JBM Auto margin rebounds, but higher interest and other income cloud profit quality
Consolidated operating margin recovered to 12.76%, while interest costs rose 61.55% year on year and other income made up 21.29% of pre-tax profit.
Filed 17 Jul 2026, 19:16 IST · after market close · JBM Auto Ltd (JBMA)
Key takeaways
- Consolidated operating margin rebounded 2.03 percentage points sequentially to 12.76% as revenue grew faster than expenses.
- Net profit rose 16.37% year on year to Rs 83.82 cr, but other income accounted for 21.29% of pre-tax profit.
- The stock fell 3.61% on the initial reaction, a larger move than its 2.38% median result-day move across eight quarters.
Price around the results
Q4 revenue growth lifted operating profit
JBM Auto's consolidated revenue grew 12.55% year on year and 14.76% sequentially, taking operating profit growth to 19.98% and 36.49%, respectively. Expenses grew more slowly than revenue in both comparisons, which supported the margin recovery. However, the 12.76% operating margin remained 2.05 percentage points below the 14.81% median for the 93 Consumer Discretionary peers that had reported.
Interest expense diluted the operating improvement
Interest costs rose 61.55% year on year and 46.60% sequentially, limiting the conversion of the operating gain into pre-tax profit. The tax rate increased 1.91 percentage points year on year, although it declined 0.23 percentage points sequentially. Other income contributed 21.29% of pre-tax profit, so reported earnings included a material non-operating contribution.
Margin recovered after a three-quarter slide
Operating margin fell from 12.54% in Q3FY25 to 11.97% in Q4FY25, then declined further to 11.13% in Q1FY26 and 10.73% in Q3FY26 after a small Q2 recovery. The current quarter breaks that sequence with a 2.03-percentage-point sequential rebound and a 0.79-percentage-point year-on-year improvement. Net profit grew 16.37% year on year, slower than operating profit growth because of higher interest and tax costs.
Initial market reaction was weaker than usual
The stock fell 3.61% on the initial reaction and was down 8.61% after five sessions, underperforming the market by 7.78 percentage points over that period. Across the last eight results reactions, the stock rose three times and fell five times, with a median absolute move of 2.38%. The initial decline was therefore larger than its usual result-day move.
Q4FY26 at a glance
Consolidated figures as filed with NSE — cross-checked against an independent source.
| Line item | Q4FY26 | Q3FY26 | QoQ | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ₹1,852 cr | ₹1,614 cr | +14.76% | +12.55% |
| Other income | ₹23 cr | ₹21 cr | +11.78% | +393.98% |
| Expenses | ₹1,616 cr | ₹1,441 cr | +12.15% | +11.54% |
| Operating profit | ₹236 cr | ₹173 cr | +36.49% | +19.98% |
| Operating margin (%) | 12.76% | 10.73% | — | — |
| Interest | ₹108 cr | ₹74 cr | +46.60% | +61.55% |
| Depreciation | ₹43 cr | ₹42 cr | +1.79% | -2.17% |
| Profit before tax | ₹108 cr | ₹77 cr | +39.30% | +19.23% |
| Tax | ₹24 cr | ₹17 cr | +37.86% | +30.39% |
| Net profit | ₹84 cr | ₹60 cr | +39.72% | +16.37% |
| EPS (₹) | ₹3.14 | ₹2.33 | +34.76% | +11.74% |
Operating margin of 12.76% 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 | -3.61% | -1.78% |
| Next session | -2.61% | — |
| 5 sessions | -8.61% | -7.78% |
| 15 sessions | -1.82% | — |
| 30 sessions | +3.35% | — |
Volume on the results session was 3.43× its 20-day average.
What to watch
- Whether consolidated operating margin holds above 12.76% after the Q4FY26 rebound.
- Whether interest-cost growth moderates from +61.55% year on year.
- Whether other income remains below its 21.29% share of pre-tax profit.