Alfred Herbert (India) Limited

Industrials — Specialty Industrial Machinery · NSE

₹2,803.20+₹13.00 (+0.47%)

DalalBaazaar Score

77 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

REASONABLE

Risk

Moderate

Driven by negative free cash flow, micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity, falling profits.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, 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, 7:03 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

The 60-second version of Alfred Herbert (India) Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Alfred Herbert (India) Limited operates as a non-banking finance company in India. The company provides financial services.

IndustrySpecialty Industrial Machinery

SectorIndustrials

Employees7

Annual revenue₹0 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹0 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹122727 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹6139 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 7 employees supports ₹5.3 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

Revenue / employee₹5.3 lakh

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are SIEMENS LTD, ABB INDIA LIMITED, LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD., HAVELLS INDIA LIMITED. 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?Some evidence

ROCE of 88.9% is above what capital typically costs, which suggests some pricing power, though not yet the sustained, wide gap that marks a durable advantage.

Peer median ROE17.1%

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +23% while net margin moved +17983% 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+23%

Margin effect+17983%

DalalBaazaar Score

77/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✓ Beta of 0.52 — historically steadier than the index
✗ Micro Cap: thinner liquidity and sharper drawdowns are normal
✗ Profits have swung sharply from year to year — earnings are hard to forecast
✗ Negative free cash flow means dependence on external funding

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

80/ 100

Excellent

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

Valuation

82/ 100

Cheap

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

A good business currently available at an undemanding price — the combination this framework is built to look for.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

5.9x

Sector Median

66.2x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Against its sector it trades 91% below the peer median of 66.2x.

vs. its own history

Not enough price and earnings history

vs. sector peers

Cheap

66.2x median of 4 peers · -91%

vs. generic bands

Cheap

Below 15x

EV/EBITDA

9.4x

PEG

0.01

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well7

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 481.2% to 6139.1% over 3 years.
Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 96% over 3 years.
Return on equity is rising
ROE has improved from 1.9% to 79.4%.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 1.8% to 88.9%.
High return on capital employed
ROCE of 88.9% is the mark of a business that converts capital into profit efficiently.
Very low debt
Debt/Equity of 0.00x leaves the balance sheet with plenty of headroom.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention0

Nothing stands out as clearly deteriorating on the years of data available.

Red Flags

3 items require attention · 3 high

🔴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.
🔴Profit up while operating cash flow fallsFinancial
Reported profit rose but cash generated by operations declined — worth checking whether earnings are being supported by non-cash items or working capital.
🔴Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 725% against revenue up 23% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Capital compounds at a high rate
ROCE of 88.9% means each rupee reinvested earns well above what capital costs. If the company can keep deploying at this rate, growth creates value rather than just consuming cash.
Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 481.2% to 6139.1%. If that holds, profit compounds faster than sales and today's multiple looks cheaper in hindsight than it does now.
Deleveraging frees up earnings
Debt is down 96% over 3 years. Every rupee of interest not paid drops to the bottom line, so profit can grow even if revenue does not.
Cheaper than its peers
It trades 91% below the sector median. Either the market sees a problem the numbers do not show, or the discount closes.
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 725% against revenue up 23%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
Growth barely outpaces inflation
Revenue compounding at 7.1% a year is close to the rate prices rise, so the business is gaining little ground in real terms. That leaves the share price dependent on a re-rating rather than on earnings growth.
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
Micro 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
3 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 6137%✓ 6139.1%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹65 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
3Revenue growth stays above 5% a year✓ 7.1% CAGR
Latest reported year was 45.2%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.0x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 86%✓ 88.9%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

8 / 10 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

Price history

Quick Metrics

7 good · 2 neutral · 2 weak

Market Cap

₹216 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

5.9x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

0.38x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹476.89

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

79.4%

Strong

Strong capital efficiency

ROCE

88.9%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

0.00x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

45.2%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

-98.5%

Falling

Profits are shrinking

Dividend Yield

0.71%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

-₹65 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

Operating Margin

90.3%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

127.7%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

2127.02

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.52

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

31%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

RSI (14)

56.2

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹0 Cr	₹0 Cr	—	₹0 Cr	+7.1%
EBITDA	₹1 Cr	-₹0 Cr	₹7 Cr	₹23 Cr	+150.3%
EBITDA Margin	481.2%	-82.7%	—	6139.1%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹2 Cr	₹1 Cr	₹6 Cr	₹455 Cr	+505.6%
EPS	₹26.57	₹8.75	₹82.28	₹5,902.24	+505.6%
ROE	1.9%	0.6%	5.2%	79.4%	—
ROCE	1.8%	0.4%	5.5%	88.9%	—
Total Debt	₹0 Cr	₹0 Cr	₹0 Cr	₹0 Cr	-64.5%
Free Cash Flow	-₹4 Cr	-₹2 Cr	-₹4 Cr	-₹65 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 7.1% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 150.3% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 481.2% to 6139.1% over 3 years (+5657.9 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 505.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 505.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 ROE has risen from 1.9% to 79.4% over 3 years (+77.4 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 1.8% to 88.9% over 3 years (+87.0 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 64.5% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹587 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹13 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹2 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

-₹63 Cr

Capex

-₹2 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

83.1%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹20

Ex-Dividend Date

21 Aug 2026

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
SIEMENS LTD	88.8x	10.5%
ABB INDIA LIMITED	92.6x	19.1%
LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD.	30.1x	15.2%
HAVELLS INDIA LIMITED	43.5x	17.1%

Recent News

1 mixed5 general

ALFREDHE Stock Price and Chart — NSE:ALFREDHE

TradingView, 17 Aug

Alfred Herbert (India) Ltd. Key Financial Ratios – Valuation, Profitability & More

Value Research, 31 Aug

Alfred Herbert (India) Q1 FY27 Results Preview

Univest, 13 JulResults

🟡Mixed / dependsA results event. The figures on this page update once the new statements reach the data feed, which usually lags the announcement.

Nilkanth Resources (BSE:526604) - Stock Analysis

Simply Wall Street, 09 Oct

Alfred Herbert (India) Limited Files SEBI SAST Disclosure for Financial Year 2026

scanx.trade, 06 Apr

Alfred Herbert (India) Ltd. Financials – Balance Sheet, Profit & Loss, Cash Flow

Value Research, 31 Aug

Watch Items

Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongBusiness Quality · Financial Health · Growth · Profitability · Valuation

WeakRisk

Points for each in the Score ↑

Attractive on both counts

A good business currently available at an undemanding price — the combination this framework exists to look for. The work left is qualitative: whether the advantage the numbers imply is one you can identify and expect to last. 3 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

1 of 5 tripwires tripped — Free cash flow remains positive · see Key things to watch ↑