IST Limited

Consumer Cyclical — Auto Parts · NSE

₹647.00−₹5.50 (−0.84%)

DalalBaazaar Score

73 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

REASONABLE

Risk

Low

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

In simple words: Reasonable but unspectacular business quality, with both sales and profits growing well. Nothing obvious stands out as stretched — the usual checks on business quality and management still apply.

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 IST Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

IST Limited engages in the manufacture and sale of auto components in India. It operates through Manufacturing and SEZ segments.

IndustryAuto Parts

SectorConsumer Cyclical

Employees200

Annual revenue₹126 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹126 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹122 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹105 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 200 employees supports ₹62.8 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

Revenue / employee₹62.8 lakh

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are BOSCH LIMITED, MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA LTD., TVS MOTOR COMPANY LTD, EICHER MOTORS 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 11.3% 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 ROE23.0%

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +4% while net margin moved +80% 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+4%

Margin effect+80%

DalalBaazaar Score

73/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ ROE of 9.1% is weak

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

72/ 100

Good

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

Valuation

88/ 100

Cheap

What you are being asked to pay, ignoring how good the business is.

A good business currently available at an undemanding price — the combination this framework is built to look for.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

4.5x

Sector Median

45.7x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Against its sector it trades 90% below the peer median of 45.7x.

vs. its own history

Not enough price and earnings history

vs. sector peers

Cheap

45.7x median of 4 peers · -90%

vs. generic bands

Cheap

Below 15x

EV/EBITDA

5.7x

PEG

0.19

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well4

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 98.9% to 105.4% over 3 years.
Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 73% over 3 years.
Very low debt
Debt/Equity of 0.26x leaves the balance sheet with plenty of headroom.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention0

Nothing stands out as clearly deteriorating on the years of data available.

Red Flags

1 item require attention · 1 high

🔴Inventory building faster than salesFinancial
Inventory up 186% against revenue up 4% — stock may not be moving.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 98.9% to 105.4%. 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 73% over 3 years. Every rupee of interest not paid drops to the bottom line, so profit can grow even if revenue does not.
Cheaper than its peers
It trades 90% 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 ₹82 Cr alongside low debt means growth, buybacks or dividends need no outside money — and a downturn can be absorbed rather than refinanced.
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?

Growth barely outpaces inflation
Revenue compounding at 1.5% a year is close to the rate prices rise, so the business is gaining little ground in real terms. That leaves the share price dependent on a re-rating rather than on earnings growth.
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 103%✓ 105.4%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Revenue growth stays above 4% a year✗ 1.5% CAGR
Latest reported year was 18.7%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹82 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.0x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 8%✓ 11.3%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

8 / 10 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

Price history

Quick Metrics

7 good · 4 neutral · 0 weak

Market Cap

₹755 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

4.5x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

0.45x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹145.39

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

9.1%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

11.3%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

0.26x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

18.7%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

14.9%

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

₹82 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

Operating Margin

41.2%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

124.8%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

4.70

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.59

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

38%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

RSI (14)

40.7

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹120 Cr	₹109 Cr	₹114 Cr	₹126 Cr	+1.5%
EBITDA	₹119 Cr	₹128 Cr	₹131 Cr	₹132 Cr	+3.6%
EBITDA Margin	98.9%	117.1%	114.5%	105.4%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹82 Cr	₹126 Cr	₹140 Cr	₹153 Cr	+23.4%
EPS	₹70.07	₹108.04	₹119.96	₹131.6	+23.4%
ROE	7.4%	9.6%	9.5%	9.1%	—
ROCE	9.6%	12.6%	12.0%	11.3%	—
Total Debt	₹16 Cr	₹5 Cr	₹6 Cr	₹4 Cr	-35.5%
Free Cash Flow	₹112 Cr	-₹5 Cr	₹37 Cr	₹82 Cr	-9.9%

🟡 Revenue has been broadly flat over 3 years (1.5% a year).

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 3.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 98.9% to 105.4% over 3 years (+6.5 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 23.4% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 23.4% a year over 3 years.

🟢 ROE has risen from 7.4% to 9.1% over 3 years (+1.7 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 9.6% to 11.3% over 3 years (+1.8 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 35.5% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has shrunk at 9.9% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹1,822 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹130 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹5 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹85 Cr

Capex

-₹3 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

85.3%

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
BOSCH LIMITED	56.9x	15.9%
MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA LTD.	25.2x	13.4%
TVS MOTOR COMPANY LTD	56.8x	35.8%
EICHER MOTORS LTD	34.7x	23.0%

Recent News

6 general

Price Band Hitters on October 16, 2026, at 3:30 PM IST: Euro Pratik Sales Leads The List

HDFC Sky, 16 Oct

IST Ltd. Lower Circuit Streak: Day 2 Price and Data

Univest, 22 Sept

Price Band Hitters, August 13, 2026, 3:30 PM IST

HDFC Sky, 13 Aug

Price Band Hitters August 26: Genesys, Milky Mist, Elitecon

HDFC Sky, 26 Aug

Nifty Top Gainers & Losers, August 3, 2026, 3:30 PM IST: IndiGo Leads

HDFC Sky, 03 Aug

Price Band Hitters, August 25, 2026 at 3:00 PM IST

HDFC Sky, 25 Aug

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongBusiness Quality · Financial Health · Growth · Valuation

MiddlingProfitability · Risk

Points for each in the Score ↑

Attractive on both counts

A good business currently available at an undemanding price — the combination this framework exists to look for. The work left is qualitative: whether the advantage the numbers imply is one you can identify and expect to last. 1 high-severity red flag sits above this conclusion and should be read first.

1 of 5 tripwires tripped — Revenue growth stays above 4% a year · see Key things to watch ↑