Peshwa Wheat projects FY28 working-capital gap to more than triple

Peshwa Wheat Limited projects that its net working-capital gap, the excess of current assets over current liabilities, will more than triple to Rs 143.23 crore in FY28 from Rs 45.01 crore at March 31, 2026. The projection relies on larger inventory and receivables, with Rs 96.61 crore planned from internal accruals or equity.

Why is Peshwa Wheat's working-capital gap projected to more than triple?

Peshwa Wheat projects a Rs 143.23 crore working-capital gap for FY28, compared with Rs 90.20 crore estimated for FY27 and Rs 45.01 crore reported at March 31, 2026. The FY28 figure is Rs 98.22 crore above FY26, or about 218%, and Rs 53.03 crore above the FY27 estimate. The projection is management-prepared and is based on assumptions about future events and management actions that may not necessarily occur.

The planned rise follows growth in current assets that is much larger than the projected increase in current liabilities. Peshwa Wheat estimates FY28 current assets at Rs 157.78 crore, including Rs 74.82 crore of inventories and Rs 66.50 crore of trade receivables. It estimates current liabilities at Rs 14.55 crore, including Rs 3.30 crore of trade payables and Rs 11 crore of short-term provisions.

The reported gap had already increased from Rs 16.35 crore at March 31, 2024 to Rs 34.90 crore at March 31, 2025 and Rs 45.01 crore at March 31, 2026. Over that two-year reported period, inventories rose from Rs 18.30 crore to Rs 29.92 crore, while trade receivables rose from Rs 5.27 crore to Rs 28.07 crore. The FY28 plan therefore extends an existing balance-sheet expansion rather than starting from a flat base.

What will drive Peshwa Wheat's higher inventory and receivables?

Peshwa Wheat expects inventories and trade receivables to account for Rs 141.32 crore, or nearly 90%, of projected FY28 current assets. Inventory is projected to grow from Rs 29.92 crore at March 2026 to Rs 50.50 crore in FY27 and Rs 74.82 crore in FY28. Receivables are projected to increase from Rs 28.07 crore to Rs 44 crore and then Rs 66.50 crore over the same periods.

The inventory assumption reflects both seasonality and a capacity plan. Wheat is a Rabi crop harvested between late February and April, and Peshwa Wheat says procurement is concentrated from January through mid-April to support production and reduce exposure to later supply constraints and price movements. The company also says its March 31 working-capital position coincides with the fullest phase of this cycle, when inventories are highest and borrowing limits are largely used, with raw-material inventory needed until September.

Inventory holding is projected at 70 days in FY27 and 69 days in FY28, versus 57 days in both FY25 and FY26. Peshwa Wheat attributes the FY27 increase to a proposed rise in production capacity and higher sales to super stockists and direct customers. The FY28 one-day reduction assumes that expanded capacity will be fully operational and inventory planning will stabilise around optimised production cycles.

Receivable days are projected to rise to 54 days in each of FY27 and FY28, from 47 days in FY26, as Peshwa Wheat expects a larger share of sales from super stockists with longer credit terms. The customer-channel shift was pronounced in FY25: super-stockist revenue rose to Rs 95.02 crore, or 55.39% of revenue from operations, from Rs 7.67 crore, or 8.70%, in FY24. Direct-customer revenue declined to 44.61% of FY25 revenue from 91.30% in FY24.

How is Peshwa Wheat planning to fund the FY28 requirement?

Peshwa Wheat plans to fund Rs 96.61 crore, or about 67%, of its projected FY28 working-capital requirement through internal accruals or equity. Short-term borrowings are projected to remain Rs 23 crore in both FY27 and FY28, while IPO proceeds allocated to working capital rise from Rs 2.88 crore in FY27 to Rs 23.62 crore in FY28. The funding mix must therefore provide Rs 32.29 crore more from internal accruals or equity between FY27 and FY28.

The company states that it will meet Rs 26.50 crore of the overall FY27 and FY28 working-capital requirement from net issue proceeds, with the balance funded through borrowings and internal accruals at an appropriate time. The annual funding table allocates that Rs 26.50 crore as Rs 2.88 crore in FY27 and Rs 23.62 crore in FY28. At March 2026, the reported Rs 45.01 crore gap was funded by Rs 23.09 crore of borrowings and Rs 21.93 crore of net worth or internal accruals, with no IPO proceeds.

The funding plan also assumes that current liabilities provide limited offset. Trade payable days are projected to decline from seven days in FY26 to three days in FY27 and FY28 because Peshwa Wheat intends faster settlement to maintain supplier relations and seek more favourable terms. Some local-farmer suppliers require advances or payment immediately on delivery, a procurement feature that reduces the effective payable period and increases liquidity needs.

What growth plan underlies the FY28 working-capital projection?

Peshwa Wheat bases the FY28 working-capital projection partly on a proposed capacity increase from 56,100 metric tonnes per annum, or MTPA, to 102,600 MTPA in the last quarter of FY27. The company says additional capacity is intended to meet anticipated demand, but implementation depends on proposed construction and machinery installation. The disclosed tentative machinery timetable targets order placement in October 2026 and commercial production in February 2027.

Revenue from operations increased from Rs 88.13 crore in FY24 to Rs 171.54 crore in FY25 and Rs 215.94 crore in FY26. Peshwa Wheat reported growth of 523.24% in FY24, 94.64% in FY25 and 25.88% in FY26 over the respective preceding years, and it has estimated FY27 growth of 38.93%. For FY27, it reported unaudited first-quarter revenue of Rs 57.31 crore as of June 2026 and says it expects additional revenue in the remaining three quarters.

The forecast is also linked to sales and purchase timing. Peshwa Wheat says approximately 70% to 75% of annual revenue has been generated in the final three quarters in historical periods. In FY26, first-quarter purchases were Rs 62.05 crore, or 31.52% of annual purchases of Rs 196.88 crore; first-quarter FY27 raw-material and stock-in-trade purchases were Rs 53.50 crore, or 18.64% of total purchases. These patterns help explain why procurement, stocks and funding needs do not move evenly through the year.

Conclusion

Peshwa Wheat's Rs 143.23 crore FY28 working-capital projection is driven by current assets rising to Rs 157.78 crore while current liabilities are expected to reach only Rs 14.55 crore. The central operating assumptions are larger wheat inventories, a 54-day receivable cycle connected to super-stockist sales, and production expansion from 56,100 MTPA to 102,600 MTPA.

What to watch next is execution of the disclosed October 2026 ordering and February 2027 machinery-installation timetable, alongside the planned funding mix. Peshwa Wheat has not entered definitive agreements with the cited suppliers for certain capital expenditure, and the company says cost escalation beyond estimates would be funded from internal accruals. Brickwork Ratings India Private Limited has been appointed to monitor use of net proceeds, while quarterly disclosures are planned until all proceeds are used.