An “industrial manufacturing” company showing ₹0 quarterly sales… but still reporting profits. ROE below 1%. P/E above 54. And it’s trading at half its book value.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Hercules Investments Ltd – formerly Hercules Hoists, now reborn as an investment holding company after a demerger.
This is not a hoist business anymore.
This is basically a listed balance sheet with investments and dividend income… wrapped in a Bajaj surname.
The stock is down 23.3% in 3 months, down 25.3% in one year, yet over 5 years it has delivered 30% CAGR.
So what exactly is this?
A hidden investment treasure? Or a sleepy holding company priced like a growth stock?
Let’s open the audit file.
2. Introduction – When a Hoist Company Decides to Become a Banker
Founded in 1962, Hercules Hoists was known for lifting and handling equipment.
Chain pulley blocks. Electric hoists. Overhead cranes. Material handling automation.
Solid engineering stuff.
Then came the plot twist.
In 2024–25, the company approved a scheme of demerger transferring the manufacturing business to Indef Manufacturing Limited (IML). The manufacturing operations went away.
What stayed back?
The investment portfolio.
In August 2025, the company even amended its Memorandum and Articles to focus on investment business. It also renamed itself Hercules Investments Ltd.
So today, if you’re expecting crane sales growth… you’re about 18 months late.
This company is no longer selling hoists. It is holding investments and earning dividend/interest income.
Yet it still sits in “Industrial Products” peer comparison.
Is this misclassification or nostalgia?
And here’s the kicker:
Q3 FY26 sales = ₹0 PAT = ₹2.61 Cr EPS = ₹0.82
This is not an operating business anymore.
It’s an investment shell with Bajaj DNA.
But is the balance sheet worth the hype?
Let’s decode.
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do Now?
Short answer:
They invest.
Long answer:
Post demerger, the manufacturing business moved to Indef Manufacturing Limited. Hercules Investments continues as an investment company.
Revenue breakup FY24 showed:
70% from hoists & equipment
13% cranes
5% spares
6% net gain on sale of investments
4% dividend income
1% interest income
But that was before full structural shift.
Now?
Quarterly sales are zero.
Expenses are minimal.
Other income drives profitability.
It’s essentially:
Holding investments
Earning dividend income
Booking gains
Managing capital
So ask yourself:
Are you buying a business that manufactures products? Or are you buying a listed portfolio manager?
Because those are two very different valuation frameworks.
At 54x earnings, are we pricing it like a compounding asset manager… or ignoring that earnings are mostly “other income”?
Interesting, right?
Let’s look at Q3 numbers.
4. Financials Overview – The Quarter of Zero Sales
