Vikram Solar posts H1 cash outflow as short-term borrowings rise

Vikram Solar Limited used Rs 190.371 crore in operating activities in the six months ended September 30, 2026, compared with a Rs 513.056 crore inflow a year earlier, while current borrowings rose Rs 531.715 crore to Rs 631.788 crore as payments for fixed assets, capital work-in-progress and intangibles reached Rs 981.565 crore.

Why did Vikram Solar's operating cash flow turn negative?

Vikram Solar's operating cash flow turned negative because working-capital movements used Rs 373.951 crore in the six months ended September 30, 2026, compared with a Rs 89.524 crore cash contribution in the corresponding 2025 period. Operating profit before working-capital changes fell to Rs 191.023 crore from Rs 506.988 crore, while net tax paid was Rs 8.158 crore.

Financial and non-financial assets absorbed Rs 288.245 crore of cash during the September 2026 half-year, and financial and non-financial liabilities fell by Rs 132.706 crore. These outflows outweighed the Rs 47.715 crore cash release from inventories, which contrasted with a Rs 75.447 crore inventory-related outflow in the six months ended September 30, 2025.

The balance sheet shows the underlying asset movements at September 30, 2026. Inventories declined to Rs 775.382 crore from Rs 823.134 crore at March 31, 2026, but trade receivables increased to Rs 1,296.326 crore from Rs 1,214.353 crore. Other current assets rose to Rs 619.729 crore from Rs 352.073 crore, while other non-current assets increased to Rs 376.575 crore from Rs 192.686 crore.

How much did Vikram Solar's short-term borrowings increase?

Vikram Solar's current borrowings increased to Rs 631.788 crore at September 30, 2026 from Rs 100.073 crore at March 31, 2026. The Rs 531.715 crore increase coincided with a Rs 60 crore inflow from other short-term borrowings and a Rs 471.715 crore net increase in bank cash credit and demand loans recorded in financing cash flows.

Total current liabilities rose to Rs 2,530.789 crore from Rs 1,977.545 crore over the six months. Trade payables to creditors other than micro enterprises and small enterprises declined to Rs 1,274.112 crore from Rs 1,525.926 crore, while other financial liabilities increased to Rs 281.639 crore from Rs 87.615 crore and other current liabilities rose to Rs 180.946 crore from Rs 128.543 crore.

Net cash from financing activities was Rs 408.134 crore in the six months ended September 30, 2026, down from Rs 1,206.046 crore a year earlier. The latest period included Rs 64.266 crore of interest paid, Rs 24.401 crore of interest paid on leasing arrangements and Rs 35.135 crore of lease-liability repayments; the prior-year half included Rs 1,432.31 crore of net equity-issue proceeds, compared with Rs 2.21 crore in the latest half-year.

What did Vikram Solar spend on capital expansion?

Vikram Solar paid Rs 981.565 crore to acquire property, plant and equipment, capital work-in-progress and intangible assets in the six months ended September 30, 2026. This was Rs 840.362 crore more than the Rs 141.203 crore paid in the corresponding 2025 half-year, although the cash-flow statement does not allocate the latest payment among individual projects.

Property, plant and equipment increased to Rs 1,130.253 crore at September 30, 2026 from Rs 540.194 crore at March 31, 2026. Capital work-in-progress, or CWIP, rose to Rs 691.04 crore from Rs 418.083 crore, and intangible assets rose to Rs 29.963 crore from Rs 18.998 crore. Right-of-use assets declined to Rs 549.193 crore from Rs 567.671 crore over the same period.

A Rs 801.858 crore net decrease in fixed deposits and other bank balances partly offset the larger asset-acquisition payment, limiting net cash used in investing activities to Rs 169.164 crore. This compared with Rs 642.61 crore used in investing activities in the six months ended September 30, 2025, when the company recorded a Rs 507.665 crore net increase in fixed deposits and other bank balances.

How did Vikram Solar's profit and financial position change?

Vikram Solar remained profitable in the six months ended September 30, 2026, but profit after tax fell to Rs 25.741 crore from Rs 261.852 crore a year earlier. Revenue from operations increased to Rs 2,640.507 crore from Rs 2,243.483 crore, while profit before tax declined to Rs 31.824 crore from Rs 365.07 crore.

Finance costs increased to Rs 92.139 crore from Rs 63.842 crore in the prior-year half, and depreciation and amortisation increased to Rs 129.796 crore from Rs 68.388 crore. Vikram Solar identifies manufacturing of solar photovoltaic modules, engineering, procurement and construction, or EPC, and operation and maintenance of solar power plants as one primary reportable segment under Indian Accounting Standard 108.

Total assets rose to Rs 6,292.055 crore at September 30, 2026 from Rs 5,728.479 crore at March 31, 2026. Total liabilities increased to Rs 3,091.831 crore from Rs 2,560.719 crore, while equity rose to Rs 3,200.224 crore from Rs 3,167.76 crore. Cash and cash equivalents ended the half-year at Rs 84.479 crore, compared with Rs 35.773 crore at the beginning of the financial year.

Vikram Solar also disclosed Rs 52.79 crore of trade receivables that certain customers had withheld or recovered at September 30, 2026 for liquidated damages, generation loss and other EPC-contract matters. Management has not acknowledged the claims and said the matters have been referred to dispute resolution, arbitration or court; the statutory auditors drew attention to the matter without modifying their conclusion.

Conclusion

Vikram Solar's September 2026 half-year results show a shift from a Rs 513.056 crore operating cash inflow to a Rs 190.371 crore outflow, alongside Rs 981.565 crore of payments for fixed assets, CWIP and intangibles. Current borrowings rose Rs 531.715 crore during the same period, while revenue increased but profit after tax declined by Rs 236.111 crore year on year.

The next disclosed development to watch is deployment of the Rs 176.911 crore of unutilised net initial public offering proceeds at September 30, 2026, which were temporarily held in deposits and current accounts with scheduled commercial banks. Vikram Solar's stated plan includes capital-expenditure funding through investment in wholly owned subsidiary VSL Green Power Private Limited, while the outcomes of the Rs 52.79 crore customer-withholding matters and the safeguard-duty proceedings remain unresolved.