Ahluwalia Contracts Q1FY27 PAT Dips 78% to ₹11.4 Cr on Margin Pressure
Ahluwalia Contracts reported Q1FY27 turnover up 12% to ₹1,125.81 Cr, but PAT fell 78% to ₹11.42 Cr due to margin pressures. Key impacts included a ₹29 Cr bill finalization for AIIMS Jammu, increased labor costs in NCR, and adverse effects in West Bengal and Assam. The order book stands at ₹20,663.52 Cr.
The sharp decline in profitability and margins, coupled with specific project-related financial impacts and rising operational costs, will likely have a significant negative effect on investor sentiment and the company's near-term financial outlook.
The company reported a significant 78% drop in Profit After Tax (PAT) and a substantial contraction in EBITDA and PAT margins, driven by project-specific issues and rising costs, despite a 12% increase in turnover.
Ahluwalia Contracts (India) Limited reported its financial results for the first quarter of FY27, with a turnover of ₹1,125.81 crore, marking a 12.03% increase from ₹1,004.88 crore in Q1FY26. However, Profit After Tax (PAT) saw a significant decline of 77.65%, falling to ₹11.42 crore from ₹51.11 crore in the same period last year. Consequently, Earnings Per Share (EPS) decreased to ₹1.70 from ₹7.63.
The company's EBITDA margin contracted to 4.29% in Q1FY27 from 8.59% in Q1FY26, and PAT margin dropped to 1% from 5.01%. This margin compression was attributed to several factors. A primary reason was the finalization of the bill for the AIIMS Jammu project, leading to a reduction in the bill value by ₹29 crore, which has an adverse impact of 2.6% on EBITDA. This dispute will now be raised through arbitration.
Additional pressures on margins stemmed from adverse impacts in West Bengal and Assam due to state drives and elections, affecting turnover and increasing ID C costs. Furthermore, labor rates in the NCR region, which accounts for 50% of the company's portfolio, increased significantly by 35% to 40% for both unskilled and skilled categories, substantially raising wage costs. Staff costs also increased due to a larger employee base mobilized for an enlarged project portfolio.
As of June 30, 2026, the company's net order book stood at ₹20,663.52 crore, expected to be executed over the next 3 to 3.5 years. Total order inflow for FY27 up to June 30, 2026, was ₹512.81 crore.
Management indicated that Q2 might be an aberration, and they aim to return to previous margin levels over the next three quarters, contingent on the resolution of disputes and potential NGT impacts. The company ruled out achieving double-digit EBITDA margins for the current financial year due to these challenges.
Regarding balance sheet items, trade payables were ₹776 crore, trade receivables were ₹632 crore, and retentions were ₹401 crore. Inventory, including real estate, stood at ₹391 crore. Mobilization advances amounted to ₹924 crore, and unbilled revenue was ₹946 crore. Gross debt was minimal at ₹2.28 crore, with cash and bank balances at ₹920 crore.
Finance costs increased due to the availing of a mobilization advance for the Central Vista project. For the Gems and Jewellery Park project, work is expected to commence in Q3, with an estimated billing of ₹100 crore in FY27 and ₹450 crore in FY28, for a project completion of 3.5 years. The CST project is expected to bill ₹400-450 crore in FY27 and ramp up to ₹700 crore in FY28. Central Vista project billing is targeted at ₹700 crore in FY27 and ₹1,000 crore in FY28, with the entire project completion expected by FY29.
The company maintained its top-line growth guidance of 12% to 15% for the year, though they are being more conservative on new order inflows, targeting ₹4,000-5,000 crore for the full year due to market volatility. Capex for the year is revised downwards to ₹220-250 crore. Working capital is expected to improve by year-end.
What to do with a filing like this
Ahluwalia Contracts (India) Limited filed this with the NSE as a statutory disclosure, categorised under quarterly results. It is a primary document, not a recommendation, and the desk marks it high impact, which is the band that most often changes something.
That call is the part a filing cannot make for you. On RealCase, SEBI-registered research analysts and investment advisers read announcements like this one and turn the ones that matter into actions inside their model portfolios: a change in weight, a hold, or nothing at all. You are not left working out which of the roughly 250 filings published each day needs a response. The portfolio you follow is updated when a filing actually warrants it, with the reason written down.
See the model portfoliosA plain-language summary of a public exchange filing by Ahluwalia Contracts (India) Limited. Read the original for the full detail.