High costs leave Ion Exchange with a 4.53% operating margin
Interest and depreciation reduced Rs 31.74 cr of operating profit to Rs 7.4 cr before tax, while the 58.65% tax rate left Rs 3.06 cr of net profit.
Filed 05 Aug 2026, 20:16 IST · after market close · Ion Exchange (India) Ltd (IONEXCHANG)
Key takeaways
- Consolidated revenue of Rs 700.46 cr was largely absorbed by Rs 668.72 cr of expenses, leaving a 4.53% operating margin.
- Interest of Rs 8.95 cr and depreciation of Rs 21.75 cr reduced Rs 31.74 cr of operating profit to Rs 7.4 cr before tax.
- Net profit was Rs 3.06 cr after a 58.65% tax rate, while other income of Rs 6.36 cr was close to pre-tax profit.
Price around the results
Expenses absorb most of Q1FY27 revenue
Ion Exchange reported consolidated Q1FY27 revenue of Rs 700.46 cr, but expenses of Rs 668.72 cr left only Rs 31.74 cr of operating profit. The resulting 4.53% operating margin shows limited conversion of revenue into operating earnings.
Depreciation, interest and tax compress earnings
Interest and depreciation together reduced operating profit of Rs 31.74 cr to Rs 7.4 cr before tax. Other income of Rs 6.36 cr was close to pre-tax profit, indicating that reported earnings were not solely generated by operations. The 58.65% tax rate further reduced pre-tax profit to Rs 3.06 cr of net profit.
Margin trails the reported Utilities peer set
Among 17 Utilities peers that had reported the same quarter, Ion Exchange's 4.53% operating margin was 27.46 percentage points below the 31.99% median and ranked second from the bottom. The company filed these consolidated results after market close on 05 Aug 2026, so the immediate market response is not covered here.
Q1FY27 at a glance
Consolidated figures as filed with NSE — filed ahead of third-party databases, not yet independently cross-checked.
| Line item | Q1FY27 |
|---|---|
| Revenue | ₹700 cr |
| Other income | ₹6 cr |
| Expenses | ₹669 cr |
| Operating profit | ₹32 cr |
| Operating margin (%) | 4.53% |
| Interest | ₹9 cr |
| Depreciation | ₹22 cr |
| Profit before tax | ₹7 cr |
| Tax | ₹4 cr |
| Net profit | ₹3 cr |
| EPS (₹) | ₹0.35 |
Operating margin of 4.53% compares with a Utilities sector median of 31.99% across 17 peers that have reported Q1FY27.
What to watch
- Whether operating margin moves above 4.53% in the next reported quarter.
- Whether interest of Rs 8.95 cr and depreciation of Rs 21.75 cr continue to absorb operating profit.
- Whether the tax rate moves below 58.65% and net profit improves from Rs 3.06 cr.