Graphite India Ltd – ₹986 Cr Land Sale, ₹600 Cr Capex, and EPS That Depends on Other Income
1. At a Glance
Graphite India is that relative who always says “abhi badhiya chal raha hai” even when running on other income fuel. They make electrodes, carbon products, and now even want to try their luck in batteries via Godi India. After selling prime Bengaluru land to Tata Realty for ₹986 crore, debt shrunk to ₹173 crore, but operating margins shrank too. Stock at ₹520 trades at 28x P/E, but remove ₹394 crore other income and suddenly the glamour fades faster than your New Year resolutions.
2. Introduction
Graphite India (GIL) is one of those cyclicals that investors either love at peak steel cycles or ignore like old Orkut accounts when the party’s over. Electrodes are their bread and butter, and electrodes as a business depend on global steel demand. Steel slows, electrodes tank. Simple.
In FY18–19, they were printing money like Virat Kohli scoring centuries. Then came geopolitical shocks, input cost spikes, and margin collapse. By FY24, they went from 15% operating margin to a loss of 5%. Ouch.
Fast-forward: they sold Bengaluru land for almost ₹1,000 crore (side hustle stronger than main business), invested ₹50 crore in battery-tech start-up Godi India, and announced a ₹600 crore expansion of electrodes in Aug 2025. Basically, diversification + capex + cost-cutting = “boss, hum comeback karenge.”
Question: would you bet on a company whose P&L is half electrodes, half land deals?
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Graphite India = electrodes + carbon + random side quests.
Graphite & Carbon (86% share): Graphite electrodes, carbon paste, calcined petroleum coke. Customers? Steel plants that need electrodes for EAF (electric arc furnaces).
Capex plans: Adding 25,000 TPA electrodes capacity for ₹600 crore. Also adding 10 MW hydel + wind expansions.
Diversification: Picked 31% in Godi India (advanced batteries, energy storage). PSU banks can sleep peacefully—at least someone is betting on EV ecosystem.
Manufacturing is spread across Durgapur, Nashik, and Germany (though German electrode ops shut down). 98,000 TPA capacity, 87% utilization in Q1 FY25. Sounds good, but realisations keep crashing like Sensex on budget day.
4. Financials Overview
Metric
Latest Qtr (Jun’25)
YoY Qtr (Jun’24)
Prev Qtr (Mar’25)
YoY %
QoQ %
Revenue
₹665 Cr
₹728 Cr
₹666 Cr
-8.7%
-0.2%
EBITDA
₹43 Cr
₹113 Cr
₹39 Cr
-62.0%
+10.2%
PAT
₹134 Cr
₹236 Cr
₹49 Cr
-43.5%
+173%
EPS (₹)
6.9
12.1
2.6
-43.5%
+165%
Commentary: Revenue stagnant, operating margin anaemic, PAT rescued by other income. This is less “core manufacturing” and more “financial jugglery.”
5. Valuation – Fair Value Range Only
P/E Method: EPS TTM ~₹18.4. Stock trades at 28.3x. Industry PE 41. Fair P/E range 20–30 → Value range = ₹368 – ₹552.
EV/EBITDA Method: EV ~₹10,140 Cr; EBITDA TTM ~₹580 Cr → EV/EBITDA = 17.5. Sector 10–15. Fair range ~₹350 – ₹450.
DCF (simplified): Assume PAT CAGR 10% for 5 years, terminal 5%, cost of equity 12%. Range = ₹400 – ₹500.
👉 Fair Value Range = ₹370 – ₹500. Disclaimer: Educational only, not investment advice.
