Best Engineering Aids & Consultancies Limited IPO

01At a glance

What the company does: it is a value-added reseller of engineering software and 3D printing solutions in India, and adds pre-sales consulting, implementation, training and support around them (DRHP p.127).

Who pays it: manufacturers, engineering firms and industrial companies; the document says it has served over 5,000 customers over five years and names none of them (DRHP p.127). The ten largest customers brought 11.83% of FY26 revenue (DRHP p.138).

Why it is raising money: ₹31.0 crore of the fresh issue is to repay bank loans and ₹17.0 crore goes to working capital; the general corporate purposes amount is blank (DRHP p.84). The promoters Varakumar Siddavatam and Joseph Jerome offer 4,70,000 and 2,50,000 shares for sale (DRHP p.2).

How fast it has grown: revenue from ₹123.0 crore in FY24 to ₹160.1 crore in FY26, about 14.1% a year, and profit after tax from ₹13.9 crore to ₹16.7 crore, about 9.4% a year (our arithmetic, DRHP p.56). FY25 was lower than FY24 on both lines (DRHP p.56).

The one thing to understand: one supplier stands behind nearly everything the company sells. Purchases from Dassault Systèmes India were 90.97% of FY26 purchases, there is no long-term contract with it, and the arrangement is non-exclusive (DRHP p.26). The loans to be repaid from the issue were taken mainly to pay for a ₹35.8 crore office in Bengaluru in October 2025 (DRHP p.141, DRHP p.87).

02The business, in plain words

What Best Engineering Aids & Consultancies does

The company does not make software or printers. It buys licences and subscriptions from technology partners, chiefly Dassault Systèmes India, and resells them to engineering and manufacturing customers, along with Formlabs resin 3D printers and resins imported from the United States (DRHP p.127, DRHP p.31). Around the sale it offers pre-sales advice, installation, data migration, training under its own "BEACON certifications", and technical support (DRHP p.128, DRHP p.135).

A manufacturer or design firm needs CAD, simulation or data-management software, or a 3D printer → the company assesses the need and places a matching order with Dassault Systèmes India or Formlabs → the partner issues a licence key or ships the printer, and the company delivers, installs and trains → the company invoices the customer, and also earns a reseller commission from the partner (DRHP p.136, DRHP p.137, DRHP p.127).

The products include SOLIDWORKS in its CAD, simulation, CAM, PDM and electrical forms, the 3DEXPERIENCE cloud platform, and the DELMIA, ENOVIA and SIMULIA ranges, plus DriveWorks design automation and Eficad (DRHP p.134, DRHP p.128). Licences are sold either for good (perpetual) or for a term (subscription); subscription renewals and annual support are the recurring part of revenue, ₹51.7 crore or 32.28% in FY26 (DRHP p.127). Dassault Systèmes India publishes list prices and a renewal price matrix, and the company sells at or near those prices; it also has an annual volume purchase commitment with Dassault, payable monthly, that it must pay even if sales fall short (DRHP p.26).

The company also built its own software, DTX, which links ERP, MES, CAD and PLM systems. It brought ₹0.05 crore, 0.03% of FY26 revenue, and is in pilot with five customers (DRHP p.130, DRHP p.128). The DTX trademark application stands in the name of the Chief Executive Officer, Ramaswamy Arumuganainar, and its assignment to the company is pending (DRHP p.29).

The company had 352 employees on August 31, 2026, 155 of them technical and 144 in sales, working from offices in nine cities in six states (DRHP p.139, DRHP p.127). Annual staff turnover was 30.16% in FY26 (DRHP p.140).

Earnings equation: Revenue = licences and subscriptions sold × partner list price, plus reseller commission, plus printers, resins and services. The document gives revenue by line but not the number of licences, seats or customers per year, so the equation cannot be filled in from the filing (DRHP p.133).

03Where the money comes from

By line of revenue (₹ crore):

Source: DRHP p.133, converted from ₹ lakh. Engineering software, counting licences, subscriptions and 3DEXPERIENCE, was ₹141.0 crore or 88.06% of FY26 revenue (DRHP p.127). The cloud product 3DEXPERIENCE went from 4.80% of revenue in FY24 to 11.31% in FY26 (DRHP p.129). In FY26, 51.92% of revenue came from customers who had also bought in FY25 (DRHP p.127).

By place, Maharashtra brought 37.79% of FY26 revenue and Karnataka 35.33%, 73.12% together; Tamil Nadu was 7.52% (DRHP p.28). Sales outside India were ₹3.9 crore, 2.46%, and sales to special economic zone units ₹7.7 crore, 4.84% (DRHP p.37). By customer industry, industrial manufacturing, machinery and process industries brought 41.88% of FY26 revenue, up from 34.26% in FY24; engineering services and IT 17.73%; aerospace, defence and space 4.80% (DRHP p.30).

Best Engineering Aids & Consultancies customers: how concentrated the revenue is

Source: DRHP p.137, DRHP p.138; top five is our arithmetic from the named rows (our arithmetic, DRHP p.137). Revenue does not depend on a few customers: the largest brought ₹2.8 crore of FY26 revenue of ₹160.1 crore, and the share of the top ten has fallen each year (DRHP p.137, DRHP p.138). No customer is named, and there are no long-term contracts with customers (DRHP p.37).

The concentration sits on the supply side. Dassault Systèmes India supplied 90.97% of FY26 purchases, 91.60% in FY25 and 95.13% in FY24, and the top ten suppliers 99.72%, 99.75% and 99.80% (DRHP p.26). One creditor was owed ₹13.7 crore of the ₹14.5 crore of trade payables at March 31, 2026 (DRHP p.252).

04The growth record

Best Engineering Aids & Consultancies financials: revenue, profit and margins

Source: DRHP p.55, DRHP p.56, DRHP p.57, DRHP p.95, converted from ₹ lakh. Revenue went from ₹123.0 crore in FY24 to ₹160.1 crore in FY26 and profit after tax from ₹13.9 crore to ₹16.7 crore (DRHP p.56). The document puts the FY25 dip down to lower service income, mainly reseller commission (DRHP p.245), and FY26 growth to higher sales of licences, subscriptions, 3DEXPERIENCE, printers and resins (DRHP p.244).

Our arithmetic over FY24 to FY26: revenue grew about 14.1% a year (our arithmetic, DRHP p.56), EBITDA about 12.3% a year (our arithmetic, DRHP p.95) and profit after tax about 9.4% a year (our arithmetic, DRHP p.56). EBITDA margin moved from 15.21% to 14.74%, down 47 basis points, so from 15.2% to 14.7% rounded (DRHP p.95).

The year ends on March 31 throughout. The restated accounts were prepared by a peer-review auditor, Mansaka Ravi & Associates, not by the statutory auditor (DRHP p.30, DRHP p.181). Restatement raised FY26 profit from ₹16.3 crore as audited to ₹16.7 crore and lowered FY24 profit from ₹14.2 crore to ₹13.9 crore, mostly through leave encashment and tax provisions (DRHP p.198).

What sits around the record:

• Cash: operating cash flow was ₹18.7 crore in FY26 against ₹16.7 crore of profit (DRHP p.57). Investing outflow was ₹37.6 crore in FY26, mainly ₹57.1 crore of property and equipment bought (DRHP p.57).
• Other income was ₹2.2 crore in FY26, about 9.7% of profit before tax of ₹22.3 crore (our arithmetic, DRHP p.56). It included ₹0.40 crore of gains on investments and ₹0.38 crore of balances written back (DRHP p.223).
• Debt: borrowings were ₹37.8 crore at March 31, 2026, against ₹7.0 crore two years earlier (DRHP p.55). Net of ₹16.0 crore of cash and bank balances, net debt of ₹21.8 crore was about 0.9× FY26 EBITDA (our arithmetic, DRHP p.55). Debt to equity was 0.61 times, about 0.6× (DRHP p.230). Return on capital employed was 24.35%, so 24.4% rounded (DRHP p.95). Finance cost rose from ₹0.93 crore in FY25 to ₹2.2 crore in FY26 (DRHP p.56).
• The office: the company bought office space of 27,157 sq. ft. at Brigade Deccan Heights, Bengaluru, for ₹35.8 crore by a sale deed dated October 24, 2025, plus ₹1.8 crore of stamp duty, and moved its registered office there (DRHP p.141, DRHP p.153). Property and equipment went from ₹20.2 crore to ₹74.2 crore in FY26 (DRHP p.55).
• Customers and suppliers: the largest customer was 1.77% of FY26 revenue, so 1.8% rounded (DRHP p.137), the top ten 11.83%, so 11.8% (DRHP p.138); Dassault Systèmes India was 90.97% of FY26 purchases, so 91.0% (DRHP p.26).
• Contingent liabilities: none in any year; capital commitments were ₹2.2 crore at March 2026 and ₹20.4 crore a year earlier (DRHP p.58).
• Industry: the commissioned report places the company in engineering software (CAD, CAM, CAE) implementation, within the Indian IT industry (DRHP p.104, DRHP p.109).

05What the growth is made of

Revenue rose ₹37.1 crore from FY24 to FY26 (our arithmetic, DRHP p.56).

Products: perpetual licences added ₹7.5 crore, subscriptions ₹10.8 crore, 3DEXPERIENCE ₹12.2 crore, printers and resins ₹4.7 crore and reseller commission ₹1.8 crore (our arithmetic, DRHP p.133). Licence revenue fell 2.77% in FY25 and rose 14.89% in FY26 (DRHP p.27).

Customers: the company says it added more than 500 new customers since the beginning of 2025 (DRHP p.129). The largest customer brought ₹2.8 crore in FY26, against ₹3.7 crore for the largest in FY24 (DRHP p.137).

Geography: Telangana went from ₹1.9 crore to ₹4.8 crore, and sales outside India from ₹2.1 crore to ₹3.9 crore (DRHP p.28, DRHP p.37).

Price: Dassault Systèmes India sets list and renewal prices, so a part of any change is the partner's price list, which the document does not quantify (DRHP p.26).

The document gives no number of licences, seats or renewals, so the increase cannot be split into volume and price. That is the finding.

06Earnings quality

The item that needs explaining is the jump in assets and debt in FY26, not profit. Capital advances of ₹27.8 crore at March 2025 turned into property in FY26, and ₹25.0 crore was borrowed from ICICI Bank for the purchase of commercial property (DRHP p.55, DRHP p.203). Receivables also grew: ₹22.8 crore of the ₹25.1 crore at March 2026 was under six months overdue, ₹2.3 crore older, and ₹0.27 crore was provided against as doubtful (DRHP p.220).

07The balance sheet

At March 31, 2026 total assets were ₹128.6 crore: property and equipment ₹74.2 crore, trade receivables ₹24.9 crore, cash and bank balances ₹16.0 crore, inventories ₹5.6 crore, current investments ₹1.8 crore and intangibles ₹1.6 crore (DRHP p.55). Against them: long-term borrowings ₹30.1 crore, short-term borrowings ₹7.6 crore, trade payables ₹14.5 crore, other current liabilities ₹11.2 crore and net worth ₹62.1 crore (DRHP p.55).

Borrowings at March 31, 2026 were ₹37.8 crore: the ICICI Bank property loan of ₹23.5 crore at repo rate plus 2.65%, three Bank of Baroda property loans of ₹12.0 crore together, and a Bank of Baroda cash credit of ₹2.2 crore (DRHP p.236, DRHP p.237). The loans carry personal guarantees of Varakumar Siddavatam, Joseph Jerome, Anand Adhi, Mahesh V Lakshmana Rao and Sharada Kumari, and mortgages of the company's offices in Pune and Bengaluru and of two residential flats in Bengaluru (DRHP p.237). There are no contingent liabilities (DRHP p.58).

Source: DRHP p.55, DRHP p.84, DRHP p.234. The capitalisation statement leaves the post-issue column blank (DRHP p.234). The loans named for repayment stood at ₹33.2 crore on August 31, 2026, so ₹31.0 crore would leave about ₹2.2 crore of them (our arithmetic, DRHP p.87). The working capital plan has the gap rising from ₹6.6 crore at March 2026 to ₹27.6 crore in FY27 and ₹42.4 crore in FY28 (DRHP p.88).

08What the money is for

Best Engineering Aids & Consultancies IPO objects: what the money is for

Source: DRHP p.84, DRHP p.89. The rupee size of the fresh issue depends on a price not yet set, so the share of each object cannot be worked out (DRHP p.2).

Loan repayment, ₹31.0 crore: the loans listed are three Bank of Baroda term loans with ₹11.2 crore outstanding and three ICICI Bank term loans from a ₹25.0 crore sanction of October 18, 2025 with ₹22.0 crore outstanding, ₹33.2 crore in all on August 31, 2026 (DRHP p.87). The ICICI sanction was for the purchase of commercial property (DRHP p.237). Repayment is scheduled in FY27 (DRHP p.85). Any prepayment charges are to be paid from internal accruals (DRHP p.86).

Working capital, ₹17.0 crore: ₹10.0 crore in FY27 and ₹7.0 crore in FY28 (DRHP p.85). The plan assumes receivable days rising to 54 and 60 and payable days falling to 37 and 27, which the company explains as longer credit to customers and quicker payment to suppliers (DRHP p.88, DRHP p.89).

The objects have not been appraised by any bank or financial institution (DRHP p.91). A monitoring agency will be appointed because the offer is above ₹50.0 crore (DRHP p.65).

Into the business the fresh issue of up to 29,28,000 shares, at a price not yet set (DRHP p.2). To selling shareholders 7,20,000 shares, 4,70,000 from Varakumar Siddavatam and 2,50,000 from Joseph Jerome, at a price not yet set (DRHP p.2).

09Who is selling

Best Engineering Aids & Consultancies IPO offer for sale: who is selling

Source: DRHP p.53, our arithmetic for the last column (our arithmetic, DRHP p.53). The offer for sale is 7,20,000 of the 36,48,000 shares offered, about 19.7% of the offer (our arithmetic, DRHP p.2). The document puts the two sellers' offered shares at 5.17% and 2.75% of pre-offer capital, 7.92% together (DRHP p.72). The weighted average cost of the sellers' shares is ₹0.10 each (DRHP p.1, DRHP p.79). Sharada Kumari Siddavatam, the third promoter, is not selling (DRHP p.2). The fresh issue is 29,28,000 shares and the offer for sale 7,20,000 shares by two promoters, amounts not set (DRHP p.2).

10Promoters

The promoters are Varakumar Siddavatam, Joseph Jerome and Sharada Kumari Siddavatam, who together hold 97.77% of the company (DRHP p.175). The document states that Varakumar Siddavatam and Sharada Kumari Siddavatam are spouses (DRHP p.173). There is no other promoter group shareholder (DRHP p.79).

Varakumar Siddavatam, 55, is Chairman and Managing Director, a diploma holder in mechanical engineering, on the board since incorporation in 2011 with about 20 years of experience (DRHP p.160, DRHP p.171). Joseph Jerome, 60, is Joint Managing Director, a mechanical engineer with an MBA, on the board since 2011 (DRHP p.160, DRHP p.171). Sharada Kumari Siddavatam, 50, is Whole Time Director for human resources, on the board since September 26, 2022 and earlier employed as HR manager in the company (DRHP p.160). Varakumar Siddavatam was earlier a promoter and director of Biz Automation Technologies & Solutions Private Limited, which was voluntarily struck off (DRHP p.43).

Pay: remuneration to the three promoters was ₹2.3 crore in FY24 and ₹2.1 crore in FY26; Varakumar Siddavatam's fell from ₹0.94 crore to ₹0.66 crore while Joseph Jerome's stayed at ₹0.88 crore (our arithmetic, DRHP p.59). For FY27 the board approved up to ₹1.15 crore each for Varakumar Siddavatam and Joseph Jerome and ₹0.89 crore for Sharada Kumari Siddavatam, with yearly increases of up to 15% (DRHP p.162). Total directors' remuneration was ₹6.4 crore in FY26 (DRHP p.224). Varakumar Siddavatam received ₹2.77 crore of dividends from the company in FY26 (DRHP p.60).

Other businesses and group companies: the one group company is Designsense Software Technologies Private Limited, in cloud engineering, CAD/BIM and construction project software, from whose board Sharada Kumari Siddavatam resigned on October 7, 2024 (DRHP p.39, DRHP p.177). The two signed a non-compete and non-solicitation agreement on September 22, 2026 (DRHP p.157). The document says Designsense has had losses in past years, without figures (DRHP p.39).

Guarantees and loans: the three promoters and two other directors have personally guaranteed the bank loans (DRHP p.237). The company lent Varakumar Siddavatam ₹0.20 crore in FY25 and ₹0.12 crore in FY24, repaid within each year (DRHP p.60). No promoter shares are pledged (DRHP p.78).

Cases: two income tax proceedings are pending against Joseph Jerome, for AY 2019-20 and AY 2023-24, both disputed and pending rectification or payment (DRHP p.251). No criminal or regulatory case is pending against any promoter (DRHP p.250).

Promoter economics: the average cost of the promoters' shares is ₹0.10 for Varakumar Siddavatam and Joseph Jerome and nil for Sharada Kumari Siddavatam (DRHP p.79). Their cash investment was the subscription at ₹10 a share on incorporation in 2011; almost all of today's holding came from a 100:1 bonus on August 6, 2026 and gifts of single shares on July 3, 2026 (DRHP p.73, DRHP p.78). The company bought back 10,000 shares from the founding subscriber Siva Prasada Rao Vadali at ₹1,000 a share on January 30, 2020 (DRHP p.73, DRHP p.74). Share transfer deeds for transfers up to 2013-14 cannot be traced (DRHP p.35).

11Who already owns it

Best Engineering Aids & Consultancies promoter holding before and after the IPO

Source: DRHP p.77, DRHP p.79, DRHP p.74. There are 90,90,000 shares of ₹10 before the issue and seven shareholders, all individuals (DRHP p.53, DRHP p.82). The promoters hold 88,87,798 shares, 97.77% (DRHP p.79). The document leaves the after-issue holding blank (DRHP p.79). If all 29,28,000 new shares are issued and 7,20,000 are sold, the total becomes 1,20,18,000 shares and the promoters' 97.77% becomes about 68.0%, so 97.8% → 68.0% (our arithmetic, DRHP p.79).

There is no fund, company or other institution among the shareholders (DRHP p.76). The four public holders, two directors, the CFO and one other individual, hold 2,02,202 shares, 2.23%, which are locked in for a year after listing (DRHP p.76, DRHP p.81). An ESOP pool of up to 18,00,000 shares was approved in September 2026, with no options granted yet (DRHP p.82).

12What changed just before the IPO

• Revenue and profit: revenue went from ₹123.0 crore in FY24 to ₹160.1 crore in FY26 and profit after tax from ₹13.9 crore to ₹16.7 crore (DRHP p.56).
• Receivables: receivable days went from 38 in FY24 to 51 in FY26 (DRHP p.88).
• Promoter pay went from ₹2.3 crore in FY24 to ₹2.1 crore in FY26 (our arithmetic, DRHP p.59), with higher limits approved for FY27 (DRHP p.162).
• Office bought and debt taken: ₹35.8 crore office bought on October 24, 2025, with a ₹25.0 crore ICICI Bank loan sanctioned October 18, 2025 (DRHP p.141, DRHP p.87). Registered office moved there on May 11, 2026 (DRHP p.153).
• Borrowings went from ₹15.8 crore at March 2025 to ₹37.8 crore at March 2026 (DRHP p.55).
• Bonus issue: 100:1, allotted August 6, 2026, 90,00,000 shares, the last allotment before the IPO, with no price paid (DRHP p.73).
• Pre-IPO placement: none; no shares were issued in the two years before filing other than the bonus (DRHP p.74).
• Public company: converted with a fresh certificate dated July 24, 2026 (DRHP p.2).
• Auditor: S M R K & CO. resigned on April 6, 2024 and Ravindra K and Associates came in; Ravindra K and Associates resigned on May 5, 2026, citing pre-occupation, and N S V M & Associates was appointed (DRHP p.68, DRHP p.69).
• Dividends: ₹3.0 crore paid in FY26 and a further ₹4.1 crore declared for FY26 after the year end (DRHP p.57, DRHP p.180).
• Board and managers: a CEO and a COO named on August 6, 2026; three independent directors appointed in September 2026; a CFO from September 5, 2026 and a company secretary from September 15, 2026 (DRHP p.173, DRHP p.174, DRHP p.161).
• DTX trademark: assignment deed with Ramaswamy Arumuganainar signed July 27, 2026 (DRHP p.140).
• Non-compete: with group company Designsense on September 22, 2026 (DRHP p.157).

13Capacity and expansion

The company does no manufacturing and owns no plant; the document says capacity and utilisation do not apply to it (DRHP p.138). Nothing in the issue funds new capacity (DRHP p.84). Its delivery capacity is its people: 155 technical staff on August 31, 2026, with attrition of 28.44%, 28.12% and 30.16% over FY24 to FY26 (DRHP p.139, DRHP p.140). Printer stock is kept to two or three units at a time (DRHP p.137).

14Market size and industry structure

Best Engineering Aids & Consultancies industry: market size and growth

As claimed: the industry chapter is drawn from the "Research Report on Engineering Software Industry" by CARE Analytics and Advisory Private Limited (CareEdge Research), dated September 21, 2026, which the company commissioned and paid for under an engagement of August 14, 2026 (DRHP p.25, DRHP p.104). The commissioned report puts the Indian engineering software implementation market at USD 1.8 billion in CY26E, up from USD 1.0 billion in CY21, about 12.7% a year (DRHP p.110). The wider Indian IT and IT services market is put at USD 308.3 billion in FY26 (DRHP p.108).

The part that is addressable: the company resells CAD, CAM and simulation software and 3D printers in India. The report sizes the Indian CAD/CAM software market at USD 1,057.7 million in CY26E, the Indian simulation software market at USD 981.3 million, and the Indian industrial 3D printing market at USD 1,017.3 million (DRHP p.110, DRHP p.124, DRHP p.121). It does not size the reseller channel, the Dassault Systèmes share of these markets, or resin printers separately.

What the company is today: FY26 revenue was ₹160.1 crore (DRHP p.56). The document gives no rupee to dollar rate for these market figures, so the company's share of them cannot be worked out from the filing.

Size over time: the commissioned report projects engineering software implementation at USD 2.9 billion by CY30P, about 12.0% a year from CY26 (DRHP p.110). It projects CAD/CAM software at USD 1,546.4 million by CY30P, about 10.0% a year, after 7.8% a year over CY21 to CY26E (DRHP p.110). For simulation software it projects USD 1,762.6 million by CY30P, about 15.8% a year, after 12.8% (DRHP p.124).

For industrial 3D printing in India it projects USD 2,169.9 million by CY30P, about 20.9% a year, after 18.5% (DRHP p.121). The Indian digital manufacturing software market is put at USD 2,922.4 million in CY26E, projected at USD 7,877.9 million by CY30P (DRHP p.118). These are the report's projections, not figures from the company's accounts.

Segments: the report divides IT into services, hardware, software and licensing, and projects licensing at USD 51.6 billion by FY30 (DRHP p.109). Within engineering software it treats implementation, CAD/CAM, simulation, digital manufacturing and 3D printing as separate markets (DRHP p.109, DRHP p.115, DRHP p.121). In 3D printing, aerospace and defence is the largest end use at 27.0% of the Indian market in CY26E, then automotive (DRHP p.121, DRHP p.122). The company sells mainly licences and subscriptions, plus implementation and resin printers, and places its DTX platform in the digital manufacturing integration segment (DRHP p.133, DRHP p.117).

What drives demand: the chapter names Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing; capacity expansion under PLI schemes, said to have drawn over ₹2.4 trillion of investment by March 2026; more complex products in defence, automotive and medical devices; electric vehicles and batteries; cloud engineering platforms; integration of engineering and factory systems; AI and digital twins; and better digital readiness of small manufacturers (DRHP p.110, DRHP p.111). It also cites Semicon India 2.0 with an outlay of ₹1.28 trillion and public capital spending of ₹12.2 trillion in FY27 (DRHP p.110).

Structure: the chapter does not describe market shares, fragmentation or named competitors. The business chapter says the company competes with other software resellers, system integrators and engineering service providers, and names none (DRHP p.139). Its arrangements with technology partners are non-exclusive, so partners may appoint other resellers or deal with customers directly (DRHP p.26).

Inputs and trade: the input is the partner's licence. Purchases were ₹95.8 crore in FY26, 92.51% from Indian suppliers and 7.49% imported, mainly Formlabs printers and resins from the United States (DRHP p.223, DRHP p.31). Foreign currency income, including commission, exceeds foreign currency spending, and the company does not hedge (DRHP p.32).

Rules: the chapter on regulation lists the Information Technology Act, 2000, the SPDI Rules of 2011, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, CERT-In directions and the BIS Act (DRHP p.145, DRHP p.146). The company says it has yet to apply for professional tax registrations in Gujarat, Telangana and Tamil Nadu and has not filed ESIC monthly returns for FY 2025-26 (DRHP p.38).

What the chapter says can go wrong: high implementation and ownership costs and uncertain payback, especially for small manufacturers; a shortage of specialised implementation skills; difficult integration with older systems; data migration problems; resistance from users; and data security and intellectual property risks (DRHP p.111, DRHP p.112). For 3D printing it adds quality and certification rules, a narrow range of materials and high set-up costs (DRHP p.122, DRHP p.123). For simulation it adds rising computing costs and data sovereignty concerns in shared clouds (DRHP p.126). Much of the chapter is generic: national GDP, inflation and the whole IT market (DRHP p.104, DRHP p.105, DRHP p.108).

15Competitive position

Best Engineering Aids & Consultancies competitors

Source: DRHP p.96, converted from ₹ lakh. These are the peers the company itself named; the document does not describe what part of either peer's business overlaps with reselling Dassault Systèmes software (DRHP p.94).

What the company puts forward: a partnership with Dassault Systèmes India since 2011, its own training and certification, a spread of customers across industries and nine cities, and DTX (DRHP p.93, DRHP p.129). Against that: about 91% of purchases come from one partner on non-exclusive terms with no long-term contract, the partner sets prices, and DTX has brought almost no revenue (DRHP p.26, DRHP p.130).

16Peers the company named

Peers named in the offer document: Silver Touch Technologies Limited and Softtech Engineers Limited (DRHP p.94).

The document says they are in the same or a similar line of business but may not be comparable in size or portfolio (DRHP p.94). Silver Touch is about twice the company's FY26 revenue with a similar PAT margin; Softtech is a little smaller by revenue, with a lower PAT margin and a larger net worth (our arithmetic, DRHP p.96). Neither is described as a reseller of a single partner's software.

The document prints their P/E on September 25, 2026 prices as 52.41 and 134.40, an average of 93.41 (DRHP p.94). The company's FY26 EPS is ₹18.32 on 90,90,000 shares (DRHP p.93). With no price band, no P/E for the company can be stated.

17Risks, in plain words

Best Engineering Aids & Consultancies IPO risks

Suppliers: Dassault Systèmes India supplied 90.97% of FY26 purchases, with no long-term contract and on non-exclusive terms (DRHP p.26) → if the arrangement changes or the partner appoints others or sells direct, most of what the company sells is affected → the top ten suppliers were 99.72% of purchases (DRHP p.26).

Business: partner pricing: the partner publishes list and renewal prices and the company sells at or near them, under an annual volume purchase commitment it must pay even if sales fall short (DRHP p.26) → margins depend on terms the company does not set → gross margin, revenue less purchases and stock change, was about 41.9% in FY26 (our arithmetic, DRHP p.56).

Customers: renewals: subscriptions and support are 32.28% of revenue and customers need not renew (DRHP p.27) → a fall in renewals cuts the recurring part → FY25 revenue fell 0.98% when service income dropped (DRHP p.245).

Business: geography: Maharashtra and Karnataka together brought 73.12% of FY26 revenue (DRHP p.28) → a slowdown in either state weighs on the whole business.

Financial: debt for property: borrowings rose from ₹15.8 crore to ₹37.8 crore in FY26, much of it for the purchase of the Bengaluru office (DRHP p.55, DRHP p.141) → ₹31.0 crore of the fresh issue goes to repaying these loans rather than to the business's operations (DRHP p.84).

Financial: working capital: the plan assumes receivable days rising from 51 to 60 by FY28 (DRHP p.88) → more cash tied up in customers → the gap is projected at ₹42.4 crore in FY28 (DRHP p.88).

Promoters: the promoters hold 97.77% before the issue and about 68.0% after (DRHP p.79, our arithmetic, DRHP p.79) → they will control shareholder votes → their shares cost ₹0.10 each on average (DRHP p.79).

Regulation and compliance: the company records past lapses in dividend payment timing, ROC filings, provident fund deposits and GST returns, and pending state tax registrations (DRHP p.35, DRHP p.41, DRHP p.38) → penalties are possible → none has been levied so far, the document says (DRHP p.35).

Issue-specific: the restated accounts were examined by a peer-review auditor rather than the statutory auditor, and the statutory auditor changed twice in three years (DRHP p.30, DRHP p.68) → readers rely on a recent auditor's first year and a separate firm's restatement → FY26 audited and restated profit differ by ₹0.4 crore (DRHP p.198).

18Litigation and regulatory matters

Cases against Best Engineering Aids & Consultancies and its promoters

Company: no criminal, tax, regulatory or material civil case by or against the company (DRHP p.249, DRHP p.250). Promoters and directors: five tax proceedings in all, ₹0.49 crore with interest and no criminal or regulatory matter (DRHP p.34, DRHP p.250). Group company: no material case (DRHP p.252). Corporate law:

dividends declared in seven years were not moved to a separate account within five days or paid within thirty days, a cash flow statement was left out of the FY17 filing and some forms and a charge were not filed (DRHP p.35). Statutory dues: one late provident fund deposit in each of FY25 and FY26 and a few late GST returns (DRHP p.41).

19Related-party transactions

Source: DRHP p.59, DRHP p.60, converted from ₹ lakh. S Sreevani and Prahlad Siddavatam, listed in the promoter group table as Varakumar Siddavatam's sister and son, drew salaries of ₹0.09 crore and ₹0.10 crore in FY26, and Prahlad Siddavatam was paid a ₹0.04 crore sponsorship fee (DRHP p.60, DRHP p.178). Designsense paid the company ₹0.01 crore of rent in FY24 and FY25 (DRHP p.60). There are no related-party sales or purchases of goods.

What appeared or changed in the two years before filing: the rent from Designsense stopped in FY26, the sponsorship fee to Prahlad Siddavatam is new in FY26, and the non-compete agreement with Designsense was signed in September 2026 (DRHP p.60, DRHP p.157). The company says related-party transactions were at arm's length (DRHP p.40).

20What the offer document does not say

Customers are not named. The terms of the Dassault Systèmes India reseller arrangement, its length and the annual purchase commitment amount are not given (DRHP p.26). Licence, seat and renewal counts are not given, so growth cannot be split into volume and price. The renewal rate is not given. Designsense's financial figures are not in the document (DRHP p.260). Market shares and competitors are not named in the industry chapter. The issue size in rupees, the price band, general corporate purposes and offer expenses are blank (DRHP p.84, DRHP p.89). The after-issue shareholding is blank (DRHP p.79).

Some inconsistencies are recorded as document matters, not business ones: the abridged prospectus names "Surender Pal" and "Suramveer" as selling shareholders with about 87 lakh shares each, names that appear nowhere in the DRHP (AP p.7, DRHP p.53); the abridged prospectus puts the public holding at 21,000 shares against 2,02,202 in the DRHP (AP p.5, DRHP p.76); one page swaps the Karnataka and Maharashtra shares of revenue (DRHP p.129, DRHP p.28);

a risk factor speaks of amounts from the net proceeds to be invested in DTX which is not an object (DRHP p.29, DRHP p.84); the cover calls the peer-review firm the statutory auditor (DRHP p.1, DRHP p.63); a ratio table prints return on net worth equal to EPS (DRHP p.235); licences and subscriptions are put at 85.06% of revenue in both FY25 and FY24 while the table gives 81.44% for FY25 (our arithmetic, DRHP p.27);

and the working capital table labels short-term borrowings as internal accruals (DRHP p.88).

21Five questions for management

1. What is the annual purchase commitment to Dassault Systèmes India for FY27, and how much of it was unsold at the end of FY26?
2. How many licences, subscriptions and 3DEXPERIENCE seats were sold in FY24, FY25 and FY26, and what share of subscription customers renewed each year?
3. How much of the Brigade Deccan Heights office does the company use itself, and what would it pay to rent the same space?
4. Why did reseller commission fall from ₹8.8 crore in FY24 to ₹5.8 crore in FY25 and rise to ₹10.6 crore in FY26, and what conditions does the partner attach to it?
5. Why did the statutory auditor change in April 2024 and again in May 2026, and why were the restated accounts examined by a third firm?

2Sources and cited facts

This study was read from 2 documents the company filed. The 169 figures it cites are listed under the document each came from, with the page and the sentence as printed.