R. J. Shah cash drops 63% to Rs 20.48 lakh in half year

R. J. Shah & Company Limited ended the half year to 30 September 2026 with cash and cash equivalents of Rs 20.48 lakh, down 63% from Rs 55.66 lakh at 31 March 2026, after reporting Rs 139.80 lakh of net cash used in operating activities. Investing inflows partly offset the operating and financing cash uses.

Why did R. J. Shah’s cash balance fall in the half year?

R. J. Shah’s cash balance fell because cash used in operations and financing exceeded cash generated through investing activities during the half year ended 30 September 2026. Cash and cash equivalents declined by Rs 35.18 lakh, from Rs 55.66 lakh at 31 March 2026 to Rs 20.48 lakh at the September reporting date.

The cash-flow statement reported Rs 139.80 lakh of net cash used in operating activities and Rs 13.75 lakh used in financing activities. Those outflows were partly offset by Rs 1.18 crore of net cash generated from investing activities. The reported movement reconciles to the Rs 35.18 lakh reduction in cash and cash equivalents over the six-month period.

The September cash position was disclosed with R. J. Shah’s unaudited standalone financial results, which the board approved on 6 November 2026. The balance-sheet comparison is against 31 March 2026, making the movement a first-half change rather than a full-year cash result.

How did R. J. Shah’s three cash-flow categories compare?

Operating activities were R. J. Shah’s largest cash use at Rs 139.80 lakh in the half year ended 30 September 2026. Investing activities generated Rs 1.18 crore, while financing activities used Rs 13.75 lakh, leaving cash lower at the end of the period.

The investing inflow was Rs 21.43 lakh less than the operating outflow. After the additional Rs 13.75 lakh financing outflow, the company recorded the Rs 35.18 lakh overall reduction in cash. The filing therefore shows that investment-related receipts cushioned the operating outflow but did not fully cover it.

R. J. Shah reported a Rs 60,000 purchase of property, plant and equipment under investing activities. The statement also records Rs 1.19 crore of interest received, which was a disclosed component of the investing cash movement and exceeded the small capital-expenditure cash use.

Financing activities included a Rs 7 lakh repayment of loans and borrowings and a Rs 6.75 lakh dividend payment, as presented in the cash-flow statement. Together, these items correspond to the reported Rs 13.75 lakh net financing cash outflow for the six months.

Did R. J. Shah report a profit despite negative operating cash flow?

R. J. Shah reported profit after tax of Rs 20.11 lakh for the half year ended 30 September 2026 despite the Rs 139.80 lakh operating cash outflow. Profit after tax was Rs 18.37 lakh in the corresponding half year ended 30 September 2025, an increase of Rs 1.74 lakh.

Profit before tax was Rs 27.52 lakh for the September 2026 half year, compared with Rs 26.57 lakh a year earlier. The cash-flow statement begins its reconciliation with Rs 27.53 lakh of profit before tax and other comprehensive income, a Rs 10,000 difference from the results statement’s figure as presented in the filing.

Revenue from operations was Rs 1.19 crore for the half year ended 30 September 2026, versus Rs 1.24 crore in the corresponding 2025 period. This was a Rs 5.10 lakh decline, while profit after tax rose by Rs 1.74 lakh over the same comparison.

R. J. Shah stated that it has no separate reportable segments and that its entire operation relates to civil engineering construction projects. The filing consequently does not provide a segment-level explanation for the operating cash outflow or identify which project activities accounted for changes in working-capital cash flows.

What did R. J. Shah’s balance sheet show at September end?

R. J. Shah reported total current assets of Rs 4.46 crore at 30 September 2026, down from Rs 4.85 crore at 31 March 2026. The Rs 38.62 lakh fall in current assets was close in scale to the Rs 35.18 lakh decline in cash, although current assets also include inventories, receivables and other financial assets.

Total current liabilities fell to Rs 2.11 crore at 30 September 2026 from Rs 2.71 crore at the preceding 31 March. That was a reduction of Rs 60.78 lakh, while cash and cash equivalents represented Rs 20.48 lakh of the company’s current assets at the reporting date.

Non-current investments were Rs 39.42 crore at 30 September 2026, compared with Rs 39.47 crore at 31 March 2026. These investments are classified separately from cash and cash equivalents in the balance sheet, so the filing does not present them as part of the Rs 20.48 lakh cash balance.

Total assets stood at Rs 45.43 crore at 30 September 2026, compared with Rs 45.91 crore six months earlier. Total equity was Rs 43.32 crore, up from Rs 43.19 crore at 31 March 2026, while total current liabilities declined over the same period.

Conclusion

The half-year statements show a clear gap between R. J. Shah’s reported earnings and cash generation. Profit after tax increased to Rs 20.11 lakh, but operations used Rs 139.80 lakh of cash, and investing receipts of Rs 1.18 crore were insufficient to prevent the cash balance from falling to Rs 20.48 lakh.

The unresolved matter is the source of the operating cash outflow, as the filing provides cash-flow categories but no management explanation, cash target or funding plan. The next results disclosure will show whether operating cash generation changes and whether cash, current assets and current liabilities move further from their 30 September 2026 levels.