.

Skipper FY26: record revenue, a bigger order book, and a cautious FY27 setup

Skipper Limited ended FY26 with its strongest financial year so far. Revenue rose to Rs 5,552.8 crore, up 20% year-on-year. EBITDA increased to Rs 572.7 crore, up 26.8%, with margins improving to 10.3%. Profit after tax climbed to Rs 207.3 crore, up 42.2%, with a PAT margin of 3.7%. In Q4 FY26, the company also delivered its highest-ever quarterly revenue of Rs 1,666.6 crore and quarterly PAT of Rs 75.6 crore.

Management attributed the performance to stronger execution across segments, operating leverage, and better cost discipline. The year also came with visible sector tailwinds in power transmission and a much stronger order backlog. The order book closed at Rs 8,501.9 crore as of 31 March 2026, the highest in the company’s history, alongside a stated bidding pipeline of more than Rs 33,000 crore.

FY26 performance: engineering leads, polymer crosses Rs 500 crore

Skipper’s FY26 revenue mix remained heavily tilted toward Engineering Products. The engineering business reported net sales of Rs 4,359.0 crore, up 23.9% YoY, and an EBITDA margin of 11.7%. Infra Projects delivered Rs 686.9 crore of net sales, up 1.9% YoY, with a 6.0% EBITDA margin. Polymer Products crossed Rs 500 crore in revenue for the first time, reporting Rs 506.9 crore, up 17.4% YoY, though EBITDA margins stayed in the low single digits at 4.2%.

In Q4 FY26, engineering net sales were Rs 1,248.7 crore, up 33.2% YoY. The company flagged that exports were weak during the quarter, with export revenues falling sharply due to geopolitical developments in West Asia, which led to delays and temporary holds.

Order book strength and the sector cycle

The company’s order book has grown consistently over the last five years, reaching Rs 8,501.9 crore at March 2026, with an order book CAGR of 41.6% from March 2022. The order book mix disclosed in the presentation was 90% domestic and 10% export, with 77% coming from domestic T&D, 10% exports, and 13% from non-T&D domestic categories such as telecom, railways, solar, water EPC, and other steel structures.

FY26 order inflows were Rs 5,678.0 crore, and Q4 FY26 inflow was Rs 1,029.0 crore. Management also pointed to a multi-million-dollar contract in North America as the largest order to date in that market, and referenced large domestic wins including 800 kV HVDC projects and multiple 765 kV and 400 kV projects.

The sector framing in the presentation was anchored around India’s National Electricity Plan and the multi-year transmission buildout linked to renewable integration. The company also noted that sector ordering moderated in FY26 compared to FY25 due to execution constraints such as right-of-way and forest clearance timelines, as well as extended delivery cycles for critical equipment like transformers and HVDC systems. Management indicated that ordering is expected to accelerate from FY27, approaching FY25 levels.

Capacity expansion, capex and operating discipline

A key part of Skipper’s FY26 narrative was capacity and capability building. The company stated that a 75,000 MTPA capacity expansion is underway, taking installed capacity to 450,000 MTPA by June 2026. Management said utilization remains above 85%. On the earnings call, management also discussed additional capacity expansions planned beyond June 2026, with 75,000 MTPA planned in FY27 and another 75,000 MTPA in FY28.

The other major capability investment discussed was commissioning of Test Bed 2, which management described as creating a dual transmission tower test bed facility at one location. Management emphasized the ability to run simultaneous tests and cited the capability to test very heavy and high-voltage structures as a competitive advantage for engineering-led orders.

From a cash flow lens, the presentation disclosed 12M FY26 operating cash flow of Rs 570.1 crore. Total inflows were Rs 873.6 crore, including increased borrowings of Rs 205.3 crore and other receipts of Rs 98.2 crore. Outflows included capex cash use of Rs 366.4 crore, interest, tax and dividend of Rs 261.7 crore, and working capital changes of Rs 245.5 crore.

Management guided FY27 capex at about Rs 250 crore.

Working capital and leverage: improving ratios, but receivables need monitoring

Skipper reported net working capital days of 98 days as of 31 March 2026, broadly stable versus 95 days last year. However, the mix shifted. Inventory days improved to 70 from 95, but debtor days increased to 104 from 62.

In the concall, management said the higher receivables were not sticky and cited two drivers. First, around Rs 260 crore that was expected in the last week of March was received on 1-2 April, impacting the reporting date receivable number. Second, domestic revenue rose sharply and domestic cycles are longer than exports. Management also stated that Rs 600 to Rs 700 crore of receivables were collected in April.

Leverage remained controlled. Debt-to-equity was reported at 0.62x and debt-to-EBITDA at 1.61x as of 31 March 2026. Finance cost as a share of revenue improved to 3.9% in FY26 from 4.6% in FY25.

FY27: cautious top line guidance, stronger bottom line expectations

The most explicit forward guidance came from the concall. Management guided for 15% revenue growth in FY27 and approximately 30% bottom line growth. The company explained that export execution remains uncertain due to geopolitical challenges in the Middle East and elevated freight costs that can slow customer decision-making. Management also said that transformer and HVDC equipment constraints and right-of-way challenges continue to affect the broader transmission ecosystem.

At the same time, management expressed confidence in profitability improvement, citing the quality of the existing order book. The company reiterated an aspirational long-term EBITDA margin target of 12%, without providing a specific FY27 margin number.

Takeaways

Skipper’s FY26 numbers show a company that has scaled meaningfully, with higher margins and a stronger order backlog. Engineering remains the core profit engine, while polymer has grown past Rs 500 crore and infra continues to support forward integration.

The next year setup is more complex. Management’s 15% revenue growth guidance for FY27 is conservative given the order book, but it is grounded in near-term export uncertainty and broader sector execution constraints. The bigger signal is that management still expects 30% bottom line growth, helped by the current backlog mix and operating leverage, while continuing capex and capacity expansion to prepare for the next leg of the power transmission cycle.