Dilip Buildcon Limited

Industrials — Engineering & Construction · NSE

₹399.80+₹6.35 (+1.61%)

DalalBaazaar Score

64 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

High

Driven by moderate debt load, negative free cash flow, small-cap size, which brings sharper price swings.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, but sales are shrinking. 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

Caution warranted. Multiple fundamental metrics — flagged in red below — point to either valuation stretch, leverage risk, or weakening profitability. This doesn't mean avoid the stock outright, but it does mean the burden of proof is on the growth story to justify the current price.

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Dilip Buildcon Limited, together its subsidiaries, engages in the development of infrastructure facilities on engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) basis in India.

IndustryEngineering & Construction

SectorIndustrials

Employees21,221

Annual revenue₹8,218 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹8,218 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹16 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹23 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 21,221 employees supports ₹38.7 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

EBITDA margin23.4%

Net margin15.8%

Revenue / employee₹38.7 lakh

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD., ADANI PORT & SEZ LTD, SIEMENS LTD. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

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

ADANI PORT & SEZ LTDP/E 29.9x · ROE 14.1%

SIEMENS LTDP/E 88.8x · ROE 10.5%

What is its competitive advantage?Some evidence

ROCE of 19.7% is above what capital typically costs, which suggests some pricing power, though not yet the sustained, wide gap that marks a durable advantage.

ROCE19.7%

ROE19.1%

Peer median ROE14.1%

What is the outlook?

5 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 19.1% and earnings to grow about 86.7% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+19.1%

Est. earnings growth+86.7%

Analysts5

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved -20% while net margin moved +175066% 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-20%

Margin effect+175066%

DalalBaazaar Score

64/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Debt/Equity of 1.16x is on the heavy side
✓ Current ratio of 1.56 — short-term bills are well covered
✗ Free cash flow is negative — growth is being funded by borrowing or fresh equity
✗ Interest cover of only 2.4x — little room if profits dip

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

62/ 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

5.1x

3Y Median

38.4x

40 monthly readings · mean 1944.9x · range 4.6x–8202.2x

Sector Median

30.1x

median of 3 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 87% below its 3y median of 38.4x. 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 30.1x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

38.4x median over 40 months · -87%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

30.1x median of 3 peers · -83%

vs. generic bands

Cheap

Below 15x

P/E (Trailing)

5.1x

P/B

0.77x

EV/EBITDA

7.5x

PEG

0.00

Dividend Yield

0.25%

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well5

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 9.7% to 23.4% over 3 years.
Return on equity is rising
ROE has improved from 0.0% to 19.1%.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 9.2% to 19.7%.
Valuation below its historical average
At 5.1x the stock trades 87% below its own median of 38.4x.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention1

Free cash flow is negative
The business is not currently covering its capital spending from operations.

Red Flags

1 item require attention · 1 high

🔴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.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Capital compounds at a high rate
ROCE of 19.7% means each rupee reinvested earns well above what capital costs. If the company can keep deploying at this rate, growth creates value rather than just consuming cash.
Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 9.7% to 23.4%. 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 87% 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?

The debt load needs earnings to hold up
Debt is 4.2x EBITDA. At that level a downturn in earnings turns a manageable balance sheet into a refinancing problem, and lenders get paid before shareholders.
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
Small 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

1EBITDA margin holds above 21%✓ 23.4%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x✗ 4.2x
Already stretched, so this is a reduction target rather than a level to hold. Around 3x is where lenders typically start attaching conditions.
3Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹2,034 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Interest cover stays above 3x✗ 2.4x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
5ROCE stays above 17%✓ 19.7%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

7 / 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

5 good · 3 neutral · 3 weak

Market Cap

₹6,495 Cr

Small Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

5.1x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

0.77x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹78.71

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

19.1%

Strong

Strong capital efficiency

ROCE

19.7%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

1.16x

Moderate

Moderate leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

-9.3%

Shrinking

Sales are contracting

Profit Growth (YoY)

-53.8%

Falling

Profits are shrinking

Dividend Yield

0.25%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

-₹2,034 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

CMP

₹399.8

P/E (Forward)

16.3x

Flat

At or above the trailing multiple — no earnings uplift is being priced in

Operating Margin

14.9%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

13.6%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

1.56

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.66

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

12%

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

405.4 / 409.2

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

42.2

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹10,333 Cr	₹11,736 Cr	₹10,431 Cr	₹8,218 Cr	-7.4%
EBITDA	₹1,005 Cr	₹1,446 Cr	₹1,916 Cr	₹1,924 Cr	+24.2%
EBITDA Margin	9.7%	12.3%	18.4%	23.4%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹1 Cr	₹194 Cr	₹641 Cr	₹1,302 Cr	+1016.8%
EPS	₹0.06	₹12.38	₹51.71	₹86.08	+1004.2%
ROE	0.0%	4.4%	12.7%	19.1%	—
ROCE	9.2%	13.0%	13.9%	19.7%	—
Total Debt	₹6,675 Cr	₹7,246 Cr	₹9,528 Cr	₹8,044 Cr	+6.4%
Free Cash Flow	-₹1,071 Cr	-₹4,473 Cr	-₹4,134 Cr	-₹2,034 Cr	—

🔴 Revenue has shrunk at 7.4% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 24.2% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 9.7% to 23.4% over 3 years (+13.7 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 1016.8% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 1004.2% a year over 3 years.

🟢 ROE has risen from 0.0% to 19.1% over 3 years (+19.0 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 9.2% to 19.7% over 3 years (+10.5 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 6.4% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹18,908 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹11,947 Cr

Total Debt

₹8,044 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹86 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹1,204 Cr

Capex

-₹3,238 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

6.3%

Insider Holding

76.2%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹1

Ex-Dividend Date

15 Sept 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

4 Buy · 1 Hold · 0 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹515.6

+29.0% vs CMP

Target Range

₹478 – ₹556

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD.	30.1x	15.2%
ADANI PORT & SEZ LTD	29.9x	14.1%
SIEMENS LTD	88.8x	10.5%

Recent News

4 mixed2 general

Dilip Buildcon Share Price Near Low as Market Cap Stands

Univest, 16 Oct

Dilip Buildcon (NSEI:DBL) Stock Forecast & Analyst Predictions

Simply Wall Street, 09 OctAnalyst view

🟡Mixed / dependsBroker commentary — an opinion about the price rather than new information about the business.

Dilip Buildcon Gets LPG Pipeline Authorisation; Shares Rise 1.55%

HDFC Sky, 07 OctPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move, which is not by itself a change in the business. Worth finding the cause before reading it as either good or bad.

Dilip Buildcon shares jump nearly 4% on bagging order worth ₹1,800 crore from PNGRB

Upstox, 07 OctPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move, which is not by itself a change in the business. Worth finding the cause before reading it as either good or bad.

Buzzing Stocks: Dilip Buildcon slips 3% as profit sinks 50%; LT Technology gains 3% on AI platform launch

Moneycontrol.com, 11 Aug

Dilip Buildcon share price rallies 10% after winning Rs.1,800 crore order. Do you own?

TradingView, 10 SeptPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move, which is not by itself a change in the business. Worth finding the cause before reading it as either good or bad.

Watch Items

Revenue growth is negative (-9.3%) on the latest reported period — check if this is one-off or a trend.
Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟢Business QualityStrong15.8/20

🔴Financial HealthStretched8.3/20

🟡GrowthModest10.5/20

🟢ProfitabilityStrong12/15

🟢ValuationAttractive13.2/15

🟡RiskModerate4.5/10

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

This thesis breaks if

✓EBITDA margin holds above 21%23.4%
✗Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x4.2x
✗Free cash flow remains positive-₹2,034 Cr
✗Interest cover stays above 3x2.4x
✓ROCE stays above 17%19.7%