Batliboi Ltd: From Lathes to Green Hydrogen – Can a 132-Year-Old Grandpa Do a Startup Pivot?

1. At a Glance

Batliboi Ltd, established in 1892, has lived through British Raj, License Raj, and now Startup India. Once famous for lathes and machine tools, today it’s talking about green hydrogen and selling spare land in Surat like an uncle liquidating property to fund his kid’s MBA. FY25 saw ₹359 crore sales but only ₹6.3 crore PAT, giving it a P/E of 80x—basically paying startup valuations for PSU-style returns.

2. Introduction

If longevity were a metric, Batliboi would be the Benjamin Button of Indian engineering. Born in 1892, the company survived wars, famines, and demonetisation. Its machines once powered textile mills, auto ancillaries, and even shipyards. But in today’s world of AI-driven robotics and Tesla gigafactories, Batliboi still proudly flaunts its CNC machines like a grandfather showing his rotary phone.

Don’t mistake this for irrelevance though. With subsidiaries in Canada (Quickmill), land reserves in Surat, and an order book of ₹243 crore (two-thirds textile, one-third machine tools), the company has a serious industrial footprint. And yet, financials remain as slim as the dessert section in a Gujarati thali.

The latest buzz? Plans to foray into green hydrogen—because why not? When you’ve been around for 132 years, a little reinvention never hurt. The only question: will this be a pivot or just a PowerPoint?

3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?

Think of Batliboi as the engineering equivalent of a general store—something for everyone, margins for no one.

• Machine Tools (58% of FY24 revenue): CNC machines, conventional machines, lathes, grinders, and custom metal forming systems. Basically, “if it cuts, drills, bends, or rolls, we sell it.”
• Air Engineering: Humidification, ventilation, waste collection—basically making factories less sweaty.
• Textile Machinery (41%): The middleman between global textile equipment suppliers and Indian mills. Effluent treatment plants included—so they can pollute responsibly.
• Others (1%): Because every screener page needs a filler line.

Export-heavy (39% of revenue), with Canada’s Quickmill Inc contributing 44% of consolidated revenue in Q1FY25. If Batliboi India is the samosa, Quickmill is the green chutney—unexpectedly carrying the taste.

4. Financials Overview

Commentary: This quarter’s numbers look like a half-cooked dosa—burnt on one side, raw on the other. PAT swing from profit to loss shows execution risk is as high as the P/E multiple.

5. Valuation – Fair Value Range Only

• P/E Method: FY25 EPS = ₹2.05. At CMP ₹108 → P/E = 52x. Industry median ~36x. Fair range (if growth sustains): ₹75–₹120.
• EV/EBITDA Method: EV = ₹568 Cr; EBITDA (FY25) ≈ ₹19 Cr → EV/EBITDA ≈ 30x. Peers trade 15–20x. Fair range: ₹65–₹100.
• DCF Method: Assume 12% CAGR in revenue (capex boost),