Cargotrans Maritime Limited

Industrials — Integrated Freight & Logistics · BSE

₹76.95−₹8.55 (−10.00%)

DalalBaazaar Score

58 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

High

Driven by high debt relative to equity, negative free cash flow, micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, with both sales and profits growing well. Debt is 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 Cargotrans Maritime Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Cargotrans Maritime Limited provides logistics solutions in India. The company offers full container load and less than container load ocean freight forwarding, transportation, customs clearance, warehousing, and other value-added logistics solutions.

IndustryIntegrated Freight & Logistics

SectorIndustrials

Employees123

Annual revenue₹111 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹111 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹5 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹8 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 123 employees supports ₹90.0 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

Revenue / employee₹90.0 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.

Compared side by side in Peers ↓

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 14.4% 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?

Sales and margins have both contributed to where profit is now. Over 3 years revenue moved +49% while net margin moved +53% 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+49%

Margin effect+53%

DalalBaazaar Score

58/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

• ROCE of 14.4% is adequate but not distinctive
✗ ROCE has fallen by 10.0 points — returns are eroding
✗ EBITDA margin of 8.1% is thin — little cushion if costs rise
✗ Net margin of 4.8% is slim
• Revenue has compounded at 14.2% a year, which is the base these returns are earned on

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

54/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

88/ 100

Cheap

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

7.0x

3Y Median

13.8x

40 monthly readings · mean 14.1x · range 8.9x–19.9x

Sector Median

88.8x

median of 3 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 49% below its 3y median of 13.8x. 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 92% below the peer median of 88.8x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

13.8x median over 40 months · -49%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

88.8x median of 3 peers · -92%

vs. generic bands

Cheap

Below 15x

EV/EBITDA

4.7x

PEG

0.22

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well2

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 5.0% to 8.1% over 3 years.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention2

Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 18.4% to 11.1% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 24.4% to 14.4% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

6 items require attention · 5 high · 1 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 1348% over 3 years, from ₹0 Cr to ₹3 Cr.
🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 5.94x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🔴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 136% against revenue up 49% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.
🟡Shareholders have been dilutedOwnership
Shares outstanding are up 45% over 3 years — each existing share owns a smaller slice of the company.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 5.0% to 8.1%. 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 49% 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 92% 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?

Leverage amplifies any setback
Debt/Equity of 5.94x. Interest is payable whether or not the business has a good year.
Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 136% against revenue up 49%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 18.4% to 11.1%. 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.
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
5 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 11% a year✓ 14.2% CAGR
Latest reported year was 34.2%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 6%✓ 8.1%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹22 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.3x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 11%✓ 14.4%
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

6 good · 3 neutral · 2 weak

Market Cap

₹46 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

7.0x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

0.95x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹11

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

15.1%

Strong

Strong capital efficiency

ROCE

14.4%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

5.94x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

34.2%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

21.2%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

0.91%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

-₹24 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

ROA

8.5%

Good

Assets are working hard

Operating Margin

4.7%

Weak

Thin margins leave little room for error

Net Margin

4.8%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

3.76

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

-0.12

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

10%

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

79.3 / 78.8

Bullish alignment (short > long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

56.7

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹74 Cr	₹68 Cr	₹87 Cr	₹111 Cr	+14.2%
EBITDA	₹4 Cr	₹3 Cr	₹6 Cr	₹9 Cr	+34.4%
EBITDA Margin	5.0%	4.7%	6.7%	8.1%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹2 Cr	₹2 Cr	₹3 Cr	₹5 Cr	+31.7%
EPS	₹5.74	₹5.11	₹8.13	—	—
ROE	18.4%	14.1%	15.0%	11.1%	—
ROCE	24.4%	16.8%	19.1%	14.4%	—
Total Debt	₹0 Cr	₹2 Cr	₹2 Cr	₹3 Cr	+143.8%
Free Cash Flow	-₹3 Cr	-₹0 Cr	-₹6 Cr	-₹22 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 14.2% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 34.4% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 5.0% to 8.1% over 3 years (+3.1 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 31.7% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 18.4% to 11.1% over 3 years (-7.3 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 24.4% to 14.4% over 3 years (-10.0 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 143.8% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹59 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹11 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹6 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

-₹5 Cr

Capex

-₹17 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

68.6%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹0.7

Ex-Dividend Date

21 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

1 positive5 general

CARGOTRANS Stock Price and Chart — BSE:CARGOTRANS

TradingView, 06 Jun

Cargotrans Maritime declares ₹0.70 per share final dividend for FY26

scanx.trade, 02 SeptCapital return

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

Cargotrans Maritime Ltd

Equitypandit, 31 Oct

Cargotrans Maritime Limited Board Approves Formation of Wholly Owned Subsidiary CML Investments

scanx.trade, 31 Mar

Sensex, Nifty 50 extend gains to 2nd straight session— 10 key highlights from Indian stock market

Livemint, 10 Oct

September 2022 stocks: 12 IPOs of small Indian companies will hit the market before Sep 30

Dailyo, 27 Sept

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongGrowth · Valuation

MiddlingFinancial Health · Profitability

WeakBusiness Quality · Risk

Points for each in the Score ↑

Unremarkable in both directions

A reasonable business at a reasonable price. Nothing here is alarming and nothing is compelling, which usually means the decision rests on things this data cannot see — the industry's direction, management's intent, and what else is available to you. 5 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 ↑