Driven by moderate debt load, short-term liabilities exceed short-term assets, the company is currently loss-making.
In simple words: The company is currently losing money, though profits are falling even as sales grow. Short-term liquidity is the main factor to watch.
The 60-second version of BirlaNu Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.
What does this company do?
BirlaNu Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and distributes home and building products and services in India, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through five segments: Roofs, Walls, Pipes and Construction Chemicals, Floors, and Others.
IndustryBuilding Products & Equipment
SectorIndustrials
Employees7,000
Annual revenue₹3,718 Cr
How does it make money?
Turns over ₹3,718 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹-3 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹2 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 7,000 employees supports ₹53.1 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.
Revenue / employee₹53.1 lakh
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.
What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one
Returns on capital of -2.7% 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.
Peer median ROE15.2%
What is the outlook?
1 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 10.4% and earnings to grow about 184.0% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.
Est. revenue growth+10.4%
Est. earnings growth+184.0%
Analysts1
What has been driving growth?
Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +7% while net margin moved -215% 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+7%
Margin effect-215%
DalalBaazaar Score
34/ 100
Weak
Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.
✗ Return on equity is negative
✗ ROE has fallen by 18.6 points over the period
Quality vs. Valuation
Company Quality
31/ 100
Weak
How good the business is, ignoring the share price entirely.
vs
Valuation
36/ 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.
vs. its own history
Not enough price and earnings history
vs. sector peers
Not enough peers with a usable P/E
vs. generic bands
N/A
No P/E — the company is lossmaking
EV/EBITDA
24.6x
PEG
—
What's Good / What's Bad
🟢 What's Going Well1
Cash flow has turned positive
Free cash flow moved from negative to positive over 3 years.
🔴 What Needs Attention2
Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 7.8% to -10.8% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 8.5% to -2.7% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.
Red Flags
7 items require attention · 4 high · 3 watch
🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 157% over 3 years, from ₹432 Cr to ₹1,112 Cr.
🔴Thin interest coverageFinancial
Operating profit covers interest only -0.7x — little room if earnings dip.
🔴The company is lossmakingFinancial
Net profit of -₹120 Cr in the latest reported year.
🔴Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 61% against revenue up 7% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.
🟡Interest coverage is deterioratingFinancial
Cover has fallen from 0.4x to -0.7x.
🟡Margins are compressingFinancial
EBITDA margin is down 4.9 points over 3 years.
🟡Short-term liquidity is tightFinancial
Current ratio of 0.86 — near-term obligations exceed near-term assets.
Investment Thesis
🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?
No clear supporting case emerges from the available numbers.
🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?
Margins are being competed away
EBITDA margin has fallen from 7.1% to 2.2%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.
The debt load needs earnings to hold up
Debt is 13.4x EBITDA. At that level a downturn in earnings turns a manageable balance sheet into a refinancing problem, and lenders get paid before shareholders.
Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 61% against revenue up 7%. 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 2.4% 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.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 7.8% to -10.8%. 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.
🟡 Key Things to WatchMeasurable tripwires, set against where this company stands today
1EBITDA margin holds above 0%✓ 2.2%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x✗ 13.4x
Already stretched, so this is a reduction target rather than a level to hold. Around 3x is where lenders typically start attaching conditions.
3Interest cover stays above 3x✗ -0.7x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
4Revenue growth stays above 4% a year✗ 2.4% CAGR
Latest reported year was 11.6%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
5Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹26 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
Investment Checklist
5 / 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
3 good · 3 neutral · 5 weak
Market Cap
₹982 Cr
Micro Cap
Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here
P/E (Trailing)
Not meaningful
Loss-making
Earnings are negative, so a P/E multiple can't be read here
P/B Ratio
0.88x
Reasonable
Reasonable against the company's book value
EPS (TTM)
₹-144.33
Loss-making
Negative earnings per share — the business is losing money
ROE
-10.8%
Weak
Weak capital efficiency
ROCE
-2.7%
Weak
Low return on total capital employed
Debt/Equity
1.00x
Moderate
Moderate leverage
Revenue Growth (YoY)
11.6%
Healthy
Healthy top-line growth
Profit Growth (YoY)
-263.4%
Falling
Profits are shrinking
Dividend Yield
1.15%
Modest
Small cash return — most of the return has to come from the price
Free Cash Flow
₹26 Cr
Cash generative
Generates cash even after funding its capex
More Metrics
P/E (Forward)
10.3x
Operating Margin
3.0%
Weak
Thin margins leave little room for error
Net Margin
-2.8%
Weak
Very little revenue reaches the bottom line
Current Ratio
0.86
Adequate
Adequate, but no real cushion
Beta (vs Nifty)
0.57
Defensive
Steadier than the market
52W Range Position
14%
Near low
Near its 52-week low
Technical Snapshot
SMA 20 / SMA 50
1362.3 / 1444.9
Bearish alignment (short < long)
Price vs SMA 200
Below
Long-term downtrend
RSI (14)
22.8
Oversold zone
Financial Trend (4-Year)
Metric
FY23
FY24
FY25
FY26
3Y CAGR
Revenue
₹3,464 Cr
₹3,357 Cr
₹3,599 Cr
₹3,718 Cr
+2.4%
EBITDA
₹246 Cr
₹171 Cr
₹102 Cr
₹83 Cr
-30.4%
EBITDA Margin
7.1%
5.1%
2.8%
2.2%
—
PAT (Net Profit)
₹97 Cr
₹35 Cr
-₹33 Cr
-₹120 Cr
—
EPS
₹129.06
₹46.15
₹-43.63
₹-158.55
—
ROE
7.8%
2.8%
-2.7%
-10.8%
—
ROCE
8.5%
3.8%
1.4%
-2.7%
—
Total Debt
₹432 Cr
₹776 Cr
₹959 Cr
₹1,112 Cr
+37.0%
Free Cash Flow
-₹1 Cr
₹59 Cr
-₹41 Cr
₹26 Cr
—
🟢 Revenue has grown at 2.4% a year over 3 years.
🔴 EBITDA has shrunk at 30.4% a year over 3 years.
🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 7.1% to 2.2% over 3 years (-4.9 pts).
🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has turned negative, from ₹97 Cr to -₹120 Cr.
🔴 EPS has turned negative, from ₹129.06 to ₹-158.55.
🔴 ROE has fallen from 7.8% to -10.8% over 3 years (-18.6 pts).
🔴 ROCE has fallen from 8.5% to -2.7% over 3 years (-11.2 pts).
🔴 Total Debt has grown at 37.0% a year over 3 years.
🟢 Free Cash Flow has turned positive, from -₹1 Cr to ₹26 Cr.
🟡Mixed / dependsAcquisitions change the balance sheet before they change the earnings. Look at what was paid, how it was funded, and whether debt rose.
Watch Items
Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.
RSI is in oversold territory — could mean either a bargain or a stock still falling for good reason. Check the 'why' before assuming reversal.
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 falls below 3x; Interest cover stays above 3x; Revenue growth stays above 4% a year · see Key things to watch ↑
