Sai Life Sciences more than doubles half-year capital spending

Sai Life Sciences Limited spent Rs 561.29 crore on capital assets in the six months ended 30 September 2026, more than twice the Rs 247.61 crore spent a year earlier, while current borrowings rose to Rs 417.94 crore and cash balances fell to Rs 30.92 crore.

How much did Sai Life Sciences spend on capital assets?

Sai Life Sciences spent Rs 561.29 crore on purchases of property, plant and equipment, other intangible assets, capital work-in-progress, right-of-use assets, intangible assets under development, capital advances and capital creditors during the six months ended 30 September 2026. This was Rs 313.68 crore higher than the Rs 247.61 crore recorded in the corresponding six months of 2025, an increase of about 127%.

The balance sheet shows the asset build-up alongside that spending. Property, plant and equipment increased to Rs 1,740.59 crore at 30 September 2026 from Rs 1,534.41 crore at 31 March 2026. Capital work-in-progress, or CWIP, rose more sharply to Rs 559.60 crore from Rs 270.45 crore, meaning a substantial portion of the asset additions remained under construction rather than in completed fixed assets.

Sai Life Sciences operates in one reported segment, contract research, development and manufacturing services, or CRDMO. The filing therefore does not allocate the Rs 561.29 crore half-year spending across research, development or manufacturing, and it does not name individual projects, locations, capacity additions or completion dates.

How is Sai Life Sciences funding the expansion?

Sai Life Sciences funded part of the investment through borrowings, with net cash generated from financing activities of Rs 312.10 crore during the six months ended 30 September 2026, compared with Rs 31.83 crore a year earlier. The financing cash flow included Rs 308.32 crore of net proceeds from current borrowings and Rs 51.05 crore of proceeds from non-current borrowings, partly offset by Rs 6.25 crore of non-current borrowing repayments and lease and interest payments.

Current borrowings on the consolidated balance sheet increased to Rs 417.94 crore at 30 September 2026 from Rs 74.62 crore at 31 March 2026. Non-current borrowings rose to Rs 30.31 crore from Rs 20.50 crore. Together, reported borrowings increased by Rs 353.13 crore to Rs 448.25 crore, although the cash-flow statement reports proceeds and repayments rather than a debt-instrument reconciliation.

Equity contributed a smaller amount to financing cash flows. Proceeds from the issue of equity shares were Rs 9.73 crore in the six-month period, compared with Rs 8.97 crore in the prior-year half. Sai Life Sciences allotted 506,782 equity shares in the quarter ended 30 June 2026 and 132,200 shares in the quarter ended 30 September 2026 after eligible employees exercised stock options.

What happened to Sai Life Sciences' cash and operating cash flow?

Sai Life Sciences ended 30 September 2026 with cash and cash equivalents of Rs 30.92 crore, down from Rs 81.91 crore at 31 March 2026. Net cash used in investing activities was Rs 553.15 crore, compared with Rs 10.54 crore in the six months ended 30 September 2025, principally reflecting the Rs 561.29 crore capital-asset purchase line.

Operating activities generated Rs 190.13 crore of net cash in the latest half year, more than double the Rs 92.84 crore generated in the comparable 2025 period. Profit before tax increased to Rs 229.25 crore from Rs 192.80 crore, while depreciation and amortisation rose to Rs 94.07 crore from Rs 77.47 crore. Higher inventories absorbed Rs 91.08 crore of cash, compared with Rs 3.36 crore in the earlier period.

Operating cash flow of Rs 190.13 crore and financing inflows of Rs 312.10 crore did not fully offset investing outflows of Rs 553.15 crore. Cash therefore declined by Rs 50.92 crore before a Rs 0.08 crore foreign-exchange effect. Cash in current bank accounts stood at Rs 23.34 crore and cash-credit account balances were Rs 7.56 crore at 30 September 2026.

What does Sai Life Sciences' balance sheet show about the asset build-up?

Sai Life Sciences reported total assets of Rs 4,202.27 crore at 30 September 2026, up from Rs 3,626.14 crore at 31 March 2026. Non-current assets drove the increase, rising by Rs 546.13 crore to Rs 2,761.74 crore, while current assets rose by Rs 30.00 crore to Rs 1,440.53 crore.

The Rs 289.15 crore increase in CWIP exceeded the Rs 206.17 crore rise in property, plant and equipment. Based on the reported balance-sheet categories, this indicates that much of the half-year asset addition had not yet been capitalised as completed property, plant or equipment by 30 September 2026. The filing does not disclose when CWIP projects will be commissioned or the revenue expected from them.

Inventories rose to Rs 242.05 crore from Rs 150.97 crore, an increase of Rs 91.08 crore that corresponds with the inventory outflow in operating cash flow. Trade receivables declined to Rs 342.22 crore from Rs 373.62 crore, releasing Rs 19.78 crore of cash. Other current assets nevertheless increased by Rs 60.79 crore to Rs 684.90 crore.

Did earnings grow alongside Sai Life Sciences' investment programme?

Yes. Sai Life Sciences reported consolidated revenue from operations of Rs 1,212.87 crore for the six months ended 30 September 2026, up from Rs 1,033.89 crore in the comparable prior-year period. Profit after tax rose to Rs 171.60 crore from Rs 144.30 crore, while basic earnings per share, not annualised, increased to Rs 8.09 from Rs 6.91.

Finance costs declined to Rs 18.58 crore from Rs 21.72 crore despite the higher period-end borrowing balance. Depreciation and amortisation increased by Rs 16.60 crore to Rs 94.07 crore, alongside the larger asset base. Total equity increased to Rs 2,688.06 crore from Rs 2,483.69 crore, comprising Rs 21.24 crore of equity share capital and Rs 2,666.81 crore of other equity at 30 September 2026.

The interim consolidated results were reviewed by Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP, which issued an unmodified conclusion on 5 November 2026. The results cover Sai Life Sciences and its three wholly owned subsidiaries in the United States, Germany and India.

Conclusion

Sai Life Sciences combined a Rs 561.29 crore half-year investment programme with Rs 312.10 crore of net financing cash generation and Rs 190.13 crore of operating cash inflow. The balance sheet recorded a Rs 289.15 crore rise in CWIP, a Rs 343.32 crore increase in current borrowings and a Rs 50.92 crore reduction in cash, showing the immediate funding and asset-building effects of the programme.

The next disclosed matter to watch is the movement of Rs 559.60 crore of CWIP into completed property, plant and equipment, because the filing provides no commissioning dates or project targets. Investors can also track whether operating cash generation, which rose to Rs 190.13 crore in the half year, continues to fund investment alongside the Rs 448.25 crore of reported borrowings.