Sanstar first-half pre-tax profit rises to Rs 20.54 crore

Sanstar Limited reported standalone profit before tax of Rs 20.54 crore for the half year ended September 30, 2026, compared with Rs 15 lakh a year earlier. Net profit rose to Rs 14.08 crore from Rs 28 lakh, while the board approved the unaudited results on November 5, 2026.

What did Sanstar report for the first half ended September 2026?

Sanstar reported a Rs 20.39 crore year-on-year increase in profit before tax for the half year ended September 30, 2026. Profit before tax increased from Rs 15 lakh in the half year ended September 30, 2025 to Rs 20.54 crore, while net profit increased by Rs 13.80 crore from Rs 28 lakh to Rs 14.08 crore.

The results are standalone results covering Sanstar's single operating segment of manufacturing and trading of commodities. The board approved the unaudited quarterly and half-yearly results on November 5, 2026, after the audit committee reviewed and recommended them. S. C. Bapna & Associates issued an unmodified limited-review conclusion on the standalone financial results.

The September 2026 half-year profit before tax was compared with Rs 38.44 crore reported for the year ended March 31, 2026. The filing does not provide management guidance for the financial year ending March 31, 2027, so it does not state whether the September-half result represents a full-year target or forecast.

How did Sanstar's quarterly pre-tax profit change?

Sanstar reported profit before tax of Rs 7.99 crore in the quarter ended September 30, 2026, after Rs 12.55 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2026. The September-quarter figure was Rs 4.56 crore lower sequentially, and the two quarterly amounts totalled Rs 20.54 crore for the first half.

Against the quarter ended September 30, 2025, Sanstar's pre-tax profit increased from Rs 52 lakh to Rs 7.99 crore. The half-year comparison shows profit before tax rising from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 20.54 crore, incorporating the results for both the June and September quarters in each period.

Sanstar did not provide a narrative explanation of the quarterly change or disclose separate product or geography segments. It reports one operating segment under Indian Accounting Standard 108, or Ind AS 108, covering manufacturing and trading of commodities, so the filing does not identify a specific product-level source of the profit movement.

What do Sanstar's cost and cash-flow lines show?

Sanstar's depreciation and amortisation expense rose to Rs 10.66 crore in the half year ended September 2026 from Rs 4.74 crore a year earlier, while finance costs declined to Rs 94 lakh from Rs 1.15 crore. The Rs 5.92 crore increase in depreciation coincided with higher property, plant and equipment and capital work-in-progress reported at September 30, 2026.

Operating profit before working-capital changes was Rs 23.37 crore in the latest half, compared with a loss of Rs 1.25 crore in the corresponding prior-year half. Working-capital changes included a Rs 20.50 crore increase in inventories, a Rs 6.39 crore decrease in trade payables and a Rs 1.62 crore increase in trade receivables.

Net cash used in operating activities was Rs 8.10 crore for the half year ended September 30, 2026, compared with net cash generated from operating activities of Rs 45.50 crore a year earlier. The cash-flow statement shows that working-capital movements reduced cash from operations despite the reported Rs 20.54 crore pre-tax profit.

Sanstar spent Rs 68.24 crore on property, plant and equipment, including capital work-in-progress and capital advances, compared with Rs 87.99 crore in the prior-year half. It also recorded Rs 161.60 crore of investment in other bank deposits and Rs 16.39 crore of net proceeds from sales or redemptions of other investments during the latest six months.

How did Sanstar's balance sheet and financing change?

Sanstar's total assets increased to Rs 1,020.01 crore as of September 30, 2026 from Rs 803.04 crore as of March 31, 2026. Property, plant and equipment increased to Rs 440.87 crore from Rs 424.43 crore, capital work-in-progress rose to Rs 27.34 crore from Rs 11.01 crore, and inventories increased to Rs 62.61 crore from Rs 42.12 crore.

The balance-sheet movement followed a preferential issue completed on June 24, 2026. Sanstar allotted 1,80,24,157 equity shares of face value Rs 2 each to Corn Products Development Inc., a non-promoter investor, at Rs 110 per share, including a securities premium of Rs 108 per share. The issue raised Rs 198.27 crore, while the cash-flow statement records Rs 197.69 crore of proceeds from a fresh issue of shares during the half year.

The issue's stated objectives included Rs 82.20 crore for working-capital requirements and Rs 49.07 crore for general corporate purposes. As of September 30, 2026, Sanstar stated that unutilised proceeds were temporarily invested in fixed deposits with a scheduled bank or held in a separate account, and total equity had risen to Rs 906.70 crore from Rs 693.93 crore at March 31, 2026.

Sanstar also acquired a 30% holding in Spark Ingredients Private Limited during the quarter ended June 30, 2026. It invested Rs 15 lakh for 1,50,000 equity shares of face value Rs 10 each, allotted on June 13, 2026. The filing identifies Spark Ingredients as an associate but does not disclose a separate financial contribution from the investment in the September-half results.

Conclusion

Sanstar's September 2026 half-year statement shows profitability improving from the comparable prior-year period, although profit before tax declined sequentially from Rs 12.55 crore in the June quarter to Rs 7.99 crore in the September quarter. The result was accompanied by higher depreciation of Rs 10.66 crore and an Rs 8.10 crore operating cash outflow as inventory and other working-capital movements used cash.

The next disclosure to watch is utilisation of the Rs 198.27 crore preferential-issue proceeds, particularly the Rs 82.20 crore identified for working-capital requirements and Rs 49.07 crore for general corporate purposes. Sanstar also reported Rs 27.34 crore of capital work-in-progress at September 30, 2026, leaving completion of those assets and subsequent working-capital movements as unresolved items in the filing.