Shares of Ahluwalia Contracts plummeted over 10% following management’s downward revision of revenue and margin forecasts for FY27, raising concerns about execution amidst a substantial order book and recent project wins.
Ahluwalia Contracts (India) came under heavy selling pressure on Tuesday after management cut its growth and profitability outlook for the next fiscal year, a shift that unsettled investors despite the group’s sizeable order book. The shares closed 10.56% lower at Rs 710 on the NSE on August 18 after the company, in its post-results conference call, pared back guidance for revenue growth, margins and new contract wins.
According to Zee Business, the sharpest disappointment was the reduction in FY27 revenue guidance to 12% to 15%, from an earlier target of 15% to 20%. The company also stepped back from its earlier double-digit EBITDA margin ambition, saying margins are now likely to remain in the single-digit range. Its order inflow goal was cut even more aggressively, to Rs 4,000 crore-Rs 5,000 crore from Rs 8,000 crore. That matters because the company already has an order book of about Rs 20,700 crore, so the market is focused less on project availability than on how profitably those jobs can be executed.
The caution follows a difficult first quarter. Zee Business said the period was hit by a one-off provision, labour-related issues and a higher wage bill, which helped push EBITDA down 44% and net profit down 78%. The EBITDA margin fell to 4.3% from 8.6% a year earlier. That contrasts with the stronger performance the company had posted earlier in the year: ICICI Direct said Ahluwalia Contracts reported revenue growth of 16.4% in Q1 FY26, with EBITDA margin at 10.9%, while Business Standard reported that for the quarter ended March 2026, net profit slipped 1.57% even as sales rose 8.76%.
The company still has work lined up on major projects including CSMT, Central Vista and the Gems & Jewellery Park, and management expects CSMT alone to contribute around Rs 500 crore of revenue in FY27, according to Zee Business. Even so, the near-term debate is likely to remain centred on execution, labour costs and whether margins can recover quickly enough to support earnings. The stock’s slide suggests investors are no longer rewarding the order book on its own; they want clearer evidence that those contracts can translate into healthier profits.
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