BASF India Q2 profit falls 39% as costs outpace revenue growth

BASF India Limited reported standalone profit of Rs 61.71 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, down 39% from a year earlier, while revenue from operations rose 24% to Rs 4,832.19 crore. Total expenses increased 26% to Rs 4,782.37 crore, outpacing revenue growth and reducing profit before tax to Rs 83.07 crore.

How did BASF India perform in the September 2026 quarter?

BASF India increased revenue from operations by 24% year on year to Rs 4,832.19 crore in the quarter ended September 30, 2026, but profit for the period declined from Rs 101.05 crore to Rs 61.71 crore. Total income, including Rs 33.25 crore of other income, rose to Rs 4,865.44 crore from Rs 3,930.83 crore in the September 2025 quarter.

Product sales remained the principal revenue source, rising to Rs 4,798.52 crore from Rs 3,868.09 crore a year earlier. Service sales declined to Rs 28.18 crore from Rs 33.25 crore, while other operating revenue increased to Rs 5.49 crore from Rs 2.70 crore. The product-sales increase of Rs 930.43 crore accounted for nearly all of the Rs 928.15 crore rise in revenue from operations.

BASF India’s profit before tax fell 39% to Rs 83.07 crore from Rs 135.59 crore, while total tax expense declined to Rs 21.36 crore from Rs 34.54 crore. Basic and diluted earnings per share after exceptional items were Rs 14.30, compared with Rs 23.30 a year earlier; the company stated that the quarterly per-share figures were not annualised.

Why did BASF India’s quarterly profit decline despite higher sales?

BASF India’s total expenses increased 26% year on year to Rs 4,782.37 crore, compared with 24% growth in revenue from operations, which lowered quarterly profit before tax by Rs 52.52 crore. Cost of materials consumed rose to Rs 1,722.47 crore from Rs 1,117.44 crore, and purchases of stock-in-trade rose to Rs 2,521.76 crore from Rs 1,966.35 crore.

The changes-in-inventories expense was Rs 44.31 crore in the September 2026 quarter, down from Rs 277.75 crore a year earlier. This Rs 233.44 crore decrease partly offset the increases in material consumption and stock purchases, but total expenses still rose by Rs 987.13 crore from the September 2025 quarter.

Other expenses increased to Rs 346.93 crore from Rs 276.36 crore, while depreciation and amortisation rose to Rs 39.12 crore from Rs 36.88 crore. Employee benefit expense declined to Rs 105.24 crore from Rs 112.53 crore, and finance costs fell to Rs 2.54 crore from Rs 7.93 crore. The reported cost increases in materials, stock purchases and other expenses were larger than these declines.

What changed in BASF India’s first-half results?

BASF India’s profit for the six months ended September 30, 2026 rose 71% year on year to Rs 423.76 crore, while total income increased 26% to Rs 9,725.72 crore. Revenue from operations for the half year was Rs 9,669.63 crore, compared with Rs 7,655.82 crore in the six months ended September 30, 2025.

Profit before tax increased to Rs 582.33 crore from Rs 336.14 crore, and total tax expense was Rs 158.57 crore against Rs 87.94 crore a year earlier. Earnings per share after exceptional items were Rs 97.90 for the six months, compared with Rs 57.30; earnings per share before the exceptional item were Rs 94.80.

The half-year comparison differs from the September-quarter result because the preceding June 2026 quarter included an exceptional gain of Rs 18.15 crore. BASF India recorded this gain on the sale of its entire shareholding in BASF India Coatings Private Limited, while the September 2026 quarter itself reported no exceptional item and generated profit of Rs 61.71 crore.

What happened to BASF India’s working capital and cash position?

BASF India’s total assets rose to Rs 9,098.10 crore at September 30, 2026 from Rs 8,181.49 crore at March 31, 2026. Current assets increased to Rs 7,871.35 crore from Rs 6,971.42 crore, with inventories rising to Rs 3,342.32 crore from Rs 2,708.91 crore and trade receivables increasing to Rs 3,498.15 crore from Rs 2,747.05 crore.

Cash and cash equivalents fell to Rs 555.31 crore at September 30 from Rs 868.90 crore at March 31. Total equity increased to Rs 4,299.76 crore from Rs 3,977.50 crore, while total liabilities rose to Rs 4,798.34 crore from Rs 4,203.99 crore. Trade payables to creditors other than micro and small enterprises increased to Rs 4,132.23 crore from Rs 3,613.52 crore.

Net cash used in operating activities narrowed to Rs 347.06 crore in the six months ended September 30, 2026 from Rs 965.36 crore used in the prior-year period. The 2026 cash-flow statement recorded a Rs 756.70 crore increase in trade receivables and a Rs 633.41 crore increase in inventories, partly offset by a Rs 592.41 crore increase in trade payables.

What disclosed transactions and approvals are pending for BASF India?

BASF India completed the sale of its 100% holding in BASF India Coatings Private Limited on June 30, 2026, for consideration of Rs 230.16 crore, subject to closing adjustments. The company reported a net gain of Rs 18.15 crore from the sale in its six-month results, and the former subsidiary ceased to be wholly owned after the transaction.

BASF India disclosed that shareholders approved a proposed Scheme of Arrangement involving its agricultural solutions business on June 24, 2026. BASF Agricultural Solutions India Limited became a wholly owned subsidiary on May 2, 2025 after BASF India acquired its shares for Rs 70, while the proposed arrangement remains subject to requisite approvals.

The Board’s recommended dividend of Rs 25 per equity share for the financial year ended March 31, 2026 was approved at the annual general meeting on August 12, 2026. The six-month cash-flow statement showed dividend payments of Rs 108.21 crore, compared with Rs 86.58 crore in the corresponding prior-year period.

Conclusion

BASF India’s September 2026 quarter showed that revenue growth did not translate into higher earnings: revenue from operations rose 24% to Rs 4,832.19 crore, while total expenses rose 26% to Rs 4,782.37 crore and profit fell 39% to Rs 61.71 crore. The six-month profit increase to Rs 423.76 crore also included the Rs 18.15 crore coatings-sale gain.

The next disclosed matter to watch is the proposed Scheme of Arrangement for the agricultural solutions business, which remains subject to requisite approvals despite shareholder approval on June 24, 2026. Subsequent results will also show whether inventories of Rs 3,342.32 crore and receivables of Rs 3,498.15 crore at September 30 move in line with operating cash flow.