/** blogpostTitle: Sanghvi Movers Q1 FY27: Growth, a Margin Dip, and an Aggressive Capex Year */

Sanghvi Movers Q1 FY27: Growth, a Margin Dip, and an Aggressive Capex Year

Sanghvi Movers Limited closed Q1 FY27 with a sharp jump in scale. Consolidated revenue from operations rose to 380 crore versus 273 crore in Q1 FY26, while total income increased to 393 crore from 281 crore, a 40% year-on-year rise. EBITDA came in at 139 crore, up 30%, and profit after tax was 65 crore, also up 30%. Cash profit was steady at 104 crore.

But the more important takeaway from the quarter was not only growth. It was how management explained the margin softness, and how the company is positioning itself as a “capital allocator” as it expands across India and the Middle East while building an asset-light renewables execution arm.

A group that is no longer only India cranes

The company now describes itself as an integrated heavy-lift and infrastructure services group with five group entities spanning crane rentals, renewables execution, and international operations. The operating footprint highlighted in the presentation includes India, Saudi Arabia, Botswana, and Qatar.

In Q1 FY27, the company disclosed a group order book of 1,253 crore as on 24 July 2026. It also disclosed a consolidated inquiry pipeline of 5,641 crore, split across India crane rental, GCC crane rental and renewables engineering and construction.

This pipeline visibility is critical because FY27 is a capex-heavy year. Management made it clear that growth for the year is tied to planned fleet additions and execution capacity.

Segment mix: cranes are still the engine, renewables is the scale lever

On a revenue-from-operations basis, the quarter’s mix was disclosed as 60% from crane rentals, 37% from renewables E&C and 3% from project EPC.

Cranes remain the higher-margin, capital-intensive core. Renewables E&C is positioned as an asset-light complement. Management repeatedly emphasised that it is working-capital driven and intended to improve blended returns on capital, even if it lowers the reported EBITDA margin.

The company also gave operational KPI disclosure by business line. It reported a total crane fleet of 492 cranes at a group level, split as 443 in India and Botswana and 49 in GCC.

Financial summary (consolidated)

The year-on-year picture is strong. The sequential picture is what prompted questions on margins, working capital, and the pace of capex deployment.

Margin drop: management points to ECL, forex, incentives, and deliberate mix choices

While revenue rose sequentially, EBITDA fell from 143 crore in Q4 FY26 to 139 crore in Q1 FY27 and EBITDA margin declined to 35% from 40%.

Management addressed this directly. The CFO explained that the core crane rental EBITDA margin moved from 53% in FY26 to 47% in Q1 FY27. The management attributed the decline to four factors:

First, higher expected credit loss provision due to ageing of receivables, quantified at around 6.2 crore, accounting for about two percentage points of margin impact. Management said it expects ECL to normalise over the course of FY27 as collections improve.

Second, forex mark-to-market restatement on loans, around 1.4 crore, described as a non-cash accounting entry.

Third, a one-time incentive paid to frontline workers and the senior management team, linked to performance milestones.

Fourth, a change in revenue mix. The company said it served incremental demand through higher ancillary equipment hiring and through cross-rental of cranes instead of fresh capex. This carries a lower percentage margin but consumes no capital, and management framed it as a deliberate capital allocation choice.

This framing matters. The company is effectively telling investors to look beyond a single-quarter margin percentage and focus on return on capital and cash generation as it expands.

Working capital and receivables: stable in India, stretched in GCC

The group disclosed DSO at 116 days in Q1 FY27. It also disclosed DSO by line of business: 124 days for India crane rental, 98 days for renewables E&C, and 201 days for GCC.

Management linked the GCC DSO stretch to disruption in West Asia and said collections improved in July after the quarter ended. Even with the explanation, the number is high and it is a key execution variable for the overseas growth plan.

Middle East: high yield, but still in the ramp-up phase

The company’s Middle East thesis is built on yield. In Q1 FY27, it disclosed utilisation of 86% in GCC and yield of 4.10%, versus India and Botswana yield of 2.29%.

GCC total income was disclosed at 19 crore in Q1 FY27 with an EBITDA margin of 23%. Management stated that Saudi operations delivered cumulative EBITDA-positive performance, described as an important milestone within the first year.

The company also disclosed a 0-24 month KSA inquiry pipeline visibility of about 14 to 38 million dollars in the presentation, with sector diversification across infrastructure, housing and entertainment, industry, giga projects, oil and gas, and mining.

On the call, management said the investment thesis for Saudi is not a response to India, but a standalone opportunity. It cited demand driven by Vision 2030 projects and large-scale spending in the region.

Renewables E&C: scaling fast, with margin expectations clarified

Sangreen Future Renewables is positioned as a strategic diversification. The presentation disclosed 18+ GW of wind track record, 2+ GW current order book and 5 GW enquiry pipeline in the renewables section, while the operating KPI table quantified renewables inquiry pipeline at 4,656 crore and order book at 686 crore.

In Q1 FY27, renewables E&C total income was disclosed at 218 crore with an EBITDA margin of 14% in the KPI table. Management also clarified on the call that segment margins can look higher before allocation of unallocated expenses. With allocation, management indicated a sustainable band and stated it expects the E&C business to settle around 12% to 15% going forward.

Importantly, management stressed that the renewables business does not require heavy capex like the crane fleet. The capex pool remains focused on cranes.

FY27 capex: 652 crore pool, most of it still to be deployed

The company disclosed a FY27 capex pool of 652 crore, consisting of 164 crore carried forward from FY26 and 487 crore approved by the Board on 20 May 2026. It capitalised 92 crore in Q1, which is 14% of the pool, leaving 560 crore pending.

The company also disclosed that 97% of the pool is revenue-generating. Management said deployment will occur primarily in the second half, subject to OEM delivery and project commissioning dates.

In the concall, management stated that it expects approximately 15% increase in revenue within FY27 because of this investment. This statement ties capex directly to near-term revenue potential and will be a key monitorable through the year.

Guidance stays in place

The company reiterated consolidated guidance disclosed in the presentation. For FY27, it guided total income of 1,400 to 1,500 crore and EBITDA of 525 to 575 crore. It also provided FY28 targets of total income of 1,800 to 1,900 crore and EBITDA of 650 to 700 crore.

It also disclosed leverage guidance, with a FY27 debt-to-equity ceiling of 0.72 and reported 0.54 in Q1 FY27. Management added that the 0.72 guidance is gross and referenced a treasury surplus of over 300 crore.

What to track from here

Q1 FY27 was a strong growth quarter, supported by high utilisation and a rising order book. The margin dip was explained through quantified drivers, including ECL provisions, forex MTM, incentives, and mix shift toward capital-light revenue.

For investors, the next few quarters will likely revolve around three execution points.

First, capex delivery and deployment. With 560 crore still pending, the timing of OEM deliveries and the ramp-up of utilisation on new assets will shape the FY27 outcome.

Second, collections, especially in GCC. A 201-day DSO is a clear operational risk, even if management expects improvement.

Third, scaling renewables without execution slip-ups. Management acknowledged that a portion of order book can shift due to project delays and percentage-of-completion accounting.

The quarter’s theme, therefore, is not simply growth. It is a company attempting to balance three growth engines and choosing to frame performance through returns and capital allocation rather than only headline margins.