Jindal Photo Ltd: From Clicking Cameras to Clicking Balance Sheets
1. At a Glance
Once upon a time, Jindal Photo was supposed to be about photography. Today, it is more like a family safe-deposit locker with “strategic investments” written on it. With sales of just ₹2.4 Cr in FY25 (that’s basically one Apollo Hospital’s cafeteria bill), the company still managed a PAT of ₹231 Cr thanks to “other income” and valuation gains. In short: no photos, no business, but profits coming out of nowhere. A true Bollywood plot.
2. Introduction
Imagine telling your relatives at a wedding: “I work at Jindal Photo.” They’d think you run a photo studio for passport-size snaps. The truth? You sit in a boardroom playing “Ludo” with investments in group companies.
Jindal Photo Ltd (JPL), incorporated in 1986, is now a glorified investment holding company under the Jindal umbrella. No factories humming, no employees sweating—just valuation reports, fair value adjustments, and loan waivers to coal JV partners that never repaid.
The company earns mainly from amortisation of preference shares and fair value changes. Sales are negligible, but profits look massive because of accounting jugglery. If companies were judged by how much actual “work” they do, JPL would get a solid zero stars on Glassdoor.
3. Business Model (WTF Do They Even Do?)
Core Activity: Holding investments in Jindal Group companies.
Consultancy Services: Fancy way of saying “we bill each other.”
Associates: Jindal India Powertech Ltd.
JV: Mandakini Coal Company Ltd (MCCL), which owes them money and convinced them to waive years of interest.
In FY23:
Booked ₹153 Cr gain from reinstating Jindal India Powertech investments.
Booked ₹1.15 Cr fair valuation gain from Jindal India Thermal Power.
Revenue from operations? ~₹2 Cr.
So, JPL is basically an accounting magician—abracadabra, ₹231 Cr profit appears!
4. Financials Overview
Quarterly Snapshot (Q1 FY26 – June 2025)
Metric
Latest Qtr
YoY Qtr
Prev Qtr
YoY %
QoQ %
Revenue (₹ Cr)
0.54
0.63
1.0
-14.3%
-46.0%
EBITDA (₹ Cr)
0.45
0.57
0.83
-21.1%
-45.8%
PAT (₹ Cr)
52.4
47.4
29.0
10.5%
80.7%
EPS (₹)
50.9
46.0
28.4
10.5%
79.2%
Commentary: Sales are a joke, but PAT is higher than some midcap manufacturing companies. Clearly, this is not business, this is accounting Olympics.
5. Valuation (Fair Value RANGE only)
Method 1 – P/E
EPS FY25 = ₹224
CMP = ₹851
P/E = ~3.8x (looks dirt cheap, but profits are mostly “other income”).
