HD Fire Protect FY26 Revenue Rose as Margins and Cash Cycle Worsened

HD Fire Protect Limited increased revenue from operations 13% to Rs 489.281 crore in FY26, but operating EBITDA margin declined to 30.75% from 31.89% and the cash conversion cycle widened to 102 days from 83 days. Higher inventory and trade receivable days accompanied growth in revenue and profit after tax.

Did HD Fire Protect grow revenue and profit in FY26?

HD Fire Protect grew revenue, operating EBITDA and profit after tax in the financial year ended March 31, 2026, although revenue grew faster than either profit measure. Revenue from operations increased by Rs 56.482 crore to Rs 489.281 crore from Rs 432.799 crore in FY25. Profit after tax, or PAT, rose by Rs 7.069 crore to Rs 116.787 crore from Rs 109.718 crore.

Both domestic and export revenue contributed to the FY26 increase. Domestic revenue rose by Rs 43.838 crore to Rs 317.007 crore, while export revenue increased by Rs 13.143 crore to Rs 168.405 crore. Domestic revenue equalled about 65% of FY26 revenue from operations, based on the company’s disclosed domestic revenue and total operating revenue.

Operating EBITDA rose Rs 12.451 crore to Rs 150.459 crore in FY26, compared with a Rs 56.482 crore revenue increase. HD Fire Protect defines operating EBITDA as restated profit before tax plus finance costs, depreciation and amortisation, less other income. PAT margin, calculated as PAT as a percentage of total income, fell to 23.12% from 24.35% as PAT growth trailed revenue growth.

Why did HD Fire Protect’s FY26 EBITDA margin fall?

HD Fire Protect’s operating EBITDA margin fell because operating EBITDA increased about 9%, below revenue growth of about 13%. The margin, calculated as operating EBITDA divided by revenue from operations, declined 1.14 percentage points to 30.75% in FY26 from 31.89% in FY25. The KPI disclosure does not attribute the movement to individual costs, products, customers or geographies.

The FY26 margin remained above the 28.59% reported in FY24, but the direction changed after FY25. PAT margin followed the same sequence, rising from 22.43% in FY24 to 24.35% in FY25 before falling to 23.12% in FY26. For the EBITDA margin to stop declining under the disclosed formula, operating EBITDA would need to grow at least as fast as revenue from operations.

Returns measures increased despite the margin decline. Return on equity, or RoE, was 30.17% in FY26, against 29.63% in FY25 and 28.41% in FY24. HD Fire Protect calculates RoE as PAT divided by average tangible net worth, with tangible net worth defined as total equity less intangible assets.

How did HD Fire Protect’s cash conversion cycle widen to 102 days?

HD Fire Protect’s cash conversion cycle widened 19 days in FY26 because increases in inventory and receivable days outweighed the change in payable days. The company calculates the cycle as inventory days plus trade receivable days less trade payable days. FY26’s 85 inventory days plus 57 receivable days less 40 payable days produced the reported 102-day cycle.

Inventory days increased eight days from 77 in FY25 to 85 in FY26, while trade receivable days increased 12 days from 45 to 57. Trade payable days rose only one day, from 39 to 40. The 20-day combined increase in inventory and collection periods was therefore offset by only one additional day before supplier payments.

The FY26 cycle also exceeded FY24’s 96 days, even though payable days were three days higher than in FY24. Inventory days are calculated using average inventory divided by cost of sales and multiplied by 365, while receivable days use average trade receivables divided by revenue from operations and multiplied by 365. A lower cycle would require lower inventory or receivable days, or a sufficient increase in payable days under the company’s formula.

What did HD Fire Protect’s June 2026 KPI update show?

HD Fire Protect reported a 112-day cash conversion cycle for the three months ended June 30, 2026, 10 days above the FY26 figure of 102 days. Inventory days were 109, trade receivable days were 61 and trade payable days were 58. The three-month figure is not annualised and uses different short-period calculations from the full-year measures.

For the June 2026 quarter, inventory, receivable and payable days use period-end balances and multiply by 90 days. The full-year metrics generally use average balances and 365 days. This methodological difference means the June 2026 result is a current-period indicator and not a direct annual forecast.

Revenue from operations in the three months ended June 30, 2026 was Rs 109.052 crore, operating EBITDA was Rs 29.725 crore and PAT was Rs 23.865 crore. Operating EBITDA margin was 27.26%, below FY26’s 30.75%, while PAT margin was 20.92%, below FY26’s 23.12%. The customer count was 905, compared with 2,066 in FY26, but the company does not explain the reduction and defines the metric as unique customers making and retaining a purchase during the relevant period.

How do HD Fire Protect’s FY26 KPIs compare with disclosed peers?

HD Fire Protect’s FY26 operating EBITDA margin of 30.75% exceeded KSB Limited’s disclosed 13.45% for the year ended December 31, 2025 and Elgi Equipment Limited’s 14.45% for FY26. The prospectus says India has no listed fire protection equipment and systems companies, so it selected a broader set of capital-goods and industrial-equipment businesses with engineered products, infrastructure exposure and certification-related characteristics.

HD Fire Protect’s 102-day FY26 cash conversion cycle was below KSB’s 113 days for the year ended December 31, 2025 but above Elgi’s 58 days for FY26. KSB reported 112 inventory days, 103 receivable days and 102 payable days, while Elgi reported 71, 62 and 75 days respectively. The prospectus cautions that some KPIs are non-GAAP measures, meaning they are not defined under Indian Accounting Standards and may not be directly comparable across companies.

HD Fire Protect’s return on capital employed, or RoCE, rose to 40.33% in FY26 from 39.63% in FY25 and 37.61% in FY24. RoCE is earnings before interest and tax divided by average capital employed, which the company defines as tangible net worth plus total borrowings. The higher RoCE and wider 102-day cash conversion cycle show that reported capital returns and working-capital timing moved in different directions in FY26.

Conclusion

HD Fire Protect’s FY26 results combined 13% revenue growth with slower growth in operating EBITDA and PAT, resulting in lower operating and net margins. The central working-capital change was the 19-day increase in the cash conversion cycle, as inventory and receivable days increased more than payable days.

The next KPI disclosures will show whether the June 30, 2026 cycle of 112 days, including 109 inventory days and 61 receivable days, persists. HD Fire Protect has stated that it will disclose these KPIs periodically at least annually, or at a shorter interval set by its board, until one year after listing.