Va Tech Wabag Ltd

Price story Before the numbers, the tape. A stock price moves through four repeating seasons: a flat base (stage 1), an advance (2), a top (3), a decline (4). Where the price sits in that cycle frames everything below.

Va Tech Wabag Ltd trades at ₹1,991, in a confirmed uptrend and 9 weeks into that stage. That is +31.0% against its own 200-day average. It sits at 80% of a 52-week range of ₹1,061 to ₹2,221. On relative strength it has been ahead of the NIFTY 500 on a trailing-13-week view for 25 straight weeks.

Today the stock is in a confirmed uptrend — week 9 of stage 2, confirmed. At ₹1,991 it trades +31.0% versus its 200-day average and sits at 80% of its 52-week range (₹1,061–₹2,221).

Against the market, two honest reads. Cumulative: over the last 10.3 years the stock moved +283% while the NIFTY 500 moved +274% — ahead of the index over the full window. Recent form: on a trailing-13-week view the stock has been ahead for 25 straight weeks — the ribbon below is that same metric, week by week.

What would end the trend, mechanically: two Friday closes in a row below the 200-day line. That is the exit rule — no debates.

→ The trend is one thing; the bill is another. Are you paying up for it? Next: the P/E sits at the 89th percentile of its own range.

Valuation P/E is the price of ₹1 of annual profit: how many rupees the market pays for each rupee the company earns in a year.

Va Tech Wabag Ltd trades at 34.1× P/E, at the pricey end of its own range (89th percentile). Its long-run median P/E is 16.9×, measured across 10.4 years of weekly readings. This places the multiple against the stock’s own record, and says nothing about what the business is worth.

Today's P/E of 34.1× is at the pricey end of its own range (89th percentile), against a long-run median of 16.9× measured over 10.4 years of weekly readings. This is a comparison against the stock's own history — not a claim about what it is worth.

Why the multiple sits where it does: over the past year annual EPS moved +25.2% against a +34.0% price move — the price outran earnings, pushing the multiple UP its own range.

The price move, decomposed: over 5y, of the +40.7%/yr price move, ~+27.4%/yr came from earnings growth and ~+13.3 pp from the multiple (expanding); over 10y, of the +12.8%/yr price move, ~+12.2%/yr came from earnings growth and ~+0.6 pp from the multiple (roughly flat). The split is the honest approximate (price return minus earnings growth); it makes the rally itself visible instead of hiding it behind the percentile.

Put together: the multiple is full against its own past, so the story rests on the earnings line underneath it, not the multiple.

→ Cheap or dear rides on the earnings. Are they actually growing? Next: the fundamental stage — where the business sits in its arc, and how growth has compounded.

Stage: Consistent Every business sits somewhere on a fundamental arc, and this page names the spot before anything else. The last twelve quarters of revenue, profit and EPS growth — plus the return the business earns on its capital — are read as curves: Deteriorating (the curves are falling), Turning around (a trough has just formed and the last few quarters lift off it), Improving (the climb off the trough is sustained), Consistent (steadily positive with healthy returns), Topping out (still high but decelerating from the peak). When the curves genuinely disagree the read is Mixed; too little history is No read. CAGR (compound annual growth rate) is the smooth yearly pace that turns the starting value into the latest one — the fairest way to compare growth across different time spans. Read the columns together: if the 1-year number towers over the 10-year, recent growth is running hotter than the long-run trend. A dash means that window is not held, or the base year was a loss (where a growth rate is not meaningful).

Va Tech Wabag Ltd reads as consistent on its fundamental arc. Consistent — profit and EPS growth have stayed positive through the window, with ROCE at 21.0% and holding. The read is built from 12 quarters across 4 curves, on partial evidence.

Why it matters: steady curves with healthy returns are the compounding setup — the risk is the price, not the business.

Return readings here are annual, not quarterly — read as level and direction only; they can confirm the growth curves but never drive the stage on their own.

A partial read: at least one curve is short, or the returns curve is not the computed quarterly series — hold the stage word a little more loosely.

→ The stage names the trajectory. Next: the revenue line that produces it, quarter by quarter.

4-Factor Sector Score

70.8/100 — rank 1 of 4 in Water Treatment · 94% evidence confidence

Va Tech Wabag Ltd scores 70.8 out of 100 against the 4 companies it is compared with in Water Treatment, ranking 1. Balanced evidence: keep at normal research priority and require another comparable period before raising conviction.

The four contributions add to the total exactly: 21.5 + 20.9 + 10.2 + 18.2 = 70.8. This is the SAME number shown on the sector comparison — it is computed once, for the whole peer set, and read here.

What would change it: The read weakens if profit growth turns negative or margin improvement reverses while sector-relative strength deteriorates.

Revenue Revenue is the top line: everything the company billed its customers in the period.

Va Tech Wabag Ltd reported ₹1,414 Cr of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, +22.3% year on year. That is the 10th straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 10 years it has compounded at 4.6% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at ₹3,944 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹3,943 Cr.

Va Tech Wabag Ltd reported ₹1,414 Cr of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, +22.3% year on year. That is the 10th straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 10 years it has compounded at 4.6% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at ₹3,944 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹3,943 Cr.

FY26 revenue came in at ₹3,944 Cr (+19.7% on the year), capping 10 years at 4.6% compound. The latest quarter (Mar 26) printed ₹1,414 Cr, +22.3% year on year — the 10th consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth.

Pace check: the last four quarters averaged +19.3% growth against the decade's 4.6% — the current year is running faster than its own long-run rate.

Acceleration check: trailing-twelve-month revenue grew +19.7% over the last 4 quarters against +17.5%/yr over the last 8 — stabilising; TTM profit +25.4% vs +21.4%/yr — accelerating.

→ Revenue grew — did margins hold as it scaled? Next: 11.0% this quarter (−1.0 pp YoY).

Operating margin Operating margin is what is left of every ₹100 of sales after running the business, before interest and tax. It is the cleanest read on pricing power and cost control.

Va Tech Wabag Ltd's operating margin is 11.0% in the Mar 26 quarter, −1.0 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 7.0% to 13.0%. The current quarter sits inside that band.

Va Tech Wabag Ltd's operating margin is 11.0% in the Mar 26 quarter, −1.0 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 7.0% to 13.0%. The current quarter sits inside that band.

The latest quarter's operating margin is 11.0%, −1.0 pp against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 7.0%–13.0%.

🚨 Why the margin moved: operating margin went −1.1 pp year on year while gross margin went +0.0 pp — the loss came mostly below the gross line: operating leverage, with costs spread over a bigger revenue base.

→ Margins slipped — did that reach the bottom line? Next: profit +28.0% in the latest quarter.

Net profit Net profit is what survives every cost, interest and tax — the number EPS, dividends and book value all grow from.

Va Tech Wabag Ltd earned ₹128 Cr of net profit in the Mar 26 quarter, +28.0% year on year. It is the 8th consecutive quarter of growth. Full-year FY26 profit was ₹370 Cr. The 10-year compound rate is 15.2%. That is 9.1% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned ₹100 Cr.

Va Tech Wabag Ltd earned ₹128 Cr of net profit in the Mar 26 quarter, +28.0% year on year. It is the 8th consecutive quarter of growth. Full-year FY26 profit was ₹370 Cr. The 10-year compound rate is 15.2%. That is 9.1% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned ₹100 Cr.

Mar 26 profit was ₹128 Cr, +28.0% year on year — the 8th consecutive quarter of growth. On the full year, FY26 printed ₹370 Cr (+25.4%), and the 10-year compound rate is 15.2%.

Why profit moved: revenue contributed +22.3% and the margin −1.0 pp — the quarter was revenue-led, with the margin roughly flat.

Pace comparison, last four quarters: profit +24.9% vs revenue +19.3%. Profit is growing faster than sales — fixed costs are being spread over a bigger base, and each extra rupee of revenue drops more to the bottom line.

→ Profit rose — but did the cash follow? Next: 76% of the last 3 years' profit arrived as cash.

Cash flow — the router The P&L says what was earned; the cash-flow statement says what actually arrived. Operating cash flow (CFO) against profit is the cleanest lie detector in the accounts.

Over the last 3 fiscal years 76% of Va Tech Wabag Ltd's reported profit arrived as operating cash — most of the profit is real cash. In FY26 that was ₹207 Cr of operating cash against ₹370 Cr of profit. After ₹5.0 Cr of capital spending, ₹202 Cr was left as free cash.

FY26: operating cash of ₹207 Cr against reported profit of ₹370 Cr, leaving free cash of ₹202 Cr after ₹5.0 Cr of capital spending. Across the last 3 fiscal years the conversion rate is 76% of profit.

Cash-flow readings here are annual — that is the resolution our series carries, so this section moves once a year.

Why conversion sits at 76%: the cash cycle stretched 60 days between FY21 and FY26 — more of each rupee of profit waits inside the cycle before arriving.

Router verdict: conversion is below par and the cash cycle has stretched 60 days — the next section's job is to find where the cash is stuck.

→ So follow the cash to where it goes. Next: the 234-day cycle, in money terms.

Where the cash goes Working capital is the cash tied up between paying suppliers and getting paid: debtor days (customers owe), inventory days (stock waits), and the cash conversion cycle (the whole loop, in days of sales).

Va Tech Wabag Ltd's cash conversion cycle runs 234 days in FY26, up from 174 days in FY21. Capital spending ran ₹11.0 Cr over the last 3 years. At FY26 sales of ₹3,944 Cr each day of that cycle holds about ₹10.8 Cr, so roughly ₹2,528 Cr sits inside the business at any moment.

FY26: debtors at 234 days (an asset-light business — no inventory to speak of) — for a full cycle of 234 days, looser than FY21's 174.

In money terms: at FY26 sales of ₹3,944 Cr, each day of the cycle holds about ₹10.8 Cr — so the 234-day loop keeps roughly ₹2,528 Cr sitting inside the business at any moment.

On the investment side: capital spending of ₹11.0 Cr over the last 3 fiscal years against ₹20.0 Cr of depreciation — spending at or below maintenance level. Capital work-in-progress stands at ₹0.0 Cr (FY26) — capacity paid for but not yet earning.

The synthesis: the working-capital loop is the cash sink the router flagged — watch the cycle, not the P&L.

→ Does all this activity actually earn its cost of capital? Next: ROCE is 21% and the ROIC − WACC spread is +8.3 pp.

Return on capital Return on capital employed (ROCE) is the profit the whole business earns on all the money in it — equity and debt together. It is the single best test of whether growth creates value or just size.

Va Tech Wabag Ltd earns a ROCE of 21% in FY26. That is up from a trough of 11% in FY19. Return on invested capital clears the cost of that capital by +8.3 percentage points, so growth here adds value rather than only size. The wiring behind it is 9.4% net margin on 0.64× asset turns.

FY26 ROCE is 21%, recovered from a FY19 trough of 11% — the full ladder below shows the fall and the climb, undoctored.

Why the return is what it is — the wiring (FY26): 9.4% net margin × 0.64× asset turns × 2.38× balance-sheet leverage ≈ 14.3% on equity. Margin does its share; leverage is a meaningful part of the equation.

The capstone test — ROIC − WACC: 20.3% − 12.0% = a +8.3 pp spread. The 12.0% is a standing assumption for the cost of capital in India, not a per-stock estimate — read the sign and the size of the spread, not the decimals. A spread this wide means every rupee reinvested creates more than a rupee of value — the engine compounds.

→ Returns like these — is the balance sheet borrowing to make them? Next: debt-to-equity is 0.09.

Debt Debt-to-equity says how much of the business is funded by borrowings. Low is the safe corner; the trend matters as much as the level.

Va Tech Wabag Ltd carries total debt of ₹228 Cr against shareholder equity of ₹2,574 Cr as of Mar 26, a debt-to-equity of 0.09 — effectively unlevered. On the annual view that ratio went from 0.29 in FY22 to 0.09 in FY26. The returns elsewhere on this page are therefore earned rather than borrowed.

Mar 26: total debt of ₹228 Cr against shareholder equity of ₹2,574 Cr — a debt-to-equity of 0.09. On the annual view, debt-to-equity went from 0.29 (FY22) to 0.09 (FY26). The returns on this page are earned, not borrowed.

→ Who owns this, and are they adding or leaving? Next: Foreign institutions added 6.7 points over 8 quarters.

Ownership Who owns the stock, quarter by quarter: promoters (the controlling owners), foreign and domestic institutions, and the public. Steady accumulation by people close to the numbers is a signal; a quiet register is also an answer.

Foreign institutions added 6.7 points of Va Tech Wabag Ltd over 8 quarters, the biggest move on the register. That takes foreign institutions to 18.3% of the company. Domestic institutions moved +1.3 points over the same window, to 6.3%. The register is read on the four disclosed classes only; nothing is inferred between filings.

The register over the last two years — Foreign institutions: +6.7 points over 8 quarters to 18.3%; Domestic institutions: +1.3 points over 8 quarters to 6.3%; Promoters: +0.0 points over 8 quarters to 19.1%. Note the structure: promoters hold under 20% — this is a widely-held company where institutions, not a family, set the direction.

Why the register moved: foreign institutions drove it (+6.7 points), alongside domestic institutions (+1.3 points) — steady accumulation by institutions reading the same numbers this page reads.

→ One last check: does the safety math agree? Next: the balance-sheet safety line.

Safety line The Z-score estimates how far a company sits from balance-sheet distress — above roughly 3 is safe, below roughly 1.8 is the danger zone. It was built for manufacturers, so it is not applied to banks and lenders.

Va Tech Wabag Ltd: the Z-score reads 3.19. A Z-score above roughly 3 reads as safe and below roughly 1.8 as the distress zone, so this sits well clear of distress. It is a distance-to-distress estimate from the balance sheet, not a forecast of failure.

Why it matters: a Z-score of 3.19 sits well clear of the distress zone — the balance sheet is not the risk here.

The safety line in one sentence: the Z-score reads 3.19.

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