HLE Glascoat Limited

Industrials — Specialty Industrial Machinery · NSE

₹417.35+₹18.10 (+4.53%)

DalalBaazaar Score

42 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

High

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

In simple words: Reasonable but unspectacular business quality, though profits are falling even as sales grow. Valuation is currently the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:04 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 HLE Glascoat Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

HLE Glascoat Limited manufactures and sells carbon steel glass lined equipment in India and internationally. It operates through Filtration, Drying and Other Equipment; Glass Lined Equipment; and Heat Transfer Equipment segments.

IndustrySpecialty Industrial Machinery

SectorIndustrials

Employees728

Annual revenue₹1,342 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹1,342 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹4 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹11 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 728 employees supports ₹1.84 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

EBITDA margin11.0%

Net margin3.7%

Revenue / employee₹1.84 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are SIEMENS LTD, ABB INDIA LIMITED, LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD., HAVELLS INDIA LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

SIEMENS LTDP/E 88.8x · ROE 10.5%

ABB INDIA LIMITEDP/E 92.6x · ROE 19.1%

LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD.P/E 30.1x · ROE 15.2%

HAVELLS INDIA LIMITEDP/E 43.5x · ROE 17.1%

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 13.5% 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.

ROCE13.5%

ROE9.3%

Peer median ROE17.1%

What has been driving growth?

Sales and margins have both contributed to where profit is now. Over 3 years revenue moved +45% while net margin moved -51% 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+45%

Margin effect-51%

DalalBaazaar Score

42/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ P/E of 80.0x is demanding — it needs sustained high growth to justify
✗ P/E is 50% above its own historical median of 53.3x — expensive by its own standards
✗ P/B of 5.36x 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

27/ 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

80.0x

3Y Median

53.3x

40 monthly readings · mean 53.6x · range 31.4x–78.4x

Sector Median

66.2x

median of 4 sector peers

⚠️Current valuation is approximately 50% above its 3y median of 53.3x. 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 21% above the peer median of 66.2x.

vs. its own history

Expensive

53.3x median over 40 months · +50%

vs. sector peers

Expensive

66.2x median of 4 peers · +21%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

P/E (Trailing)

80.0x

P/B

5.36x

EV/EBITDA

21.7x

PEG

—

Dividend Yield

0.26%

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well2

Cash flow has turned positive
Free cash flow moved from negative to positive over 3 years.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention5

Margins are compressing
EBITDA margin has slipped from 15.4% to 11.0% over 3 years.
Debt is rising
Total debt is up 39% over 3 years — worth checking what it funded.
Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 21.4% to 9.3% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 24.5% to 13.5% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.
Valuation above its historical average
At 80.0x the stock trades 50% above its own median of 53.3x.

Red Flags

3 items require attention · 3 watch

🟡Debt is increasingFinancial
Total debt is up 39% over 3 years.
🟡Profit is decliningFinancial
Net profit is down 29% over 3 years.
🟡Margins are compressingFinancial
EBITDA margin is down 4.3 points over 3 years.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

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?

Margins are being competed away
EBITDA margin has fallen from 15.4% to 11.0%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.
The price already assumes success
The stock trades 50% 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.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 21.4% to 9.3%. 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.

🟡 Key Things to WatchMeasurable tripwires, set against where this company stands today

1Revenue growth stays above 10% a year✓ 13.2% CAGR
Latest reported year was 5.9%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 9%✓ 11.0%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✗ 2.4x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
4Interest cover stays above 3x✓ 3.1x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
5Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹106 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.

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

3 good · 5 neutral · 3 weak

Market Cap

₹2,899 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

80.0x

Expensive

Expensive — verify against sector peers

P/B Ratio

5.36x

Rich

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

EPS (TTM)

₹5.22

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

9.3%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

13.5%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

0.56x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

5.9%

Modest

Modest growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

-84.7%

Falling

Profits are shrinking

Dividend Yield

0.26%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

₹106 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

CMP

₹417.35

Operating Margin

3.7%

Weak

Thin margins leave little room for error

Net Margin

2.6%

Weak

Very little revenue reaches the bottom line

Current Ratio

1.19

Adequate

Adequate, but no real cushion

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.55

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

41%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

433.7 / 384.2

Bullish alignment (short > long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

43.8

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹924 Cr	₹962 Cr	₹1,022 Cr	₹1,342 Cr	+13.2%
EBITDA	₹142 Cr	₹123 Cr	₹141 Cr	₹148 Cr	+1.4%
EBITDA Margin	15.4%	12.7%	13.8%	11.0%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹70 Cr	₹30 Cr	₹55 Cr	₹49 Cr	-10.9%
EPS	₹10.22	₹5.99	₹8	₹7.2	-11.0%
ROE	21.4%	6.9%	11.5%	9.3%	—
ROCE	24.5%	12.5%	15.4%	13.5%	—
Total Debt	₹250 Cr	₹388 Cr	₹379 Cr	₹348 Cr	+11.6%
Free Cash Flow	-₹44 Cr	₹40 Cr	₹68 Cr	₹106 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 13.2% a year over 3 years.

🟡 EBITDA has been broadly flat over 3 years (1.4% a year).

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 15.4% to 11.0% over 3 years (-4.3 pts).

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has shrunk at 10.9% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EPS has shrunk at 11.0% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 21.4% to 9.3% over 3 years (-12.1 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 24.5% to 13.5% over 3 years (-10.9 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 11.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has turned positive, from -₹44 Cr to ₹106 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹1,382 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹764 Cr

Total Debt

₹348 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹34 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹161 Cr

Capex

-₹56 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

5.4%

Insider Holding

73.9%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹1.1

Ex-Dividend Date

23 Sept 2026

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
SIEMENS LTD	88.8x	10.5%
ABB INDIA LIMITED	92.6x	19.1%
LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD.	30.1x	15.2%
HAVELLS INDIA LIMITED	43.5x	17.1%

Recent News

1 positive2 negative3 general

HLE Glascoat shares hit 20% lower circuit as Q1 net profit falls 81% YoY

Moneycontrol.com, 11 AugResults

🔴Potentially negativeReported deterioration, which feeds the growth and margin inputs on this page directly.

HLE Glascoat Lower Circuit Streak: Day 2 Price and Data

Univest, 09 Oct

HLE Glascoat Limited (NSE:HLEGLAS) Pays A ₹1.10 Dividend In Just Three Days

Simply Wall Street, 19 SeptCapital return

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

Rajesh Palviya of Axis Sec suggests IIFL Finance, SRF, HLE Glascoat shares to buy today

Livemint, 17 Jul

HLE Glascoat transfers German unit stake to simplify structure

scanx.trade, 05 Oct

HLE Glascoat consolidated net profit declines 81.23% in the June 2026 quarter

Business Standard, 11 AugResults

🔴Potentially negativeReported deterioration, which feeds the growth and margin inputs on this page directly.

Watch Items

Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🔴Business QualityWeak7.5/20

🟢Financial HealthStrong13.8/20

🔴GrowthWeak7.7/20

🔴ProfitabilityWeak4.6/15

🔴ValuationDemanding3.3/15

🟡RiskModerate5.2/10

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.

This thesis breaks if

✓Revenue growth stays above 10% a year13.2% CAGR
✓EBITDA margin holds above 9%11.0%
✗Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x2.4x
✓Interest cover stays above 3x3.1x
✓Free cash flow remains positive₹106 Cr