Essar Shipping Limited

Industrials — Marine Shipping · NSE

₹16.15+₹0.13 (+0.81%)

DalalBaazaar Score

19 / 100

🔴 Poor

Verdict

HIGH RISK

Risk

Very High

Driven by negative shareholders' equity — the company owes more than it owns, short-term liabilities exceed short-term assets, negative free cash flow.

In simple words: The company owes more than it owns — years of losses have wiped out its net worth, but sales are shrinking. Solvency — whether it can keep funding itself at all — is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:59 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Essar Shipping Limited engages in the fleet operating and chartering businesses in India, the United Arab Emirates, and Mauritius. It operates in two segments, Fleet Operating and Chartering, and Oilfields Services.

IndustryMarine Shipping

SectorIndustrials

Employees21

Annual revenue₹0 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹0 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹-140075 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹45200 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 21 employees supports ₹38,095 of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

Revenue / employee₹38,095

Who are its competitors?

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

Compared side by side in Peers ↓

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved -100% while net margin moved -5250% 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-100%

Margin effect-5250%

DalalBaazaar Score

19/ 100

Poor

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Shareholders' equity is negative — accumulated losses exceed the capital in the business

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

18/ 100

Weak

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

Valuation

30/ 100

Expensive

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

Weak on business quality and not cheap enough to compensate.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

3.7x

3Y Median

0.5x

40 monthly readings · mean 0.5x · range 0.2x–1.3x

Sector Median

30.0x

median of 2 sector peers

⚠️Current valuation is approximately 626% above its 3y median of 0.5x. Paying more than usual needs a reason — faster growth, a better balance sheet, or a re-rating you believe in.

🟢Against its sector it trades 88% below the peer median of 30.0x.

vs. its own history

Expensive

0.5x median over 40 months · +626%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

30.0x median of 2 peers · -88%

vs. generic bands

N/A

Multiples unreliable — equity base is negative

EV/EBITDA

53.9x

PEG

—

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well2

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 223.0% to 45200.0% over 3 years.
Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 40% over 3 years.

🔴 What Needs Attention0

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

Red Flags

6 items require attention · 3 high · 3 watch

🔴Negative shareholders' equityFinancial
Liabilities exceed assets — accumulated losses have wiped out the company's net worth.
🔴Thin interest coverageFinancial
Operating profit covers interest only -0.5x — little room if earnings dip.
🔴The company is lossmakingFinancial
Net profit of -₹112 Cr in the latest reported year.
🟡Interest coverage is deterioratingFinancial
Cover has fallen from 7.6x to -0.5x.
🟡Free cash flow is negativeFinancial
Free cash flow was -₹177 Cr in the latest year.
🟡Short-term liquidity is tightFinancial
Current ratio of 0.05 — 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 223.0% to 45200.0%. 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 40% over 3 years. Every rupee of interest not paid drops to the bottom line, so profit can grow even if revenue does not.
Cheaper than its peers
It trades 88% below the sector median. Either the market sees a problem the numbers do not show, or the discount closes.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

Solvency comes before everything else
Liabilities exceed assets. Until net worth is rebuilt, the equity is a claim on a business that owes more than it owns, and further losses or a funding squeeze can leave shareholders with nothing.
The debt load needs earnings to hold up
Debt is 44.7x EBITDA. At that level a downturn in earnings turns a manageable balance sheet into a refinancing problem, and lenders get paid before shareholders.
The price already assumes success
The stock trades 626% above its own median multiple. At this level the business has to deliver just to stand still, and a stumble is repriced twice — lower earnings on a lower multiple.
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

1EBITDA margin holds above 45198%✓ 45200.0%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x✗ 44.7x
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✗ -₹177 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Interest cover stays above 3x✗ -0.5x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
5Valuation vs its own median of 0.5x✗ 3.7x today
A re-rating above its own history needs a reason; without one it is just a higher price.

Investment Checklist

4 / 9 checks passed

✗ Shareholders' equity is positive (assets exceed liabilities)
✓ Healthy net margin (≥ 10%)
✗ Generates positive free cash flow
✗ 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 · 4 neutral · 4 weak

Market Cap

₹336 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

3.7x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

Not available

No data

Source didn't return this field

EPS (TTM)

₹4.39

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

Not meaningful

Negative equity

Return on equity can't be read when equity itself is negative

ROCE

Not available

No data

Source didn't return this field

Debt/Equity

Not meaningful

Negative equity

Shareholders' equity is negative, so this ratio can't be read

Revenue Growth (YoY)

-97.6%

Shrinking

Sales are contracting

Profit Growth (YoY)

743.2%

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

-₹177 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

Operating Margin

-7975.0%

Weak

Thin margins leave little room for error

Net Margin

75825.0%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

0.05

Tight

Tight short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.86

Market-like

Moves roughly in line with the market

52W Range Position

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

16.4 / 16.8

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

50.3

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹61 Cr	₹13 Cr	₹0 Cr	₹0 Cr	-89.0%
EBITDA	₹135 Cr	-₹16 Cr	₹120 Cr	₹36 Cr	-35.6%
EBITDA Margin	223.0%	-123.5%	80000.0%	45200.0%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹1,650 Cr	-₹118 Cr	₹660 Cr	-₹112 Cr	—
EPS	₹79.73	₹-5.71	₹31.89	₹-5.41	—
Total Debt	₹2,704 Cr	₹2,642 Cr	₹1,631 Cr	₹1,615 Cr	-15.8%
Free Cash Flow	₹514 Cr	-₹47 Cr	₹350 Cr	-₹177 Cr	—

🔴 Revenue has shrunk at 89.0% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA has shrunk at 35.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 223.0% to 45200.0% over 3 years (+44977.0 pts).

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has turned negative, from ₹1,650 Cr to -₹112 Cr.

🔴 EPS has turned negative, from ₹79.73 to ₹-5.41.

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 15.8% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has turned negative, from ₹514 Cr to -₹177 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹317 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹2,390 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹2 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

-₹130 Cr

Capex

-₹48 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

73.8%

Peer Comparison

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

Recent News

1 positive2 mixed3 general

Essar Shipping discloses promoter share status for FY26

scanx.trade, 06 Jul

Essar Shipping Ltd. Shareholding Pattern – Promoters, FIIs & DIIs

Value Research, 28 Aug

Why Is Essar Shipping Share Price Falling Key Reasons 2026

Univest, 01 JulPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move rather than a change in the business. If the figures on this page have not moved, the fall is either an opportunity or news they have yet to catch up with.

Essar Shipping consolidated net profit rises 742.14% in the June 2026 quarter

Business Standard, 13 AugResults

🟢Potentially positiveReported improvement. Check whether it came from volume, price or a one-off item before treating it as a trend.

Essar Shipping Ltd. Share Price Update: Peer Comparison

Univest, 14 Aug

Essar Shipping Limited (NSE: ESSARSHPNG) Shares Tumble Over 12%: What's Triggering the Sharp Selloff?

Kalkine India, 14 JulPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move rather than a change in the business. If the figures on this page have not moved, the fall is either an opportunity or news they have yet to catch up with.

Watch Items

Revenue growth is negative (-97.6%) on the latest reported period — check if this is one-off or a trend.
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.
2 metrics couldn't be retrieved for this stock — this is more common for smaller or thinly-covered listings.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

WeakBusiness Quality · Financial Health · Growth · Profitability · Valuation · Risk

Points for each in the Score ↑

Avoid until solvency is resolved

Essar Shipping Limited owes more than it owns. Whatever the operating numbers show, the equity is a residual claim on a business with negative net worth, and that question has to be settled before any of the rest is worth weighing. 3 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

4 of 5 tripwires tripped — Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x; Free cash flow remains positive; Interest cover stays above 3x; Valuation vs its own median of 0.5x · see Key things to watch ↑