Birla Cable Limited

Technology — Communication Equipment · NSE

₹346.00−₹14.35 (−3.98%)

DalalBaazaar Score

42 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

Moderate

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

In simple words: The business is earning a fairly low return on the money invested in it, 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 Birla Cable Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Birla Cable Limited engages in the manufacture and sale of cables in India and internationally.

IndustryCommunication Equipment

SectorTechnology

Employees280

Annual revenue₹735 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹735 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹2 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹7 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 280 employees supports ₹2.62 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

EBITDA margin6.7%

Net margin2.3%

Revenue / employee₹2.62 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are TATA CONSULTANCY SERV LT, INFOSYS LIMITED, HCL TECHNOLOGIES LTD, WIPRO LTD. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

TATA CONSULTANCY SERV LTP/E 17.3x · ROE 45.6%

INFOSYS LIMITEDP/E 15.8x · ROE 32.0%

HCL TECHNOLOGIES LTDP/E 20.4x · ROE 24.6%

WIPRO LTDP/E 14.5x · ROE 15.9%

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 9.7% 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.

ROCE9.7%

ROE6.0%

Peer median ROE32.0%

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved -6% while net margin moved -46% 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-6%

Margin effect-46%

DalalBaazaar Score

42/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Revenue has contracted at 1.9% a year
✗ Profit has declined at 19.9% a year

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

36/ 100

Weak

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

Valuation

53/ 100

Fair

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

22.5x

3Y Median

30.1x

40 monthly readings · mean 50.7x · range 18.1x–125.0x

Sector Median

16.5x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 25% below its 3y median of 30.1x. 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 36% above the peer median of 16.5x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

30.1x median over 40 months · -25%

vs. sector peers

Expensive

16.5x median of 4 peers · +36%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

P/E (Trailing)

22.5x

P/B

3.70x

EV/EBITDA

23.8x

PEG

—

Dividend Yield

0.36%

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well2

Valuation below its historical average
At 22.5x the stock trades 25% below its own median of 30.1x.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention4

Margins are compressing
EBITDA margin has slipped from 8.4% to 6.7% over 3 years.
Free cash flow is negative
The business is not currently covering its capital spending from operations.
Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 14.4% to 6.0% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 18.3% to 9.7% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

3 items require attention · 1 high · 2 watch

🔴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 -₹23 Cr in the latest year.
🟡Profit is decliningFinancial
Net profit is down 49% over 3 years.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Priced below its own history
The stock trades 25% 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.
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?

Margins are being competed away
EBITDA margin has fallen from 8.4% to 6.7%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.
A premium to the sector to defend
It trades 36% above the peer median. That premium needs a reason that persists, or it closes.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 14.4% to 6.0%. 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.
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.

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

1EBITDA margin holds above 5%✓ 6.7%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✗ 2.7x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
3Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹23 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Interest cover stays above 3x✓ 3.5x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
5ROCE stays above 8%✓ 9.7%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

7 / 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

4 good · 5 neutral · 2 weak

Market Cap

₹1,038 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

22.5x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

3.70x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹15.41

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

6.0%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

9.7%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

0.47x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

51.1%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

2173.3%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

0.36%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

-₹23 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

CMP

₹346

P/E (Forward)

38.7x

Flat

At or above the trailing multiple — no earnings uplift is being priced in

Operating Margin

16.0%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

5.4%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

2.19

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.70

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

77%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

374.2 / 338.2

Bullish alignment (short > long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

45.1

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹779 Cr	₹685 Cr	₹628 Cr	₹735 Cr	-1.9%
EBITDA	₹66 Cr	₹47 Cr	₹35 Cr	₹49 Cr	-9.3%
EBITDA Margin	8.4%	6.8%	5.5%	6.7%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹33 Cr	₹22 Cr	₹5 Cr	₹17 Cr	-19.9%
EPS	₹10.98	₹7.38	₹1.63	₹5.63	-20.0%
ROE	14.4%	8.8%	1.9%	6.0%	—
ROCE	18.3%	13.1%	6.1%	9.7%	—
Total Debt	₹129 Cr	₹165 Cr	₹111 Cr	₹133 Cr	+1.0%
Free Cash Flow	-₹35 Cr	-₹23 Cr	₹85 Cr	-₹23 Cr	—

🟡 Revenue has been broadly flat over 3 years (-1.9% a year).

🔴 EBITDA has shrunk at 9.3% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 8.4% to 6.7% over 3 years (-1.8 pts).

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has shrunk at 19.9% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EPS has shrunk at 20.0% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 14.4% to 6.0% over 3 years (-8.3 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 18.3% to 9.7% over 3 years (-8.6 pts).

🟡 Total Debt has been broadly flat over 3 years (1.0% a year).

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹464 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹184 Cr

Total Debt

₹133 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹1 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

-₹21 Cr

Capex

-₹3 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

68.7%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹1.25

Ex-Dividend Date

27 Jul 2026

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
TATA CONSULTANCY SERV LT	17.3x	45.6%
INFOSYS LIMITED	15.8x	32.0%
HCL TECHNOLOGIES LTD	20.4x	24.6%
WIPRO LTD	14.5x	15.9%

Recent News

2 positive1 mixed3 general

Birla Cable Upper Circuit Today: Price, Data and Peers

Univest, 09 Oct

Compare Birla Cable with

Equitymaster, 16 Oct

Birla Cable Ltd. Shareholding Pattern – Promoters, FIIs & DIIs

Value Research, 29 Aug

Birla Cable net profit jumps 21.8x to ₹30.69 crore in Q1FY27

scanx.trade, 02 AugResults

🟢Potentially positiveReported improvement. Check whether it came from volume, price or a one-off item before treating it as a trend.

Birla Cable consolidated net profit rises 2157.35% in the June 2026 quarter

Business Standard, 03 AugResults

🟢Potentially positiveReported improvement. Check whether it came from volume, price or a one-off item before treating it as a trend.

Birla Cable Q4 Net Profit Jumps 620% to ₹10.8 Cr on Margin Expansion

Sahi, 22 MayCapacity

🟡Mixed / dependsCapacity additions can raise revenue over two to three years, but the capital spend usually pressures free cash flow first. Worth checking whether the capex is funded from operations or from borrowing.

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🔴Business QualityWeak5.9/20

🟢Financial HealthStrong13/20

🔴GrowthWeak2.4/20

🔴ProfitabilityWeak5.8/15

🟢ValuationAttractive10.7/15

🔴RiskHigh4/10

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

This thesis breaks if

✓EBITDA margin holds above 5%6.7%
✗Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x2.7x
✗Free cash flow remains positive-₹23 Cr
✓Interest cover stays above 3x3.5x
✓ROCE stays above 8%9.7%