1. At a Glance
Once upon a trade route in 1963, India decided to have its own global merchant — and thus MMTC Ltd was born. Fast forward 62 years, this PSU under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry has transformed from themerchant of metalsto themagician of missing margins. As of November 2025, the ₹9,621 crore market cap PSU trades at ₹64.1, with a P/E of 137 — yes, higher than Apple, and no, there’s no iPhone here, only iron ore.
Despite sales collapsing from ₹28,000 crore a decade ago to ₹3 crore in FY25, the company somehow managed to post a profit of ₹70 crore, thanks to “other income” that deserves a gallantry medal. Operating margins? -3,502%. You read that right — negative three thousand five hundred percent. Even Lord Krishna would raise an eyebrow at suchmaya. The Bhagavad Gita says, “Yogastha kuru karmani” — act with detachment — and MMTC has mastered it. Detached from sales, detached from cash flow, and detached from profitability.
Yet, this is a PSU that refuses to die. With 89.9% government ownership, MMTC survives every storm — from gold import restrictions to court arbitration losses. It’s India’s oldest trading arm, still claiming relevance in agro, fertilizer, metals, minerals, and the shiny stuff (gold). But its true USP now? Staying listed.
2. Introduction
If there’s one company that proves “government jobs are forever,” it’s MMTC. While private traders rise and fall with commodity cycles, MMTC just keeps holding meetings and publishing audited losses. Established to “facilitate foreign trade,” it’s now facilitating nostalgia.
The company once handled billions worth of exports and imports — from wheat to gold, from coal to copper — but post-2020, its ledger reads like an obituary for trade volumes. After defaulting on bank loans in 2020, MMTC negotiated a resolution plan that gave it breathing room till 2022. Since then, it has been trying to breathe — slowly.
In Q2FY26, MMTC reported revenue of just ₹1 crore and a profit of ₹20.5 crore, mostly due to “other income” of ₹453 crore. It’s not a trading company anymore; it’s practically a fixed-income investor masquerading as a trader. The irony is poetic — India’s biggest trader now makes more from interest than from trade.
If this were a Bollywood movie, MMTC’s tagline would be“Hum profit banate hain, trading se nahi — timing se.”
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Explaining MMTC’s business is like explaining government paperwork — theoretically simple, practically endless.
The company has five main verticals:
- Agro Products:Three decades in trading wheat, rice, maize, sugar — basically, the grocery store of Indian diplomacy.
- Fertilizers:Handles 3–4 million tonnes of imports, making it the middleman between global suppliers and Indian farmers.
- Metals & Industrial Raw Materials:Deals in non-ferrous metals like copper and zinc — though the only metal it’s been consistently importing lately seems to be rust.
- Minerals:Iron ore, chrome, manganese — all traded like a PSU’s favorite snack, in small quantities and high paperwork.
- Precious Metals:Authorized by the Government of India to import gold, silver, and platinum — because what’s a public sector without a bit ofbling?
It also has aProjects Divisionthat set up a 15-MW wind farm in 2007. It’s still operational, because unlike the trading business, the wind doesn’t need a board resolution to move.
The business model today is less “trade to earn” and more “exist to update SEBI.” The company’s primary customers are other PSUs, ministries, and the occasional confused importer. MMTC’s best-performing product right now? Theannual report.
4. Financials Overview
| Metric (₹ Cr) | Latest Qtr (Sep’25) | YoY Qtr (Sep’24) | Prev Qtr (Jun’25) | YoY % | QoQ % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | -50.0% | 0% |
| EBITDA | -22 | -30 | -23 | — | — |
| PAT | 171 | 48 | 44 | +256% | +289% |
| EPS (₹) | 1.14 | 0.32 | 0.30 | +256% | +280% |
Commentary:
The company earns ₹1 crore in revenue and ₹171 crore in profit. You know that friend who buys Bitcoin at ₹300 and claims to be a “trader”? MMTC is that friend, but institutionalized. Operating profits are negative, but “Other Income” rescues the quarter — again. P/E of 137 suggests investors either believe in miracles or in government guarantees.
5. Valuation Discussion – Fair Value Range Only
Let’s value this PSU in three educational ways:
(a) P/E MethodEPS = ₹1.47Industry P/E = 34.2Fair Range = ₹1.47 × (20 to 40) =₹29 to ₹59 per share
(b) EV/EBITDA MethodEV = ₹7,844 Cr; EBITDA (TTM) = ₹134 CrEV/EBITDA = 58.3× (already higher than Adani’s ambition).A reasonable range (15×–25×) implies EV = ₹2,010–₹3,350 Cr →Fair value ₹25–₹45 per share
(c) DCF Method (Educational Approximation)With OCF averaging ₹-350 Cr and other income recurring, cash flow stability is fictional. Even assuming a miracle 5% growth with 10% discount rate →₹35–₹55 per share
Educational Fair Value Range: ₹25–₹55 per share(This range is for educational purposes only and not investment advice.)
6. What’s Cooking – News, Triggers, Drama
The past two years for MMTC read like a Netflix documentary titled“PSU: Surviving the Default.”
- 2023:MTPL Singapore, its wholly owned subsidiary, waswound upby the High Court of Singapore. So much for “transnational” ambitions.
- 2023:SEBIcancelled MMTC’s registrationin the NSEL case — yes, the same one that took down half the commodity market.
- 2023:MMTC receiveddefault notices worth US$11.5 million, probably from creditors who finally realized MMTC’s emails were not “auto-reply.”
- 2025:The 62nd AGM proudly appointed Nitin Kumar Yadav as CMD and Anoopa Nair as Finance Director — brave souls.
- 2023:Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) for 85 officials with ₹38 crore payout. At this rate, the HR department may soon qualify as a loss-making unit
