Hi-Tech Pipes Limited

Basic Materials — Steel · NSE

₹71.05+₹0.47 (+0.67%)

DalalBaazaar Score

58 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

Moderate

Driven by negative free cash flow, micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity, falling profits.

In simple words: The business is earning a fairly low return on the money invested in it, though profits are falling even as sales grow. Cash generation is currently the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 7:47 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Hi-Tech Pipes Limited manufactures and sells steel in India. The company provides mild steel hollow section ERW steel pipes, mild steel round pipes, GI pipes, pre-galvanized steel pipes, crash barriers, cold rolled coils and strips, and coated coils and roofing sheets.

IndustrySteel

SectorBasic Materials

Employees551

Annual revenue₹4,176 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹4,176 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹2 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹4 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 551 employees supports ₹7.58 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹7.58 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 9.9% 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 is the outlook?

2 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 19.6% and earnings to grow about 29.9% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+19.6%

Est. earnings growth+29.9%

Analysts2

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 +80% while net margin moved +12% 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+80%

Margin effect+12%

DalalBaazaar Score

58/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ ROCE of 9.9% is below 10% — capital is not working hard
✗ ROCE has fallen by 5.2 points — returns are eroding
✗ EBITDA margin of 4.1% is thin — little cushion if costs rise
✗ Net margin of 1.6% is slim
• Revenue has compounded at 21.6% a year, which is the base these returns are earned on

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

56/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

73/ 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

19.0x

3Y Median

37.7x

40 monthly readings · mean 40.5x · range 17.8x–72.1x

Sector Median

18.2x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 50% below its 3y median of 37.7x. 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 is priced broadly in line with the peer median of 18.2x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

37.7x median over 40 months · -50%

vs. sector peers

Fair

18.2x median of 4 peers · +5%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

EV/EBITDA

9.8x

PEG

0.72

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well2

Very low debt
Debt/Equity of 0.20x leaves the balance sheet with plenty of headroom.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention2

Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 9.0% to 5.7% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 15.1% to 9.9% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

4 items require attention · 3 high · 1 watch

🔴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.
🔴Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 142% against revenue up 80% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.
🟡Shareholders have been dilutedOwnership
Shares outstanding are up 59% over 3 years — each existing share owns a smaller slice of the company.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Priced below its own history
The stock trades 50% 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?

Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 142% against revenue up 80%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 9.0% to 5.7%. Each rupee of equity earns less than it did, so profit growth increasingly depends on raising more capital rather than on the existing base working harder.
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
3 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 16% a year✓ 21.6% CAGR
Latest reported year was 78.5%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 2%✓ 4.1%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹148 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Interest cover stays above 3x✓ 3.3x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
5Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 1.6x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.

Investment Checklist

6 / 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

4 good · 4 neutral · 3 weak

Market Cap

₹1,440 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

19.0x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

1.05x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹3.73

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

5.7%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

9.9%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

0.20x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

78.5%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

-4.8%

Falling

Profits are shrinking

Dividend Yield

0.04%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

-₹148 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

12.6x

Improving

Below the trailing multiple — the street expects earnings to grow into the price

Operating Margin

2.9%

Weak

Thin margins leave little room for error

Net Margin

1.6%

Weak

Very little revenue reaches the bottom line

Current Ratio

2.17

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.79

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

72.8 / 76.2

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

40.6

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹2,322 Cr	₹2,627 Cr	₹2,981 Cr	₹4,176 Cr	+21.6%
EBITDA	₹101 Cr	₹113 Cr	₹158 Cr	₹172 Cr	+19.3%
EBITDA Margin	4.4%	4.3%	5.3%	4.1%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹38 Cr	₹44 Cr	₹73 Cr	₹76 Cr	+26.4%
EPS	₹2.18	₹2.69	₹3.98	₹3.77	+20.0%
ROE	9.0%	7.6%	5.8%	5.7%	—
ROCE	15.1%	13.6%	10.4%	9.9%	—
Total Debt	₹273 Cr	₹402 Cr	₹192 Cr	₹268 Cr	-0.7%
Free Cash Flow	₹64 Cr	-₹204 Cr	-₹120 Cr	-₹148 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 21.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 19.3% a year over 3 years.

🟡 EBITDA Margin has held roughly flat at 4.1% over 3 years.

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 26.4% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 20.0% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 9.0% to 5.7% over 3 years (-3.3 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 15.1% to 9.9% over 3 years (-5.2 pts).

🟡 Total Debt has been broadly flat over 3 years (-0.7% a year).

🔴 Free Cash Flow has turned negative, from ₹64 Cr to -₹148 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹2,024 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹690 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹22 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹3 Cr

Capex

-₹152 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

14.0%

Insider Holding

46.5%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹0.03

Ex-Dividend Date

19 Sept 2025

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

2 Buy · 0 Hold · 0 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹110.5

+55.5% vs CMP

Target Range

₹109 – ₹112

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

3 mixed3 general

Hi-Tech Pipes Share Price: Near 52-Week Low, Key Levels

Univest, 13 Oct

Hi-Tech Pipes (HITECH.NS) Slips 1.03% to ₹70.21, Holds Mid-Range Within ₹66.70–₹73.72 Band - VWAP Breakout

https://www.siam.in/, 13 Oct

HITECH Forecast — Price Target — Prediction for 2027

TradingView, 25 JunAnalyst view

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

Hi-Tech Pipes Ltd. Shareholding Pattern – Promoters, FIIs & DIIs

Value Research, 27 Aug

Hi-Tech Pipes Shares Fall 8% as Q1 Profit Slips

Equitypandit, 12 AugPrice 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.

Revenue Beat: Hi-Tech Pipes Limited Beat Analyst Estimates By 32%

Simply Wall Street, 15 AugAnalyst view

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

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 · Growth · Valuation

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

1 of 5 tripwires tripped — Free cash flow remains positive · see Key things to watch ↑