Swastika Castal Limited in FY26: Growth, Exports, and the Working Capital Trade-Off

Swastika Castal Limited closed FY26 with a stronger topline and steady operating profitability, while navigating a sharper squeeze on operating cash flows. For the year ended March 31, 2026, the company reported standalone total income of 36.19 crore, up 19.50 percent year on year. EBITDA increased to 6.22 crore, up 20.59 percent, with an EBITDA margin of 17.17 percent. Profit after tax was 3.28 crore, translating to a 9.07 percent PAT margin.

Management framed FY26 as a year of operational progress and a strategic milestone year, following the company’s listing on the BSE SME platform in July 2025. The emphasis through the investor presentation and concall remained consistent: build capability, deepen customer relationships, and scale in power transmission and electrical infrastructure, while expanding exports.

What drove FY26 performance

Swastika Castal positions itself as a specialist in high-precision aluminium castings using sand casting, gravity die casting, and centrifugal casting. The presentation highlights an integrated manufacturing setup at Karjan, Vadodara, with in-house heat treatment, machining, and testing infrastructure, aimed at delivering ready-to-use machined components.

In the concall, the Managing Director attributed FY26 revenue growth primarily to higher volumes supported by customer demand and improved execution and delivery reliability. Pricing impact was described as limited. The company also cited continued investments in infrastructure and capability strengthening as supportive of growth.

For H2 FY26, standalone total income was 19.02 crore, up 9.90 percent year on year, with EBITDA of 3.59 crore, up 7.35 percent. EBITDA margin in H2 FY26 was 18.89 percent compared to 19.34 percent in H2 FY25.

Financial snapshot (Standalone)

Note: The presentation states FY25 PBT included a prior period adjustment of 250.07 lakh due to restatement of fixed assets and the related depreciation impact, affecting comparability.

Exports strengthened, and customer profile stayed OEM-led

A notable disclosure in the presentation is the shift in domestic and export mix. Exports increased to 41 percent of revenue in FY26 versus 34 percent in FY24 and FY25. Domestic contribution was 59 percent in FY26. The presentation also states the revenue base remains Asia-led at around 65 percent.

Management highlighted additions of Trench and Kuvag as strategic customer wins, and reiterated that export opportunities remain an important growth driver. In the concall, management said two export customers were added during the year and discussions with additional customers are ongoing, with a preference for long-term, sustainable relationships.

The company also lists marquee customer logos across sectors, including ABB, Toshiba, Siemens, Hitachi, GE Power India Limited, and others. From an investor perspective, the implication is that Swastika’s product acceptance is tied closely to long approval cycles and embedded supplier relationships, which the company describes as a structural moat.

Cash flow divergence: growth came with working capital intensity

While FY26 reported growth in revenue and EBITDA, operating cash flow turned negative. The cash flow table in the presentation shows cash flow from operating activities at minus 7.72 crore in FY26 compared with plus 5.08 crore in FY25.

Management addressed this directly on the concall and positioned it as a deliberate decision during a period of external supply chain uncertainty. The company cited geopolitical disruptions and delivery volatility as reasons to support vendors with faster and advance payments, lock availability, and maintain strategic inventory levels to protect production schedules and customer commitments.

This working capital build is also visible in the balance sheet. Inventories increased to 9.22 crore in FY26 from 7.75 crore in FY25, and trade receivables increased to 13.39 crore from 10.69 crore. Cash and bank balance declined to 0.13 crore from 0.53 crore.

The company’s risk section explicitly calls out working capital intensity as a key risk, alongside mitigation centered on disciplined receivable management and strong OEM relationships.

Balance sheet and ratios: leverage improved, liquidity ratio strengthened

Swastika’s reported ratios show an improvement in leverage and coverage metrics in FY26. Debt to equity improved to 0.40x in FY26 from 0.85x in FY25. Interest coverage increased to 5.85x from 3.89x. The current ratio improved to 2.00x.

At the same time, receivable turnover declined from 2.82x in FY25 to 2.64x in FY26, aligning with the higher receivables and the working capital explanation provided in the concall.

ROCE was reported at 15.14 percent in FY26, down from 22.93 percent in FY25, while ROE was 12.68 percent in FY26 compared with 40.72 percent in FY25. The presentation includes the same comparability note around FY25 PBT adjustments.

Way ahead: capacity, execution discipline, and operating leverage

The company’s forward narrative is centered on scaling without losing control of quality and delivery reliability. Capacity utilisation is stated at around 57 percent, and the presentation highlights headroom for growth without major immediate capex, along with a planned capacity expansion by end of FY27.

In the concall, management said FY27 would be the first full year to benefit from enhanced capacity, since machinery was commissioned in March. They expect margin improvement as utilisation rises and fixed costs are absorbed more efficiently, while continuing to focus on operational efficiencies and cost optimization.

On revenue outlook, management avoided numeric guidance, but stated they are projecting better growth than the previous year, supported by customer order momentum and new customer additions.

Key takeaways

Swastika Castal’s FY26 message is clear: the company is growing volumes in its core power transmission and electrical ecosystem, increasing its export contribution, and building manufacturing capability for the next scale-up phase. The main tension in the numbers is cash conversion. FY26 operating cash flow was negative, which management attributes to deliberate inventory build and advance vendor payments to protect execution during supply chain uncertainty.

If FY27 delivers a more normalized working capital cycle while benefiting from the commissioned capacity and operating leverage, the company’s strategy of pairing growth with integrated manufacturing control could become more visible in reported cash flows and returns. For now, the documents position FY26 as a transition year where reliability and readiness were prioritized, even at the expense of near-term cash generation.