1. At a Glance
Citizen Infoline Ltd is one of those stocks that make you rub your eyes twice and refresh Screener once. A ₹147 Cr market cap company doing ₹5.04 Cr TTM sales, trading at ₹272, with a P/E of 1,336, Price-to-Book of 30.4x, and ROE of 0.65%.
Oh, and the stock is up 509% in one year while the business quietly whispers, “bhaiya hum toh print directory hain.”
Latest quarter (Dec 2025) revenue came in at ₹0.09 Cr, with a net loss of ₹0.09 Cr. Yes, same number, same pain.
Yet, the stock has delivered multibagger returns while the income statement is still searching for relevance.
This is not a turnaround story. This is not a growth story. This is a market psychology story — with a side dish of solar amalgamation, other income gymnastics, and nostalgia for Yellow Pages.
Curious? Confused? Slightly concerned? Good. Let’s go deeper.
2. Introduction
Citizen Infoline was incorporated in 1994, back when local search meant “ask your neighbour or check the directory.”
The company built its business around local search, print media, and directories, helping buyers and sellers connect long before Google Maps decided to exist.
Fast forward to FY26, and the company is still alive — not exactly thriving, but definitely trading like it discovered AI before Nvidia.
The irony?
While the core business revenues are tiny and volatile, the stock price has gone ballistic. Over the last year alone, returns are north of 500%, even though:
- Sales are shrinking QoQ
- Operating margins are barely positive
- Net profits are microscopic
So what’s happening here?
Is this a digital pivot success?
Is it a solar energy transformation?
Or is it just the classic Indian microcap cocktail of low float + narrative + patience-testing valuation?
Let’s dissect this calmly, without Twitter threads or Telegram bravado.
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
At its core, Citizen Infoline is supposed to be a local search and directory business.
Think:
- Local business listings
- Classified-style information
- Print directories (yes, still)
But the real plot twist comes from revenue composition, which reads less like a media company and more like a diversified auntie portfolio.
FY22 Revenue Breakup:
- Information Services & Yellow Pages: ~25%
- Solar Panel Sales: ~25%
- Interest on Loans & Advances: ~18%
- Profit on Sale of Shares: ~30%
- Dividend Income: ~2%
If you’re confused, that’s normal.
This is not a focused operating business. This is a holding-company-meets-opportunistic-income model, where “Other Income” often does the heavy lifting.
The company itself admits it wants to:
“Move beyond print directories and become a digital company.”
Which is noble.
But digital transformation usually shows up in revenue scale, margins, or user growth — not just PowerPoint optimism.
4. Financials Overview
Quarterly Performance Table (₹ Crore)
| Metric | Latest Qtr (Dec’25) | YoY Qtr (Dec’24) | Prev Qtr (Sep’25) | YoY % | QoQ % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 0.09 | 0.94 | 3.10 | -90.4% | -97.1% |
| EBITDA | -0.09 | -0.09 | 0.17 | Flat | -152.9% |
| PAT | -0.09 | 0.01 | 0.17 | -1000% | -152.9% |
| EPS (₹) | -0.17 | 0.02 | 0.31 | NA | NA |
Annualised EPS Rule Applied:
Q3 EPS average method applies, but with negative and volatile numbers, annualisation is meaningless here. This itself is a red flag.
Commentary
Revenue collapsed. EBITDA flipped negative again. Profit evaporated.
Yet, the stock price is still holding triple digits.
Classic case of market price disconnected from operating reality.
Have you ever seen a company where the share price chart looks like crypto, but the
