Acuité has changed the consolidation approach due to amalgamation of SIPL and BSIPL into Shakambhari Ispat and Power Limited (Erstwhile ESS DEE Aluminium Limited). The current consolidation takes into account Shakambhari Ispat and Power Limited (Erstwhile ESS DEE Aluminium Limited), Eloquent Steel Private Limited (ESPL) and SPS Steels Rolling Mills Limited (SPS). The consolidation has been undertaken as all the entities are in the same line of business, share common management and has significant operational linkage between them. The group herein is referred to as Shakambhari Group.

Long operational track record with integrated operations and experienced management
The Shakambhari group has a long track record of over two decades in the iron and steel industry. Currently the group is headed by Mr. Deepak Kumar Agrawal who has an experience of more than three decades in the iron and steel industry. Over the years, the promoters have acquired companies from NCLT and refurbished them to undertake steel manufacturing business.  The group is integrated with manufacturing of sponge iron, billets, pellets, rolled products, structures products, etc.  and also has captive power plant. The company is now also engaged in bare foil aluminium product. Currently the group is selling steel products in the Eastern, Western and Northern parts of India such as West Bengal, Jharkhand, UP, Bihar Assam, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab through its extensive distribution channels which includes about 12000 dealers and about 3200 distributors. The group has two established TMT brands, ‘Thermocon’ and ‘Elegant’ which have a strong brand recall in West Bengal and its neighbouring states. The group caters to both domestic and overseas markets such as Nepal, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, USA, Canada, European Countries, etc. among others. For aluminium, the group has re started production on a small scale presently and caters to pharma companies and food grade manufacturers. Acuité derives comfort from the long experience of the promoters and their ability to run the operations efficiently which is being reflected in their Y-o-Y performance.
Improved scale of operations
The group have achieved a revenue of Rs. 6098.39 Cr. in FY25 against Rs. 5544.78 Cr. in FY24. The increase of 9.98% is attributed to the increased volume of sales albeit moderation in price realization. The EBITDA margins of the group stood at 12.85% in FY25 as compared to 10.96 % in FY24. The PAT margins of the group stood at 3.65% in FY25 as compared to 5.43% in FY24. The decrease in PAT is attributed to the increase in interest cost from the term loans taken to fund the CAPEX plans and the adjustments of deferred tax. The topline of the group for Q1FY2026 is Rs. 1982.27 Cr. (Provisional). The growth is driven by a rise in average realization of TMT bar and ferro alloy because of strong demand from end user industries such as construction, real estate, export etc. In addition to this, the group has enhanced its existing capacities and level of integration and successfully completed the CAPEX plans to move past the project execution risk. Moreover, the group has a locational advantage as the plants are in the industrial area of West Bengal, which is near various steel plants and sources of raw materials. Further the plants are well connected through road and rail transport which facilitates easy transportation of raw materials and finished goods. For easy transportation of goods, the group holds 10 Rakes acquired by it under The General-Purpose Wagon Investment Scheme (GPWIS) scheme of railway. The Group has also entered the business of Aluminium Bare Foil Manufacturing in FY26. Going forward, the group is likely to improve the business risk profile on account of enhanced production limits.
Healthy financial risk profile
The group’s financial risk profile is marked by strong net worth, moderate gearing and comfortable debt protection metrics.  The tangible net-worth of Rs. 2738.89 Cr. as on 31st March 2025 against Rs. 2498.18 Cr. as on 31st March 2024. The improvement has been noticed on account of ploughing back of profits. The total debt of the group is Rs. 3285.15 Cr as on 31st March 2025 against Rs. 2801.28 Cr. as on 31st March 2024. The gearing stands moderate at 1.20 times in FY25 against 1.12 times in FY24. Further, the interest coverage ratio of the group stood at 2.52 times in FY25 against 2.34 times in FY24. The debt service coverage ratio stood at 1.22 times in FY25 against 1.62 times in FY24. The decline in coverage indicators has been observed because of the increased loan driven by capital expenditures, alongside the associated rise in interest costs. The TOL/TNW stood at 1.43 times in FY25 against 1.30 times in FY24. Net Cash Accruals/Total Debt (NCA/TD) stood healthy at 0.12 times as on March 31, 2025, against 0.16 times as on March 31, 2024. Acuité believes that the financial risk profile of Shakambhari Group is likely to improve in the medium term due to steady cash accruals after completion of CAPEX plans and repayment of debt leading to expected improvement in debt protection metrices.

Intensive Working Capital Operations
The working capital operations of the group remained intensive marked with stable GCA days which stood at 185 days as on as on 31st March 2025 against 161 days as on 31st March 2024. The inventory days of the group stood at 104 days as on 31st March 2025 as against 95 days as on 31st March 2024. The debtor days of the group stood at 27 days as on 31st March 2025 as against 29 days as on 31st March 2024. The slight moderation was on account of better inventory management and operational efficiencies derived due to rake procurement and other integration activities within the group. On the other hand, the creditor days of the group stood at 12 days as on 31st March 2024 against 19 days as on 31st March 2023. Acuité believes that Shakambhari group is likely to remain moderate on account of efficient collection mechanism and high inventory levels over the medium term.
Intense competition and inherent cyclical nature of the steel industry
The downstream steel industry remains heavily fragmented and unorganized. The company is exposed to intense competitive pressures from large number of organized and unorganized players along with its exposure to inherent cyclical nature of the steel industry. Additionally, prices of raw materials and products are highly volatile in nature. Acuite believes that the group remains exposed to such cyclicality and competition in the steel industry is reflected from volatility to its operating margins.