MILKYMIST — Q1 FY27 earnings call

Call held 1 Sep 2026

Management summary

Milky Mist Dairy Food Limited reported a strong Q1 FY27, with revenue growing 44% year-on-year to INR 973.45 crores, driven by robust demand across its diversified product portfolio. The company achieved significant margin expansion, with gross profit margin at 34.2% (up 270 bps) and EBITDA margin at 14.9% (up from 12.24% in Q1 FY26). Key categories like paneer, cheese, curd, ice cream, and yogurt all demonstrated strong growth, supported by strategic capacity expansion and an efficient distribution network.

Highlights

  • Revenue grew 44% YoY to ₹973.45 crores, demonstrating strong demand across the portfolio.

  • Gross profit margin expanded by 270 bps to 34.2%, driven by product mix, pricing ability, and scale.

  • EBITDA margin improved significantly to 14.9% in Q1 FY27 from 12.24% in Q1 FY26, reflecting operational efficiencies.

  • Key categories like Paneer (34% growth), Cheese (38% growth), Curd (27% growth), and Ice Cream (60% revenue growth) showed robust performance.

  • Commissioned a new cheddar cheese plant with 120 metric tons/day capacity, providing headroom for growth.

Key financials

  1. Revenue ₹973.45 Cr +44%YoY
  2. Gross Profit Margin 34.2% +2.7%YoY
  3. EBITDA Margin 14.9% +2.7%YoY
  4. PAT ₹64.67 Cr
  5. PAT Margin 6.6%

What they filed

₹ Cr · quarterly
Line itemQ1 FY26Q4 FY26Q1 FY27
Revenue678 850 973
EBITDA81 134 144
Net profit7 92 65
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

  • Paneer
    ₹248.29 Cr Revenue34% Revenue Growth34% Volume Growth26% Contribution to Top Line
  • Cheese
    38% Revenue Growth
  • Curd
    27% Revenue Growth
  • Ice Cream
    60% Revenue Growth45% Volume Growth
  • Yogurt
    ₹84.5 Cr Revenue153% Revenue Growth

Capital allocation

high confidence
  • Capex ₹700 Cr IPO or already funded through bank, with no cash flow pressure due to free cash available through debt repayment and profitability expansions.
    • Whey protein concentrate manufacturing unit
    • Lactose production
    • Natural cheese category expansion
    • Processed cheese capacity addition
    • Yogurt categories capacity addition
    So see, if you look at capex, we have INR500 crores of capex built in the RHP itself, and another INR150 crores of capex in built in the RHP. So we have INR650 crores plus INR50 crores, INR700 crores of capex there in the DRHP, or RHP. And we also have an WIP of INR380 crores in book of last year. So those are all is going to come to the book, and, when we do that, we have sudden maintenance capex, and ancillary capex will be coming. But those all capex are actually funded either through IPO or already funded through bank, and we settled that. There is no cash flow pressure in terms of capex maybe this year, because we are actually having lot of free cash available through debt repayment and our own profitability expansions.

Guidance & targets

Revenue

  • Revenue Growth Revenue · Future (implied) · Medium confidence 3x to 3.5x of FY26 numbers
    So, the revenue with the current MRP, the pricing of the product, we expect in the range of 3x of FY26 3, 3.5x of FY26 numbers.

    — K. Rathnam

Profitability

  • EBITDA Margin Differential Profitability · Future (implied) · Medium confidence 4% to 5% higher than other players
    And our EBITDA margins are also higher by 4% to 5% as compared to the other players in the market.

    — K. Rathnam

Market Share

  • Organized Paneer Market Share Market Share · Future (implied) · Medium confidence Increase from 20%
    And in that, Milky Mist has about 20% market share, close to. So just imagine that if the unorganized share is going down and the organized market share is going up to 25%, say for example, what would be the potential available for a player like us, Milky Mist particularly, since we are in that category, we have established.

    — K. Rathnam

Distribution

  • Visi Coolers, Ice Cream Freezers, Chocolate Coolers Deployment Distribution · Next three fiscal years · High confidence 50,000+ units
    We plan to deploy more than 50,000 visi coolers, ice cream freezers and chocolates coolers over the next three fiscal years, as we indicated earlier.

    — K. Rathnam

What to watch in Q2 FY27

Whey Protein Concentrate Plant Commissioning Progress

Next quarter
Current Orders placed, plant expected to be up and running in 12-15 months.
Target Progress on construction, revised commissioning timeline.

Why it matters

This plant is expected to significantly expand margins and contribute to the bottom line by converting cheese whey into high-value protein products.

And that would give us a very strong further expansion in margins, as well as bottom-line contribution. But of course, that is going to happen 12 to 15 months down the line because we have placed the orders, and the plant is expected to be up and running in minimum -15 to 18 months from now.

Q&A highlights

8 direct
Third-party milk procurement strategy and its margin impact Direct
Our endeavor and our objective is to procure directly from the farmers... However, a couple of years back, one of the private equity-owned entity which is known as Innoterra, and their offshoot in India in Tamil Nadu is MilkLane... they came to us whether we would be in a position to take over the operations... it is an extension of our procurement activity going forward also.

Clarifies that 'third-party' procurement is an extension of direct farmer sourcing, ensuring quality and long-term contracts, which is crucial for input cost stability and product quality.

Asked by Pratik Dharamshi (Union Mutual Fund)

Impact of analogue paneer ban on Milky Mist's organized paneer sales Direct
GST on paneer has become zero in September last year. And with that, the pricing difference between the organized and unorganized players has become almost nil... thanks to FSSAI and some of the key states which have banned analogue paneer, which now we see a lot of volume offtake as far as our paneer is concerned.

Explains a significant driver of the 34% paneer volume growth, indicating a structural shift benefiting organized players due to regulatory action and tax changes.

Asked by Pratik Dharamshi (Union Mutual Fund)

QSR recovery and Milky Mist's B2B cheese supply Direct
our B2B sales is only whey powder, which is coming out from the cheese and paneer manufacturing. Other than that, we do not have any B2B sales. We do not supply to QSRs... So that our entire cheese sales and the growth has been coming from these sectors and not from the QSRs.

Clarifies that Milky Mist's strong cheese growth is retail-driven and not dependent on QSR recovery, distinguishing its business model.

Asked by Abneesh Roy (Nuvama Holdings)

Sustainability of high-protein paneer strategy given Indian consumers' value focus Direct
We introduced high-protein paneer some time back and that has been growing steadily... India is a protein-deficit country... paneer becomes one of the basic ingredient or basic part of the Indian diet, and particularly more so in South India because we have a large number of population being vegetarians.

Highlights the strategic rationale for high-protein products, aligning with nutritional needs and the vegetarian demographic, suggesting long-term sustainability.

Asked by Abneesh Roy (Nuvama Holdings)

Why Milky Mist's gross margins are not contracting despite rising milk procurement prices Direct
As far as Milky Mist is concerned, as you all know, we do not sell pouch milk. So we are only into value-added product category. And it's not a single product category, but we have got more than 20 product categories... All this product mix are value, volume and margin drivers. They are driving the margins.

Explains the company's margin resilience through its diversified, value-added product mix, which insulates it from direct liquid milk price volatility affecting other dairy companies.

Asked by Sameer Gupta (IIFL Capital Services)

Management of freight costs with a single manufacturing unit for pan-India distribution Direct
we have a minimum shelf life of products is starting from 30 days... the company owns and operates more than 375 transportation fleet... we save about roughly about 18% to 20% on the logistics cost when we are using our own transportation and skilfully employing those trucks for the return reverse logistics.

Reveals a key operational efficiency and competitive advantage: longer product shelf life combined with owned, optimized logistics (including reverse logistics) significantly reduces transportation costs.

Asked by Aniruddha Joshi (ICICI Securities)

Milk procurement volume growth and initiatives to support farmers Direct
our volume growth, as far as the procurement volume growth as compared between Q1 FY26 and Q1 FY27 is concerned, it's a 28%... we are expanding our procurement network... tying up with the banks to financing our farmers with all the nationalized banks... increasing the herd size... strong and robust services like artificial insemination, breeding, genetics, and feed and fodder development.

Demonstrates the company's commitment to backward integration and farmer welfare, which secures high-quality raw milk supply and supports sustainable volume growth.

Asked by Naveen (ithought PMS)

Performance and future plans for Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBOs) Direct
we have about 140 exclusive outlets. But with the changing sales landscape, with the quick-coms coming in a very strong way, and with the modern trade setting up the stores across the places in the Tier 1, Tier 2 cities, we are looking at this as one of the strongest revenue contributors. But at the same time, we are also very cautious about setting up these things in the semi-urban and rural areas rather than focusing in the city areas.

Provides insight into the company's evolving distribution strategy, balancing EBOs with the rise of quick-commerce and modern trade, and a cautious approach to expansion in semi-urban/rural areas.

Asked by Naveen (ithought PMS)

2 min read 6 chapters

Detailed narrative

Strong Q1 FY27 Performance Driven by Diversified Portfolio

Milky Mist reported a robust Q1 FY27 with revenue surging 44% year-on-year to INR 973.45 crores. This growth was broad-based across its diversified product portfolio, including paneer, cheese, curd, ice cream, and yogurt. The company's strategy of focusing on value-added dairy products, rather than liquid milk, contributed significantly to its strong financial performance. The company now offers 22+ product categories with more than 650 SKUs as of June 30, 2026.

Significant Margin Expansion Achieved

The company achieved a gross profit margin of 34.2%, expanding by nearly 270 basis points, primarily due to a favorable product mix, pricing ability, and economies of scale. EBITDA margin also saw a substantial improvement, reaching 14.9% in Q1 FY27, up from 12.24% in Q1 FY26. Profit after tax for the quarter was INR 64.67 crores, translating into a PAT margin of 6.6%.

Key Category Growth Drivers

Paneer, the largest contributor, grew 34% in both volume and revenue, reaching INR 248.29 crores and accounting for 26-27% of the top line. This was significantly boosted by the zero GST on paneer and the ban on analogue paneer. Ice cream revenue grew 60% YoY with volumes up 45%, while yogurt revenue saw an impressive 153% QoQ growth to INR 84.5 crores, highlighting the success of protein-rich offerings like Greek Yogurt and Skyr.

Strategic Capacity Expansion and Distribution Network

Milky Mist commissioned a new cheddar cheese plant with an installed capacity of 120 metric tons per day, addressing growing demand for natural and processed cheese. The company plans to deploy over 50,000 visi coolers, ice cream freezers, and chocolate coolers over the next three fiscal years to further strengthen its retail footprint. Currently, it has a strong pan-India presence across 22 states and 5 union territories, supported by 4,200+ distributors and 4 lakh retail touch points.

Efficient Logistics and Backward Integration

The company leverages its owned fleet of 375+ transportation vehicles for primary and 600+ for secondary distribution, enabling faster product turnaround and 18-20% savings on logistics costs through reverse logistics. Milky Mist continues to expand its direct milk procurement network, including new initiatives in Maharashtra, and supports farmers with financing and services like artificial insemination and feed development to ensure a consistent supply of high-quality milk.

Focus on High-Protein and Value-Added Products

Milky Mist emphasizes its high-protein product categories, such as high-protein paneer, natural cheddar cheese, Greek yogurt, and Skyr, which are among its fastest-growing segments. The company is also developing new high-protein ready-to-drink categories. Furthermore, it plans to extract protein from cheese whey, with a plant expected to be operational in 12-15 months, which is projected to significantly enhance margins and contribute to the bottom line.

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