Sathlokhar H1 operating cash outflow reached Rs 102 crore

Sathlokhar Synergys E&C Global Limited recorded net operating cash outflow of Rs 102 crore in H1 FY27 despite Rs 68 crore of profit before tax. A Rs 160 crore working-capital change exceeded Rs 75 crore of operating profit before working-capital changes, while net financing inflows of Rs 136 crore largely funded operating and investing cash use.

What drove Sathlokhar's H1 FY27 operating cash outflow?

Sathlokhar's H1 FY27 operating cash outflow was driven by a Rs 160 crore working-capital use in the period ended September 2026. The company reported Rs 75 crore of operating profit before working-capital changes, comprising Rs 68 crore of profit before tax and Rs 7 crore of non-cash and non-operating adjustments. The working-capital movement reduced this to negative Rs 85 crore of cash generated from operations.

After Rs 17 crore of income taxes paid, net cash from operating activities was negative Rs 102 crore. The cash outflow therefore did not result from a reported pre-tax loss: profit before tax rose 118% year on year from Rs 31 crore in H1 FY26 to Rs 68 crore in H1 FY27. The cash-flow statement identifies working-capital changes as the item that exceeded pre-working-capital operating profit.

The presentation also reports a negative Rs 250 crore working-capital change and negative Rs 163 crore of net operating cash flow in the column labelled March 2026. That column is not labelled as an equivalent half-year period, so it cannot be used as a like-for-like H1 comparison. It nonetheless shows that working capital consumed cash in both disclosed periods, even as H1 FY27 revenue increased 85% year on year to Rs 502 crore.

Which balance-sheet movements accompanied Sathlokhar's working-capital use?

Sathlokhar's other current assets increased by Rs 117 crore to Rs 456 crore at September 2026 from Rs 339 crore at March 2026. Trade receivables increased by Rs 20 crore to Rs 97 crore over the same period. These movements accompanied the Rs 160 crore aggregate working-capital outflow, although the presentation does not provide a line-by-line reconciliation between individual balance-sheet accounts and the cash-flow figure.

Inventories moved in the opposite direction, declining by Rs 13 crore to Rs 125 crore at September 2026 from Rs 138 crore in March 2026. Trade payables increased by Rs 18 crore to Rs 153 crore, while other current liabilities declined by Rs 50 crore to Rs 18 crore. The disclosed accounts therefore moved in different directions, with the cash-flow statement providing only the aggregate working-capital change.

Current assets rose by Rs 131 crore to Rs 727 crore, while current liabilities increased by Rs 86 crore to Rs 397 crore between March and September 2026. The increase in current assets was principally associated with other current assets, while higher borrowings and trade payables contributed to current liabilities. The presentation does not state what components of other current assets accounted for the Rs 117 crore increase.

How did Sathlokhar fund its H1 FY27 cash requirements?

Sathlokhar reported net financing cash inflow of Rs 136 crore in H1 FY27, against Rs 139 crore of combined operating and investing cash outflows. Financing receipts included Rs 114 crore of proceeds from short-term borrowings and Rs 31 crore from long-term borrowings. Interest paid was Rs 9 crore, and the September 2026 cash-flow column shows no issuance of equity share capital.

Current borrowings on the balance sheet increased by Rs 114 crore to Rs 204 crore at September 2026 from Rs 90 crore at March 2026. Non-current borrowings were Rs 31 crore at September 2026, compared with no reported balance at March 2026. Those changes match the disclosed short-term and long-term borrowing proceeds, although the presentation does not separately identify any debt repayments.

The financing profile differed from the March 2026 column, which shows Rs 90 crore of equity-share-capital issuance, Rs 81 crore of short-term borrowing proceeds and no long-term borrowing proceeds. Total equity increased to Rs 409 crore at September 2026 from Rs 359 crore at March 2026, including a rise in other equity to Rs 383 crore from Rs 333 crore, while share capital remained Rs 26 crore.

The balance sheet reports Rs 46 crore of cash, cash equivalents and bank balances at September 2026, compared with Rs 39 crore at March 2026. The abridged cash-flow statement, which uses the narrower label cash and cash equivalents, reports closing cash and cash equivalents of Rs 0 crore at September 2026 and Rs 3 crore at March 2026. The presentation does not reconcile these differently labelled cash measures.

What did Sathlokhar spend on investing activities?

Sathlokhar used Rs 37 crore in net investing activities in the September 2026 column, compared with net investing inflow of Rs 2 crore in the March 2026 column. The presentation does not break the Rs 37 crore outflow down by asset category, project or transaction. It establishes aggregate investment cash use without specifying its destination.

Property, plant and equipment increased by Rs 40 crore to Rs 50 crore at September 2026 from Rs 10 crore at March 2026. Construction work in progress, abbreviated as CWIP, declined from Rs 1 crore to Rs 0 crore. The company also says it inaugurated a new pre-engineered buildings manufacturing facility in 2026, but it does not explicitly link that facility to the H1 FY27 investing cash outflow.

The investment use coincided with higher reported activity and earnings. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, or EBITDA, rose to Rs 74 crore in H1 FY27 from Rs 32 crore in H1 FY26, while finance cost increased to Rs 9 crore from Rs 2 crore. Sathlokhar reported 19 orders secured in H1 FY27 and an order book of Rs 1,139 crore excluding goods and services tax as of 30 September 2026.

Conclusion

Sathlokhar converted Rs 75 crore of operating profit before working-capital changes into a Rs 102 crore operating cash outflow in H1 FY27 because working capital used Rs 160 crore and tax payments totalled Rs 17 crore. A further Rs 37 crore of investing outflow meant that Rs 136 crore of net financing inflow, including Rs 145 crore of borrowing proceeds before interest paid, was needed to largely cover cash use.

The next disclosures to watch are the composition of the Rs 160 crore working-capital movement, whether other current assets and receivables reverse or increase further, and changes in the Rs 204 crore of current borrowings and Rs 31 crore of non-current borrowings. The presentation leaves the working-capital and investing cash-flow components unresolved, while reporting more than 20 ongoing projects and a Rs 1,139 crore order book at 30 September 2026.