BLS International acquisitions produced Rs 1,337 crore in FY26

In FY26, BLS International reported Rs 1,337 crore of revenue from four acquisitions against Rs 1,102 crore of total capital deployed, while return on investment, or ROI, ranged from 1.3% at Citizenship Invest to 27.9% at Zero Mass. The portfolio’s blended FY26 ROI was 14.2%.

How large was BLS's acquisition portfolio in FY26?

BLS reported that its acquisition portfolio generated Rs 1,337 crore in FY26 revenue and had a blended ROI of 14.2%. The company identified four businesses in this scorecard: Zero Mass, iData, Citizenship Invest and Aadifidelis Solutions. Their reported FY26 revenues were Rs 202 crore, Rs 282 crore, Rs 50 crore and Rs 803 crore, respectively, which add to the stated portfolio total.

BLS put total capital deployed for acquisitions at Rs 1,102 crore, while the listed net considerations are Rs 110 crore for Zero Mass, Rs 717 crore for iData, Rs 242 crore for Citizenship Invest and Rs 114 crore for Aadifidelis Solutions. Those four listed considerations total Rs 1,183 crore, or Rs 81 crore more than the stated portfolio-level capital-deployed figure. The presentation does not explain the difference between the portfolio total and the sum of the four stated acquisition considerations.

Which BLS acquisition generated the most revenue?

Aadifidelis Solutions generated the most FY26 revenue among the four acquisitions, at Rs 803 crore. That was Rs 521 crore above iData’s Rs 282 crore and nearly four times Zero Mass’s Rs 202 crore. Aadifidelis was acquired in 2024 for a 57% stake at Rs 114 crore of stated net consideration, making it the smallest listed consideration while also producing the largest revenue contribution in the FY26 scorecard.

Revenue leadership did not translate into the largest earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, or EBITDA, contribution. Aadifidelis reported Rs 30 crore of EBITDA and a 3.7% EBITDA margin, the lowest margin among the four businesses. By contrast, iData reported Rs 127 crore of EBITDA on Rs 282 crore of revenue, producing the highest EBITDA margin of 45.0%. Zero Mass generated Rs 38 crore of EBITDA at an 18.8% margin, while Citizenship Invest recorded Rs 5 crore at a 9.1% margin.

The acquisition mix therefore had different drivers of scale and operating profitability in FY26. Aadifidelis accounted for Rs 803 crore of the Rs 1,337 crore acquisition revenue total, whereas iData generated the largest EBITDA figure at Rs 127 crore. BLS’s portfolio summary provides no separate operating-cost explanation for the 3.7% margin at Aadifidelis or the 45.0% margin at iData, so the presentation supports a comparison of outcomes rather than a conclusion on their causes.

Why did BLS acquisition returns differ in FY26?

BLS reported the highest FY26 ROI at Zero Mass, at 27.9%, followed by iData at 16.8%, Aadifidelis Solutions at 11.2% and Citizenship Invest at 1.3%. The company defines ROI as net profit attributable to BLS’s ownership stake in each company, rather than as revenue, EBITDA or total net profit of the acquired business. This matters because BLS acquired 90.9% of Zero Mass, 100% of iData and Citizenship Invest, and 57% of Aadifidelis.

Zero Mass’s 27.9% ROI came from a business acquired in 2022 for Rs 110 crore of net consideration and reporting Rs 202 crore of FY26 revenue. iData’s 16.8% ROI was lower despite its Rs 127 crore EBITDA and 45.0% margin; it was acquired in 2024 at Rs 717 crore of net consideration. The scorecard therefore shows that reported ROI reflects the net profit attributable to BLS relative to acquisition economics, not operating margin alone.

Citizenship Invest had the lowest return at 1.3%, alongside FY26 revenue of Rs 50 crore, EBITDA of Rs 5 crore and a 9.1% EBITDA margin. BLS said its ROI remained subdued because of local restrictions. Management said that, with those constraints now easing, Citizenship Invest’s ROI is expected to improve to approximately 10%; this is a management expectation rather than a reported FY26 result.

How do BLS acquisitions fit its wider FY26 financial trend?

BLS’s consolidated revenue from operations rose to Rs 2,998.2 crore in FY26 from Rs 2,193.3 crore in FY25, an increase of Rs 804.9 crore. The Rs 1,337 crore reported acquisition-portfolio revenue is sizeable relative to the company’s FY26 consolidated revenue, although the presentation does not state how much of the year-on-year increase was caused by acquisitions, organic growth or consolidation timing.

Consolidated EBITDA increased to Rs 818.9 crore in FY26 from Rs 629.3 crore in FY25, while the consolidated EBITDA margin moved down to 27.3% from 28.7%. Profit after tax rose to Rs 723.8 crore in FY26 from Rs 539.6 crore in FY25, and the profit-after-tax margin declined to 24.1% from 24.6%. These company-level movements occurred alongside the acquisition scorecard’s wide EBITDA-margin range, from 3.7% at Aadifidelis to 45.0% at iData.

The visa and consular services segment showed a different margin trend in BLS’s presentation. Its EBITDA margin rose from 34.5% in FY25 to 40.1% in FY26, compared with 14.6% in FY22. That segment comparison indicates that the broader consolidated margin outcome included businesses with economics that differed from the visa and consular operation, but BLS does not provide a numerical bridge from each acquisition’s results to consolidated margin.

Conclusion

BLS’s FY26 acquisition scorecard shows a portfolio that contributed Rs 1,337 crore of revenue but did not produce uniform returns. Aadifidelis led revenue at Rs 803 crore but had the lowest EBITDA margin at 3.7%, while iData led EBITDA at Rs 127 crore and had a 45.0% margin. Zero Mass reported the highest ROI at 27.9%, showing that the results vary depending on the measure used: revenue, EBITDA margin or profit attributable to BLS’s stake.

The next disclosed milestone is Citizenship Invest’s expected ROI improvement to approximately 10% as local restrictions ease, compared with its FY26 ROI of 1.3%. BLS does not provide a timetable for that improvement. The presentation also does not reconcile the Rs 81 crore difference between its stated Rs 1,102 crore total acquisition capital deployed and the Rs 1,183 crore sum of listed net considerations.