V.S.T. Tillers Tractors Limited operating cash flow falls 61%

V.S.T. Tillers Tractors Limited reported consolidated net operating cash flow of Rs 24.30 crore for the half year ended September 30, 2026, down 61% from Rs 62.49 crore a year earlier, as trade receivables used Rs 40.21 crore and inventories used Rs 42.41 crore of cash.

Why did V.S.T. Tillers Tractors’ operating cash flow fall?

V.S.T. Tillers Tractors’ net cash from operating activities fell by Rs 38.19 crore to Rs 24.30 crore in the half year ended September 30, 2026. Cash generated from operations before direct taxes declined to Rs 47.94 crore from Rs 78.41 crore in the corresponding half year ended September 30, 2025, while direct taxes paid, net of refunds, rose to Rs 23.64 crore from Rs 15.92 crore.

Profit before tax was Rs 90.83 crore in the September 2026 half year, compared with Rs 92.33 crore a year earlier. The Rs 1.50 crore decrease in profit before tax was smaller than the Rs 38.19 crore reduction in operating cash flow, indicating that movements in working capital and taxes had a larger effect on cash generation than the change in pre-tax profit.

The consolidated cash-flow statement covers the period from April 1, 2026 to September 30, 2026 and includes VST Zetor Private Limited as a joint venture. The joint venture’s share of loss was Rs 66.44 lakh for the half year, compared with Rs 78.80 lakh in the prior-year period, and was included among the cash-flow adjustments.

How did receivables and inventories affect V.S.T. Tillers Tractors’ cash flow?

Trade receivables and inventories together absorbed Rs 82.62 crore of cash in the September 2026 half year. Trade receivables used Rs 40.21 crore, reversing from a Rs 7.93 crore cash inflow in the September 2025 half year, while inventories used Rs 42.41 crore, compared with an outflow of Rs 35.16 crore a year earlier.

Trade payables, other liabilities and provisions supplied Rs 54.48 crore of cash in the 2026 half year, up from Rs 19.52 crore in the preceding corresponding period. This Rs 34.96 crore increase partly offset the cash absorbed by receivables and inventories, but did not fully counter their combined Rs 82.62 crore outflow.

Financial and other current assets used a further Rs 2.88 crore in the 2026 half year, compared with a Rs 1.60 crore source of cash a year earlier. The filing identifies these working-capital movements in the cash-flow statement but does not provide a separate operational explanation for the increase in receivables or inventories.

What happened to V.S.T. Tillers Tractors’ cash balance?

V.S.T. Tillers Tractors’ cash and cash equivalents declined by Rs 30.40 crore during the half year ended September 30, 2026, closing at Rs 16.28 crore. The group started the financial year with Rs 46.68 crore of cash and cash equivalents, and the closing balance comprised Rs 16.27 crore in current accounts and Rs 1 lakh in fixed deposits with banks.

The September 2025 half year recorded a larger net decrease of Rs 59.10 crore, but closed with Rs 12.07 crore of cash and cash equivalents because opening cash was Rs 71.17 crore. The September 2026 closing balance was therefore Rs 4.21 crore above the prior-year closing amount despite the lower operating cash inflow.

Investing activities used Rs 53.18 crore in the September 2026 half year, compared with Rs 102.88 crore in the previous corresponding period. Purchases of property, plant and equipment, intangible assets, capital work-in-progress and capital advances totalled Rs 21.49 crore, up from Rs 14.00 crore a year earlier, alongside investment and bank-deposit movements reported in investing cash flow.

What changed in V.S.T. Tillers Tractors’ financing cash flow?

V.S.T. Tillers Tractors used Rs 1.52 crore in financing activities during the September 2026 half year, down from Rs 18.71 crore in the year-earlier period. The 2026 outflow included Rs 80.22 lakh of interest paid, Rs 71.23 lakh of lease-liability payments and Rs 69,000 of dividends paid on equity shares.

The earlier period included Rs 17.29 crore of dividend payments, as well as Rs 86.07 lakh of interest paid and Rs 56.11 lakh of lease-liability payments. The lower dividend payment accounted for most of the Rs 17.19 crore year-on-year reduction in financing cash outflow.

Lease liabilities rose from Rs 1.91 crore on April 1, 2026 to Rs 2.99 crore on September 30, 2026. The filing records Rs 71.23 lakh of cash lease payments and Rs 1.80 crore of non-cash changes, meaning the increase in the liability was not solely a cash movement during the six-month period.

The September 2026 consolidated results were unaudited and subject to a limited review. The reviewer stated that nothing had come to its attention indicating that the financial results had not disclosed the required information or contained a material misstatement.

Conclusion

V.S.T. Tillers Tractors generated Rs 24.30 crore of operating cash in the half year ended September 30, 2026, but this was Rs 38.19 crore below the prior-year period. The filing shows that Rs 40.21 crore absorbed by receivables and Rs 42.41 crore absorbed by inventories outweighed the Rs 54.48 crore cash contribution from payables, other liabilities and provisions.

The next financial results will show whether the Rs 82.62 crore combined cash use from receivables and inventories persists or reverses. Investors can also track the reported Rs 21.49 crore of asset-related investment spending and the Rs 16.28 crore cash-and-cash-equivalents balance at September 30, 2026.