01 — At a Glance
The Coatings Unicorn That Thought It Was A Real Estate Developer
- 52-Week High / Low₹111 / ₹55.8
- Q3 FY26 Revenue₹291 Cr
- Q3 FY26 PAT₹32.3 Cr
- TTM EPS₹3.09
- Latest Annual EPS (FY25)₹3.47
- Book Value / Share₹22.0
- Price to Book2.60x
- OPM (Ttm)14.0%
- ROCE23.3%
- Promoter Holding69.0%
Flash Summary: Grauer & Weil delivered Q3 FY26 PAT of ₹32.3 crore but profit fell 25% QoQ because Q2 was unusually chunky (₹39 Cr). More importantly: on March 21, 2025, the Bombay High Court upheld the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board’s closure of Growel’s 101 shopping mall. The mall has been shut since. CARE Ratings put the company’s AA- rating on “watch with developing implications.” The company is now appealing to the Supreme Court. The stock is down 37% in 12 months. Value trap or opportunity? Depends on how many coatings contracts you can sign while fighting the courts.
02 — Introduction
The Surface Finisher That Wanted To Be Everything Else Too
Grauer & Weil (India) Limited was founded in 1940. It was originally set up by two British nationals — you guessed it, Grauer and Weil. In 1969, the More family took over. And then in 1991, the More family had a dramatic split with the Goenka family over — we’re guessing — something deep and personal. The Mores kept Growel. The rest is electroplating chemistry history.
Here’s the thing: Growel did ONE thing exceptionally well. It makes electroplating chemicals. Surface finishes. Metal coatings. The kind of stuff that makes your car bumpers shiny and your aircraft frames un-rusted. They have 35% market share in domestic electroplating chemicals. That’s dominance. They’ve been certified AS 9100 — which is aerospace-grade manufacturing. They work on everything from home appliances to defence contracts to gems and jewellery.
But then, around 2015, someone in the More family looked at a 1.2 lakh square feet plot of real estate in Kandivali (Mumbai suburbs) and said: “You know what this needs? A shopping mall. With a cinema. And restaurants. And a gaming zone.” And thus, Growel’s 101 was born. A monument to diversification. A temple to the idea that if you’re good at one business, you’re probably good at 47 others.
The Plot Twist: On March 21, 2025, the Bombay High Court upheld the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board’s directions to PERMANENTLY CLOSE Growel’s 101 mall. The reasoning: it was causing air pollution in the area. Yes, a shopping mall. Polluting the air. The company has filed a petition in the Supreme Court. CARE Ratings has placed the company on rating watch with developing implications. Essentially, nobody knows what happens next, so they’re watching closely.
03 — Business Model: Master Of One, Jack Of Many
When Electroplating Chemicals Meet Entertainment Malls (Badly)
Growel operates across three business segments, each with wildly different risk profiles. Let’s unpack.
Segment 1: Surface Finishing (82% of FY24 revenue). This is the real business. Electroplating chemicals, industrial paints, lubricants, specialty coatings. The company supplies to automotive (30-40% of TOI), home fittings, consumer durables, gems and jewellery, defence, aerospace. They have manufacturing plants in Dadra (4 units), Vapi, Barotiwala, Samba, Pune. They export to 50+ countries. They’ve supported 60 GW of renewable energy projects through specialised coatings. The ROCE on this segment is fortress-like: 23.3%.
Segment 2: Engineering (15% of FY24 revenue). Turnkey solutions for electroplating plants, effluent treatment plants, phosphating units, painting plants. This is the “plants that help you coat stuff” business. Lower margins than chemicals, but sticky because once you sell a customer a ₹50 crore electroplating facility, they need your chemicals for the next 15 years.
Segment 3: Shoppertainment (3% of FY24 revenue BUT 9% of FY25 EBITDA). Growel’s 101 mall. 475,000 sq ft. Occupancy rate was 94% as of Mar 2025. The mall contributed over 73% EBITDA margins — basically free money. Except it was generating pollution, allegedly. And now it’s closed. Permanently. So that 9% of EBITDA? Gone. Finito. Permanently impaired asset.
Market Share35%Electroplating Chems
Export Revenue₹63.4 CrFY24 (6% of TOI)
Dividend Payout14%FY25
Fun fact: In February 2024, Growel signed a technology transfer agreement with OTMK GmbH (a German company) for advanced electroplating capabilities. This is the kind of contract that makes sense for a growth story. Then, exactly one year later, the mall got shut. Timing is everything.
04 — Financials Overview: The Quarterly Rollercoaster
Q3 FY26: When Profit Collapses But Surface Finishing Keeps Chugging
Result type: Quarterly Results (Q3 FY26) | Q3 EPS: ₹0.71 | Annualised EPS (Q3 Avg × 4): ₹2.84
| Metric (₹ Cr) |
Q3 FY26
Dec 2025 |
Q3 FY25
Dec 2024 |
Q2 FY26
Sep 2025 |
YoY % |
QoQ % |
| Revenue | 291 | 275 | 291 | +5.76% | 0% |
| Operating Profit | 39 | 52 | 43 | -25.0% | -9.3% |
| OPM % | 13% | 19% | 15% | -600 bps | -200 bps |
| PAT | 32.3 | 43 | 39 | -25.0% | -17.2% |
| EPS (₹) | 0.71 | 0.95 | 0.85 | -25.3% | -16.5% |
What’s Going On Here? Revenue is flat (291 in Q3 vs 291 in Q2). So why is profit down 25%? Operating margins compressed from 15% (Q2) to 13% (Q3). Why? Because Q3 had higher raw material costs (metallic compounds and petroleum derivatives are volatile) and the company’s ability to pass these costs to customers wasn’t perfect in Q3. Also, the mall closure started being factored in — there’s uncertainty, there’s less operational clarity, and confidence withers. The stock is already pricing in the death of the mall business. The question is: can surface finishing carry the weight alone?
💬 If we strip out the mall (which is now permanently closed), Growel’s core chemicals + engineering business trades at what multiple? And is that attractive? What’s your take?
05 — Valuation: The Pollution Problem
What’s A Company Worth When Its Profitable Division Keeps Getting Shut Down?
Method 1: P/E Based (Core Business Only)
The mall contributed ~9% of EBITDA in FY25 but is now permanently closed. Adjusting for permanent loss of mall earnings (roughly ₹15-18 crore annual contribution), normalized annual PAT ≈ ₹120-125 crore (vs current TTM of ₹140 Cr with the mall). Normalized EPS ≈ ₹2.67-2.77. Sector median P/E for specialty chemicals: ~13-14x. A 20% discount for closure-related uncertainty suggests fair P/E: 10.4x–11.2x.
→ 10.4x × ₹2.72 = ₹28.3 11.2x × ₹2.72 = ₹30.5
Range (Adjusted): ₹28 – ₹32
Method 2: Price to Book Value
Book Value = ₹22.0 per share. Current P/BV = 2.6x. With the mall closure removing a high-margin asset, reasonable P/BV for core business (surface finishing + engineering) ≈ 1.8x–2.2x (specialty chemicals with 23.3% ROCE, minus closure risk).
→ 1.8x × ₹22 = ₹39.6 2.2x × ₹22 = ₹48.4
Range: ₹40 – ₹48
Method 3: Sum of Parts / DCF Equivalent
Surface Finishing & Engineering AUM ≈ ₹950+ Cr. Core ROCE: 23.3%. Even with 15% WACC post-closure crisis, normalized FCF ≈ ₹85-95 crore. Conservative terminal value multiple: 8–10x FCF (given regulatory risk). Equity value ≈ ₹45-60 per share after adjusting for impaired assets and closure costs.
Conservative estimate: ₹45–₹60 range.
Range: ₹45 – ₹60
The Real Problem: All three methods converge around ₹40–₹55 for the core electroplating business, EXCLUDING the mall. Current price is ₹57. So the market is either saying: (1) the mall closure will be overturned in the Supreme Court, OR (2) there’s upside we’re missing in the core business, OR (3) the stock is a touch overvalued on a stand-alone basis. CARE Ratings on “watch” means more downside risk until clarity emerges. The stock is trading ABOVE the core business valuation range, which suggests the market is still pricing in some mall recovery upside.
⚠️ EduInvesting Fair Value Range (Adjusted): ₹40 – ₹55. This is assuming the mall closure is permanent and permanent asset impairment. If the Supreme Court reverses the High Court order, valuations could re-rate upward to ₹65-75. This fair value range is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice. Please consult a SEBI-registered investment advisor before making any financial decision.
06 — What’s Cooking: The Closure & The Court Battle
When The Environment Ministry Becomes Your New Business Partner (Involuntarily)
