1. At a Glance
Crest Ventures Ltd is currently quoting at ₹352, with a market cap of ₹1,002 crore, trading at just 0.79x book value. Sounds like a value investor’s dream? Hold your horses. The stock P/E stands at 21, ROE is a modest 7.7%, and ROCE is 9.68% — not exactly Bajaj Finance levels of financial swagger.
In Q3 FY26 (December 2025), the company reported revenue of ₹35.3 crore and PAT of ₹11 crore, both down sequentially and year-on-year. EPS for the quarter came in at ₹3.88.
Promoters hold a comfortable 69.75%, zero pledge. Debt is ₹202 crore, debt-to-equity just 0.16, and interest coverage sits at 4.6.
Three-month return? -1.61%. One-year return? -6.07%. Meanwhile, 3-year CAGR stands at a decent 26%.
So what is Crest Ventures?
A sleepy NBFC?
A real estate monetisation play?
Or a balance sheet magician that prints profits through financial instrument exits?
Let’s open the files.
2. Introduction – The Curious Case of Crest
Crest Ventures was incorporated in 1982. That’s pre-liberalisation India. When “investment banking” meant knowing your local LIC agent.
Today, it calls itself a Systemically Important Non-Deposit Taking NBFC, classified as an Investment and Credit Company.
Translation:
It lends money.
It invests money.
It develops real estate.
And sometimes, it exits projects and books massive “financial instrument gains.”
In FY23, a whopping 84% of revenue came from net gain on derecognition of financial instruments. Interest income was just 9%.
Let that sink in.
This isn’t your traditional steady EMI-collecting NBFC. This is more like:
“Buy stake → Wait → Exit → Book gain → Repeat.”
Segment revenue FY23:
- Real Estate & Related Activities: ~39%
- Investing & Financial Activities: ~61%
So when quarterly profits jump or fall — don’t panic immediately. It might just be timing of exits.
But the real question is — how sustainable is this model?
Let’s dissect.
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Crest Ventures operates in two main areas:
A) Financial Services
They provide:
- Investment banking
- Equity brokerage
- Share registry
- Retail financial distribution
- Fixed income & derivatives
Mostly through JVs and partnerships.
They also provide loans.
In FY24,
