Gautam Exim Limited

Basic Materials — Paper & Paper Products · BSE

₹20.00−₹1.95 (−8.88%)

DalalBaazaar Score

41 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

High

Driven by moderate debt load, micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity, a very high earnings multiple, which leaves little margin for disappointment.

In simple words: The business is earning a fairly low return on the money invested in it, but sales are shrinking. Valuation is currently the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 7:46 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Gautam Exim Limited engages in the import and trading of waste paper, pulp, specialty chemicals, and finished paper in India.

IndustryPaper & Paper Products

SectorBasic Materials

Employees5

Annual revenue₹29 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹29 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹1 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹1 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 5 employees supports ₹5.76 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹5.76 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are TATA STEEL LIMITED, JSW STEEL LIMITED, ULTRATECH CEMENT LIMITED, ASIAN PAINTS 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 2.2% 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.

Peer median ROE22.3%

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved -90% while net margin moved +479% 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-90%

Margin effect+479%

DalalBaazaar Score

41/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Revenue has contracted at 53.1% a year
✗ Profit has declined at 15.8% a year

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

38/ 100

Weak

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

Valuation

45/ 100

Fair

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

200.0x

3Y Median

342.2x

40 monthly readings · mean 353.0x · range 52.5x–776.5x

Sector Median

28.7x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 42% below its 3y median of 342.2x. 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 597% above the peer median of 28.7x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

342.2x median over 40 months · -42%

vs. sector peers

Expensive

28.7x median of 4 peers · +597%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

EV/EBITDA

162.5x

PEG

—

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well2

Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 99% over 3 years.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention1

Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 6.0% to 2.2% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

2 items require attention · 1 high · 1 watch

🔴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.
🟡Profit is decliningFinancial
Net profit is down 40% over 3 years.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Deleveraging frees up earnings
Debt is down 99% over 3 years. Every rupee of interest not paid drops to the bottom line, so profit can grow even if revenue does not.
Priced below its own history
The stock trades 42% 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.
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?

A premium to the sector to defend
It trades 597% above the peer median. That premium needs a reason that persists, or it closes.
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 -1%✓ 1.1%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹1 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
3Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.5x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
4ROCE stays above 8%✗ 2.2%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.
5Valuation vs its own median of 342.2x✓ 200.0x today
A re-rating above its own history needs a reason; without one it is just a higher price.

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

3 good · 4 neutral · 4 weak

Market Cap

₹49 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

200.0x

Expensive

Expensive — verify against sector peers

P/B Ratio

3.64x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹0.1

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

1.7%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

2.2%

Weak

Low return on total capital employed

Debt/Equity

1.07x

Moderate

Moderate leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

-24.9%

Shrinking

Sales are contracting

Profit Growth (YoY)

126.7%

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

₹1 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

ROA

3.4%

Average

Average asset productivity

Operating Margin

3.6%

Weak

Thin margins leave little room for error

Net Margin

0.8%

Weak

Very little revenue reaches the bottom line

Current Ratio

49.15

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.85

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

22.3 / 24.5

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

23.8

Oversold zone

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹280 Cr	₹168 Cr	₹35 Cr	₹29 Cr	-53.1%
EBITDA	₹1 Cr	₹1 Cr	₹0 Cr	₹0 Cr	-37.5%
EBITDA Margin	0.4%	0.5%	0.3%	1.1%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹0 Cr	₹0 Cr	₹0 Cr	₹0 Cr	-15.8%
EPS	₹0.15	₹0.06	₹0.05	—	—
ROE	2.9%	1.1%	1.0%	1.6%	—
ROCE	6.0%	3.6%	1.5%	2.2%	—
Total Debt	₹14 Cr	₹10 Cr	₹0 Cr	₹0 Cr	-78.6%
Free Cash Flow	₹3 Cr	₹1 Cr	₹8 Cr	₹1 Cr	-36.8%

🔴 Revenue has shrunk at 53.1% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA has shrunk at 37.5% a year over 3 years.

🟡 EBITDA Margin has held roughly flat at 1.1% over 3 years.

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has shrunk at 15.8% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 2.9% to 1.6% over 3 years (-1.2 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 6.0% to 2.2% over 3 years (-3.8 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 78.6% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has shrunk at 36.8% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹14 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹0 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹0 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹1 Cr

Capex

-₹0 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

80.6%

Corporate Actions

Ex-Dividend Date

19 Sept 2019

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
TATA STEEL LIMITED	19.8x	10.8%
JSW STEEL LIMITED	12.0x	24.7%
ULTRATECH CEMENT LIMITED	37.6x	11.1%
ASIAN PAINTS LIMITED	46.9x	22.3%

Recent News

4 positive2 general

Gautam Exim Ltd. Shareholding Pattern – Promoters, FIIs & DIIs

Value Research, 16 Oct

Gautam Exim announces stock split and issues bonus shares - Read details here

India Infoline, 05 MayCapital return

🟢Potentially positiveCash or shares returned to holders. A buyback is only good value if the shares were cheap when bought.

176% rally in 1 year: Gautam Exim announces stock split and bonus issue

Livemint, 05 MayCapital return

🟢Potentially positiveCash or shares returned to holders. A buyback is only good value if the shares were cheap when bought.

Gautam Exim Bonus Share 3:1 Record Date June 10 2026 Last Day Today

Univest, 10 Jun

Gautam Exim Limited Approves Share Subdivision, Bonus Issue and Capital Restructuring

scanx.trade, 28 MarCapital return

🟢Potentially positiveCash or shares returned to holders. A buyback is only good value if the shares were cheap when bought.

3:1 Bonus Issue and 1:2 Stock Split: Gautam Exim Shares Jump After Approval; Here’s How It Impacts Investors

Goodreturns, 04 MayCapital return

🟢Potentially positiveCash or shares returned to holders. A buyback is only good value if the shares were cheap when bought.

Watch Items

Revenue growth is negative (-24.9%) 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.
RSI is in oversold territory — could mean either a bargain or a stock still falling for good reason. Check the 'why' before assuming reversal.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongFinancial Health

MiddlingValuation

WeakBusiness Quality · Growth · Profitability · Risk

Points for each in the Score ↑

Weak on the fundamentals

Poor scores on business quality without a price low enough to compensate. There is no obvious argument for owning this over a stronger company at a similar valuation. 1 high-severity red flag sits above this conclusion and should be read first.

1 of 5 tripwires tripped — ROCE stays above 8% · see Key things to watch ↑