Hindustan Foods Surpasses FY26 Guidance With Record ₹377 Cr EBITDA And PAT Up 29% YoY

Synopsis: Backed by its highest-ever annual EBITDA of Rs.377 crore and a PAT of Rs.149 crore, up 20 and 29 percent year-on-year respectively, Hindustan Foods Limited delivered a record FY26 performance that surpassed its own stated guidance, while guiding to a PAT range of Rs.200–220 crore for FY27 supported by over Rs.550 crore of newly commercialised capacity.

A Vanity Case Group contract manufacturing company came into focus on May 21, 2026, as it published its earnings presentation for Q4 FY26 and the full fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, disclosing its strongest-ever quarterly and annual financial performance across all tracked metrics. The results were accompanied by a reiteration of FY27 PAT guidance of Rs.200–220 crore, implying growth of 34 to 48 percent over the FY26 base, backed by a record pipeline of new projects commissioned during the year.

With a market capitalisation of approximately Rs. 6,230.38 crore, the shares of Hindustan Foods Ltd were last trading at Rs.519.2 per share, down 1.56 percent from its previous close of Rs.527.45. It is trading at a P/E of 43.44.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2026, consolidated revenue rose 17 percent year-on-year to Rs.1,120.9 crore from Rs.961.8 crore in Q4 FY25. EBITDA grew 28 percent to Rs.104.1 crore, the highest quarterly EBITDA in the company’s history  against Rs.81.4 crore a year earlier.

Reported PAT for Q4 FY26 was Rs.41.5 crore, up 32 percent, after absorbing an exceptional charge of Rs.1.1 crore arising from adjustments required under the new labour code. On a sequential basis, Q4 revenue improved 7 percent from Rs.1,045.7 crore in Q3 FY26, with EBITDA and PAT also advancing 8 and 7 percent respectively.

For the full year, consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs.4,264.7 crore, up 17 percent from Rs.3,655.8 crore in FY25. EBITDA for the year was Rs.377.0 crore, up 20 percent. The EBITDA margin expanded modestly to 8.84 percent from 8.63 percent, with employee costs and other expenses controlled relative to revenue growth despite broad-based capacity scaling. Finance costs remained essentially flat at Rs.82.3 crore against Rs.80.1 crore in FY25, a notable achievement given the sharp increase in net debt through the year.

Reported PAT came in at Rs.149.0 crore, growing 29 percent over FY25’s Rs.115.3 crore  nearly double the top-line growth rate, reflecting the operating leverage that contract manufacturers realise as their commissioned asset base matures and utilisation improves. On a five-year view, the company compounded PAT at 35 percent annually from Rs.34 crore in FY22. Net worth as of March 31, 2026 stood at Rs.1,165.1 crore, and net debt to equity at 0.84 times.

Business Vertical Highlights

Across the five operating verticals, Ice Cream saw the largest capital deployment in FY26. Gross block in that segment rose from Rs. 211 crore at March 2025 to Rs. 630 crore at March 2026  a Rs. 419 crore addition  with the Nashik and Lucknow plants commissioned during the year and Panipat Phase 1 commercialised in April 2026. The stick manufacturing facility also commenced production, adding backward integration to the ice cream platform. Combined, these investments position Ice Cream as HFL’s most capital-intensive segment heading into FY27.

Home and Personal Care saw Gross Block expand from Rs. 448 crore to Rs. 541 crore in FY26. The Aurangabad personal care acquisition was integrated and commissioned from Q1 FY27, adding D2C-oriented smaller production runs to the existing platform. A Silvassa liquid detergent facility is due for commercialisation in Q1 FY27, with a Lucknow detergent bar plant following in Q3 FY27. The Food and Beverages segment grew its Gross Block from Rs. 290 crore to Rs. 349 crore, aided by capacity additions ahead of the summer season. Greek yoghurt manufacturing at Goa and two bottled water plants are scheduled for Q3 FY27, extending the segment’s product range into higher-margin dairy formats.

Healthcare’s Gross Block held flat at Rs. 181 crore  no new assets were capitalized in FY26  as the segment focused on compliance upgrades, regulatory audits, and customer additions. An Ayurveda wellness manufacturing facility at Baddi is targeted for commissioning in Q2 FY27. Footwear grew Gross Block from Rs. 90 crore to Rs. 109 crore and was the segment most exposed to geopolitical headwinds, with petrochemical price increases weighing on input costs through the year. The division crossed a turnover milestone in FY26 but management acknowledged the macro pressure and is prioritising customer base diversification as a near-term lever.

Capex, Pipeline, and FY27 Guidance

The company signed projects worth Rs.780 crore in FY26, the highest annual project wins in its history, of which Rs.550 crore has already been commercialised with the balance targeted for H1 FY27. For FY27, fresh projects worth approximately Rs.150 crore have been signed, split across expanding the Home and Personal Care business, adding ice cream manufacturing capacity, and building out a beverage facility at Rs.50 crore each.

Key commercialisations pending for FY27 include a liquid detergent facility at Silvassa and detergent bar production at Lucknow in the HPC segment, and a Greek yoghurt manufacturing plant at Goa, all scheduled for Q3 FY27. The Panipat ice cream plant’s Phase 1 was commercialised in April 2026.

Adjusted ROCE came in at 18.9 percent for FY26 against 20.6 percent in FY25, after normalising for capital work-in-progress and assets not yet at optimal utilisation. The slight compression reflects the peak investment phase the business is currently navigating. Management maintains an internal minimum ROCE hurdle of 18 percent for all new projects, and the adjusted figure continues to hold above that floor. FY27 PAT guidance of Rs.200–220 crore rests on the expected ramp-up of Rs.550 crore in commissioned assets, incremental contribution from new projects, and sustained demand across all five business verticals.

Working Capital and Cash Flows

Working capital trends deserve attention. Net cash from operating activities fell from Rs.118.5 crore in FY25 to Rs.100.0 crore in FY26, despite EBITDA growing by Rs.61.7 crore over the same period. Working capital absorbed Rs.225.1 crore in FY26 against Rs.159.2 crore in FY25. Two distinct factors drove this: changes to the GST inverted duty structure effective September 2025, which created a cash trap on input tax credits, and a deliberate inventory build-up undertaken to protect supply chain resilience amid geopolitical uncertainty. Inventories rose by Rs.196.7 crore to Rs.969.5 crore at year-end.

Management characterises the inventory build as temporary, and a normalisation of that position alongside expected GST credit unwinding will be the key cash flow variable to monitor in FY27. Gross debt stood at approximately Rs.1,050 crore at March 31, 2026.

Business Overview

Hindustan Foods Limited is a Vanity Case Group company that provides contract manufacturing services across FMCG categories including food, home care, personal care, ice cream, healthcare, and footwear. 

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