1. Opening Hook
Indian cotton is now costlier than Brazilian, Vietnamese mills are partying, and Indian spinners are counting spindles being shut. Welcome to Vardhman’s Q3 FY26 concall, where EBITDA survived but optimism needed divine intervention.
Margins slipped, cotton stayed expensive, tariffs refused to behave, and CCI decided to become the monopoly uncle no one invited. Yet, capacity is running hot, yarn exports found China again, and performance fabrics are being hyped like the next big thing.
Management sounded calm, analysts sounded worried, and cotton prices sounded like inflation data.
Read on — because behind the “stable performance” lies a brutal reality check for Indian textiles. Things get spicy later. 🌶️
2. At a Glance
- EBITDA Margin ~15% – Down YoY, but still breathing in a suffocating cotton market
- Yarn Utilization ~95% – Machines working overtime, margins not
- Fabric Utilization ~89–90% – Demand exists, confidence doesn’t
- Indian Cotton at $0.78–0.80/lb – Global competitiveness left the chat
- CCI procured ~50% of arrivals – Free market took a long vacation
3. Management’s Key Commentary
“EBITDA margin was around 15% versus 17% last year.”
(Inflation won, efficiency tried 😏)
“Indian cotton is structurally more expensive than global benchmarks.”
(Government policy: unintended textile reform)
“CCI is absorbing
