Hindustan Foods Limited plans Rs 317 crore new projects

Hindustan Foods Limited plans Rs 317 crore of new projects that, with Rs 89 crore of projects in progress, are expected to lift gross block to Rs 2,367 crore by March 2027; disclosed commissioning runs from Coimbatore in Q3FY27 to Hyderabad and Nashik in Q1FY28.

What is HFL’s overall capacity-investment plan?

HFL’s plan is to take gross block from Rs 1,961 crore at September 2026 to Rs 2,367 crore by March 2027 through Rs 89 crore of in-progress projects and Rs 317 crore of new projects. The Rs 406 crore increase reflects the group-level asset bridge disclosed in the H1FY27 presentation.

The gross-block measure includes capital work-in-progress, capital advances and leasehold land, while excluding right-of-use assets and intangible assets; it is also adjusted for accumulated depreciation of acquired plants. The bridge starts at Rs 1,220 crore in March 2025, includes Rs 741 crore of capitalised gross block, and reaches Rs 1,961 crore at September 2026.

HFL reported that dedicated manufacturing generated 73% of H1FY27 revenue, compared with 74% in FY26, while shared manufacturing rose to 27% from 26%. A facility is classified as dedicated where one customer occupies at least 75% of installed capacity, and management expects shared manufacturing to contribute more in FY27 through capacity scale-up, customer partnerships and asset utilisation.

Which detergent and healthcare projects are due next?

HFL expects the Lucknow detergent-bar facility and the Baddi Ayurveda Wellness expansion to start production in Q4FY27 after each was deferred by one to two months. The company attributed both delays to late delivery of critical imported equipment, rather than to a change in the stated projects.

The Lucknow detergent-bar plant carries disclosed capital expenditure of Rs 50 crore, while the Baddi healthcare expansion is listed at Rs 25 crore. Home and personal care gross block is projected to rise from Rs 596 crore in September 2026 to Rs 625 crore in March 2027, whereas healthcare gross block is projected to move from Rs 196 crore to Rs 213 crore.

The Rs 40 crore brownfield liquid-detergent facility at Silvassa commenced commercial production in Q2FY27, but floods affected its ramp-up. HFL expects ramp-up to be completed by the end of Q3FY27; the floods also resulted in a Rs 1.3 crore exceptional insurance-policy deductible reported in Q2FY27.

Home and personal care had Rs 29 crore of new projects in its gross-block summary and no projects in progress at September 2026. Healthcare showed Rs 17 crore of projects in progress and no new projects, distinguishing its disclosed asset bridge from the named Rs 25 crore Baddi project capex.

How is HFL expanding food and beverage capacity?

HFL has disclosed six food and beverage projects with combined capex of Rs 295 crore, led by a Rs 70 crore bottled-water-and-juices plant at Aurangabad. Five of the six projects are scheduled for commercialisation in FY27, while the Hyderabad greenfield facility is expected in Q1FY28.

The Rs 50 crore Coimbatore brownfield malt-beverages expansion is due in Q3FY27. The Rs 60 crore Greek yoghurt facility in Goa, Rs 70 crore Aurangabad plant, Rs 50 crore Mysuru bottled-water plant, and Rs 15 crore Guwahati carbonated-soft-drinks line are scheduled for Q4FY27; Goa was deferred by one to two months because of delayed imported equipment.

The Hyderabad plant will make bottled water, juices and glucose drinks. Food and beverages gross block rose from Rs 290 crore in March 2025 to Rs 388 crore in September 2026 after Rs 98 crore of capitalised projects; HFL lists Rs 39 crore in progress and Rs 225 crore of new projects, producing a projected Rs 652 crore by March 2027.

The food and beverages gross-block increase of Rs 264 crore from September 2026 to March 2027 exceeds the Rs 63 crore projected increase in ice cream, the Rs 29 crore increase in home and personal care, and the Rs 17 crore increase in healthcare. The presentation identifies Aurangabad, Mysuru and Coimbatore as progressing to schedule, while providing a later Q1FY28 target for Hyderabad.

What is HFL adding in ice cream and how will it fund projects?

HFL is adding ice-cream capacity through the Rs 80 crore Panipat Phase II expansion, due in Q4FY27, and a Rs 6 crore cones-and-sleeves line at Nashik, due in Q1FY28. HFL says Panipat Phase II will double the existing manufacturing capacity at that plant.

Ice-cream gross block increased from Rs 211 crore in March 2025 to Rs 668 crore in September 2026, following Rs 457 crore of capitalised gross block. The segment has no projects in progress in the presentation, lists Rs 63 crore of new projects, and has a projected March 2027 gross block of Rs 731 crore.

HFL reported cash flow from operations of Rs 57.7 crore in H1FY27, compared with minus Rs 9.5 crore in H2FY26 and Rs 109.5 crore in H1FY26. Management said the H2FY26 outcome reflected goods and services tax changes under an inverted duty structure and a proactive inventory build-up, while it retained its inventory stance through H1FY27 amid geopolitical uncertainty.

Management said HFL has started moving select customer businesses from gross to net revenue recognition, a mechanism it says releases working capital without affecting profitability. Additional customers have agreed to make the change from Q4FY27, and management expects this, together with recently announced goods and services tax changes, to result in significantly stronger H2FY27 operating cash flow to help fund growth projects.

Conclusion

HFL’s disclosed build-out concentrates the largest named commitment in food and beverages, where six projects total Rs 295 crore, while Panipat adds an ice-cream expansion designed to double existing capacity. Across the group, the March 2027 gross-block target of Rs 2,367 crore is Rs 406 crore above the September 2026 position, spanning detergent, beverages, ice cream and healthcare.

The next disclosed milestones are the Coimbatore expansion and Silvassa ramp-up by the end of Q3FY27, followed by seven Q4FY27 projects or commencements, including Lucknow, Baddi, Goa, Aurangabad, Mysuru, Guwahati and Panipat. HFL’s Q1FY28 targets for Hyderabad and Nashik, along with management’s expectation for stronger H2FY27 cash flow after Q4FY27 customer transitions, remain the principal points to watch.