Afcons Infrastructure Limited

Industrials — Engineering & Construction · NSE

₹245.10−₹0.70 (−0.28%)

DalalBaazaar Score

34 / 100

🔴 Weak

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

High

Driven by negative free cash flow, small-cap size, which brings sharper price swings, a very high earnings multiple, which leaves little margin for disappointment.

In simple words: The business is earning a fairly low return on the money invested in it, but sales are shrinking. Cash generation is currently the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 7:00 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

The 60-second version of Afcons Infrastructure Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Afcons Infrastructure Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in infrastructure, engineering, and construction businesses in India and internationally.

IndustryEngineering & Construction

SectorIndustrials

Employees3,626

Annual revenue₹11,888 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹11,888 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹2 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹13 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 3,626 employees supports ₹3.28 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹3.28 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD., ADANI PORT & SEZ LTD, SIEMENS LTD. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

Compared side by side in Peers ↓

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 10.0% 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.

Peer median ROE14.1%

What is the outlook?

9 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 21.0% and earnings to grow about 68.1% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+21.0%

Est. earnings growth+68.1%

Analysts9

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved -5% while net margin moved -35% 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-5%

Margin effect-35%

DalalBaazaar Score

34/ 100

Weak

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Revenue has contracted at 1.8% a year
✗ Profit has declined at 15.1% a year
✗ Latest-year revenue growth of -20.8% is below the longer-term trend — momentum is fading
✗ Profit fell 78.1% in the latest year

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

33/ 100

Weak

How good the business is, ignoring the share price entirely.

Valuation

34/ 100

Expensive

What you are being asked to pay, ignoring how good the business is.

Weak on business quality and not cheap enough to compensate.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

63.2x

2Y Median

33.8x

25 monthly readings · mean 32.3x · range 20.5x–44.6x

Sector Median

30.1x

median of 3 sector peers

⚠️Current valuation is approximately 87% above its 2y median of 33.8x. Paying more than usual needs a reason — faster growth, a better balance sheet, or a re-rating you believe in.

⚠️Against its sector it trades 110% above the peer median of 30.1x.

vs. its own history

Expensive

33.8x median over 25 months · +87%

vs. sector peers

Expensive

30.1x median of 3 peers · +110%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

EV/EBITDA

8.1x

PEG

—

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well2

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 11.1% to 12.7% over 3 years.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention2

Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 12.9% to 4.6% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 14.9% to 10.0% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

6 items require attention · 4 high · 2 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 125% over 3 years, from ₹1,612 Cr to ₹3,627 Cr.
🔴Thin interest coverageFinancial
Operating profit covers interest only 1.7x — little room if earnings dip.
🔴Free cash flow negative for 3 yearsFinancial
The business has not covered its capital spending from operations for several years running, which has to be funded externally.
🔴Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 56% against revenue up -5% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.
🟡Interest coverage is deterioratingFinancial
Cover has fallen from 2.5x to 1.7x.
🟡Profit is decliningFinancial
Net profit is down 39% over 3 years.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 11.1% to 12.7%. If that holds, profit compounds faster than sales and today's multiple looks cheaper in hindsight than it does now.
Earnings have proved durable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years. Consistency lowers the risk that any single bad year is structural rather than cyclical.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 56% against revenue up -5%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
The price already assumes success
The stock trades 87% above its own median multiple. At this level the business has to deliver just to stand still, and a stumble is repriced twice — lower earnings on a lower multiple.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 12.9% to 4.6%. Each rupee of equity earns less than it did, so profit growth increasingly depends on raising more capital rather than on the existing base working harder.
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

1EBITDA margin holds above 11%✓ 12.7%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✗ 2.4x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
3Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹499 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Interest cover stays above 3x✗ 1.7x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
5ROCE stays above 8%✓ 10.0%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

4 / 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

1 good · 5 neutral · 5 weak

Market Cap

₹9,014 Cr

Small Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

63.2x

Expensive

Expensive — verify against sector peers

P/B Ratio

1.65x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹3.88

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

4.6%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

10.0%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

0.67x

Moderate

Moderate leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

-20.8%

Shrinking

Sales are contracting

Profit Growth (YoY)

-78.1%

Falling

Profits are shrinking

Dividend Yield

0.82%

Modest

Small cash return — most of the return has to come from the price

Free Cash Flow

-₹499 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

16.7x

Improving

Below the trailing multiple — the street expects earnings to grow into the price

Operating Margin

6.3%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

1.3%

Weak

Very little revenue reaches the bottom line

Current Ratio

1.29

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

52W Range Position

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

248.1 / 265.1

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

37.5

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹12,539 Cr	₹13,194 Cr	₹12,504 Cr	₹11,888 Cr	-1.8%
EBITDA	₹1,388 Cr	₹1,590 Cr	₹1,750 Cr	₹1,508 Cr	+2.8%
EBITDA Margin	11.1%	12.0%	14.0%	12.7%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹411 Cr	₹450 Cr	₹487 Cr	₹252 Cr	-15.1%
EPS	₹11.17	₹12.23	₹13.24	₹6.82	-15.2%
ROE	12.9%	12.5%	9.3%	4.6%	—
ROCE	14.9%	17.1%	13.3%	10.0%	—
Total Debt	₹1,612 Cr	₹2,523 Cr	₹2,343 Cr	₹3,627 Cr	+31.0%
Free Cash Flow	₹297 Cr	-₹9 Cr	-₹477 Cr	-₹499 Cr	—

🟡 Revenue has been broadly flat over 3 years (-1.8% a year).

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 2.8% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 11.1% to 12.7% over 3 years (+1.6 pts).

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has shrunk at 15.1% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EPS has shrunk at 15.2% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 12.9% to 4.6% over 3 years (-8.3 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 14.9% to 10.0% over 3 years (-4.9 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 31.0% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has turned negative, from ₹297 Cr to -₹499 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹19,131 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹13,680 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹386 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

-₹127 Cr

Capex

-₹372 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

24.9%

Insider Holding

58.6%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹2

Ex-Dividend Date

23 Jul 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

5 Buy · 3 Hold · 2 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹318.2

+29.8% vs CMP

Target Range

₹202 – ₹377

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD.	30.1x	15.2%
ADANI PORT & SEZ LTD	29.9x	14.1%
SIEMENS LTD	88.8x	10.5%

Recent News

2 mixed4 general

AFCONS INFRASTRUCTURE LTD Share Price

Upstox, 16 Oct

Afcons Infrastructure (NSEI:AFCONS) Stock Forecast & Analyst Predictions

Simply Wall Street, 07 OctAnalyst view

🟡Mixed / dependsBroker commentary — an opinion about the price rather than new information about the business.

Afcons Infrastructure shares rally 4% after receiving Rs 335.5 crore arbitration award

The Economic Times, 25 AugPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move, which is not by itself a change in the business. Worth finding the cause before reading it as either good or bad.

Afcons Infrastructure Share Price Hits Fresh 52-Week Low

Univest, 11 Sept

Shapoorji Pallonji Group stocks zoom 20% as RBI asks Tata Sons to list

Business Standard, 15 Sept

Afcons Infrastructure issues ₹35 crore commercial papers at 8.10%

scanx.trade, 13 Oct

Watch Items

Revenue growth is negative (-20.8%) on the latest reported period — check if this is one-off or a trend.
Trading very close to its 52-week low — worth checking whether this reflects a temporary setback or a structural problem.
Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

MiddlingRisk

WeakBusiness Quality · Financial Health · Growth · Profitability · Valuation

Points for each in the Score ↑

Weak on the fundamentals

Poor scores on business quality without a price low enough to compensate. There is no obvious argument for owning this over a stronger company at a similar valuation. 4 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

3 of 5 tripwires tripped — Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x; Free cash flow remains positive; Interest cover stays above 3x · see Key things to watch ↑