Eastern Investment Limited Unlisted Shares

About Company

Eastern Investments Limited (EIL) is a Non-Banking Financial Company incorporated in 1927. It was one of the "Specified Companies" nationalised under the Bird & Company Ltd. (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertaking and Other Properties) Act, 1980, and became a Public Sector Undertaking with effect from 19 March 2010.

The following table shows a 10-point analysis of Eastern Investment Limited (EIL). We will discuss each point in detail after this table.

Company Overview

EIL is the holding company of two subsidiaries: The Orissa Minerals Development Company Limited (OMDC), in which it holds a 50.01% stake, and The Bisra Stone Lime Company Limited (BSLC). EIL itself became a subsidiary of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) - the Government of India steel PSU that also owns Visakhapatnam Steel Plant - on 5 January 2011.

EIL's own income comes mainly from dividends declared by OMDC and BSLC, and interest on term deposits with banks. It has no operating business of its own and, as of 31 March 2025, had no regular employees on its payroll.

Challenges in Eastern Investments Business

The following are the key challenges faced by the company:

• Dependence on subsidiary dividends: EIL's revenue is almost entirely tied to dividends from OMDC and BSLC. Neither subsidiary declared a dividend in FY25, and EIL itself reported a standalone net loss of ₹28.91 lakh for FY 2024-25 (against a small profit of ₹2.10 lakh in FY24).
• Mining lease setbacks at OMDC: The Supreme Court's May 2025 dismissal of OMDC's renewal appeal for three mining leases (Kolha-Roida, Thakurani, Dalki) has removed a key potential revenue driver, and OMDC's consolidated numbers have shown continued losses (e.g., a ₹7.49 crore consolidated net loss in Q3 FY25, reported by Business Standard).
• Illiquid, largely untraded shares: Despite being listed on the Calcutta Stock Exchange, EIL's shares last traded on 7 September 2012. This reflects the same broader dormancy affecting CSE itself (see our separate CSE profile) as well as EIL-specific factors.
• Governance constraints: As a Central Public Sector Enterprise, EIL depends on the Ministry of Steel to nominate directors, including Independent Directors. The company has repeatedly been unable to fully comply with SEBI LODR corporate governance norms (e.g., Regulations 17(1)(b), 18, 19) due to vacancies, and its board sub-committees were dissolved in November 2024 and only reconstituted in April 2025 after a new Independent Director was appointed.
• No operating business or staff: EIL has no regular employees and relies on RINL/OMDC/BSLC-deputed or contracted personnel for its two officer positions, limiting its independent operational capacity.

Financial Review of Eastern Investments

This review is based on EIL's 98th Annual Report for FY 2024-25 (year ended 31 March 2025), published on the company's official website.

FY25 standalone (audited)

• Income was ₹44.27 lakh, against ₹95.56 lakh in FY24. After expenditure of ₹88.74 lakh, the company posted a loss before tax (PBT) of ₹(44.47) lakh, against a loss of ₹(8.00) lakh in FY24. 
• After a tax credit of ₹(15.56) lakh, the loss after tax (PAT) was ₹(28.91) lakh, compared with a profit of ₹2.10 lakh in FY24.
• Net worth stood at ₹266.91 crore (₹26,691.08 lakh) as of 31 March 2025, marginally down from ₹267.20 crore (₹26,719.99 lakh) in FY24.
• No dividend was declared for FY25, as the company made no cash profit.

FY25 consolidated (with subsidiaries OMDC and BSLC)

• Revenue from operations was ₹128.67 crore, against ₹171.63 crore in FY24. Total income was ₹134.05 crore (FY24: ₹175.47 crore).
• The consolidated loss before tax was ₹(41.19) crore (FY24: loss of ₹(2.27) crore), and loss after tax was ₹(35.18) crore (FY24: profit of ₹5.92 crore).
• After adjusting for minority interest, the loss attributable to EIL was ₹(17.27) crore (FY24: profit of ₹3.37 crore).

Subsidiary performance (FY25)

• OMDC's total earnings were ₹71.00 crore, including ₹2.12 crore of interest income (down from the prior year due to repayment of a short-term loan, which also reduced interest expense to ₹22.41 crore from ₹30.61 crore).
• OMDC's loss before tax was ₹(48.40) crore (FY24: loss of ₹(5.31) crore) and loss after tax was ₹(40.22) crore (FY24: profit of ₹2.82 crore).
• BSLC's net profit was ₹4.39 crore (FY24: ₹2.29 crore), on sales turnover of ₹61.03 crore (FY24: ₹84.67 crore); BSLC's accumulated loss stood at ₹(211.80) crore as of 31 March 2025.

Listing status

EIL is listed only on the Calcutta Stock Exchange (stock code 10015071; ISIN INE684E01015). CSE had suspended trading in EIL's securities, and this suspension was revoked with effect from 20 May 2024 per CSE's letter dated 13 May 2024.

Recent Developments

• 21 May 2025: The Supreme Court of India dismissed review petitions by OMDC and 3A Capital Services Ltd, finally closing off renewal of the Kolha-Roida, Thakurani and Dalki mining leases - a significant setback given EIL's FY25 annual report (published November 2025) still cited "renewal of mining leases of OMDC" as an opportunity for higher future dividend income.
• April 2026: OMDC's Bhadrasahi Iron & Manganese mining lease received an extended forest clearance, valid until 30 September 2030, per a government letter dated 28 April 2026, a positive step toward resuming operations at a mine closed since 2010.
• 28–29 July 2026: Following the Supreme Court's Vanashakti judgment upholding a 2017 environmental-clearance notification, OMDC's Belkundi mine environmental clearance proposal (1.8 MTPA iron ore, 0.3 MTPA manganese) was restored for reconsideration, with the Ministry's Expert Appraisal Committee having already recommended it favourably on 28 July 2026.

Quick Summary

Eastern Investments Limited is a 1927-vintage Government of India NBFC that functions purely as a holding company for two Odisha-based mining subsidiaries, OMDC and BSLC, and is itself a subsidiary of RINL. Its income is almost entirely dependent on dividends from these subsidiaries, which have not been forthcoming in recent years amid subsidiary-level losses and, more significantly, a May 2025 Supreme Court ruling that permanently foreclosed renewal of three of OMDC's key mining leases. 

Visit the official website of Eastern Investments Limited.