Walchandnagar Industries Ltd Q3 FY26 – From Lockouts to Liftoffs: A 118-Year-Old Dinosaur Suddenly Roars Back With a 135% Profit Swing


1. At a Glance

It’s 1908. Ford is building its first Model T. Meanwhile, a young Walchand Hirachand starts a small engineering workshop in India.
Fast-forward 118 years later — the same company, now Walchandnagar Industries Ltd (WIL), still exists. Still engineering. Still fighting debt. And somehow, still finding ways to make news.

As of Jan 2026, the stock trades at ₹196 with a market cap of ₹1,330 crore, price-to-book of 3.79x, and an ROE of -25.3% that screams “comeback story (maybe)”.

The latest Q3 FY26 results show revenue at ₹8,401 lakh (₹84.01 crore) and EBITDA at ₹1,836 lakh (₹18.36 crore) – indicating a long-awaited turnaround after a decade of balance sheet yoga.
PAT for the quarter came in at ₹6.02 crore, up 135% QoQ, and sales jumped 37% YoY.

Yes, this is the same company that was under lockout two months ago. Only in India, my friend.


2. Introduction

If Indian industrial history had a Bollywood biopic, Walchandnagar Industries would be the tragic yet oddly comic side character — always getting punched, but refusing to die.

Founded before Independence, this engineering house once made nuclear reactor parts, gearboxes, and aerospace systems. Today, it’s best known for its debt, its legacy plants, and its occasional reappearances in nuclear sector news.

The company’s Q3 FY26 results are finally giving it a “microwave reheat” moment — from red ink to a flicker of black. EBITDA margins at ~21.8% mark its strongest operational quarter in years. But before you clap, remember: last quarter they had a lockout at the Satara plant that wiped off ₹27 crore in production losses.

Now that the SHANTI Bill (Dec 2025) has opened private participation in nuclear tech, Walchandnagar suddenly looks like that ex-classmate who’s been broke for a decade but just heard “AI jobs are hiring.”

The Street is watching this turnaround with popcorn — because in heavy engineering, turnarounds take as long as their boilers to cool down.


3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?

Walchandnagar Industries Ltd (WIL) operates in two main segments:

  • Heavy Engineering (~77% of FY25 revenue):
    Think of gigantic machinery, turbines, kilns, and precision components for space, defence, and nuclear sectors. They make rocket motor casings for ISRO, gearboxes for naval ships, and grinding mills for cement. Basically, the stuff that makes everything else work but never gets Instagram likes.
  • Foundry & Machine Shop (~14% of FY25 revenue):
    The side hustle that keeps the lights on — manufacturing castings, forgings, and spares for domestic clients.
  • Others (~9%):
    Includes EPC services and small-scale contract fabrication.

With 96% of revenue from India, WIL is as swadeshi as it gets — even its problems are “Made in India”.

Their order book stood at ₹909 crore as of March 2025, with fresh orders worth ₹248.5 crore that year. These included:

  • ₹55.46 crore from Crushing &
  • Grinding
  • ₹42 crore from Aerospace
  • ₹41 crore from Gear business
  • ₹41 crore from Centrifugal
    And a record-breaking 64-meter-long HF Kiln worth ₹46.47 crore — literally the longest in the world.

If engineering was an Olympic sport, this was a gold medal in “structural stamina.”


4. Financials Overview

Let’s break down the Quarterly Results (Q3 FY26) and compare them to the previous quarter and last year same quarter.

MetricQ3 FY26Q3 FY25Q2 FY26YoY %QoQ %
Revenue (₹ Cr)84.0159.0751.78+42.3%+62.2%
EBITDA (₹ Cr)18.36-5.68-3.03TurnaroundTurnaround
PAT (₹ Cr)6.02-17.13-11.90+135%+150%
EPS (₹)0.69-3.09-1.75Turned PositiveTurned Positive

Annualised EPS = ₹0.69 × 4 = ₹2.76

At CMP ₹196 → P/E = ~71x
A bit steep for a company that just escaped ICU, but hey — turnaround fever is contagious.

💬 Commentary:
After quarters of negative operating margins, Walchandnagar finally booked profits. Maybe the new CFO, Nishant Saigal, brought his calculator to work. Or maybe the nuclear bill lit the fuse. Either way, the numbers finally have a pulse.


5. Valuation Discussion – Fair Value Range

Let’s not dream; let’s math.

P/E Method

Annualised EPS = ₹2.76
Industry average P/E = 29.5
So, fair value range = ₹81 to ₹120 (assuming 30–45x forward optimism discount).

EV/EBITDA Method

EV = ₹1,420 Cr
TTM EBITDA = -₹23 Cr (FY25), but Q3 FY26 EBITDA ₹18.36 Cr annualised = ₹73.4 Cr.
EV/EBITDA = ~19.3x
Peers trade between 15x–25x.
So, range = ₹150–₹230 per share equivalent.

DCF Snapshot

Assuming cash flow recovery to ₹25 Cr by FY27, growing 10% for five years, discounting at 12%, terminal growth 3% → DCF gives around ₹180–₹220 per share.

📊 Fair Value Range (Educational only): ₹120 – ₹220 per share.

⚠️ Disclaimer:
This fair value range is for educational purposes only and not investment advice. Companies like Walchandnagar are roller coasters — enjoy the ride, don’t bet the house.


6. What’s Cooking – News, Triggers, Drama

Ah, where do we start?

  • Lockout Drama:
    In Nov 2025,

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