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1. Opening Hook
Everest Kanto Cylinder just pulled off a stat that reads like a magician’s card trick: consolidated profit after tax rocketed 50.1% year-on-year to ₹146.7 crore while consolidated revenue declined 1.9% to ₹1,470.6 crore. Full-year EBITDA margins expanded 210 basis points to 13.8%. The story isn’t growth—it’s margin architecture. Two greenfield plants (Mundra live, Egypt imminent) are still in ramp-mode, the US business is “steady,” and the Dubai operation spent the year at 50% utilization. Yet profit nearly doubled. How?
2. At a Glance
Full-year consolidated revenue – ₹1,470.6 crore, down 1.9% YoY (the market grew; EKC shrank).
Consolidated EBITDA – ₹203 crore, up 15.7% YoY; margins swelled 210 bps to 13.8% (mix and realisations did the lifting).
Consolidated PAT – ₹146.7 crore, up 50.1% YoY (profit grew faster than revenue contracted—margin play, not volume play).
Standalone revenues – ₹966.7 crore; standalone EBITDA margins jumped 540 bps to 16.0% (the core business is tighter than the group).
Q4 alone – Revenue ₹358.2 crore (down 15.1% QoQ, the seasonal Q4 dip), PAT ₹45.7 crore (up 150% YoY—outlier quarter).
Dividend – ₹0.70 per share recommended (payout ratio 5.3%, conservative).
“We are pleased to report a healthy performance for FY2026, marked by improved profitability, margin expansion, and continued progress on our strategic initiatives.” (Translation: The numbers moved up where we wanted—profits, margins. Volume was not the vector.)
“Our India business continued to witness strong demand across both CNG and industrial gas applications, with industrial applications seeing a healthy increase during the year.” (Translation: CNG-to-EV’s not a cliff yet; industrial pockets—semiconductors, defence—are the actual growth buckets.)
“We successfully commenced operations at our greenfield Mundra facility, which strengthens our ability to cater to growing domestic demand. In addition, our Egypt facility is progressing steadily and is expected to commence operations shortly.” (Translation: Capacity is live and inert. Six months to stabilise, then ramp. Earnings accretion is a forward event, not today’s story.)
On Dubai, when asked about geopolitical headwinds: “Definitely there will be improvement. Even in this difficult situation, we are working at around 50% and the order book is improving. The order book is there. Only thing is that the Middle East situation on shipment and other things are difficult. Hopefully, this year should be a better year.”** (Translation: The book is good. The logistics are broken. “Hopefully this year” is hope, not guarantee. At 50% utilization, the downside is already baked in; upside needs shipping to unbreak.)
On CNG pricing and demand risk: “I think the CNG prices have increased, but they are not increased so much. The PV market mainly will depend on how the petrol prices move… You know, the increase is not so substantial. The things should I think continue at least there should not be much impact on the PV sales.”** (Translation: Price elasticity lives in the petrol–CNG spread. If both rise together, substitution holds. If CNG outpaces petrol, volume cracks. Management doesn’t see that yet—but it’s a sensitivity, not a forecast.)
On US order book: “The order book in U.S.A. is around US$75 million and it is for the period between 18 months to 24 months to be executed.”** (Translation: ₹620+ crore of visibility in a 24-month window from a mid-sized subsidiary. Steady, not exponential.)
On Egypt and Mundra ramp-up: “On Mundra, we have already started production. The ramp-up will happen maybe 6 months down the line because everything needs to stabilize and move ahead. On Egypt, we may be operational by the end of this month and the ramp-up will start happening again after 6 months.”** (Translation: Both plants are on the “stabilise, then accelerate” arc. Earnings from these are a Q4 FY27 or later story.)
4. Numbers Decoded
Metric
FY26
FY25
Change
Q4 FY26
Q4 FY25
Change
Consolidated Revenue (₹ Cr)
1,470.6
1,498.8
–1.9%
358.2
421.5
–15.1%
Consolidated EBITDA (₹ Cr)
203.0
175.4
+15.7%
39.6
37.9
+4.5%
EBITDA Margin (%)
13.8%
11.7%
+210 bps
11.1%
9.0%
+210 bps
Consolidated PAT (₹ Cr)
146.7
97.8
+50.1%
45.7
18.3
+150%
Consolidated EPS (₹)
13.09
8.73
+50.1%
4.09
1.63
+151%
Standalone Revenue (₹ Cr)
966.7
976.1
–0.9%
—
—
—
Standalone EBITDA Margin (%)
16.0%
10.6%
+540 bps
—
—
—
Standalone PAT (₹ Cr)
81.2
53.3
+52.3%
—
—
—
Debt (₹ Cr)
267
143
+86.7%
—
—
—
Cash from Operations (₹ Cr)
142
58
+145%
—
—
—
Row Notes:
Revenue contracted while EBITDA grew—a textbook mix-and-realisations story. Industrial (semiconductors, defence) and CNG applications carried higher margins.
Standalone margin expansion (16.0%) outpaced consolidated (13.8%), suggesting subsidiaries (US, Egypt, Dubai) are margin-dilutive during ramp-up.
Q4 PAT spiked 150% on a YoY basis, but Q4 is typically seasonal; full-year growth is the signal.
Debt doubled from ₹143 crore (FY25) to ₹267 crore (FY26)—capex for Mundra and Egypt funded partly by borrowing. Debt-to-equity remains 0.19, mild.
Operating cash flow nearly tripled to ₹142 crore; free cash flow swung negative (–₹31 crore) due to capex, but that’s expansion-phase normal.
5. Analyst Questions
Q: “Dubai business continued to be under pressure in Q4, and
