BSE: 504988
WELCAST STEELS LTD.
Manufactured Hi-chrome Grinding Media — grinding balls used in cement, mining and thermal power plants — at a single plant in Peenya Industrial Area, Bengaluru, set up in 1972. The Board approved permanent closure of this factory effective 15 December 2025, citing outdated technology, high production costs, space constraints and falling capacity utilisation, and stated that modernisation was not financially feasible. FY26 financials cover part-year operations followed by inventory disposal and were prepared on a non-going concern basis; the Board is yet to decide on the company's future direction. AIA Engineering Limited holds 74.85% as the parent company and the company has no subsidiaries. Revenue came from a single stream — Hi-chrome Grinding Media sales. Revenue from operations was ₹4,581.69 lakhs in FY26 against ₹8,432.58 lakhs in FY25, with the drop reflecting the run-down ahead of closure. The company posted a net loss of ₹530.22 lakhs in FY26 versus ₹33.74 lakhs in FY25, including an exceptional item of ₹328.19 lakhs for plant closure compensation under the Industrial Disputes/Relations Code. Materials were the largest cost at 52.7% of revenue, followed by other operating expenses at 32.0% and employee costs at 14.4%. With the plant shut, the company is now disposing of remaining inventory. AR · MarketPing reader · 2026-08-02
Revenue streams, as the annual report describes them. Hi-chrome Grinding Media manufacturing. Single-product industrial manufacturer in wind-down after permanent plant closure; financials prepared on a non-going concern basis
Exhibit 1: Financial summary, FY22–FY26 (all audited; no estimate years)
| ₹ crore · standalone | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 86 | 94 | 91 | 85 | 49 |
| EBITDA (ex other income) | (0) | 4 | 4 | (1) | (6) |
| margin % | (0.0) | 4.4 | 4.7 | (1.4) | (12.6) |
| Owners' profit | (0) | 3 | 5 | (0) | (5) |
| EPS, as reported (₹) | (7.70) | 41.37 | 82.24 | (5.29) | (83.09) |
| ROE % · ROCE % | (1.5) · (1.1) | 7.5 · 11.2 | 13.0 · 17.5 | (0.8) · (0.7) | (15.4) · (14.0) |
| Debt / equity (x) | 0.09 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Cash from operations | 3 | 17 | 4 | (4) | 3 |
| Capex | (2) | (0) | (0) | (1) | (0) |
Exhibit 2: Quarterly performance, last 8 quarters
| ₹ crore | Q1 FY25 | Q2 FY25 | Q3 FY25 | Q4 FY25 | Q1 FY26 | Q2 FY26 | Q3 FY26 | Q4 FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 24 | 16 | 23 | 21 | 23 | 21 | 3 | 3 |
| Profit before tax | (1) | (0) | 0 | 0 | (0) | (3) | (3) | 2 |
| Net profit | (1) | (0) | 0 | 0 | (0) | (3) | (3) | 1 |
| EPS (₹) | (9.10) | (0.91) | 1.77 | 2.96 | (4.61) | (50.64) | (49.47) | 21.64 |
Exhibit 3: Peers — basic industry group, by market cap
| Company | M.cap ₹ cr | P/E | P/B | EV/EBITDA | ROE % | ROCE % | Rev CAGR 5y % | EBITDA m. % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HBL ENGINEERING LTD | 22,455 | 24.3 | 10.14 | 19.3 | 36.8 | 45.3 | 29.4 | 26.2 |
| INOX INDIA LIMITED | 17,354 | 68.1 | 15.53 | 45.2 | 23.1 | 30.0 | — | 23.4 |
| ESAB INDIA LTD | 8,153 | 36.8 | 18.99 | — | 48.1 | 60.4 | — | 19.2 |
| HARSHA ENGINEERS INT LTD | 3,887 | 25.1 | 2.77 | 15.2 | 11.1 | 13.2 | — | 15.9 |
| W P I L LTD. | 3,868 | 24.5 | 1.97 | 11.1 | 10.2 | 13.1 | 13.3 | 17.7 |
| SUBROS LIMITED | 3,834 | 23.1 | 3.08 | 10.9 | 13.3 | 16.0 | 15.9 | 8.4 |
| ADOR WELDING LTD | 2,370 | 20.9 | 4.28 | 17.0 | 14.8 | 19.9 | 20.6 | 13.8 |
| DIFFUSION ENGINEERS LTD | 1,505 | 27.4 | 3.71 | 20.1 | 12.4 | 15.2 | — | 16.6 |
Exhibit 4: Where the company sits in its group
| Metric | Company | Group median | Rank | Better than |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P/B | 1.1 | 2.5 | 5 of 24 | 83% |
| ROCE | (14.2) | 12.3 | 31 of 31 | 0% |
| ROE | (15.4) | 10.3 | 23 of 24 | 4% |
| Debt / Equity | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1 of 24 | 96% |
| EBITDA margin | 75.8 | 10.8 | 1 of 23 | 100% |
| Revenue growth | (86.0) | (5.5) | 23 of 23 | 0% |
| Profit growth | 632.2 | (5.0) | 2 of 23 | 96% |
| Market cap | 38 | 103 | 26 of 31 | 17% |
Exhibit 5: Filings of the last 90 days, with the measured price reaction
| Date · filing | Category | Importance | Next day % | 5-day % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Oct 2026 · Board meeting on 30 Oct 2026 to approve Q2 FY27 results | results | low | — | — |
| 12 Oct 2026 · Routine RTA compliance certificate under SEBI Reg 74(5) for Sep 2026 quarter | compliance | minimal | — | — |
| 25 Sept 2026 · Trading window closed from Oct 1 ahead of Q2 results | compliance | minimal | — | — |
| 11 Sept 2026 · Welcast Steels 54th AGM held on 10 Sep 2026, both resolutions passed | board shareholder meetings | low | — | — |
| 11 Sept 2026 · 54th AGM results: both resolutions passed with 100 percent approval | board shareholder meetings | low | — | — |
| 10 Sept 2026 · Welcast Steels 54th AGM held on Sept 10, 2026 - 2 resolutions transacted | board shareholder meetings | medium | — | — |
| 18 Aug 2026 · Newspaper ad for 54th AGM and e-voting info | compliance | minimal | — | — |
| 17 Aug 2026 · AGM notice and Annual Report FY2025-26 filed; major loss and plant shutdown reported | board shareholder meetings | medium | — | — |
| 7 Aug 2026 · Notice of 54th AGM on 10 September 2026 via video conferencing | compliance | minimal | — | — |
| 5 Aug 2026 · Welcast Steels Q1 loss after plant shutdown, non-going concern flag | results | high | — | — |
How to read this document
| Where a broker report shows | This document shows | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A rating (BUY / ADD / REDUCE / SELL) | A state: the latest filed quarter and the measured reactions | an event is a fact; a rating is an opinion that requires SEBI RA registration |
| A target price and upside | The current price and the multiples against the group | a target is a forecast; a multiple is a measurement |
| Estimate years marked E | More audited years; no estimates | MarketPing publishes no forecasts — your own model lives on the Models page |
Sources, method and disclosures
This document is a statistical summary of publicly filed information and market data, prepared by software from primary sources: SEBI results XBRL filed with BSE and NSE, LODR disclosures, shareholding patterns, exchange price data. It contains no research recommendation, no price target and no opinion on the merits of any security, and is not a research report within the meaning of the SEBI (Research Analysts) Regulations, 2014, Regulation 2(1)(w)(vii). Financial statements are as filed (consolidated where the company files consolidated results). Ratios are computed over filed lines. Where a figure is unavailable the table shows a dash rather than an estimate. The business brief is written by MarketPing's reader from the annual report and checked against it; no figure in a table was generated by a model. Nothing here constitutes investment advice, an offer or a solicitation; readers should consult a SEBI-registered adviser before acting. MarketPing is not a SEBI-registered intermediary.