Thomas Scott India Ltd (TSIL)
Thomas Scott (India) Limited formed in October 2010 to acquire Bang Overseas Limited’s Retail Division under the “Thomas Scott” brand. The demerger, effective April 1, 2011, was finalized on August 5, 2011. The company was listed on NSE and BSE in January 2012.
With a current market cap of Rs 320 cr, TSIL is the company manufactures and trades textile products, operating 31 retail outlets nationwide and selling men’s formal and casual wear through Large Format Stores. It maintains a centralized warehousing and logistics centre to optimize its supply chain operations.
India’s Warren Buffet, ace investor Ashish Kacholia just bought a 2.53% stake in the company.
What’s interesting is that not only Ashish, but FIIs have also shown keen interest in TSIL. The FII holding for TSIL went from 0.3% for the quarter ending September 2024 to 0.58% for the quarter ending December 2025. And as per data available on screener.in, the FII holdings have gone up to 0.88%.
Now although these are lower than 1% holdings, one must also keep in mind that this stake increase comes at a time when the FII outflow has been the biggest in last few years or decades.
Domestinc institutional investors have also picked on the ride. DII holdings grew from 0.99% for the quarter ending September 2024 to 2.02% for the quarter ending December 2024. And as per latest data, it has gone up to 2.63% as of today.
One front where the company shines and which could be the reason for the stakes by these super investors is the company’s capital efficiency.
The ROCE (Return on Capital Employed) is over 31%, which means for every Rs 100 TSIL invests as capital in the business, it makes a profit of Rs 31 on it. Which is higher than the industry median which is currently only 14%.
The financials also look like something that could have caught Kacholia’s attention.
TSIL’s sales jumped from Rs 21 cr in FY19 to RS 90 cr in FY24, logging in a compounded growth of 33% in 5 years.
Between April and December 2024, the company has recorded sales of Rs 113 cr already, giving clear signals of having a good fiscal year.
The EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) is also a turnaround story, as from operating losses of Rs 1 cr in FY19, the company clocked profits Rs 13 cr in FY24. And between April and December 2024, it has already logged in around Rs 13 cr.
When it comes to profits, the company recorded losses of Rs 1 cr in FY19 but for FY24, TSIL booked Net profits of Rs 10 cr. And the 3 quarters between April to December 2024, the company has booked profits of Rs 7.22 cr.
TSIL’s share price is trading at a price of Rs 289 (as on closing of 17th March 2025), which is over a 40% discount from its all-time high of RS 509 which it hit in January 2025.
If we look at the last 5 years, the company’s share price has grown by 6,322% from Rs 4.5 in March 2020 to its current price of Rs 289.
TSIL’s share is trading at a current PE of 29x which is just about as much as the current industry median. The 10- year median PE for the company is however 11x while the industry median for the same period is 27x.
There are however some areas of concern one must know, like the promoter holding which as per screener.in has been on the decline for more than a year now.
| Quarter | Sep-23 | Dec-23 | Mar-24 | Jun-24 | Sep-24 | Dec-24 | Mar-25 |
| Promoter Holding | 69.64% | 64.54% | 60.13% | 58.80% | 57.86% | 57.85% | 53.73% |
Add to that, even though the company has seen repeated profits, it is not paying out any dividends.
The company has big plans for the future. In its annual report for FY24, the company has noted that the Indian textile market is projected to reach US$350 billion by 2030 at 10% CAGR, with India ranking as the world’s 3rd largest textile exporter.
The industry currently contributes 2.3% to GDP (expected to reach 5% by 2030), 13% to industrial production, and 12% to exports. Global projections show the apparel market reaching $2.37 trillion by 2030 (8% CAGR) and textile trade hitting $1.2 trillion (4% CAGR).
The Indian textiles market is expected to be worth US$ 350 billion by 2030.
Not to forget that the government is also not leaving any stone unturned to give the needed boost to the textile industry. Rs 5,272 cr (Budget Estimates) was earmarked for the Ministry of Textiles for 2025-26. This is an increase of 19 percent over budget estimates of 2024-25 (Rs 4,417 cr).
Add to Watchlist or Buy?
Ashish Kacholia’s 2.53% stake in Thomas Scott India Ltd (TSIL) has spotlighted the firm’s notable capital efficiency, evidenced by strong ROCE and profitability. Plus, the growing interest from FIIs and DIIs, despite broader market outflows in FII’s signals significant perceived potential.
However, the observed decline in promoter shareholding and the lack of dividend payouts do warrant caution. As the Indian textile sector head for probable substantial expansion, it will be worth watching how or if TSIL can leverage this growth all while managing the negative factors.
But it would be definitely a good idea to keep a close watch in the stock. Add it to watchlist may be.
Note: We have relied on data from www.Screener.in throughout this article. Only in cases where the data was not available, have we used an alternate, but widely used and accepted source of information.
The purpose of this article is only to share interesting charts, data points and thought-provoking opinions. It is NOT a recommendation. If you wish to consider an investment, you are strongly advised to consult your advisor. This article is strictly for educative purposes only.
About the author
Suhel Khan has been a passionate follower of the markets for over a decade. During this period, He was an integral part of a leading Equity Research organisation based in Mumbai as the Head of Sales & Marketing. Presently, he is spending most of his time dissecting the investments and strategies of the Super Investors of India.
Disclosure: The writer and his dependents do not hold the stocks discussed in this article.
The website managers, its employee(s), and contributors/writers/authors of articles have or may have an outstanding buy or sell position or holding in the securities, options on securities or other related investments of issuers and/or companies discussed therein. The content of the articles and the interpretation of data are solely the personal views of the contributors/ writers/authors. Investors must make their own investment decisions based on their specific objectives, resources and only after consulting such independent advisors as may be necessary.