Symphony Limited: Navigating a Challenging Quarter with Strategic Resilience

Symphony Limited, a prominent player in the air cooling industry, faced a challenging second quarter for FY26, ending September 2025. The company reported a significant downturn in its standalone financials, primarily attributed to an unusually subdued summer season in 2025 that impacted the entire air cooler industry. Despite these headwinds, management remains focused on strategic initiatives aimed at diversifying revenue streams and strengthening its market position.

For the Sep'25 quarter, standalone revenue from operations declined by a substantial 40% year-on-year, settling at ₹155 crore compared to ₹259 crore in Sep'24. This sharp drop in sales led to a corresponding fall in profitability. Gross Margin decreased by 42% to ₹75 crore, while EBITDA plummeted by 63% to ₹27 crore. Profit After Tax (PAT) also saw a significant reduction of 58%, landing at ₹28 crore. The company acknowledged that this performance was disappointing, largely a spillover from the subdued summer and a high base from the previous year.

Financial Performance Snapshot (Standalone - Sep'25 Qtr.)

Strategic Diversification and Market Focus

Despite the seasonal challenges, Symphony's 'Round-The-Year' (RTY) product portfolio, which includes Large Space Venti Cooling (LSV), Tower Fans, Kitchen Cooling Fans, Water Heaters, and Exports, demonstrated respectable growth. This portfolio contributed approximately 21% to the top line for the quarter and around 26% for the first half of FY26, highlighting its increasing importance in mitigating seasonality. The company has actively expanded its product offerings, launching 9 new air cooler models, scaling its 'Air Force' range from 3 to 7 SKUs, and introducing 8 new water heater models (6 storage and 2 instant). These additions are targeted at mass, semi-urban, and rural markets, aiming to capture a larger share of the market transitioning from metal to plastic air coolers.

Management emphasized its commitment to 'Strategic Resilience Beyond Seasonality' by accelerating RTY product-led growth. This includes an 'Omnichannel Acceleration' strategy, leveraging digital platforms and alternate channels for enhanced accessibility and growth across sales, marketing, and operations. Furthermore, 'Precision-Led GTM Strategies' are being deployed for targeted penetration into semi-urban and rural markets, coupled with 'Export-Led Expansion' into strategic global geographies to broaden revenue streams and prioritize high-margin growth markets.

Subsidiary Performance and Outlook

On the consolidated front, for the Sep'25 quarter, continuing operations (Symphony India, GSK China, and SCL Brazil) reported revenue of ₹163 crore, down 44% from ₹289 crore in Sep'24. EBITDA for continuing operations stood at ₹25 crore, down from ₹76 crore. However, subsidiary performance offered some positive notes. GSK China demonstrated strong growth momentum, with its top line increasing from ₹25 crore to ₹32 crore, and is advancing towards becoming a debt-free entity. Climate Holdings Pty Ltd, Australia (discontinued operations), also showed growth, with revenue up from ₹30 crore to ₹35 crore, and reduced EBITDA losses, indicating successful transformation efforts.

Consolidated Financials (Continuing Operations - Sep'25 Qtr.)

Looking ahead, management expressed optimism for the future, anticipating that the next summer season will not be as challenging as 2025. They expect channel inventory to normalize by Q3 FY26, and sales to return to track by the last quarter of the financial year. The company's strong treasury position of ₹577 crore provides a solid financial foundation to support its strategic initiatives and navigate market fluctuations. Symphony is actively prepared to ramp up production to meet potential demand in a favorable summer, demonstrating proactive operational agility.