TRF Limited

Industrials — Specialty Industrial Machinery · NSE

₹233.60+₹13.17 (+5.97%)

DalalBaazaar Score

42 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

High

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

In simple words: The business is earning a fairly low return on the money invested in it, but sales are shrinking. 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 TRF Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

TRF Limited undertakes turnkey projects of material handling in India. It operates in Products & Services and Project & Services segments.

IndustrySpecialty Industrial Machinery

SectorIndustrials

Employees354

Annual revenue₹85 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹85 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹-5 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹26 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 354 employees supports ₹24.0 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

Revenue / employee₹24.0 lakh

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are SIEMENS LTD, ABB INDIA LIMITED, LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD., HAVELLS INDIA 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?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 4.3% 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 ROE17.1%

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved -51% while net margin moved -110% 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-51%

Margin effect-110%

DalalBaazaar Score

42/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Return on equity is negative
✗ ROE has fallen by 408.2 points over the period

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

33/ 100

Weak

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

Valuation

82/ 100

Cheap

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

Optically cheap, but the underlying business scores poorly. Cheap-and-weak is what a value trap looks like from the outside — the low price may be deserved.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

5.1x

3Y Median

10.3x

40 monthly readings · mean 10.0x · range 3.3x–17.9x

Sector Median

66.2x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 50% below its 3y median of 10.3x. 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 92% below the peer median of 66.2x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

10.3x median over 40 months · -50%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

66.2x median of 4 peers · -92%

vs. generic bands

Cheap

Below 15x

EV/EBITDA

13.5x

PEG

—

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well0

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

🔴 What Needs Attention2

Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 402.9% to -5.3% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 81.3% to 4.3% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

7 items require attention · 5 high · 2 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 197% over 3 years, from ₹18 Cr to ₹55 Cr.
🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 1.54x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🔴Thin interest coverageFinancial
Operating profit covers interest only 0.7x — little room if earnings dip.
🔴The company is lossmakingFinancial
Net profit of -₹4 Cr in the latest reported year.
🔴Significant margin compressionFinancial
EBITDA margin has fallen 33.3 points, from 59.4% to 26.1%.
🟡Interest coverage is deterioratingFinancial
Cover has fallen from 3.3x to 0.7x.
🟡Free cash flow is negativeFinancial
Free cash flow was -₹8 Cr in the latest year.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Priced below its own history
The stock trades 50% 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 92% below the sector median. Either the market sees a problem the numbers do not show, or the discount closes.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

Margins are being competed away
EBITDA margin has fallen from 59.4% to 26.1%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.
Leverage amplifies any setback
Debt/Equity of 1.54x. Interest is payable whether or not the business has a good year.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 402.9% to -5.3%. 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.
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 24%✓ 26.1%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✗ 2.5x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
3Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹8 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Interest cover stays above 3x✗ 0.7x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
5ROCE stays above 8%✗ 4.3%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

4 / 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 · 3 neutral · 5 weak

Market Cap

₹257 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

5.1x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

Not available

No data

Source didn't return this field

EPS (TTM)

₹45.94

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

-5.3%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

4.3%

Weak

Low return on total capital employed

Debt/Equity

1.54x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

-28.5%

Shrinking

Sales are contracting

Profit Growth (YoY)

-117.3%

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

₹122 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

ROA

1.6%

Weak

Assets generate little profit

Operating Margin

-34.9%

Weak

Thin margins leave little room for error

Net Margin

-5.3%

Weak

Very little revenue reaches the bottom line

Current Ratio

2.67

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.24

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

27%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

210.9 / 221.4

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

56.9

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹174 Cr	₹139 Cr	₹120 Cr	₹85 Cr	-21.2%
EBITDA	₹103 Cr	₹51 Cr	₹41 Cr	₹22 Cr	-40.1%
EBITDA Margin	59.4%	37.1%	34.3%	26.1%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹89 Cr	₹35 Cr	₹26 Cr	-₹4 Cr	—
EPS	₹71.14	₹31.45	₹23.44	₹-4.06	—
ROE	402.9%	88.6%	30.9%	-5.3%	—
ROCE	81.3%	35.3%	20.4%	4.3%	—
Total Debt	₹18 Cr	₹53 Cr	₹40 Cr	₹55 Cr	+43.7%
Free Cash Flow	₹82 Cr	₹29 Cr	₹90 Cr	-₹8 Cr	—

🔴 Revenue has shrunk at 21.2% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA has shrunk at 40.1% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 59.4% to 26.1% over 3 years (-33.3 pts).

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has turned negative, from ₹89 Cr to -₹4 Cr.

🔴 EPS has turned negative, from ₹71.14 to ₹-4.06.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 402.9% to -5.3% over 3 years (-408.2 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 81.3% to 4.3% over 3 years (-77.0 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 43.7% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has turned negative, from ₹82 Cr to -₹8 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹349 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹264 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹12 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

-₹0 Cr

Capex

-₹8 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

47.0%

Corporate Actions

Ex-Dividend Date

10 Jul 2012

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
SIEMENS LTD	88.8x	10.5%
ABB INDIA LIMITED	92.6x	19.1%
LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD.	30.1x	15.2%
HAVELLS INDIA LIMITED	43.5x	17.1%

Recent News

1 mixed5 general

TRF Ltd. (TRF) Share Price Rises 14.01% to Rs 221 Today

Univest, 09 OctPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move, which is not by itself a change in the business. Worth finding the cause before reading it as either good or bad.

Compare TRF with

Equitymaster, 16 Oct

TRF Limited Seeks Shareholder Approval for ₹329.61 Crore Related Party Transactions with Tata Steel Group

scanx.trade, 14 May

Compare TRF with

Equitymaster, 16 Oct

TRF Share Price Outlook: Where It Could Be in 3 Years

Univest, 04 Aug

Momentum Stocks: TRF, Pace Digitek, Om Infra gain up to 10% on sheer momentum

Moneycontrol.com, 23 Jun

Watch Items

Revenue growth is negative (-28.5%) 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.
1 metric couldn't be retrieved for this stock — this is more common for smaller or thinly-covered listings.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongValuation

MiddlingFinancial Health

WeakBusiness Quality · Growth · Profitability · Risk

Points for each in the Score ↑

Cheap, but for a reason

The low price is the whole case here, and the business underneath scores poorly. Cheap-and-weak is what a value trap looks like from the outside — it needs a specific reason the numbers are about to improve, not just the observation that they are low. 5 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

4 of 5 tripwires tripped — Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x; Free cash flow remains positive; Interest cover stays above 3x; ROCE stays above 8% · see Key things to watch ↑