ASK Automotive Limited

Consumer Cyclical — Auto Parts · NSE

₹588.00−₹11.20 (−1.87%)

DalalBaazaar Score

67 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

REASONABLE

Risk

Moderate

Driven by negative free cash flow, small-cap size, which brings sharper price swings.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, with both sales and profits growing well. Cash generation is currently the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:07 pm

Mixed / neutral. No major red flags jump out, but nothing here screams "obviously cheap" either. This is a name that needs a peer comparison and a view on near-term earnings triggers before sizing a position.

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

ASK Automotive Limited manufactures and sells auto components for the automobile industry in India. The company offers advanced braking systems, such as brake shoe and pad, brake panel assembly, clutch plate and shoe, brake linings, disc brake pad, and brake liner.

IndustryAuto Parts

SectorConsumer Cyclical

Employees1,556

Annual revenue₹4,079 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹4,079 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹7 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹14 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 1,556 employees supports ₹2.62 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

EBITDA margin13.5%

Net margin7.3%

Revenue / employee₹2.62 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are BOSCH LIMITED, MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA LTD., TVS MOTOR COMPANY LTD, EICHER MOTORS LTD. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

BOSCH LIMITEDP/E 56.9x · ROE 15.9%

MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA LTD.P/E 25.2x · ROE 13.4%

TVS MOTOR COMPANY LTDP/E 56.8x · ROE 35.8%

EICHER MOTORS LTDP/E 34.7x · ROE 23.0%

What is its competitive advantage?The numbers suggest a real one

ROCE has stayed above 15% in every year available and stands at 23.8%. Returns that high normally get competed away; when they persist, something is protecting them, and its ROE of 22.7% against a peer median of 23.0% is consistent with that. What that something is — brand, scale, switching costs, regulation — the accounts cannot tell you.

ROCE23.8%

ROE22.7%

Peer median ROE23.0%

What is the outlook?

8 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 16.3% and earnings to grow about 26.6% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+16.3%

Est. earnings growth+26.6%

Analysts8

What has been driving growth?

Sales and margins have both contributed to where profit is now. Over 3 years revenue moved +61% while net margin moved +50% 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+61%

Margin effect+50%

DalalBaazaar Score

67/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

• P/E of 36.6x already prices in growth
• P/E is close to its own historical median of 45.6x
✗ P/B of 8.84x is a steep premium to book

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

73/ 100

Good

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

Valuation

50/ 100

Fair

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.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

36.6x

3Y Median

45.6x

37 monthly readings · mean 45.5x · range 33.1x–63.6x

Sector Median

45.7x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 20% below its 3y median of 45.6x. Cheaper than its own history, which is worth a reason too: the market may be pricing in something the backward-looking numbers do not show.

🟢Against its sector it trades 20% below the peer median of 45.7x.

vs. its own history

Fair

45.6x median over 37 months · -20%

vs. sector peers

Fair

45.7x median of 4 peers · -20%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

P/E (Trailing)

36.6x

P/B

8.84x

EV/EBITDA

22.2x

PEG

1.07

Dividend Yield

0.31%

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well5

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 9.6% to 13.5% over 3 years.
Return on equity is rising
ROE has improved from 19.1% to 22.7%.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 19.9% to 23.8%.
High return on capital employed
ROCE of 23.8% is the mark of a business that converts capital into profit efficiently.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention3

Debt is rising
Total debt is up 107% over 3 years — worth checking what it funded.
Free cash flow is negative
The business is not currently covering its capital spending from operations.
Inventory building faster than sales
Inventory is up 101% against revenue growth of 61% — stock may not be moving.

Red Flags

4 items require attention · 2 high · 2 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 107% over 3 years, from ₹328 Cr to ₹679 Cr.
🔴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.
🟡Free cash flow is negativeFinancial
Free cash flow was -₹183 Cr in the latest year.
🟡Inventory building faster than salesFinancial
Inventory up 101% against revenue up 61% — stock may not be moving.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Capital compounds at a high rate
ROCE of 23.8% 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 9.6% to 13.5%. 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?

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
2 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 13% a year✓ 17.3% CAGR
Latest reported year was 52.4%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 12%✓ 13.5%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹183 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 1.2x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 21%✓ 23.8%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

9 / 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

6 good · 3 neutral · 2 weak

Market Cap

₹11,592 Cr

Small Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

36.6x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

8.84x

Rich

Steep premium to book — needs high, durable returns to justify

EPS (TTM)

₹16.05

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

22.7%

Strong

Strong capital efficiency

ROCE

23.8%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

0.52x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

52.4%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

29.0%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

0.31%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

-₹183 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

CMP

₹588

P/E (Forward)

26.4x

Improving

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

Operating Margin

9.4%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

6.8%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

1.04

Adequate

Adequate, but no real cushion

Beta (vs Nifty)

-0.21

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

68%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

623.4 / 628.4

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

33.8

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹2,527 Cr	₹2,957 Cr	₹3,534 Cr	₹4,079 Cr	+17.3%
EBITDA	₹242 Cr	₹328 Cr	₹450 Cr	₹552 Cr	+31.7%
EBITDA Margin	9.6%	11.1%	12.7%	13.5%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹123 Cr	₹174 Cr	₹248 Cr	₹297 Cr	+34.2%
EPS	₹6.24	₹8.81	₹12.56	₹15.08	+34.2%
ROE	19.1%	21.3%	23.7%	22.7%	—
ROCE	19.9%	22.6%	25.2%	23.8%	—
Total Debt	₹328 Cr	₹346 Cr	₹412 Cr	₹679 Cr	+27.5%
Free Cash Flow	-₹16 Cr	₹18 Cr	₹8 Cr	-₹183 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 17.3% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 31.7% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 9.6% to 13.5% over 3 years (+4.0 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 34.2% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 34.2% a year over 3 years.

🟢 ROE has risen from 19.1% to 22.7% over 3 years (+3.6 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 19.9% to 23.8% over 3 years (+3.9 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 27.5% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹2,557 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹1,246 Cr

Total Debt

₹679 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹13 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹301 Cr

Capex

-₹484 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

19.6%

Insider Holding

75.0%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹1.85

Ex-Dividend Date

31 Jul 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

7 Buy · 0 Hold · 0 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹685.29

+16.5% vs CMP

Target Range

₹500 – ₹750

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
BOSCH LIMITED	56.9x	15.9%
MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA LTD.	25.2x	13.4%
TVS MOTOR COMPANY LTD	56.8x	35.8%
EICHER MOTORS LTD	34.7x	23.0%

Recent News

3 mixed3 general

Why ASK Automotive Stock And Indian Auto Suppliers Merit A Closer Look

Simply Wall Street, 12 Oct

ASKAUTOLTD Forecast — Price Target — Prediction for 2027

TradingView, 26 JunAnalyst view

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

ASK Automotive share price jumps 46% in six months | Choice Broking initiates coverage with ‘Buy’, sees 20% upside

Livemint, 07 OctPrice 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.

ASK Automotive: Best Stock in Its Sector? Key Metrics

Univest, 23 Sept

ASK Automotive Adjusts FY27 Revenue Growth Outlook To High Teens, Increases CapEx To ₹700 Crore

Sahi, 06 Aug

ASK Automotive shares jump 15% to a record high after record Q1 revenue and profit

CNBC TV18, 05 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.

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟢Business QualityStrong13.9/20

🟡Financial HealthAdequate11/20

🟢GrowthStrong18.5/20

🟢ProfitabilityStrong11.8/15

🔴ValuationDemanding6.5/15

🟡RiskModerate5/10

Good business at a fair price

A sound business at a reasonable valuation. Suitable for a long-term holding, with the valuation and the direction of margins worth watching rather than the business itself. 2 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

This thesis breaks if

✓Revenue growth stays above 13% a year17.3% CAGR
✓EBITDA margin holds above 12%13.5%
✗Free cash flow remains positive-₹183 Cr
✓Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x1.2x
✓ROCE stays above 21%23.8%