1. At a Glance – The Plot Twist Nobody Asked For
You think you’re buying an auto component manufacturer… but surprise! You accidentally bought a mini real estate + investment income machine wearing an engineering helmet.
₹33 crore sales. ₹62 crore profit.
Pause. Read that again.
This is not a typo. This is IST Ltd — a company where profits casually outrun revenue like it’s training for a marathon. And before you get too excited, let me whisper the real twist:
₹156 crore of “Other Income” is doing the heavy lifting.
So what exactly is happening here?
- A company trading at P/E of 3.9 (cheaper than roadside chai)
- Book value of ₹1,379 vs price ₹605 (market saying “we don’t trust this story”)
- Margins so high (OPM ~68%) that even luxury brands feel insecure
- But sales growth? Flat. Like your gym motivation after 2 weeks.
This isn’t a normal business. This is a financial puzzle wrapped inside a SEZ, disguised as an auto component company.
Now ask yourself:
👉 Are you looking at a hidden gem… or a beautifully decorated accounting illusion?
Because the answer changes everything.
2. Introduction – Welcome to the Confusion Factory
Let’s start simple.
IST Ltd was incorporated in 1976. Sounds like a solid, old-school engineering company, right?
Manufactures precision components. Supplies to names like Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Fiat.
Everything screams: “Stable boring business.”
But then… the numbers show up.
Suddenly:
- Manufacturing = just ~24% of revenue
- SEZ income = 76% of revenue
- Interest + rental + investments = quietly dominating profits
So now we have a company that:
✔ Makes auto components
✔ Develops SEZ
✔ Earns interest income
✔ Sells investments
✔ Generates rental income
Basically, IST Ltd is like that one relative who has 5 income sources but nobody understands what exactly he does.
And the market?
It’s confused. Deeply confused.
Which explains:
- Low P/E
- Low price-to-book
- Weak stock returns (-28% in 1 year)
Let me ask you:
👉 If a company earns more from “other income” than its actual business… is it still a business?
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Let’s decode this like a detective solving a financial crime.
1. Manufacturing (The Original Business)
- Precision engineering parts
- Auto components (piston nozzles, throttle valves, etc.)
- Clients include big OEMs
Sounds great.
But contributes only ~24% revenue.
So… not the main hero anymore.
2. SEZ Business (The Real Boss)
- Gurgaon Infospace Limited (subsidiary)
- IT/ITES SEZ development
- Rental + operational income
This is where the real money comes from.
SEZ = steady rental + asset appreciation.
Think of it like:
👉 Manufacturing is the “job”
👉 SEZ is the “rental income + passive income + rich uncle vibes”
3. Investment Income (The Silent Assassin)
- Interest income (~14%)
- Dividend income (~4%)
- Profit on sale
