VTM cash flow covered Rs 17.45 crore of half-year capex

VTM Limited reported Rs 20.31 crore of net cash from operating activities in the disclosed six-month cash-flow statement, covering Rs 17.45 crore of property, plant and equipment purchases including capital work in progress. The statement shows operating cash rising from Rs 18.37 crore in its comparative half-year, although the filing’s cash-flow column headings carry earlier period labels.

How did VTM convert profit into operating cash?

VTM converted Rs 6.22 crore of profit before income tax into Rs 20.31 crore of net operating cash through non-cash adjustments and working-capital movements. The cash-flow statement adds back Rs 6.66 crore of depreciation and amortisation and Rs 1.66 crore of finance costs before deducting Rs 1.59 crore of income taxes paid, net of refunds.

The cash generated before movements in operating assets and liabilities was Rs 13.52 crore, compared with Rs 13.90 crore in the comparative half-year. Profit before income tax declined from Rs 9.02 crore, while depreciation and amortisation rose from Rs 5.64 crore to Rs 6.66 crore. The reconciliation also deducts Rs 70.35 lakh of fair-value changes in investments credited to profit and loss, Rs 52.51 lakh of dividend income and Rs 1.56 lakh of interest income.

Cash generated from operations rose to Rs 21.90 crore from Rs 24.17 crore before tax, while net tax paid fell to Rs 1.59 crore from Rs 5.79 crore. That lower tax payment was the main reason net operating cash increased by Rs 1.94 crore despite the lower pre-tax profit and lower cash generated from operations.

What working-capital movements affected VTM's cash flow?

VTM used Rs 5.79 crore of cash for an increase in inventories and Rs 2.17 crore for an increase in trade receivables. Inventory absorption was lower than the Rs 16.91 crore used in the comparative half-year, but receivables reversed from a Rs 15.95 crore cash release in that earlier period to a cash use in the disclosed period.

Other assets absorbed Rs 4.77 crore, following a Rs 5.95 crore outflow in the comparative period, and other financial assets used Rs 3.55 lakh. Loans and advances released Rs 2.02 crore of cash, compared with a Rs 2.89 crore release previously. These movements contributed to cash generated from operations of Rs 21.90 crore before tax payments.

The largest offset came from a Rs 9.68 crore increase in provisions, compared with a Rs 1.72 crore decrease in the comparative half-year. Trade payables added Rs 2.43 crore, against a Rs 15.84 crore contribution previously. The cash-flow statement therefore shows a different working-capital mix: lower inventory use and higher provisions partly offset the new receivables outflow and lower payables contribution.

How much did VTM spend on capital expenditure?

VTM spent Rs 17.45 crore on purchases of property, plant and equipment, including changes in capital work in progress, compared with Rs 8.64 crore in the comparative half-year. Operating cash exceeded that capital expenditure by Rs 2.86 crore before considering investment income, investment transactions and financing flows.

Net cash used in investing activities was Rs 16.60 crore, more than double the Rs 6.98 crore outflow in the comparative period. The increase principally reflects the Rs 8.81 crore rise in property, plant and equipment spending. The disclosed period had no proceeds from sales of property, plant and equipment, whereas the comparative period recorded Rs 22.28 lakh.

Investing cash flow included Rs 52.61 lakh of dividend income, Rs 5.15 lakh of interest income, Rs 27.79 lakh of proceeds from current investments and Rs 3.35 lakh from maturity of bank deposits. Those inflows reduced the investing outflow from the Rs 17.45 crore capital-expenditure amount to Rs 16.60 crore. The cash-flow statement does not specify the assets or projects funded by the expenditure.

How did financing activity change VTM's cash position?

VTM used Rs 5.39 crore in financing activities, compared with Rs 13.27 crore in the comparative half-year. Net short-term borrowing repayment was Rs 3.77 crore, against Rs 4.53 crore previously, and net long-term borrowing repayment was Rs 5.33 lakh, compared with Rs 40.76 lakh in the earlier period.

Finance costs paid were Rs 1.56 crore, nearly double the Rs 79.30 lakh in the comparative period. No dividend payment was reported in the disclosed half-year, while the comparative period included Rs 7.54 crore of dividends paid. The absence of that dividend outflow accounts for much of the Rs 7.88 crore reduction in financing cash use.

Operating inflow of Rs 20.31 crore was offset by Rs 16.60 crore used in investing and Rs 5.39 crore used in financing. Cash and cash equivalents therefore decreased by Rs 1.68 crore, from Rs 2.91 crore at the beginning of the financial year to Rs 1.32 crore at the end of the period. The comparative closing cash balance was Rs 72.37 lakh.

What do VTM's disclosed balance-sheet figures indicate?

VTM's assets-and-liabilities statement, labelled as at September 30, 2025, reports inventories of Rs 157.81 crore and trade receivables of Rs 53.31 crore. At the March 31, 2025 year-end shown in that statement, inventories were Rs 152.01 crore and receivables were Rs 51.15 crore, increases of Rs 5.80 crore and Rs 2.17 crore respectively.

The same labelled balance sheet reports current borrowings of Rs 62.45 crore, down from Rs 64.23 crore at March 31, 2025, and non-current borrowings of Rs 8.88 crore, down from Rs 10.60 crore. Current assets were Rs 255.10 crore and current liabilities were Rs 113.59 crore, while total equity rose to Rs 321.39 crore from Rs 314.99 crore at the preceding year-end.

Property, plant and equipment were reported at Rs 128.40 crore, compared with Rs 121.68 crore at March 31, 2025. Capital work in progress was Rs 52.13 lakh at both dates. As a result, the Rs 17.45 crore cash-flow capital-expenditure line should not be treated as a direct measure of the period-on-period movement in capital work in progress alone.

The filing dated November 5, 2026 presents these cash-flow and balance-sheet tables alongside September 30, 2026 unaudited results, but their headers identify September 30, 2025, September 30, 2024 and March 31, 2025. The figures in the cash-flow table include Rs 6.22 crore of profit before tax, which matches the six-month result reported for September 30, 2026; the source does not explain the inconsistent table labels.

Conclusion

VTM's disclosed cash flows show that Rs 20.31 crore of operating cash funded Rs 17.45 crore of capital expenditure, even as inventories and receivables absorbed a combined Rs 7.96 crore. The greater investment outflow of Rs 16.60 crore and financing outflow of Rs 5.39 crore exceeded the operating inflow, leaving cash and cash equivalents Rs 1.68 crore lower at Rs 1.32 crore.

The next disclosure should show whether capital expenditure remains above the comparative half-year's Rs 8.64 crore and whether inventories, receivables, provisions and short-term borrowings continue to move in the same direction. Management states that textiles are seasonal and that quarterly results cannot be taken as an indicator of full-year working results; the filing also leaves the cash-flow and balance-sheet period labels unresolved.