Himadri Q1: record consolidated PAT ₹228 Cr, up 27% YoY, but forex & mining dilute margins

Himadri Speciality Chemical opened FY27 with a record June quarter: consolidated revenue of ₹1,431.88 Cr (+28.0% YoY, +11.2% QoQ) and PAT of ₹228.43 Cr (+27.4% YoY, +10.1% QoQ), with no exceptional items on either side, so the reported growth is the underlying growth. EPS rose to ₹4.55 from ₹3.68 a year ago. The print runs ahead of the 15-20% FY27 PAT growth analysts had modelled and keeps the company on pace for its stated goal of doubling PAT toward ₹1,100 Cr by FY28 (₹755 Cr in FY26) — annualising this quarter puts run-rate near ₹914 Cr.

The quality of the print is more nuanced than the headline growth. Net margin was essentially flat (15.35% of total income vs 15.67% a year ago), but operating margin compressed to ~20.1% from 21.9% YoY even as it recovered sharply from Q4's 18.8%. Two things explain the YoY squeeze: a ₹25.20 Cr foreign-exchange loss in other expenses (versus a ₹9.76 Cr gain in the year-ago quarter, a ~₹35 Cr swing), and a shift in mix — the new 'Others' (mining and other business) segment contributed ₹143.89 Cr of revenue (nil a year ago) but only ₹1.15 Cr of segment profit, diluting blended margin. The core Carbon materials & chemicals segment grew revenue ~15% YoY to ₹1,278.90 Cr and lifted segment profit to ₹262.56 Cr, so the specialty franchise itself held up; the margin optics are dominated by forex and low-margin diversification.

The stock went into the print at ₹680.4, up 1.7% over the past month of trading.

For context: this is the highest quarterly PAT in the last 6 quarters on our records; PAT has now risen for 3 consecutive quarters; revenue is at a 6-quarter high.

Alongside results the Board cleared a cluster of capex approvals that frame the growth story management laid out on the Q4 call: an additional ₹128 Cr to raise Anthraquinone/Carbazole capacity from 2,600 to 5,300 MTPA (Phase 1 by Q2FY27), ₹70 Cr for India's first in-house-technology Carbon Nano Tube plant (200 MTPA, commissioning Q4FY27), and ₹170 Cr for Super Speciality Carbon Black (6,000 MTPA, Q4FY28) — all funded from internal accruals. This confirms the disciplined, internally-funded, high-value-product roadmap management committed to, and the battery-materials/EV thread (CNT feeds lithium-ion conductive additives) is consistent with its stated LFP cathode ambition. Standalone told the same story (revenue ₹1,274.26 Cr, PAT ₹223.42 Cr), so consolidated and standalone do not diverge materially.