Century Ply MDF margin falls to 8.8% despite sales growth
Key highlights
- Century Ply’s September 2026 MDF EBITDA margin fell to 8.8% from 16.6% a year earlier.
- MDF EBITDA declined 41.8% to Rs 33.21 crore despite 10.5% growth in total income to Rs 379.39 crore.
- Total MDF volume increased 8.9% to 1,23,853 CBM, led by 11.4% growth in plain MDF volume.
- Six-month MDF EBITDA fell 35.5% to Rs 54.51 crore as the margin declined to 7.6% from 14.0%.
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Century Ply’s MDF EBITDA margin fell to 8.8% in September 2026 from 16.6% a year earlier, as EBITDA declined 41.8% to Rs 33.21 crore despite total income rising 10.5% to Rs 379.39 crore and sales volume increasing 8.9%. Plain MDF led volume growth, while gross profit and operating profitability declined.
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What happened to Century Ply’s MDF profitability in September 2026?
Century Ply reported MDF EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, of Rs 33.21 crore in September 2026, down from Rs 57.10 crore in September 2025. EBITDA as a share of total income fell by 7.8 percentage points to 8.8% from 16.6%, even as total income increased from Rs 343.20 crore to Rs 379.39 crore.
The contrast between income and operating profit was pronounced: total income rose by Rs 36.19 crore, while EBITDA declined by Rs 23.89 crore. Gross profit fell 10.7% to Rs 87.34 crore from Rs 97.79 crore, reducing gross profit as a proportion of total income to 23.0% from 28.5%. The presentation does not provide a cost-line breakdown or a specific explanation for the gross-profit reduction.
How did Century Ply’s MDF volumes and revenue change?
Century Ply’s total MDF volume increased 8.9% year on year to 1,23,853 cubic metres, or CBM, in September 2026 from 1,13,748 CBM in September 2025. Plain MDF volume rose 11.4% to 1,02,005 CBM, whereas prelam MDF volume declined 1.7% to 21,791 CBM. The volume increase was therefore concentrated in plain MDF.
Plain MDF net sales increased 15.9% to Rs 287.30 crore in September 2026 from Rs 247.79 crore, while prelam MDF sales declined 3.2% to Rs 89.22 crore from Rs 92.18 crore. Total MDF net sales rose 10.8% to Rs 376.52 crore. Total income rose at a slightly slower 10.5% rate because other operating income declined to Rs 2.87 crore from Rs 3.23 crore.
What do Century Ply’s selling prices show about margin pressure?
Century Ply’s reported average realisation for total MDF rose 1.7% year on year to Rs 30,401 in September 2026 from Rs 29,888. The 8.9% increase in volume was therefore accompanied by a modest improvement in the aggregate average realisation, but this did not translate into higher gross profit or EBITDA.
The two MDF categories moved differently. Plain MDF average realisation rose 4.0% to Rs 28,150 from Rs 27,058, while prelam MDF average realisation declined 1.5% to Rs 40,944 from Rs 41,575. Prelam MDF remained the higher-average-realisation category by Rs 12,794, but its lower volume and sales coincided with a 5.5-percentage-point decline in the overall gross-profit ratio.
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How does the September result compare with the six-month and annual figures?
Century Ply’s September 2026 MDF EBITDA was higher than the Rs 21.29 crore recorded in June 2026, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 56.0%. EBITDA margin also improved from 6.4% in June 2026 to 8.8% in September 2026, while total income rose 13.6% from Rs 334.09 crore to Rs 379.39 crore. The sequential improvement did not offset the year-on-year decline from the 16.6% margin in September 2025.
For the six months to September 2026, MDF total income increased 18.5% to Rs 713.49 crore from Rs 602.33 crore and total volume increased 14.6% to 2,26,804 CBM. Yet EBITDA fell 35.5% to Rs 54.51 crore from Rs 84.51 crore, taking the six-month margin to 7.6% from 14.0%. In the Annual 2025-26 figures, the MDF EBITDA margin was 12.3%, above the September 2026 margin but below 27.3% in Annual 2022-23.
Did foreign exchange explain Century Ply’s EBITDA decline?
Century Ply’s EBITDA without foreign exchange was Rs 33.69 crore in September 2026, compared with Rs 46.51 crore in September 2025, a decline of 27.6%. The corresponding EBITDA margin without foreign exchange was 8.9%, against 13.6% a year earlier. The margin was thus lower on both the reported and foreign-exchange-adjusted measures.
Reported EBITDA declined more sharply, by 41.8%, than EBITDA without foreign exchange because the presentation records a Rs 0.47 crore foreign-exchange loss in September 2026 and a Rs 10.59 crore foreign-exchange gain in September 2025. Segment profit fell 57.7% to Rs 18.85 crore, while segment profit excluding foreign exchange declined 43.1% to Rs 19.32 crore. Depreciation increased 7.4% to Rs 16.30 crore from Rs 15.17 crore.
Conclusion
Century Ply’s September 2026 MDF figures show that higher volume, higher total income and a modest increase in total average realisation did not preserve operating profitability. Plain MDF drove the sales expansion, while prelam MDF recorded lower volume, revenue and average realisation. The resulting gross-profit decline reduced EBITDA to Rs 33.21 crore and the reported EBITDA margin to 8.8%.
What remains unresolved in the presentation is the specific cost or market mechanism behind the gross-profit decline from Rs 97.79 crore to Rs 87.34 crore. The next MDF results will indicate whether the sequential margin movement from 6.4% in June 2026 to 8.8% in September 2026 can continue while total income and volume develop beyond the six-month levels of Rs 713.49 crore and 2,26,804 CBM.