5% — the starkest number in this column. A bank with shrinking fee income and thin NIMs has nowhere to hide when credit costs rise.

• Bank of Baroda (-0.2%) and Union Bank (-1.9%) also posted declines — adding to an already concerning profitability picture for both.

7. Bank of Baroda’s profitability is quietly deteriorating.

• Net profit grew just 2.2%.

• Operating profit actually fell 0.5% — the only bank in the group to report a decline here.

• Non-interest income growth is flat at -0.2%.

• For a Tier-1 PSB with its balance sheet size, this is underperformance. Not crisis — but a trend that demands attention.

Mahabank is the sector’s most profitable bank — across every metric that matters. Indian Bank and IOB are strong runners-up with genuine earnings momentum. PSB and Central Bank have cost structures that cap their profitability ceiling regardless of growth rate. PNB and Union Bank face a core income squeeze — falling NII is not a rounding error, it is a warning. Bank of Baroda is drifting — solid balance sheet, weakening earnings momentum. UCO Bank’s collapsing non-interest income is the hidden risk most investors will miss.

3: Asset Quality — Whose Clean Books Are Real?

Asset quality is where public sector banks investing has burned investors before. FY26 headline numbers look good across the board. But good headlines can hide fragility.

This section answers the question that separates informed PSB investors from hopeful ones: whose clean books are structurally sound — and whose are one credit cycle away from unravelling?

Five metrics tell the complete picture:

• GNPA ratio — how large is the gross bad loan pile?

• NNPA ratio — after provisions, what actually remains at risk?

• Provision Coverage Ratio (PCR) — how well is the bad loan pile covered?

• Slippage ratio — how fast are fresh bad loans forming right now?

• Credit cost — how much of this year’s profit is being consumed by provisions?

Read these five together. Any bank that looks good on one but poorly on another is telling you something important.

1. IOB’s asset quality is the most impressive number in this entire dataset.

• GNPA of 1.42% — lowest in the group.

• Slippage of just 0.13% — meaning almost no fresh bad loans are forming.

• A bank growing advances at 24% with a 0.13% slippage ratio is doing something genuinely right on credit underwriting.

• This single data point substantially validates IOB’s aggressive growth story from Section 1.

2. There is a crucial difference between low GNPA and low NNPA.

• GNPA tells you the size of the bad loan pile before provisions.

• NNPA tells you the residual risk after provisions — what shareholders are actually exposed to.

• PNB has a high GNPA of 2.95% but a low NNPA of 0.29%. Why? PCR of 97.1% — it has provisioned heavily against its bad loans.

• The risk is largely covered. The headline GNPA number is scarier than the actual investor exposure.

• This distinction matters enormously when comparing banks on a surface level.

3. Mahabank and Indian Bank have the cleanest net books in the sector.

• Mahabank NNPA: 0.13%. Indian Bank NNPA: 0.15%.

• Both maintain PCRs above 98% — meaning almost every bad loan is fully provided for.

• For an equity investor, NNPA is what matters. These two banks have effectively neutralised their NPA risk.

4. PSB is the asset quality outlier — and not in a good way.

• NNPA of 0.79% — the highest in the group. By a significant margin.

• PCR of 90.9% — the lowest in the group.

• Credit cost of just 0.06% — the lowest in the group.

• Read those three together: PSB has the most residual bad loan risk, the weakest provisioning buffer, and is making the fewest provisions this year.

• That 30% net profit growth from Section 2? A big chunk of it comes from not provisioning adequately.

• This is the definition of borrowed profits.

5. Slippage ratios reveal which banks are building tomorrow’s NPA problem today.

• Mahabank’s slippage of 1.25% is the highest in the group — and sits in uncomfortable contrast to its pristine NNPA and high PCR.

• Fresh bad loan formation at 1.25% means the clean book today is being tested by new stress.

• Central Bank (1.16%) is the second-highest. Combined with its 2.67% GNPA, this is a bank where the NPA cleanup is still a work in progress.

• IOB (0.13%) and SBI (0.54%) are at the opposite end — very low fresh stress formation.

6. The provision coverage story is the sector’s biggest structural achievement.

• Every single bank in this group maintains a PCR above 90%.

• In 2019, several PSBs had PCRs below 60%.

• This buffer means even if a moderate credit cycle turns, most banks have the provisioning cushion to absorb it without a capital shock.

• The sector-wide risk of a 2019-style NPA blow-up is materially lower today. That is a genuine re-rating argument for PSBs as a group.

7. Credit cost tells you who is investing in future safety — and who is harvesting today.

• Low credit cost can mean two things: either the book is genuinely clean, or provisioning is being deferred to inflate near-term profits.

• PSB’s 0.06% credit cost alongside 0.79% NNPA and 90.9% PCR is almost certainly the latter.

• Mahabank’s 0.91% credit cost alongside 0.13% NNPA is the former — it is provisioning aggressively on a clean book, building forward safety.

• IOB’s credit cost data is not available — a gap worth noting before building a full position.

The Asset Quality Matrix: A Quick Reference

• Clean books + conservative provisioning

  • Mahabank, Indian Bank, IOB, SBI

  • These banks have earned their asset quality rating

• Elevated GNPA but heavily provisioned

  • Watch → PNB, Union Bank, UCO Bank

  • The risk is covered — but the underlying portfolio needs monitoring

• Improving but not there yet

  • Caution → Central Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India

  • Respectable PCRs but slippage and GNPA still elevated

• Weak provisioning on residual risk

  • Red Flag → PSB

  • High NNPA + low PCR + low credit cost = profits built on deferred pain

IOB has the cleanest asset quality in the sector — low GNPA, near-zero slippage, strong PCR. Mahabank and Indian Bank have the lowest net risk exposure with NNPA below 0.15%. PSB is the sector’s most dangerous asset quality story — its profit growth is being funded by under-provisioning, not by earnings strength. Central Bank and Mahabank’s slippage ratios are the ones to watch in FY27 — fresh stress is forming even as legacy stress clears.

4. Capital Adequacy — Who Has the Firepower to Keep Growing?

Capital is the fuel that powers a bank’s growth engine.

Without adequate capital, a bank cannot grow its loan book. It cannot absorb unexpected losses. It cannot pay dividends. And when a credit cycle turns — as it always does — an undercapitalised bank does not just underperform. It dilutes shareholders, raises emergency capital at distressed valuations, or worse.

The good news for PSB investors in FY26: the sector is well capitalised. Across the board.

But well capitalised does not mean equally capitalised. And the differences matter — especially if you are trying to identify which banks can sustain high loan growth without needing to come back to markets for capital.

This section answers a critical investor question: which banks have genuine growth headroom — and which are operating closer to the regulatory floor than their headlines suggest?

Three metrics frame the analysis:

• CET-1 ratio — the purest measure of equity capital strength. No hybrid instruments. No tricks.

• Tier-1 ratio — high-quality capital including Additional Tier-1 instruments.

• CRAR / CAR — total capital adequacy including Tier-2 instruments. The regulatory headline number.

The RBI regulatory minimum for CRAR is 11.5% including the capital conservation buffer. Everything above that is headroom. The more headroom, the more a bank can grow without diluting shareholders.

1. The entire sector is above the regulatory minimum. That is the good news.

• Every bank here exceeds the RBI’s 11.5% CRAR requirement.

• This is a structural improvement from 2018–2021, when several PSBs were dangerously close to — or breaching — capital thresholds.

• The government’s ₹3.5 lakh crore recapitalisation programme over the past decade has done its job.

• The systemic capital risk that defined PSB investing five years ago is largely off the table.

2. SBI’s lower capital ratios are a feature — not a bug.

• SBI’s CET-1 of 12.29% and CRAR of 15.40% are the lowest in the group.

• This alarms some investors. It should not.

• SBI’s asset base is ₹64 lakh crore — larger than the next four banks combined.

• Larger banks structurally operate closer to regulatory minimums because their internal capital generation is enormous in absolute terms.

• SBI generated over ₹67,000 crore in net profit in FY26. That is capital being created every single quarter.

• The relevant question is not the ratio — it is whether SBI needs to raise equity capital. The answer is no.

3. IOB’s capital position is the strongest in the group — and it changes the growth story.

• CET-1 of 16.94%, CRAR of 19.78%, and 8.28% headroom above the regulatory floor.

• This is not just comfortable. This is a bank that can grow its loan book aggressively for the next 3–4 years without a single equity raise.

• Combined with IOB’s 24.2% advance growth and 0.13% slippage from Section 3 — the capital position gives that growth story a very long runway.

4. Bank of Baroda has the least headroom among the mid-large PSBs.

• CRAR of 15.82% gives it just 4.32% above the regulatory floor.

• That is the second-lowest buffer in the group after SBI.

• Unlike SBI, Bank of Baroda does not have the profit engine to rebuild capital rapidly.

• Net profit grew just 2.2% in FY26. Operating profit fell.

• A bank with thin capital headroom and weakening profitability has limited room to accelerate loan growth without returning to markets.

• This is a constraint that investors in Bank of Baroda need to price in.

5. UCO Bank’s capital ratio deserves a closer look.

• CET-1 of 16.36% and CRAR of 18.61% look strong on paper.

• But UCO Bank’s ROA is just 0.79% and its non-interest income fell 21.5%.

• A bank with weak profitability and high capital ratios is not compounding its capital — it is sitting on it.

• High capital ratios built on weak earnings are not a strength. They are a sign that the bank is not deploying capital efficiently.

6. The CET-1 vs Tier-1 gap reveals reliance on AT-1 bonds.

• Where CET-1 and Tier-1 are identical, the bank has no Additional Tier-1 (AT-1) instruments outstanding.

• IOB, Indian Bank, PSB: CET-1 equals Tier-1. Pure equity capital. No AT-1 dependency.

• PNB: CET-1 of 13.62% vs Tier-1 of 15.15% — a 1.53% gap filled by AT-1 bonds.

• Union Bank: CET-1 of 15.69% vs Tier-1 of 16.63% — a 0.94% gap.

• AT-1 bonds are not equity. They are contingent instruments that can be written down in stress. Investors should not treat Tier-1 as equivalent to CET-1.

7. Capital adequacy and growth ambition must be read together.

• The banks growing fastest — IOB (24.2%), Mahabank (21.7%), UCO Bank (19.4%) — need capital to sustain that pace.

• IOB is fine. Its 19.78% CRAR gives it years of runway.

• UCO Bank’s aggressive loan growth (19.4%) against a backdrop of 0.79% ROA and weak non-interest income raises a question: where does the capital for the next growth leg come from?

• Mahabank’s strong ROA (1.86%) means it generates capital internally at a healthy pace — supporting its growth without needing external equity.

Capital Strength vs. Capital Efficiency: The Matrix That Matters

Two banks can have identical CRAR ratios and completely different investment cases:

• High capital + High ROA

  • IOB, Indian Bank

  • Best of both worlds. Grow and earn.

• High capital + Low ROA

  • UCO Bank, PSB

  • Capital is idle. Efficiency problem.

• Moderate capital + High ROA

  • Mahabank, SBI

  • Capital working hard. Self-funding growth.

• Low-moderate capital + Low ROA

  • Bank of Baroda, Central Bank

  • Constrained. Limited room to manoeuvre.

IOB has the strongest capital position in the group and the most growth runway. Indian Bank and Mahabank combine adequate capital with high ROA — the most sustainable growth profile. SBI’s lower ratios are structural and not a concern given its profit engine. Bank of Baroda has the least mid-large PSB headroom combined with weakening profits — a constraint investors should not ignore. UCO Bank has high capital ratios but is not earning from them — that is an efficiency problem, not a strength.

5. Valuation — Where Is the Market Getting It Wrong?

Two metrics anchor the valuation analysis:

• Price-to-Book (P/B) — what the market pays for every rupee of a bank’s net worth. The classic bank valuation metric.

• Price-to-Earnings (P/E) — what the market pays for every rupee of earnings. Reveals growth expectations baked into the price.

1. Mahabank is the most compelling valuation in this entire dataset.

• Best ROA in the sector: 1.86%.

• Best ROE in the sector: 23.2%.

• Best cost-to-income ratio: 37.1%.

• Near-best asset quality: NNPA of 0.13%.

• Yet it trades at just 9.2x earnings and 2.13x book.

• IOB — with lower ROA, lower ROE, and higher slippage — trades at 12.4x earnings and 2.39x book.

• The market is paying a premium for IOB’s growth narrative while underpricing Mahabank’s superior profitability.

• That gap is the opportunity.

2. IOB’s premium valuation is partially justified — but priced for perfection.

• 2.39x P/B is the highest in the group.

• IOB earns that premium through: best-in-class asset quality, strong NIM, 20%+ ROE, and explosive growth.

• But at 12.4x P/E on a net profit number inflated by below-the-line tailwinds — the valuation leaves little room for disappointment.

• If loan growth moderates or slippage ticks up from its near-zero 0.13% — the re-rating works in reverse.

• IOB is a quality stock. It is not a cheap one.

3. PNB’s P/E of 22.2x is the most dangerous number in this table.

• A bank with 1.6% net profit growth trading at 22x earnings.

• NII declining. Operating leverage going the wrong way.

• GNPA still at 2.95% — highest in the group.

• A 22x P/E implies the market expects a dramatic earnings recovery.

• That recovery is not visible in FY26 numbers.

• PNB is the clearest valuation trap in the PSB pack.

4. Bank of India at 0.85x book is the deepest value — but value with baggage.

• Trading below book value means the market values the bank at less than its net assets.

• In theory that is cheap. In practice it reflects: sub-1% ROA, 51% cost-to-income, and an asset quality profile that is improving but not yet clean.

• A bank that consistently earns below its cost of equity will always trade below book.

• The discount is justified — until ROA crosses 1% sustainably.

• Watch for that inflection. That is when the valuation re-rating happens.

5. Bank of Baroda and Union Bank are the market’s forgotten mid-caps.

• Both trade near book value: Bank of Baroda at 1.05x, Union Bank at 1.08x.

• Both have P/E ratios below 7x — deep value territory on the surface.

• Bank of Baroda: solid balance sheet, improving asset quality, but weakening profitability momentum. The low P/B is the market’s verdict on that trajectory.

• Union Bank: ROA of 1.25% is actually decent. But deposit growth of 2.7%, falling NII, and falling operating profit tell a story of a bank under internal stress.

• Union Bank is the more interesting of the two — if deposit growth recovers, the earnings inflection could be sharp. The 6.5x P/E leaves room for that upside.

6. SBI’s premium is the most rationally justified in the group.

• 1.99x P/B and 11.2x P/E for the largest bank in India.

• ROA of 1.12%, ROE of 18.6%, diversified income, the strongest non-interest income growth at 17.9%.

• SBI is not cheap. But it is not expensive.

• It is the only PSB with a genuine franchise moat — the insurance subsidiary, the mutual fund business, the YONO platform, the government banking relationships.

• You pay a fair price for a bank that will not surprise you negatively.

• For conservative investors building a PSB position, SBI is the anchor.

7. PSB’s 1.49x P/B is a valuation anomaly — and not the good kind.

• PSB has the worst cost-to-income ratio (61%), the lowest ROA (0.79%), and the highest NNPA (0.79%).

• Yet it trades at 1.49x book — above Bank of Baroda, Union Bank, PNB, Central Bank, and Bank of India.

• The 30% net profit growth explains the market’s attention. But that profit growth is built on deferred provisioning — credit cost of just 0.06% on an under-provisioned book.

• When provisioning normalises, that profit growth disappears.

• PSB is the sector’s most overpaid story relative to fundamental quality.

8. Central Bank at 0.96x book deserves a hard look — but not yet a buy.

• Trading below book. Cost-to-income of 58.6%. ROA of 0.89%.

• Slippage of 1.16% — the second highest in the group.

• Capital position is comfortable at 17.91% CRAR.

• The bank is improving — net profit grew 15.4%, NII grew marginally positive.

• But the cost structure needs to come down materially before this becomes a genuine re-rating story.

• A speculative position for investors with patience and high risk tolerance. Not a core holding.

The Valuation Scorecard: Quality vs. Price

The most useful way to synthesise valuation is to map quality against price:

• High quality, fair-to-cheap price

  • Mahabank, Indian Bank

  • Core holding. Buy and hold.

• High quality, full price

  • IOB, SBI

  • Own them. Don’t chase them.

• Moderate quality, cheap price

  • Union Bank, Bank of Baroda

  • Selective. Watch for inflection.

• Low quality, cheap price

  • Bank of India, Central Bank

  • Only for high risk tolerance. Wait for ROA crossover.

• Low quality, expensive price

  • PSB, PNB

  • Valuation not supported by fundamentals.

Mahabank is the single most compelling risk-reward in the PSB space — best fundamentals, not the highest price. Indian Bank is the quiet compounder the market has not fully re-rated yet. IOB and SBI are quality names but priced accordingly — own them, do not overpay for them. PNB at 22x earnings is the clearest valuation trap. PSB looks cheap until you realise the profits are partly manufactured. Bank of India and Central Bank are deep value plays that require patience and a clear ROA recovery trigger before committing capital.

6. The Final Rankings: Every PSB Ranked

The Rankings Table

The Verdict on Each Public Sector Bank

🥇 Rank 1: Mahabank — The Sector’s Best Kept Secret

The case for owning it:

• Best ROA (1.86%), best ROE (23.2%), best cost-to-income (37.1%) in the entire PSB universe.

• CASA ratio of 52.5% — a funding franchise no other PSB comes close to matching.

• NNPA of 0.13% — virtually zero net credit risk.

• Trades at 9.2x earnings. IOB — with inferior fundamentals — trades at 12.4x.

The one risk to watch:

• Slippage ratio of 1.25% is the highest among top-tier PSBs. Fresh stress is forming even as legacy stress clears. Monitor FY27 Q1 and Q2 slippage closely.

Bottom line: Every profitability metric is best-in-class. The valuation has not caught up. That gap is the opportunity.

🥈 Rank 2: Indian Bank — The Quiet Compounder

The case for owning it:

• ROA of 1.31% and ROE of 19.5% — consistently strong across multiple years.

• NNPA of just 0.15% with PCR of 98.3% — the cleanest net book in the sector.

• CET-1 of 16.4% — fortress capital. No equity raise needed for years.

• Trades at 9.9x earnings — a discount to IOB despite superior asset quality.

The one risk to watch:

• Advance growth of 13.4% is the slowest among top-ranked banks. Indian Bank is profitable — but is it growing fast enough to excite the market?

Bottom line: If Mahabank is the sector’s best kept secret, Indian Bank is the sector’s most dependable compounder. Own it. Be patient.

🥉 Rank 3: IOB — The Growth Story With a Premium Tag

The case for owning it:

• Best-in-class asset quality: GNPA 1.42%, slippage just 0.13%.

• Strongest capital position: CRAR 19.78% — the most growth runway in the group.

• NII grew 15.5%, operating profit grew 15.4% — genuine earnings momentum.

• The growth story from Section 1 is validated by the asset quality story from Section 3.

The risks to watch:

• 24.2% advance growth is the fastest in the sector. Sustaining that without slippage creeping up is the key test.

• 2.39x P/B and 12.4x P/E — priced for continued perfection. Any disappointment re-rates sharply downward.

• Net profit growth of 56% is partly a base effect. Expect that number to normalise significantly in FY27.

Bottom line: A genuinely strong bank — but the valuation asks you to pay up for a story that must keep delivering. High quality. Not high margin of safety.

Rank 4: SBI — The Anchor You Always Own

The case for owning it:

• The only PSB with a genuine franchise moat — insurance, mutual funds, YONO, government banking.

• Non-interest income grew 17.9% — the best fee income diversification in the group.

• Net profit grew 12.9% on an asset base of ₹64 lakh crore. That is exceptional capital generation in absolute terms.

• 1.99x P/B is full but not stretched for a bank of this quality and systemic importance.

The risks to watch:

• CET-1 of 12.29% is the lowest in the group. Not alarming — but limits the pace of balance sheet expansion.

• Cost-to-income of 51.6% has room to improve. Private banks operate at 40–45%.

• At this size, growth will always be moderate. This is a compounder — not a re-rating story.

Bottom line: SBI is not where you make extraordinary returns. It is where you do not lose sleep. Every PSB portfolio needs an anchor. SBI is that anchor.

Rank 5: Union Bank — Cheap For a Reason. But Watch This Space.

The bull case:

• ROA of 1.25% is actually decent — better than Bank of Baroda and several higher-ranked peers on this metric alone.

• Trades at 6.5x P/E and 1.08x book — deeply discounted.

• CET-1 of 15.69% — well capitalised with room to grow.

Why it is only Rank 5:

• Deposit growth of 2.7% is a structural warning. A bank cannot sustainably grow loans 3.6x faster than deposits.

• NII fell 1.5%. Operating profit fell 7.9%. Core earnings are going in the wrong direction.

• CASA growth of just 1.7% means the cheap funding base is not being refreshed.

The trigger to watch:

• If deposit growth recovers to 10%+ in FY27 H1, the earnings inflection could be sharp and the re-rating significant.

• At 6.5x P/E, the upside is real — but only if the liability franchise recovers.

Bottom line: Not a core holding today. A high-conviction watchlist name. The deposit growth number is the single metric that will determine whether this becomes a buy.

Rank 6: Bank of Baroda — A Reputation Running On Fumes

The bull case:

• Second-largest PSB by assets after SBI. Tier-1 franchise with international operations.

• Deposit growth of 16.2% — the liability franchise is being strengthened.

• Asset quality is improving. GNPA at 1.89%, PCR at 93.9%.

Why it is Rank 6:

• Operating profit fell 0.5% — the only bank in the group to record a decline.

• Net profit grew just 2.2%. NII grew just 2.5%.

• Non-interest income growth: -0.2%. The fee income engine is stalled.

• Lowest capital headroom among mid-large PSBs at just 4.32% above the regulatory floor.

Bottom line: Bank of Baroda is not in crisis. But it is drifting. A bank that is strengthening its deposits but weakening its earnings is consuming its own foundations. Wait for an earnings recovery signal before adding.

Rank 7: Bank of India — Deep Value Waiting for a Trigger

The bull case:

• Trades at 0.85x book — the only PSB in this group trading below net asset value.

• Advance growth of 15.8%, deposit growth of 13.6% — reasonably balanced.

• Net profit grew 14.2% — one of the better bottom-line performances in the group.

• Capital position strong at 18.01% CRAR.

Why it is Rank 7:

• NIM of 2.52% — the lowest in the group. Thin margins leave no room for error.

• NNPA of 0.56% — higher than most top-tier peers.

• Cost-to-income of 51.4% needs to come down.

• ROA of 0.93% is just below the 1% quality threshold.

The trigger to watch:

• ROA crossing 1% sustainably. That is when the market re-rates from 0.85x book toward 1.2–1.3x.

• At 6.5x P/E, the upside on that re-rating is meaningful.

Bottom line: Classic deep value. Cheap for real reasons — but those reasons are getting smaller. A speculative buy for investors who can identify the ROA inflection point.

Rank 8: UCO Bank — Capital Rich, Earnings Poor

The problem in one line:

• 16.36% CET-1 and 19.4% advance growth — but only 0.79% ROA and -21.5% non-interest income growth.

Why that matters:

• A bank growing its loan book at 19.4% while earning 0.79% ROA is not compounding shareholder value. It is consuming capital to generate mediocre returns.

• Non-interest income collapsed 21.5%. The earnings base is narrow and shrinking.

• Slippage of 0.78% is moderate — but credit cost of 0.62% is elevated relative to peers at similar NPA levels.

Bottom line: High capital ratios create a false sense of security. The earnings quality is insufficient to justify meaningful portfolio allocation. Watchlist only.

Rank 9: Central Bank — Improving. Not Enough. Not Yet.

What is getting better:

• Net profit grew 15.4%. GNPA has been coming down. Capital is comfortable at 17.91% CRAR.

• Trades at 0.96x book — below net asset value.

What is still broken:

• Cost-to-income of 58.6% — second worst in the group. Every rupee of income is mostly consumed before profit begins.

• Slippage of 1.16% — second highest. Fresh stress is still forming at an uncomfortable pace.

• ROA of 0.89% — below the 1% quality floor.

• GNPA of 2.67% — still elevated.

Bottom line: The direction is right. The distance left to travel is long. Not a buy until cost-to-income drops below 52% and slippage falls below 0.80%. A bank to admire for its progress — not yet to own for its fundamentals.

Rank 10: PNB — A Valuation Trap Dressed as a Recovery Story

The surface story:

• Third-largest PSB by market cap. Brand recognition. Wide branch network.

The reality underneath:

• 22.2x P/E on 1.6% net profit growth. That is the most expensive earnings multiple in the group — paid for the weakest earnings growth.

• NII fell 1.9%. The core lending engine is losing power.

• GNPA of 2.95% — the highest in the group.

• CASA ratio of 32.2% — near the bottom of the pack.

• Operating profit grew 9.2% — but only because provisions fell sharply, not because revenues improved.

Bottom line: PNB is trading on hope, not numbers. The market is pricing in an earnings recovery that the FY26 fundamentals do not support. Until NII growth turns positive and GNPA drops below 2%, this is a name to avoid.

Rank 11: PSB — Profits Built on Borrowed Time

Why it ranks last:

• Worst cost-to-income ratio: 61.0%.

• Worst ROA: 0.79% (tied with UCO Bank).

• Worst ROE: 11.6%.

• Highest NNPA: 0.79% — the most residual credit risk in the group.

• Lowest PCR: 90.9% — the least provisioned against that risk.

• Credit cost of just 0.06% — deferring provisions to manufacture profit growth.

The 30% net profit growth illusion:

• PSB’s headline number was 30% net profit growth.

• That growth was achieved with a 0.06% credit cost on the most under-provisioned book in the sector.

• When provisioning normalises — as it must — that profit growth evaporates.

• Meanwhile, you are paying 1.49x book for a bank with 11.6% ROE and 61% cost-to-income.

7. The Three Questions to Ask Before You Buy Any PSB

1. Is the ROA above 1%? Below 1% ROA means the bank is not earning its cost of capital. Everything else is noise until that changes.

2. Is deposit growth keeping pace with loan growth? A bank growing loans faster than deposits for more than two consecutive years is building a liability mismatch. That always resolves — and rarely pleasantly.

3. Is the valuation paying for fundamentals — or for hope? PNB at 22x earnings. PSB at 1.49x book with 61% cost-to-income. The market occasionally prices recovery stories well before the recovery arrives. Make sure you are not the one funding that optimism.

Don’t like what you are reading? Will do better. Let us know at hi@moneymuscle.in

Don’t miss reading our Disclaimer

bankofmaharashtra.bank.in | NSE: MAHABANK

Products & Services

2. FY22-26: PAT CAGR of 57% & Net Interest Income CAGR of 23%

3. Q4-26: PAT up 35% & Net Interest Income up 19% YoY

PAT up 13% & Net Interest Income up 8% QoQ

4. FY 26: PAT up 27% & Net Interest Income up 17% YoY

5. Business metrics: Strong Return ratios

For a bank, the real valuation driver is not just profit growth. It is ROA and ROE durability.

FY27 Guidance:

• We have said that guidance for this year ROA will be 1.80.

• ROE, while we did 23% plus for this year, we want to maintain a guidance of 20% and more

6. Outlook: Mid-teen growth

6.1 Management Guidance

FY27 is a continuation of FY26 guidance. Even though MAHABANK did better than FY26 guidance, the FY27 guidance was not raised. Overall the FY27 guidance looks conservative against FY26 performance

• So total business this year, we plan to grow at 16% to 17%, within which

  • Advances will grow at 18%

  • Deposit to grow at 14% to 15%.

• CASA, we will maintain around 50%.

• RAM book will be growing at 18%.

  • RAM corporate, the ratio 60-40 plus/minus 2%.

• Net interest income is to grow at 15%.

  • NIM, the guidance for this year is 3.75%.

  • Non-interest portion to grow at 10%.

• Cost to income, we will continue to maintain as last year, below 40%.

• ROA, we want to keep a guidance of 1.80%.

• ROE, while we did 23% plus for this year, we want to maintain a guidance of 20% and more.

• GNPA will remain within 2%.

  • NNPA within 0.25%.

  • Slippage will be maintained below 1%, and credit cost will be around 1%.

  • PCR at 98%

• CRAR to be maintained at 18%.

7.FY26 Performance vs FY26 Guidance

• Most of the ratios are now among the top 3 in the industry.

• In terms of profitability, asset quality, we rank in position 1, 2, 3 on the critical ratios when we compare ourselves with the industry.

• So we would like to not go down on a single ratio.

  • So the mantra for growth was it should be a growth, but it should be a profitable growth — Then there is no compromise on the quality.

Outperforming FY26 Guidance

• NIM — Outperformed — 3.9% vs 3.75 guidance

• ROA — Outperformed — 1.86% vs 1.75 guidance

• Advances Growth — Outperformed — 21.74% vs 17 guidance

• Deposit Growth — Outperformed — 14.14% vs 14 guidance

• Cost-to-Income — Outperformed — 37.08 vs below 40 guidance

• Credit Cost —Outperformed — 0.97 vs below 1 guidance

• GNPA — Outperformed — 1.45% vs below 2 guidance

• CASA — On-track — 50+ vs above 50 guidance

• CRAR — Below — 18.36 vs about 18 guidance

8. Valuation Analysis

8.1 Valuation Snapshot — Bank of Maharashtra

• Current Market Price — ₹78.5

• Market cap — ₹60,328.5 Cr

• That is not extremely cheap on P/B because the stock already trades around ~2× book, but it is still reasonable on FY27 P/B if the bank can grow profit in double digits.

  • Guidance in-place for Net interest income growth of 15%.

• FY27E = 7.1× P/E & 1.6× P/B

• If FY27 guidance is delivered, there is scope for multiple re-rating based on FY26E numbers:

  • P/B of ~2× (if the business of performance of FY26 continues into FY27)

  • This would imply valuation upside without requiring redefinition of fundamentals.

8.2 Opportunity at Current Valuation

NIM’s guidance is conservative — Profitability could surprise

The guidance is conservative on profitability, NIM, ROA, ROE and asset-quality ratios. It is less conservative on deposit growth, CASA retention, fee income growth and slippage control.

This guidance looks deliberately set up to be achievable. Management is likely building in buffers for:

• NIM moderation,

• deposit competition,

• West Asia / crude / currency risks,

• possible MSME stress, and

• normalisation after a very strong FY26.

Optionality from Re-rating

• If current metrics hold, P/B could re-rate to ~2×+ in Fy27.

• Re-rating does not require exceptional performance — continuity of FY26 into FY27

Limited Downside

• Valuations are not demanding — provide protection against a weak quarter

8.3 Risk at Current Valuation

Geopolitical risk can hit MSME and corporate borrowers

MAHABANK has made some additional provisions regarding geopolitical risk. One needs to keep a watch how the situation evolves in Q1

So we call it global geopolitical uncertainties provision INR200 crores to begin with in this quarter, I have created.

Deposit mobilisation risk

MAHABANK itself referred to a “real war for deposits.”

Loan growth at 18% is guided higher than deposit growth of 14-15%. If deposits become expensive or CASA falls, NIM can come under pressure. For a bank growing advances at 18%, deposit quality matters as much as loan growth.

Guidance execution

Can MAHABANK grow advances at ~18%, maintain CASA near 50%, keep NIM around 3.75%, and still keep slippages below 1%?

That is the core risk investors should track.

Previous coverage of MAHABANK

Don’t like what you are reading? Will do better. Let us know at hi@moneymuscle.in

Don’t miss reading our Disclaimer

Pre-requisite Reading before starting with Free Cash Flow Yield

Stop Looking at Profits. Start Looking at Cash.

Most investors in the Indian stock market focus on EPS growth, P/E ratio, and profit trends.

But here’s the problem: profits can be manipulated — cash cannot.

A company can report strong earnings and still be financially weak.
But if it consistently generates cash — it’s real.

That’s where Free Cash Flow Yield (FCF Yield) becomes one of the most powerful tools for investors.

What Is Free Cash Flow Yield (In Simple Terms)

Think of buying a stock like buying a business.

You should ask:

“If I buy this business at today’s price, how much cash will it generate for me every year?”

That answer is:

Formula for calculating Free Cash Flow (FCF) Yield

Where:

• Free Cash Flow (FCF) = Cash from operations – Capital expenditure

• Market Cap = Current price × total shares

Example

Let’s say:

• Company generates ₹1,000 Cr free cash flow

• Market cap = ₹10,000 Cr

FCF Yield = 10%

This means — You are earning a 10% cash return on the business at current price.

Why Free Cash Flow Yield Is Critical for Indian Investors

1. It Tells You What You Actually Get (Not What Is Reported)

Indian markets are full of companies with:

• High reported profits

• Weak cash flows

FCF yield cuts through that.

It shows real cash generation, not accounting profits.

This is especially important in sectors like:

• Infrastructure

• Real estate

• Capital goods

Where earnings can look strong but cash is weak.

2. It Helps You Avoid Value Traps

A stock may look cheap:

• Low P/E

• Low P/B

But still be a value trap.

Why? — Because it doesn’t generate cash.

If FCF yield is:

• Low or negative → business is struggling

• Declining → early warning sign

Many “cheap” Indian midcaps are cheap for this exact reason.

3. It Shows Financial Strength

A company with strong free cash flow can:

• Pay dividends

• Reduce debt

• Buy back shares

• Fund growth without borrowing

A weak cash flow company must:

• Raise debt

• Dilute equity

That destroys shareholder value over time.

4. It Helps You Find Undervalued Stocks

FCF yield is like an inverse valuation metric.

• High FCF Yield → Undervalued / strong cash generation

• Low FCF Yield → Expensive / growth expectations priced in

Quick Rule:

• >8–10% FCF Yield → Attractive (context matters)

• 3–5% FCF Yield → Fair

• <3% FCF Yield → Expensive (unless high growth)

5. It Works Better Than P/E in Many Cases

P/E ratio tells you: — Profit return

FCF yield tells you: — Cash return

And in the real world:

Cash is what drives survival and growth — not accounting profits.

Where FCF Yield Works Best in India

FCF yield is especially powerful in:

1. NBFCs / Financials / Banks / Insurance Companies

Not Useful for such companies — cash flow works differently (focus on ROA + growth also)

2. Manufacturing / Capital Goods

Helps detect:

• Working capital stress

• Capex-heavy businesses

3. New-age / Tech companies

Separates:

• Real businesses

• Cash-burning stories

4. PSU stocks

Often:

• High FCF

• Low valuations

FCF yield helps identify genuine value vs. cyclical traps

How to Use Free Cash Flow Yield (Practical Framework)

Step 1: Check FCF Yield

Start with:

• Latest FCF

• Current market cap

Step 2: Compare with History

Ask:

• Is FCF yield improving?

• Is cash growing faster than profits?

Step 3: Compare with Peers

A 6% yield means nothing in isolation.

Compare within sector.

Step 4: Link with Growth

Best combination:

High FCF Yield + High Growth

This is where multi-bagger potential exists.

Step 5: Check Sustainability

High FCF yield can be misleading if:

• Capex is temporarily low

• Business is declining

Always ask: — “Can this cash flow sustain?”

Biggest Mistakes Investors Make

❌ Looking only at P/E

❌ Ignoring cash flow statement

❌ Confusing profit with cash

❌ Buying “cheap” stocks without FCF support

Key Takeaways

• Free cash flow yield tells you real return from a business

• It helps identify undervalued stocks and avoid traps

• It is more reliable than earnings in many cases

• High FCF + growth = best investment opportunities

  ---

Don’t like what you are reading? Will do better. Let us know at hi@moneymuscle.in

Don’t miss reading our Disclaimer

1. Retail Focussed NBFC

piramalfinance.com | NSE: PIRAMALFIN

2. FY22-26: A period of transition

3. Q4-26: PAT up 390% & Net Interest Income up 41% YoY

PAT up 25% & Net Interest Income up 11% QoQ

4. FY26: PAT up 210% & Net Interest Income up 32% YoY

5. Outlook: 25% AUM Growth; 50% PAT growth

5.1 Management Guidance and Outlook

Bottom-line growth driven by improving profitability

5.2 FY26 Performance vs FY26 Guidance

No complaints — FY26 guidance delivered

6. Valuation Analysis

6.1 Valuation Snapshot — Piramal Finance

• Current Market Price — ₹1,837.9

• Market cap — ₹41,537 Cr

• FY27 PAT = 1.5 X FY26 PAT

• FY28 PAT =3% X average(FY26 AUM, FY27 AUM)

• Despite profitability improving, PIRAMALFIN still trades at 1.2 P/B (×) on FY28 estimates.

• For a company guiding to deliver ~66% PAT CAGR for FY26-28 — the P/B multiple deserves a re-rating closer to 2 P/B (×)

6.2 Opportunity at Current Valuation

• Increased Profitability: RoA improving from 2.1%(Q$ FY26 exit) to 2.5% in FY27 to 3% by FY28 creates the opportunity as bottom-line grows faster than the top-line

  • AUM growth: 22% AUM CAGR FY26-28 to support bottom-line growth

• Margin of safety: Even at a current P/B of 1.47(×) there exists a margin of safety in the perspective of the guidance for FY27 and FY28.

• Projections not discounted: Weak past record in the last 5 years — market does not fully discount the growth projection of FY28

• Deferred Tax Asset on books: A deferred tax asset reduces future tax payments

  • When Piramal earns profits it won’t pay full tax. Instead it will use past losses to offset profits

  • This will lead to higher future PAT & cash flows

  • The impact of DTA against tax losses: ~₹2,100 Cr is not fully discounted

  • Optionality of total assessed tax losses is not fully discounted

    • Total assessed tax losses= ~₹24,600 Cr ==> @25% tax rate = DTA of ~₹6,150 Cr (of which only ~₹2,100 Cr is recognized)

Added ₹10,110 Cr in assessed tax losses taking total assessed tax losses to ~₹24,600 Cr (o/s DTA against tax losses: ~₹2,100 Cr)

• Multiple Re-rating: Opportunity of being re-rated at around 2(×) P/B if FY27 guidance is delivered and PIRAMALFIN shows progress on executing FY28 guidance.

6.3 Risk at Current Valuation

Despite the visible turnaround, key risks remain:

• Execution Risk: PIRAMALFIN is on-track to deliver FY26 guidance. The challenge is to consistently deliver on the FY28 guidance.

• Residual legacy risk: ~₹2,807 Cr of legacy AUM still sits on the book; impairment or recovery delays could drag performance.

  • Asset quality while improving needs to be watched

Previous coverage on PIRAMALFIN

Don’t like what you are reading? Will do better. Let us know at hi@moneymuscle.in

Don’t miss reading our Disclaimer

Confused about AUM, ROA and ROE in NBFC’s? Gain clarity now.

1. NBFC — Supply Chain Financing

sgfinserve.com | NSE: SGFIN

Business Mix & Portfolio

Our core business is supply chain finance and the inherent strength of supply chain finance is that, it has a tripartite relationship between the anchor, borrower, and the financer. Across all the NBFCs and banks who are operating in the supply chain space, the matrix of credit cost remains the similar. For us, the advantage is this: our core business is supply chain, which is more than three-fourths of our business.

2. FY23-26: PAT CAGR 91% & Net Inerest Income CAGR 81%

FY25: A regulatory pause lending in H1 to comply with Type II NBFC licensing norms muted growth

FY26: Leadership transition (H2) + downward revision in guidance (after Q2 results)

3. Q4 FY25: PAT up 78% & Net Interest Income up 77%

PAT up 30% & Net Interest Income up 27% QoQ

4. FY26: PAT up 58% & Net Interest Income up 44% YoY

5. Business Metrics: Strong Return Ratios

Management guidance:

• ROA: 4.5–5% (sustainable)

• ROE: 14–16% target

On the ROA, I think 4.8% is a very healthy ROA. Anything more than this is not desirable, it can go up to 5%. But, ROA will range between 4.5% to 5% depending the leverage levels because if our leverage goes up, the ROA tends to go down, and the ROE tends to go up.

6. Outlook: 30-35% PAT CAGR

6.1 Management Guidance and Future Outlook

FY27 Guidance

For FY '27, our AUM growth may be not 25% to 30%, it will be more. But in a medium to long term, this will be the average of 25% to 30%. Our aspiration on the AUM for FY '27 is around 35%-40% growth.

INR 10,000 crores of AUM we can easily reach in three to four years without being dependent on any fresh equity, because we will accumulate profits also and there is a enough bank lines available and more bank lines will get added. So for INR 10,000 crores AUM with 3x leverage, we are not dependent on any fresh equity.

Q4 FY26 momentum to carry forward into Q1 FY27

• On the business momentum, we will continue to grow. The incremental equity we raised in Q4, going to benefit us to maintain this momentum in Q1 and in subsequent quarters.

6.2 FY26 Performance vs FY26 Guidance – SG Finserve

Guidance as of Q3 FY26

FY26 Performance Ahead of a Lowered Guidance

• PBT = ₹171.5 Cr in FY26 — ahead of ₹160 Cr target

• Leverage = 1.9x in FY26 — in-line with <=2x target

• RoA = 4.8% in FY26 — ahead of 4.4% target.

• RoE = 12% in FY26 — ahead of 10% target.

One needs to keep in mind that FY26 was revised downwards after H1 FY26 on account of a leadership transition.

• The silver lining is that the leadership transition has been smooth based on Q4 FY26 results and the long-term guidance.

Guidance pre-revision

• PAT Revision: The full-year FY26 Profit After Tax (PAT) guidance was revised down to approximately ₹120-125 Cr. This is lower than the initial guidance of ₹150-160 Cr (which corresponded to 200 cr PBT)

• The exit loan book for FY26 is confidently projected to be around ₹3,500 Cr, with a possible positive surprise up to ₹4,000 Cr depending on economic performance in the final three month — toning down of AUM guidance

• The company aims for an AUM (loan book) of 6,000 crores by FY27, targeting a PBT of 250 cr (approximately 190 cr PAT)

7. Valuation Analysis — SG Finserve

7.1 Valuation Snapshot

• Current Price — ₹537

• Market cap — ₹3,538.56 Cr

For a stock promising 25-30% long-term AUM CAGR and 30-35% PAT CAGR over the long-term with nil NPA the forward valuations of ~1.9x P/B (FY28) provide an opportunity for re-rating of multiples closer to 3x P/B

7.2 Opportunity at Current Valuation

Strong head-room to grow

Next 3-4 years of growth towards an AUM of ₹10,000 Cr from the Mar’26 AUM of ₹3,900 Cr+ is covered. 2.5x growth in AUM will not require any equity dilution.

The scalability in this space is huge.

Out of top 500 corporates, if we talk about, not even 100 are active in a supply chain space. So there is a huge space for the new anchors to follow the trend of the successful anchors to come and start doing supply chain.

Number two, the anchors who are already doing supply chain, their entire sales is not yet covered. In my understanding, basis back of the hand calculation, only 25% to 30% of their sales is covered under organised supply chain programs. Still there is a lot of room left for those anchors to also deep dive and get their dealers onboarded under the organized supply chain programs.

So the space is humongous. There is no saturation I see in my sight, at least for next 10-15 years.

Valuations are not demanding

• The forward valuations are not demanding — have been able to sustain the downward revision in guidance in FY26

7.3 Risk at Current Valuation

Repeated “one-off disruptions”

• FY25 disruption

  • Lending/license issue → business slowdown/reset

  • AUM temporarily reduced

  • External + internal shock

• FY26 disruption

  • Leadership change

  • Guidance cut (conservative stance)

  • Yet FY 26 execution was strong — Internal transition, not business weakness

• FY27 = Make-or-break year

  • If FY27 has another “one-off excuse” → red flag

  • One would like to see a a arrowing gap between original guidance and execution.

  • More predictable execution is required

• The impact of this is seen in the stock performance which has gone nowhere and not delivered in-line with the business momentum

Previous Coverage of SGFIN

Don’t like what you are reading? Will do better. Let us know at hi@moneymuscle.in

Don’t miss reading our Disclaimer

1. FY26 Business Performance

Operational Scorecard (FY2026)

The following table summarizes the key operational metrics that drove business performance in FY26 of

• ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company

• SBI Life Insurance Company

• HDFC Life Insurance Company

FY26 Performance Analysis

• The Growth Leader (SBI Life): SBI Life continues to be the only company delivering a “Double-Double”—double-digit growth in both sales (13%) and profitability (12%). Its massive distribution network (Bancassurance) allows it to maintain a industry-leading 27.5% VNB margin, showing that it can grow fast without sacrificing quality.

• The Efficiency Play (ICICI Prudential): ICICI Pru presents a fascinating story. Its top-line sales growth was nearly stagnant at 2.2%, yet its Value of New Business (VNB) grew by 10.9% and its Net Profit jumped by a massive 34.6%. This indicates a successful pivot: they are selling fewer but far more profitable products and aggressively cutting operational costs.

• The Defensive Fortress (ICICI Prudential): With a 227.3% Solvency Ratio, ICICI Pru is the safest “fortress” in the sector. This high capital buffer suggests they have significant room to increase dividends or reinvest aggressively when market conditions improve.

• The Resilience Story (HDFC Life): HDFC Life faced a tougher year, with VNB growth lagging at 2%. Regulatory impacts on their specific product mix (Annuities and Protection) acted as a drag. However, their 8% APE growth shows they are still successfully defending their market share.

2. Valuation Analysis: Market Cap vs. Intrinsic Value

Valuation Matrix (FY2026)

Analysis of the Valuation Gap

• The SBI Life: The most striking takeaway is that SBI Life is the cheapest stock despite being the best performer. It has the highest internal compounding rate (19.7% RoEV) but trades at the lowest multiple (1.32x P/EV). The market is effectively pricing it at a discount, likely due to its PSU-parentage perception, creating a classic “Growth at a Reasonable Price” (GARP) opportunity.

• The HDFC Premium: HDFC Life remains the most expensive stock at 2.07x P/EV. Investors are clearly paying a “brand and pedigree premium.” Despite lower RoEV than SBI Life, the market values HDFC’s sophisticated product mix and dominant retail presence, resulting in a high P/VNB of 31.87x.

• The ICICI Pru Stability: ICICI Pru sits at a fair 1.46x P/EV. Its valuation reflects its current status as a stable, high-solvency player with lower RoEV (11.9%). However, if its high PAT growth continues, it is the prime candidate for a valuation “re-rating.”

3. Identifying the Opportunities

SBI Life

SBI Life represents a absolute value play. A company compounding its internal value (RoEV) at nearly 20% while trading at just 1.32x its book value (P/EV) is an opportunity.

• This is not just “relative value” because it’s cheaper than HDFC; it is real value. SBI Life’s VNB margin of 27.5% is the highest in the sector, yet its P/VNB multiple (27.45x) is the lowest.

• For long-term portfolios, SBI Life offers the best “Safety Margin.” You are buying the industry’s most efficient growth engine at a discount price.

ICICI Prudential

The opportunity in ICICI Pru is a valuation re-rating play. While its current RoEV (11.9%) justifies its lower 1.46x P/EV, the massive 34.6% PAT growth suggests that the company has fixed its cost structure.

• There is hidden value here. ICICI Pru has essentially “over-capitalized” its balance sheet (227.3% Solvency). This extra capital is currently a drag on RoEV, but it provides the company with “dry powder” to either hike dividends significantly or fund an aggressive acquisition without needing fresh equity.

• This is a play for investors betting on a “Mean Reversion.” If that profit growth eventually drives RoEV toward 15%, the stock could re-rate from a 1.4x multiple to a 1.8x multiple.

HDFC Life

HDFC Life is currently a momentum and brand play, but the FY26 numbers suggest caution. Trading at 2.07x P/EV (a 56% premium over SBI Life) while its VNB growth has slowed to a mere 2% creates a potential “Expectation Gap.”

• This is relative overvaluation. While HDFC Life is a high-quality business with superior 61-month persistency (64%), the stock market is charging a “perfection premium.” For the current price to be “real value,” VNB growth needs to accelerate significantly to catch up with its high P/VNB multiple of 31.87x.

• HDFC Life remains a core “blue-chip” hold, but at current levels, it offers the least “valuation upside” compared to its peers.

Summary Comparison for Stock Investors

• Highest Upside Potential

  • SBI Life — Highest growth (20% RoEV) at the lowest price (1.3x P/EV)

• Downside Protection

  • ICICI Pru — Strongest capital buffer (227% Solvency) and massive profit growth.

• Brand & Stickiness — HDFC Life — Best long-term customer retention and premium product engine.

Don’t like what you are reading? Will do better. Let us know at hi@moneymuscle.in

Don’t miss reading our Disclaimer

1. Transformers & Rectifiers India

2. Bank of Maharashtra

3. Waaree Renewable Technologies

4. Groww (Billionbrains Garage Ventures)

5. Anand Rathi

Don’t like what you are reading? Will do better. Let us know at hi@moneymuscle.in

Don’t miss reading our Disclaimer