Best Agrolife reduces working-capital days by 40 in H1 FY27

Best Agrolife Limited reduced reported working-capital days to 207 in H1 FY27 from 247 in FY26, a 40-day reduction. Best Agrolife reported receivable days of 124, down 27 days, and inventory days of 272, down 20 days. The day-based improvement came while inventory increased by Rs 135 crore from March 31, 2026.

How did Best Agrolife’s working-capital days change?

Best Agrolife reported working-capital days of 207 in H1 FY27, compared with 247 in FY26. The 40-day reduction was the largest movement among the four working-capital measures disclosed for the two periods, ahead of the 27-day decline in receivable days and the 20-day reduction in inventory days.

Best Agrolife’s cash conversion days moved to 255 in H1 FY27 from 267 in FY26. The presentation describes the FY26-to-H1 FY27 changes as improvements in operational efficiency and cash-flow management, but it does not disclose the formula used for either cash conversion days or working-capital days.

The comparison pairs H1 FY27, a half-year period, with FY26, a full-year period. Best Agrolife does not provide quarterly working-capital-day data for Q2 FY27, nor does it explain how the 207-day H1 FY27 figure is calculated relative to the 247-day FY26 measure.

Why did Best Agrolife’s reported cash-cycle measures decline?

Best Agrolife recorded receivable days of 124 in H1 FY27, down from 151 in FY26, a 27-day reduction in the reported receivables measure. Inventory days also decreased to 272 from 292, meaning both disclosed operating measures declined despite changes in their closing balance-sheet values across comparison dates.

Trade receivables stood at Rs 613 crore on September 30, 2026, against Rs 490 crore on March 31, 2026. The Rs 123 crore increase in the closing receivables balance means the reduction in the working-capital schedule relates to receivable days rather than an absolute decline in receivables from the March year-end.

Against September 30, 2025, however, trade receivables declined by Rs 170 crore from Rs 783 crore to Rs 613 crore at September 30, 2026. That year-on-year balance-sheet movement differs from the March comparison, underlining that the 124 receivable-days measure should be considered separately from the reported closing balance.

How did Best Agrolife’s inventory and current balances move?

Best Agrolife held inventories of Rs 786 crore on September 30, 2026, up from Rs 651 crore on March 31, 2026 and Rs 666 crore on September 30, 2025. The inventory balance therefore increased by Rs 135 crore over six months and Rs 120 crore year on year, even as inventory days fell to 272 in H1 FY27 from 292 in FY26.

Current assets totalled Rs 1,591 crore at September 30, 2026, compared with Rs 1,311 crore at March 31, 2026. Alongside higher inventories and trade receivables, other current assets rose to Rs 109 crore from Rs 72 crore, while cash and bank balance declined to Rs 83 crore from Rs 98 crore.

Current liabilities were Rs 982 crore at September 30, 2026, versus Rs 858 crore at March 31, 2026. Trade payables increased to Rs 425 crore from Rs 319 crore, other current liabilities rose to Rs 175 crore from Rs 133 crore, and short-term borrowings declined to Rs 382 crore from Rs 406 crore.

The Rs 280 crore rise in current assets exceeded the Rs 124 crore increase in current liabilities between March 31 and September 30, 2026. Best Agrolife consequently reported a current ratio of 1.62 in H1 FY27, up from 1.53 in FY26; the company defines the ratio as current assets divided by current liabilities.

How did Best Agrolife’s profit and funding ratios compare?

Best Agrolife reported revenue from operations of Rs 803 crore in H1 FY27, down 11% from Rs 898 crore in H1 FY26. Management attributed the revenue decline to erratic rainfall, delayed sowing and lower crop-protection demand, while gross margin increased to 41% from 31% as patented products’ share of branded sales rose to 63% from 49%.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), calculated excluding other income, increased 45% to Rs 178 crore in H1 FY27 from Rs 123 crore in H1 FY26. Profit after tax increased 67% to Rs 98 crore from Rs 59 crore, while the reported profit-after-tax margin rose to 12% from 7% during the half year in which working-capital days were 207.

Debt-to-equity was 0.53 in H1 FY27, compared with 0.56 in FY26 and 0.97 in FY24. Net debt-to-equity was 0.43 in H1 FY27 against 0.44 in FY26, while return on capital employed was 7% for H1 FY27 versus 5% in FY26; Best Agrolife states that the return-on-capital-employed figure is not annualised.

Conclusion

Best Agrolife’s H1 FY27 figures show a shorter reported working-capital cycle, with working-capital days falling 40 days to 207, receivable days down 27 days and inventory days down 20 days. The balance sheet qualifies that movement: inventories rose to Rs 786 crore from Rs 651 crore at March 2026, and receivables rose to Rs 613 crore from Rs 490 crore over the same period.

The next point to watch is whether the reported 207 working-capital-days figure persists as revenue responds to the rainfall, sowing and crop-protection-demand conditions management identified. The presentation leaves unresolved the formulae for working-capital and cash conversion days and does not provide quarterly day-based data, while patented products’ share of branded sales reached 63% and EBITDA margin reached 22% in H1 FY27.