Nirlon Q2 FY27: Revenue +2% YoY, Adjusted PAT -8% as Tax Rate Jumps to 25%

Nirlon's standalone revenue from operations grew 2.3% YoY to ₹169.08 Cr in Q2 FY27 (quarter ended Sep 30, 2026), roughly flat sequentially (+0.5% QoQ from ₹168.31 Cr), consistent with management's Q1 FY27 guidance of a 'quiet' FY27 with rental growth capped at the ~4.75% annual contracted escalation and no major lease renewals — occupancy is already near-full. Reported PAT of ₹71.89 Cr looks like a 51.3% YoY collapse from ₹147.66 Cr, but that year-ago figure was inflated by a one-off ₹69.51 Cr deferred-tax reversal booked when the company elected the Section 115BAA new tax regime; stripping that out, normalized Q2 FY26 PAT was ₹78.16 Cr, making the real YoY decline a much smaller ~8%. No consensus estimates for this small, thinly-covered stock turned up in a search, so vs-street is unknown; against management's own guidance, the quarter tracks broadly in line — revenue growth, margins and the pre-May-2027 debt schedule all behaved as flagged on the last call. The ~8% adjusted PAT decline is a tax story, not an operating one: EBITDA margin (OPM) was essentially stable at 77.76% versus 78.26% a year ago (and up from 76.76% in Q1 FY27), on broadly flat PBT (₹96.10 Cr vs a normalized ₹93.03 Cr, +3.3% YoY). The effective tax rate rose to 25.2% this quarter from a normalized ~16.0% in Q2 FY26 — current tax provision nearly doubled YoY (₹22.58 Cr vs ₹11.95 Cr) on a similar pre-tax base — and that higher rate, not weaker rentals, is what pulled adjusted net margin down to ~41.3% of total income from a normalized ~46.3% a year ago. Sequentially, PAT rose 3.6% to ₹71.89 Cr from ₹69.38 Cr as both revenue and margins ticked up. Alongside the results, the Board approved a 'dividend policy modification' at the same Nov 2, 2026 meeting, though no financial terms were disclosed in this filing. Separately, shareholding records show a 2.58% stake acquisition by InRe Fund II (Oct 5) and inter-se transfers among BSREP IV FPI Two Holdings entities (Oct 16) — ownership-structure moves that don't affect the P&L. The balance sheet shows non-current borrowings down to ₹1,089.59 Cr from ₹1,146.67 Cr at FY26-end, with ₹57.58 Cr reclassified to current liabilities ahead of the company's guided May-2027 repayment start — a technical reclassification rather than actual deleveraging yet, in line with the prior outlook.