Altman Z″
Needs current assets and current liabilities.
A plain-language read of the business, how it actually earns, where the edge is, and the economics of every reported segment — taken from the annual report and investor presentation, not a one-line industry label.
Trading at 49.2x earnings against its own median of 74.7x: 0.3 standard deviations below its usual range. This compares the company with its own history, not with other companies.
How to read this: Price shows the closing price with its 50-day (amber) and 200-day (grey) averages; bars at the bottom are daily volume, green on up days and red on down days; dashed lines mark the 52-week high and low. vs Nifty 50 starts both at 100 so you can see which did better over the period. P/E shows what the market paid for each rupee of profit, inside the band it usually trades in. Drawdown shows how far below its best price the share has been. Hover anywhere for the numbers on that day.
The three to six things that actually matter about this company, each with the exact filing and note it came from — never a fact without the context that makes it meaningful.
What the numbers mean when read together — computed from the filings, not a score.
Operating cash is 354% of trailing profit — the earnings are converting to real cash, not just accruals.
Why this reading: A positive signal: cash conversion at or above ~0.9 means reported profit is showing up as actual cash.
Operating cash ₹7,855 cr against trailing net profit ₹2,220 cr. Consistent conversion near or above 1.0 is a hallmark of genuine earnings.
Both revenue and profit grew over the last year (12.9% and 98.4%) — growth is translating to the bottom line.
Why this reading: A positive signal in the numbers, shown for balance alongside the concerns.
Trailing revenue ₹52,804 cr, trailing profit ₹2,323 cr. Profit growing at least as fast as revenue indicates operating leverage or pricing power.
Free cash flow is positive and consistent — the business funds itself after capex.
Why this reading: A positive signal in the numbers, shown for balance alongside the concerns.
Latest free cash flow ₹5,502 cr. Negative in only 0 of 12 years. A self-funding business needs less external capital and dilutes less.
Borrowings have fallen 21% over two years — the balance sheet is getting lighter.
Why this reading: A positive signal in the numbers, shown for balance alongside the concerns.
Borrowings down to ₹23,576 cr from ₹29,754 cr. Falling debt reduces finance cost and financial risk.
Every score below is calculated here from the reported numbers — none of it is asserted. Open the notebook at the foot of the section to see each formula with this company's figures in it.
Needs current assets and current liabilities.
Piotroski F-Score — fundamental momentum — Joseph Piotroski, University of Chicago, 2000, in a study of whether accounting signals could improve returns among cheap stocks.
Nine yes-or-no tests across profitability, leverage and operating efficiency. Each pass scores one. It asks a narrow question: is this business getting better or worse on its own terms, year over year?
How to read it7 or more suggests improving fundamentals; 3 or fewer suggests deterioration. It measures direction, not quality — a weak company improving can score higher than a strong one holding steady.
Where it failsA single year of comparison, so one unusual year distorts it. Says nothing about valuation, competitive position or management. Piotroski designed it to rank already-cheap stocks, not to judge a company in isolation.
Needs trade receivables, current assets, other expenses.
Accruals are -6.3% of assets. Free cash flow negative in 0 of 12 years.
DuPont decomposition — Devised inside the DuPont Corporation in the 1920s and still the standard way to read a return on equity.
Splits return on equity into its three sources, so the same headline number can be traced to very different businesses.
How to read itA 20% ROE built on margin and turnover is a different proposition from a 20% ROE built on 3× leverage. The first survives a downturn; the second amplifies it.
Where it failsA single year. Negative equity makes it meaningless. Leverage is structural for lenders, so the third term carries no signal there.
Capital and revenue are growing at broadly similar rates — the asset base is being used, not just added to.
cumulative operating cash flow ÷ cumulative net profit
₹61,110 cr ÷ ₹23,163 cr, over 12 years
2.64×
Above 1.0 means cash exceeds reported profit — the healthier reading.(net profit − operating cash flow) ÷ average total assets
(₹2,220 − ₹7,855) cr ÷ average assets
-6.3%
Negative means cash exceeded profit — the healthier reading. Positive above ~10% is where accruals start to dominate earnings.net margin × asset turnover × leverage
4.3% × 0.56 × 2.68
6.4%
Splits ROE into whether returns come from operations or from borrowing.EBIT ÷ finance cost
₹6,558 cr ÷ ₹3,401 cr
1.93×
How many times operating profit covers the interest bill.borrowings ÷ net worth
₹23,576 cr ÷ ₹34,696 cr
0.68×
Read against the sector — infrastructure carries more than software.growth in fixed assets + CWIP, against growth in revenue
capital +9% vs revenue +-3%, FY2023 to FY2026
12pp gap
Money going in far faster than revenue coming out. For an incubator this is expected — the test is whether it eventually converts.Needs more balance-sheet detail (only 3 of 6 flags testable).
NOPAT over equity plus debt less cash, at a notional 25% tax. Incremental ROIC is the return on money put in since then — the number that decides whether growth creates value or consumes it.
Return on invested capital, and incremental ROIC — Standard in corporate finance; the incremental form was popularised by Michael Mauboussin as the test of whether growth creates value.
ROIC measures what the business earns on all the capital it employs — equity plus debt, less cash. Incremental ROIC asks a sharper question: what has it earned on the money put in since a chosen year?
How to read itROIC comfortably above the cost of capital — call it 11–13% in India — means growth compounds. Below it, growth consumes. Incremental below headline means recent investment is earning less than the legacy business.
Where it failsDistorted in the year of a large acquisition. Understated for companies mid-build, where capital is deployed but capacity has not yet been commissioned — an incubator will look poor until it does not.
Read downward. Cash can cover EBITDA and still not survive capex — the third rung is where a capital-hungry business shows itself.
The earnings quality ladder — Not a named model — the standard sequence an analyst walks when testing whether reported profit is real.
Three ratios read in order, each stricter than the last.
How to read itRead downward. Each rung failing where the one above passed tells you exactly where the cash is going.
Where it failsA single year of heavy capex depresses the third rung legitimately. Judge it across a cycle.
The growth rate that makes today's market value equal the discounted cash flows, at a 11.5% discount rate and 4.0% terminal growth. Not a forecast — the arithmetic of what is already in the price. Compare it with what the business has actually delivered.
Reverse DCF — the growth already in the price — A standard inversion of discounted cash flow, used to avoid the forecasting problem entirely.
Instead of forecasting cash flows and deriving a value, it takes today's market value as given and solves for the growth rate that would justify it. The output is not a view — it is the arithmetic of what the market is currently assuming.
How to read itCompare it with what the business has actually delivered. A price implying 30% a year against a decade of 15% is a demanding assumption; the reverse is a modest one.
Where it failsUseless when free cash flow is negative or unusually depressed, which is common mid-capex. Highly sensitive to the discount rate — a point either way moves the answer materially.
Against a policy rate near 6%, most sound Indian corporates borrow between 7% and 10%.
Cost of debt — Interest expense over average borrowings — the effective rate the company actually pays.
What the lenders charge, which is a market verdict on credit quality that no rating agency delay affects.
How to read itAgainst a policy rate near 6%, most sound Indian corporates borrow between 7% and 10%. Read the direction over years as much as the level.
Where it failsUnderstated where a large share of interest is capitalised into projects under construction. Not meaningful for lenders, where interest is cost of goods.
Some figures appear twice on this page with different values. That is not an error — they sit on different bases. The live feed reports a rolling twelve months; everything computed here comes from the last audited statements. Both are shown so you can see which is which.
Where the two disagree, every model, screen and ratio computed on this page uses the filed figure, because the rest of the page is on that basis.
Models that need these lines are withheld rather than estimated: net worth, current assets, current liabilities, trade receivables, inventory, net block. Nothing on this page is back-solved from a figure the company did not publish.
Each framework below is a set of stated, mechanical criteria from published work, run against this company's own filed numbers. Passing or failing a screen is not a verdict — different frameworks disagree by design, and that disagreement is itself informative.
Benjamin Graham's stated criteria for a defensive stock, applied to the filed numbers. A company failing several is not disqualified — Graham designed these to be deliberately strict.
Two ratios only: what the business earns on its capital, and what you pay for those earnings. Designed to be ranked across a universe rather than read in isolation.
The fundamental half of William O'Neil's framework. The market and leadership components are judgement calls and are not scored here.
The characteristics long-term holders commonly look for: cash-backed earnings, high returns on capital, and debt that never forces a decision.
Median of the companies we hold in the same sector (Chemicals). Every figure on both sides is the live feed's trailing twelve months, so the two are measured the same way whatever depth of extraction this company has had. A number only means something next to something else — expensive against the market and cheap against peers are different facts.
Bars are revenue; the line is net margin. Revenue rising while the line falls is the shape worth noticing.
Operating cash first, then what the business spent and raised.
One year is a snapshot. These are the two lines that matter across a cycle.
Rising debtor or inventory days against flat sales is the earliest visible sign of stress.
Set your own assumptions and watch the numbers move. A scenario calculator — the outputs are the arithmetic of your inputs.
One canonical set of figures — the same numbers used everywhere else on this page and on the screener.
How the register has moved over recent quarters — the direction matters more than the level.
Promoter held steady from 33.50% to 33.51% across these quarters.
FII rose from 38.84% to 42.39% across these quarters.
MF rose from 7.68% to 8.57% across these quarters.
Other trimmed from 19.98% to 15.53% across these quarters.
Where cash gets stuck. A rising inventory or debtor line against flat sales is the earliest sign of trouble in the numbers.
| Measure | FY2019 | FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debtor days
How long customers take to pay | 195 | 121 | 115 | 121 | 124 | 138 | 121 | 126 |
| Inventory days
How long stock sits before it sells | 306 | 153 | 180 | 216 | 187 | 198 | 155 | 179 |
| Payable days
How long the company takes to pay suppliers | 330 | 199 | 244 | 274 | 236 | 196 | 164 | 169 |
| Cash conversion cycle
Debtor + inventory − payable days | 171 | 75 | 51 | 64 | 76 | 141 | 113 | 135 |
| Working capital days | 127 | 59 | 52 | 36 | 46 | 52 | 9 | 5 |
| ROCE %
Return on capital employed | 10.0% | 10.0% | 13.0% | 14.0% | 14.0% | 3.0% | 8.0% | 10.0% |
| Metric | Q2 FY27 | Q2 FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Volumes (mt) | -10 | 0 |
| Channel inventory days (days) | 145 | 118 |
| Q2 Contribution Margin | 42.9% | 41.9% |
| Days Inventory Outstanding (days) | 140 | 124 |
| Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) (days) | 150 | 146 |
| Trailing 12-Month Net Debt to EBITDA (x) | 2.9 | 2.7 |
| Structural Debt (Net Debt less Net Working Capital) ($ million) | 800 | — |
From the quarterly results and the earnings call, read by FinMinutes. Latest quarter, read in full.
Read using the Agriculture, fertilisers and agrochemicals framework (named in the filing read). Primary valuation lens: P/E through the season.
Read more closely in this sector: Age of subsidy receivables · Channel inventory build.
The shape of the business over time (annual) — read the direction, not the single print.
| Line | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue from operations | 38,694 | 46,240 | 53,576 | 43,098 | 46,637 | 51,839 |
| Other income | 62 | 91 | 464 | 231 | 78 | 724 |
| Depreciation | 2,173 | 2,359 | 2,547 | 2,763 | 2,750 | 3,244 |
| Finance cost | 2,060 | 2,295 | 2,963 | 3,852 | 3,627 | 3,401 |
| Profit before tax | 4,181 | 4,966 | 5,150 | -2,087 | 829 | 3,157 |
| Net profit (owners) | 3,495 | 4,437 | 4,414 | -1,878 | 820 | 2,220 |
| EPS (₹) | 33.40 | 42.18 | 42.28 | -14.21 | 10.62 | 22.78 |
Exceptional items, total income and EBITDA are read from the filed statements.
| Metric | Sep 2023 | Dec 2023 | Mar 2024 | Jun 2024 | Sep 2024 | Dec 2024 | Mar 2025 | Jun 2025 | Sep 2025 | Dec 2025 | Mar 2026 | Jun 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 10,170 | 9,887 | 14,078 | 9,067 | 11,090 | 10,907 | 15,573 | 9,216 | 12,019 | 12,269 | 18,335 | 10,181 |
| Other Income | 18 | 134 | 66 | 49 | 103 | 94 | -168 | 152 | 392 | 36 | 162 | 208 |
| Expenses | 9,049 | 9,820 | 12,230 | 7,998 | 9,873 | 9,229 | 12,409 | 7,820 | 10,072 | 10,033 | 14,854 | 8,814 |
| Depreciation | 657 | 676 | 794 | 660 | 697 | 688 | 705 | 731 | 771 | 827 | 915 | 832 |
| Finance cost | 871 | 1,191 | 1,090 | 913 | 1,070 | 730 | 914 | 1,007 | 784 | 774 | 836 | 852 |
| Profit before tax | -389 | -1,666 | 30 | -455 | -447 | 354 | 1,377 | -190 | 784 | 671 | 1,892 | -109 |
| Net Profit | -293 | -1,607 | -80 | -527 | -585 | 853 | 1,079 | -176 | 612 | 490 | 1,294 | -73 |
| EPS | -2.24 | -14.41 | 0.47 | -4.55 | -5.25 | 9.81 | 10.61 | -1.04 | 6.56 | 4.70 | 12.57 | 0.12 |
| Item | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equity Capital | 153 | 153 | 150 | 150 | 159 | 169 |
| Reserves | 20,734 | 24,508 | 26,708 | 24,657 | 29,054 | 34,527 |
| Borrowings | 24,519 | 26,746 | 23,939 | 29,754 | 25,099 | 23,576 |
| Net block | 34,765 | 36,193 | 38,713 | 39,056 | 39,084 | 42,153 |
| CWIP | 2,117 | 2,501 | 2,818 | 2,965 | 2,546 | 3,147 |
| Investments | 618 | 1,922 | 1,615 | 2,154 | 2,328 | 2,666 |
| Total Assets | 68,765 | 80,603 | 86,115 | 85,140 | 86,012 | 93,119 |
| Line | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash from operations | 7,212 | 6,496 | 7,751 | 2,321 | 10,151 | 7,855 |
| Cash from investing | -2,426 | -3,575 | -1,354 | -2,509 | -1,823 | -1,475 |
| Cash from financing | -6,713 | -1,921 | -6,227 | 164 | -4,793 | -9,883 |
| Free cash flow | 5,147 | 3,931 | 5,462 | 367 | 8,896 | 5,502 |
| Net change in cash | -1,927 | 1,000 | 170 | -24 | 3,535 | -3,503 |
Cash from operations is the number profit has to answer to. Free cash flow is what remains after the business pays for its own growth.
The part no one reads: the auditor's opinion, the contingent liabilities buried in the notes, the covenants, and the claims in the deck placed beside the figures that test them.
Where analysts pressed management on the earnings call, and exactly how management answered — the questions that were hardest to answer are usually the ones that matter.
These are coverage counts, not ratings. Each one asks a fixed set of questions of the filings and reports how many the company answered. A company that discloses nothing counts nothing here — that is a statement about the disclosure, not about the business.
The same read, applied to the companies this one competes with.
UPL Ltd. reported revenue of ₹11,860 cr for July to September 2026, −1.3% on the year and +16.5% on the quarter. That is slower than this quarter has grown in recent years (+8.7% on average). Over the last four quarters revenue comes to ₹52,645 cr, +10.3% on the four before.
Operating profit (EBITDA) was ₹2,200 cr, a margin of 18.5%, +190 bps on the year and +431 bps on the quarter. Over the last 8 quarters the margin has ranged from 14.2% to 20.3%, averaging 17.2%. Operating costs grew −3.6% against revenue growth of −1.3%, so more of each rupee of sales reached operating profit.
Net profit was ₹452 cr, −26.1% on the year and — on the quarter, with earnings per share of ₹4.99. Profit before other income, one-offs and tax fell 36.7%, so 11 points of the headline growth came from outside the core business. The tax rate of 27% is in line with its recent average. Profit over the last four quarters totals ₹2,163 cr, −8.7% on the four before.
Of the 3 companies in Agriculture, fertilisers and agrochemicals that have reported Q2 FY27 so far, UPL Ltd. ranks 2nd on revenue growth; the sector median is −6.4%. Its margin moved +190 bps on the year against a sector median of +65 bps.
Agri inputs are seasonal and move with the monsoon and with subsidy payments, so quarters are best compared with the same quarter a year earlier.
On earnings per share of ₹22.38 over the last four quarters, the stock at ₹534.65 trades at 23.9 times trailing earnings.
Profit with no operating cash behind it. Where did the cash go?
Source: Cash flow statement
“Net Working Capital Days Q2 FY27 (145 days, +27 days YoY) up: Driven by a 16-day increase in inventory days from higher input costs, lower crop volumes, and H2 inventory build-up.”Earnings call, transcript p.10-11
Inventory is piling up against sales. Slow demand, or stocking ahead?
Source: Balance sheet
“Net Working Capital Days Q2 FY27 (145 days, +27 days YoY) up: Driven by a 16-day increase in inventory days from higher input costs, lower crop volumes, and H2 inventory build-up.”Earnings call, transcript p.10-11
Receivables grew much faster than sales. Who has not paid, and why?
Source: Balance sheet
“Net Working Capital Days Q2 FY27 (145 days, +27 days YoY) up: Driven by a 16-day increase in inventory days from higher input costs, lower crop volumes, and H2 inventory build-up.”Earnings call, transcript p.10-11
Could not run on this quarter: IPO money used as stated, Related-party transactions, Promoter pledges and allotments, Earlier promises against delivery. The filing did not carry these lines.
Net profit a year ago, each driver's change, and net profit now. Blue added profit, red took it away.
| Balance sheet | Sep '26 | Last year end | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trade receivables | ₹18,638 cr | ₹18,343 cr | ▲ 1.6% |
| Inventory | ₹20,165 cr | ₹12,676 cr | ▲ 59.1% |
| Cash | ₹3,268 cr | ₹5,975 cr | ▼ 45.3% |
| Bank balances | ₹64.0 cr | ₹111 cr | ▼ 42.3% |
| Long-term borrowings | ₹10,926 cr | ₹15,535 cr | ▼ 29.7% |
| Short-term borrowings | ₹21,789 cr | ₹6,511 cr | ▲ 234.6% |
| Trade payables | ₹14,046 cr | ₹12,018 cr | ▲ 16.9% |
| Net block | ₹8,321 cr | ₹8,474 cr | ▼ 1.8% |
| Capital work in progress | ₹1,308 cr | ₹999 cr | ▲ 30.9% |
| Equity | ₹34,824 cr | ₹34,696 cr | ▲ 0.4% |
| Total assets | ₹1.01 lakh cr | ₹95,205 cr | ▲ 6.1% |
| Cash flow, year to date | This year | Last year |
|---|---|---|
| Operating cash flow | −₹9,587 cr | −₹4,811 cr |
| Capital expenditure | −₹798 cr | −₹989 cr |
| Investing cash flow | −₹1,270 cr | −₹793 cr |
| Financing cash flow | ₹8,124 cr | −₹155 cr |
| Dividends paid | −₹507 cr | −₹478 cr |
Operating cash flow was -25.30× profit. Receivables at 154 days of sales (+25 days against the last year end). Inventory at 167 days of sales (+78 days).
Other matter 1: “”We did not review the financial information of 31 Subsidiaries included in the Statement, whose financial information reflects total assets (before consolidation adjustments) of Rs. 1,28,894 crores as at 30 September 2026 and total revenues (before consolidation adjustments) of Rs.… Read in full
We did not review the financial information of 31 Subsidiaries included in the Statement, whose financial information reflects total assets (before consolidation adjustments) of Rs. 1,28,894 crores as at 30 September 2026 and total revenues (before consolidation adjustments) of Rs. 8,444 crores and Rs. 14,784 crores, total net profit after tax (before consolidation adjustments) of Rs. 4,344 crores and Rs. 9,201 crores and total comprehensive income (before consolidation adjustments) of Rs. 4,349 crores and Rs. 9,208 crores, for the quarter ended 30 September 2026 and for the period from 01 April 2026 to 30 September 2026 respectively, and net cash outflows (before consolidation adjustments) of Rs. 1,020 crores for the period from 01 April 2026 to 30 September 2026 as considered in the Statement.
Other matter 2: “”The Statement includes the interim financial information of 153 Subsidiaries which have not been reviewed, whose interim financial information reflects total assets (before consolidation adjustments) of Rs. 1,65,257 crores as at 30 September 2026 and total revenues (before consolidation adjustments)… Read in full
The Statement includes the interim financial information of 153 Subsidiaries which have not been reviewed, whose interim financial information reflects total assets (before consolidation adjustments) of Rs. 1,65,257 crores as at 30 September 2026 and total revenues (before consolidation adjustments) of Rs. 4,818 crores and Rs. 10,108 crores, total net profit after tax (before consolidation adjustments) of Rs. 2,511 crores and Rs. 2,958 crores and total comprehensive income (before consolidation adjustments) of Rs. 2,509 crores and Rs. 2,956 crores, for the quarter ended 30 September 2026 and for the period from 01 April 2026 to 30 September 2026 respectively, and net cash outflows (before consolidation adjustments) of Rs. 1,076 crores for the period from 01 April 2026 to 30 September 2026 as considered in the Statement. The Statement also includes the Group's share of net loss after tax of Rs. 132 crores and Rs. 215 crores and total comprehensive loss of Rs. 130 crores and Rs. 207 crores for the quarter ended 30 September 2026 and for the period from 01 April 2026 to 30 September 2026 respectively as considered in the Statement, in respect of 17 associates and 6 joint ventures, based on their interim financial information which have not been reviewed.
Filing p. limited review report p.1-2
Composite Scheme of Arrangement approved for amalgamation of UPL SAS into UPL Ltd, demerger into UPL Global, and amalgamation of UPLCL into UPL Global; received observation letters from BSE & NSE on July 29, 2026. (p. consolidated note 7)
Tax: Consolidated tax expense of ₹163.00 crore (current tax ₹330.00 crore, deferred tax credit ₹167.00 crore) on Profit before tax of ₹615.00 crore
| Metric | Q2 FY27 | Q2 FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Volumes (mt) | -10 | 0 |
| Channel inventory days (days) | 145 | 118 |
| Q2 Contribution Margin | 42.9% | 41.9% |
| Days Inventory Outstanding (days) | 140 | 124 |
| Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) (days) | 150 | 146 |
| Trailing 12-Month Net Debt to EBITDA (x) | 2.9 | 2.7 |
| Structural Debt (Net Debt less Net Working Capital) ($ million) | 800 | — |
not disclosed
Government subsidy receivables are not applicable as UPL is an agrochemical and seed solutions provider rather than a subsidized fertilizer manufacturer.
Consolidated net working capital expanded by 27 days YoY to 145 days, led by DIO increasing 16 days to 140 days (inventory at ₹20,165 crore) due to seasonal H2 build-up, lower crop protection volumes, and Latin America/Europe channel illiquidity.
Inventory accumulation and working capital expansion reflect persistent channel illiquidity in LATAM and weather disruptions in Europe.
Read using the Agriculture, fertilisers and agrochemicals framework (named in the filing read). Primary valuation lens: P/E through the season.
Read more closely in this sector: Age of subsidy receivables · Channel inventory build.
| This quarter | YoY | |
|---|---|---|
| Superform (Manufacturing & Specialty Chemicals) | 3579.00 | +28.0% |
| UPL Corp (Global Crop Protection) | 7972.00 | −8.0% |
| UPL SAS (India Crop Protection) | 921.00 | +1.0% |
| Advanta (Seeds & Post-Harvest) | 1875.00 | +12.0% |
Source: transcript p.13, 14, 16, 18
| This quarter | YoY | |
|---|---|---|
| Superform EBIT | 323.00 | +39.0% |
| UPL Corp EBITDA | 1083.00 | — |
| UPL SAS EBITDA | 214.00 | +3.0% |
| Advanta EBITDA | 510.00 | +19.0% |
Source: transcript p.14, 16, 17, 19
| This quarter | YoY | |
|---|---|---|
| Advanta H1 Revenue | 3629.00 | +18.0% |
| Advanta H1 EBITDA | 868.00 | +21.0% |
| UPL Crop H1 Revenue | 14345.00 | −2.0% |
| UPL SAS H1 EBITDA | 553.00 | +20.0% |
Source: transcript p.16, 17, 19
| Metric | Guidance | For | Against earlier guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue Growth Guidance | 7.00–11.00 % | FY2027 | was maintained (reconfirmed comfortable with guidance) |
| EBITDA Growth Guidance | 10.00–14.00 % | FY2027 | was maintained (reconfirmed comfortable with guidance) |
| Net Debt to EBITDA Target | 1.50–1.50 x | Medium-term | was maintained |
| Capex and Growth Investment Guidance | 425.00 | FY2027 | was maintained |
Held for next quarter's said-then-did check.
| Question | Answer | Answered? |
|---|---|---|
| Are you going ahead with the corporate reorganization scheme or open to reworking it given negative market perception? | Management stated they cannot comment on this call but will update the market in accordance with listing obligations if there are material developments. | deflected |
| Why is LIC nominating a director on the board at this time? | LIC is a long-term shareholder and NRC felt bringing senior LIC expertise in finance/risk enhances overall board governance; timing should not be misconstrued. | yes |
| Are the ₹75 crore VAT provision reversal and ₹57 crore corporate settlement one-off items that should be in exceptional? | VAT reversal was an operational working capital provision reversal, and the ₹57 crore settlement was an operational take-or-pay contract termination fee. | yes |
| When will higher Chinese glufosinate and technical prices reflect in higher realizations in Americas markets? | Price increases will take effect in Americas once lower-cost channel inventory liquidates during the ongoing season. | yes |
| What was the factoring amount this quarter and what is the net debt and capex guidance? | Factoring was ~$70 million lower YoY; capex and growth investment guidance remains $425 million, with medium-term net debt to EBITDA target at 1.5x. | partly |
| Why did employee expenses decline 15% YoY in Q2? | Driven by GBS transition (headcount up 3x across lower-cost hubs in Pune, Colombia, Mauritius), target operating model cost savings, and FX devaluation. | yes |
Tone against the last call. Management shifted from focusing solely on reported net debt reduction targets to introducing 'structural debt' ($800 million / 0.7x gearing) to explain working capital expansion.
| Segment | Revenue | YoY | Result | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crop protection | ₹9,034 cr | ▼ 7.2% | ₹1,214 cr | ▲ 9.1% |
| Seeds & Post harvest | ₹1,858 cr | ▲ 10.9% | ₹425 cr | ▲ 24.6% |
| Non agro | ₹1,060 cr | ▲ 61.8% | ₹154 cr | ▲ 38.7% |
UPL delivered Q2 FY27 revenue of ₹11,860 crore (-1% YoY) and H1 FY27 revenue of ₹22,041 crore (+4% YoY), supported by double-digit growth in Advanta (+12%) and Superform (+28%) which cushioned a 16% volume drop in global crop protection (UPL Corp). Operational net profit reached ₹422 crore in Q2, driven by an eighth consecutive quarter of EBITDA margin expansion (+120 bps to 19.5%) and SG&A cost optimization. However, operating cash flow was constrained as net working capital expanded by 27 days to 145 days, pushing reported net debt to ~$3 billion. UPL mitigated refinancing risk by extending $400 million of debt to FY32. What remains unresolved is the working capital unwinding trajectory in LATAM and the final timeline for the corporate reorganization scheme.
What matters most. Normalization of working capital and liquidation of high-cost channel inventory in LATAM during H2 to convert inventory into cash flow and reduce reported net debt.
What would change it. Further expansion in working capital days beyond 145 days or persistent volume contraction in UPL Corp during the peak H2 season.
| Q3 FY24 | Q4 FY24 | Q1 FY25 | Q2 FY25 | Q3 FY25 | Q4 FY25 | Q1 FY26 | Q2 FY26 | Q3 FY26 | Q4 FY26 | Q1 FY27 | Q2 FY27 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ₹9,887 cr | ₹14,078 cr | ₹9,067 cr | ₹11,090 cr | ₹10,907 cr | ₹15,573 cr | ₹9,216 cr | ₹12,019 cr | ₹12,269 cr | ₹18,335 cr | ₹10,181 cr | ₹11,860 cr |
| YoY | — | — | +1% | +9% | +10% | +11% | +2% | +8% | +12% | +18% | +10% | −1% |
| EBITDA margin | 0.7% | 13.1% | 11.8% | 11.0% | 15.4% | 20.3% | 15.1% | 16.6% | 18.2% | 19.0% | 14.2% | 18.5% |
| Other income, % of PBT | — | 220% | — | — | 27% | −12% | — | 32% | 5% | 9% | — | 30% |
| Exceptional items | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | −₹142 cr | — | — | ₹9.0 cr | ₹1.0 cr |
| Tax rate | — | — | — | — | — | 22% | — | 22% | 27% | 32% | — | 27% |
| Net profit | −₹1,607 cr | −₹80.0 cr | −₹527 cr | −₹585 cr | ₹853 cr | ₹1,079 cr | −₹176 cr | ₹612 cr | ₹490 cr | ₹1,294 cr | −₹73.0 cr | ₹452 cr |
| YoY | — | — | −617% | — | — | — | — | — | −43% | +20% | — | −26% |
| Core profit YoY | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | +144% | +12% | — | −37% |
| EPS | −₹14.41 | ₹0.47 | −₹4.55 | −₹5.25 | ₹9.81 | ₹10.61 | −₹1.04 | ₹6.75 | ₹4.70 | ₹12.57 | ₹0.12 | ₹4.99 |
| Flags | · | 1 | 1 | ✓ | ✓ | 1 | ✓ | 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 3 |
Each quarter is read with the same rules. Balance-sheet and cash checks run on half-year and annual quarters; filing-read checks run where a read exists.