Hidrostal S.A.

What it is

Hidrostal S.A. makes and sells centrifugal pumps, cast and machined parts, and also imports and distributes electric motors, power transformers, and related equipment. Its products serve the industrial, construction, energy, mining, and engineering sectors.

Founded in Lima in 1955, it is the oldest company in the international Hidrostal Group, a Swiss-headquartered family operation that manufactures across seven countries. The company also provides technical support, installation, and maintenance services.

Who owns it

Hidrostal S.A. is a subsidiary of Hidrostal Holding A.G., domiciled in Switzerland, which holds 61.57% of the shares. The Peruvian company operates independently in its day-to-day financial and operational decisions while pursuing the goals set by its Swiss parent.

Hidrostal is a family-owned business, manufacturing in seven countries, with three foundries and a worldwide distribution network. The remaining roughly 38% of Hidrostal S.A.’s shares are publicly traded on the Lima stock exchange; the company’s investment shares are listed on the Bolsa de Valores de Lima.

Who runs it

The registered General Manager (Gerente General) is Thomas Aurel Spittler Lindenberg, in the role since July 2013. Oliver Joerk serves as the company’s stock-exchange representative (Apoderado), the officer who signs regulatory filings with the SMV and BVL.

The board re-appointed audit firm Ropert, Sarrio & Asociados S.C., a member of the TGS network, as independent external auditor for the 2025 financial year. The names of the full board of directors are not individually disclosed in the SMV filings reviewed.

The money, in plain words

In 2024, Hidrostal’s revenue fell 16.3% to S/ 141.65M (~US$ 41.7M), down from S/ 169.26 (US$50)M the year before; yet earnings of S/ 3.68 (US$1)M were up 161% year-on-year — the company sold less but controlled costs enough to nearly triple its bottom line. It kept about 2.6 cents of profit from every sol of sales — a net profit margin of 2.6% — thin by industrial-machinery standards (our calculation).

The company’s shares trade on the Lima Stock Exchange, in the General Industrial Machinery sector. The market puts the total value of the business at roughly S/ 98.3M (~US$ 28.9M) — a market capitalisation just above two years’ worth of profit at current earnings, making it a very small, illiquid listed company.

Its share price has ranged from S/ 1.00 (US$0.29)to S/ 1.30 (US$0.38)over the past 52 weeks.

The board voted to pay no dividend for 2024, rolling the entire S/ 3.68 (US$1)M net profit into retained earnings — now standing at S/ 59.96 (US$18)M — in line with a dividend policy adopted in 2014 that requires specific conditions to be met before cash is distributed to shareholders.

What it is doing now

At the mandatory annual general meeting on 26 March 2025, shareholders unanimously approved the 2024 financial statements and the annual report. The company’s most recent material disclosure, filed with the SMV in April 2025, confirms it files only individual (non-consolidated) financial statements — meaning the listed Peruvian entity alone, not the wider Swiss-owned group.

The company’s latest financial report indicates a net sales revenue increase of 7.28% in 2025, suggesting the 2024 revenue drop was a one-year dip rather than the start of a structural decline — though full audited 2025 figures were not yet published at the time of writing.

What to watch

• Revenue recovery: The 16% revenue drop in 2024 is the central story; whether the partial 2025 rebound sustains — especially tied to Peru’s mining and infrastructure investment cycle — will define the next chapter.
• Margin thin: A 2.6% net margin leaves very little room for error; any cost pressure from the Swiss parent’s royalty (2% of sales, paid to related entity Frideco AG) or currency moves can eliminate profit quickly.
• Parent dependency: A licence agreement signed in April 2015 between Frideco AG — a related company domiciled in Switzerland — and Hidrostal S.A. governs the use of the “Hidrostal” brand on all products, creating a permanent related-party royalty charge minority investors cannot renegotiate.
• Liquidity: Hidrostal S.A. is covered by zero sell-side analysts, and daily trading volumes are minimal; buyers and sellers may wait days for a match at any meaningful size.

This is news, not investment advice.