Orient Cables cash reaches Rs 182.32 crore after financing

Orient Cables (India) Limited ended September 30, 2026 with standalone cash and cash equivalents of Rs 182.32 crore, up from Rs 12.89 crore at March 31, 2026, after Rs 193.39 crore of financing inflows. Inventory and trade and other receivables together used Rs 201.78 crore of cash during the six-month period.

Why did Orient Cables' cash balance rise so sharply?

Orient Cables' standalone cash balance increased by Rs 169.30 crore in the six months ended September 30, 2026 because financing activities generated Rs 193.39 crore, exceeding cash used in investing activities and the limited cash generated from operations. Cash and cash equivalents closed at Rs 182.32 crore, compared with Rs 12.89 crore at the beginning of the period.

The largest disclosed financing line was Rs 165.60 crore of proceeds from the public issue or escrow account. The cash-flow statement also recorded Rs 29.86 crore of proceeds from long-term borrowings, Rs 12.81 crore from short-term borrowings and Rs 1.48 crore from supplier-finance arrangements. These inflows were partly offset by Rs 15.27 crore of interest paid and Rs 1.10 crore of lease principal and interest payments.

The filing states that Orient Cables' shares were listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Limited and BSE Limited on October 5, 2026, after the September 30 reporting date. It also discloses a pre-initial public offering placement of 16,54,407 equity shares at Rs 272 each for Rs 45.00 crore, a fresh-issue component of Rs 320 crore and total offer expenses of Rs 42.53 crore.

How much operating cash did Orient Cables generate in the first half?

Orient Cables generated Rs 9.34 crore of standalone net cash from operating activities in the half year ended September 30, 2026, down from Rs 14.41 crore in the corresponding 2025 period. The decline came despite profit before tax increasing to Rs 97.62 crore from Rs 33.53 crore in the prior-year half.

Operating cash flow before working-capital changes rose to Rs 122.58 crore from Rs 40.81 crore a year earlier. Depreciation and amortisation added Rs 8.93 crore and finance cost added Rs 15.87 crore in the 2026 half year. Changes in operating assets and liabilities then reduced the conversion of that pre-working-capital figure into cash generated from operations.

Net cash generated from operations before tax was Rs 14.22 crore, compared with Rs 24.83 crore in the half year ended September 30, 2025. After net income taxes paid of Rs 4.88 crore, standalone operating cash was Rs 9.34 crore. The consolidated cash-flow statement reported Rs 13.43 crore of operating cash and Rs 18.32 crore of cash generated from operations before tax for the same 2026 period.

How did inventory and receivables affect Orient Cables' cash flow?

Orient Cables used Rs 117.26 crore of cash for inventories and Rs 84.51 crore for trade and other receivables during the half year ended September 30, 2026. Together, those working-capital movements absorbed Rs 201.78 crore, compared with a combined Rs 6.17 crore cash inflow from the two lines in the prior-year half.

The inventory movement differed from the Rs 3.09 crore outflow in the half year ended September 30, 2025. Trade and other receivables also reversed from a Rs 9.26 crore cash inflow in the 2025 period to an Rs 84.51 crore outflow in 2026. A Rs 92.53 crore cash inflow from trade payables and other current liabilities partly offset the larger uses of cash.

The balance sheet shows standalone inventories at Rs 229.45 crore on September 30, 2026, more than double Rs 112.18 crore at March 31, 2026. Trade receivables rose to Rs 255.20 crore from Rs 218.18 crore over the same six months, while payables to creditors other than micro and small enterprises increased to Rs 147.60 crore from Rs 75.14 crore.

What changed in Orient Cables' liquidity and balance sheet?

Orient Cables' standalone current assets increased to Rs 880.48 crore at September 30, 2026 from Rs 384.88 crore at March 31, 2026, while current liabilities rose to Rs 430.99 crore from Rs 303.85 crore. The increase in current assets included higher cash, inventories, receivables and other financial assets.

Current other financial assets increased to Rs 180.94 crore from Rs 23.67 crore, while loans rose to Rs 13.76 crore from Rs 0.81 crore. Other current assets increased to Rs 10.34 crore from Rs 8.89 crore. The filing does not separately explain each balance-sheet movement beyond the cash-flow classifications and the stated operating business.

Total standalone equity rose to Rs 605.37 crore from Rs 236.33 crore, including other equity of Rs 593.99 crore at September 30, 2026. Non-current borrowings increased to Rs 65.59 crore from Rs 35.73 crore and current borrowings rose to Rs 211.75 crore from Rs 197.45 crore. Total assets reached Rs 1,112.70 crore, compared with Rs 579.70 crore at March 31, 2026.

What business activities are linked to Orient Cables' working capital?

Orient Cables has one reportable segment covering cables and allied products, including networking cables, power cables, optical fibre cables, wire and cable harness assemblies, electric-vehicle charging guns and cable assemblies. The company therefore did not provide a segment-level split of inventory, receivables, revenue or operating cash flow under Indian Accounting Standard 108.

Standalone revenue from operations for the half year ended September 30, 2026 was Rs 1,017.99 crore, compared with Rs 501.79 crore in the corresponding prior-year period. The increase coincided with the Rs 117.26 crore inventory cash outflow and the Rs 84.51 crore receivables cash outflow, although the filing does not identify product-level drivers for these working-capital movements.

On a consolidated basis, cash and cash equivalents were Rs 182.42 crore at September 30, 2026, slightly above the standalone Rs 182.32 crore. Consolidated inventory was Rs 229.99 crore and consolidated trade receivables were Rs 249.18 crore. The group included OCL Greentech Private Limited as a subsidiary and Corelink Cable Technology Private Limited as a joint venture from June 10, 2026.

Conclusion

Orient Cables ended September 30, 2026 with substantially higher cash and equity than at March 31, supported by Rs 193.39 crore of standalone financing inflows and a Rs 182.32 crore closing cash balance. However, the Rs 201.78 crore combined build-up in inventory and receivables limited first-half operating cash to Rs 9.34 crore despite Rs 97.62 crore of profit before tax.

The unresolved issue for subsequent results is whether inventory of Rs 229.45 crore and receivables of Rs 255.20 crore convert into operating cash following the October 5, 2026 listing. Orient Cables reports one operating segment, so future disclosures will not provide a separate product-category view of that conversion unless the company changes its reporting.