Aegis Vopak Plans Rs 52,500 Crore Capex, Caps Gearing

Aegis Vopak Terminals Limited (Aegis Vopak) plans approximately Rs 52,500 crore of aggregate capital expenditure through FY31 while targeting gearing of no more than 0.6 times. Management disclosed the funding framework after Aegis Vopak reported H1 FY27 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of Rs 392 crore, up 19.2% year on year.

What is Aegis Vopak's capex plan through FY31?

Aegis Vopak plans aggregate capital expenditure of about Rs 52,500 crore through FY31 across traditional energy infrastructure and the emerging energy-transition value chain. Management did not provide an annual spending schedule, individual project allocations or return targets for the Rs 52,500 crore programme during the November 3, 2026 call.

The plan follows a nearer-term target for cumulative capex of approximately Rs 12,600 crore by next year. That target indicates that the company expects its investment programme to continue beyond the current port-network build-out. Management did not specify how much of the Rs 52,500 crore programme would be spent before the cumulative-capex milestone or identify a final commissioning date for all projects.

Aegis Vopak placed its expansion plan alongside H1 FY27 revenue of Rs 505 crore and EBITDA of Rs 392 crore. H1 revenue was Rs 444 crore in H1 FY26, while EBITDA was Rs 329 crore. EBITDA therefore grew faster than revenue, and the reported EBITDA margin rose to 77.7% from 74.7%, an improvement of approximately 297 basis points.

How will Aegis Vopak fund its expansion plan?

Aegis Vopak intends to fund the Rs 52,500 crore plan through a balanced mix of equity, internal accruals and debt, with gearing targeted at no more than 0.6 times. Management did not disclose the intended proportion of equity, operating cash generation and borrowings, nor did it outline an equity-issue or debt-raising timetable.

Management said low leverage, cash generation and a resilient balance sheet would provide flexibility to pursue opportunities. The 0.6-times gearing target is therefore the stated financing boundary for the programme, rather than a reported current gearing ratio. The call did not disclose Aegis Vopak's current debt, cash balance or net-debt measure.

The financing framework comes as higher finance cost affected quarterly net profit. Q2 FY27 profit after tax was Rs 96.4 crore, compared with Rs 100.2 crore in Q2 FY26, despite EBITDA increasing to Rs 212 crore from Rs 173 crore. Management attributed the lower quarterly profit after tax mainly to higher finance cost and tax.

What did Aegis Vopak report for Q2 and H1 FY27?

Aegis Vopak reported Q2 FY27 EBITDA of Rs 212 crore, up 22.4% from Rs 173 crore a year earlier, while its EBITDA margin expanded to 78.6% from 74.7%. The margin increase of approximately 372 basis points means operating earnings rose even as the revenue figures reported in the transcript require qualification.

Management described Q2 FY27 revenue of Rs 217 crore as a 16.6% year-on-year increase, while also citing Q2 FY26 revenue of Rs 232 crore. Those absolute revenue figures do not reconcile with the stated growth rate. The transcript nevertheless reports Q2 EBITDA of Rs 212 crore and profit after tax of Rs 96.4 crore for FY27, against Rs 173 crore and Rs 100.2 crore respectively in Q2 FY26.

For H1 FY27, Aegis Vopak reported revenue of Rs 505 crore, EBITDA of Rs 392 crore and profit after tax of Rs 165.8 crore. The company provided H1 FY26 revenue of Rs 444 crore and EBITDA of Rs 329 crore, but did not provide an H1 FY26 profit-after-tax comparator. As a result, the supplied figures support year-on-year comparisons for H1 revenue, EBITDA and margin, but not for half-year net profit.

Which projects could support Aegis Vopak's expansion?

Aegis Vopak has commissioned a 36,000-metric-ton specialised ammonia storage and terminal facility at Pipavav. The asset has a 15-year take-or-pay agreement with Hindustan Zinc, which management said provides long-term revenue visibility and predictable cash flows. ITOCHU Corporation has acquired a 10% stake in Aegis Terminal Pipavav Limited and intends to raise that holding to 25% over the next three years.

At Kandla, the CRL-4 liquid terminal is under development and is expected to add 94,148 cubic metres of capacity, with commissioning targeted for the next financial year. At Kochi, a 49,577-cubic-metre expansion is under way, taking total storage capacity to 132,000 cubic metres from 82,000 cubic metres. Management expects the Kochi project to be commissioned in early FY28, representing an increase of about 60%.

Mangalore had added 75,000 cubic metres of liquid storage in the previous year, taking its total capacity to 193,000 cubic metres. Management said the additional capacity was operating at 100% utilisation and that it had secured land while evaluating a further 60,000 cubic metres of liquid storage. No capital cost or final investment decision for the potential 60,000-cubic-metre expansion was disclosed.

LPG infrastructure is another identified growth mechanism. The Kandla-Gorakhpur LPG pipeline was approximately 96% physically complete, according to the CRISIL Ratings report cited on the call, with the full 1,958-kilometre main trunk pipeline laid. Management said the Kandla-Lucknow section had been charged with LPG, while remaining sections and bottling-plant connections continued to progress.

Conclusion

Aegis Vopak has paired a Rs 52,500 crore FY31 capex ambition with a stated ceiling of 0.6 times gearing and a funding mix of equity, internal accruals and debt. The framework follows H1 FY27 EBITDA growth to Rs 392 crore from Rs 329 crore and a margin increase to 77.7%, although Q2 profit after tax declined to Rs 96.4 crore as finance cost and tax increased.

The next disclosed financing and execution marker is cumulative capex of approximately Rs 12,600 crore by next year. Investors can also watch for commissioning of Kandla's 94,148-cubic-metre terminal in the next financial year, Kochi's expansion in early FY28, and completion of the remaining Kandla-Gorakhpur pipeline sections and bottling-plant connections.