Record quarter, margin pressure persists amid inflation and mix shift

Revenue ₹1546 Cr (+35% YoY), EBITDA ₹356 Cr (+23%), PAT ₹223 Cr (+30.8%)

EBITDA margin 23% vs 25.3% Q2 FY26; recovery not yet visible, attributed to mix and inflation

BEV revenue 51% of automotive; H1 BEV ₹1042 Cr +129% YoY; suspension motor growth strong but exact rate not disclosed

Confirmed ₹36B wins, ₹251B book

Helical LSD, air springs, rear radar sensor delivered in Q2

Q1 FY27 call: 'Q2 onwards recovery expected.' Q2 reality: 23% (vs 25.3%), no recovery; inflation and mix cited as culprits, not resolved.

BEV now 51% of automotive revenue (was 30% H1 FY26), +129% YoY; suspension motors and controllers winning at scale across geographies.

Management quantified 75 EPIC programs across 37 customers; 44 in production, 31 pending—concrete pipeline visibility.

FY27 EBITDA band 23–25% reaffirmed; not cut despite inflation, freight, and mix pressure. Maintained at lower end.

Vivek acknowledged S-curve trajectory and consumer adoption risk; orders now span variants, future looks bright. Denso JV timing confidential due to legal/timeline.

Vivek: India's history of high world market share is rare; Sona has 9% in differential—no Indian company has high share in most products. Confident in continued growth.

Sat Mohan: Both wallet share and market growth driving increase; 3-wheeler programs launching, share still small but with large TAM.

Vivek: 23–25% is fair, contingent on oil not spiking beyond ₹150/barrel. Inflation exceptional, product mix drag transparent; Rohit outlined path where margin stacks up in next 5 years.

Vivek: Does not know inflection point; acknowledged S-curve trajectory for new tech. Cost side moving fast, simulation lagging. Evaluating like any capex—business case + payback period driven.

Sona 2.0 vision; dependent on EV penetration, EPIC ramp, robotics inflection—all uncertain timing.

Maintained band, contingent on oil <₹150/barrel, material prices normalizing. Q2 at 23% (lower end); recovery narrative delayed.

Capex for capacity & new product tooling; actual robotics ROI and deployment pace uncertain; ₹250B order book growth supports capex case.

EBITDA margin 23% (vs 25.3% prior year); driven by shift to traction motors and EV components (lower-margin) and inflation lag in cost pass-through. West Asia uncertainty adds freight volatility.

Traction motor demand surged almost 50% QoQ; while management says capacity exists, scaling production at this pace creates supply chain risk, especially for rare earth magnets and copper.

Eastern markets now contribute 2/3 of revenue (up from 1/3 one year ago); geographic concentration and dependency on a few large OEMs. Diversification into new geographies ongoing but slower than concentration growth.

Denso JV1 (high-voltage systems) carve-out targeted for Dec 2026 (or Jan 2027 if holidays slip); JV2 formation timeline 1H CY27. Delays would push revenue from DENSO JVs into FY28, impacting growth targets.

Robotics and physical AI aspiration ambitious; deployment timeline opaque. Pramod Kumar asked for inflection timeline; Vivek candidly said he doesn't know, acknowledging S-curve. ₹62 Cr capex committed but ROI and scale-up pace uncertain.