Green Asia Impex Limited's Cash Flow Stayed Negative 3 Years

Green Asia Impex Limited reported negative operating cash flow in fiscal 2024, fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2026 despite rising revenue and profit after tax. Green Asia used Rs 15.00 crore in operating activities in fiscal 2024, Rs 5.06 crore in fiscal 2025 and Rs 6.27 crore in fiscal 2026, as receivables, inventories and advances absorbed cash.

Why did Green Asia's operating cash flow stay negative?

Green Asia's operating cash flow stayed negative because working-capital outflows exceeded operating profit before working-capital changes in all three fiscal years. Operating cash flow measures cash generated or used in business operations after adjustments for non-cash items, working capital and income-tax payments. Working capital includes inventories, trade receivables, loans and advances, trade payables and other short-term operating balances.

In fiscal 2026, Green Asia reported Rs 34.87 crore of operating profit before working-capital changes, up from Rs 23.67 crore in fiscal 2025 and Rs 19.58 crore in fiscal 2024. The fiscal 2026 increase in trade receivables used Rs 33.86 crore and the inventory increase used Rs 27.28 crore. A Rs 22.03 crore increase in trade payables partly offset those demands, but cash generated from operating activities was negative Rs 2.55 crore before income-tax payments. Income tax paid of Rs 3.72 crore resulted in net operating cash outflow of Rs 6.27 crore.

The earlier years had the same outcome through different working-capital movements. In fiscal 2025, receivables used Rs 39.23 crore, inventories used Rs 9.68 crore and short-term loans and advances used Rs 11.57 crore, while a Rs 38.41 crore increase in trade payables provided an offset. In fiscal 2024, inventories used Rs 27.21 crore and receivables used Rs 6.20 crore, while trade payables fell by Rs 51.20 lakh rather than providing operating funding.

How did profit growth differ from Green Asia's cash generation?

Green Asia's accounting profit increased across fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2026, while operating cash flow remained negative because cash became tied up in operating assets. Revenue from operations rose from Rs 317.39 crore in fiscal 2024 to Rs 337.62 crore in fiscal 2025 and Rs 383.80 crore in fiscal 2026. Profit after tax rose over the same period from Rs 6.66 crore to Rs 10.35 crore and Rs 15.61 crore.

The distinction is that revenue and profit are recorded under the accounting framework, whereas the cash-flow statement captures changes in cash invested in receivables, stock and other balances. In fiscal 2026, Green Asia reported profit before tax of Rs 21.04 crore, but inventories and trade receivables increased by a combined Rs 61.14 crore. That combined movement exceeded both profit before tax and the Rs 34.87 crore operating profit before working-capital changes.

The balance sheet shows the scale of the accumulated operating assets. Trade receivables increased from Rs 25.74 crore at March 31, 2024 to Rs 64.56 crore at March 31, 2025 and Rs 97.35 crore at March 31, 2026. Inventories increased from Rs 80.65 crore to Rs 90.33 crore and then Rs 117.61 crore. Together, receivables and inventories stood at Rs 214.96 crore at March 31, 2026, compared with Rs 106.38 crore two years earlier.

Which items absorbed the most operating cash?

Trade receivables were Green Asia's largest single working-capital outflow in fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2026, while inventories were the largest in fiscal 2024. The cash-flow statement records receivables outflows of Rs 6.20 crore in fiscal 2024, Rs 39.23 crore in fiscal 2025 and Rs 33.86 crore in fiscal 2026. The March 31, 2026 receivables balance of Rs 97.35 crore was Rs 71.61 crore above the March 31, 2024 balance of Rs 25.74 crore.

Inventory absorbed Rs 27.21 crore in fiscal 2024, Rs 9.68 crore in fiscal 2025 and Rs 27.28 crore in fiscal 2026. At Rs 117.61 crore on March 31, 2026, inventory was Green Asia's largest current-asset category, ahead of Rs 97.35 crore of trade receivables. Short-term loans and advances also used Rs 1.27 crore in fiscal 2024, Rs 11.57 crore in fiscal 2025 and Rs 18.93 lakh in fiscal 2026.

Green Asia's short-term loans and advances closed at Rs 18.64 crore on March 31, 2026, compared with Rs 19.33 crore a year earlier and Rs 7.76 crore on March 31, 2024. A reversal in the cash-flow pattern would require the cash effect of receivable collections, inventory movements, advances and supplier-credit changes to be lower than operating cash generated before those changes. The supplied financial information does not disclose a collection target or inventory-reduction plan.

How did Green Asia fund the operating cash deficit?

Green Asia reported positive financing cash flow in each of the three fiscal years, offsetting the operating cash deficits at the group level. Net cash generated from financing activities was Rs 15.93 crore in fiscal 2024, Rs 5.02 crore in fiscal 2025 and Rs 12.08 crore in fiscal 2026. Net cash used in operating activities over those years was Rs 15.00 crore, Rs 5.06 crore and Rs 6.27 crore, respectively.

Short-term borrowings were a major financing line in the cash-flow statement. In fiscal 2026, Green Asia received Rs 581.59 crore in proceeds from short-term borrowings and repaid Rs 557.24 crore. The short-term borrowing balance increased from Rs 53.32 crore at March 31, 2024 to Rs 67.46 crore at March 31, 2025 and Rs 91.81 crore at March 31, 2026.

Finance costs reached Rs 12.47 crore in fiscal 2026, compared with Rs 6.38 crore in fiscal 2025 and Rs 7.01 crore in fiscal 2024. Green Asia also used Rs 6.20 crore in investing activities in fiscal 2026, including Rs 6.51 crore for property, plant and equipment. Cash and cash equivalents ended fiscal 2026 at Rs 52.65 lakh, down from Rs 91.51 lakh at March 31, 2025, after a Rs 38.86 lakh net decrease during the year.

Conclusion

Green Asia's three consecutive years of negative operating cash flow show a gap between reported earnings and cash conversion. Revenue from operations rose by Rs 66.41 crore between fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2026, and profit after tax increased by Rs 8.95 crore, but increases in receivables and inventories repeatedly absorbed more cash than operating activity produced after working-capital adjustments. Positive financing cash flows coincided with short-term borrowings rising to Rs 91.81 crore.

The next financial update should show whether the Rs 97.35 crore receivables balance and Rs 117.61 crore inventory balance reported at March 31, 2026 begin converting into cash. It should also show the movement in Rs 91.81 crore of short-term borrowings and Rs 107.10 crore of trade payables other than micro and small enterprises, as the supplied information contains no disclosed plan to reduce receivables, inventory or borrowings.