Forensic Analyst, Trudence Capital Advisors

Nitin Mangal

Nitin Mangal is a Research Analyst with more than 15 years of experience in Indian equities. He is Pioneer of Corporate Governance and Accounting Research in Indian Market and has successfully developed product for Institutional Investors named as "Analysis Beyond Consensus" during his association with Edelweiss Securities Ltd, Mumbai. Later during the career, he has worked with Veritas Investment Research Corporation, Canada as Asia Consultant covering Indian and US equities. He has been profiled by leading financial newspapers such as Wall Street Journal, Business Standard etc

Forensic Analyst

Trudence Capital Advisors

Trudence Capital Advisors Private Limited is a SEBI-registered Research Analyst, holding SEBI registration number INH000015747. Our firm is dedicated to providing independent and unbiased research on Indian mid to large-cap companies. Trudence Capital is known for its counter-consensus views, with a focus on forensic research and on-ground primary investigations. Our research approach is thorough, involving detailed analysis of accounting practices and governance, alongside extensive channel checks.

Independent & Unbiased Research

Forensic Accounting

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A.G.E. analysis is one of our proprietary evaluation tool where we look to provide a 360 degree view on a particular company. Using our in depth experience, we aim to provide a qualitative and quantitative overview of Accounting, Governance and Earnings. It is a quick forensic check on company's balance sheet strength and governance using our very own expertise and research framework.
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<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/vmart-retail-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1987:1" rel="noopener">Vmart Retail (VMART IN)</a> operates a chain of retail departmental stores in India, principally the Tier II and Tier III cities across the northern, eastern and western geographic regions of the country. The company engages predominantly in value-apparel retailing, while less than 10% of revenue also comes from kiranas, home furnishing, toys etc.
V-Mart has come a long way since its inception, and has lately put its foot on the aggressive expansion. The company has doubled its number of stores and total retail space within a span of five years, as it looks to tap the new cities and markets. However, the operational performance especially since F18 has been unsatisfactory to say the least. Revenue growth, margins and return ratios are all heading southwards. Even some of the key metrics such as transaction size, revenue and EBITDA per sq. ft., same store sales growth have deteriorated, and hence it seems that the operating leverage is not playing in favor of the company. The company also faces trouble from expensive recruitment and declining conversion rates.
V-Mart has not only been a victim of poor operational performance lately, but there are few accounting concerns as well seen in the balance sheet. V-Mart has been growing its inventory to a great extent the last 5 years which is why its cash conversion cycle has been elongated, unlike its peers. But more importantly, since the accounting/ valuation of inventory is done through FIFO method, (unlike the peers which use the weighted average method), increase in inventory has actually boosted the profitability.
Another accounting concern was noticed with respect to Ind AS 116- Leases, which is highly crucial for companies like V-Mart that have a leasing business model. The transition impact of Ind AS 116 has significantly lowered the PBT of the company, while generally it should more or less be the same. Upon deep dive, we have found that depreciation reported by the company is thought to be higher due to the estimates of useful lives.
Nonetheless, a bright spot was found with respect to FCFs that have been positive regularly lately, also giving importance to the peer comparison of important fundamentals, where V-Mart has emerged relatively stronger.


A.G.E. analysis is one of our proprietary evaluation tool where we look to provide a 360 degree view on a particular company. Using our in depth experience, we aim to provide a qualitative and quantitative overview of Accounting, Governance and Earnings. It is a quick forensic check on company's balance sheet strength and governance using our very own expertise and research framework.

Vmart Retail (VMART IN) operates a chain of retail departmental stores in India, principally the Tier II and Tier III cities across the northern, eastern and western geographic regions of the country. The company engages predominantly in value-apparel retailing, while less than 10% of revenue also comes from kiranas, home furnishing, toys etc.
V-Mart has come a long way since its inception, and has lately put its foot on the aggressive expansion. The company has doubled its number of stores and total retail space within a span of five years, as it looks to tap the new cities and markets. However, the operational performance especially since F18 has been unsatisfactory to say the least. Revenue growth, margins and return ratios are all heading southwards. Even some of the key metrics such as transaction size, revenue and EBITDA per sq. ft., same store sales growth have deteriorated, and hence it seems that the operating leverage is not playing in favor of the company. The company also faces trouble from expensive recruitment and declining conversion rates.
V-Mart has not only been a victim of poor operational performance lately, but there are few accounting concerns as well seen in the balance sheet. V-Mart has been growing its inventory to a great extent the last 5 years which is why its cash conversion cycle has been elongated, unlike its peers. But more importantly, since the accounting/ valuation of inventory is done through FIFO method, (unlike the peers which use the weighted average method), increase in inventory has actually boosted the profitability.
Another accounting concern was noticed with respect to Ind AS 116- Leases, which is highly crucial for companies like V-Mart that have a leasing business model. The transition impact of Ind AS 116 has significantly lowered the PBT of the company, while generally it should more or less be the same. Upon deep dive, we have found that depreciation reported by the company is thought to be higher due to the estimates of useful lives.
Nonetheless, a bright spot was found with respect to FCFs that have been positive regularly lately, also giving importance to the peer comparison of important fundamentals, where V-Mart has emerged relatively stronger.

V-Mart Retail

Forensic Analysis: V-Mart Retail Ltd