Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Limited — Q4 FY26 earnings call

Call held 13 May 2026

Management summary

Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Limited reported a strong Q4 FY26 with consolidated revenue growing 11% and EBITDA margins reaching 11.9%. Key segments like ECD and Lighting showed robust growth, and the Butterfly business achieved a significant turnaround, becoming cash flow positive. The company also made progress in new initiatives like Rhion premium products, wires, and solar rooftops, despite facing challenges from cost inflation and muted demand.

Highlights

  • Consolidated revenue grew 11% Y-o-Y to ₹2,283 crores.

  • Consolidated EBITDA in Q4 at ₹271 crores with margins of 11.9%.

  • ECD segment grew 10% and lighting grew 14% (industry-leading).

  • BLDC fan portfolio grew over 30% and SDA grew at 'even stronger numbers'.

  • Butterfly business revenue grew 17% with steady EBIT margins and became cash flow positive with ₹170 crores cash.

  • Solar rooftop business secured an order book of approximately ₹500 crores, executing 5,000 homes.

Concerns

  • Impairment taken on Butterfly holding value, impacting ROCE and asset turnover (no specific amount disclosed).

  • Ongoing cost inflation and availability issues due to geopolitical actions, requiring price increases and cost optimization.

  • Muted demand due to unseasonal weather patterns and geopolitical actions impacted the year.

Key financials

3 periods

Headline

  • Consolidated Revenue
    ₹2,283 Cr
    YoY +11%
  • Consolidated EBITDA
    ₹271 Cr
  • EBITDA Margin
    11.9%
  • Butterfly Cash
    ₹170 Cr

Q4 exit

  • EBIT Margin
    10%

FY26

  • Cash Flow Generation
    ₹500 Cr

What they filed

Q1 FY27: revenue up 11.9%, net profit up 15.3% against the same quarter last year.

₹ Cr · quarterly
Line itemQ2 FY25Q3 FY25Q4 FY25Q1 FY26Q2 FY26Q3 FY26Q4 FY26Q1 FY27
Revenue1,896 1,769 2,061 1,998 1,916 +1%1,898 +7%2,283 +11%2,235 +12%
EBITDA204 188 267 192 158 −23%195 +4%271 +1%224 +17%
Net profit128 112 172 124 75 −41%101 −10%-531 −409%143 +15%
How to read this

₹ crore, as filed. The percentage beside a figure is the change against the same quarter a year earlier — never the quarter before, which would make every seasonal business look like it collapses and booms each year.

Segment breakdown

  • ECD
    10% Revenue Growth
  • Lighting
    14% Revenue Growth
  • BLDC Portfolio (Fans)
    30% Growth
  • SDA
    — Growth
  • Butterfly
    17% Revenue Growth
  • Solar Pumps
    — Growth
  • Agricultural & Speciality Pumps
    — Growth

Order book

high confidence

Total value

₹500 Cr

as of 2026-03-31 quantified

Execution

order book comprised about 38,000 units in Andhra and some more in Telangana. So, as you can see, that business is starting from 0 and the order book needs to be completed reasonably quickly. So that should give you a sense of how that business is doing. I don't know if that answers your question.

Composition

  • Solar Rooftop (product) ₹500 Cr
  • Solar Rooftop (units) 38,000 units
The solar rooftop business has a significant order book and is being executed rapidly, with 5,000 homes already completed.

Source: Prepared remarks

Capital allocation

high confidence
  • Capex ₹100 Cr
    • R&D and innovation ₹100 Cr
    So, look lots of these investments are already in the book and already ongoing investments. So, brand investments, last year for instance, Butterfly relaunched its entire range and you will see similar things happening across the product portfolio.
  • Debt Debt disclosed
    Crompton, of course, always has been net cash positive for a long time. But now even Butterfly with about Rs 170 Cr of cash, is cash flow positive as well. Yes, that's the summary.
  • Liquidity Cash ₹170 Cr Crompton is net cash positive, and Butterfly became cash flow positive with ₹170 crores in cash.
    Crompton, of course, always has been net cash positive for a long time. But now even Butterfly with about Rs 170 Cr of cash, is cash flow positive as well. Yes, that's the summary.

Guidance & targets

Other

  • Solar Portfolio Business Other · next 3-4 years · High confidence ₹2,000 crores
    our aspiration in solar as a portfolio that we want to build a Rs. 1,500 Cr business in the next 3-4 years is where the journey is. So that's a separate thing outside this. Actually, I said, Kaleesh, to be fair, I said we want to sorry guys, but you guys must remember. I didn't say Rs. 1,500 Cr, I said Rs. 2,000 Cr.

    — Promeet Ghosh

What to watch in Q1 FY27

Rhion premium segment product launches and go-to-market strategy

Next quarter / soon
Current Announced creation of PL, products under development
Target Specific product introductions and detailed channel strategy

Why it matters

This new strategic initiative for premiumization could drive higher margins and market positioning.

Well, Indrajit, if you will, leave this with us for a little bit. I don't want to I'm just announcing the plan now and the creation of the PL. What I can tell you is that the products that are coming out of Rhion are products that we have been developing over a period of time in our innovation centre.

Risks & concerns

  • Geopolitical actions leading to cost inflation and availability issues

    high

    The company is facing cost inflation and availability issues in several products due to geopolitical actions, actively managing through pricing and cost optimization.

    Management acknowledged

  • Muted demand due to unseasonal weather patterns

    medium

    FY26 was shaped by muted demand coming out of seasonal and unseasonal weather patterns, though Q4 showed recovery.

    Management acknowledged

  • Competition's response to price increases

    medium

    Management hopes competitors will also increase prices, as the impact of geopolitical issues is not expected to go away soon, but this remains a concern.

    Management acknowledged

  • Payment delays in the value chain (contractors/builders)

    low

    An analyst noted initial signs of stress in payments from contractors/builders, but management stated their exposure is relatively small and not significantly impacted yet.

    Analyst downplayed

Q&A highlights

4 direct, 2 evasive
Cost inflation and pricing strategy in ECD segment Direct
So far, we have largely managed this by, managing cost, but also passing on price increases into the market. So, in the last year since the war was launched, we have passed on two price increases into the market, in our ECD business, and frankly, those price increases have been ahead of competition.

Management details its strategy for handling raw material cost inflation and its competitive positioning on price hikes.

Asked by Aditya Bhartia

Contribution and future outlook for solar pumps and rooftop businesses Direct
Solar pumps, if you recall, we started with a Rs. 20 Cr revenue 3 years ago, then it doubled to Rs. 200 Cr. And this year, I don't know if we are disclosing, but significant growth over that Rs. 200 Cr, very significant growth over that growth last year... The solar rooftop business when we started, we quickly managed to increase our order book to order of magnitude about Rs. 500 Cr.

Provides specific growth metrics and order book details for the new and rapidly growing solar portfolio.

Asked by Dhruv Jain

Lighting business turnaround and margin trajectory Direct
We have, I think it's fair to say, made a very concerted effort over the last 3 years to fundamentally change the trajectory of our lighting business. And what you're seeing now is the benefits of that changed trajectory... We are growing strongly in the teens now and we also have robust profitability.

Highlights the successful strategic transformation of the lighting business, which was previously a concern.

Asked by Dhruv Jain

Sourcing strategy and product segments for the new Rhion premium line Evasive
Well, Indrajit, if you will, leave this with us for a little bit. I don't want to I'm just announcing the plan now and the creation of the PL. What I can tell you is that the products that are coming out of Rhion are products that we have been developing over a period of time in our innovation centre.

Management is deliberately vague about the specifics of the new premium product line, indicating it's either early stage or proprietary information.

Asked by Indrajit Agarwal

Tax implications of Butterfly write-off and update on merger plans Partial
This is not driven by tax. The write-down of Butterfly valuation -- Butterfly value has nothing to do with our plans to merge the companies. So, in fact, this certainly does not delay or adversely impact any merger that we may have... At the right time, definitely that is on the cards and that is something that we have announced in the past also.

Clarifies the nature of the Butterfly write-off and reiterates the long-term intent for merger without providing new timelines.

Asked by Aniruddha Joshi

Signs of stress in the value chain (payment delays) and channel financing Evasive
I'm not quite sure, Natasha, which part of the value chain you're referring to when you say builders. Builders and contractors, I suppose, our exposure there is relatively small. So perhaps that is not something that we've so far seen. It's always possible that it will spread. But at least so far, I'm sure it's building up, but we haven't seen so much of it is what I'm saying.

Analyst raises a potential market concern about payment delays, which management acknowledges but states is not significantly impacting them due to limited exposure.

Asked by Natasha Jain

Butterfly's non-South market expansion strategy and leveraging Crompton's distribution Direct
In the coming year, the focus will be on gaining traction in Butterfly, in other parts of the country, in North-East-West (NEW), so to say and I think from time to time we'll come back and keep you posted about how that is going.

Provides insight into the geographic expansion strategy for the Butterfly brand beyond its traditional South India stronghold.

Asked by Rachna Kukreja

3 min read 6 chapters

Detailed narrative

Q4 FY26 Performance Overview

Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Limited reported a strong Q4 FY26 with consolidated revenue growing 11% YoY to ₹2,283 crores. The company achieved a Q4 EBITDA of ₹271 crores, resulting in margins of 11.9%. EBIT margins improved significantly from 6.8% in H1 to approximately 10% by the end of Q4, driven by operating leverage, premiumization, targeted pricing actions, and sustained cost optimization efforts. The second half of the fiscal year demonstrated robust performance, recovering from earlier challenges.

Segmental Performance Highlights

The Electrical Consumer Durables (ECD) segment grew 10%, while the lighting business achieved an industry-leading growth of 14%. The BLDC fan portfolio showed strong momentum, growing over 30%, bolstered by new product introductions. Small Domestic Appliances (SDA) experienced 'even stronger numbers' growth, supported by new offerings like infrared cooktops and air fryers. In Large Domestic Appliances (LDA), water heaters recorded double-digit growth and market share gains, although air coolers faced inventory challenges. Agricultural and Speciality pumps grew in the teens, with solar pumps demonstrating 'very significant growth' over the previous year's ₹200 crores.

New Initiatives (Rhion, Wires, Solar Rooftop)

Crompton launched a new premium product line named 'Crompton Rhion', which will integrate cutting-edge technology and design, including the Large Kitchen Appliance business. The company also introduced 'Crompton Armor' wires, initially available in South India with plans for a national rollout. The solar rooftop business has secured an order book of approximately ₹500 crores, representing about 38,000 units, and has already executed 5,000 homes. The company aims to build a ₹2,000 crore solar portfolio within the next 3-4 years.

Butterfly Business Turnaround

The Butterfly business delivered a 17% revenue growth in Q4 FY26, maintaining steady EBIT margins and becoming cash flow positive with ₹170 crores in cash. Management highlighted significant efforts in turning around Butterfly, including clearing historical issues, resetting terms of trade, and building it into a robust business. An impairment was taken on Butterfly's holding value to align with its business value, impacting ROCE and asset turnover, but without affecting cash flows. The focus for the upcoming year is on expanding Butterfly's traction in non-South markets.

Margin Management and Cost Optimization

The company faced persistent cost inflation and availability issues, particularly due to geopolitical events. In response, Crompton implemented price increases, including a 7-8% hike in fans, which were ahead of competitors. These actions, combined with ongoing cost optimization initiatives under the 'Unnati' program, contributed to the improvement in EBIT margins. Management is closely monitoring the situation with a dedicated 'war room' and expects margins to recover as market turbulence subsides. The company also maintains an annual R&D and innovation spend of approximately ₹100 crores.

Market Dynamics and Competitive Landscape

FY26 was characterized by challenging market conditions, including muted demand and unseasonal weather patterns. Despite this, Crompton focused on gaining market share across various categories such as fans, water heaters, and agricultural pumps. Management expressed hope that competitors would follow their lead in price increases to offset inflation, rather than engaging in price wars. An analyst raised concerns about potential payment delays in the value chain from contractors and builders, but management indicated their exposure in this area is small and has not yet significantly impacted their collections.

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