Cenlub Industries Limited

Industrials — Specialty Industrial Machinery · BSE

₹170.25+₹2.90 (+1.73%)

DalalBaazaar Score

59 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

Moderate

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

In simple words: Reasonable but unspectacular business quality, with modest growth. 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 Cenlub Industries Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Cenlub Industries Limited, an engineering company, designs, engineers, manufactures, supplies, installs, and erects lubrication systems for various machines, plants, and equipment in India.

IndustrySpecialty Industrial Machinery

SectorIndustrials

Employees113

Annual revenue₹74 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹74 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹11 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹15 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 113 employees supports ₹65.6 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

EBITDA margin15.3%

Net margin10.7%

Revenue / employee₹65.6 lakh

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are SIEMENS LTD, ABB INDIA LIMITED, LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD., HAVELLS INDIA LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

SIEMENS LTDP/E 88.8x · ROE 10.5%

ABB INDIA LIMITEDP/E 92.6x · ROE 19.1%

LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD.P/E 30.1x · ROE 15.2%

HAVELLS INDIA LIMITEDP/E 43.5x · ROE 17.1%

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 13.8% 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.

ROCE13.8%

ROE10.9%

Peer median ROE17.1%

What has been driving growth?

Growth has come mainly from selling more, rather than from keeping more of each sale. Over 3 years revenue moved +37% while net margin moved -13% 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+37%

Margin effect-13%

DalalBaazaar Score

59/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

• Revenue CAGR of 11.2% is steady
✗ Profit CAGR of only 6.0%
✗ Profit is compounding slower than revenue — margins are being squeezed as the business grows

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

53/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

81/ 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

9.8x

3Y Median

20.5x

40 monthly readings · mean 19.9x · range 7.7x–40.7x

Sector Median

66.2x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 52% below its 3y median of 20.5x. 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 85% below the peer median of 66.2x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

20.5x median over 40 months · -52%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

66.2x median of 4 peers · -85%

vs. generic bands

Cheap

Below 15x

P/E (Trailing)

9.8x

P/B

1.09x

EV/EBITDA

7.9x

PEG

1.65

Dividend Yield

None

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well3

Valuation below its historical average
At 9.8x the stock trades 52% below its own median of 20.5x.
Very low debt
Debt/Equity of 0.16x leaves the balance sheet with plenty of headroom.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention6

Margins are compressing
EBITDA margin has slipped from 18.5% to 15.3% over 3 years.
Debt is rising
Total debt is up 131% over 3 years — worth checking what it funded.
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 14.1% to 10.9% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 18.8% to 13.8% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.
Inventory building faster than sales
Inventory is up 102% against revenue growth of 37% — stock may not be moving.

Red Flags

4 items require attention · 2 high · 2 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 131% over 3 years, from ₹5 Cr to ₹11 Cr.
🔴Inventory building faster than salesFinancial
Inventory up 102% against revenue up 37% — stock may not be moving.
🟡Free cash flow is negativeFinancial
Free cash flow was -₹12 Cr in the latest year.
🟡Margins are compressingFinancial
EBITDA margin is down 3.1 points over 3 years.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Priced below its own history
The stock trades 52% 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 85% 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?

Margins are being competed away
EBITDA margin has fallen from 18.5% to 15.3%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 14.1% to 10.9%. 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
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 8% a year✓ 11.2% CAGR
Latest reported year was 22.2%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 13%✓ 15.3%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹12 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 1.0x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 11%✓ 13.8%
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

5 good · 5 neutral · 1 weak

Market Cap

₹79 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

9.8x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

1.09x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹17.33

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

10.9%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

13.8%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

0.16x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

22.2%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

9.8%

Modest

Slow profit growth

Dividend Yield

None

No dividend yield reported — usually means no payout, but verify if one was recently initiated

Free Cash Flow

-₹12 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

CMP

₹170.25

Operating Margin

11.9%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

10.5%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

1.27

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.28

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

22%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

171.8 / 181.8

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

28.8

Oversold zone

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹54 Cr	₹72 Cr	₹73 Cr	₹74 Cr	+11.2%
EBITDA	₹10 Cr	₹13 Cr	₹14 Cr	₹11 Cr	+4.5%
EBITDA Margin	18.5%	18.5%	19.3%	15.3%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹7 Cr	₹9 Cr	₹9 Cr	₹8 Cr	+6.0%
EPS	₹14.29	₹19.24	₹19.17	₹17.01	+6.0%
ROE	14.1%	16.0%	13.8%	10.9%	—
ROCE	18.8%	21.9%	19.9%	13.8%	—
Total Debt	₹5 Cr	₹4 Cr	₹5 Cr	₹11 Cr	+32.2%
Free Cash Flow	₹5 Cr	₹14 Cr	₹4 Cr	-₹12 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 11.2% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 4.5% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 18.5% to 15.3% over 3 years (-3.1 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 6.0% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 6.0% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 14.1% to 10.9% over 3 years (-3.2 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 18.8% to 13.8% over 3 years (-5.0 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 32.2% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has turned negative, from ₹5 Cr to -₹12 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹103 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹30 Cr

Total Debt

₹11 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹0 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

-₹1 Cr

Capex

-₹11 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

60.5%

Corporate Actions

Ex-Dividend Date

19 Sept 2019

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
SIEMENS LTD	88.8x	10.5%
ABB INDIA LIMITED	92.6x	19.1%
LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD.	30.1x	15.2%
HAVELLS INDIA LIMITED	43.5x	17.1%

Recent News

1 mixed5 general

Cenlub Industries Ltd is Rated Strong Sell

MarketsMojo, 10 Oct

Cenlub Industries Q1 FY27 Results: Revenue Rs 17 Cr, PAT Grows 10%

Univest, 17 AugResults

🟡Mixed / dependsA results event. The figures on this page update once the new statements reach the data feed, which usually lags the announcement.

Cenlub Industries AGM seeks ₹100 crore borrowing limit approval

scanx.trade, 27 Aug

CENLUB Industries Limited submits share transfer compliance certificate for FY26

scanx.trade, 02 May

CENLUB Stock Price and Chart — BSE:CENLUB

TradingView, 16 Jun

Cenlub Industries Board Approves Office Relocation and Rs 9.74 Crore Property Acquisitions

scanx.trade, 27 Jan

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.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟡Business QualityAdequate10.5/20

🟡Financial HealthAdequate12/20

🟡GrowthModest9.3/20

🟡ProfitabilityModerate8.2/15

🟢ValuationAttractive13.2/15

🟡RiskModerate5.4/10

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. 2 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

This thesis breaks if

✓Revenue growth stays above 8% a year11.2% CAGR
✓EBITDA margin holds above 13%15.3%
✗Free cash flow remains positive-₹12 Cr
✓Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x1.0x
✓ROCE stays above 11%13.8%