Great Eastern Shipping profit more than doubles to Rs 1,269 crore

The Great Eastern Shipping Company Limited reported consolidated profit of Rs 1,269.23 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, more than double Rs 581.41 crore a year earlier, as revenue from operations reached Rs 1,824.42 crore and net gains on ship and other asset sales were Rs 307.90 crore.

What drove Great Eastern Shipping’s September-quarter profit increase?

Great Eastern Shipping’s profit increase was driven by higher revenue from operations and a Rs 307.90 crore net gain from sales of ships and other assets. Profit before tax rose to Rs 1,295.87 crore in the quarter ended September 30, 2026, from Rs 600.68 crore in the quarter ended September 30, 2025, while tax expense was Rs 26.64 crore against Rs 19.27 crore.

Revenue from operations increased to Rs 1,824.42 crore from Rs 1,241.78 crore a year earlier. Other income and gains totalled Rs 409.23 crore, compared with Rs 140 crore, because profit on sale of ships and other assets increased from Rs 0.12 crore; other income itself declined to Rs 101.33 crore from Rs 139.88 crore.

Profit was lower than Rs 1,308.84 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2026, despite September-quarter asset-sale gains rising from Rs 124.84 crore in June. Total income declined to Rs 2,233.65 crore from Rs 2,286.21 crore sequentially, as revenue from operations fell by Rs 180.94 crore and total expenses increased to Rs 937.78 crore from Rs 921.43 crore.

How did Great Eastern Shipping’s shipping and offshore segments perform?

Great Eastern Shipping’s shipping segment delivered the larger September-quarter result, reporting segment revenue of Rs 1,845.38 crore and a segment result of Rs 1,117.81 crore. In the September 2025 quarter, shipping revenue was Rs 1,050.71 crore and the segment result was Rs 488.52 crore.

The offshore segment also reported higher year-on-year figures, with segment revenue rising to Rs 398.16 crore from Rs 338.23 crore and its result increasing to Rs 151.42 crore from Rs 92.89 crore. Against the June 2026 quarter, offshore revenue declined by Rs 7.86 crore and its result declined by Rs 2.04 crore.

The two segments produced combined revenue of Rs 2,243.54 crore before elimination of Rs 9.89 crore of inter-segment revenue, resulting in consolidated total income of Rs 2,233.65 crore. At September 30, 2026, shipping assets were Rs 16,451.68 crore and offshore assets were Rs 4,719.07 crore, out of total assets of Rs 21,170.75 crore.

What changed in Great Eastern Shipping’s costs, cash flow and balance sheet?

Great Eastern Shipping’s September-quarter expenses increased to Rs 937.78 crore from Rs 781.10 crore a year earlier, while finance costs fell to Rs 17.95 crore from Rs 43.64 crore. Employee benefits expense rose to Rs 251.61 crore from Rs 214.94 crore, depreciation and amortisation increased to Rs 252.65 crore from Rs 223.73 crore, and other expenses rose to Rs 235.30 crore from Rs 161.93 crore.

The company recorded a foreign-exchange gain of Rs 65.60 crore in the September 2026 quarter, compared with a gain of Rs 132.02 crore in the year-earlier quarter. Its reported operating margin was 63.43%, compared with 58.63%, and its net profit margin was 56.82%, compared with 42.08%.

For the half year ended September 30, 2026, net cash generated from operating activities was Rs 2,487.88 crore, compared with Rs 1,243.31 crore a year earlier. Investing activities used Rs 1,221.31 crore, including Rs 1,540.62 crore spent on property, plant and equipment, versus Rs 380.06 crore in the comparable 2025 half year.

Cash and cash equivalents increased to Rs 4,842.08 crore at September 30, 2026, from Rs 4,336.90 crore at March 31, 2026. Total borrowings declined to Rs 799.57 crore from Rs 1,049.37 crore over the same period, while total equity rose to Rs 18,932.41 crore from Rs 16,962.49 crore.

What dividend, buyback and fleet actions did Great Eastern Shipping disclose?

Great Eastern Shipping declared a second interim dividend of Rs 14.40 per equity share of face value Rs 10, taking total interim dividends declared for the year to Rs 28.80 per share. The company had already declared and paid a first interim dividend of Rs 14.40 per share during the year.

The board approved an open-market buyback on August 27, 2026, for up to Rs 900 crore excluding transaction costs at a price not exceeding Rs 1,530 per share. During the September quarter, Great Eastern Shipping repurchased 1,858,941 shares for Rs 262.72 crore excluding transaction costs.

After September 30 and up to the report date, Great Eastern Shipping bought another 2,418,253 shares for Rs 364.70 crore excluding transaction costs. The cumulative buyback reached 4,277,194 shares and Rs 627.42 crore, while 3,848,494 shares had been extinguished after the quarter, reducing subscribed and paid-up capital by Rs 3.85 crore to Rs 138.92 crore as of the board meeting date.

Fleet actions included delivery of the 2009-built Long Range 2 tanker Jag Lokesh under an earlier sale contract and delivery of the 2015-built Long Range 2 tanker renamed Jag Laxman. Great Eastern Shipping also contracted to acquire a 2015-built Kamsarmax dry bulk carrier, renamed Jag Amit and delivered after the quarter, plus a 2019-built Kamsarmax and a 2015-built Very Large Gas Carrier, each scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of financial year 2026-27.

Conclusion

Great Eastern Shipping’s September-quarter profit more than doubled year on year because revenue from operations increased by Rs 582.64 crore and the company recorded Rs 307.90 crore of gains on ship and other asset sales. Shipping generated Rs 1,117.81 crore of the Rs 1,269.23 crore combined segment result, while offshore contributed Rs 151.42 crore.

The next disclosed developments are delivery of the 2019-built Kamsarmax and the 2015-built Very Large Gas Carrier in the third quarter of financial year 2026-27, and further execution of the Rs 900 crore buyback programme. The company has also contracted for a newbuilding Suezmax tanker scheduled for delivery in the second half of financial year 2028-29.