Epigral Q1: adjusted PAT +25% YoY on 16% revenue growth; tax-credit base masks the print

Epigral (formerly Meghmani Finechem) reported consolidated PAT of ₹99.74 Cr for Q1 FY27, which reads as a 38% YoY decline against ₹160.69 Cr a year ago — but that base is an artifact. Q1 FY26 carried a one-time ₹80.87 Cr deferred-tax credit (Sec 115BAA remeasurement) that turned its tax line into a ₹53.68 Cr net credit; stripping it out, year-ago PAT was ~₹79.82 Cr, so underlying profit actually grew ~25% YoY. The cleaner gauge — pre-tax profit — confirms this: consolidated PBT rose to ₹133.74 Cr from ₹107.01 Cr, +25% YoY, and +23% sequentially.

Revenue from operations climbed 16.3% YoY to ₹705.36 Cr (from ₹606.54 Cr), consistent with the volume recovery management flagged on the Q4 call and running ahead of its 10-12% FY27 volume-growth guidance. Sequentially revenue eased 4.2% off the ₹736.16 Cr Q4 print — the subject of the company's July 22 exchange clarification on volume movement. Operating margin came in near 25.4% (EBITDA ~₹179 Cr), a strong recovery from 22.9% in Q4 but ~1.5pp below the 26.9% of a year ago, so the operating line is broadly stable rather than expanding. The larger YoY profit lift below EBITDA came from deleveraging: finance costs fell to ₹7.22 Cr from ₹23.37 Cr, cutting the interest burden by roughly two-thirds.

The stock went into the print at ₹1,136.8, up 3.1% over the past month of trading.

For context: this is the second-highest quarterly PAT of the last 6 quarters; PAT has now risen for 2 consecutive quarters.

EPS ₹23.12 vs ₹37.25 YoY (base effect) and ₹18.76 QoQ.

Single segment (chloro-alkali & derivatives) — ₹0.56 Cr associate profit; no exceptional items this quarter.

On guidance, the print tracks management's plan — the CPVC and Epichlorohydrin capacity expansions remain on schedule for Q2 FY27 commissioning (optimum utilisation by FY28, lifting captive chlorine use), and the company incorporated a wholly-owned subsidiary, Epigral Advanced Material Ltd, on July 7 to manufacture chemicals. No formal earnings estimate or brokerage preview for this quarter is on record, so a street beat/miss can't be scored; management gave no specific margin guidance and had caveated the outlook on West Asia-driven raw-material volatility. There were no exceptional items this quarter, and standalone and consolidated figures tell the same story (consolidated adds only ₹0.56 Cr of associate profit).