Crown Lifters Limited

Industrials — Rental & Leasing Services · NSE

₹110.50−₹1.92 (−1.71%)

DalalBaazaar Score

65 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

REASONABLE

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: 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, 7:49 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Crown Lifters Limited engages in the hiring of cranes in India. Its fleet includes lattice boom cranes; telescopic boom cranes, and aerial work platforms in India.

IndustryRental & Leasing Services

SectorIndustrials

Employees139

Annual revenue₹40 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹40 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹22 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹59 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 139 employees supports ₹28.6 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

Revenue / employee₹28.6 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 12.4% 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?

Growth has come mainly from selling more, rather than from keeping more of each sale. Over 3 years revenue moved +106% while net margin moved +10% 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+106%

Margin effect+10%

DalalBaazaar Score

65/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✓ Beta of 0.58 — 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

67/ 100

Good

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

Valuation

82/ 100

Cheap

What you are being asked to pay, ignoring how good the business is.

A good business currently available at an undemanding price — the combination this framework is built to look for.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

15.1x

3Y Median

29.7x

40 monthly readings · mean 28.2x · range 6.2x–82.9x

Sector Median

88.8x

median of 3 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 49% below its 3y median of 29.7x. 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 83% below the peer median of 88.8x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

29.7x median over 40 months · -49%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

88.8x median of 3 peers · -83%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

EV/EBITDA

7.9x

PEG

0.48

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well3

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 28.1% to 59.2% over 3 years.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 10.1% to 12.4%.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention1

Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 18.4% to 11.5% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.

Red Flags

5 items require attention · 3 high · 2 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 387% over 3 years, from ₹12 Cr to ₹58 Cr.
🔴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.
🔴Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 167% against revenue up 106% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.
🟡Interest coverage is deterioratingFinancial
Cover has fallen from 9.2x to 3.8x.
🟡Short-term liquidity is tightFinancial
Current ratio of 0.72 — 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 28.1% to 59.2%. 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 83% 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?

Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 167% against revenue up 106%. 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 11.5%. 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.
Several serious flags at once
3 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 20% a year✓ 27.2% CAGR
Latest reported year was 29.3%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 57%✓ 59.2%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✗ 2.5x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
4Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹20 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
5Interest cover stays above 3x✓ 3.8x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.

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

2 good · 8 neutral · 1 weak

Market Cap

₹128 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

15.1x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

1.64x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹7.32

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

11.5%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

12.4%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

0.75x

Moderate

Moderate leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

29.3%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

9.1%

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

-₹20 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

Operating Margin

38.2%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

21.1%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

0.72

Tight

Tight short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.58

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

18%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

114.3 / 111.0

Bullish alignment (short > long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

35.4

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹19 Cr	₹28 Cr	₹35 Cr	₹40 Cr	+27.2%
EBITDA	₹5 Cr	₹16 Cr	₹22 Cr	₹24 Cr	+63.2%
EBITDA Margin	28.1%	56.5%	63.4%	59.2%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹4 Cr	₹6 Cr	₹19 Cr	₹9 Cr	+31.6%
EPS	₹3.74	₹5.28	₹16.91	₹6.93	+22.8%
ROE	18.4%	15.3%	30.7%	11.5%	—
ROCE	10.1%	9.1%	21.3%	12.4%	—
Total Debt	₹12 Cr	₹29 Cr	₹47 Cr	₹58 Cr	+69.5%
Free Cash Flow	-₹2 Cr	-₹4 Cr	-₹10 Cr	-₹20 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 27.2% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 63.2% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 28.1% to 59.2% over 3 years (+31.2 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 31.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 22.8% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 18.4% to 11.5% over 3 years (-7.0 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 10.1% to 12.4% over 3 years (+2.3 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 69.5% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹215 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹137 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹0 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹9 Cr

Capex

-₹30 Cr

Corporate Actions

Ex-Dividend Date

17 Nov 2023

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

6 general

Crown Lifters Limited's (NSE:CROWN) Shares Bounce 31% But Its Business Still Trails The Market

Simply Wall Street, 13 Feb

Compare with

Equitymaster, 09 Oct

Crown Lifters Ltd. Peer Comparison – Compare with Others

Value Research, 04 Sept

Crown Lifters Standalone June 2026 Net Sales at Rs 13.02 crore, up 29.27% Y-o-Y

Moneycontrol.com, 03 Aug

Crown Lifters: Best Stock in Its Sector? Key Metrics

Univest, 24 Sept

Crown Lifters Ltd. Key Financial Ratios – Valuation, Profitability & More

Value Research, 31 Aug

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongBusiness Quality · Growth · Valuation

MiddlingProfitability

WeakFinancial Health · Risk

Points for each in the Score ↑

Attractive on both counts

A good business currently available at an undemanding price — the combination this framework exists to look for. The work left is qualitative: whether the advantage the numbers imply is one you can identify and expect to last. 3 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

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