National General Industries Limited

Basic Materials — Steel · BSE

₹56.00₹0.00 (0.00%)

DalalBaazaar Score

32 / 100

🔴 Weak

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

Very High

Driven by high debt relative to equity, negative free cash flow, micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity.

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. Debt is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 8:27 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

National General Industries Limited engages in the production and sale of steel products in India. The company operates in two segments, Manufacturing of Steel and Investments.

IndustrySteel

SectorBasic Materials

Employees40

Annual revenue₹9 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹9 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹-5 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹-10 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 40 employees supports ₹21.9 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

Revenue / employee₹21.9 lakh

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 -1.0% 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 has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved -33% while net margin moved -423% 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-33%

Margin effect-423%

DalalBaazaar Score

32/ 100

Weak

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Revenue has contracted at 12.7% a year
✗ Profit fell 150.8% in the latest year

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

29/ 100

Weak

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

Valuation

31/ 100

Expensive

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

47.1x

3Y Median

32.9x

40 monthly readings · mean 74.1x · range 9.2x–210.3x

Sector Median

18.2x

median of 4 sector peers

⚠️Current valuation is approximately 43% above its 3y median of 32.9x. 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 159% above the peer median of 18.2x.

vs. its own history

Expensive

32.9x median over 40 months · +43%

vs. sector peers

Expensive

18.2x median of 4 peers · +159%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

EV/EBITDA

—

PEG

—

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well1

Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 33% over 3 years.

🔴 What Needs Attention1

Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 1.1% to -1.0% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

6 items require attention · 4 high · 2 watch

🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 2.93x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🔴Thin interest coverageFinancial
Operating profit covers interest only -5.9x — little room if earnings dip.
🔴The company is lossmakingFinancial
Net profit of -₹0 Cr in the latest reported year.
🔴Significant margin compressionFinancial
EBITDA margin has fallen 14.1 points, from 4.2% to -9.9%.
🟡Interest coverage is deterioratingFinancial
Cover has fallen from 15.9x to -5.9x.
🟡Free cash flow is negativeFinancial
Free cash flow was -₹1 Cr in the latest year.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Deleveraging frees up earnings
Debt is down 33% over 3 years. Every rupee of interest not paid drops to the bottom line, so profit can grow even if revenue does not.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

Margins are being competed away
EBITDA margin has fallen from 4.2% to -9.9%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.
Leverage amplifies any setback
Debt/Equity of 2.93x. Interest is payable whether or not the business has a good year.
The price already assumes success
The stock trades 43% 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.
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 -12%✓ -9.9%
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.
3Interest cover stays above 3x✗ -5.9x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
4ROCE stays above 8%✗ -1.0%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.
5Valuation vs its own median of 32.9x✗ 47.1x today
A re-rating above its own history needs a reason; without one it is just a higher price.

Investment Checklist

3 / 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 · 2 neutral · 6 weak

Market Cap

₹25 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

47.1x

Expensive

Expensive — verify against sector peers

P/B Ratio

1.11x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹1.19

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

-1.3%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

-1.0%

Weak

Low return on total capital employed

Debt/Equity

2.93x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

107.1%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

-150.8%

Falling

Profits are shrinking

Dividend Yield

None

No dividend yield reported — usually means no payout, but verify if one was recently initiated

Free Cash Flow

-₹1 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

Operating Margin

-0.2%

Weak

Thin margins leave little room for error

Net Margin

3.8%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

4.40

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.06

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

56%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

55.2 / 58.0

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

62.7

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹13 Cr	₹13 Cr	₹10 Cr	₹9 Cr	-12.7%
EBITDA	₹1 Cr	₹1 Cr	₹1 Cr	-₹1 Cr	—
EBITDA Margin	4.2%	10.7%	12.2%	-9.9%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹0 Cr	₹3 Cr	₹1 Cr	-₹0 Cr	—
EPS	₹0.4	₹5.42	₹1.7	₹-0.93	—
ROE	0.7%	8.7%	2.6%	-1.3%	—
ROCE	1.1%	9.1%	3.4%	-1.0%	—
Total Debt	₹2 Cr	₹1 Cr	₹0 Cr	₹1 Cr	-12.4%
Free Cash Flow	₹1 Cr	₹1 Cr	-₹0 Cr	-₹1 Cr	—

🔴 Revenue has shrunk at 12.7% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA has turned negative, from ₹1 Cr to -₹1 Cr.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 4.2% to -9.9% over 3 years (-14.1 pts).

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has turned negative, from ₹0 Cr to -₹0 Cr.

🔴 EPS has turned negative, from ₹0.4 to ₹-0.93.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 0.7% to -1.3% over 3 years (-2.1 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 1.1% to -1.0% over 3 years (-2.1 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 12.4% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has turned negative, from ₹1 Cr to -₹1 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹40 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹4 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹0 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

-₹1 Cr

Capex

-₹0 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

84.5%

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

2 mixed4 general

National General Industries Ltd. Shareholding Pattern – Promoters, FIIs & DIIs

Value Research, 14 Oct

Compare with

Equitymaster, 14 Oct

National General Industries schedules 40th AGM for September 30, 2026

scanx.trade, 10 Sept

National General Industries reports standalone net profit of Rs 0.72 crore in the June 2026 quarter

Business Standard, 15 AugResults

🟡Mixed / dependsA results event. The figures on this page update once the new statements reach the data feed, which usually lags the announcement.

National General Industries FY26 Results: Net loss widens to ₹47.9 lakh

scanx.trade, 04 SeptResults

🟡Mixed / dependsA results event. The figures on this page update once the new statements reach the data feed, which usually lags the announcement.

National General Industries Ltd. Key Financial Ratios – Valuation, Profitability & More

Value Research, 31 Aug

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

MiddlingFinancial Health

WeakBusiness Quality · Growth · Profitability · Valuation · 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. 4 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

4 of 5 tripwires tripped — Free cash flow remains positive; Interest cover stays above 3x; ROCE stays above 8%; Valuation vs its own median of 32.9x · see Key things to watch ↑