Syrma SGS deploys Rs 535 crore as working-capital debt rises in H1

Syrma SGS deployed Rs 535 crore on capital expenditure and investments in H1FY27, exceeding its Rs 119.7 crore net operating cash flow. Changes in borrowings and equity supplied Rs 425.4 crore, while working-capital loans rose to Rs 694.7 crore at 30 September 2026 from Rs 285.5 crore at 31 March 2026.

How did Syrma SGS fund H1FY27 capex and investments?

Syrma SGS funded its Rs 535 crore H1FY27 capex-and-investments outflow through operating cash flow, financing inflows and cash already on hand. Net operating cash flow was Rs 119.7 crore, while net cash flow from financing activities was Rs 366 crore. Financing cash flow included Rs 425.4 crore from changes in borrowings and equity, offset by Rs 59.4 crore for dividends, lease liabilities and finance costs.

Operating cash flow before working-capital changes was Rs 363.1 crore in H1FY27, comprising Rs 306 crore of profit before tax and Rs 57.1 crore of depreciation, finance cost and other additions. Working-capital changes and tax then used Rs 243.4 crore, reducing cash generated from operations to Rs 119.7 crore. The presentation does not break the Rs 535 crore investment line into individual projects, facilities or financial investments.

The cash-flow statement recorded a Rs 49.3 crore decline in cash during H1FY27, compared with a Rs 105.5 crore increase in FY26. Opening cash and bank in H1FY27 was Rs 192.3 crore, exchange differences added Rs 2 crore, and closing cash and bank was Rs 145 crore. FY26 is a full-year period and H1FY27 is a half-year period, so the two periods are not directly comparable.

Why did Syrma SGS working-capital loans increase?

Syrma SGS’s working-capital loan rose by Rs 409.2 crore to Rs 694.7 crore at 30 September 2026, from Rs 285.5 crore at 31 March 2026. This increase was larger than the Rs 392.7 crore rise in total debt, because term loans fell by Rs 16.5 crore to Rs 51.1 crore over the same six-month interval.

The balance sheet shows higher operating balances alongside the increase in working-capital borrowing. Inventory rose by Rs 517.3 crore to Rs 1,578.9 crore, and trade receivables increased by Rs 282.4 crore to Rs 2,123.2 crore between March and September 2026. Trade payables also grew by Rs 544.8 crore to Rs 2,503.4 crore, showing expansion in both current assets and supplier obligations.

Net working-capital days, or NWC days, declined to 63 in H1FY27 from 73 in H1FY26. The shorter reported cycle occurred alongside a 71% year-on-year increase in total revenue to Rs 3,603.2 crore from Rs 2,108.7 crore, meaning absolute balances rose even as the reported days metric fell.

What did Syrma SGS operating cash conversion show in H1FY27?

Syrma SGS reported operating cash flow before other income equal to 33.7% of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, or EBITDA, in H1FY27, compared with negative 54.5% in H1FY26. EBITDA rose 68% to Rs 379.8 crore from Rs 226.6 crore, while the company generated Rs 119.7 crore of net operating cash flow after working-capital changes and tax.

Profit after tax increased 98% to Rs 229.9 crore in H1FY27 from Rs 116.3 crore in H1FY26, faster than the 71% rise in revenue. However, the Rs 243.4 crore working-capital-and-tax outflow represented about two-thirds of the Rs 363.1 crore cash flow before those items, limiting cash available for the Rs 535 crore capex-and-investments outflow.

Reported margins moved in different directions during the period. EBITDA margin, including other income, decreased to 10.5% from 10.7%, while profit-before-tax margin increased to 8.5% from 7.4% and profit-after-tax margin rose to 6.4% from 5.5%. These are H1FY27 versus H1FY26 comparisons, unlike the full-year FY26 cash-flow figures.

How did Syrma SGS liquidity and leverage change by September 2026?

Syrma SGS remained in a net-cash position at 30 September 2026 in its debt-and-cash schedule, with Rs 1,003.4 crore of total cash and equivalents against Rs 745.8 crore of total debt. Net cash was Rs 257.6 crore, down from Rs 467.2 crore at 31 March 2026, as debt rose faster than total cash and equivalents.

Investments increased by Rs 328.9 crore to Rs 838.1 crore between 31 March and 30 September 2026, while cash and cash equivalents in the debt-and-cash schedule fell by Rs 145.8 crore to Rs 165.3 crore. Separately, the balance sheet lists cash and cash equivalents of Rs 998.7 crore at September 2026, and the cash-flow statement lists closing cash and bank of Rs 145 crore.

The presentation does not provide a reconciliation among the Rs 1,003.4 crore total cash-and-equivalents figure, the Rs 998.7 crore balance-sheet cash-and-cash-equivalents figure and the Rs 145 crore closing-cash-and-bank figure. Its last-twelve-month net debt-to-EBITDA ratio was negative 0.4 in H1FY27, compared with negative 1.2 in H1FY26, while debt to equity rose to 0.2 from 0.1.

Which Syrma SGS segments drove H1FY27 revenue growth?

Syrma SGS recorded growth in all five reported industry segments in H1FY27, with Consumer remaining the largest at Rs 1,105.5 crore, up 62% year on year. Consumer’s revenue mix declined to 31% from 33%, while Auto increased 85% to Rs 911.9 crore and lifted its mix to 25% from 24%.

IT and Railways was the fastest-growing segment, doubling to Rs 422.4 crore from Rs 211 crore and increasing its mix to 12% from 10%. Healthcare rose 78% to Rs 268.5 crore, while Industrials grew 58% to Rs 870.1 crore but declined to 24% of segment revenue from 26%.

Total reported segment revenue was Rs 3,578.3 crore in H1FY27, up 71% from Rs 2,089.9 crore in H1FY26. Property, plant and equipment increased by Rs 212 crore to Rs 1,139.6 crore between March and September 2026, and other non-current assets rose by Rs 134.3 crore to Rs 360 crore. The presentation does not assign these asset additions or the Rs 535 crore cash investment outflow to individual segments.

Conclusion

Syrma SGS paired 71% H1FY27 revenue growth with substantial cash deployment, including Rs 535 crore of capex and investments and Rs 243.4 crore of working-capital changes and tax. Operating cash flow of Rs 119.7 crore and net financing inflows of Rs 366 crore supported that deployment, while working-capital loans increased by Rs 409.2 crore.

The next disclosures to watch are inventory of Rs 1,578.9 crore, receivables of Rs 2,123.2 crore and the Rs 694.7 crore working-capital loan at 30 September 2026. A future reconciliation of the different cash figures reported across the balance sheet, cash-flow statement and debt-and-cash schedule would also clarify the company’s available-liquidity classification.