Kalpataru Projects FY26: Growth, better margins, and lower debt

Kalpataru Projects International Limited closed FY26 with a step-up in scale, stronger profitability, and a meaningfully improved balance sheet. On a consolidated basis, revenue rose to ₹27,143 crore, up 22 percent year on year. Core EBITDA grew 22 percent to ₹2,240 crore, with margin at 8.3 percent. Profit after tax increased 82 percent to ₹1,031 crore. The company also reported a sharp improvement in capital efficiency, with ROCE at 21.4 percent and net debt down to ₹915 crore.

The tone of the year was consistent with the company’s stated focus on disciplined growth. Management highlighted that FY26 performance was in line with guidance, while also pointing to further scope for working capital improvement from collections in the Water business. Alongside the operating performance, FY26 included several exceptional items, notably an impairment of the Fasttel (Brazil) investment and a gain on sale of the Vindhyachal road asset.

What drove the FY26 jump in scale

Growth was broad-based, with Transmission and Distribution and Buildings and Factories contributing most of the expansion in absolute revenue. Consolidated segment revenue for FY26 shows T&D at ₹12,501 crore and B&F at ₹6,958 crore. Oil and Gas grew strongly to ₹2,723 crore, driven by execution in a Saudi project as stated in the presentation. Urban Infra revenue increased to ₹1,158 crore on the back of metro project execution.

Water was the key exception. FY26 revenue for Water declined to ₹2,112 crore, and the presentation attributes the performance to lower collections in 11JM projects. While this is a collections-linked explanation rather than an end-demand issue, it matters because the company’s larger narrative for the year is anchored on improving working capital and operating cash flow.

FY26 financial summary

A key point in the quarter was the rise in profitability. In Q4 FY26, consolidated revenue grew 10 percent year on year, while core EBITDA grew 19 percent. PBT before exceptional items rose 50 percent to ₹445 crore. PBT after exceptional items was ₹511 crore.

Segment performance and mix

The FY26 segment mix shows that KPIL remains anchored in T&D and civil EPC, with increasing contribution from Oil and Gas and Urban Infra.

Within T&D, the company pointed to strong execution and healthy backlog, along with major order wins across India, Africa, the Middle East and South America. It also provided specific subsidiary references, including LMG (Sweden) reporting FY26 revenue of ₹3,023 crore and an order book of ₹3,258 crore as of 31 March 2026. It stated that all legacy projects in Fasttel (Brazil) were closed, with FY26 revenue of ₹358 crore from the entity.

In B&F, the company reported an all-time high revenue and highlighted large order wins, including its single largest housing development order for 14 million square feet. Nearly 50 percent of the B&F portfolio is described as design-build.

Better balance sheet discipline, but exceptional items remain important

One of the most material changes in FY26 is the balance sheet trajectory. Net debt reduced to ₹915 crore as of 31 March 2026, versus ₹1,953 crore in Q4 FY25 on a consolidated basis. Net working capital days improved to 75 days from 79 days in FY25.

The presentation also emphasizes portfolio rationalization actions that align with deleveraging. It states that the divestment of the Vindhyachal road asset and the Indore real estate project was completed during FY26 as guided. However, exceptional items also show the cost of cleaning up legacy exposures. On a consolidated basis, exceptional items include an impairment provision for Fasttel (Brazil) and a gain on sale of Vindhyachal Expressway Private Limited, along with a provision for new labour codes. The presence of both gains and write-downs makes it important to track underlying profitability, which the company reports separately as PBT before exceptional items.

Orders, geography, and visibility into FY27

Order momentum remained strong. FY26 order inflows were ₹26,400 crore, led by T&D at 49 percent and B&F at 43 percent. The consolidated order book stood at ₹65,457 crore as of 31 March 2026, with 61 percent domestic and 39 percent international.

Geographically, the order book split is disclosed as India at 61 percent, Africa 12 percent, Americas 11 percent, Middle East 9 percent, Europe 5 percent, and Rest of Asia 2 percent. The company also stated it had received new orders of ₹1,833 crore till date in FY27 and was L1 in projects around ₹3,200 crore.

Capability build-out and operating priorities

KPIL positions its growth over the last five years as a combination of scale and capability-building. It highlights in-house design and engineering capability through a center of excellence with 550 plus people, integrated EPC offerings, and an owned equipment fleet supported by capex. The company reported FY26 capex of ₹917 crore and gross block of ₹4,845 crore.

Alongside, the operating message is focused on profitability and cash. The presentation explicitly states an unrelenting focus on improving margins and operating cash flows, scaling operational excellence, and disciplined capital allocation with continued shareholder returns. It also notes that it has received the TPM Excellence Award by the Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance, positioning it as an external validation of operational discipline.

The investor takeaway

FY26 was a year where KPIL combined growth with improvement in profitability and balance sheet strength. Consolidated revenue and EBITDA both grew 22 percent, while PAT rose 82 percent and ROCE reached 21.4 percent. The company also reduced net debt materially and improved working capital days.

For investors, the core areas to monitor next are the sustainability of margin improvement, the pace of cash conversion in relation to EBITDA, and whether Water collections normalize as indicated. With a ₹65,457 crore order book and disclosed early FY27 order wins and L1 positions, KPIL enters FY27 with visibility. The clean-up of legacy Brazil exposure and completion of asset monetization suggest a sharper focus on core EPC execution and returns.