Ceigall India: ₹520 Cr Cash Burn, ₹287 Cr Profit – The EPC Gymnastics You Didn’t See Coming
At a Glance
Ceigall India Ltd has mastered the art of building roads, tunnels, bridges, and burning cash simultaneously. In FY25, they delivered a net profit of ₹287 Cr, while somehow managing to torch ₹520 Cr in operating cash. A classic case of “profits are opinion, but cash flow is fact… and the fact is kinda broke.” Yet, the stock trades at a P/E of just 15.7x with an ROCE of 21.6%—numbers that would make even L&T double-take.
1. Introduction: Roads, Runways & Red Flags
Ceigall India Ltd, founded in 2002, isn’t your typical infra contractor. While other EPC players focus on expanding with bulldozers and borrowed cash, Ceigall swears by asset-light execution and a P&L that’s surprisingly clean for a company in this sector.
The company’s TTM Revenue? ₹3,437 Cr. PAT? ₹287 Cr. ROE? A juicy 21.1%. And yes, they’re still growing with a 3-year sales CAGR of 45%. But before you sprint to open your Demat, remember this: their cash flow from operations is more negative than your ex’s attitude.
Ceigall is the classic EPC paradox: clean accounting, high growth, investor optimism, and no actual money in the bank.
2. Business Model (WTF Do They Even Do?)
Think L&T, but on a strict diet. Ceigall operates as an EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) firm—but here’s the plot twist:
They don’t own most of their heavy machinery. It’s all leased. Asset-light, stress-heavy.
Projects include highways, metro rails, flyovers, tunnels, and even runways—basically, if it needs concrete and deadlines, they bid on it.
Client base: Government, PSU, and Urban Infrastructure authorities. In other words, slow payments, high paperwork, and lots of chai.
Their execution model is built on tight timelines and tighter budgets, and margins that make auditors cry.
3. Financials Overview
Here’s a snapshot of what we’re dealing with:
Source table
Metric (FY25 TTM)
Value
Revenue
₹3,437 Cr
Net Profit
₹287 Cr
EPS
₹16.88
EBITDA
₹518 Cr
OPM
15%
ROCE
21.6%
ROE
21.1%
Debt
₹990 Cr
Market Cap
₹4,523 Cr
Despite ₹990 Cr in borrowings, the company maintains stellar returns—but with debtor days rising to 72 days, the cash is stuck somewhere between invoice and payment.
4. Valuation – Fair Value or Infra Fairy Tale?
Let’s try and decode what Mr. Market should be pricing it at.
