Navneet Education Limited

Communication Services — Publishing · NSE

₹123.30+₹1.61 (+1.32%)

DalalBaazaar Score

71 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

High

Driven by high debt relative to equity, micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity, falling profits.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, but sales are shrinking. Debt is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:57 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Navneet Education Limited, together with its subsidiaries, publishes state board books in India, North and Central America, Africa, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Publication, Stationery, and Others segments.

IndustryPublishing

SectorCommunication Services

Annual revenue₹1,721 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹1,721 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹20 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹16 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation.

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED, VODAFONE IDEA LIMITED. 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?The numbers suggest a real one

ROCE has stayed above 15% in every year available and stands at 21.0%. Returns that high normally get competed away; when they persist, something is protecting them, and its ROE of 17.2% against a peer median of 20.2% is consistent with that. What that something is — brand, scale, switching costs, regulation — the accounts cannot tell you.

Peer median ROE20.2%

What is the outlook?

1 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 8.4% and earnings to grow about 13.0% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+8.4%

Est. earnings growth+13.0%

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 +1% while net margin moved +70% 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+1%

Margin effect+70%

DalalBaazaar Score

71/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✓ Beta of 0.15 — historically steadier than the index
✗ Micro Cap: thinner liquidity and sharper drawdowns are normal
✗ High leverage magnifies any downturn in earnings
✗ Profits have swung sharply from year to year — earnings are hard to forecast

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

73/ 100

Good

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

Valuation

83/ 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

8.1x

3Y Median

12.7x

40 monthly readings · mean 10.9x · range 3.6x–17.9x

Sector Median

21.7x

median of 2 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 36% below its 3y median of 12.7x. 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 trades 63% below the peer median of 21.7x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

12.7x median over 40 months · -36%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

21.7x median of 2 peers · -63%

vs. generic bands

Cheap

Below 15x

EV/EBITDA

10.1x

PEG

0.41

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well4

Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 62% over 3 years.
Cash flow has turned positive
Free cash flow moved from negative to positive over 3 years.
High return on capital employed
ROCE of 21.0% is the mark of a business that converts capital into profit efficiently.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention2

Margins are compressing
EBITDA margin has slipped from 17.6% to 16.0% over 3 years.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 26.0% to 21.0% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

1 item require attention · 1 high

🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 5.14x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Capital compounds at a high rate
ROCE of 21.0% means each rupee reinvested earns well above what capital costs. If the company can keep deploying at this rate, growth creates value rather than just consuming cash.
Deleveraging frees up earnings
Debt is down 62% 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 36% 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 63% below the sector median. Either the market sees a problem the numbers do not show, or the discount closes.
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 17.6% to 16.0%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.
Leverage amplifies any setback
Debt/Equity of 5.14x. Interest is payable whether or not the business has a good year.
Growth barely outpaces inflation
Revenue compounding at 0.5% 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.
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 14%✓ 16.0%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Revenue growth stays above 4% a year✗ 0.5% CAGR
Latest reported year was -0.8%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹203 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.4x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 18%✓ 21.0%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

7 / 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

7 good · 1 neutral · 3 weak

Market Cap

₹2,728 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

8.1x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

1.33x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹15.23

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

17.2%

Strong

Strong capital efficiency

ROCE

21.0%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

5.14x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

-0.8%

Shrinking

Sales are contracting

Profit Growth (YoY)

-10.1%

Falling

Profits are shrinking

Dividend Yield

2.43%

Healthy

Meaningful cash return while you hold the stock

Free Cash Flow

₹203 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

14.2x

Flat

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

Operating Margin

22.7%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

19.6%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

3.59

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.15

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

12%

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

122.8 / 128.2

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

50.0

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹1,697 Cr	₹1,724 Cr	₹1,786 Cr	₹1,721 Cr	+0.5%
EBITDA	₹298 Cr	₹305 Cr	₹342 Cr	₹275 Cr	-2.6%
EBITDA Margin	17.6%	17.7%	19.1%	16.0%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹205 Cr	₹252 Cr	₹759 Cr	₹352 Cr	+19.8%
EPS	₹9.04	₹11.12	₹33.97	₹16	+21.0%
ROE	17.8%	19.5%	41.4%	17.2%	—
ROCE	26.0%	23.1%	47.6%	21.0%	—
Total Debt	₹288 Cr	₹258 Cr	₹200 Cr	₹108 Cr	-27.9%
Free Cash Flow	-₹73 Cr	₹81 Cr	₹161 Cr	₹203 Cr	—

🟡 Revenue has been broadly flat over 3 years (0.5% a year).

🔴 EBITDA has shrunk at 2.6% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 17.6% to 16.0% over 3 years (-1.6 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 19.8% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 21.0% a year over 3 years.

🟡 ROE has held roughly flat at 17.2% over 3 years.

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 26.0% to 21.0% over 3 years (-5.0 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 27.9% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has turned positive, from -₹73 Cr to ₹203 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹2,566 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹467 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹63 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹307 Cr

Capex

-₹104 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

12.3%

Insider Holding

65.6%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹3

Ex-Dividend Date

03 Jun 2026

Analyst Consensus

Target Price (Mean)

₹119

-3.5% vs CMP

Target Range

₹119 – ₹119

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED	39.8x	20.2%
VODAFONE IDEA LIMITED	3.6x	—

Recent News

2 positive1 mixed3 general

Should You Buy Navneet Education Limited (NSE:NAVNETEDUL) For Its Upcoming Dividend?

Simply Wall Street, 30 MayCapital return

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

Navneet Education fixes June 3 record date for INR 1.50 dividend

scanx.trade, 21 MayCapital return

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

Navneet Education Q4 PBT Falls 43% to ₹21 Crore Amid Sequential Loss

Sahi, 21 MayResults

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

Navneet Education vs Nifty 50: Share Price Performance Compared

Univest, 08 Oct

Navneet Education FY26 PAT falls to Rs 296 crore

scanx.trade, 22 May

Navneet Education expects publication business to grow 10–12% in FY27

CNBC TV18, 29 Jul

Watch Items

Revenue growth is negative (-0.8%) 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

StrongBusiness Quality · Financial Health · Growth · Profitability · Valuation

WeakRisk

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 ↑