Century Enka Q2 FY27: consolidated PAT down 17% YoY to ₹18.5 Cr as material costs bite

Century Enka's consolidated PAT fell 17.2% YoY to ₹18.49 Cr (₹22.33 Cr in Q2 FY26) even as revenue from operations grew a strong 36.6% YoY to ₹558.23 Cr (₹408.70 Cr), and dropped 70.0% QoQ from Q1 FY27's ₹61.70 Cr on flat sequential revenue (+0.7% QoQ to ₹554.29 Cr). EPS came in at ₹8.46 versus ₹10.22 a year ago and ₹28.24 last quarter. There is no raw/adjusted split needed — neither this quarter nor the year-ago quarter carried any exceptional items, so the 17.2% PAT decline is the clean underlying number.

The story is margin compression, not a revenue problem. EBITDA margin (OPM) slipped to ~5.9% this quarter from 7.7% a year ago and a much stronger 15.5% in Q1 FY27; NPM fell to 3.3% from 5.4% YoY and 11.0% in Q1. The driver sits squarely on raw materials: cost of materials consumed rose to 66.9% of revenue in Q2 FY27 from 56.9% in Q2 FY26, outpacing the 36.6% topline growth even as power/fuel and employee costs improved as a share of revenue. This lines up with external data — Northeast Asia caprolactam/nylon-6 prices were up 10.3% month-on-month in September 2026 (BusinessAnalytiq), consistent with input-cost pressure on Century Enka's two key raw materials, caprolactam and nylon chips. QoQ, Q1's profit was additionally flattered by a large ₹46.2 Cr favourable swing in finished-goods/WIP inventory that reversed to near-nil (-₹0.4 Cr) in Q2, amplifying the sequential profit drop beyond what the margin numbers alone would suggest.

The stock went into the print at ₹476.7, down 15.6% over the past month of trading.

For context: revenue is at a 6-quarter high.

No exceptional items this quarter (FY26 carried a ₹1.86 Cr labour-code charge) — standalone and consolidated results are nearly identical, associate contribution negligible (-₹0.15 Cr).

Management's last concall (31 Jul 2026) guided FY27 normalized EBITDA margin at 7-10% (upgraded from 6-8%), with a cautiously optimistic near-term tone. On a standalone quarterly basis, Q2's ~5.9% OPM falls short of that band, though H1 FY27 blended EBITDA margin of ~10.7% (Q1's 15.5% carrying the average) still sits within/at the top of the guided range — so the full-year guidance isn't yet broken, but Q2 is the weak quarter inside it. No management press release accompanies this filing, so there is no fresh commentary to weigh against the print beyond the prior concall framing. Street consensus estimates for this specific quarter could not be found in available coverage (company is a small-cap, ₹1,243 Cr market cap, with limited broker preview coverage), so vsStreet is unknown rather than assumed. Corporate developments this quarter were procedural (auditor transition to Singhi & Co., AGM director re-appointments, ESG ratings) and don't bear on the print; the standing ₹7.30 Cr excise demand (reduced from an original ₹229.27 Cr claim) remains sub judice at the Supreme Court with auditors flagging it as a non-modifying emphasis of matter, unchanged from prior quarters.