Shipwaves posts Rs 4.3678 crore standalone H1 loss as costs rise

Shipwaves Online Limited reported a standalone net loss of Rs 4.3678 crore for the half year ended September 30, 2026, against a Rs 2.9409 crore profit a year earlier, despite 30% growth in revenue from operations to Rs 39.7079 crore. Total expenses rose to Rs 44.6015 crore, exceeding total income of Rs 40.1674 crore.

Why did Shipwaves report a standalone loss in H1?

Shipwaves reported a Rs 4.3678 crore standalone loss because total expenses of Rs 44.6015 crore exceeded total income of Rs 40.1674 crore in the half year ended September 30, 2026. In the corresponding half year ended September 30, 2025, total income was Rs 31.1962 crore and total expenses were Rs 27.5607 crore, resulting in a Rs 2.9409 crore profit after tax.

The largest change was in cost of services, which rose to Rs 37.577 crore from Rs 22.098 crore a year earlier. Employee-benefit expense increased to Rs 2.0812 crore from Rs 1.6579 crore, while other expenses fell to Rs 89.76 lakh from Rs 1.0975 crore. Cost of services alone was equivalent to most of the Rs 39.7079 crore reported as revenue from operations.

How fast did Shipwaves revenue grow during the half year?

Shipwaves increased standalone revenue from operations by about 30% year on year to Rs 39.7079 crore for the half year ended September 30, 2026, from Rs 30.5277 crore a year earlier. Revenue was also above the Rs 34.4868 crore reported in the immediately preceding half year ended March 31, 2026.

Total income reached Rs 40.1674 crore, compared with Rs 31.1962 crore in the year-earlier half, including Rs 45.95 lakh of other income. Other income was below both the Rs 66.86 lakh in the September 2025 half year and Rs 1.2275 crore in the March 2026 half year. Shipwaves describes its business as logistics services for shippers, including instant rates, quick quotes, online booking and real-time visibility.

The increase in operating revenue did not translate into profit because service costs rose more in absolute terms. Revenue from operations rose by Rs 9.1802 crore year on year, while cost of services increased by Rs 15.479 crore. Shipwaves reported no exceptional items, so the Rs 4.4341 crore pre-tax loss contained no separately disclosed exceptional charge or gain.

Which expenses changed most for Shipwaves?

Shipwaves recorded a higher depreciation and amortisation charge of Rs 2.7528 crore for the September 2026 half year, compared with Rs 85.80 lakh in the prior-year half. The charge also exceeded the Rs 1.1535 crore reported for the half year ended March 31, 2026, adding to the movement from a pre-tax profit to a loss.

Finance cost fell to Rs 1.2928 crore from Rs 1.8493 crore a year earlier and from Rs 1.569 crore in the preceding half year. This decline did not offset the increase in service costs and depreciation. Loss per equity share was Rs 0.31 for the September 2026 half year, compared with earnings per share of Rs 0.31 in the September 2025 half year.

The tax line included a deferred-tax credit of Rs 6.63 lakh in the latest half year, compared with a Rs 13.25 lakh deferred-tax credit a year earlier. Shipwaves reported no current-tax expense for the September 2026 half year. The deferred-tax credit reduced the reported after-tax loss relative to the pre-tax loss.

What do Shipwaves' balance sheet and cash flows show?

Shipwaves had cash and cash equivalents of Rs 0.04 lakh at September 30, 2026, down from Rs 5.09 lakh at March 31, 2026 and Rs 0.07 lakh at September 30, 2025. Other balances with banks were Rs 1.9781 crore at the latest date, compared with Rs 6.9835 crore six months earlier.

The half-year cash-flow statement showed net cash from operating activities of Rs 1.6013 crore, against an outflow of Rs 3.2572 crore in the comparable prior-year half. A Rs 5.6869 crore increase in trade receivables was partly offset by a Rs 8.4035 crore increase in other current liabilities. Cash and cash equivalents still declined by Rs 5.06 lakh after a Rs 4.4952 crore financing outflow.

Trade receivables increased to Rs 22.7189 crore at September 30 from Rs 17.032 crore at March 31, while other current assets rose to Rs 38.6657 crore from Rs 37.0477 crore. Short-term borrowings fell to Rs 19.7776 crore from Rs 23.6989 crore, whereas long-term borrowings increased to Rs 2.6559 crore from Rs 1.7863 crore. Reserves and surplus declined to Rs 52.6317 crore from Rs 57.1502 crore.

What has Shipwaves disclosed about IPO funds and its subsidiary?

Shipwaves disclosed that the Rs 56.352 crore raised through its December 2025 initial public offering, or IPO, had been utilised by September 30, 2026. The fresh issue comprised 4,69,60,000 equity shares at Rs 12 each, and Shipwaves listed on the BSE SME Platform on December 17, 2025.

Of the IPO proceeds, Rs 17.1605 crore was used for working-capital requirements, Rs 9.97 crore was remitted to subsidiary Shipwaves Online LLC for working capital, and Rs 15 crore was used to repay or prepay borrowings. The filing says Rs 3 lakh initially earmarked for the subsidiary was used for Shipwaves' working-capital requirements during the first quarter of financial year 2026-27 because of exchange-rate fluctuations.

On November 14, 2026, the board approved a corporate guarantee of AED 45 lakh, equivalent to approximately Rs 11.6325 crore, for Shipwaves Online LLC in favour of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC to secure the subsidiary's credit facilities. The standalone results do not quantify future borrowing under those facilities. The statutory auditor issued a limited-review conclusion on the standalone half-year results rather than an audit opinion.

Conclusion

Shipwaves' standalone results for the September 2026 half year show that revenue growth to Rs 39.7079 crore was outweighed by a Rs 15.479 crore year-on-year increase in cost of services and a higher Rs 2.7528 crore depreciation and amortisation charge. The result was a reversal from a Rs 2.9409 crore profit to a Rs 4.3678 crore loss, despite lower finance cost.

The next disclosures to watch are the effect of the approximately Rs 11.6325 crore corporate guarantee for Shipwaves Online LLC's credit facilities and changes in trade receivables, which stood at Rs 22.7189 crore on September 30, 2026. Subsequent filings can also show the effect of the IPO-funded working-capital use and subsidiary funding after full utilisation of the Rs 56.352 crore IPO proceeds.