Delhivery operating cash flow rises to Rs 524.95 crore in half year

Delhivery Limited generated Rs 524.95 crore in net operating cash during the half year ended September 30, 2026, compared with Rs 214.62 crore a year earlier. Cash generated from operations rose to Rs 418.32 crore, while a Rs 106.64 crore net tax refund replaced a Rs 58.01 crore net tax payment.

What drove Delhivery's higher operating cash flow?

Delhivery's net cash generated from operating activities increased by Rs 310.33 crore to Rs 524.95 crore in the half year ended September 30, 2026. Cash flow generated from operations, before net income-tax receipts or payments, rose to Rs 418.32 crore from Rs 272.63 crore in the comparable 2025 period, while profit before tax increased to Rs 69.24 crore from Rs 36.46 crore.

Non-cash adjustments lifted operating profit before working-capital changes to Rs 543.41 crore, compared with Rs 372.63 crore a year earlier. Depreciation of property, plant and equipment increased to Rs 185.40 crore from Rs 133.80 crore, while depreciation of right-of-use assets, which relate to leased facilities and equipment, rose to Rs 175.48 crore from Rs 165.04 crore.

The adjustment for doubtful debts and lost shipments also rose to Rs 137.56 crore from Rs 100.85 crore. This was partly offset by a Rs 41.54 crore fair-value gain on investments recorded through profit or loss in the 2026 half year, compared with a Rs 95.75 crore fair-value loss in the prior-year period. Interest income deducted in reconciling profit to cash was Rs 106.78 crore, against Rs 102.74 crore.

How did working capital affect Delhivery's cash generation?

Working-capital movements reduced Delhivery's operating cash by Rs 125.10 crore in the half year ended September 30, 2026, compared with a Rs 99.99 crore reduction a year earlier. The larger working-capital use followed a Rs 176.60 crore increase in trade and other receivables, versus a Rs 113.58 crore increase in the prior-year half.

Inventory absorbed Rs 30.78 crore of cash, compared with Rs 13.94 crore in the half year ended September 30, 2025, while financial assets absorbed Rs 20.19 crore, against Rs 16.37 crore. Other liabilities reduced cash by Rs 38.27 crore and provisions by Rs 0.89 crore. Other assets provided Rs 1.84 crore, whereas they absorbed Rs 11.67 crore in the earlier period.

Trade payables provided Rs 139.80 crore of cash in the 2026 half year, up from Rs 85.40 crore a year earlier, partly offsetting the receivable and inventory movements. The reported net tax position also changed materially: Delhivery received Rs 106.64 crore on a net basis in 2026 after paying Rs 58.01 crore on a net basis in 2025, a Rs 164.65 crore swing.

How much did Delhivery spend on property and equipment?

Delhivery spent Rs 348.00 crore on property, plant and equipment, including intangible assets, capital work in progress, capital advances and capital creditors, in the half year ended September 30, 2026. That was Rs 127.61 crore higher than the Rs 220.39 crore spent in the equivalent 2025 period.

The increase in cash spending coincided with a rise in property, plant and equipment on the consolidated balance sheet to Rs 1,692.48 crore at September 30, 2026, from Rs 1,596.05 crore at March 31, 2026. Capital work in progress rose to Rs 9.98 crore from Rs 0.97 crore over the same six months, while other intangible assets declined to Rs 107.94 crore from Rs 131.73 crore.

Proceeds from disposal of property, plant and equipment were Rs 11.63 crore, compared with Rs 8.30 crore in the prior-year half. The cash-flow statement presents these proceeds separately from the stated purchase line, which covers the wider group of property, intangible and capital-work-in-progress asset categories.

Why did Delhivery move to a net investing cash outflow?

Delhivery used Rs 236.79 crore in investing activities in the half year ended September 30, 2026, reversing a Rs 57.33 crore net cash inflow in the 2025 half year. Purchases of liquid mutual-fund units and debt instruments were Rs 360.07 crore, exceeding Rs 332.97 crore of sales and producing a Rs 27.10 crore net purchase position; the prior period recorded Rs 103.64 crore of net sales.

Bank deposits with maturities of more than three months produced a net inflow of Rs 264.87 crore in 2026, as Rs 88.86 crore of maturities exceeded Rs 62.37 crore of new deposits. This compared with a Rs 409.31 crore net inflow in 2025. Interest received declined to Rs 105.74 crore from Rs 132.00 crore.

The 2025 investing section also included Rs 1,308.33 crore paid towards a business acquisition, net of cash and cash equivalents, whereas no such payment was reported in the 2026 half year. Despite the absence of that acquisition payment, higher capital expenditure, the reversal in financial-asset flows and lower net bank-deposit maturities resulted in the 2026 net investing outflow.

How did Delhivery's cash flows change its cash balance?

Delhivery's cash and cash equivalents increased by Rs 65.78 crore before foreign-exchange movements during the half year ended September 30, 2026, compared with an increase of Rs 17.43 crore a year earlier. The Rs 524.95 crore operating inflow exceeded the combined Rs 236.79 crore investing outflow and Rs 222.39 crore financing outflow.

Net cash used in financing activities fell to Rs 222.39 crore from Rs 254.52 crore. Delhivery repaid Rs 2.54 crore of long-term borrowings, versus Rs 53.86 crore a year earlier, while lease-liability principal payments rose to Rs 152.72 crore from Rs 130.35 crore. Interest paid on lease liabilities was Rs 66.70 crore, slightly below Rs 68.50 crore.

After a Rs 0.52 crore net foreign-exchange difference, closing cash and cash equivalents reached Rs 308.24 crore at September 30, 2026, up from Rs 241.94 crore at the start of the year. This closing balance was below Rs 355.47 crore at September 30, 2025. Current-account bank balances comprised Rs 296.36 crore of the 2026 closing total, with deposits of less than three months accounting for Rs 11.88 crore.

The financial results also state that Delhivery continues to monitor developments relating to the Labour Codes and assess their effect on the measurement of employee-benefit liabilities. The company said the provisions then in force did not have a material impact on the Group's financial results as of September 30, 2026.

Conclusion

The cash-flow statement shows that higher cash from operations more than covered investing and financing outflows in the 2026 half year, even as spending on property, equipment and related asset categories rose by Rs 127.61 crore. Higher trade receivables and inventory consumed more cash than a year earlier, while increased trade payables and the net tax refund partly offset those movements.

What to watch next is Delhivery's stated monitoring of Labour Code developments and its assessment of any impact on employee-benefit liabilities. The Group said the operative state legislation as of September 30, 2026 did not have a material financial-result impact, but it continues to evaluate the matter.