CIE Automotive India Q2 FY27: PAT +14% YoY to ₹244 Cr, core margin slips to 14.2%

CIE Automotive India's consolidated Q2 FY27 (quarter ended 30 September 2026) revenue rose 11.0% YoY to ₹2,633 Cr and PAT rose 13.9% YoY to ₹243.7 Cr (EPS ₹6.43). Both landed just under our pre-result preview band — revenue versus the ₹2,650-2,750 Cr watch range, EPS versus ₹6.50-7.00 — a narrow miss rather than a beat. Sequentially growth was muted (revenue +0.5% QoQ, PAT +3.4% QoQ). Against prior management guidance from the last call — India growth accelerating, Europe protecting profitability amid a stagnant market, India margins improving — this is a partial confirmation: India revenue did accelerate (+18.1% YoY) and Europe did hold its ground on profitability, but the India margin-improvement call did not play out this quarter. The headline PAT growth masks a softer core-margin story. Group EBITDA (PBT ex-associates'-share and ex-other-income, plus finance cost and depreciation) came in near ₹373.9 Cr on ₹2,633 Cr of revenue — about 14.2%, down from 15.0% a year ago and 14.9% last quarter. The gap between a rising NPM (~9.1% of total income, versus 8.95% YoY) and a falling core operating margin is explained by other income, which jumped to ₹43.9 Cr this quarter — up 129% YoY and 53% QoQ, with no line-item breakout in the filing — plus a finance cost line that rose modestly YoY to ₹4.0 Cr (from ₹3.6 Cr) but fell sharply from Q1's elevated ₹10.2 Cr. Within segments the divergence is clear: Europe's PBIT margin recovered to 11.8% from 9.6% a year ago even as Europe revenue fell 2.9% YoY — consistent with management's 'protect profitability over growth' stance for the region — while India's PBIT margin slipped to 12.7% from 13.4% YoY despite 18.1% revenue growth, as cost absorption during the capacity ramp outpaced volumes. The quarter's other major corporate action is the amalgamation of wholly-owned subsidiary CIE Aluminium Casting India (CACIL) into the parent — NCLT approved the scheme on 25 September 2026 and the merger notice went to shareholders on 8 October 2026, ahead of this result. Separately, the company invested ₹120.75 Cr in subsidiary CIE Hosur on 4 September 2026, continuing the India capacity build-out behind the segment's revenue growth, though this filing carries no order-book or ramp-timeline detail to size its contribution. No management press release accompanies this filing, so there is no fresh commentary to set against the numbers beyond the Street's standing pre-result ask that CIE show margin stability rather than expansion; on that narrow test the quarter is a pass, with core margin at 14.2% sitting inside the 13-14% band flagged pre-result, even as it keeps drifting down year-on-year. Going into the next print, the two open threads are whether India's margin resumes the improvement management guided to as the capacity ramp matures, and whether Europe's profitability recovery — now two consecutive quarters of improvement — continues even as the region's topline keeps contracting. The CACIL merger's completion timeline is the other near-term marker to track.