Prataap Snacks Limited posts quarterly loss as costs rise

Prataap Snacks Limited reported a standalone net loss of Rs 2.50 crore for the quarter ended 30 September 2026, compared with a Rs 4.64 crore profit a year earlier. Total income rose 25.7% to Rs 545.19 crore, but total expenses increased 28.4% to Rs 548.70 crore, led by higher material, employee and other costs.

Why did Prataap Snacks report a September-quarter loss?

Prataap Snacks reported a loss because Rs 545.19 crore of total income did not cover Rs 548.70 crore of total expenses in the quarter ended 30 September 2026. The company recorded a loss before tax of Rs 3.51 crore, against a profit before tax of Rs 7.19 crore in the quarter ended 30 September 2025, and a net loss of Rs 2.50 crore against a prior-year profit of Rs 4.64 crore.

The increase in costs extended across several lines of the standalone statement. Cost of materials consumed rose by Rs 83.18 crore year on year to Rs 396.65 crore, employee benefits expense increased by Rs 5.25 crore to Rs 24.04 crore, and other expenses rose by Rs 16.04 crore to Rs 102.73 crore. Purchases of stock-in-trade increased to Rs 14.34 crore from Rs 2.43 crore.

Prataap Snacks reported basic and diluted loss per share of Rs 1.05 for the September 2026 quarter, compared with earnings per share of Rs 1.94 in the year-earlier period. The September 2025 result included a Rs 77.17 lakh insurance claim presented as an exceptional item, relating to a 6 June 2023 fire at a warehouse of a co-manufacturing plant in Hoogly, West Bengal. The September 2026 statement recorded no exceptional item.

How did Prataap Snacks revenue and expenses change year on year?

Prataap Snacks grew sales and income in the September quarter, but expenses increased faster than revenue. Sales or income from operations rose 25.9% to Rs 540.95 crore from Rs 429.79 crore, while total income, which includes other operating income and other income, increased 25.7% from Rs 433.75 crore. Total expenses rose from Rs 427.33 crore to Rs 548.70 crore.

Prataap Snacks also moved from a Rs 2.47 crore net profit in the quarter ended 30 June 2026 to the Rs 2.50 crore loss in the September quarter. Sales increased from Rs 490.43 crore in June to Rs 540.95 crore in September, while materials cost rose from Rs 354.45 crore to Rs 396.65 crore and other expenses increased from Rs 91.52 crore to Rs 102.73 crore.

Prataap Snacks has identified Snacks Food as its sole reportable segment under Indian Accounting Standard 108, which governs operating-segment reporting. As a result, the filing provides no separate revenue or profit disclosure by product, geography, brand or other operating division for the quarter ended 30 September 2026. The stated income and expense movements apply to the single Snacks Food segment.

What do Prataap Snacks half-year results show?

Prataap Snacks posted a standalone net loss of Rs 3.23 lakh for the half-year ended 30 September 2026, reversing a Rs 5.33 crore profit in the corresponding half-year of 2025. Total income increased to Rs 1,039.32 crore from Rs 847.16 crore, but total expenses increased to Rs 1,039.48 crore from Rs 839.70 crore. Loss before tax was Rs 15.58 lakh, compared with a Rs 8.23 crore profit before tax a year earlier.

Materials remained the largest expense at Rs 751.09 crore for the six months, up from Rs 602.13 crore in the prior-year period. Employee benefits expense increased to Rs 46.19 crore from Rs 37.91 crore, while other expenses rose to Rs 194.24 crore from Rs 166.63 crore. Finance cost declined to Rs 2.20 crore from Rs 4.04 crore, and depreciation and amortisation decreased to Rs 32.80 crore from Rs 33.69 crore.

The earlier half-year included the Rs 77.17 lakh insurance claim as an exceptional item, which affected comparison with the period ended 30 September 2026. Prataap Snacks said the claim concerned finished-goods inventory damaged in the June 2023 fire. In the latest half-year, total comprehensive income was Rs 22.75 lakh, compared with Rs 5.58 crore in the comparable 2025 period.

How did Prataap Snacks working capital and cash flows change?

Prataap Snacks generated Rs 23.57 crore of net operating cash flow in the half-year ended 30 September 2026, down from Rs 26.44 crore in the corresponding 2025 period. Operating profit before working-capital changes declined to Rs 31.58 crore from Rs 41.72 crore. Inventory absorbed Rs 21.88 crore of cash, compared with a Rs 17.59 crore cash release a year earlier.

Trade receivables used Rs 10.15 crore of cash during the latest half-year, while trade payables supplied Rs 26.55 crore. At 30 September 2026, inventory stood at Rs 151.37 crore, up from Rs 129.66 crore at 31 March 2026, and trade receivables rose to Rs 32.92 crore from Rs 23.05 crore. Current borrowings increased to Rs 29 crore from Rs 4 crore over the same balance-sheet dates.

Prataap Snacks ended the half-year with cash and cash equivalents of Rs 44.24 crore, compared with Rs 32.88 crore at the start of the period. Financing activities generated Rs 9.46 crore, against an outflow of Rs 41.21 crore a year earlier, after Rs 25 crore of borrowing proceeds and Rs 2 crore of repayments. Investing activities used Rs 21.68 crore, compared with an inflow of Rs 31.96 crore in the prior-year half-year.

What was Prataap Snacks acquisition during the quarter?

Prataap Snacks acquired 100% of RLOP Food Processing Private Limited during the quarter ended 30 September 2026 for Rs 15.45 crore. The entity became a wholly owned subsidiary, and the standalone balance sheet included investments of Rs 15.45 crore at 30 September 2026. The consolidated review report states that RLOP was acquired with effect from 25 August 2026.

Prataap Snacks also provided loans aggregating Rs 23.59 crore to RLOP at 6% interest a year. According to the filing, RLOP used the proceeds to repay its existing borrowings and liabilities. The standalone cash-flow statement records the Rs 15.45 crore acquisition and the Rs 23.59 crore loan within investing activities for the half-year ended 30 September 2026.

The limited review report on the standalone results was dated 30 October 2026 and gave an unmodified conclusion. The auditor noted that the Prataap Snacks Employee Welfare Trust had total assets of Rs 16.01 crore at 30 September 2026 and was not material to the company. The consolidated review separately covered RLOP, whose reported total assets before consolidation adjustments were Rs 20.70 crore at that date.

Conclusion

Prataap Snacks’ September 2026 standalone result shows revenue growth did not offset the faster rise in costs. Total income increased by Rs 111.44 crore from the prior-year quarter, while total expenses increased by Rs 121.37 crore, producing a Rs 2.50 crore net loss instead of the Rs 4.64 crore profit reported a year earlier. The six-month result was near break-even after a Rs 3.23 lakh net loss.

The next disclosures will show the financial effect of the 25 August 2026 acquisition of RLOP and the Rs 23.59 crore loan extended to that subsidiary. They will also indicate whether inventory, which rose by Rs 21.71 crore from 31 March 2026 to 30 September 2026, and higher current borrowings continue to affect cash generation and costs.