Cineline India Limited

Communication Services — Entertainment · NSE

₹92.00+₹2.65 (+2.97%)

DalalBaazaar Score

61 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

High

Driven by short-term liabilities exceed short-term assets, 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, 7:03 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

The 60-second version of Cineline India Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Cineline India Limited, an entertainment company, engages in the theatrical exhibition and allied activities business under the Movie MAX brand name in India. The company operates multiplexes and single-screen theatres.

IndustryEntertainment

SectorCommunication Services

Employees336

Annual revenue₹237 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹237 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹5 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹23 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 336 employees supports ₹70.4 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

Revenue / employee₹70.4 lakh

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED, VODAFONE IDEA 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 10.3% 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 ROE20.2%

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +68% while net margin moved +291% 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+68%

Margin effect+291%

DalalBaazaar Score

61/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✓ Beta of 0.21 — historically steadier than the index
✗ Micro Cap: thinner liquidity and sharper drawdowns are normal
✗ Profits have swung sharply from year to year — earnings are hard to forecast
✗ Negative free cash flow means dependence on external funding

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

63/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

71/ 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

25.5x

3Y Median

164.7x

40 monthly readings · mean 168.5x · range 25.9x–266.1x

Sector Median

21.7x

median of 2 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 85% below its 3y median of 164.7x. 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 17% above the peer median of 21.7x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

164.7x median over 40 months · -85%

vs. sector peers

Fair

21.7x median of 2 peers · +17%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

EV/EBITDA

8.3x

PEG

0.29

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well4

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 19.3% to 23.4% over 3 years.
Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 66% over 3 years.
Return on equity is rising
ROE has improved from 1.3% to 7.4%.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 1.1% to 10.3%.

🔴 What Needs Attention0

Nothing stands out as clearly deteriorating on the years of data available.

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 -₹2 Cr in the latest year.
🟡Short-term liquidity is tightFinancial
Current ratio of 0.69 — near-term obligations exceed near-term assets.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 19.3% to 23.4%. If that holds, profit compounds faster than sales and today's multiple looks cheaper in hindsight than it does now.
Deleveraging frees up earnings
Debt is down 66% over 3 years. Every rupee of interest not paid drops to the bottom line, so profit can grow even if revenue does not.
Priced below its own history
The stock trades 85% 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.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

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

1Revenue growth stays above 14% a year✓ 19.0% CAGR
Latest reported year was 30.9%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 21%✓ 23.4%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✗ 2.2x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
4Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹2 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
5Interest cover stays above 3x✗ 2.1x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.

Investment Checklist

5 / 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

3 good · 6 neutral · 2 weak

Market Cap

₹351 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

25.5x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

2.03x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹3.61

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

7.4%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

10.3%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

0.78x

Moderate

Moderate leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

30.9%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

119.0%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

1.36%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

-₹2 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

Operating Margin

4.5%

Weak

Thin margins leave little room for error

Net Margin

4.9%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

0.69

Tight

Tight short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.21

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

60%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

89.4 / 90.0

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

55.0

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹141 Cr	₹190 Cr	₹211 Cr	₹237 Cr	+19.0%
EBITDA	₹27 Cr	₹55 Cr	₹41 Cr	₹55 Cr	+26.8%
EBITDA Margin	19.3%	29.1%	19.4%	23.4%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹2 Cr	-₹5 Cr	-₹61 Cr	₹12 Cr	+87.4%
EPS	₹0.56	₹-1.39	₹-17.7	₹3.36	+81.7%
ROE	1.3%	-3.0%	-42.3%	7.4%	—
ROCE	1.1%	5.3%	-20.2%	10.3%	—
Total Debt	₹354 Cr	₹350 Cr	₹106 Cr	₹121 Cr	-30.2%
Free Cash Flow	₹76 Cr	₹24 Cr	₹7 Cr	-₹2 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 19.0% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 26.8% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 19.3% to 23.4% over 3 years (+4.1 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 87.4% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 81.7% a year over 3 years.

🟢 ROE has risen from 1.3% to 7.4% over 3 years (+6.2 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 1.1% to 10.3% over 3 years (+9.2 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 30.2% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has turned negative, from ₹76 Cr to -₹2 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹337 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹182 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹10 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹38 Cr

Capex

-₹40 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

82.2%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹1.25

Ex-Dividend Date

16 Sept 2026

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED	39.8x	20.2%
VODAFONE IDEA LIMITED	3.6x	—

Recent News

2 positive1 negative3 general

Cineline India (NSE:CINELINE) Could Be A Buy For Its Upcoming Dividend

Simply Wall Street, 12 SeptCapital return

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

Cineline India sets record date for ₹1.25 per share dividend

scanx.trade, 23 SeptCapital return

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

Cineline India vs Nifty 50: Share Price Performance Compared

Univest, 11 Sept

Cineline India promoters pledge 65 lakh shares for collateral

scanx.trade, 27 JunOwnership

🔴Potentially negativePromoter selling or pledging is a signal worth understanding, though the reason is often personal rather than about the business.

Cineline India Limited Company Information

Simply Wall Street, 08 Dec

Cineline India bull case and bear case for 2026

Univest, 09 Sept

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongBusiness Quality · Growth

MiddlingProfitability · Valuation

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

3 of 5 tripwires tripped — Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x; Free cash flow remains positive; Interest cover stays above 3x · see Key things to watch ↑