Univastu India Limited

Industrials — Engineering & Construction · NSE

₹139.50−₹1.71 (−1.21%)

DalalBaazaar Score

63 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

REASONABLE

Risk

Moderate

Driven by negative free cash flow, micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, 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, 6:09 pm

Mixed / neutral. No major red flags jump out, but nothing here screams "obviously cheap" either. This is a name that needs a peer comparison and a view on near-term earnings triggers before sizing a position.

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Univastu India Limited provides works contract services in India. It offers integrated engineering, procurement, and construction services for civil, structural, and infrastructure projects.

IndustryEngineering & Construction

SectorIndustrials

Employees101

Annual revenue₹171 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹171 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹6 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹17 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 101 employees supports ₹1.69 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

EBITDA margin17.0%

Net margin6.1%

Revenue / employee₹1.69 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD., ADANI PORT & SEZ LTD, SIEMENS LTD. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD.P/E 30.1x · ROE 15.2%

ADANI PORT & SEZ LTDP/E 29.9x · ROE 14.1%

SIEMENS LTDP/E 88.8x · ROE 10.5%

What is its competitive advantage?The numbers suggest a real one

ROCE has stayed above 15% in every year available and stands at 26.4%. Returns that high normally get competed away; when they persist, something is protecting them, and its ROE of 13.1% against a peer median of 14.1% is consistent with that. What that something is — brand, scale, switching costs, regulation — the accounts cannot tell you.

ROCE26.4%

ROE13.1%

Peer median ROE14.1%

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 +191% while net margin moved -31% 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+191%

Margin effect-31%

DalalBaazaar Score

63/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

• P/E of 35.5x already prices in growth
✗ P/E is 46% above its own historical median of 24.3x — expensive by its own standards

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

70/ 100

Good

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

Valuation

43/ 100

Expensive

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

A good business, but the price already reflects that. The quality is real; the question is whether you are overpaying for it today.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

35.5x

4Y Median

24.3x

52 monthly readings · mean 25.8x · range 4.8x–53.7x

Sector Median

30.1x

median of 3 sector peers

⚠️Current valuation is approximately 46% above its 4y median of 24.3x. 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 18% above the peer median of 30.1x.

vs. its own history

Expensive

24.3x median over 52 months · +46%

vs. sector peers

Fair

30.1x median of 3 peers · +18%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

P/E (Trailing)

35.5x

P/B

4.86x

EV/EBITDA

18.4x

PEG

1.37

Dividend Yield

None

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well3

Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 22.2% to 26.4%.
High return on capital employed
ROCE of 26.4% 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 Attention3

Margins are compressing
EBITDA margin has slipped from 21.7% to 17.0% over 3 years.
Free cash flow is negative
The business is not currently covering its capital spending from operations.
Valuation above its historical average
At 35.5x the stock trades 46% above its own median of 24.3x.

Red Flags

4 items require attention · 1 high · 3 watch

🔴Profit up while operating cash flow fallsFinancial
Reported profit rose but cash generated by operations declined — worth checking whether earnings are being supported by non-cash items or working capital.
🟡Free cash flow is negativeFinancial
Free cash flow was -₹11 Cr in the latest year.
🟡Margins are compressingFinancial
EBITDA margin is down 4.7 points over 3 years.
🟡Low reported insider holdingOwnership
Reported insider holding is 0.0%. For Indian companies this field is an unreliable proxy — check the official promoter shareholding in the exchange filing.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Capital compounds at a high rate
ROCE of 26.4% 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 21.7% to 17.0%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.
The price already assumes success
The stock trades 46% 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.
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

1Revenue growth stays above 32% a year✓ 42.8% CAGR
Latest reported year was 252.7%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 15%✓ 17.0%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹11 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 1.2x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 23%✓ 26.4%
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

5 good · 5 neutral · 1 weak

Market Cap

₹502 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

35.5x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

4.86x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹3.93

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

13.1%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

26.4%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

0.30x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

252.7%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

281.2%

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

-₹11 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

CMP

₹139.5

Operating Margin

13.7%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

9.7%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

1.73

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.18

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

68%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

138.0 / 149.5

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

51.4

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹59 Cr	₹87 Cr	₹121 Cr	₹171 Cr	+42.8%
EBITDA	₹13 Cr	₹15 Cr	₹21 Cr	₹29 Cr	+31.7%
EBITDA Margin	21.7%	17.5%	17.2%	17.0%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹5 Cr	₹7 Cr	₹7 Cr	₹10 Cr	+26.0%
EPS	₹4.61	₹1.94	₹2.09	₹2.93	-14.1%
ROE	13.6%	14.7%	13.6%	13.1%	—
ROCE	22.2%	25.7%	29.4%	26.4%	—
Total Debt	₹37 Cr	₹33 Cr	₹34 Cr	₹35 Cr	-1.5%
Free Cash Flow	₹12 Cr	₹9 Cr	₹10 Cr	-₹11 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 42.8% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 31.7% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 21.7% to 17.0% over 3 years (-4.7 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 26.0% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EPS has shrunk at 14.1% a year over 3 years.

🟡 ROE has held roughly flat at 13.1% over 3 years.

🟢 ROCE has risen from 22.2% to 26.4% over 3 years (+4.2 pts).

🟡 Total Debt has been broadly flat over 3 years (-1.5% a year).

🔴 Free Cash Flow has turned negative, from ₹12 Cr to -₹11 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2025

Total Assets

₹188 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹102 Cr

Total Debt

₹35 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹1 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

-₹5 Cr

Capex

-₹6 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

1.0%

Insider Holding

0.0%

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD.	30.1x	15.2%
ADANI PORT & SEZ LTD	29.9x	14.1%
SIEMENS LTD	88.8x	10.5%

Recent News

1 positive1 mixed4 general

Compare with RPP INFRA PROJECTS

Equitymaster, 16 Oct

There May Be Underlying Issues With The Quality Of Univastu India's (NSE:UNIVASTU) Earnings

Simply Wall Street, 04 JunResults

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

Univastu India Share: Bull Case vs Bear Case for 2026

Univest, 29 Sept

Univastu India revenue surges 174% in Q4FY26 to ₹109.44 crore

scanx.trade, 04 JulResults

🟢Potentially positiveReported improvement. Check whether it came from volume, price or a one-off item before treating it as a trend.

Univastu India zooms 19% on bagging ₹392-crore order from L&T

Business Standard, 16 Jan

Univastu India Ltd. Lower Circuit Today: Price, Data and Peers

Univest, 29 Sept

Watch Items

Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.
Reported insider holding is low — cross-check the official promoter shareholding % in the company's exchange filing.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟢Business QualityStrong15.4/20

🟢Financial HealthStrong14.5/20

🟢GrowthStrong14.7/20

🟡ProfitabilityModerate8.3/15

🔴ValuationDemanding6.1/15

🔴RiskHigh4.4/10

Good business, demanding price

The quality is real and the price already reflects it. Buying here is a bet that the business keeps compounding for long enough to grow into the multiple — which good businesses often do, but it removes the margin for error that a lower price would have given you. 1 high-severity red flag sits above this conclusion and should be read first.

This thesis breaks if

✓Revenue growth stays above 32% a year42.8% CAGR
✓EBITDA margin holds above 15%17.0%
✗Free cash flow remains positive-₹11 Cr
✓Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x1.2x
✓ROCE stays above 23%26.4%