🔍 At a Glance
A company with zero revenue, zero business, and a net loss of ₹1.88 lakh… but trading at ₹317/share with a ₹22 Cr market cap. This isn’t a business—it’s a puzzle from a CA final paper. Welcome to Lerthai Finance: formerly Marathwada Refractories, now a “finance company” that has… no financial activity.
🧱 Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
- Used to make refractory bricks (basically, the stuff you put in blast furnaces)
- In 2019, pivoted to “financing and investment” (but didn’t say what or how)
- Zero revenue since FY22
- No NBFC license. No lending book. No operating website content. No clarity.
💬 The official note: “We are looking out for viable business opportunities.”
Translation: “We exist. Please call us if you have an idea.”
📊 Financial Snapshot
| Metric | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue (₹ Cr) | ₹1.62 | ₹0.00 | ₹0.00 |
| Net Profit (₹ Cr) | ₹0.76 | ₹0.00 | -₹0.02 |
| OPM (%) | 59.8% | NA | NA |
| ROCE | 9.9% | NA | -1.48% |
| ROE | 10.8% | 0% | -0.2% |
🧠 Key insight: FY23 profit was likely from “Other Income.” Since then… complete silence.
💰 Valuation – Reality? Who Needs That.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Market Cap | ₹22.2 Cr |
| P/E | NA (No EPS) |
| Book Value | ₹145 |
| P/B | 2.19x |
| CMP | ₹317 |
This stock is trading at 2.2x book for a company with zero revenue, negative earnings, no assets, and no plan. If this isn’t a shell or a story stock, what is?
🔥 What’s Cooking – Announcements & Drama
- 📉 FY25 loss of ₹1.88 lakh
- 🧾 Auditor: Clean report, nothing suspicious
- 📜 FY19: Object clause changed from “manufacturing bricks” to “finance business”
- 💤 Since then: No loan book. No NBFC license. No operations.
It’s like watching a startup… that never started up.
🧾 Balance Sheet – How Much Money is Even Left?
| Metric | FY25 |
|---|---|
| Equity Capital | ₹0.70 Cr |
| Reserves | ₹9.42 Cr |
| Borrowings | Nil |
| Investments | ₹3.17 Cr |
| Total Assets | ₹10.47 Cr |
✅ No debt
❌ No assets generating return
🚫 No business activity
📦 Mostly passive investments + some cash equivalents
It’s essentially a ₹10 Cr personal family office… with public shareholders.
💸 Cash Flow – Sab Number Game Hai (But This One is Just Zeros)
| FY25 CFO | -₹0.43 Cr |
| FY25 Net Cash | +₹1.95 Cr |
| FY24 Net Cash | -₹4.97 Cr |
This is burning cash even while doing nothing. That takes talent.
📉 Key Ratios – Sexy or Stressy?
| Ratio | Value |
|---|---|
| ROE (3 Yr Avg) | 5% (misleading, all from other income) |
| ROCE (FY25) | -1.48% |
| Interest Coverage | Irrelevant (no debt, no business) |
| Working Capital Days | 9.01 |
| Dividend | ₹0 since 2008 |
It’s basically a fixed deposit with no interest, no withdrawal, and no business plan.
🧾 P&L Breakdown – Show Me the (No) Money
- FY25 Sales: ₹0.00 Cr
- FY25 Net Profit: -₹0.02 Cr
- EPS: -₹0.29
- Other Income: ₹0.47 Cr
- Operating Costs: ₹0.62 Cr
🧾 So yes, they lost money doing nothing.
🥊 Peer Comparison
| Company | Revenue | PAT | ROCE | CMP/BV | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vishnusurya Projects | ₹131 Cr | ₹7.46 Cr | 23.9% | 2.58x | 20.2% |
| Ramco Industries | ₹418 Cr | ₹35.7 Cr | 3.6% | 0.59x | 4.4% |
| Lerthai Finance | ₹0 Cr | -₹0.02 Cr | -1.48% | 2.19x | -0.2% |
This is the most expensive non-business on BSE.
🗃️ Shareholding Pattern
- Promoters: 75%
- Public: 8.9%
- FIIs: 16.1% (looks outdated or merged)
- No pledging, no changes
Why do 456 shareholders still hold this stock? Are they just testing SEBI’s patience?
🧠 EduInvesting Verdict™
“Lerthai is like a shell company in denial – no sales, no product, but still showing up to work.”
This isn’t a business. It’s an alleged listing artifact.
At best: a family office parked in public view.
At worst: a trap for momentum traders on low float.
🧮 Fair Value Estimate
Let’s assume:
- Book value = ₹145
- Apply 0.8x P/B for shell status = ₹116
- Apply 1.0x P/B for “passive fund” status = ₹145
- FV Range = ₹116 – ₹145
📉 CMP ₹317 = >2x overvalued, no margin of safety, no business backing
🏷️ Tags:
Lerthai Finance, zero revenue company, suspicious BSE listed firms, no operations stock India, EduInvesting penny stock warnings, Lerthai vs reality, book value trap
✍️ Written by Prashant | 📅 July 3, 2025
