Rico Auto Industries Ltd — Q1 FY27 earnings call
Summary generated by AI from the official transcript Rico Auto Industries Ltd filed with BSE on 19 Aug 2026. Every statement cites a verbatim quote from that document — open any citation to read it. This is a record of what management said, not a recommendation. How we check these summaries
The short read
Rico Auto reported consolidated revenue of Rs 755 crores for Q1 FY27, up around 39% from Rs 543 crores in Q1 FY26, marking the company's highest ever quarterly revenue. EBITDA margin came in at 4.6% and the company posted a net loss of Rs 3.4 crores, which management attributed to elevated air freight costs, sorting costs, and a lag in passing through higher aluminum prices to customers. Management said it expects air freight costs to peak in Q2, with costs normalizing from Q3 onwards as customer price settlements and operating efficiencies progress.
1 statement from this call is not shown because its supporting quote could not be reproduced within our quoting limits. Nothing shown here is affected: every statement on this page carries its verified quote.
Numbers mentioned
Consolidated revenue: INR755 crores (Q1 FY27)
p. 4
“consolidated revenue stood at INR755 crores compared to INR543 crores in Q1 FY26, reflecting a growth of around 39%-odd”
Naveen Sorot, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
EBITDA: INR34.8 crores (Q1 FY27)
p. 4
“EBITDA for the quarter stood at INR34.8 crores, translating into an EBITDA margin of 4.6%”
Naveen Sorot, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
PAT: loss of INR3.4 crores (Q1 FY27)
p. 4
“PAT stood at a loss of INR3.4 crores compared with a profit of INR16.7 crores in the corresponding quarter last year”
Naveen Sorot, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Aluminum casting share of revenue: 89% (Q1 FY27)
p. 4
“aluminum casting continued to be the principal contributor, accounting for 89% of the consolidated revenue, while the ferrous casting contributed the remaining 11%”
Naveen Sorot, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Exports share of revenue: almost 15% (Q1 FY27)
p. 4
“Exports accounted for almost 15% of our total revenue during the quarter”
Naveen Sorot, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Other operating expenses increase: approximately INR24 crores (Q1 FY27)
p. 4
“Other operating expenses were higher by approximately INR24 crores”
Naveen Sorot, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Air freight and sorting costs: around INR13 crores (Q1 FY27)
p. 5
“primarily due to air freight and sorting costs, which were around INR13 crores in this along with the inflationary pressures across manpower, power, fuel and gas, tools and consumables”
Naveen Sorot, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Raw material settlement lag impact: approximately INR10 crores (Q1 FY27)
p. 5
“The settlement lag resulted in an estimated impact of approximately INR10 crores during the quarter”
Naveen Sorot, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
July FY27 monthly revenue: around or close to INR300 crores (July 2026)
p. 7
“in the month of July, our turnover is around or close to INR300 crores”
Arvind Kapur, page 7 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Aluminum price: INR222 (Q1 FY26)
p. 9
“INR222 Q1 last year”
Naveen Sorot, page 9 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Raw material lag impact for the quarter (standalone): INR3.3 crores (Q1 FY27)
p. 18
“the lag impact for the quarter is only INR3.3 crores”
Naveen Sorot, page 18 of the filed PDF · View the filing
What management said it would do
A record of statements made on the call, in the words management used. Parakho does not forecast, endorse or assess them, and their presence here is not a view on whether they will happen.
Full-year revenue — more than INR3,200 crores · FY2027
stated firmly by Kaushalendra Verma
p. 4
“We are confident we will be surpassing this and we will be achieving a revenue more than INR3,200 crores in FY 2027.”
Kaushalendra Verma, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Full-year revenue — INR3,250 crores · FY2027
stated firmly by Arvind Kapur
p. 10
“And the total comes to about INR3,250 crores plus.”
Arvind Kapur, page 10 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Q2 revenue — crossing INR840 crores · Q2 FY27
stated firmly by Arvind Kapur
p. 10
“We'll be crossing INR840 crores for Q2.”
Arvind Kapur, page 10 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Q3 revenue — crossing INR850 crores · Q3 FY27
stated firmly by Arvind Kapur
p. 10
“And Q3, we'll be crossing INR850 crores and then Q4 is about INR900 crores.”
Arvind Kapur, page 10 of the filed PDF · View the filing
EBITDA margin — near to targeted full year margins · exit of FY27
stated conditionally by Kaushalendra Verma
p. 4
“We remain confident to exit the current year near to our targeted full year margins through customer price revisions and continued improvement in operating efficiency.”
Kaushalendra Verma, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Full year margin target — 12% · FY27
stated as an aspiration by Arvind Kapur
p. 12
“our target -- we had mentioned last year that we -- our target should be around 12%. We will be achieving the 12% target.”
Arvind Kapur, page 12 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Air freight costs — peak in Q2 then decline · Q2-Q3 FY27
stated conditionally by Naveen Sorot
p. 5
“We expect air freight costs to peak in Q2 as inventory levels reach the desired position.”
Naveen Sorot, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Shipments returning to sea freight — normal sea freight cycle · from Q3 onwards
stated conditionally by Naveen Sorot
p. 5
“Thereafter, the temporary requirement of air shipments is expected to cease with shipments progressively returning to the normal sea freight cycle from Q3 onwards.”
Naveen Sorot, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Profitability improvement — from Q3 onwards
stated conditionally by Naveen Sorot
p. 5
“together with the benefit from our ongoing efficiency initiatives are expected to support a progressive improvement in the profitability from Q3 onwards”
Naveen Sorot, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Hosur plant commercial production — commercial production start · September 2026
stated firmly by Kaushalendra Verma
p. 4
“Our new plant at Hosur is progressing and as planned, is expected to do the commercial production in September 2026.”
Kaushalendra Verma, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Top line achievable without significant capex — about INR4,000 crores plus
stated as an aspiration by Arvind Kapur
p. 15
“But we can achieve a figure of about INR4,000 crores in the setup that we already have at the moment.”
Arvind Kapur, page 15 of the filed PDF · View the filing
CNC machine sales target — 100 machines · this year
stated firmly by Arvind Kapur
p. 17
“But our target is to sell 100 machines this year.”
Arvind Kapur, page 17 of the filed PDF · View the filing
CNC machine revenue — INR35 crores to INR40 crores
stated conditionally by Arvind Kapur
p. 17
“About between INR35 crores to INR40 crores.”
Arvind Kapur, page 17 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Defense range supply — 200 ranges · this year
stated firmly by Arvind Kapur
p. 8
“We'll be supplying 200 ranges this year and...”
Arvind Kapur, page 8 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Land sale payment — complete payment · by 30th December
stated firmly by Arvind Kapur
p. 17
“By 30th December, we'll get the complete payment of that.”
Arvind Kapur, page 17 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Q&A highlights
Management's answers to analyst questions, in Parakho's words rather than a transcript. Each row names who answered and carries the verbatim quote it was drawn from.
Management said the air freight was tied to new program launches where Rico is the single source supplier and needed to maintain supply continuity, plus quality correlation issues that put some parts on hold.
Answered by Kaushalendra Verma
Asked by Darshil Jhaveri: Why were air freight costs high given exports were only 10-12% of revenue?
p. 5
“our export in this quarter was around 10% to 12%, and this cost is related to that because we need to ship the parts to meet the supply continuity because these are related to the new program launches where we are the single source for the customer.”
Kaushalendra Verma, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management explained that the shipment transit time escalated from 5-7 weeks to 9 weeks after the June call, and the bulk of the air freight cost was incurred after that call.
Answered by Naveen Sorot
Asked by Darshil Jhaveri: Why did the company still guide to 10% EBITDA in June when the freight and cost issues were reportedly already known?
p. 7
“major portion of this air freight has happened post that call, so the later portion of June when the situation escalated.”
Naveen Sorot, page 7 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said margins will improve in Q2 versus Q1 but some air freight will continue, with normalization expected from Q3.
Answered by Arvind Kapur
Asked by Darshil Jhaveri: Is the freight and margin issue expected to continue into Q2?
p. 7
“And in Q2 also, there will be some air freight. And Q3 onwards, of course, we should be back to normal.”
Arvind Kapur, page 7 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management clarified the Rs 10 crore related to raw material settlement lag was separate from the air freight/sorting cost of about Rs 12.8 crore booked under other expenses, and that aluminum prices themselves rose about 57% year-on-year.
Answered by Naveen Sorot
Asked by Sunil Kumar Daga: Why did purchase-to-sales ratio rise from 53-55% to 67% when the stated cost increase was only Rs 10 crore?
p. 9
“if you look at both the air freight and sorting, I guess INR12.8 crores constitute almost 2.2% of the profitability.”
Naveen Sorot, page 9 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said it does not hedge aluminum prices because the customers, not Rico, set and negotiate the price with vendors.
Answered by Arvind Kapur
Asked by Sunil Kumar Daga: Does the company hedge aluminum prices?
p. 9
“We don't do hedging on the aluminum price because it is decided by the customers, and they are the ones who announce the price, and they are the ones who are actually in negotiation with the various vendors and suppliers, they announce the price.”
Arvind Kapur, page 9 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management estimated the metal price impact at roughly Rs 100-200 crore, with the CFO noting a standalone impact of about Rs 100 crore.
Answered by Arvind Kapur
Asked by Saurabh Jain: How much of the 39% revenue growth came from higher metal prices?
p. 11
“I think it's about INR100 crores to INR200 crores in this, which could be because of high metal.”
Arvind Kapur, page 11 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said the company shifted focus to high-tonnage die casting machines and long-term OEM programs that are now coming into production, alongside productivity improvements and equipment redeployment.
Answered by Arvind Kapur
Asked by Bajrang Bafna: What is changing at the company after five years of high capex without commensurate top-line growth?
p. 14
“We started focusing on the high tonnage parts. High tonnage part means for the aluminum die casting, we started focusing on machines which are above 1,000 tons.”
Arvind Kapur, page 14 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said the current setup could support around Rs 4,000 crore in revenue without a major new project.
Answered by Arvind Kapur
Asked by Bajrang Bafna: What top-line level is achievable from the existing asset base without further significant capex?
p. 15
“we can achieve a figure of about INR4,000 crores in the setup that we already have at the moment.”
Arvind Kapur, page 15 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said demand has exceeded internal expectations, with a target to sell 100 machines this year and revenue of roughly Rs 35-40 crore, not yet included in the overall guidance.
Answered by Arvind Kapur
Asked by Zalak Rathi: What is the outlook for CNC machine sales to external customers?
p. 16
“We have actually sold more than we are making.”
Arvind Kapur, page 16 of the filed PDF · View the filing
The CFO said the company is not focused on hedging but on eliminating the pass-through lag by moving more customers to real-time settlement.
Answered by Naveen Sorot
Asked by Darshil Jhaveri: Is the company considering hedging aluminum price fluctuations?
p. 18
“our endeavor will be whatever price that we are paying to purchase our raw material should get passed on to the customer.”
Naveen Sorot, page 18 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Risks flagged
Elevated raw material price settlement lag, particularly for aluminum
p. 5
“Profitability was also impacted by the lag in the raw material prices settlements. This was particularly relevant for aluminum, where the prices increased significantly during the period.”
Naveen Sorot, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Elevated air freight costs due to disruption in global shipping routes
p. 4
“We also saw elevated freight costs, particularly air freight as disruption in global shipping routes due to increase in ocean freight transit time from 5 weeks to 9 weeks, which led to greater resilience on the air shipments to maintain supply continuity.”
Kaushalendra Verma, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Rust and quality issues on components due to extended sea transit time
p. 7
“there were also some rust issues started coming up. And normally, in 4, 5 weeks, there is -- the components are totally protected.”
Arvind Kapur, page 7 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Potential escalation of geopolitical conflict affecting shipping and costs
p. 13
“we are fairly confident of what is happening unless something else happens in Iran or something, then we -- it won't be in our control.”
Arvind Kapur, page 13 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Rupee depreciation raising the cost of imported materials
p. 6
“the price increases that because of the inflation of the rupee getting weak, all the other imports, the prices have gone up”
Arvind Kapur, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Government-mandated labor cost increases in Haryana
p. 19
“the labor cost, which went up with the government of Haryana, they jacked up by almost 40%.”
Arvind Kapur, page 19 of the filed PDF · View the filing
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