Expo Engineering and Projects Limited

Industrials — Engineering & Construction · BSE

₹90.00+₹2.00 (+2.27%)

DalalBaazaar Score

41 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

Very High

Driven by moderate debt load, 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, 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 Expo Engineering and Projects Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Expo Engineering and Projects Limited, an integrated engineering and construction company, engages in the manufacture and sale of process plant equipment in India.

IndustryEngineering & Construction

SectorIndustrials

Employees43

Annual revenue₹68 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹68 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹3 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹9 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 43 employees supports ₹1.59 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

EBITDA margin8.9%

Net margin2.6%

Revenue / employee₹1.59 Cr

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?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 13.2% 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.

ROCE13.2%

ROE4.4%

Peer median ROE14.1%

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved -15% while net margin moved -193% 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-15%

Margin effect-193%

DalalBaazaar Score

41/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ P/E of 138.5x is demanding — it needs sustained high growth to justify
✗ P/E is 31% above its own historical median of 105.9x — expensive by its own standards
✗ P/B of 7.22x is a steep premium to book

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

45/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

23/ 100

Expensive

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

138.5x

2Y Median

105.9x

28 monthly readings · mean 94.2x · range 40.7x–159.0x

Sector Median

30.1x

median of 3 sector peers

⚠️Current valuation is approximately 31% above its 2y median of 105.9x. 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 360% above the peer median of 30.1x.

vs. its own history

Expensive

105.9x median over 28 months · +31%

vs. sector peers

Expensive

30.1x median of 3 peers · +360%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

P/E (Trailing)

138.5x

P/B

7.22x

EV/EBITDA

43.1x

PEG

—

Dividend Yield

None

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well3

Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 21% over 3 years.
Return on equity is rising
ROE has improved from -10.9% to 4.4%.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 6.8% to 13.2%.

🔴 What Needs Attention3

Free cash flow is negative
The business is not currently covering its capital spending from operations.
Receivables growing faster than sales
Receivables are up 113% against revenue growth of -15% — customers are taking longer to pay.
Valuation above its historical average
At 138.5x the stock trades 31% above its own median of 105.9x.

Red Flags

3 items require attention · 2 high · 1 watch

🔴Thin interest coverageFinancial
Operating profit covers interest only 1.7x — little room if earnings dip.
🔴Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 113% against revenue up -15% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.
🟡Free cash flow is negativeFinancial
Free cash flow was -₹7 Cr in the latest year.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Deleveraging frees up earnings
Debt is down 21% over 3 years. Every rupee of interest not paid drops to the bottom line, so profit can grow even if revenue does not.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

The debt load needs earnings to hold up
Debt is 5.4x EBITDA. At that level a downturn in earnings turns a manageable balance sheet into a refinancing problem, and lenders get paid before shareholders.
Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 113% against revenue up -15%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
The price already assumes success
The stock trades 31% 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 7%✓ 8.9%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x✗ 5.4x
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✗ -₹7 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Interest cover stays above 3x✗ 1.7x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
5ROCE stays above 10%✓ 13.2%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

4 / 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

1 good · 4 neutral · 6 weak

Market Cap

₹233 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

138.5x

Expensive

Expensive — verify against sector peers

P/B Ratio

7.22x

Rich

Steep premium to book — needs high, durable returns to justify

EPS (TTM)

₹0.65

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

4.4%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

13.2%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

0.83x

Moderate

Moderate leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

-22.9%

Shrinking

Sales are contracting

Profit Growth (YoY)

-41.3%

Falling

Profits are shrinking

Dividend Yield

None

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

Free Cash Flow

-₹7 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

CMP

₹90

Operating Margin

11.5%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

2.0%

Weak

Very little revenue reaches the bottom line

Current Ratio

1.67

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

-0.14

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

75%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

90.6 / 89.3

Bullish alignment (short > long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

51.7

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹80 Cr	₹76 Cr	₹115 Cr	₹68 Cr	-5.3%
EBITDA	₹6 Cr	₹6 Cr	₹8 Cr	₹6 Cr	+0.1%
EBITDA Margin	7.6%	7.3%	7.1%	8.9%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	-₹2 Cr	₹1 Cr	₹3 Cr	₹2 Cr	—
EPS	₹-1.05	₹0.44	₹1.37	₹0.85	—
ROE	-10.9%	3.6%	10.0%	4.4%	—
ROCE	6.8%	17.6%	20.7%	13.2%	—
Total Debt	₹41 Cr	₹41 Cr	₹31 Cr	₹33 Cr	-7.6%
Free Cash Flow	₹0 Cr	₹1 Cr	₹3 Cr	-₹7 Cr	—

🔴 Revenue has shrunk at 5.3% a year over 3 years.

🟡 EBITDA has been broadly flat over 3 years (0.1% a year).

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 7.6% to 8.9% over 3 years (+1.4 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has turned positive, from -₹2 Cr to ₹2 Cr.

🟢 EPS has turned positive, from ₹-1.05 to ₹0.85.

🟢 ROE has risen from -10.9% to 4.4% over 3 years (+15.3 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 6.8% to 13.2% over 3 years (+6.5 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 7.6% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has turned negative, from ₹0 Cr to -₹7 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹87 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹48 Cr

Total Debt

₹33 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹3 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

-₹6 Cr

Capex

-₹1 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

79.1%

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

1 mixed5 general

Expo Engineering secures BSE listing for 31.45 lakh preferential shares

scanx.trade, 01 Oct

Expo Engineering And Projects Ltd. Peer Comparison – Compare with Others

Value Research, 04 Sept

Saudi giga-project slowdown frees contractors for Expo 2030

Arabian Gulf Business Insight | AGBI, 14 Oct

Expo Engineering And Projects Ltd. Key Financial Ratios – Valuation, Profitability & More

Value Research, 01 Sept

Expo Engineering board approves revised merger ratio of 14:1

scanx.trade, 24 SeptM&A

🟡Mixed / dependsAcquisitions change the balance sheet before they change the earnings. Look at what was paid, how it was funded, and whether debt rose.

Expo Engineering soars on bagging Rs 3.62 crore order from BPCL

Investment Guru India, 25 Aug

Watch Items

Revenue growth is negative (-22.9%) 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 QualityAdequate10.2/20

🟡Financial HealthAdequate11.2/20

🔴GrowthWeak5/20

🟡ProfitabilityModerate7.1/15

🔴ValuationDemanding3.3/15

🔴RiskHigh4/10

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. 2 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

This thesis breaks if

✓EBITDA margin holds above 7%8.9%
✗Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x5.4x
✗Free cash flow remains positive-₹7 Cr
✗Interest cover stays above 3x1.7x
✓ROCE stays above 10%13.2%