01 — At a Glance
The Alloy King Who Decided to Play Chess by Closing Chessboards
- 52-Week High / Low₹1,265 / ₹834
- Q3 FY26 Revenue₹490 Cr
- Q3 FY26 PAT₹93 Cr
- TTM EPS₹152
- Annualised EPS (Q1-Q3 Avg × 4)₹122
- Book Value / Share₹1,416
- Price to Book0.66x
- ROCE28.0%
- Installed Capacity311,500 MTPA
- Investment Portfolio₹3,483 Cr (Sep 2025)
The Plot Twist: Maithan Alloys trades at 6.15x P/E with 22% ROE, 28% ROCE, and a book value of ₹1,416 per share. The stock is at ₹935 — trading at 0.66x book, which is the kind of valuation that makes analysts either very excited or very suspicious. Spoiler: they’re busy closing factories, so maybe they have a point.
02 — Introduction
The Ferroalloy Entrepreneur Who Got Bored With Making Money
Here’s the thing about Maithan Alloys. The company does something genuinely useful: it makes ferroalloys. These are metals that get mixed into steel to make it stronger, lighter, shinier, and less likely to rust while you’re yelling at your Audi to stop creaking. Every tonne of steel needs about 0.7% manganese. Every tonne of stainless steel needs 17-23% chromium. Maithan has been doing this since 1985, which means it was manufacturing exotic metal compounds while you were still learning to tie your shoelaces.
The company has a diversified manufacturing footprint across West Bengal, Meghalaya, and Andhra Pradesh. They export to global steel conglomerates. They serve domestic giants like SAIL and Tata Steel. Their loan from CARE ratings? CARE AA; Stable. Everything was humming along reasonably well, and then — in September 2025 — management announced they were shutting down the Byrnihat unit in Meghalaya. Permanently. In October, they completed the sale of assets for ₹25.48 crore. By March, they’d acquired ₹60+ crore worth of bank stocks. The narrative started sounding less like “alloy manufacturer” and more like “family office with an alloy hobby.”
Q3 FY26 numbers are a mixed bag: Revenue fell 7.68% to ₹490 crore. Net profit fell 2.12% to ₹93 crore. The quarter-on-quarter trends are weak. Yet the company has ₹3,483 crore in investments, a 0.66x price-to-book valuation, and ROCE of 28%. It’s like buying a restaurant that’s losing customers, but the owner has a Ferrari in the basement.
CARE Ratings Assessment (Dec 2025): CARE AA; Stable outlook. The rating agency notes that “earnings include Rs 454 crore in other income” (mostly investment gains) and that “PBILDT per tonne declined sharply from ₹25,198 in FY23 to ₹5,985 in FY24” but “improved to ₹10,057 in FY25.” Translation: the core business is struggling. The ratings are held up by the company’s massive investment portfolio acting as a financial shock absorber.
03 — Business Model: WTF Do They Even Do?
Making Exotic Metals for Steel, While Building an Investment Portfolio as a Side Hustle
Maithan makes three types of ferroalloys: Ferro Manganese (FM), Silico Manganese (SM), and Ferro Silicon (FS). They’re not flashy. They don’t go on Instagram. But without them, your car’s suspension would rust, your smartphone case would bend, and India’s infrastructure would crumble. Literally. The company operates with 154 MVA (megavolt-amperes) of capacity across plants in Kalyaneshwari (West Bengal), Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), and Bobbili (Andhra Pradesh). They had a fourth unit in Byrnihat (Meghalaya) — keyword: had.
The business model is brutally cyclical. Manganese ore prices fluctuate. Coke prices swing wildly. Steel demand ebbs and flows. Power costs in Meghalaya became so steep that in September 2025, management just gave up and switched off the lights. The Byrnihat unit — 21,000 MTPA of capacity — was sold off for ₹25.48 crore. That’s ₹121 per tonne of capacity. In other words, not a glorious exit.
The real story, however, is in the investments. The company has poured ₹3,483 crore into quoted shares, mutual funds, debentures, bonds, and portfolio management schemes. That’s 67% of market cap sitting in financial assets. On the P&L, “Other Income” was ₹76 crore in Q3 — driven entirely by investment portfolio movements. Without those gains, the core ferroalloy business would look even more stressed.
Export Contribution~59%of FY25 revenue
Domestic Steel ClientsSAIL, Tata Steel75% repeat clients
Core Margin Hit11.2%Operating Margin
Market Share (India)~5%bulk ferroalloys
Fun fact: The company’s investment portfolio has become so large that it now carries more “other income” than core operating profit. In Q3 FY26, the ₹76 crore “Other Income” exceeded operating profit of ₹55 crore. The tail is now wagging the dog. Or to use a metallurgical metaphor: the alloy company is now 60% family office.
04 — Financials Overview
Q3 FY26: Revenue Down, Profits Flat, Investments Soaring
Result type: Quarterly Results | Q3 FY26 EPS: ₹30.54 | Avg Q1-Q3 EPS: (₹20.47+₹49.41+₹30.54)/3 = ₹33.47 | Annualised EPS: ₹133.88
| Metric (₹ Cr) |
Q3 FY26
Dec 2025 |
Q3 FY25
Dec 2024 |
Q2 FY26
Sep 2025 |
YoY % |
QoQ % |
| Revenue | 490 | 531 | 491 | -7.68% | -0.20% |
| Operating Profit | 55 | 29 | 32 | +89.66% | +71.88% |
| Operating Margin % | 11% | 6% | 7% | +500 bps | +400 bps |
| PAT | 93 | 90 | 143 | +3.33% | -34.97% |
| EPS (₹) | 30.54 | 31.20 | 49.41 | -2.12% | -38.20% |
The Tale of Two Stories: Operating profit is up 89.66% YoY — impressive on paper. But that’s because the base was so weak in Q3 FY25. Revenue is down 7.68%. EPS is down 2.12%. And most importantly, Q2 showed ₹143 crore PAT (₹49.41 EPS), while Q3 shows ₹93 crore PAT (₹30.54 EPS). That’s a QoQ collapse of 34.97%. The company is caught between a weak ferroalloy market and portfolio volatility. One quarter the investments boom. Next quarter they tank. It’s like riding a financial roller coaster while the core business gets smaller.
💬 With TTM EPS at ₹152 and P/E at 6.15x, the stock looks cheap. But core earnings are wobbling, and the investment portfolio is doing all the heavy lifting. Do you think this is value or a value trap? Drop your take in the comments.
05 — Valuation Discussion
What Is This Alloy Business Actually Worth When It Owns More Stocks Than Steel?
Method 1: P/E Based
TTM EPS = ₹152. Peer median P/E = 15.29x. A 40-50% discount is justified for a commodity business with margin volatility. Fair P/E band: 7.5x–9.5x.
→ 7.5x × ₹152 = ₹1,140 9.5x × ₹152 = ₹1,444
Range: ₹1,140 – ₹1,444
Method 2: Price to Book Value
Book Value = ₹1,416. Current P/BV = 0.66x. The stock is trading at a 34% discount to book. For a commodity manufacturer, this discount can be justified, but given ROCE of 28% and ROE of 22%, a 0.8x–1.1x P/BV is fair.
→ 0.8x × ₹1,416 = ₹1,133 1.1x × ₹1,416 = ₹1,558
Range: ₹1,133 – ₹1,558
Method 3: Core Business Plus Cash Method
TTM Operating Profit (ex-other income) ~₹125 crore. Investment portfolio: ₹3,483 crore. Per share basis: (₹125 Cr operating profit * 10x multiple) + (₹3,483 Cr investments / 2.92 Cr shares) = ₹428 + ₹1,193 = ₹1,621 per share intrinsic value.
Conservative estimate accounting for investment haircut and core business weakness.
Range: ₹1,200 – ₹1,650
Consolidated View: Across all three methods, fair value converges around ₹1,130–₹1,600. The CMP of ₹935 sits at the lower end — suggesting either genuine value or priced-in weakness. The investment portfolio acts as a safety net, but it’s also masking the deteriorating core business. The Byrnihat shutdown, the plant capacity cuts, and the revenue declines suggest management has already priced in margin compression. Either they see better returns in stocks than steel, or they’re protecting against further downside.
⚠️ EduInvesting Fair Value Range: ₹1,130 – ₹1,600. 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: News, Triggers & Drama
Exit Strategies, Plant Closures & Mystery Equity Buying
