Force Motors' operating margin improves, but profit drops as other income fades
Revenue rose 8.23% year on year, but the comparison was distorted by a sharp fall in other income from the previous year's quarter.
Filed 29 Apr 2026, 18:05 IST · after market close · Force Motors Ltd (FORCEMOT)
Key takeaways
- Standalone revenue grew 8.23% year on year, while operating margin widened 2.28 percentage points to 16.25%.
- Net profit fell 36.30% year on year because last year's other income was much higher, despite the lower 26.69% tax rate.
- The stock fell 5.15% on the first trading day after results, more than its 2.55% median absolute move after the past eight results.
Price around the results
Revenue growth did not fully carry into the quarter
Standalone revenue increased 19.79% sequentially and 8.23% year on year to Rs 2,549.72 cr, lifting operating profit 10.79% sequentially and 25.86% year on year. The year-on-year margin gain came because expenses grew 5.36%, slower than revenue, lifting operating margin by 2.28 percentage points. Sequentially, however, expenses grew 21.71%, faster than revenue, so margin narrowed 1.32 percentage points.
Other income drove the profit comparison
Net profit declined 36.30% year on year even as operating profit grew, reflecting the sharp drop in other income from Rs 412.70 cr to Rs 33.85 cr. Other income still represented 9.07% of pre-tax profit, so reported earnings retained a non-operating contribution. The lower tax rate, down 8.48 percentage points year on year to 26.69%, partly cushioned the effect on net profit.
Margin eased after two quarters of expansion
Operating margin had risen from 14.45% in Q1FY26 to 17.42% in Q2FY26 and 17.57% in Q3FY26 before easing to 16.25% in Q4FY26. The quarter's margin remained 1.44 percentage points above the 14.81% median for the 93 Consumer Discretionary peers that had reported.
The market reaction was unusually negative for this stock
The shares fell 5.15% on the first trading day after the standalone results, with volume at 1.77 times the reference level, and were down 7.88% after one trading day. That was larger than the stock's 2.55% median absolute move after its past eight results. The company filed the results after market close on 29 April 2026.
Q4FY26 at a glance
Standalone figures as filed with NSE — cross-checked against an independent source.
| Line item | Q4FY26 | Q3FY26 | QoQ | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ₹2,550 cr | ₹2,128 cr | +19.79% | +8.23% |
| Other income | ₹34 cr | ₹238 cr | -85.80% | -91.80% |
| Expenses | ₹2,136 cr | ₹1,755 cr | +21.71% | +5.36% |
| Operating profit | ₹414 cr | ₹374 cr | +10.79% | +25.86% |
| Operating margin (%) | 16.25% | 17.57% | — | — |
| Interest | ₹3 cr | ₹0 cr | +1612.50% | -62.26% |
| Depreciation | ₹72 cr | ₹73 cr | -0.95% | +0.21% |
| Profit before tax | ₹373 cr | ₹539 cr | -30.78% | -43.67% |
| Tax | ₹100 cr | ₹136 cr | -26.98% | -57.25% |
| Net profit | ₹274 cr | ₹403 cr | -32.07% | -36.30% |
| EPS (₹) | ₹207.70 | ₹305.75 | -32.07% | -36.30% |
Operating margin of 16.25% compares with a Consumer Discretionary sector median of 14.81% across 93 peers that have reported Q4FY26.
How the stock reacted
| Window | Stock | vs NIFTY |
|---|---|---|
| Results day | -5.15% | -4.41% |
| Next session | -7.88% | — |
| 5 sessions | -0.51% | -0.51% |
| 15 sessions | -5.28% | — |
| 30 sessions | -11.65% | — |
Volume on the results session was 1.77× its 20-day average.
What to watch
- Whether operating margin moves back above 16.25% after the sequential 1.32-percentage-point decline.
- Whether other income remains near or below its 9.07% share of pre-tax profit.
- Whether the tax rate stays near 26.69% rather than returning to the higher year-ago level.