Max Estates operating cash flow turns positive in H1 2026

Max Estates Limited generated Rs 72.6113 crore of net operating cash in the half year ended September 30, 2026, compared with a Rs 304.4847 crore outflow a year earlier, despite a Rs 1,082.697 crore increase in inventories. Higher trade payables and other liabilities supplied Rs 1,264.3079 crore of working-capital inflows.

How did Max Estates turn operating cash flow positive?

Max Estates turned operating-cash-flow positive because net working-capital inflows of Rs 65.728 crore outweighed a lower operating profit before working-capital changes. Cash generated from operations was Rs 84.9034 crore in the half year ended September 30, 2026, against cash used in operations of Rs 276.7738 crore in the corresponding 2025 period.

Profit before tax was Rs 18.5389 crore, down from Rs 28.4653 crore a year earlier. Depreciation and amortisation of Rs 16.3849 crore, employee stock-option expense of Rs 4.8495 crore and finance costs other than lease liabilities of Rs 31.4216 crore were among the adjustments, while interest income of Rs 41.7091 crore reduced the reconciliation under the indirect cash-flow method.

Income tax paid, net of refunds, declined to Rs 12.2921 crore from Rs 27.7109 crore. The shift from a cash outflow to an inflow therefore came principally from working capital: operating profit before working-capital changes fell by Rs 11.7688 crore, whereas the net working-capital movement improved by Rs 373.446 crore.

What offset Max Estates’ inventory build?

Max Estates’ inventory increase of Rs 1,082.697 crore was more than offset by Rs 957.9421 crore from other current and non-current liabilities and Rs 306.3659 crore from trade payables and other payables. Together, those liability movements added Rs 1,264.3079 crore of cash during the half year.

The cash-flow statement also recorded Rs 114.7978 crore absorbed by other current and non-current assets and Rs 1.0852 crore absorbed by trade receivables. Those asset movements, combined with the inventory increase, totalled Rs 1,198.5798 crore, leaving a Rs 65.728 crore net working-capital inflow, versus a Rs 307.718 crore outflow in the prior-year half.

Closing inventories stood at Rs 8,009.5603 crore on September 30, 2026, compared with Rs 6,888.0597 crore on March 31, 2026, a balance-sheet increase of Rs 1,121.5006 crore. The filing reports the cash-flow inventory movement separately under the indirect method, while the balance sheet presents opening and closing positions.

Max Estates reports a single segment, real estate development and related activities, so the filing does not split inventory by project or line of business. It states that land and construction cost associated with Boulevard Projects Private Limited’s mixed-use plot in NOIDA is presented as inventory pending final determination of residential and commercial area.

How did Max Estates’ balance sheet change by September 2026?

Max Estates’ total assets increased by Rs 1,606.3454 crore to Rs 14,043.5494 crore at September 30, 2026, while total liabilities rose by Rs 1,557.2878 crore to Rs 10,833.3131 crore. Total equity increased by Rs 49.0576 crore to Rs 3,210.2363 crore from March 31, 2026.

Inventories accounted for Rs 1,121.5006 crore of the asset increase, while investment properties rose by Rs 186.8158 crore to Rs 2,692.5132 crore. Other current financial assets increased by Rs 455.7836 crore to Rs 814.5272 crore, whereas cash and cash equivalents fell by Rs 57.1031 crore to Rs 147.7808 crore.

Aggregate borrowings rose by Rs 275.8519 crore to Rs 2,655.1689 crore. Non-current borrowings increased by Rs 160.5759 crore to Rs 2,467.1043 crore, while current borrowings increased by Rs 115.276 crore to Rs 188.0646 crore; trade payables to creditors other than micro and small enterprises also increased across current and non-current liabilities.

Why did Max Estates’ cash balance decline despite the operating inflow?

Max Estates’ cash and cash equivalents fell by Rs 57.1031 crore to Rs 147.7808 crore because investing activities used Rs 318.3664 crore, exceeding the combined Rs 261.2633 crore generated by operating and financing activities. The comparable prior-year half recorded a Rs 18.3537 crore decrease in cash and cash equivalents.

Investing outflow was Rs 318.3664 crore, compared with Rs 218.0971 crore a year earlier. Max Estates spent Rs 171.0986 crore on property, plant and equipment, including investment property, intangible assets, capital work in progress and capital advances, and reported a Rs 198.9239 crore net movement in deposits.

Purchases of current investments totalled Rs 931.6006 crore and sales totalled Rs 966.5541 crore, producing a net inflow from those transactions. Financing activities provided Rs 188.652 crore, down from Rs 504.2281 crore, as Rs 272.9873 crore of long-term borrowing proceeds and Rs 127.9458 crore of short-term borrowing proceeds were partly offset by repayments and Rs 71.5075 crore of interest paid.

Conclusion

Max Estates moved from a Rs 304.4847 crore operating-cash outflow in the half year ended September 30, 2025 to a Rs 72.6113 crore inflow in the half year ended September 30, 2026. The reversal occurred while inventory absorbed Rs 1,082.697 crore of cash because increases in payables and other liabilities provided Rs 1,264.3079 crore.

The next disclosed matter to watch is the proposed acquisition of nine land-owning companies holding an approximately 84.7-acre platform in Najafgarh, Delhi, for which BSE and NSE in-principle approvals were awaited after shareholder approval on September 24, 2026. Max Estates also disclosed a proposed capital-light joint development agreement for about 9.76 acres in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, which remains subject to due diligence, approvals and execution and had no recognised impact in the September 2026 results.