Sotefin Bharat half-year profit rises 57% to Rs 7.85 crore

Sotefin Bharat Limited reported unaudited profit after tax of Rs 7.85 crore for the half year ended September 30, 2026, up 57% from Rs 5.01 crore a year earlier, as revenue from operations increased 17% to Rs 43.26 crore and total tax expense declined to Rs 1.34 crore.

What drove Sotefin Bharat’s half-year profit increase?

Sotefin Bharat’s profit after tax rose by Rs 2.84 crore year on year to Rs 7.85 crore in the half year ended September 30, 2026. Revenue from operations grew by Rs 6.22 crore to Rs 43.26 crore from Rs 37.04 crore in the half year ended September 30, 2025. Other income increased to Rs 88.47 lakh from Rs 86.29 lakh, taking total income to Rs 44.14 crore from Rs 37.90 crore.

Profit before tax increased 34% to Rs 9.19 crore from Rs 6.83 crore, a gain of Rs 2.35 crore that was smaller than the 57% increase in profit after tax. The difference reflects the tax line: total tax expense fell to Rs 1.34 crore from Rs 1.82 crore. The latest period included Rs 74.43 lakh of excess provision for tax in earlier years and a deferred-tax credit of Rs 38.41 lakh, against a deferred-tax credit of Rs 17.41 lakh in the prior-year period.

The reported earnings per equity share, both basic and diluted, were Rs 5.17 for the September 2026 half year, compared with Rs 3.94 a year earlier. These were Sotefin Bharat’s first half-year results after its equity shares were listed on the BSE SME Exchange on July 23, 2026. The board approved the unaudited results on November 12, 2026, after review by the audit committee.

How did expenses change at Sotefin Bharat?

Sotefin Bharat’s total expenses rose 12% to Rs 34.96 crore in the September 2026 half year from Rs 31.07 crore a year earlier, below the 16% rise in total income to Rs 44.14 crore. This widened profit before tax to Rs 9.19 crore from Rs 6.83 crore. Sotefin Bharat states that its predominant business activity is manufacturing and installation of automated parking solutions, with no separate reportable business segment under Accounting Standard 17.

Material consumption increased to Rs 17.10 crore from Rs 12.42 crore, while civil and installation expenses were broadly stable at Rs 10.95 crore compared with Rs 10.84 crore. The latest half year also recorded a Rs 5.66 crore reduction through changes in inventories of finished goods and work in progress; no comparative value was reported for that line in the September 2025 half year.

Employee benefit expense rose to Rs 5.42 crore from Rs 3.38 crore, depreciation and amortisation increased to Rs 1.69 crore from Rs 71.89 lakh, and other expenses reached Rs 4.85 crore from Rs 2.70 crore. These increases were partly offset by lower finance costs, which fell to Rs 61.31 lakh from Rs 1.00 crore. The combination left total expenses Rs 3.89 crore higher year on year, compared with a Rs 6.24 crore increase in total income.

Compared with the immediately preceding half year ended March 31, 2026, revenue from operations was lower than Rs 79.71 crore and profit after tax was below Rs 12.34 crore. That March period was reported as audited and represented balancing figures between the audited year ended March 31, 2026 and the management-certified September 2025 half-year figures. For the full year ended March 31, 2026, Sotefin Bharat reported revenue from operations of Rs 116.75 crore and profit after tax of Rs 17.36 crore.

What did Sotefin Bharat do with its IPO proceeds?

Sotefin Bharat had Rs 51.12 crore of unutilised initial public offer, or IPO, proceeds at September 30, 2026, after using Rs 38.64 crore from gross issue proceeds of Rs 89.76 crore. Sotefin Bharat completed a fresh issue of 48 lakh equity shares of face value Rs 10 each, including a securities premium of Rs 177 per share, during the latest half year. Its shares began trading on the BSE SME Exchange on July 23, 2026.

Of the Rs 38.64 crore used, Rs 30 crore was directed to working-capital requirements and Rs 8.64 crore to issue-related expenses. Sotefin Bharat reported that Rs 20.13 crore remained for a manufacturing facility in Kolkata, Rs 8.17 crore for proposed new office premises, Rs 10 crore for working capital, Rs 8.88 crore for general corporate purposes and Rs 3.94 crore for issue-related expenses. These amounts together equal the disclosed Rs 51.12 crore unutilised balance.

The cash-flow statement separately recorded Rs 89.76 crore of proceeds from share-capital issuance and Rs 9.11 crore of IPO expenses in financing activities during the half year. The notes state that total IPO-related expenses of Rs 10.29 crore had been adjusted against securities premium. Sotefin Bharat also reported share capital of Rs 18.16 crore at September 30, 2026, up from Rs 13.36 crore at March 31, 2026, while reserves and surplus rose to Rs 153.06 crore from Rs 70.57 crore.

What do Sotefin Bharat’s cash flows and balance sheet show?

Sotefin Bharat recorded net cash used in operating activities of Rs 2.83 crore in the half year ended September 30, 2026, compared with an outflow of Rs 1.70 crore a year earlier. Cash generated from operations after working-capital movements was Rs 1.06 crore, compared with a negative Rs 1.30 crore in the previous-year half. Income tax paid of Rs 3.89 crore exceeded that operating cash generation and produced the reported operating outflow.

Working-capital movements included a Rs 7.42 crore increase in trade receivables, a Rs 1.95 crore increase in inventory and a Rs 2.15 crore increase in other current assets. Trade payables decreased by Rs 1.04 crore, while other current liabilities increased by Rs 2.46 crore. At September 30, 2026, trade receivables stood at Rs 82.52 crore, up from Rs 75.13 crore at March 31, 2026, and inventories were Rs 11.08 crore, up from Rs 9.12 crore.

Investing cash outflow was Rs 7.92 crore, broadly unchanged from Rs 7.80 crore a year earlier, including Rs 7.38 crore spent on property, plant and equipment. Financing activities generated Rs 64.74 crore, compared with Rs 9.42 crore in the previous-year half, led by the share issue. Cash and cash equivalents increased by Rs 53.99 crore to Rs 54.09 crore at September 30, 2026; the balance sheet separately showed cash and bank balances of Rs 55.46 crore.

Borrowing composition changed over the half year. Long-term borrowings rose to Rs 7.69 crore at September 30 from Rs 3.99 crore at March 31, while short-term borrowings fell to Rs 1.05 crore from Rs 20.02 crore. Total assets increased to Rs 200.34 crore from Rs 129.06 crore, with current assets rising to Rs 159.05 crore from Rs 92.06 crore. The statutory auditors issued a limited-review report stating that nothing had come to their attention indicating a material misstatement in the September 2026 statement.

Conclusion

Sotefin Bharat’s first reported half-year result after listing combined a 17% rise in operating revenue with a lower total tax expense, lifting profit after tax by 57% to Rs 7.85 crore. Total expenses rose by Rs 3.89 crore, including higher employee, depreciation and other costs, but this increase was below the Rs 6.24 crore expansion in total income. The half year nevertheless recorded an operating cash outflow of Rs 2.83 crore after tax payments and working-capital movements.

The next disclosed items to watch are the use of Rs 51.12 crore in unutilised IPO proceeds, particularly the Rs 20.13 crore allocated for a Kolkata manufacturing facility, Rs 8.17 crore for proposed office premises and Rs 10 crore remaining for working capital. Sotefin Bharat also reported receivables of Rs 82.52 crore and inventory of Rs 11.08 crore at September 30, 2026, both above March 31 levels, making future cash conversion a disclosed operational matter to track.