Bikaji Q2 FY27: consolidated PAT falls 11% YoY on margin squeeze despite revenue beat

Bikaji's consolidated revenue rose 13.0% YoY to ₹938.53 Cr, comfortably beating the one specific Street marker on record: HDFC Securities (HSIE, Oct 8) had flagged a mid-single-digit Q2 revenue decline on a reset packaged-sweets/gifting base from the shifted FY27 festive calendar. That decline didn't happen. But profitability told a weaker story — consolidated PAT fell to ₹68.96 Cr, down 11.2% YoY (EPS ₹2.82 vs ₹3.18). The comparison is actually flattered: the year-ago quarter absorbed a ₹4.35 Cr exceptional fire loss at contract manufacturer Dadiji Snacks, and adjusting for that one-off pushes the underlying YoY PAT decline to roughly 16%. The QoQ jump (revenue +27.8%, PAT +15.9%) is a seasonal pickup typical of this festive/gifting-led consumer business heading into Q2-Q3, not a trend signal. The margin bridge explains the miss: EBITDA margin (revenue-from-operations basis) compressed to roughly 12.65%, down from ~14.4% a year ago and ~13.5% last quarter, falling below management's own FY27 guidance band of 13-13.5% set out on the Q1 call (Aug 12). Gross margin held up reasonably (~34.4% vs ~35.0% YoY), so the squeeze sits below the gross line: employee costs rose 18.7% YoY and other expenses — which the company had flagged would carry a heavy ad/promotion load through Q2-Q3 — rose 29.3% YoY, both far outrunning 13% revenue growth. In other words, the print confirms the cost pressure management itself warned about in August, just landing a touch below the floor of its stated range. Management also held off price hikes until post-Diwali, as previously indicated, leaving cost inflation unabsorbed on pricing this quarter. On guidance pacing, H1 FY27 revenue grew ~12.8% YoY, trailing the 15%+ full-year target management reiterated in August; that puts the onus on a high-teens H2, consistent with the Street's own expectation of a Q3 snapback once the calendar-driven base effect passes. Standalone PAT of ₹70.44 Cr (-9.2% YoY) was additionally dented by the ₹3.84 Cr subsidiary-investment impairment, which doesn't show up in the cleaner consolidated number — so the two bases diverge mainly on that one item, not on the underlying operating trend. The quarter also saw portfolio activity: Bikaji divested 30% of Bikaji Bakes (Aug 26, converting it from wholly-owned to a subsidiary) and added a 74%-owned bolt-on, Jai Barbareek Dev Snacks, effective July 2, generating ₹4.86 Cr of goodwill — neither is large enough to move the P&L this quarter but both show continued portfolio reshaping alongside the Nepal JV/Abu Dhabi plans flagged in August. Going into Q3, the numbers to watch are whether revenue growth actually accelerates to the high-teens needed to close the H1 shortfall against the 15%+ guidance, and whether EBITDA margin recovers toward the 13-13.5% band once the heaviest ad-spend period management described is behind it.