Z-Tech India in FY26: Rapid growth, a parks platform story, and the working capital test

Z-Tech (India) Limited ended FY26 with a sharp jump in scale and profitability. On a consolidated basis, total income from operations for FY26 stood at 155.79 crore versus 94.40 crore in FY25, a year on year growth of 65.03 percent. EBITDA excluding other income increased to 43.00 crore, up 54.60 percent, while PAT rose to 35.86 crore, up 82.91 percent.

The March quarter also stood out. Q4 FY26 total income was 58.83 crore compared with 34.99 crore in Q4 FY25, translating into a 68.15 percent increase. EBITDA excluding other income came in at 19.34 crore and PAT at 19.13 crore. Management highlighted a strong PAT margin for Q4, supported by operating performance and what it described as efficient execution across projects.

Behind the numbers sits a strategy shift that management repeated in both the investor presentation and the earnings call. Z-Tech is positioning itself as an integrated sustainability-led infrastructure company across Habitat, Agua and Terra verticals, while moving from a predominantly EPC model toward a hybrid model where recurring and annuity revenues expand through its Zing Parks platform.

Business mix: Creative Parks remains the core

The company disclosed that Creative Parks contributed 72.28 percent of FY26 revenue, while Engineered Infra contributed 27.72 percent. In Q4 FY26, the mix was closer, with Creative Park at 57.07 percent and Engineered Infra at 42.93 percent.

Management also stated that the Creative Park business was a key driver of FY26 performance, with FY26 revenue contribution of 112.61 crore. This was linked to traction in government-led tourism and recreational infrastructure development projects.

The investor deck frames the Zing model as an experience-led operations and maintenance approach that converts parks into recurring revenue assets. It describes multiple park-level revenue streams such as ticketing, retail, food and beverages, events, adventure activities and sports. Management reinforced this in the call, where it spoke about generating revenue through ticketing, food and beverages, events, sports activities, adventure zones, brand partnerships and other recreational experiences.

Financial summary

Zing Parks: from EPC work to annuity revenues

A major emphasis in the materials is the push toward a recurring revenue engine. The investor presentation states that annuity revenue increased 100 percent year on year from 4 crore to 8 crore, and management reiterated on the call that recurring revenues from park operations grew more than 100 percent.

Management offered explicit guidance for FY27. It stated recurring revenue could rise from 8 crore to about 40 crore to 42 crore in FY27. It also discussed footfalls, saying more than 12 lakh visitors visited the parks over the past year and the company intends to take this to around 50 lakh visitors in FY27. It further explained that it had assumed only about three months of full operation for a set of new parks while calculating its projections.

The company also tied growth plans to operational execution. Management stated it moved from 4 to 11 parks in a year and expects to reach around 15 operational parks. It explained that parks can be physically completed but full commercial operations may face a pre-opening period, often because inaugurations are scheduled by political leadership and can get delayed beyond the company control.

The deck also shows efforts to build the distribution and marketing layer. It disclosed that social media reach increased from 4.4 crore in FY25 to 10 crore in FY26, while impressions rose from 12.5 crore to 51 crore. It also listed initiatives such as events listed on BookMyShow or district, an online park ticketing platform in development, and a Zing Parks app in development.

Engineered Infra: equipment led scale-up and a FY27 growth target

Alongside parks, management highlighted growth in engineered infra. It discussed reorganising the geosynthetics vertical into multiple categories and introduced a matrix structure across five sectors and four zones. The investor deck cited the start of a Vadodara technical lab for faster customised solutions and the start of direct bidding for government projects such as MoRTH, WRDs and DMRC.

In the earnings call, management addressed why borrowings increased sharply in FY26. It said the company purchased significant heavy machinery for site deployment in mining stabilization and related work, and that this drove the higher debt levels. It also stated it does not need further equipment deployment, implying that the incremental revenue over the next two years should come from utilisation of the purchased assets.

Management provided a concrete target for FY27, stating that the engineered vertical is expected to grow from about 43 crore in FY26 to about 75 crore in FY27.

Balance sheet: growth supported by higher working capital and borrowings

FY26 growth came with clear balance sheet expansion. Trade receivables rose to 93.97 crore in FY26 from 48.87 crore in FY25. Working capital days increased to 144.94 in FY26 from 125.51 in FY25. Total debt also increased, with long term borrowings at 27.13 crore and short term borrowings at 47.82 crore as of March 2026.

Management acknowledged investor concerns around negative cash flow from operations and the larger receivables base. Its response was that the company chose to accelerate park commissioning and shift parks into operating revenue streams rather than waiting for all EPC payments to be collected first. It also stated it tracks receivables closely, particularly amounts older than 180 days, and said most recoveries are under 180 days.

A separate investor question on preferential issue funds and fixed deposits drew a procedural clarification. Management said fixed deposits had been created with lien as collateral for bank guarantees, which a monitoring agency was not comfortable with. It said the company has taken note and is removing existing liens in the next quarter.

FY27: guidance points investors will track

Management shared several forward looking statements on the call:

1. Recurring revenue guidance of about 40 crore to 42 crore in FY27, up from 8 crore in FY26.
2. Engineered vertical revenue guidance of about 75 crore in FY27, up from about 43 crore in FY26.
3. Overall company revenue expectation of about 250 crore to 260 crore in FY27.
4. A debt stance that does not require further increase, with an expectation to reduce debt by about 5 crore to 10 crore during FY27.

The investor takeaway is straightforward. Z-Tech is attempting to build a consumer facing annuity layer on top of a government-linked infrastructure execution base. FY26 shows the operating scale is rising quickly, but the financial proof-point for FY27 will be whether recurring revenues ramp in line with guidance while receivables and working capital start to normalise.

If management delivers on higher operational park count, improved monetisation from ticketing, food and beverages, sports and events, and a steady engineered infra ramp without further balance sheet stretch, FY27 could become the year when the annuity model becomes visible in reported cash flows.