Shalby Limited

Healthcare — Medical Care Facilities · NSE

₹129.00−₹2.40 (−1.83%)

DalalBaazaar Score

45 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

Moderate

Driven by 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, with both sales and profits growing well. Cash generation is currently the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:07 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 Shalby Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Shalby Limited operates a chain of multi-specialty hospitals in India and internationally. The company operates through Healthcare Services and Manufacturing segments.

IndustryMedical Care Facilities

SectorHealthcare

Employees2,217

Annual revenue₹1,135 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹1,135 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹3 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹14 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 2,217 employees supports ₹51.2 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

EBITDA margin13.6%

Net margin3.3%

Revenue / employee₹51.2 lakh

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are APOLLO HOSPITALS ENTER. L, SUN PHARMACEUTICAL IND L, CIPLA LTD. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

APOLLO HOSPITALS ENTER. LP/E 54.3x · ROE 22.0%

SUN PHARMACEUTICAL IND LP/E 34.9x · ROE 14.5%

CIPLA LTDP/E 31.8x · ROE 9.8%

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 7.6% 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.

ROCE7.6%

ROE3.7%

Peer median ROE14.5%

What has been driving growth?

Sales and margins have both contributed to where profit is now. Over 3 years revenue moved +42% while net margin moved -61% 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+42%

Margin effect-61%

DalalBaazaar Score

45/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ ROE of 3.7% is weak
✗ ROE has fallen by 3.6 points over the period

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

41/ 100

Weak

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

Valuation

62/ 100

Fair

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

36.9x

3Y Median

42.9x

40 monthly readings · mean 335.2x · range 23.7x–1469.6x

Sector Median

34.9x

median of 3 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 14% below its 3y median of 42.9x. 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 is priced broadly in line with the peer median of 34.9x.

vs. its own history

Fair

42.9x median over 40 months · -14%

vs. sector peers

Fair

34.9x median of 3 peers · +6%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

P/E (Trailing)

36.9x

P/B

1.37x

EV/EBITDA

12.7x

PEG

0.97

Dividend Yield

None

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well1

Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention7

Margins are compressing
EBITDA margin has slipped from 19.5% to 13.6% over 3 years.
Debt is rising
Total debt is up 229% over 3 years — worth checking what it funded.
Free cash flow is negative
The business is not currently covering its capital spending from operations.
Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 7.3% to 3.7% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 10.1% to 7.6% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.
Receivables growing faster than sales
Receivables are up 115% against revenue growth of 42% — customers are taking longer to pay.
Inventory building faster than sales
Inventory is up 103% against revenue growth of 42% — stock may not be moving.

Red Flags

6 items require attention · 5 high · 1 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 229% over 3 years, from ₹181 Cr to ₹595 Cr.
🔴Free cash flow negative for 3 yearsFinancial
The business has not covered its capital spending from operations for several years running, which has to be funded externally.
🔴Significant margin compressionFinancial
EBITDA margin has fallen 6.0 points, from 19.5% to 13.6%.
🔴Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 115% against revenue up 42% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.
🔴Inventory building faster than salesFinancial
Inventory up 103% against revenue up 42% — stock may not be moving.
🟡Profit is decliningFinancial
Net profit is down 45% 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 19.5% to 13.6%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.
The debt load needs earnings to hold up
Debt is 3.9x EBITDA. At that level a downturn in earnings turns a manageable balance sheet into a refinancing problem, and lenders get paid before shareholders.
Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 115% against revenue up 42%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 7.3% to 3.7%. 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.
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.

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

1Revenue growth stays above 9% a year✓ 12.4% CAGR
Latest reported year was 11.7%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 12%✓ 13.6%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x✗ 3.9x
Already stretched, so this is a reduction target rather than a level to hold. Around 3x is where lenders typically start attaching conditions.
4Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹149 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
5Interest cover stays above 3x✗ 2.7x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.

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

5 good · 3 neutral · 3 weak

Market Cap

₹1,387 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

36.9x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

1.37x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹3.5

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

3.7%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

7.6%

Weak

Low return on total capital employed

Debt/Equity

0.59x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

11.7%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

38.0%

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

-₹149 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

CMP

₹129

P/E (Forward)

13.7x

Improving

Below the trailing multiple — the street expects earnings to grow into the price

Operating Margin

6.9%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

3.3%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

1.25

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.61

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

136.7 / 146.1

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

21.0

Oversold zone

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹800 Cr	₹928 Cr	₹1,081 Cr	₹1,135 Cr	+12.4%
EBITDA	₹156 Cr	₹186 Cr	₹151 Cr	₹154 Cr	-0.4%
EBITDA Margin	19.5%	20.0%	14.0%	13.6%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹68 Cr	₹84 Cr	₹6 Cr	₹37 Cr	-18.0%
EPS	₹6.3	₹7.83	₹0.18	₹3.23	-20.0%
ROE	7.3%	8.4%	0.6%	3.7%	—
ROCE	10.1%	11.1%	7.3%	7.6%	—
Total Debt	₹181 Cr	₹378 Cr	₹476 Cr	₹595 Cr	+48.8%
Free Cash Flow	₹49 Cr	-₹28 Cr	-₹76 Cr	-₹149 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 12.4% a year over 3 years.

🟡 EBITDA has been broadly flat over 3 years (-0.4% a year).

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 19.5% to 13.6% over 3 years (-6.0 pts).

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has shrunk at 18.0% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EPS has shrunk at 20.0% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 7.3% to 3.7% over 3 years (-3.6 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 10.1% to 7.6% over 3 years (-2.5 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 48.8% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has turned negative, from ₹49 Cr to -₹149 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹1,839 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹833 Cr

Total Debt

₹595 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹22 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

-₹0 Cr

Capex

-₹149 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.1%

Insider Holding

76.6%

Corporate Actions

Ex-Dividend Date

19 Sept 2024

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
APOLLO HOSPITALS ENTER. L	54.3x	22.0%
SUN PHARMACEUTICAL IND L	34.9x	14.5%
CIPLA LTD	31.8x	9.8%

Recent News

2 mixed4 general

Shalby Share Price Update: Key Fundamentals and Peer View

Univest, 23 Sept

Shalby Shares Fall 6% After Announcing Q3 Results; Check Details By Trade Brains

Investing.com India, 12 FebPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move rather than a change in the business. If the figures on this page have not moved, the fall is either an opportunity or news they have yet to catch up with.

Why Is Shalby Share Price Falling Key Reasons 2026

Univest, 29 JunPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move rather than a change in the business. If the figures on this page have not moved, the fall is either an opportunity or news they have yet to catch up with.

5 Smallcap Hospital Stocks to Add to Your Watchlist

Equitymaster, 20 Feb

Smallcap hospital stock zooms 14% in weak market after promoter hikes stake

Business Standard, 22 Sept

Shalby Share Price

Upstox, 24 Oct

Watch Items

Trading very close to its 52-week low — worth checking whether this reflects a temporary setback or a structural problem.
Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.
RSI is in oversold territory — could mean either a bargain or a stock still falling for good reason. Check the 'why' before assuming reversal.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟡Business QualityAdequate9/20

🟡Financial HealthAdequate9.8/20

🔴GrowthWeak7.7/20

🔴ProfitabilityWeak4.6/15

🟡ValuationFair9.5/15

🔴RiskHigh4/10

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. 5 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

This thesis breaks if

✓Revenue growth stays above 9% a year12.4% CAGR
✓EBITDA margin holds above 12%13.6%
✗Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x3.9x
✗Free cash flow remains positive-₹149 Cr
✗Interest cover stays above 3x2.7x