Driven by negative free cash flow, the company is currently loss-making, small-cap size, which brings sharper price swings.
In simple words: The company is currently losing money, though profits are falling even as sales grow. Cash generation is currently the main factor to watch.
Decision support, not a buy or sell call.
As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:09 pm
Caution warranted. Multiple fundamental metrics — flagged in red below — point to either valuation stretch, leverage risk, or weakening profitability. This doesn't mean avoid the stock outright, but it does mean the burden of proof is on the growth story to justify the current price.
The 60-second version of Aequs Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.
What does this company do?
Aequs Limited, a contract manufacturing company, engages in the provision of integrated products solutions in India, the United States of America, France, Hong Kong, Sweden, United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through Aerospace and Consumer segments.
IndustryAerospace & Defense
SectorIndustrials
Employees1,766
Annual revenue₹1,198 Cr
How does it make money?
Turns over ₹1,198 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹-9 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹12 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 1,766 employees supports ₹67.8 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.
EBITDA margin11.6%
Net margin-9.5%
Revenue / employee₹67.8 lakh
Who are its competitors?
The closest listed comparisons in its industry are LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD., SIEMENS LTD, ABB INDIA LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.
LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD.P/E 30.1x · ROE 15.2%
SIEMENS LTDP/E 88.8x · ROE 10.5%
ABB INDIA LIMITEDP/E 92.6x · ROE 19.1%
What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one
Returns on capital of -0.2% are at or below what the capital likely costs. That is the financial pattern of a business competing largely on price, where advantage has to come from execution rather than position.
ROCE-0.2%
ROE-7.6%
Peer median ROE15.2%
What is the outlook?
5 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 45.2% and earnings to grow about 141.2% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.
Est. revenue growth+45.2%
Est. earnings growth+141.2%
Analysts5
What has been driving growth?
Growth has come mainly from selling more, rather than from keeping more of each sale. Over 3 years revenue moved +51% while net margin moved -24% relative to itself. What this cannot tell you is which products, customers or geographies did the work — that lives in the segment disclosures of the annual report.
Revenue effect+51%
Margin effect-24%
DalalBaazaar Score
43/ 100
Moderate
Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.
✗ No meaningful P/E — the company is lossmaking
✗ P/B of 10.66x is a steep premium to book
Quality vs. Valuation
Company Quality
49/ 100
Average
How good the business is, ignoring the share price entirely.
vs
Valuation
20/ 100
Expensive
What you are being asked to pay, ignoring how good the business is.
A reasonable business at a reasonable price — neither the quality nor the valuation stands out in either direction.
vs. its own history
Not enough price and earnings history
vs. sector peers
Not enough peers with a usable P/E
vs. generic bands
N/A
No P/E — the company is lossmaking
P/E (Trailing)
Not meaningful
P/B
10.66x
EV/EBITDA
126.2x
PEG
—
Dividend Yield
None
What's Good / What's Bad
🟢 What's Going Well3
Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 5.0% to 11.6% over 3 years.
Return on equity is rising
ROE has improved from -35.5% to -7.6%.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from -7.3% to -0.2%.
🔴 What Needs Attention3
Free cash flow is negative
The business is not currently covering its capital spending from operations.
Receivables growing faster than sales
Receivables are up 147% against revenue growth of 51% — customers are taking longer to pay.
Inventory building faster than sales
Inventory is up 90% against revenue growth of 51% — stock may not be moving.
Red Flags
5 items require attention · 4 high · 1 watch
🔴Thin interest coverageFinancial
Operating profit covers interest only -0.1x — little room if earnings dip.
🔴Free cash flow negative for 4 yearsFinancial
The business has not covered its capital spending from operations for several years running, which has to be funded externally.
🔴The company is lossmakingFinancial
Net profit of -₹113 Cr in the latest reported year.
🔴Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 147% against revenue up 51% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.
🟡Inventory building faster than salesFinancial
Inventory up 90% against revenue up 51% — stock may not be moving.
Investment Thesis
🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?
Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 5.0% to 11.6%. If that holds, profit compounds faster than sales and today's multiple looks cheaper in hindsight than it does now.
🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?
The debt load needs earnings to hold up
Debt is 5.0x EBITDA. At that level a downturn in earnings turns a manageable balance sheet into a refinancing problem, and lenders get paid before shareholders.
Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 147% against revenue up 51%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
Earnings are hard to forecast
Profit has swung sharply from year to year, so any single year — good or bad — is a weak guide to the next. Cyclical earnings deserve lower multiples for that reason.
Size brings its own risk
Small Cap businesses are thinly traded, so exits are harder in a falling market and single events move the price more than they would for a larger company.
Several serious flags at once
4 high-severity checks triggered. Individually each has an explanation; together they raise the chance that something structural is wrong rather than a one-off.
🟡 Key Things to WatchMeasurable tripwires, set against where this company stands today
1Revenue growth stays above 11% a year✓ 14.8% CAGR
Latest reported year was 54.8%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 10%✓ 11.6%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x✗ 5.0x
Already stretched, so this is a reduction target rather than a level to hold. Around 3x is where lenders typically start attaching conditions.
4Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹441 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
5Interest cover stays above 3x✗ -0.1x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
Investment Checklist
7 / 12 checks passed
✗ Strong return on equity (ROE ≥ 15%)
✗ Strong return on capital employed (ROCE ≥ 15%)
✗ Healthy net margin (≥ 10%)
✗ Generates positive free cash flow
✓ Manageable leverage (Debt/Equity < 1.0)
✓ Adequate short-term liquidity (Current Ratio ≥ 1.0)
✓ Revenue growing year-over-year
✗ Profit growing year-over-year
✓ Not trading at an extreme valuation (P/E < 40x)
✓ Not buying right at the 52-week high
✓ Analyst consensus isn't majority-sell
✓ Short-term technical trend isn't bearish
Price history
Quick Metrics
2 good · 2 neutral · 7 weak
Market Cap
₹17,190 Cr
Small Cap
Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here
P/E (Trailing)
Not meaningful
Loss-making
Earnings are negative, so a P/E multiple can't be read here
P/B Ratio
10.66x
Rich
Steep premium to book — needs high, durable returns to justify
EPS (TTM)
₹-2.71
Loss-making
Negative earnings per share — the business is losing money
ROE
-7.6%
Weak
Weak capital efficiency
ROCE
-0.2%
Weak
Low return on total capital employed
Debt/Equity
0.47x
Low
Conservative leverage
Revenue Growth (YoY)
54.8%
Healthy
Healthy top-line growth
Profit Growth (YoY)
-10.7%
Falling
Profits are shrinking
Dividend Yield
None
None
No dividend yield reported — usually means no payout, but verify if one was recently initiated
Free Cash Flow
-₹441 Cr
Cash burning
Spending more cash than the operations bring in
More Metrics
CMP
₹262.5
P/E (Forward)
492.3x
Operating Margin
-7.7%
Weak
Thin margins leave little room for error
Net Margin
-12.4%
Weak
Very little revenue reaches the bottom line
Current Ratio
1.58
Comfortable
Healthy short-term liquidity
52W Range Position
82%
Mid-range
Mid-range
Technical Snapshot
SMA 20 / SMA 50
262.1 / 251.0
Bullish alignment (short > long)
Price vs SMA 200
Above
Long-term uptrend
RSI (14)
58.6
Neutral momentum
Financial Trend (4-Year)
Metric
FY23
FY24
FY25
FY26
3Y CAGR
Revenue
₹791 Cr
₹941 Cr
₹898 Cr
₹1,198 Cr
+14.8%
EBITDA
₹40 Cr
₹160 Cr
₹55 Cr
₹139 Cr
+52.0%
EBITDA Margin
5.0%
17.0%
6.2%
11.6%
—
PAT (Net Profit)
-₹99 Cr
-₹11 Cr
-₹102 Cr
-₹113 Cr
—
EPS
₹-1.51
₹-0.17
₹-1.56
₹-1.87
—
ROE
-35.5%
-1.3%
-14.3%
-7.6%
—
ROCE
-7.3%
4.4%
-3.6%
-0.2%
—
Total Debt
₹736 Cr
₹699 Cr
₹785 Cr
₹701 Cr
-1.6%
Free Cash Flow
-₹76 Cr
-₹201 Cr
-₹239 Cr
-₹441 Cr
—
🟢 Revenue has grown at 14.8% a year over 3 years.
🟢 EBITDA has grown at 52.0% a year over 3 years.
🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 5.0% to 11.6% over 3 years (+6.6 pts).
🟢 ROE has risen from -35.5% to -7.6% over 3 years (+27.9 pts).
🟢 ROCE has risen from -7.3% to -0.2% over 3 years (+7.1 pts).
🟡 Total Debt has been broadly flat over 3 years (-1.6% a year).
🟡Mixed / dependsA price move rather than a change in the business. If the figures on this page have not moved, the fall is either an opportunity or news they have yet to catch up with.
Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.
DalalBaazaar Thesis
🔴Business QualityWeak7.5/20
🟡Financial HealthAdequate10.9/20
🟢GrowthStrong13.6/20
🔴ProfitabilityWeak5/15
🔴ValuationDemanding2.6/15
🔴RiskHigh3.1/10
Unremarkable in both directions
A reasonable business at a reasonable price. Nothing here is alarming and nothing is compelling, which usually means the decision rests on things this data cannot see — the industry's direction, management's intent, and what else is available to you. 4 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.
