Skipper Ltd reveals a record-breaking order book and strong profit growth in Q1 FY27, despite export challenges, with plans for capacity expansion and a positive future outlook driven by improved order inflows and strategic financial measures.
Skipper Ltd said its first quarter of FY27 delivered record revenue, stronger profits and a larger order book, even as export delays and uneven project timing restrained top-line growth. The engineering and infrastructure group reported revenue of INR1,310 crores, up 4.5% from a year earlier, while EBITDA rose 10% and the margin improved to 10.7%. Profit after tax climbed 26% to INR56.5 crores, helped by better operating leverage, a richer project mix and lower finance costs. The company also pointed to a recent preferential equity raise of INR433.5 crores from marquee investors and a subsequent upgrade in its credit rating to A+ with a stable outlook, moves that it said should strengthen financial flexibility and lower borrowing costs.
Management said the order environment has improved sharply after a quieter FY26. The company’s unexecuted order book reached a record level of more than INR9,200 crores, with fresh order inflows of INR1,674 crores and a bidding pipeline of about INR35,000 crores. It said most of the existing order book should be executed over 2 to 2.5 years and estimated that roughly INR5,000 crores could be converted into revenue during FY27, alongside new wins. The company’s commentary on the call suggested total FY27 order inflows could exceed INR7,000 crores, lifting the closing order book above INR10,000 crores.
Export activity remained the softest part of the business, but the company described the weakness as temporary rather than structural. It blamed geopolitical disruption, high freight costs and shipment deferrals by customers for slower revenue recognition, especially in the engineering segment. Even so, management said it expects export order inflow to rise by more than 50% this year, with export orders targeted at about INR1,100 crores. The company also said it is seeing interest from developed markets including the US and Australia and remains focused on building exports into a much larger share of overall inflows over time.
At the same time, Skipper is pushing ahead with capacity expansion and margin improvement plans. Arthneeti reported that the company expects 75,000 tonnes of added capacity to come on stream by the end of the second quarter of FY27, with further phases planned later to take total capacity to 450,000 tonnes by the end of FY28. That expansion is expected to support revenue growth as utilisation improves. Management said the margin gain is structural, aided by the fading impact of legacy low-margin contracts, better pricing in new work and active commodity-risk management through inventory and hedging. Still, it acknowledged challenges in recruiting and retaining skilled technical staff, while also flagging a slower start to FY27 because of monsoons and continued export logistics issues. The company kept its full-year revenue growth target at 15%, with stronger momentum expected in the second half.
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