STEAMHOUSE INDIA LIMITED

Utilities — Utilities - Regulated Gas · NSE

₹129.32+₹6.35 (+5.16%)

DalalBaazaar Score

45 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

Very High

Driven by high debt relative to equity, short-term liabilities exceed short-term assets, negative free cash flow.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, with both sales and profits growing well. Debt is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:08 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 STEAMHOUSE INDIA LIMITED — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Steamhouse India Limited develops, owns, operates, and maintains centralized steam generation plants and distributes industrial steam through pipeline networks to industrial customers.

IndustryUtilities - Regulated Gas

SectorUtilities

Annual revenue₹492 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹492 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹8 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹16 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation.

EBITDA margin16.5%

Net margin7.9%

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are NTPC LTD, POWER GRID CORP. LTD., TATA POWER CO LTD, ADANI POWER LTD. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

NTPC LTDP/E 11.0x · ROE 13.7%

POWER GRID CORP. LTD.P/E 14.6x · ROE 15.8%

TATA POWER CO LTDP/E 29.3x · ROE 9.8%

ADANI POWER LTDP/E 26.5x · ROE 21.9%

What is its competitive advantage?Some evidence

ROCE of 19.6% is above what capital typically costs, which suggests some pricing power, though not yet the sustained, wide gap that marks a durable advantage.

ROCE19.6%

ROE22.4%

Peer median ROE15.8%

What has been driving growth?

Growth has come mainly from selling more, rather than from keeping more of each sale. Over 3 years revenue moved +56% while net margin moved -26% 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+56%

Margin effect-26%

DalalBaazaar Score

45/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ P/E of 81.3x is demanding — it needs sustained high growth to justify
✗ P/B of 16.92x is a steep premium to book

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

51/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

23/ 100

Expensive

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

81.3x

Sector Median

20.6x

median of 4 sector peers

⚠️Against its sector it trades 295% above the peer median of 20.6x.

vs. its own history

Not enough price and earnings history

vs. sector peers

Expensive

20.6x median of 4 peers · +295%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

P/E (Trailing)

81.3x

P/B

16.92x

EV/EBITDA

48.2x

PEG

16.34

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 Attention8

Margins are compressing
EBITDA margin has slipped from 18.1% to 16.5% over 3 years.
Debt is rising
Total debt is up 167% 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 58.8% to 22.4% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 41.1% to 19.6% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.
Receivables growing faster than sales
Receivables are up 105% against revenue growth of 56% — customers are taking longer to pay.
Inventory building faster than sales
Inventory is up 396% against revenue growth of 56% — stock may not be moving.
Short-term liquidity is tight
Current ratio of 0.36 — near-term obligations exceed near-term assets.

Red Flags

6 items require attention · 4 high · 2 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 167% over 3 years, from ₹126 Cr to ₹335 Cr.
🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 1.94x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🔴Free cash flow negative for 4 yearsFinancial
The business has not covered its capital spending from operations for several years running, which has to be funded externally.
🔴Inventory building faster than salesFinancial
Inventory up 396% against revenue up 56% — stock may not be moving.
🟡Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 105% against revenue up 56% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.
🟡Short-term liquidity is tightFinancial
Current ratio of 0.36 — near-term obligations exceed near-term assets.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Capital compounds at a high rate
ROCE of 19.6% 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.
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 18.1% to 16.5%. 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 4.1x 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 105% against revenue up 56%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
A premium to the sector to defend
It trades 295% above the peer median. That premium needs a reason that persists, or it closes.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 58.8% to 22.4%. 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.

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

1Revenue growth stays above 12% a year✓ 15.9% CAGR
Latest reported year was 13.3%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 14%✓ 16.5%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x✗ 4.1x
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✗ -₹39 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
5ROCE stays above 17%✓ 19.6%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

4 / 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

5 good · 2 neutral · 4 weak

Market Cap

₹3,574 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

81.3x

Expensive

Expensive — verify against sector peers

P/B Ratio

16.92x

Rich

Steep premium to book — needs high, durable returns to justify

EPS (TTM)

₹1.59

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

22.4%

Strong

Strong capital efficiency

ROCE

19.6%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

1.94x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

13.3%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

80.0%

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

-₹39 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

CMP

₹129.32

Operating Margin

20.7%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

9.2%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

0.36

Tight

Tight short-term liquidity

52W Range Position

90%

Near high

Near its 52-week high

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹316 Cr	₹292 Cr	₹395 Cr	₹492 Cr	+15.9%
EBITDA	₹57 Cr	₹67 Cr	₹65 Cr	₹81 Cr	+12.4%
EBITDA Margin	18.1%	22.9%	16.4%	16.5%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹33 Cr	₹27 Cr	₹31 Cr	₹39 Cr	+5.0%
EPS	₹1.21	₹0.98	₹1.13	₹1.4	+5.0%
ROE	58.8%	26.3%	23.5%	22.4%	—
ROCE	41.1%	23.6%	18.6%	19.6%	—
Total Debt	₹126 Cr	₹230 Cr	₹271 Cr	₹335 Cr	+38.7%
Free Cash Flow	-₹36 Cr	-₹79 Cr	-₹38 Cr	-₹39 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 15.9% a year over 3 years.

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

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 18.1% to 16.5% over 3 years (-1.6 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 5.0% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 5.0% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 58.8% to 22.4% over 3 years (-36.4 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 41.1% to 19.6% over 3 years (-21.4 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 38.7% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹679 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹507 Cr

Total Debt

₹335 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹0 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹100 Cr

Capex

-₹139 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

4.9%

Insider Holding

79.8%

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
NTPC LTD	11.0x	13.7%
POWER GRID CORP. LTD.	14.6x	15.8%
TATA POWER CO LTD	29.3x	9.8%
ADANI POWER LTD	26.5x	21.9%

Recent News

1 positive5 general

STEAMHOUSE INDIA LIMITED Share Price

Upstox, 16 Oct

Steamhouse India Ltd. IPO Review - Steamhouse India Ltd. IPO Dates, Issue Price, Subscription and Allotment Status

The Economic Times, 13 Oct

Steamhouse India shares list at 17% premium over IPO price on NSE; should you buy, sell or hold?

Moneycontrol.com, 17 Sept

Steamhouse India schedules investor meeting and plant visit in Surat

scanx.trade, 15 Oct

Steamhouse India Wins ₹311 Crore Project in Una; Shares Fall 0.85%

HDFC Sky, 25 SeptOrder win

🟢Potentially positiveAn order or contract win, which adds to future revenue. How much depends on its size against annual sales and on when it is executed.

STEAMHOUSE Share Price: fresh 52-week high and valuation

Univest, 09 Oct

Watch Items

Trading very close to its 52-week high — momentum-driven entries here carry more mean-reversion risk.
Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟡Business QualityAdequate11.8/20

🔴Financial HealthStretched6.2/20

🟡GrowthModest10.9/20

🟡ProfitabilityModerate9.3/15

🔴ValuationDemanding3.2/15

🔴RiskHigh4/10

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

This thesis breaks if

✓Revenue growth stays above 12% a year15.9% CAGR
✓EBITDA margin holds above 14%16.5%
✗Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x4.1x
✗Free cash flow remains positive-₹39 Cr
✓ROCE stays above 17%19.6%