Havells India Limited — Q3 FY26 earnings call

Call held 19 Jan 2026

Management summary

Havells India Limited delivered a healthy Q3 FY26 performance with 14% Y-o-Y revenue growth and 21% Y-o-Y EBITDA growth, primarily driven by strong cables business and winter product demand. The company faced an exceptional provisioning of INR45 crores and noted modest consumption trends and industry headwinds. Management remains optimistic about gradual demand recovery and is implementing calibrated price hikes and efficiency improvements.

Highlights

  • Overall revenue growth of 14% Y-o-Y.

  • EBITDA growth of 21% Y-o-Y.

  • Cables business volume growth over 20%.

  • ECD segment grew 4%, largely volume-driven by winter products.

  • Solar segment showing very good growth and positive margin outlook.

Concerns

  • Exceptional item impact of INR45 crores due to additional provisioning for new labour codes.

  • Overall consumption trends remain modest.

  • Industry headwinds include commodity price inflation, BEE changes, and e-waste regulations.

  • Challenging environment for cooling products in recent quarters, though channel inventory is normalizing.

  • Tariffs have impacted cable exports to the U.S. market this year.

Key financials

  1. Revenue Growth 14%
  2. EBITDA Growth 21%
  3. Exceptional Item ₹45 Cr

What they filed

Q1 FY27: revenue up 19.5%, net profit down 16.7% against the same quarter last year.

₹ Cr · quarterly
Line itemQ2 FY25Q3 FY25Q4 FY25Q1 FY26Q2 FY26Q3 FY26Q4 FY26Q1 FY27
Revenue4,539 4,889 6,544 5,455 4,779 +5%5,588 +14%6,705 +2%6,518 +19%
EBITDA375 426 757 516 438 +17%516 +21%729 −4%466 −10%
Net profit268 278 517 348 318 +19%300 +8%723 +40%290 −17%
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

  • Cables & Wires
    20% Volume Growth90% Cables Capacity Utilization65% Wires Capacity Utilization
  • Electrical Consumer Durables (ECD)
    4% Revenue Growth
  • Other (Solar)
    early double digit to high single digit Margin Profile

Capital allocation

high confidence
  • Capex ₹1,000 Cr
    • Continued capex for cables and wires
    • Higher capex for new R&D center
    Yes. I think as far as cables and wires are concerned, there will be continued capex in the coming year. So Lloyd pretty much is done in this present year. But there will be a higher capex spend for the new R&D center, which will come up. So overall, it should be in the range of another INR1,000 crores in the coming year.
  • M&A Goldi Solar Acquisition · Closed · Consideration ₹[object Object] (undisclosed)

    To get more strategic supplies of modules and assure supply.

    No, its both modules and inverter. But yes, the higher growth is in the modules. We have also tied up and invested in Goldi, which is helping us to get sort of more strategic supplies from them. So I think that was the purpose as well.

Guidance & targets

Capex

  • Total Capex Capex · next year · Medium confidence INR1,000 crores
    So overall, it should be in the range of another INR1,000 crores in the coming year.

    — Anil Rai Gupta

Pricing

  • Lloyd Price Increase Pricing · this quarter (Q4 FY26) · High confidence 5% to 10%
    But if you take that out, I think overall, there could be a 5% to 10% increase in this quarter.

    — Anil Rai Gupta

Margins

  • Solar Segment Margin Expansion Margins · coming times · Medium confidence positive outlook
    But overall, we have a very positive outlook for solar in the coming times, both in terms of revenue growth as well as margin expansion.

    — Anil Rai Gupta

  • ECD Margins Margins · ongoing process · Medium confidence return to normalized levels
    As far as the ECD is concerned, look, it's a process which is ensuring that we come back to our normalized levels of ECD margins. That's going on.

    — Anil Rai Gupta

What to watch in Q4 FY26

Lloyd inventory normalization and sales performance

next couple of months / upcoming season
Current Channel inventory normalizing, lower than last year
Target Successful liquidation of old BEE stock and strong sales in the upcoming season

Why it matters

Crucial for Lloyd's profitability and market positioning, especially given past challenges in cooling products.

Yes, I think we should be able to sell in the next couple of months. In fact, it's not only in air conditioners, but also in fans. So there is some amount of residual inventory of the old BEE norms, which get passed on during the season in the coming time.

Risks & concerns

  • Industry headwinds (commodity inflation, BEE changes, e-waste)

    high

    Cost increases from commodity inflation, new BEE norms, and e-waste regulations pose challenges.

    Management acknowledged

  • Rising copper prices

    high

    Sharp increase in copper prices could stress working capital and impact margins.

    Analyst acknowledged

  • Exceptional provisioning for new labour codes

    medium

    INR45 crores impact due to additional provisioning.

    Management acknowledged

  • Modest overall consumption trends

    medium

    Overall consumption trends remain subdued despite some festive season pickup.

    Management acknowledged

  • Challenging environment for cooling products

    medium

    Cooling products faced a challenging environment in recent quarters, though channel inventory is normalizing.

    Management acknowledged

  • Tariffs impacting cable exports to US

    medium

    Cable exports to the US market have been hit by tariffs this year.

    Management acknowledged

  • Hypercompetitiveness and market share erosion in FMEG

    medium

    Unorganized and regional competition gaining ground in the FMEG segment, impacting established brands.

    Analyst acknowledged

Q&A highlights

5 direct
Balancing growth with profitability and premiumization strategy Direct
I think this is a general philosophy and strategy of the company that we've always balanced growth and profitability. And we have achieved that through brand building, distribution reach and innovation in the products itself.

Analyst questioned the core strategy of balancing growth and profitability amidst margin pressures and premiumization, to which management reiterated its long-standing philosophy and approach.

Asked by Sucrit D. Patil

Wires & Cables volume growth, copper price impact, and B2B vs B2C strategy Direct
So volume growth has been a good healthy double digit, over 20%. So -- but there has been a sharp increase in raw material prices, as you mentioned, which actually has given a sharp increase in revenue growth for both cables and wires. ... I don't see any strategy change at least for Havells that we would move more B2B heavy than channel heavy.

Analyst sought clarification on key drivers for the strong cables business, the impact of rising copper prices, and potential strategic shifts towards B2B, which management addressed with specific growth figures and a clear stance on strategy.

Asked by Natasha Jain

Lloyd inventory of old BEE norm products and liquidation strategy Direct
Yes, I think we should be able to sell in the next couple of months. In fact, it's not only in air conditioners, but also in fans. So there is some amount of residual inventory of the old BEE norms, which get passed on during the season in the coming time.

Analyst raised concerns about residual inventory of old BEE norm products for Lloyd and its liquidation, which management clarified would be sold in the upcoming season, indicating a planned approach.

Asked by Aditya Bhartia

Discrepancy in volume growth between wires/cables and other categories Partial
I think as far as wires is concerned, there is generally a match between other product categories. Cables has been higher because of the government infrastructure spends and if you're talking about the last few years. But if we talk just about the last quarter, it's primarily some sort of channel stock build-up, which has happened, and that should get adjusted in the coming couple of quarters.

Analyst questioned why wires and cables showed robust volume growth while other categories lagged, leading to management attributing it to government infrastructure spending for cables and channel stock build-up for wires, which is expected to normalize.

Asked by Aditya Bhartia

QoQ decline in cables and wires contribution margin and capacity utilization Partial
Yes. I think there is contribution improvement if you see Y-on-Y. And quarter-on-quarter is, again, as probably mentioned by Rajiv ji, it's very difficult to read on a quarter-to-quarter basis depending on which inventory is getting pushed out in the system. So I don't think you should read too much into that.

Analyst pointed out a significant QoQ decline in contribution margin for cables and wires, which management downplayed as difficult to interpret on a QoQ basis due to inventory movements, emphasizing YoY improvement instead.

Asked by Ashish Kanodia

Investment in Goldi Solar and backward integration into cells Direct
So Goldi, we have already disclosed, we invested around INR600 crores. And I think on the cell side, we will come back. I think this is still being implemented by them. So I think your specific question being technical in nature, I think we will revert to you independently on this. ... We have no plans to manufacture modules on our own.

Analyst sought detailed information on the Goldi Solar investment and its backward integration plans, clarifying Havells' role in module manufacturing and Goldi's cell production.

Asked by Karan Gupta

FMEG segment's perceived loss of 'mojo' and hypercompetitiveness Direct
There are cycles, obviously, in every market. Post-COVID, there has been a situation where, one, the post-COVID demand cycle was not at the same level. In hyperinflationary situation, which has happened especially in the electrical sector, sometimes unorganized and regional competition also starts gaining some ground, which we do believe that they take certain market share.

Analyst challenged the long-term prospects of the FMEG segment, citing hypercompetitiveness and diluted brand pull, prompting management to acknowledge cyclicality and the impact of post-COVID and inflationary environments.

Asked by Renu

2 min read 6 chapters

Detailed narrative

Q3 FY26 Overall Performance and Drivers

Havells India Limited reported a healthy overall performance in Q3 FY26, with revenue growing by 14% year-on-year and EBITDA increasing by 21% year-on-year. This growth was primarily driven by an accelerated cables business, which saw over 20% volume expansion, coupled with commodity price inflation. The company also observed a healthy uptick in demand for heating products during the festive season, contributing to the Electrical Consumer Durables (ECD) segment's 4% growth.

Segmental Highlights: Cables, ECD, and Solar

The cables and wires business demonstrated robust volume growth exceeding 20%, with cables capacity utilization at 90-100% and wires at 65-70%. The ECD segment's 4% growth was largely volume-driven, particularly by winter products like Oil Filled Radiators (OFR) and water heaters. The 'Other' segment, primarily solar, showed very good growth, especially in modules, and management expressed a positive outlook for both revenue growth and margin expansion in this category, targeting early double-digit to high single-digit margins.

Margin Dynamics and Cost Management

Despite overall EBITDA growth, the company noted that margins were impacted by an exceptional item of INR45 crores due to additional provisioning for new labour codes. Management acknowledged industry headwinds such as commodity price inflation, BEE changes, and e-waste regulations. They are implementing calibrated price hikes, with an expected 5-10% increase for Lloyd in Q4 FY26, and focusing on enhancing operational efficiency and cost rationalization to improve margins.

Capital Expenditure and Strategic Investments

Havells has incurred INR1,200 crores in capex over the first nine months of FY26. For the coming year, an additional INR1,000 crores is planned, primarily for continued expansion in cables and wires and a new R&D center. The company also highlighted its strategic investment of INR600 crores in Goldi Solar to ensure a steady supply of modules, with Goldi Solar undertaking backward integration into cell manufacturing, while Havells itself does not plan to manufacture modules.

Market Share and Competitive Landscape

Management believes Havells has maintained or gained market share in most core categories, including lighting, small domestic appliances, and water heaters, and that its wires market share remains intact. They acknowledged the challenging environment for cooling products and the impact of hypercompetitiveness, unorganized, and regional players gaining market share in the FMEG segment due to post-COVID demand cycles and inflationary pressures.

Outlook and Key Challenges

Havells remains optimistic about a gradual recovery in demand but is cognizant of ongoing industry headwinds. The company is actively managing channel inventory, particularly for Lloyd, which is normalizing and expected to clear in the upcoming season. Export opportunities for cables, especially to the US, have been affected by tariffs this year, but the company continues to explore new international markets. Management emphasized a balanced approach to growth and profitability, without setting specific quantifiable targets for the long term.

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