BCML Q2 standalone pre-tax profit more than doubles on sugar margins

Balrampur Chini Mills Limited reported Q2FY27 standalone profit before tax of Rs 144.13 crore, up 104.2% year on year, while revenue increased 12.3% to Rs 1,876.28 crore. BCML’s EBITDA margin rose to 9.1% from 7.2%, led by higher sugar volumes and realisations, with sugar segment PBIT increasing 166.4% to Rs 140.75 crore.

How did BCML turn 12.3% revenue growth into doubled pre-tax profit?

BCML converted its Q2FY27 revenue increase into a larger rise in profit before tax, or PBT, because operating profitability improved and other income increased. Standalone EBITDA, or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, rose 42.4% to Rs 171.40 crore from Rs 120.40 crore in Q2FY26. The EBITDA margin expanded by 1.9 percentage points to 9.1% from 7.2%, while PBT margin increased to 7.7% from 4.2%.

The PBT increase also reflected a Rs 24.84 crore increase in other income, which reached Rs 33.57 crore in Q2FY27 from Rs 8.73 crore a year earlier. BCML attributed Rs 6.50 crore of this other income to interest on bank fixed deposits and Rs 16.95 crore to forfeiture of earnest money deposits. Finance costs rose 11.8% to Rs 15.91 crore, and depreciation and amortisation rose 1.4% to Rs 44.93 crore, but these increases were smaller than the EBITDA gain.

What do BCML’s Q2FY27 margins and half-year figures show?

BCML’s Q2FY27 profitability improved more quickly than its first-half profitability because quarterly PBT margin rose 3.5 percentage points, compared with a 1.4-point increase for H1FY27. H1FY27 standalone revenue was Rs 3,513.07 crore, up 9.3% from Rs 3,213.04 crore, while EBITDA increased 12.0% to Rs 285.33 crore. The half-year EBITDA margin was 8.1%, against 7.9% in H1FY26.

For H1FY27, standalone PBT rose 46.6% to Rs 196.17 crore from Rs 133.77 crore, and the margin rose to 5.6% from 4.2%. Total comprehensive income, or TCI, increased 47.5% to Rs 136.15 crore. By comparison, FY26 PBT was Rs 523.70 crore with an 8.4% margin, showing that the first half remained below the full-year margin reported for FY26. BCML states that sugar is seasonal and recommends evaluating performance on an annual basis.

The consolidated results followed a similar direction, although they include BCML’s share of profit from associate Auxilo Finserve Pvt. Ltd. Consolidated Q2FY27 revenue was Rs 1,876.28 crore and consolidated PBT was Rs 151.56 crore, up 89.8% from Rs 79.85 crore. The consolidated PBT margin reached 8.1%, compared with 4.8% in Q2FY26, and BCML’s shareholding in Auxilo Finserve stood at 30.47% on September 30, 2026.

How much did the sugar business contribute to BCML’s Q2FY27 result?

BCML’s sugar segment supplied the principal operating improvement, with Q2FY27 PBIT, or profit before interest and tax, rising 166.4% to Rs 140.75 crore. Segment revenue grew 19.8% to Rs 1,578.06 crore from Rs 1,317.05 crore, outpacing BCML’s 12.3% standalone revenue growth. Sugar PBIT margin consequently rose to 8.9% from 4.0%, a 4.9-percentage-point change.

The segment’s sales increase reflected both higher volume and price realisation. Total sugar sales rose 8.3% to 32.85 lakh quintals in Q2FY27 from 30.34 lakh quintals in Q2FY26, while average sugar realisation increased 14.5% to Rs 46.40 per kg from Rs 40.53 per kg. For H1FY27, sales volume increased 2.8% to 57.35 lakh quintals and average realisation rose 9.3% to Rs 44.33 per kg.

Sugar inventory including work in progress was 12.82 lakh quintals on September 30, 2026, compared with 18.10 lakh quintals a year earlier. Its stated valuation increased to Rs 38.74 per kg from Rs 36.27 per kg. Management said firm domestic sugar prices supported realisations and helped offset cost pressure arising from the West Asia crisis, while it cited expected lower 2026-27 production in Maharashtra and Karnataka as a factor that could keep supply and demand relatively tight.

Which costs and non-operating items affected BCML’s quarter?

BCML’s Q2FY27 cost mix was affected by lower distillery operations and by preparations for its polylactic acid, or PLA, market development. Cost of materials consumed declined 55.7% to Rs 67.68 crore from Rs 152.79 crore, which BCML attributed to lower maize consumption in the distillery. Purchases of stock-in-trade increased to Rs 33.36 crore from Rs 7.36 crore because of PLA imports for developing the domestic market.

Inventory changes increased 17.0% to Rs 1,398.36 crore in Q2FY27 from Rs 1,194.80 crore. Employee benefit expense rose 4.1% to Rs 103.58 crore and other expenses rose 6.3% to Rs 101.90 crore. BCML identified higher business-development expenditure of Rs 2.05 crore and maintenance expenditure of Rs 5.40 crore within the increase in other expenses. Tax expense rose 95.7% to Rs 48.20 crore, while other comprehensive income net of tax declined to Rs 1.84 crore from Rs 3.40 crore.

Management separately said distillery segment margins were compressed because ethanol procurement prices had not been revised despite higher sugarcane prices and operating costs. That segment-specific comment contrasts with the sugar segment, where higher volumes and realisations lifted Q2FY27 PBIT by Rs 87.91 crore. The presentation does not provide standalone distillery revenue, PBIT or volume figures for the quarter.

What is BCML management watching for the rest of FY27?

BCML management is watching the Uttar Pradesh State Advised Price, or SAP, for sugarcane, which had not been announced for the current season as of the Q2FY27 presentation. The chairman said industry profitability and cash flows would remain closely linked to the SAP. Management also noted that the government had permitted duty-free imports of 1 million metric tonnes of raw sugar to support availability and contain sharp price movements.

BCML expects its 80,000 tonnes-per-annum PLA plant to commence commercial operations in Q4FY27, with construction described as progressing at full pace. The board also declared an interim dividend of Rs 4.00 per equity share of face value Re 1. These disclosed events sit alongside BCML’s FY26 sugar sales of 100.56 lakh quintals, including 0.90 lakh quintals of exports.

Conclusion

BCML’s Q2FY27 result showed a material widening between sales growth and profit growth: standalone revenue rose Rs 205.52 crore, while PBT increased Rs 73.54 crore and sugar PBIT rose Rs 87.91 crore. Higher sugar realisations of Rs 46.40 per kg, alongside an 8.3% increase in sugar volume, were the disclosed operating drivers, while higher other income also contributed to the PBT outcome.

The next reported developments to watch are the Uttar Pradesh sugarcane SAP announcement, the effect of permitted 1 million metric tonnes of raw-sugar imports on domestic pricing, and BCML’s planned Q4FY27 commercial start for the 80,000 tonnes-per-annum PLA plant. Management also flagged unrevised ethanol procurement prices and higher sugarcane and operating costs as unresolved pressure on distillery margins.