1. Opening Hook

Just when tyre demand was supposed to be stuck in neutral, Apollo walked in wearing Team India’s jersey like a Bollywood hero entering the climax scene. GST cuts, branding blitz, and margins flexing muscles—what could possibly go wrong? Europe, obviously.

Q2 FY26 was one of those quarters where management smiled confidently, analysts nodded cautiously, and Europe quietly sat in the corner pretending it’s “a transition year.” India delivered, margins behaved, raw materials cooperated, and debt stayed obedient. And then came cricket—because when in doubt, sponsor Team India and let nationalism do the marketing heavy lifting.

But beneath the chest-thumping growth narrative, there are restructuring bills, soft OEM demand, and competitive sharks circling the TBR segment. This call was equal parts optimism, damage control, and long-term storytelling.

Stick around. The fun begins once we decode what they didn’t shout from the rooftops.

2. At a Glance

• Revenue up 6% – Not explosive, but respectable enough to call it “momentum.”
• EBITDA margin at 14.9% – Margins finally remembered gym day.
• India EBITDA margin 15.3% – Domestic business clearly carrying Europe piggyback.
• Europe EBITDA margin 12.7% – Improved, yet still below management’s comfort zone.
• Net debt/EBITDA at 0.8x – Balance sheet behaving like a well-trained intern.
• Raw material costs down 3% QoQ – Nature and commodity gods briefly smiled.

3. Management’s Key Commentary

“We achieved the highest revenue growth in the last 10 quarters.”
(Translation: Please forget the previous nine 😏)

“Profitable growth continues to be our mantra.”
(Growth yes, but don’t ask for price wars.)

“Europe remains challenging, but we delivered growth.”
(Against all odds and a weak market, somehow.)

“GST rationalisation is a radical reform.”
(Thank you, government, for fixing our pricing headache.)

“Apollo Tyres is now the lead sponsor of the Indian cricket team.”
(If brand recall could be monetised instantly, margins would hit 20% 🏏)

“Raw material costs expected to be range-bound.”
(No nasty surprises—at least for one quarter.)

“Enschede closure will improve Europe profitability long-term.”
(Short-term pain, long-term PowerPoint optimism.)

4. Numbers Decoded

Margins improved more due to cost discipline and raw materials than volume fireworks.

5. Analyst Questions

• Market share recovery?
  Management says TBR share loss is “arrested.” Translation: bleeding stopped, healing pending.
• Replacement vs OEM demand?
  Replacement sluggish due to GST hiccups; OEM still picky. No miracles here.
• Europe outlook?
  Low single-digit growth expected. Translation: Don’t expect champagne yet.
• Enschede shutdown benefits?
  Payback in ~2 years.