Lodha’s Q4 margin beat peers even as sequential momentum softened
Lower tax and interest costs supported sequential profit, while other income still contributed 10.23% of pre-tax profit.
Filed 24 Apr 2026, 20:05 IST · after market close · Lodha Developers Ltd (LODHA)
Key takeaways
- Consolidated operating margin rose 1.07 percentage points year on year because revenue grew 11.58% faster than expenses at 9.90%.
- Sequentially, expenses grew 1.34% against revenue growth of 0.88%, narrowing margin by 0.32 percentage points even as net profit rose 5.26%.
- The stock gained 4.61% after the results, larger than its 2.39% median absolute post-results move.
Price around the results
Revenue growth lifted Q4FY26 operating leverage
Lodha Developers reported consolidated revenue growth of 11.58% year on year, while expenses rose 9.90%, allowing operating profit to grow 15.72%. That lifted operating margin by 1.07 percentage points to 29.97%. Among 93 Consumer Discretionary peers that had reported, Lodha’s margin was 15.16 percentage points above the 14.81% median.
Tax relief cushioned a softer sequential operating quarter
Sequential revenue growth of 0.88% lagged expense growth of 1.34%, so operating profit fell 0.18% and margin narrowed by 0.32 percentage points. Net profit nevertheless rose 5.26%, helped by a 2.72 percentage-point fall in the tax rate and a 9.51% decline in interest costs. Other income accounted for 10.23% of pre-tax profit, although it was down 33.79% year on year, while the lower tax rate also flattered reported profit.
Margin recovered from Q1 but remains below the Q3FY26 level
Operating margin improved from 28.19% in Q1FY26 to 30.29% in Q3FY26 before easing to 29.97% in Q4. The year-on-year comparison remains favourable, but the sequential decline shows that the operating recovery did not continue at the same pace into the final quarter.
Management sets FY27 markers and flags data-centre expansion
Management said its FY27 pre-sales guidance is INR 240 billion and that it expects H1 sales to account for a low-40s percentage share, with the balance in H2. The company said Q1FY27 collections were INR 42.1 billion, up 46% year on year. Management also said it has 660 acres of approved, shovel-ready land around Navi Mumbai for an integrated data-centre park, with 3 GW of power availability and plans to monetise about 143 acres for approximately INR 90 billion over the next three to four years.
Post-results rise was large for Lodha’s recent history
The stock rose 4.61% on the result reaction and was up 7.98% after five sessions. Its last eight post-results reactions were evenly split between four rises and four falls, with a median absolute move of 2.39%, making this a larger-than-usual move but not an unusual direction.
Q4FY26 at a glance
Consolidated figures as filed with NSE — cross-checked against an independent source.
| Line item | Q4FY26 | Q3FY26 | QoQ | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ₹4,714 cr | ₹4,673 cr | +0.88% | +11.58% |
| Other income | ₹129 cr | ₹111 cr | +17.01% | -33.79% |
| Expenses | ₹3,301 cr | ₹3,257 cr | +1.34% | +9.90% |
| Operating profit | ₹1,413 cr | ₹1,415 cr | -0.18% | +15.72% |
| Operating margin (%) | 29.97% | 30.29% | — | — |
| Interest | ₹167 cr | ₹185 cr | -9.51% | +10.35% |
| Depreciation | ₹111 cr | ₹98 cr | +13.44% | +42.16% |
| Profit before tax | ₹1,264 cr | ₹1,243 cr | +1.67% | +6.52% |
| Tax | ₹256 cr | ₹285 cr | -10.37% | -3.00% |
| Net profit | ₹1,008 cr | ₹958 cr | +5.26% | +9.24% |
| EPS (₹) | ₹10.09 | ₹9.59 | +5.21% | +8.96% |
Operating margin of 29.97% 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 | +4.61% | +3.79% |
| Next session | +5.02% | — |
| 5 sessions | +7.98% | +7.42% |
| 15 sessions | +6.13% | — |
| 30 sessions | +2.53% | — |
Volume on the results session was 0.76× 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
- Q1FY27 collections were INR 42.1 billion, up 46% year on year.
Guidance & outlook
- The company’s FY27 pre-sales guidance is INR 240 billion.
- The company expects H1 sales to be in the low 40s percentage range, with the balance in H2.
Expansion
- The company has 660 acres of shovel-ready land around Navi Mumbai for an integrated data centre park.
- The data centre park has 3 GW of power availability, with further augmentation planned.
- Over the next three to four years, about 143 acres will be monetized to generate approximately INR 90 billion.
- The company plans to build out 1 GW of input-power capacity on approximately 90 acres.
- The company has approximately 15 MW of renewable electricity PPAs in the pipeline.
New initiatives
- The company pioneered LC3 concrete in road infrastructure as a sustainable construction initiative.
- The company piloted IoT sensors to monitor concrete strength in real time.
- The company initiated a flood-risk and mitigation study for the Dombivli region with external planning and technology experts.
What to watch
- Whether consolidated operating margin holds above 29.97%.
- Whether expenses grow slower than revenue after rising 1.34% sequentially against revenue growth of 0.88%.
- Progress against management’s FY27 pre-sales guidance of INR 240 billion.