1. At a Glance – The Corporate Version of “Shaadi Mein Sab Theek Hai… Bas Baraat Missing Hai”
If you walked into Forbes & Company thinking this is a simple consumer durables company, congratulations — you’ve just entered the most confusing business model since your CA uncle tried explaining crypto taxation after two pegs.
Here’s what we’ve got:
A company with ₹148 Cr sales, ₹118 Cr profit, and a ridiculous 62% ROE… yet somehow, sales have been collapsing at -40% over 5 years, and promoters have pledged 98.2% of their stake like they’re mortgaging family jewellery for IPL betting.
Oh, and did I mention?
₹111 Cr of profits came from “other income”. Yes, actual business profits are basically playing hide and seek.
Now add this masala:
- CFO resigns
- Company Secretary resigns
- Real estate project almost over
- Subsidiaries going bankrupt in Switzerland
- Random IT park announcement
- And a balance sheet that shrank faster than your motivation after New Year resolutions
So what is this company really?
A turnaround story?
A real estate monetisation play?
Or just a beautifully decorated financial jugaad?
Let’s investigate.
2. Introduction – Yeh Company Hai Ya Buffet?
Forbes & Company is one of those legacy firms that has done everything except maybe run a chai stall (give it time).
Started in 1919, now part of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, it operates across:
- Engineering
- Real estate
- Hygiene products
- IT services
- Logistics
Basically, if diversification was a sport, this company would win gold.
But here’s the twist:
Instead of diversification creating stability, it looks like everything is shrinking except profits — and profits are not even real business profits.
From the data:
- Sales fell from ₹3,000+ Cr in 2014 to just ₹148 Cr now
- That’s not decline. That’s corporate weight loss surgery without consent
So the real question is:
Is this company reinventing itself… or slowly selling pieces to survive?
And more importantly —
Are we looking at a phoenix rising… or a company slowly liquidating assets like a desperate OLX seller?
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Let’s simplify this circus.
1. Real Estate (The Real Hero)
- Project: Vicinia, Mumbai
- Most units already sold
- Only 5 flats left unsold
Translation:
Big revenue spike already happened → future growth limited
Now they rely on:
- Lease rentals
- Not fresh project sales
So real estate is now:
Passive income mode ON
2. Engineering (CIAB)
Fancy name for:
- Coding
- Industrial automation
Reality:
- Revenue ~₹31 Cr annually
- Was loss-making
- Recently made tiny profit of ₹0.75 Cr
So basically:
Startup vibes with 100-year-old company age
3. Health & Hygiene
- Vacuum cleaners
- Water purifiers
- Appliances
Sounds promising?
Except it contributes less than half revenue
