Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works 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.

Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works Ltd trades at ₹2,732, in a confirmed uptrend and 53 weeks into that stage. That is +45.9% against its own 200-day average. It sits at 100% of a 52-week range of ₹1,102 to ₹2,732. On relative strength it has been ahead of the NIFTY 500 on a trailing-13-week view for 7 straight weeks.

Today the stock is in a confirmed uptrend — week 53 of stage 2, confirmed. At ₹2,732 it trades +45.9% versus its 200-day average and sits at 100% of its 52-week range (₹1,102–₹2,732).

Against the market, two honest reads. Cumulative: over the last 5.4 years the stock moved +14,721% while the NIFTY 500 moved +92% — ahead of the index over the full window. Recent form: on a trailing-13-week view the stock has been ahead for 7 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.

Story check

Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works Ltd's story is not scored yet against the markers our research file set on 31 May 2026. Where it sits in its own cycle: EXTENDED. Still open: PE 59.5 at 91st percentile of own history; 2.02× median PE of 31.5. Any execution slip (delayed vessel, order miss, margin compression) triggers a de-rating with compounded downside.

Our read, 31 May 2026. KMEW is pivoting from a single-segment dredger to a three-segment marine platform — dredging, long-duration tug chartering, and commercial shipbuilding — with Rs 1,500 Cr order book, a Rs 285 Cr equity raise deploying into new vessels and a shipyard, and a tax-optimized structure that collapsed effective tax to below 1% of turnover in Q3 FY26.

From the numbers. PE at 91st percentile is the primary risk in this thesis. FII entry from 0% to 11% in Dec 2025 confirms institutional conviction on the business quality, but the entry price embeds aggressive forward assumptions. The…

From the price. Price stage 2, week 53 — above its 200-day line, relative strength rising.

From the research. KMEW is pivoting from a single-segment dredger to a three-segment marine platform — dredging, long-duration tug chartering, and commercial shipbuilding — with Rs 1,500 Cr order book, a Rs 285 Cr equity raise deploying…

🚨 Where they disagree. PE at 91st percentile is the primary risk in this thesis. FII entry from 0% to 11% in Dec 2025 confirms institutional conviction on the business quality, but the entry price embeds aggressive forward assumptions. The cycle is in EXTENDED phase — PE has expanded 2× median without a pause — typical of a growth stock that has already been discovered. The EPS sparkline (5.22 → 5.19 → 12.45 → 10.72) shows lumpy earnings rather than the smooth acceleration that sustains a PE expansion.

What is proven. KMEW is pivoting from a single-segment dredger to a three-segment marine platform — dredging, long-duration tug chartering, and commercial shipbuilding — with Rs 1,500 Cr order book, a Rs 285 Cr equity raise deploying into new vessels and a shipyard, and a tax-optimized structure that collapsed effective tax to below 1% of turnover in Q3 FY26.

What is not proven yet. PE 59.5 at 91st percentile of own history; 2.02× median PE of 31.5. Any execution slip (delayed vessel, order miss, margin compression) triggers a de-rating with compounded downside.

The test written in advance. Valuation at 91st Percentile PE — Execution Must Be Flawless — Valuation at 91st Percentile PE — Execution Must Be Flawless FY27 Q1 PAT YoY growth and order book replenishment post-IWAI contract execution by the next result.

The test written in advance. Management Consistency — Three Strategy Reversals — Management Consistency — Three Strategy Reversals Quarterly concall language on Bahrain restart timeline and shipyard construction progress by the next result.

The test written in advance. Shipbuilding Execution — First-of-Kind Vessels, No Track Record — Shipbuilding Execution — First-of-Kind Vessels, No Track Record Shipyard capex deployment timeline and first vessel delivery confirmation from IWAI or port operators by the next result.

What the company does. KMEW built India's fastest-growing private dredger franchise (FY21 revenue Rs 33 Cr → FY26 Rs 256 Cr; 5-year CAGR ~51%). The Feb 2026 concall revealed two transformational additions: a Rs 700 Cr green-tug chartering contract (15-year build-own-operate) and Rs 230 Cr IWAI shipbuilding contract, taking total order book to Rs 1,500 Cr — 5.9× TTM revenue. The bear case is valuation: at PE 59.5 and PB 8.23, the stock is priced at the 91st percentile of its own history, meaning execution must be near-flawless for the next 6–8 quarters.

Lever 1 · Operating leverage — BUILDING. Rs 700 Cr contract with Visakhapatnam Port + VOC Port — 60-ton bollard-pull green electric vessels, 15-year chartering — is the single largest contract in KMEW's history and creates annuity-type revenue for 15 years post-delivery. What proves it keeps working: Green Tug Build-Own-Operate Contract. It stops working if FY27 Q1 PAT YoY growth and order book replenishment post-IWAI contract execution.

Lever 2 · Value-added mix — BUILDING. River dredging TAM expanding from Rs 1,500 Cr to Rs 5,000 Cr as 20 national waterways get operationalized; KMEW's sub-2% market share means it captures growth without needing to win market share. What proves it keeps working: Dredging TAM Expansion — River Waterways. It stops working if FY27 Q1 PAT YoY growth and order book replenishment post-IWAI contract execution.

Lever 3 · Management change — BUILDING. Income Tax Department-approved Tenacity scheme delivers effective tax rate below 1% of turnover (vs standard corporate tax), materially inflating PAT — management guided this as the new sustainable benchmark. What proves it keeps working: Tenacity Tax Scheme — Sub-1% Effective Rate. It stops working if FY27 Q1 PAT YoY growth and order book replenishment post-IWAI contract execution.

Lever 4 · Paying down debt — BUILDING. 45-vessel fleet at 100% operational utilization — dredgers deployed 270–300 days/yr, port craft at 365 days/yr — means every new vessel addition drops directly to incremental revenue with no ramp-up. What proves it keeps working: Fleet Utilization at 100% — Zero Idle Capacity. It stops working if FY27 Q1 PAT YoY growth and order book replenishment post-IWAI contract execution.

Sources: our stock research file (31 May 2026) · quarterly results through Jun 26 · the company’s own earnings calls. The story check is re-scored every results season; the record below never changes.

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

Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works Ltd reported ₹115 Cr of revenue in the Jun 26 quarter, +139.6% year on year. That is the 3rd straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 8 years it has compounded at 48.2% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at ₹256 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹323 Cr.

FY26 revenue came in at ₹256 Cr (+27.4% on the year), capping 8 years at 48.2% compound. The latest quarter (Jun 26) printed ₹115 Cr, +139.6% year on year — the 3rd consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth.

Pace check: the last four quarters averaged +58.9% growth against the decade's 48.2% — the current year is running faster than its own long-run rate.

Acceleration check: trailing-twelve-month revenue grew +57.6% over the last 4 quarters against +20.4%/yr over the last 8 — accelerating; TTM profit +158.8% vs +77.3%/yr — accelerating.

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.

Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works Ltd's operating margin is 64.0% in the Jun 26 quarter, +23.0 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 9 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 24.0% to 53.0%. The current quarter is running above every full year in that window.

Why this happened. This contract transforms KMEW's revenue quality from lumpy dredging contracts (average 3–4 year tenure) to a long-duration annuity stream. Execution requires: Rs ~100 Cr shipyard capex, specialized battery/electrical components from external suppliers, and in-house assembly. Management noted active participation in green tug tenders at Paradip, Cochin, Bombay, and Calcutta ports — suggesting an early-mover pipeline in a nascent segment. Shipbuilding-specific revenue trajectory: Rs 500–700 Cr within 3 years of commissioning. Key execution risk: first-of-kind vessel type for KMEW with no track record in electric vessel construction.

The latest quarter's operating margin is 64.0%, +23.0 pp against the same quarter a year ago. Across 9 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 24.0%–53.0%.

Why the margin moved: operating margin went +22.5 pp year on year while gross margin went +0.0 pp — the gain came mostly below the gross line: operating leverage, with costs spread over a bigger revenue base.

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

Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works Ltd earned ₹63.0 Cr of net profit in the Jun 26 quarter, +472.7% year on year. It is the 3rd consecutive quarter of growth. Full-year FY26 profit was ₹79.0 Cr. The 8-year compound rate is 72.7%. That is 54.8% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned ₹11.0 Cr.

Jun 26 profit was ₹63.0 Cr, +472.7% year on year — the 3rd consecutive quarter of growth. On the full year, FY26 printed ₹79.0 Cr (+58.0%), and the 8-year compound rate is 72.7%.

Why profit moved: revenue contributed +139.6% and the margin +23.0 pp — the quarter was margin-led: most of the profit growth came from keeping more of each sale.

Pace comparison, last four quarters: profit +172.4% vs revenue +58.9%. 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.

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 106% of Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works Ltd's reported profit arrived as operating cash — the cash follows the profit. In FY26 that was ₹74.0 Cr of operating cash against ₹79.0 Cr of profit. After ₹120 Cr of capital spending, ₹−46.0 Cr was left as free cash.

FY26: operating cash of ₹74.0 Cr against reported profit of ₹79.0 Cr, leaving free cash of ₹−46.0 Cr after ₹120 Cr of capital spending. Across the last 3 fiscal years the conversion rate is 106% 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 106%: the cash cycle stretched 105 days between FY21 and FY26 — more of each rupee of profit waits inside the cycle before arriving.

Router verdict: the bigger cash user is investment — capital spending ran 7.4× depreciation over three years, so the next section's job is to check what that build-out is buying.

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).

Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works Ltd's cash conversion cycle runs 109 days in FY26, up from 4 days in FY21. Capital spending ran ₹281 Cr over the last 3 years. At FY26 sales of ₹256 Cr each day of that cycle holds about ₹0.7 Cr, so roughly ₹76.0 Cr sits inside the business at any moment.

FY26: debtors at 109 days (an asset-light business — no inventory to speak of) — for a full cycle of 109 days, looser than FY21's 4.

In money terms: at FY26 sales of ₹256 Cr, each day of the cycle holds about ₹0.7 Cr — so the 109-day loop keeps roughly ₹76.0 Cr sitting inside the business at any moment.

On the investment side: capital spending of ₹281 Cr over the last 3 fiscal years against ₹38.0 Cr of depreciation — the company is building well ahead of wear-and-tear. Capital work-in-progress stands at ₹99.0 Cr (FY26) — capacity paid for but not yet earning.

The synthesis: the cash is going into capacity, not disappearing into the cycle — the question becomes whether the new capacity earns.

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.

Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works Ltd earns a ROCE of 16% in FY26. A return-on-invested-capital spread against the cost of capital is not computable from what is held here. The wiring behind it is 30.9% net margin on 0.31× asset turns.

FY26 ROCE is 16%.

Why the return is what it is — the wiring (FY26): 30.9% net margin × 0.31× asset turns × 1.44× balance-sheet leverage ≈ 13.8% on equity. Margin is doing the heavy lifting; leverage is modest — this is an earned return, not a borrowed one.

The quarterly return curves and the return-on-invested-capital overlay, which only the second data source carries, are not drawn on this page: its two data sources disagree by up to 50% on reported income across 11 comparable periods. A figure two sources cannot agree on is not drawn — the gap is a decision, not missing data.

Debt Debt-to-equity says how much of the business is funded by borrowings; interest cover says how many times operating profit pays the interest bill. Low and high, respectively, is the safe corner.

Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works Ltd carries ₹222 Cr of borrowings against ₹570 Cr of equity in FY26, a debt-to-equity of 0.39. Operating profit covers the interest bill 7×. Over 5 years borrowings went from ₹17.0 Cr to ₹222 Cr. Capital spending ran ₹281 Cr across the last 3 of those years.

Why this happened. The 100% utilization figure implies a capacity-constrained business where growth is gated by fleet size, not demand. Rs 183 Cr of the Rs 285 Cr raise is earmarked for vessel acquisition/shipyard development, which directly addresses this bottleneck. The historical vessel acquisition discipline (asset after contract secured) partly moderates execution risk. Dredgers deployed 270–300 days per annum against 365-day potential indicates 74–82% theoretical utilization ceiling — moderate slack for new contracts without incremental capex.

FY26: borrowings of ₹222 Cr against equity of ₹570 Cr — a debt-to-equity of 0.39. Operating profit covers the interest bill 7×. Over 5 years borrowings went from ₹17.0 Cr to ₹222 Cr while capital spending ran ₹281 Cr in just the last 3 — part of the build-out is riding on borrowed money.

The total-debt and debt-to-equity series, which only the second data source carries, are not drawn on this page: its two data sources disagree by up to 50% on reported income across 11 comparable periods. A figure two sources cannot agree on is not drawn — the gap is a decision, not missing data.

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 11.6 points of Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works Ltd over 8 quarters, the biggest move on the register. That takes foreign institutions to 12.6% of the company. Promoters moved −10.7 points over the same window, to 50.0%. The register is read on the four disclosed classes only; nothing is inferred between filings.

Why this happened. Income Tax Department-approved Tenacity scheme delivers effective tax rate below 1% of turnover (vs standard corporate tax), materially inflating PAT — management guided this as the new sustainable benchmark.

The register over the last two years — Foreign institutions: +11.6 points over 8 quarters to 12.6%; Promoters: −10.7 points over 8 quarters to 50.0%; Domestic institutions: +1.0 points over 8 quarters to 3.9%.

Why the register moved: foreign institutions drove it (+11.6 points), absorbed on the other side by promoters (−10.7 points) — steady accumulation by institutions reading the same numbers this page reads.

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.

Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works Ltd: the Z-score is not available for this stock, so we say so rather than invent one. It is a distance-to-distress estimate from the balance sheet, not a forecast of failure. The debt, cash-flow and return sections above carry the balance-sheet evidence this page does hold, and each of them states its own reporting date.

The safety line in one sentence: the Z-score is not available for this stock, so we say so rather than invent one.

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.

Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works Ltd trades at 53.5× P/E, at the pricey end of its own range (73rd percentile). Its long-run median P/E is 34.0×, measured across 5.4 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 53.5× is at the pricey end of its own range (73rd percentile), against a long-run median of 34.0× measured over 5.4 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 +40.4% against a +228.1% price move — the price outran earnings, pushing the multiple UP its own range.

The price move, decomposed: over 5y, of the +157.8%/yr price move, ~+42.1%/yr came from earnings growth and ~+115.7 pp from the multiple (expanding). 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.

A quarterly PEG curve, which only the second data source carries, is not drawn on this page: its two data sources disagree by up to 50% on reported income across 11 comparable periods. A figure two sources cannot agree on is not drawn — the gap is a decision, not missing data.

Stage: No read 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).

Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works Ltd reads as no read on its fundamental arc. Under eight usable quarters on the growth trio — not enough history for an honest trajectory read. The read is built from 7 quarters across 1 curve, on partial evidence.

Why it matters: with too little history, an honest page says so instead of guessing a trajectory.

One or more growth curves carry a base-effect spike — a large year-on-year move off a near-zero or loss-making comparable quarter. Those spikes are capped before the classifier reads the trajectory, and shown pinned on the chart, so a single distorted quarter does not drive the stage call.

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.

Fewer than eight usable quarters on the growth curves — this page will not guess a trajectory from a stub of history.

4-Factor Sector Score

69.1/100 — rank 2 of 6 in Shipping · 82% evidence confidence

Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works Ltd scores 69.1 out of 100 against the 6 companies it is compared with in Shipping, ranking 2. Confirmed research leader: earnings, capital efficiency and relative strength agree. Move to management, catalyst and risk diligence.

The four contributions add to the total exactly: 25.4 + 17.8 + 5.9 + 20 = 69.1. 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.

Said versus delivered

What Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works Ltd's management promised, set against what actually arrived — 3 tracked promises on the record. Read straight from the company’s own earnings calls. A promise that slipped stays on this page after it is met.

Bahrain Operations Reversal · 19 February 2026. Management previously touted a successful entry into Bahrain with a ₹450 crore order book and a vessel en route to commence operations in December 2023. In the latest call, they revealed that the vessel was withdrawn to India and they are currently without an active vessel in Bahrain, merely 'looking' for one to restart operations. Earlier call (Nov 2023): “A significant accomplishment was our successful entry into the Bahrain market... This venture has resulted in an outstanding order book of approximately INR 450 crores... The first vessel... is undergoing the journey... to commence the operations.” Later call (Feb 2026): “The last vessel that was deployed in Bahrein has been moved to India... We are actively looking for a vessel... we have not completely given up on Bahrain.”

Shipbuilding Strategy Pivot · 19 February 2026. In June 2023, management explicitly stated they would not undertake shipbuilding for third parties due to inferior margins compared to dredging. Contradicting this core strategy, the latest call highlights entry into the commercial shipbuilding segment with ₹230 crores in third-party orders from the Inland Waterways Authority of India. Earlier call (Jun 2023): “Regarding ship building, sir, we are doing it for ourselves, right now. We are not doing it for a third party because we find that, investing into that business is not yielding similar margins to that of dredging.” Later call (Feb 2026): “We entered the commercial shipbuilding segment securing orders worth over Rupees 230 crores from Inland Waterways Authority of India for the supply of workboats... and cutter section vessels.”

Capital Allocation Volatility · 19 February 2026. Management previously committed to funding growth through debt and internal accruals, explicitly stating there were no plans to dilute equity. The latest call confirms a major strategic reversal with a ₹285 crore fundraise via preferential issue of equity shares and warrants. Earlier call (Jun 2023): “Presently, we have no plans to dilute any equity this current year. If at all, there is a requirement, we will go with debt.” Later call (Feb 2026): “To support our growth journey, we successfully raised Rupees 285 crores through a preferential issue of equity shares and warrant.”

Every quote above is taken word for word from the company’s own earnings calls.

Frequently asked questions