1. At a Glance – The NBFC That Doesn’t Lend Much but Prints Profits
Quest Capital Markets Ltd is sitting at a market cap of ₹275 Cr with a current price of ₹275. The stock is down ~16.7% in the last 3 months and ~17.3% in one year — so the market clearly isn’t throwing confetti.
But wait.
This company just posted Q3 FY26 revenue of ₹27 Cr and PAT of ₹20.7 Cr. That’s a net margin that would make FMCG companies cry into their ad budgets. OPM? A scandalous 99%.
Stock P/E: 6.86
Price to Book: 0.21
Debt: ₹0 Cr
ROE: 1.7%
Dividend yield: 0.91%
It is trading at just 21% of book value. Either this is a hidden treasure chest or a vault filled with financial instruments nobody trusts.
And here’s the twist: most of the income comes from dividends and sale of investments.
So the real question is — is this an NBFC, or is this just a listed investment holding company with three employees and a calculator?
Let’s investigate.
2. Introduction – The Three-Employee Financial Machine
Founded in 1986 (back when people still used fax machines seriously), Quest Capital started as a leasing and finance company. It became a Category I Merchant Banker in the late 80s and has since been dabbling in merchant banking, advisory, trading in securities, and mutual funds.
It is part of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group ecosystem — which gives it pedigree.
But here’s the spicy part:
In FY23, the company had only 3 employees. As of 31 March 2023, there was no employee other than KMP.
Three people.
One listed entity.
₹1,389 Cr of assets (Sep 2025 balance sheet).
Either they are extremely efficient… or extremely passive.
Revenue mix in FY23:
- Dividend income: 62%
- Sale of shares & securities: 24%
- Interest income: 12%
- Sale of services: 12%
This is not a traditional lending-heavy NBFC. This is more like a capital markets holding platform that occasionally trades, collects dividends, and reports blockbuster margins.
And if 99% OPM doesn’t make you curious, nothing will.
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Let’s simplify.
They:
- Invest in equity shares (₹1,385 Cr investments as of Sep 2025)
- Hold minority stakes in listed companies like:
- CESC
- Phillips Carbon Black
- RPSG Ventures
- Saregama India
- Spencer’s Retail
- Trade securities
- Earn dividends
- Occasionally sell investments at profit
Loans? Minimal.
Employees? Minimal.
Physical assets? Basically none.
This is not an operational NBFC chasing retail borrowers.
This is a financial holding and investment vehicle.
In FY23:
- ₹173 Cr invested in equity (98% allocation)
- Disposed investments worth ₹230.61 lakh with cumulative gain ₹189.67 lakh
So income fluctuates based on:
- Dividend flows
- Capital gains
