InfoBeans Q1: consolidated revenue up 37% YoY; PAT ₹21.6 Cr steady, +27% ex prior-year US grant

InfoBeans' Q1 FY27 consolidated print pairs a strong topline with a headline profit dip that is almost entirely optical. Revenue rose to ₹152.77 Cr, up 36.6% YoY (from ₹111.85 Cr) and 7.7% QoQ (from ₹141.82 Cr) — broad-based growth across geographies. Reported net profit of ₹21.62 Cr fell 7.3% YoY, but the year-ago ₹23.32 Cr base was flattered by a one-off ₹6.36 Cr US CARES-Act Employee Retention Credit grant booked in other income; stripping that out, adjusted YoY PAT growth is roughly +27%, and sequentially profit was flat (+0.8% QoQ). Net margin came in at 14.15%, versus a reported 18.77% a year ago and 14.58% last quarter — but once the grant is removed the year-ago base normalizes and margins are essentially flat, landing squarely on the ~14% PAT comfort level management flagged on the Q4 FY26 call. EBITDA margin of ~20.6% sits below their stated 24% comfort, with employee-benefit expense of ₹96.12 Cr (63% of revenue, up from ₹70.82 Cr year-ago) the dominant cost as headcount scales. The standalone entity, which carries no US-grant one-off, corroborates this: revenue grew 39.8% YoY to ₹113.46 Cr while PAT was flat at ₹15.59 Cr — profitability has normalized, not deteriorated. The gap between standalone (−1% PAT YoY) and consolidated (−7% PAT YoY) is precisely the grant sitting in the consolidated base. The result confirms rather than contradicts management's prior framing — "strong growth momentum across all geographies" (revenue +37% delivers) alongside their cautioned reversion of margins toward the 14% PAT / 24% EBITDA band. Management gives no formal quantitative guidance and no street consensus is on record for this small-cap, so there is no external beat/miss to score. Alongside results, the Board approved consequential amendments to the InfoBeans Cloudtech merger scheme, updating clauses tied to the authorised-capital increase from ₹25 Cr to ₹100 Cr, with share-exchange ratio and commercial terms unchanged. An earnings call follows on July 22, 2026, where progress on management's stated goal of moving to 100% AI-augmented development revenue within 12 months will be the key watch.