Last July, its investment company GemLife Communities Group was listed in Australia, giving the group a fresh lift in earnings power and balance sheet strength. Post-IPO, the group’s shareholding in GemLife stands at 16.8%. As at Feb 10, shares in GemLife are trading at A$4.81 ($4.31), growing from just A$4.16 during its IPO.
Inderbethal Singh Thakral, CEO and executive director of Thakral, says: “GemLife’s successful ASX listing represents the realisation of a strategic vision we have supported since inception. We’re pleased to witness such strong investor support for GemLife, which speaks to the market’s recognition of its leadership in the over-50s lifestyle space.”
Meanwhile, Thakral’s investment in The Beauty Tech Group has also proven positive, as it is pursuing a similar IPO route in London. Upon listing, Thakral holds about 6.04% of The Beauty Tech Group and is valued at GBP348.7 million ($603.6 million) as at Feb 9 or GBP3.15 per share, higher than its IPO price of GBP2.71.
With this positive news and the group’s earnings surging fourfold to $19.5 million in 3QFY2025 ended Sept 30, 2025, its share price is finally showing some growth. As at Feb 10, Thakral shares are trading at $1.68, up about 137% over the past 12 months. This gives it a P/E and P/B of 1.7 times and 0.8 times, respectively.
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Looking ahead, the group, with its many businesses in several industries, is focused on its property investment project in India. It will increase its stake in a 21-acre plot of land in Gurugram to 95.28% from an entity controlled by the extended Thakral family. The acquisition will be paid with $50 million in cash, with the remaining $43.9 million paid in 24.22 million new Thakral shares at $1.8128 each.
While Inderbethal plans for a large mixed development on the land, the first focus will be to build a hospital and wellness centre. This will span about seven acres. The group will partner a hospital operator, who will bear the development costs, and will use a profit-sharing model. The wellness centre, on the other hand, will be a Thakral project intended for lease to tenants.
While Thakral is seeing growth in the above-mentioned businesses, the group’s other businesses are also seeing good traction.
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One would be its drone business, which supplies components to manufacturers and distributes DJI-branded drones in certain markets. This segment evolved from the group’s legacy business model of distributing consumer electronics in China — initially VCRs, then VCDs and DVDs — before streaming technology eventually displaced physical media. About a decade ago, the team used that base to move into drones, first through photographers and videographers upgrading from digital cameras, then into agriculture and enterprise work.
“We see an almost 30% growth y-o-y for the past three years,” says Inderbethal. Thakral will set up 20-30 DJI stores across India and other South Asian countries over the next two to three years. The group covers seven countries in South Asia, including India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan and the Maldives.
India is currently closed to foreign-made drones, so Thakral is leaning into premium retail. It is now the exclusive distributor for Nespresso across India, running both consumer and enterprise channels. Inderbethal expects the business to turn profitable in the next two years.
As Thakral juggles several businesses, one concern is that its stock is trading at a conglomerate discount — although Inderbethal refuses to call itself a conglomerate, instead calling itself a “really detailed business”.
CGS International (CGSI) sees Thakral as a potential beneficiary of the Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP). CGSI says Thakral’s momentum and trend show strong, continuous upside potential after it has formed a bullish flag. Despite overbought conditions, bearish reversals are kept to a minimum, indicating strong bullish pressure. CGSI has a long-term target price of $2.00 and thinks that the major support at $1.30 will be a good level to “accumulate”, should there be any correction.
Meanwhile, Phillip Securities Research has a “buy” call and $2.12 target. Research manager Darren Chan says: “We see significant upside potential in the Gurugram land development given its scale and location, although execution and delivery risks remain ... The lifestyle business remains in a scaling phase, with around 30% growth projected over the next few years, supporting diversification beyond property and investment assets.”
