Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd.

Industrials — Conglomerates · NSE

₹159.00−₹0.12 (−0.08%)

DalalBaazaar Score

72 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

REASONABLE

Risk

Low

Driven by micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity.

In simple words: Reasonable but unspectacular business quality, with modest growth. Nothing obvious stands out as stretched — the usual checks on business quality and management still apply.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 7:01 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

The 60-second version of Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd. — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd. engages in industrial packaging, greases and lubricants, chemicals, travel and vacations, logistic services and infrastructure, cold chain, and refinery and oil field businesses in India.

IndustryConglomerates

SectorIndustrials

Employees830

Annual revenue₹2,533 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹2,533 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹11 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹16 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 830 employees supports ₹3.05 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹3.05 Cr

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.

Compared side by side in Peers ↓

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 12.1% 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 ROE15.2%

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +15% while net margin moved +40% 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+15%

Margin effect+40%

DalalBaazaar Score

72/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✓ Beta of 0.69 — historically steadier than the index
✗ Micro Cap: thinner liquidity and sharper drawdowns are normal
✓ Profits have been consistent from year to year

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

70/ 100

Good

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

Valuation

87/ 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

9.7x

3Y Median

14.3x

40 monthly readings · mean 15.9x · range 9.6x–29.3x

Sector Median

88.8x

median of 3 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 32% below its 3y median of 14.3x. 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 89% below the peer median of 88.8x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

14.3x median over 40 months · -32%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

88.8x median of 3 peers · -89%

vs. generic bands

Cheap

Below 15x

EV/EBITDA

7.2x

PEG

0.57

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well6

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 11.2% to 16.0% over 3 years.
Cash generation is improving
Free cash flow is up 45% over 3 years.
Return on equity is rising
ROE has improved from 10.2% to 13.4%.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 8.8% to 12.1%.
Very low debt
Debt/Equity of 0.11x 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

2 items require attention · 1 high · 1 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 81% over 3 years, from ₹121 Cr to ₹220 Cr.
🟡Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 48% against revenue up 15% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 11.2% to 16.0%. If that holds, profit compounds faster than sales and today's multiple looks cheaper in hindsight than it does now.
Priced below its own history
The stock trades 32% below its own median multiple. If the business performs as it has and simply re-rates back to normal, that gap is return on its own.
Cheaper than its peers
It trades 89% below the sector median. Either the market sees a problem the numbers do not show, or the discount closes.
Self-funding with balance-sheet headroom
Positive free cash flow of ₹225 Cr alongside low debt means growth, buybacks or dividends need no outside money — and a downturn can be absorbed rather than refinanced.
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 48% against revenue up 15%. 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 4.7% 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.
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.

🟡 Key Things to WatchMeasurable tripwires, set against where this company stands today

1EBITDA margin holds above 14%✓ 16.0%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Revenue growth stays above 4% a year✓ 4.7% CAGR
Latest reported year was 10.0%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹225 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.5x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 9%✓ 12.1%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

8 / 11 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
✗ Short-term technical trend isn't bearish

Price history

Quick Metrics

7 good · 4 neutral · 0 weak

Market Cap

₹2,719 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

9.7x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

1.31x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹16.33

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

13.4%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

12.1%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

0.11x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

10.0%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

3.7%

Modest

Slow profit growth

Dividend Yield

5.35%

Healthy

Meaningful cash return while you hold the stock

Free Cash Flow

₹225 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

Operating Margin

10.7%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

10.0%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

2.13

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.69

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

18%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

161.1 / 168.8

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

30.4

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹2,210 Cr	₹2,193 Cr	₹2,346 Cr	₹2,533 Cr	+4.7%
EBITDA	₹247 Cr	₹382 Cr	₹365 Cr	₹405 Cr	+17.8%
EBITDA Margin	11.2%	17.4%	15.6%	16.0%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹172 Cr	₹240 Cr	₹266 Cr	₹277 Cr	+17.2%
EPS	₹10.05	₹14.02	₹15.55	₹16.18	+17.2%
ROE	10.2%	13.2%	13.5%	13.4%	—
ROCE	8.8%	13.4%	12.5%	12.1%	—
Total Debt	₹121 Cr	₹113 Cr	₹106 Cr	₹220 Cr	+22.0%
Free Cash Flow	₹155 Cr	₹222 Cr	₹88 Cr	₹225 Cr	+13.2%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 4.7% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 17.8% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 11.2% to 16.0% over 3 years (+4.8 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 17.2% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 17.2% a year over 3 years.

🟢 ROE has risen from 10.2% to 13.4% over 3 years (+3.1 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 8.8% to 12.1% over 3 years (+3.3 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 22.0% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has grown at 13.2% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹3,349 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹1,266 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹34 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹289 Cr

Capex

-₹64 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

2.5%

Insider Holding

63.0%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹8.5

Ex-Dividend Date

11 Sept 2026

Peer Comparison

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

Recent News

3 positive3 general

Balmer Lawrie shares tumble 6% after board says no to bonus issue, stock split & share buyback proposals

The Economic Times, 18 MayCapital return

🟢Potentially positiveCash or shares returned to holders. A buyback is only good value if the shares were cheap when bought.

Just Three Days Till Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd. (NSE:BALMLAWRIE) Will Be Trading Ex-Dividend

Simply Wall Street, 07 SeptCapital return

🟢Potentially positiveCash or shares returned to holders. A buyback is only good value if the shares were cheap when bought.

Balmer Lawrie Board Rejects Bonus Shares, Buyback

scanx.trade, 17 MayCapital return

🟢Potentially positiveCash or shares returned to holders. A buyback is only good value if the shares were cheap when bought.

BLIL Stock Price and Chart — NSE:BLIL

TradingView, 08 Apr

Balmer Lawrie & Company Ltd. Share Price Live Today

CNBC TV18, 03 Jan

Balmer Lawrie ends lower after board rejects capital restructuring plans

Business Standard, 18 May

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongBusiness Quality · Financial Health · Growth · Profitability · Valuation

MiddlingRisk

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. 1 high-severity red flag sits above this conclusion and should be read first.

All 5 tripwires holding · see Key things to watch ↑