Apollo Micro: consolidated revenue up 72% YoY to ₹388 Cr; tax spike caps PAT growth at 54%

Apollo Micro Systems posted consolidated revenue of ₹388.15 Cr for Q2 FY27, up 72.3% YoY (₹225.26 Cr) and 54.5% QoQ (₹251.29 Cr) — comfortably clearing the pre-result preview's ₹250-270 Cr expectation and consistent with management's prior guidance of "continued strong growth" into FY27/FY28 on large-ticket order inflows. Consolidated PAT (pre-minority) was ₹46.15 Cr, up 53.7% YoY and 83.0% QoQ; profit attributable to owners was ₹48.43 Cr with basic EPS of ₹1.32 (vs ₹0.93 YoY). The headline tension: PAT growth trailed revenue growth YoY, something the quarter's PBT performance (+114.3% YoY to ₹92.48 Cr) did not foreshadow — the gap sits entirely in tax, not operations. Operating margin actually expanded — to 28.6% from 26.3% a year ago and 21.4% last quarter — and PBT margin widened to 23.6% from 19.0% YoY, both pointing to genuine operating leverage as revenue scaled. Net margin nonetheless compressed to 11.8% from 13.3% YoY, because the effective tax rate jumped to 50.1% (tax expense ₹46.32 Cr on PBT ₹92.48 Cr) from 30.4% a year ago — the filing gives no explanation for the higher current-plus-deferred tax charge. That tax drag, not a weaker underlying business, is why consolidated PAT growth (53.7% YoY) fell short of revenue growth (72.3% YoY). Standalone (parent-only) revenue was ₹306.29 Cr (+36.0% YoY) and PAT ₹47.73 Cr (+58.9% YoY) — standalone PAT actually exceeds the consolidated figure, because Group subsidiaries are loss-making: non-controlling interest absorbed a ₹2.28 Cr loss this quarter, and the auditors' consolidated review carries an Emphasis of Matter noting subsidiaries (including newly acquired IDL Explosives, which posted a ₹2.57 Cr net loss for H1) have negative net worth, cash losses and large borrowings that raise going-concern questions at the subsidiary level — though the audit opinion itself was not modified, citing parent support. The quarter's newsflow is consistent with the consolidation story: a group company inaugurated a new plant (Oct 22), the CCI confirmed the Premier Explosives-related transaction isn't a notifiable combination (Sep 24), and the company won a Transfer-of-Technology award for a Laser Homing System (Sep 16) — all feeding the order-book narrative management has guided to. No separate management press release accompanied this filing to independently frame the quarter. H1 FY27 consolidated PAT of ₹71.37 Cr is already up 49.6% YoY, well ahead of the ~15-20% full-year PAT growth brokers have penciled in for FY27 — a gap that should prompt estimate revisions if H2 holds. Revenue growth did moderate from Q1 FY27's 88% YoY pace to 72.3% this quarter, a deceleration worth watching against management's "accelerated growth" framing for its Vision 2036 roadmap, alongside whether the elevated ~50% tax rate normalizes and how quickly the loss-making subsidiaries turn around.