Altman Z″
Needs current assets and current liabilities.
A plain-language read of the business, how it actually earns, where the edge is, and the economics of every reported segment — taken from the annual report and investor presentation, not a one-line industry label.
How to read this: Price shows the closing price with its 50-day (amber) and 200-day (grey) averages; bars at the bottom are daily volume, green on up days and red on down days; dashed lines mark the 52-week high and low. vs Nifty 50 starts both at 100 so you can see which did better over the period. P/E shows what the market paid for each rupee of profit, inside the band it usually trades in. Drawdown shows how far below its best price the share has been. Hover anywhere for the numbers on that day.
The three to six things that actually matter about this company, each with the exact filing and note it came from — never a fact without the context that makes it meaningful.
What the numbers mean when read together — computed from the filings, not a score.
Operating cash is only 49% of profit, and operating cash has been negative in 2 of the last 12 years — this is a pattern, not a one-off timing gap.
Why this reading: Flagged because the shortfall is persistent (2 weak years), material, and unexplained by a single year of working-capital movement.
Latest operating cash ₹83 cr vs trailing profit ₹171 cr. A repeated gap between profit and cash points to structural earnings quality issues rather than benign timing.
Over the last year profit declined 41.1% even as revenue grew 21.3% — margins are compressing, and any premium being paid rests on a year that moved backwards on the bottom line.
Why this reading: Flagged because the pattern is clear, material, and not explained by the visible numbers — the kind of thing worth understanding before anything else.
Trailing revenue ₹3,029 cr (up 21.3%) but trailing profit ₹209 cr (down 41.1%). Rising sales with falling profit points to cost inflation not passed through, mix shift to lower-margin lines, or one-off gains in the base year.
Net margin has narrowed from 10.4% to 6.9% year-on-year — profitability per rupee of sales is shrinking.
Why this reading: Noted with caution — worth watching, but not yet conclusive on its own. Business has ups and downs; one soft reading is not a verdict.
Quarter net margin 6.9% vs 10.4% four quarters earlier. Sustained compression signals pricing pressure, cost inflation, or mix deterioration.
Free cash flow is negative — the business consumes more than it generates once capex is paid. Fine if it is deliberate growth investment; a problem if it is structural.
Why this reading: Noted with caution — worth watching, but not yet conclusive on its own. Business has ups and downs; one soft reading is not a verdict.
Latest free cash flow ₹-169 cr, negative in 3 of 12 years. Check whether the burn funds expansion (dark stores, plants, ports) or merely sustains operations.
Other income is 111% of pre-tax profit — a large share of the profit comes from outside the core operating business.
Why this reading: Noted with caution — worth watching, but not yet conclusive on its own. Business has ups and downs; one soft reading is not a verdict.
Trailing other income ₹322 cr against pre-tax profit ₹291 cr. High other-income dependence means the headline profit is flattered by treasury, one-offs, or non-operating items rather than the core business.
Borrowings rose 108% over two years while the company also carries ₹4,063 cr in investments. Why borrow at interest while parking money elsewhere is a fair question.
Why this reading: Noted with caution — worth watching, but not yet conclusive on its own. Business has ups and downs; one soft reading is not a verdict.
Borrowings moved to ₹368 cr from ₹177 cr. Simultaneous large investments can be legitimate treasury management, or a sign that reported cash is not freely available.
Every score below is calculated here from the reported numbers — none of it is asserted. Open the notebook at the foot of the section to see each formula with this company's figures in it.
Needs current assets and current liabilities.
Piotroski F-Score — fundamental momentum — Joseph Piotroski, University of Chicago, 2000, in a study of whether accounting signals could improve returns among cheap stocks.
Nine yes-or-no tests across profitability, leverage and operating efficiency. Each pass scores one. It asks a narrow question: is this business getting better or worse on its own terms, year over year?
How to read it7 or more suggests improving fundamentals; 3 or fewer suggests deterioration. It measures direction, not quality — a weak company improving can score higher than a strong one holding steady.
Where it failsA single year of comparison, so one unusual year distorts it. Says nothing about valuation, competitive position or management. Piotroski designed it to rank already-cheap stocks, not to judge a company in isolation.
Needs trade receivables, current assets, other expenses.
Accruals are 1.2% of assets. Free cash flow negative in 3 of 12 years.
DuPont decomposition — Devised inside the DuPont Corporation in the 1920s and still the standard way to read a return on equity.
Splits return on equity into its three sources, so the same headline number can be traced to very different businesses.
How to read itA 20% ROE built on margin and turnover is a different proposition from a 20% ROE built on 3× leverage. The first survives a downturn; the second amplifies it.
Where it failsA single year. Negative equity makes it meaningless. Leverage is structural for lenders, so the third term carries no signal there.
Capital is going in far faster than revenue is coming out. For a business mid-build that is expected — the test is whether it converts.
cumulative operating cash flow ÷ cumulative net profit
₹5,234 cr ÷ ₹6,790 cr, over 12 years
0.77×
Below 1.0 and persistent means profit is being recognised before the cash arrives.(net profit − operating cash flow) ÷ average total assets
(₹171 − ₹83) cr ÷ average assets
1.2%
The share of profit that is accounting entries rather than cash. Above ~10% is where accruals start to dominate.net margin × asset turnover × leverage
6.0% × 0.38 × 1.29
2.9%
Splits ROE into whether returns come from operations or from borrowing.EBIT ÷ finance cost
₹269 cr ÷ ₹25 cr
10.76×
How many times operating profit covers the interest bill.borrowings ÷ net worth
₹368 cr ÷ ₹5,859 cr
0.06×
Read against the sector — infrastructure carries more than software.growth in fixed assets + CWIP, against growth in revenue
capital +33% vs revenue +-10%, FY2023 to FY2026
43pp gap
Money going in far faster than revenue coming out. For an incubator this is expected — the test is whether it eventually converts.Needs more balance-sheet detail (only 3 of 6 flags testable).
NOPAT over equity plus debt less cash, at a notional 25% tax. Incremental ROIC is the return on money put in since then — the number that decides whether growth creates value or consumes it.
Return on invested capital, and incremental ROIC — Standard in corporate finance; the incremental form was popularised by Michael Mauboussin as the test of whether growth creates value.
ROIC measures what the business earns on all the capital it employs — equity plus debt, less cash. Incremental ROIC asks a sharper question: what has it earned on the money put in since a chosen year?
How to read itROIC comfortably above the cost of capital — call it 11–13% in India — means growth compounds. Below it, growth consumes. Incremental below headline means recent investment is earning less than the legacy business.
Where it failsDistorted in the year of a large acquisition. Understated for companies mid-build, where capital is deployed but capacity has not yet been commissioned — an incubator will look poor until it does not.
Read downward. Cash can cover EBITDA and still not survive capex — the third rung is where a capital-hungry business shows itself.
The earnings quality ladder — Not a named model — the standard sequence an analyst walks when testing whether reported profit is real.
Three ratios read in order, each stricter than the last.
How to read itRead downward. Each rung failing where the one above passed tells you exactly where the cash is going.
Where it failsA single year of heavy capex depresses the third rung legitimately. Judge it across a cycle.
Against a policy rate near 6%, most sound Indian corporates borrow between 7% and 10%.
Cost of debt — Interest expense over average borrowings — the effective rate the company actually pays.
What the lenders charge, which is a market verdict on credit quality that no rating agency delay affects.
How to read itAgainst a policy rate near 6%, most sound Indian corporates borrow between 7% and 10%. Read the direction over years as much as the level.
Where it failsUnderstated where a large share of interest is capitalised into projects under construction. Not meaningful for lenders, where interest is cost of goods.
Models that need these lines are withheld rather than estimated: net worth, current assets, current liabilities, trade receivables, inventory, net block. Nothing on this page is back-solved from a figure the company did not publish.
Each framework below is a set of stated, mechanical criteria from published work, run against this company's own filed numbers. Passing or failing a screen is not a verdict — different frameworks disagree by design, and that disagreement is itself informative.
Benjamin Graham's stated criteria for a defensive stock, applied to the filed numbers. A company failing several is not disqualified — Graham designed these to be deliberately strict.
Two ratios only: what the business earns on its capital, and what you pay for those earnings. Designed to be ranked across a universe rather than read in isolation.
The fundamental half of William O'Neil's framework. The market and leadership components are judgement calls and are not scored here.
The characteristics long-term holders commonly look for: cash-backed earnings, high returns on capital, and debt that never forces a decision.
Median of the companies we hold in the same sector (Capital Goods). Every figure on both sides is the live feed's trailing twelve months, so the two are measured the same way whatever depth of extraction this company has had. A number only means something next to something else — expensive against the market and cheap against peers are different facts.
Bars are revenue; the line is net margin. Revenue rising while the line falls is the shape worth noticing.
Operating cash first, then what the business spent and raised.
One year is a snapshot. These are the two lines that matter across a cycle.
Rising debtor or inventory days against flat sales is the earliest visible sign of stress.
Set your own assumptions and watch the numbers move. A scenario calculator — the outputs are the arithmetic of your inputs.
One canonical set of figures — the same numbers used everywhere else on this page and on the screener.
How the register has moved over recent quarters — the direction matters more than the level.
Promoter held steady from 65.34% to 65.34% across these quarters.
FII trimmed from 6.60% to 6.04% across these quarters.
MF rose from 7.49% to 8.80% across these quarters.
Other trimmed from 20.57% to 19.82% across these quarters.
Where cash gets stuck. A rising inventory or debtor line against flat sales is the earliest sign of trouble in the numbers.
| Measure | FY2019 | FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debtor days
How long customers take to pay | 40 | 48 | 63 | 65 | 63 | 65 | 67 | 85 |
| Inventory days
How long stock sits before it sells | 531 | 267 | 312 | 541 | 628 | 252 | 376 | 321 |
| Payable days
How long the company takes to pay suppliers | 159 | 33 | 71 | 141 | 82 | 30 | 84 | 80 |
| Cash conversion cycle
Debtor + inventory − payable days | 412 | 282 | 305 | 464 | 609 | 287 | 359 | 327 |
| Working capital days | 82 | 167 | 127 | 175 | 192 | 118 | 84 | 62 |
| ROCE %
Return on capital employed | 119.0% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 14.0% | 7.0% | 1.0% | 10.0% | 5.0% |
| Metric | Q2 FY27 | Q1 FY27 | Q2 FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graphite and Carbon Segment Revenue (₹ crore) | 707 | 687 | 661 |
| Steel Segment Revenue (₹ crore) | 119 | 111 | 64 |
| Graphite and Carbon Segment Result (₹ crore) | 82 | 56 | 17 |
| Steel Segment Result (₹ crore) | 18 | 43 | 11 |
| Inventory Write-Down on NRV Basis (₹ crore) | 20 | 24 | 80 |
| FVTPL Investment Gain in Other Income (₹ crore) | 57 | 73 | 51 |
From the quarterly results and the earnings call, read by FinMinutes. Latest quarter, read in full.
Read using the Capital goods and EPC framework (named in the filing read). Primary valuation lens: P/E against order book quality.
Read more closely in this sector: Unbilled revenue growing faster than billed receivables · Order inflow against execution · Bank guarantees outstanding growing faster than the order book · Liquidated damages or cost overruns disclosed.
The shape of the business over time (annual) — read the direction, not the single print.
| Line | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue from operations | 1,958 | 3,027 | 3,181 | 2,950 | 2,560 | 2,852 |
| Other income | 316 | 294 | 80 | 1,258 | 438 | 162 |
| Depreciation | 52 | 55 | 57 | 80 | 90 | 95 |
| Finance cost | 6 | 5 | 13 | 17 | 11 | 25 |
| Profit before tax | 43 | 693 | 322 | 1,017 | 591 | 244 |
| Net profit (owners) | -32 | 505 | 199 | 805 | 458 | 171 |
| EPS (₹) | -1.64 | 25.83 | 10.20 | 41.36 | 23.65 | 8.97 |
Exceptional items, total income and EBITDA are read from the filed statements.
| Metric | Sep 2023 | Dec 2023 | Mar 2024 | Jun 2024 | Sep 2024 | Dec 2024 | Mar 2025 | Jun 2025 | Sep 2025 | Dec 2025 | Mar 2026 | Jun 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 793 | 690 | 720 | 728 | 643 | 523 | 666 | 665 | 729 | 642 | 816 | 842 |
| Other Income | 1,045 | 63 | 72 | 194 | 168 | 19 | 57 | 150 | 89 | 81 | 55 | 97 |
| Expenses | 823 | 703 | 730 | 615 | 533 | 531 | 627 | 622 | 686 | 600 | 955 | 698 |
| Depreciation | 19 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 23 |
| Finance cost | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 18 | 4 |
| Profit before tax | 992 | 25 | 37 | 284 | 252 | -14 | 69 | 167 | 105 | 97 | -125 | 214 |
| Net Profit | 802 | 17 | 16 | 236 | 194 | -21 | 49 | 133 | 76 | 67 | -105 | 171 |
| EPS | 41.15 | 0.92 | 0.82 | 12.13 | 9.98 | -1.02 | 2.56 | 6.86 | 3.94 | 3.48 | -5.32 | 8.80 |
| Item | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equity Capital | 39 | 39 | 39 | 39 | 39 | 39 |
| Reserves | 4,503 | 4,908 | 4,925 | 5,572 | 5,827 | 5,820 |
| Borrowings | 225 | 436 | 432 | 177 | 173 | 368 |
| Net block | 640 | 691 | 789 | 948 | 1,094 | 1,153 |
| CWIP | 80 | 142 | 127 | 145 | 65 | 61 |
| Investments | 2,804 | 2,494 | 2,322 | 3,569 | 4,024 | 4,063 |
| Total Assets | 5,527 | 6,297 | 6,508 | 6,790 | 7,227 | 7,577 |
| Line | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash from operations | 584 | -488 | -160 | 680 | 500 | 83 |
| Cash from investing | -519 | 222 | 328 | -239 | -202 | -123 |
| Cash from financing | -199 | 105 | -213 | -427 | -226 | -46 |
| Free cash flow | 510 | -576 | -328 | 1,396 | 343 | -169 |
| Net change in cash | -134 | -162 | -45 | 14 | 72 | -86 |
Cash from operations is the number profit has to answer to. Free cash flow is what remains after the business pays for its own growth.
The part no one reads: the auditor's opinion, the contingent liabilities buried in the notes, the covenants, and the claims in the deck placed beside the figures that test them.
Where analysts pressed management on the earnings call, and exactly how management answered — the questions that were hardest to answer are usually the ones that matter.
These are coverage counts, not ratings. Each one asks a fixed set of questions of the filings and reports how many the company answered. A company that discloses nothing counts nothing here — that is a statement about the disclosure, not about the business.
The same read, applied to the companies this one competes with.
Graphite India Ltd. reported revenue of ₹826 cr for July to September 2026, +13.3% on the year and −1.9% on the quarter. That is faster than this quarter has grown in recent years (−2.8% on average), so the year-on-year number is not just the season. Over the last four quarters revenue comes to ₹3,126 cr, +21.0% on the four before.
Operating profit (EBITDA) was ₹83.0 cr, a margin of 10.0%, +415 bps on the year and −705 bps on the quarter. Over the last 8 quarters the margin has ranged from −17.0% to 17.1%, averaging 4.2%. Operating costs grew +8.3% against revenue growth of +13.3%, so more of each rupee of sales reached operating profit.
Net profit was ₹94.0 cr, +23.7% on the year and −45.0% on the quarter, with earnings per share of ₹4.89. Profit before other income, one-offs and tax grew faster, at +243.8%; other income, one-offs or tax held the headline back. The tax rate was 32% against an average of 25% over the previous 6 quarters, which weighed on profit this quarter. Profit over the last four quarters totals ₹227 cr, −4.2% on the four before.
Of the 34 companies in Capital goods and EPC that have reported Q2 FY27 so far, Graphite India Ltd. ranks 22nd on revenue growth; the sector median is +17.1%. Its margin moved +415 bps on the year against a sector median of +6 bps.
Capital goods and EPC revenue follows project execution, which makes quarters uneven; the order book and new orders tell more about the year than one quarter does.
On earnings per share of ₹11.87 over the last four quarters, the stock at ₹763.10 trades at 64.3 times trailing earnings.
Half or more of pre-tax profit came from other income. What is it, and does it repeat?
Source: Results filing
Core profit grew faster than reported profit: one-offs held the headline down.
Source: Results filing
Could not run on this quarter: IPO money used as stated, Related-party transactions, Promoter pledges and allotments, Earlier promises against delivery. The filing did not carry these lines.
Net profit a year ago, each driver's change, and net profit now. Blue added profit, red took it away.
| Balance sheet | Sep '26 | Last year end | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trade receivables | ₹626 cr | ₹667 cr | ▼ 6.1% |
| Inventory | ₹1,180 cr | ₹1,188 cr | ▼ 0.7% |
| Cash | ₹73.0 cr | ₹22.0 cr | ▲ 231.8% |
| Bank balances | ₹12.0 cr | ₹24.0 cr | ▼ 50.0% |
| Long-term borrowings | ₹2.0 cr | — | — |
| Short-term borrowings | ₹272 cr | ₹367 cr | ▼ 25.9% |
| Trade payables | ₹325 cr | ₹297 cr | ▲ 9.4% |
| Net block | ₹1,073 cr | ₹1,074 cr | ▼ 0.1% |
| Capital work in progress | ₹148 cr | ₹61.0 cr | ▲ 142.6% |
| Equity | ₹5,988 cr | ₹5,856 cr | ▲ 2.3% |
| Total assets | ₹7,691 cr | ₹7,580 cr | ▲ 1.5% |
| Cash flow, year to date | This year | Last year |
|---|---|---|
| Operating cash flow | ₹181 cr | −₹19.0 cr |
| Capital expenditure | −₹219 cr | −₹79.0 cr |
| Investing cash flow | ₹108 cr | ₹87.0 cr |
| Financing cash flow | −₹238 cr | −₹134 cr |
| Dividends paid | −₹137 cr | −₹215 cr |
Operating cash flow was 0.68× profit. Receivables at 68 days of sales (−17 days against the last year end). Inventory at 129 days of sales (−23 days).
Other matter: “”The accompanying Statement includes the unaudited interim financial results and other unaudited financial information, in respect of one (1) subsidiary and consolidated financial results in respect of one (1) subsidiary including its five (5) subsidiaries, whose unaudited interim financial results… Read in full
The accompanying Statement includes the unaudited interim financial results and other unaudited financial information, in respect of one (1) subsidiary and consolidated financial results in respect of one (1) subsidiary including its five (5) subsidiaries, whose unaudited interim financial results and other unaudited financial information include total assets of Rs. 463.06 crores as at September 30, 2026, total revenues of Rs. 20.76 crores and Rs 98.74 crores, total net loss after tax of Rs. 39.06 crores and Rs. 26.10 crores, total comprehensive loss of Rs. 40.09 crores and Rs. 26.84 crores, for the quarter ended September 30, 2026 and the period ended on that date respectively, and net cash inflows of Rs. 42.94 crores for the period from April 1, 2026 to September 30, 2026, as considered in the Statement which have been reviewed by their respective independent auditors.
Filing p. auditor review report
On 8th July 2026, Graphite International B.V. approved the closure of operations of Bavaria Carbon Specialities GmbH and Graphite COVA GmbH in Germany due to continuing adverse business conditions. (p. consolidated note 2(a))
As at 30th September 2026, the Company paid share application money of Rs. 16 crore towards rights entitlement in Godi India Private Limited; shares allotted on 19th October 2026. (p. consolidated note 6)
Tax: Consolidated tax expense of ₹45.00 crore (current tax ₹34.00 crore, prior years tax credit ₹1.00 crore, deferred tax ₹12.00 crore) on Profit before tax of ₹139.00 crore
| Metric | Q2 FY27 | Q1 FY27 | Q2 FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graphite and Carbon Segment Revenue (₹ crore) | 707 | 687 | 661 |
| Steel Segment Revenue (₹ crore) | 119 | 111 | 64 |
| Graphite and Carbon Segment Result (₹ crore) | 82 | 56 | 17 |
| Steel Segment Result (₹ crore) | 18 | 43 | 11 |
| Inventory Write-Down on NRV Basis (₹ crore) | 20 | 24 | 80 |
| FVTPL Investment Gain in Other Income (₹ crore) | 57 | 73 | 51 |
Read using the Capital goods and EPC framework (named in the filing read). Primary valuation lens: P/E against order book quality.
Read more closely in this sector: Unbilled revenue growing faster than billed receivables · Order inflow against execution · Bank guarantees outstanding growing faster than the order book · Liquidated damages or cost overruns disclosed.
| Segment | Revenue | YoY | Result | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graphite and Carbon | ₹707 cr | ▲ 7.0% | ₹82.0 cr | ▲ 382.4% |
| Steel | ₹119 cr | ▲ 85.9% | ₹18.0 cr | ▲ 63.6% |
| Others | ₹0.0 cr | ▼ 100.0% | −₹2.0 cr | — |
| Q3 FY24 | Q4 FY24 | Q1 FY25 | Q2 FY25 | Q3 FY25 | Q4 FY25 | Q1 FY26 | Q2 FY26 | Q3 FY26 | Q4 FY26 | Q1 FY27 | Q2 FY27 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ₹690 cr | ₹720 cr | ₹728 cr | ₹643 cr | ₹523 cr | ₹666 cr | ₹665 cr | ₹729 cr | ₹642 cr | ₹816 cr | ₹842 cr | ₹826 cr |
| YoY | — | — | −3% | −19% | −24% | −7% | −9% | +13% | +23% | +23% | +27% | +13% |
| EBITDA margin | −1.9% | −1.4% | 15.5% | 17.1% | −1.5% | 5.9% | 6.5% | 5.9% | 6.5% | −17.0% | 17.1% | 10.0% |
| Other income, % of PBT | 252% | 195% | 68% | 67% | — | 83% | 90% | 85% | 84% | — | 45% | 76% |
| Exceptional items | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | −₹22.0 cr |
| Tax rate | 32% | 57% | 17% | 23% | — | 29% | 20% | 28% | 31% | — | 20% | 32% |
| Net profit | ₹17.0 cr | ₹16.0 cr | ₹236 cr | ₹194 cr | −₹21.0 cr | ₹49.0 cr | ₹133 cr | ₹76.0 cr | ₹67.0 cr | −₹105 cr | ₹171 cr | ₹94.0 cr |
| YoY | — | — | — | −76% | −224% | +206% | −44% | −61% | — | −314% | +29% | +24% |
| Core profit YoY | — | — | — | — | — | — | −81% | −81% | — | −1,600% | +588% | +244% |
| EPS | ₹0.92 | ₹0.82 | ₹12.13 | ₹9.98 | −₹1.02 | ₹2.56 | ₹6.86 | ₹3.91 | ₹3.48 | −₹5.32 | ₹8.82 | ₹4.89 |
| Flags | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ✓ | 1 |
Each quarter is read with the same rules. Balance-sheet and cash checks run on half-year and annual quarters; filing-read checks run where a read exists.