Petro Carbon cash falls despite Rs 39.04 crore operating inflow

Petro Carbon and Chemicals Limited generated Rs 39.04 crore in net operating cash during the half year ended 30 September 2026, but a Rs 47.17 crore inventory build and Rs 27.74 crore of property, plant, equipment and capital-work-in-progress spending left cash and cash equivalents Rs 1.07 crore lower at Rs 6.47 crore.

How did Petro Carbon generate Rs 39.04 crore of operating cash?

Petro Carbon generated Rs 39.04 crore of net cash from operating activities in the half year ended 30 September 2026, following Rs 43.45 crore of cash generated from operations and Rs 4.41 crore of net income-tax payments. This compared with Rs 4.51 crore of operating cash reported for the full year ended 31 March 2026, so the two disclosed periods are not like-for-like in duration.

Profit before tax was Rs 64.60 crore for the September 2026 half year, compared with Rs 33.53 crore for the full year ended March 2026. Adding back Rs 3.14 crore of depreciation and amortisation and Rs 5.51 crore of finance cost, while deducting Rs 44.96 lakh of mutual-fund redemption profit and Rs 65.75 lakh of interest income, produced operating profit before working-capital changes of Rs 72.14 crore.

Petro Carbon manufactures Calcined Petroleum Coke and reports this as its only segment. Revenue from operations was Rs 343.72 crore in the half year ended September 2026, versus Rs 576.65 crore for the year ended March 2026, while profit after tax was Rs 48.26 crore against Rs 25.40 crore in those respective reporting periods.

Why did Petro Carbon's inventory absorb Rs 47.17 crore?

Petro Carbon's inventory increase absorbed Rs 47.17 crore of cash in the half year ended 30 September 2026, reversing a Rs 44.54 crore cash release from inventories in the year ended 31 March 2026. The cash-flow statement records the movement as an increase in inventories, rather than identifying a product category or procurement reason.

The balance sheet shows inventories at Rs 153.41 crore on 30 September 2026, up from Rs 106.24 crore on 31 March 2026. That Rs 47.17 crore balance-sheet movement matches the operating cash-flow outflow and was the largest individual working-capital use reported for the half year.

Other working-capital movements partly offset the inventory absorption. Trade receivables declined by Rs 2.01 crore, loans and advances declined by Rs 5.00 crore, and trade payables increased by Rs 13.70 crore. Other current and non-current assets used Rs 38.33 lakh and other current liabilities declined by Rs 1.85 crore, reducing cash generated from operations to Rs 43.45 crore from Rs 72.14 crore before working-capital changes.

How much did Petro Carbon spend on assets and projects?

Petro Carbon spent Rs 27.74 crore net on property, plant and equipment and capital work-in-progress during the half year ended 30 September 2026. The amount was less than the Rs 61.62 crore spent on those assets in the full year ended 31 March 2026, although the filing does not split either period's cash spending by individual project.

The balance-sheet carrying value of tangible property, plant and equipment rose to Rs 165.80 crore on 30 September 2026 from Rs 162.10 crore at 31 March 2026. Capital work-in-progress increased more sharply, to Rs 76.85 crore from Rs 56.39 crore, a Rs 20.46 crore rise during the half year.

The filing says Petro Carbon is setting up an Electrically Calcined Anthracite project at Haldia with capacity of 48,000 tonnes per annum, or TPA, and expects to commission it during the year. It does not state the project's budget, the amount already spent on it, or how much of the Rs 27.74 crore asset and work-in-progress cash outflow relates to that facility.

Besides asset spending, investing cash flow included Rs 84.55 lakh of net investment in mutual funds and Rs 65.75 lakh of interest income. Together, these items resulted in net investing cash outflow of Rs 27.53 crore in the September 2026 half year, compared with Rs 63.41 crore in the full year ended March 2026.

How did Petro Carbon fund its cash requirements?

Petro Carbon reported a Rs 12.18 crore net financing cash outflow in the half year ended 30 September 2026, as a Rs 20.11 crore reduction in short-term borrowings and Rs 5.51 crore of finance-cost payment exceeded Rs 13.44 crore of net term-loan proceeds. In the year ended 31 March 2026, financing activities instead provided Rs 38.38 crore, including Rs 35.45 crore of net term-loan proceeds and Rs 19.75 crore of short-term borrowing proceeds.

At 30 September 2026, long-term borrowings stood at Rs 110.55 crore, compared with Rs 95.66 crore at 31 March 2026. Short-term borrowings declined to Rs 82.02 crore from Rs 103.58 crore over the same dates. The separate movements show a higher long-term borrowing balance alongside lower short-term borrowings, but the filing does not explain the purpose or terms of the additional long-term debt.

Cash and cash equivalents fell from Rs 7.54 crore at the beginning of the half year to Rs 6.47 crore at 30 September 2026, a net decrease of Rs 1.07 crore. The closing balance included Rs 37,000 of cash on hand and Rs 6.47 crore of bank balances, according to the cash-flow statement's disclosed components.

What does Petro Carbon's cash flow say about working capital?

Petro Carbon's September 2026 cash flow shows that operating profitability converted into Rs 39.04 crore of operating cash, but inventory accumulation absorbed more cash than any other working-capital line. The Rs 47.17 crore inventory outflow was partly balanced by the Rs 13.70 crore increase in trade payables and the Rs 5.00 crore reduction in loans and advances, rather than by an increase in receivable collections alone.

The period also combined Rs 27.53 crore of investing outflow with Rs 12.18 crore of financing outflow, which together exceeded the Rs 39.04 crore operating inflow by Rs 1.07 crore. That arithmetic explains the lower closing cash balance without attributing the outcome to factors not identified in the filing.

Conclusion

Petro Carbon's half-year cash flow was shaped by a Rs 39.04 crore operating inflow, a Rs 47.17 crore inventory build and Rs 27.74 crore of spending on property, plant, equipment and capital work-in-progress. Receivables, loans and advances, and trade payables provided partial working-capital offsets, while reductions in short-term borrowings and finance-cost payments contributed to a Rs 12.18 crore financing outflow.

The next disclosed item to watch is the planned commissioning during the year of the 48,000 TPA Electrically Calcined Anthracite project at Haldia. Subsequent filings may show whether capital work-in-progress, which stood at Rs 76.85 crore on 30 September 2026, changes as the project approaches commissioning and whether inventory levels move from the Rs 153.41 crore reported at that date.