The Indian Hume Pipe Company Limited

Industrials — Engineering & Construction · NSE

₹358.30+₹14.25 (+4.14%)

DalalBaazaar Score

64 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

REASONABLE

Risk

Low

Driven by micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity.

In simple words: Reasonable but unspectacular business quality, but sales are shrinking. Whether sales start growing again is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 7:02 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

The Indian Hume Pipe Company Limited engages in construction contract activities in India. It operates through two segments, Construction and Real estate. The.

IndustryEngineering & Construction

SectorIndustrials

Employees1,157

Annual revenue₹1,302 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹1,302 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹11 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹13 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 1,157 employees supports ₹1.13 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹1.13 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.

Compared side by side in Peers ↓

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 14.6% 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 ROE14.1%

What is the outlook?

1 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 9.9% and earnings to grow about 8.4% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+9.9%

Est. earnings growth+8.4%

Analysts1

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved -16% while net margin moved +200% 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-16%

Margin effect+200%

DalalBaazaar Score

64/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✓ Beta of 0.54 — historically steadier than the index
✗ Micro Cap: thinner liquidity and sharper drawdowns are normal
✗ Profits have swung sharply from year to year — earnings are hard to forecast

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

62/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

84/ 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

13.2x

3Y Median

21.5x

40 monthly readings · mean 18.2x · range 2.7x–44.2x

Sector Median

30.1x

median of 3 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 38% below its 3y median of 21.5x. 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 56% below the peer median of 30.1x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

21.5x median over 40 months · -38%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

30.1x median of 3 peers · -56%

vs. generic bands

Cheap

Below 15x

EV/EBITDA

12.9x

PEG

0.36

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well5

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 9.7% to 13.5% over 3 years.
Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 34% over 3 years.
Cash generation is improving
Free cash flow is up 901% over 3 years.
Very low debt
Debt/Equity of 0.28x leaves the balance sheet with plenty of headroom.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention1

Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 17.6% to 14.6% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

2 items require attention · 1 high · 1 watch

🔴Inventory building faster than salesFinancial
Inventory up 231% against revenue up -16% — stock may not be moving.
🟡Interest coverage is deterioratingFinancial
Cover has fallen from 12.4x to 5.4x.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 9.7% to 13.5%. 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 34% 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 38% 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.
Cheaper than its peers
It trades 56% below the sector median. Either the market sees a problem the numbers do not show, or the discount closes.
Self-funding with balance-sheet headroom
Positive free cash flow of ₹172 Cr alongside low debt means growth, buybacks or dividends need no outside money — and a downturn can be absorbed rather than refinanced.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

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 11%✓ 13.5%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✗ 2.4x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹172 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4ROCE stays above 12%✓ 14.6%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.
5Interest cover stays above 4x✓ 5.4x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.

Investment Checklist

8 / 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

5 good · 5 neutral · 1 weak

Market Cap

₹1,888 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

13.2x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

1.27x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹27.1

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

9.5%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

14.6%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

0.28x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

-1.5%

Shrinking

Sales are contracting

Profit Growth (YoY)

7.5%

Modest

Slow profit growth

Dividend Yield

0.56%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

₹172 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

15.4x

Flat

At or above the trailing multiple — no earnings uplift is being priced in

Operating Margin

8.3%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

11.0%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

2.03

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.54

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

52%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

351.5 / 367.6

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

50.5

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹1,541 Cr	₹1,383 Cr	₹1,488 Cr	₹1,302 Cr	-5.5%
EBITDA	₹150 Cr	₹177 Cr	₹190 Cr	₹175 Cr	+5.3%
EBITDA Margin	9.7%	12.8%	12.8%	13.5%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹56 Cr	₹78 Cr	₹558 Cr	₹141 Cr	+36.3%
EPS	₹11.5	₹15	₹105.93	₹26.79	+32.6%
ROE	8.0%	9.4%	40.5%	9.5%	—
ROCE	17.6%	17.9%	49.6%	14.6%	—
Total Debt	₹633 Cr	₹511 Cr	₹458 Cr	₹417 Cr	-13.0%
Free Cash Flow	₹17 Cr	₹208 Cr	₹149 Cr	₹172 Cr	+115.5%

🔴 Revenue has shrunk at 5.5% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 5.3% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 9.7% to 13.5% over 3 years (+3.7 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 36.3% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 32.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 ROE has risen from 8.0% to 9.5% over 3 years (+1.5 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 17.6% to 14.6% over 3 years (-3.0 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 13.0% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has grown at 115.5% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹2,804 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹1,319 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹38 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹294 Cr

Capex

-₹121 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.4%

Insider Holding

74.8%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹2

Ex-Dividend Date

17 Jul 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

1 Buy · 0 Hold · 0 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹460

+28.4% vs CMP

Target Range

₹460 – ₹460

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 positive1 mixed4 general

Indian Hume Pipe Company Ltd. Key Financial Ratios – Valuation, Profitability & More

Value Research, 30 Aug

Indian Hume Pipe gets ₹1.30 Cr relief in GST appeal for FY21-22

scanx.trade, 05 Oct

There's A Lot To Like About Indian Hume Pipe's (NSE:INDIANHUME) Upcoming ₹5.00 Dividend

Simply Wall Street, 13 JulCapital return

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

Indian Hume Pipe shares gain 5% on bagging Rs 738.61 crore Rajasthan water supply project

Moneycontrol.com, 03 JulPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move, which is not by itself a change in the business. Worth finding the cause before reading it as either good or bad.

Indian Hume Pipe Company Bull Case vs Bear Case for 2026

Univest, 11 Sept

Indian Hume Pipe Secures ₹738.61 Cr Rajasthan Water Project Powering 24-Month Growth

Sahi, 03 Jul

Watch Items

Revenue growth is negative (-1.5%) 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

StrongFinancial Health · Valuation

MiddlingBusiness Quality · Growth · Profitability

WeakRisk

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. 1 high-severity red flag sits above this conclusion and should be read first.

1 of 5 tripwires tripped — Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x · see Key things to watch ↑