Apar Industries' profit barely grew as margin fell below sector median
Revenue rose 26.74% year on year, but faster cost growth, higher interest and Q4 one-offs limited profit growth to 1.39%.
Filed 28 May 2026, 14:27 IST · after market close · Apar Industries Ltd (APARINDS)
Key takeaways
- Consolidated net profit grew just 1.39% year on year to Rs 253.44 cr as expenses rose faster than revenue and interest costs increased 37.27%.
- Operating margin narrowed 1.29 percentage points year on year to 7.51%, placing Apar Industries 8.15 percentage points below the 15.66% median of 71 reported Industrials peers.
- The stock fell 2.29% in the first session after results, a smaller move than its 3.83% median absolute reaction across the last eight result announcements.
Price around the results
Revenue growth did not translate into earnings growth
Consolidated revenue increased 26.74% year on year and 20.50% sequentially, but expenses grew faster at 28.53% and 21.28%, respectively. That reduced operating margin by 1.29 percentage points year on year and 0.60 percentage points sequentially. Interest costs also rose 37.27% year on year and 28.93% sequentially, leaving profit before tax down 3.27% year on year even as net profit rose 1.39%.
Margin remains well below reported Industrials peers
Apar Industries' 7.51% operating margin was 8.15 percentage points below the 15.66% median for the 71 Industrials companies that had reported the same quarter. The margin has fallen from 8.86% in Q1FY26, with a brief recovery to 8.11% in Q3FY26 before the Q4 decline. Other income was only 3.74% of pre-tax profit, so it was not a major support to reported earnings; the lower tax rate also helped, falling 3.54 percentage points year on year.
Conductors supported growth while specialty oils weakened
Management said conductor volumes grew 9.0% year on year in Q4FY26, while premium products increased to 49.3% of the mix from 44.3%. The company told analysts that the conductor division had a pending order book of Rs 7,671 cr, with exports at 38.9%, and that 12-month FY26 order inflow was Rs 11,450 cr, up 24.2% year on year. Management also said specialty oil and lubricant volumes declined 0.4% year on year.
Q4 costs included three one-off impacts
Management said Q4 included additional costs from the new wage code's impact on gratuity and leave encashment, an ECB loan mark-to-market impact and a provision for an old legal case. These items came alongside the recurring pressure visible in the faster growth of expenses and interest costs. The company also reported a cable-division pending order book of Rs 1,800 cr.
Initial market reaction was softer than the stock's usual results move
The stock fell 2.29% in the first session after the results and 4.66% by the next session, with first-day volume at 3.24 times the reference level. Across the last eight result reactions, the stock rose six times and fell twice, while the median absolute move was 3.83%. The initial decline was therefore smaller than its typical move, although the next-session loss was larger.
Q4FY26 at a glance
Consolidated figures as filed with NSE — cross-checked against an independent source.
| Line item | Q4FY26 | Q3FY26 | QoQ | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ₹6,603 cr | ₹5,480 cr | +20.50% | +26.74% |
| Other income | ₹12 cr | ₹-10 cr | — | -27.94% |
| Expenses | ₹6,107 cr | ₹5,035 cr | +21.28% | +28.53% |
| Operating profit | ₹496 cr | ₹444 cr | +11.58% | +8.22% |
| Operating margin (%) | 7.51% | 8.11% | — | — |
| Interest | ₹137 cr | ₹106 cr | +28.93% | +37.27% |
| Depreciation | ₹42 cr | ₹41 cr | +4.73% | +19.26% |
| Profit before tax | ₹329 cr | ₹288 cr | +14.18% | -3.27% |
| Tax | ₹75 cr | ₹79 cr | -4.64% | -16.19% |
| Net profit | ₹253 cr | ₹209 cr | +21.30% | +1.39% |
| EPS (₹) | ₹63.09 | ₹52.01 | +21.30% | +1.38% |
Operating margin of 7.51% compares with a Industrials sector median of 15.66% across 71 peers that have reported Q4FY26.
How the stock reacted
| Window | Stock | vs NIFTY |
|---|---|---|
| Results day | -2.29% | -0.79% |
| Next session | -4.66% | — |
| 5 sessions | +3.37% | +5.63% |
| 15 sessions | +21.26% | — |
| 30 sessions | +3.14% | — |
Volume on the results session was 3.24× its 20-day average.
What management said
From the company’s own investor presentation. Each point is checked against the source document before it appears here.
This quarter
- Conductor division volume grew 9.0% year over year in Q4 FY26.
- Premium conductor products accounted for 49.3% of Q4 FY26 mix, versus 44.3% a year earlier.
New orders
- The conductor division had a pending order book of ₹7,671 crores, with exports comprising 38.9%.
- Conductor division new order inflow reached ₹11,450 crores in 12M FY26, up 24.2% year over year.
- The cable division had a pending order book of ₹1,800 crores.
Problems & risks
- Q4 incurred one-off impacts from the new wage code, an ECB loan MTM impact and an old legal-case provision.
- Specialty oil and lubricant volume declined 0.4% year over year in Q4 FY26.
What to watch
- Whether operating margin recovers from 7.51% after the Q4 one-offs and faster cost growth.
- Execution against the conductor pending order book of Rs 7,671 cr and cable pending order book of Rs 1,800 cr.
- Whether specialty oil and lubricant volumes improve after the 0.4% year-on-year decline.