/** blogpostTitle: Gravita FY26: Steady growth, big copper bet, and a longer capex runway blogpostSlug: gravita-fy26 blogpostCoverImageUrl: null blogpostCoverImageDescription: Ultra-realistic corporate finance cover image showing a clean executive desk with a laptop displaying a dashboard of three simple charts: FY22 to FY26 revenue and PAT rising trend lines, and a stacked capacity bar chart moving toward 800,000 MTPA by FY29. Include subtle industrial recycling cues in the background like abstract metal scrap textures and shipping containers near a port, without any logos or readable text. blogpostShortTitle: Gravita FY26: Copper entry and capex plan */

Gravita FY26: Steady growth, big copper bet, and a longer capex runway

Gravita India ended FY26 with steady operating growth and a clear push to diversify beyond lead. Management said full-year volumes grew 5% year on year, revenue grew 10%, EBITDA rose 12%, and PAT increased 21%. The company also highlighted about 24% ROIC for FY26 on a pre-acquisition basis.

While the headline performance was resilient, Q4 showed the limits of operating leverage when product mix and shipping routes get disrupted. Revenue in Q4 FY26 rose to INR 1,172.76 crore, but adjusted EBITDA was INR 112.91 crore and PAT was INR 91.88 crore. Management linked the softer quarter to disruption in Middle East sales, where a meaningful portion of value-added products are sold, and to higher inward logistics costs.

The operating base: multi-vertical recycling with an expanding footprint

Gravita positions itself as a multi-material recycling company with verticals across lead, aluminium, plastic, rubber, copper and lithium, along with a turnkey recycling solutions business. Its operating footprint spans India and overseas locations. The presentation lists facilities in India and Sri Lanka, a European presence in Romania, an Americas presence in the Dominican Republic, and multiple African facilities including Ghana, Senegal, Mozambique, Tanzania and Togo.

Two operating capabilities are repeatedly emphasized.

First is procurement. The company disclosed a deep procurement network with 39 own yards, 2,200 plus touch points and scrap collection of more than 3,30,000 MT. The network is skewed to Africa and Asia in terms of owned yards and collection, with a smaller presence in Europe.

Second is product capability. The presentation highlights customized and value-added products, spanning lead alloys, lead sheets, aluminium alloys, plastic granules and newer copper products such as copper sheets, brass cups and copper foils. Management stated that value-added products contributed 42% to FY26 revenue, progressing toward their longer-term ambition of 45% to 50%.

Financial snapshot from the documents

This table is limited to what is explicitly disclosed in the presentation and concall transcript.

Capacity and capex: Mundra is the hub, but the runway is longer now

The year was capex-heavy. Management said FY26 capex was about INR 372 crore, and the presentation also frames a multi-year plan that extends through FY29.

A key project in FY26 was the Mundra lead expansion. Management stated that the company expanded lead recycling capacity at Mundra by 80,300 MTPA, taking Mundra to 1,45,100 MTPA. They quantified the capex for this expansion at INR 49 crore, funded through internal accruals, and reiterated that the port proximity improves raw material sourcing and strengthens access to export markets.

The second notable commissioning in FY26 was the lithium-ion battery recycling pilot. Management said Gravita commissioned a 6,000 MTPA pilot lithium-ion battery recycling facility at Mundra in January 2026 with an investment of INR 14 crore. However, they were careful in positioning it as a capability-building pilot, not a near-term growth lever. The plant currently covers the black mass stage, while a refining and extraction stage is yet to come. Importantly, management said the company is not considering any lithium-ion volumes in its FY29 guidance, meaning any lithium upside would be incremental.

On the overall capex pipeline, management raised the planned capex envelope. In response to investor questions, they said earlier guidance of INR 1,200 crore did not include copper. With copper now added, the company has earmarked INR 1,700 crore of capex through FY29. They also provided a broad year-wise phasing: about INR 600 crore in FY27, about INR 700 crore in FY28 and about INR 400 crore in FY29.

The presentation’s capacity charts point to more than 8,00,000 MTPA capacity by FY29, split between existing and new verticals.

Copper: RMIL acquisition changes the mix and the working capital math

The defining strategic move of the year was the entry into copper through acquisition. The presentation states Gravita acquired 99.44% stake in Rashtriya Metal Industries Limited (RMIL) for INR 561.84 crore, enabling entry into copper and copper alloys.

The presentation provides RMIL’s base scale.

• Facility capacity: 31,200 MTPA at Sarigam, Gujarat
• FY26 revenue: INR 1,040 crore
• FY26 EBITDA: INR 82 crore

On the concall, management described RMIL as a value-added copper platform with products used in electrical and electronics industries, coinage and ammunition. They also said about 40% of RMIL revenue comes from exports to multiple markets.

Management also disclosed RMIL’s capacity utilization at around 50% at the time of the call. Their near-term plan is to take utilization to 60% to 65% in the next year and to expand capacity from about 30,000 tons to about 60,000 tons over the next three years.

Backward integration: copper recycling plant at Mandvi

Alongside the acquisition, Gravita announced a copper recycling facility as backward integration. Management said the company plans to establish a copper recycling facility in Mandvi, Gujarat with Phase 1 capacity of 29,400 MTPA and capex of approximately INR 160 crore, funded through internal accruals. Commercial operations are expected to commence within the next 12 months.

The logic is margin and supply control. Management quantified RMIL’s sustainable EBITDA per ton at about INR 45,000 and stated that, with backward integration, EBITDA per ton could rise to about INR 65,000 to INR 70,000 over time.

Copper also changes the balance sheet rhythm because it is import-heavy. Management guided that working capital days could remain around 85 to 90 days, and stated that peak working-capital debt could reach INR 800 to INR 900 crore once the copper business scales. They also clarified they view metal inventories as hedged and liquid in nature due to their back-to-back hedging approach, though the working capital requirement is real and will likely increase absolute funding needs.

What management highlighted as near-term variables

The Q4 commentary acknowledged that not all volatility is within the company’s control.

First, Middle East disruption affected value-added sales. Management said about 10% to 12% of sales go to the Middle East and these are largely value-added products. Disruptions reduced value-added share and pressured EBITDA per ton.

Second, aluminium scaling remains constrained by hedging availability. Management said aluminium volumes were weak due to inability to hedge and a selective sales strategy, and they expect pickup once the hedging mechanism becomes live on MCX.

Third, lithium-ion remains a pilot and should not be read as a meaningful FY27 earnings driver.

Takeaways for investors

Gravita’s FY26 message is less about one exceptional quarter and more about shaping the next cycle. The company ended the year with growth in revenue, EBITDA and PAT, and continued to defend margins with a hedging framework.

The bigger story is capital allocation toward diversification. The RMIL acquisition creates a new earnings engine in copper alloys, while the planned Mandvi recycling plant aims to make that engine more profitable through backward integration.

Near-term, management has already flagged risks: logistics disruption, a shifting mix of value-added exports and the working capital intensity of copper imports. But if execution matches the timelines shared, FY27 to FY29 becomes a period where volume growth, capacity ramp-up and an evolving product mix could meaningfully reshape the business.