S Chand And Company Limited Q2 FY26 Concall Decoded: ₹493 Cr Revenue, But Losses, AI Dreams & NCERT Delays Steal the Show

1. Opening Hook

Another quarter, another earnings call where “steady” is the new exciting. While the market obsesses over AI, S Chand quietly reminds everyone it still sells books—actual paper ones—while also feeding data to machines that don’t read them. Q2, conveniently the smallest quarter of the year, arrived right on cue to justify losses with seasonal logic and future promises. Management sounded calm, confident, and slightly philosophical about AI, NCERT, and cash flows. If patience were a balance-sheet item, this would be a net-cash company forever. Stick around though—between lumpy AI deals, delayed syllabus rollouts, and a secret international acquisition, things do get interesting. Read on, because the fine print matters more than the headline numbers this time.

2. At a Glance

Revenue ₹493 Cr (+32% YoY) – Growth arrived, but brought losses as plus-one.
EBITDA loss ₹60 Cr – Seasonality strikes again; Q2 blamed politely.
PAT loss ₹54 Cr – Profit remains a future concept.
Net cash ₹235 Cr – Cash flows doing the heavy lifting, balance sheet flexes quietly.
AI dataset revenue ₹142 Cr (H1) – Lower pricing, higher volume, margin purists not amused.

3. Management’s Key Commentary

“Q2 is the smallest quarter in terms of revenues.”
(Seasonality: the most reliable excuse in publishing 😏)

“We remained net debt free with net cash of ₹235 million.”
(Losses are fine as long as the bank account smiles.)

“AI datasets pricing was lower, but volumes improved.”
(Margins sacrificed at the altar of scale.)

“This business is lumpy by nature.”
(Translation: please don’t build Excel models with straight lines.)

“We are increasing customers from two to four.”
(Client concentration risk slowly learning teamwork.)

“NCERT books are released digitally; physical availability awaited.”
(Education policy moving at government WiFi speed.)

“We have finalized one international curriculum acquisition.”
(Coming soon, subject to NDA and optimism.)

4. Numbers Decoded

Source table

Metric	Q2 FY26	YoY Trend
Revenue	₹493 Cr	▲ 32%
EBITDA	-₹60 Cr	▼
PAT	-₹54 Cr	▼
Net Cash	₹235 Cr	▲
AI Dataset Revenue (H1)	₹142 Cr	▼ (value), ▲ (volume)

Cash flow remains the hero, profits still rehearsing backstage.
Margins bruised due to AI pricing reset and third-party content sourcing.
Publishing economics still seasonal, digital optional, AI experimental.

5. Analyst

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