Eastcoast Steel Limited

Basic Materials — Steel · BSE

₹16.45₹0.00 (0.00%)

DalalBaazaar Score

52 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

Moderate

Driven by 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, 7:45 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Eastcoast Steel Limited trades in iron, steel, and engineering products in the international markets. The company was incorporated in 1982 and is based in Mumbai, India.

IndustrySteel

SectorBasic Materials

Employees5

Annual revenue₹17 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹17 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹3 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹-1 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 5 employees supports ₹3.32 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹3.32 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are TATA STEEL LIMITED, JSW STEEL LIMITED, JINDAL STEEL LIMITED, STEEL AUTHORITY OF INDIA. 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 3.7% 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 ROE10.8%

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 +240% while net margin moved -78% 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+240%

Margin effect-78%

DalalBaazaar Score

52/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ ROE of 2.9% is weak

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

45/ 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

11.7x

3Y Median

15.1x

40 monthly readings · mean 15.1x · range 10.0x–21.7x

Sector Median

18.2x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 23% below its 3y median of 15.1x. 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 36% below the peer median of 18.2x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

15.1x median over 40 months · -23%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

18.2x median of 4 peers · -36%

vs. generic bands

Cheap

Below 15x

EV/EBITDA

—

PEG

—

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well1

Very low debt
Debt/Equity of 0.24x leaves the balance sheet with plenty of headroom.

🔴 What Needs Attention0

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

Red Flags

6 items require attention · 5 high · 1 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 83% over 3 years, from ₹3 Cr to ₹5 Cr.
🔴Free cash flow negative for 3 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.
🔴Significant margin compressionFinancial
EBITDA margin has fallen 5.7 points, from 4.8% to -0.8%.
🔴Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 526% against revenue up 240% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.
🟡Profit is decliningFinancial
Net profit is down 27% over 3 years.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Priced below its own history
The stock trades 23% 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 36% below the sector median. Either the market sees a problem the numbers do not show, or the discount closes.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

Margins are being competed away
EBITDA margin has fallen from 4.8% to -0.8%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.
Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 526% against revenue up 240%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
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
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 38% a year✓ 50.3% CAGR
Latest reported year was 193883.5%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above -3%✓ -0.8%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹15 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4ROCE stays above 8%✗ 3.7%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.
5Valuation vs its own median of 15.1x✓ 11.7x today
A re-rating above its own history needs a reason; without one it is just a higher price.

Investment Checklist

6 / 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 · 2 neutral · 3 weak

Market Cap

₹9 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

11.7x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

0.45x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹1.41

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

2.9%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

3.7%

Weak

Low return on total capital employed

Debt/Equity

0.24x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

193883.5%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

138.5%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

None

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

Free Cash Flow

-₹15 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

Operating Margin

0.7%

Weak

Thin margins leave little room for error

Net Margin

2.3%

Weak

Very little revenue reaches the bottom line

Current Ratio

4.16

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

-0.05

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

16.3 / 18.2

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

48.4

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹5 Cr	₹20 Cr	₹15 Cr	₹17 Cr	+50.3%
EBITDA	₹0 Cr	-₹3 Cr	-₹1 Cr	-₹0 Cr	—
EBITDA Margin	4.8%	-13.0%	-4.2%	-0.8%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹1 Cr	-₹0 Cr	-₹0 Cr	₹1 Cr	-9.9%
EPS	₹1.46	₹-0.05	₹-0.28	₹1.07	-9.8%
ROE	4.1%	-0.2%	-0.8%	2.9%	—
ROCE	5.1%	-8.6%	-2.3%	3.7%	—
Total Debt	₹3 Cr	₹3 Cr	₹3 Cr	₹5 Cr	+22.2%
Free Cash Flow	₹5 Cr	-₹1 Cr	-₹1 Cr	-₹15 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 50.3% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA has turned negative, from ₹0 Cr to -₹0 Cr.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 4.8% to -0.8% over 3 years (-5.7 pts).

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has shrunk at 9.9% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EPS has shrunk at 9.8% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 4.1% to 2.9% over 3 years (-1.1 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 5.1% to 3.7% over 3 years (-1.4 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 22.2% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has turned negative, from ₹5 Cr to -₹15 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹25 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹5 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹1 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

-₹15 Cr

Capex

—

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

51.6%

Corporate Actions

Ex-Dividend Date

10 Mar 1995

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
TATA STEEL LIMITED	19.8x	10.8%
JSW STEEL LIMITED	12.0x	24.7%
JINDAL STEEL LIMITED	39.1x	5.3%
STEEL AUTHORITY OF INDIA	16.5x	7.1%

Recent News

2 mixed4 general

Eastcoast Steel Ltd. Peer Comparison – Compare with Others

Value Research, 04 Sept

Compare LLOYDS STEEL IND. with EAST C.STEEL

Equitymaster, 11 Oct

Eastcoast Steel declares 43rd AGM voting results; both resolutions pass

scanx.trade, 28 SeptResults

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

Eastcoast Steel Ltd. Key Financial Ratios – Valuation, Profitability & More

Value Research, 02 Sept

Eastcoast Steel Ltd. Shareholding Pattern – Promoters, FIIs & DIIs

Value Research, 02 Sept

GPT Infraprojects share price jumps 9%- What is driving the stock rally?

Livemint, 18 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

Trading very close to its 52-week low — worth checking whether this reflects a temporary setback or a structural problem.
Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongFinancial Health · Valuation

MiddlingGrowth

WeakBusiness Quality · Profitability · 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.

2 of 5 tripwires tripped — Free cash flow remains positive; ROCE stays above 8% · see Key things to watch ↑