Astral's Q4 margin reaches 18.33% as stock drops 6.26%
Revenue growth outpaced expenses, but higher interest and tax rates limited the flow-through to consolidated net profit.
Filed 18 May 2026, 16:17 IST · after market close · Astral Ltd (ASTRAL)
Key takeaways
- Consolidated revenue grew +24.21% YoY while expenses rose +23.64%, lifting operating margin by 0.37 percentage points to 18.33%.
- Net profit increased +19.60% YoY, trailing pre-tax profit growth of +25.47% as interest rose +144.79% and the tax rate increased by 3.53 percentage points.
- The stock fell -6.26% on the first trading day, a larger move than its 2.69% median absolute reaction across the past eight results.
Price around the results
Q4 revenue growth restored operating leverage
Astral's consolidated revenue grew +24.21% YoY and +35.48% QoQ, while expenses rose at slower rates of +23.64% and +30.78%, respectively. That spread lifted operating margin by 0.37 percentage points YoY and 2.94 percentage points QoQ. The margin recovery followed a fall to 13.58% in Q1FY26, with the measure reaching 16.28% in Q2FY26, slipping to 15.39% in Q3FY26 and then rising to 18.33% in Q4FY26.
Interest and tax absorbed part of the operating gain
Interest expense rose +144.79% YoY and +86.51% QoQ, limiting the conversion of operating profit into pre-tax profit. The tax rate increased by 3.53 percentage points YoY and 2.83 percentage points QoQ, which helps explain why net profit growth of +19.60% lagged pre-tax profit growth of +25.47% YoY. Other income accounted for 3.78% of pre-tax profit, so earnings were not primarily dependent on this non-operating item.
Margin remained above the Industrials peer median
Astral's 18.33% operating margin was 2.67 percentage points above the 15.66% median for the 71 Industrials companies that had reported the same quarter. The sequential improvement was the sharpest in the recent four-quarter trend after the Q3FY26 decline, while the year-on-year gain remained modest at 0.37 percentage points.
Initial market reaction was notably weaker than usual
The stock fell -6.26% on the first trading day after the results and underperformed the market by -6.13 percentage points. Across the previous eight result reactions, the stock rose three times and fell five times, with a 2.69% median absolute move, placing this decline well outside its typical reaction size.
Q4FY26 at a glance
Consolidated figures as filed with NSE — cross-checked against an independent source.
| Line item | Q4FY26 | Q3FY26 | QoQ | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ₹2,089 cr | ₹1,542 cr | +35.48% | +24.21% |
| Other income | ₹11 cr | ₹-7 cr | — | +25.84% |
| Expenses | ₹1,706 cr | ₹1,304 cr | +30.78% | +23.64% |
| Operating profit | ₹383 cr | ₹237 cr | +61.36% | +26.83% |
| Operating margin (%) | 18.33% | 15.39% | — | — |
| Interest | ₹24 cr | ₹13 cr | +86.51% | +144.79% |
| Depreciation | ₹74 cr | ₹73 cr | +0.82% | +14.20% |
| Profit before tax | ₹297 cr | ₹144 cr | +105.54% | +25.47% |
| Tax | ₹84 cr | ₹37 cr | +128.42% | +43.40% |
| Net profit | ₹213 cr | ₹108 cr | +97.77% | +19.60% |
| EPS (₹) | ₹7.93 | ₹4.01 | +97.76% | +18.89% |
Operating margin of 18.33% 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 | -6.26% | -6.13% |
| Next session | -6.60% | — |
| 5 sessions | +2.14% | +1.03% |
| 15 sessions | -2.86% | — |
| 30 sessions | -11.81% | — |
Volume on the results session was 3.99× its 20-day average.
What to watch
- Whether consolidated operating margin stays above 18.33% after the Q4 recovery.
- Whether interest expense growth moderates from +144.79% YoY.
- Whether the tax rate moves below 28.19% in the next quarter.