S Chand and Company Ltd — Q4 FY26 earnings call
Summary generated by AI from the official transcript S Chand and Company Ltd filed with BSE on 28 May 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
S Chand reported FY26 revenue in line with guidance at Rs8,000 million, EBITDA of Rs1,449 million at an 18.1% margin, and PAT of Rs731 million, up 21% year-on-year. The company remained net debt-free with a net cash balance of Rs1,048 million despite capex of Rs362 million and acquisition spend of Rs107 million, and it completed its first international acquisition, CPD Singapore, in January 2026. For FY27, management guided operating revenue growth of 10%-15% and an EBITDA margin band of 17%-19%, citing higher paper, logistics and labour costs.
Numbers mentioned
Revenue: Rs8,000m (FY26)
p. 4
“The company achieved revenue in-line with our guidance of Rs8,000m.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Gross Margin: approx. 68% (FY26)
p. 4
“We sustained our high Gross Margin levels of approx. 68% this year despite a 6% GST hike in Paper on the back of better product mix.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
EBITDA: Rs1,449 Mn (FY26)
p. 4
“We achieved the Highest EBITDA of Rs. 1449 Mn and EBITDA Margin of 18.1% which meets the guidance range of 18%-20%,”
Saurabh Mittal, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Operating Income: Rs861m (FY26)
p. 4
“We achieved Operating Income of Rs861m which speaks volumes of our operating efficiency”
Saurabh Mittal, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
PAT: Rs731m (FY26)
p. 4
“We achieved profit growth of 21% and ended the year with PAT of Rs731m.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Net Cash Balance: Rs1,048m (FY26)
p. 4
“The company continues to build on its net debt free status company at the end of FY26 with a net Cash balance of Rs1,048m, despite a Capex of 362 Mn and Acquisition Outgo of 107 Mn, which gives us ample headway to look at potential M&A and/or Buyback from internal accruals as well.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Interim Dividend: Rs4/share (FY26)
p. 4
“We have announced an Interim dividend of Rs4/share”
Saurabh Mittal, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Operating Cash Flow: Rs747m (FY26)
p. 4
“All this resulted in generation of strong operating cash flows at Rs747m for FY26.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Trade Receivables: Rs3,503m (Q4 FY26)
p. 4
“Trade Receivables increased to Rs3,503m during Q4FY26 vs Rs2,753m during Q4FY25.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Receivable Days: 160 days (Q4 FY26)
p. 4
“In terms of receivable days, it stood at 160 days (vs. 140 days in Q4FY25)”
Saurabh Mittal, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Inventory: Rs1,634m (Q4 FY26)
p. 4
“Inventory increased to Rs1,634m (vs Q4FY25: Rs1,401m).”
Saurabh Mittal, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Inventory Days: 232 days (Q4 FY26)
p. 4
“In terms of inventory days, it stood at 232 days (vs. 223 days in Q4FY25).”
Saurabh Mittal, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Net Working Capital Days: 164 days (Q4 FY26)
p. 5
“On back of these movements, Net Working Capital increased to 164 days (vs. 151 days in Q4FY25).”
Saurabh Mittal, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
AI Dataset Content Licensing Revenue Growth: over 60%+ (FY26)
p. 3
“On the AI Dataset content licensing revenues, we had a great year with over 60%+ YoY revenue growth during FY26.”
Himanshu Gupta, page 3 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Raw Material (Paper) Inventory: Rs29 crores
p. 16
“Yes, we have given it in our investor presentation. I think Rs29 crores is the raw material inventory at the year-end.”
Atul Soni, page 16 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.
Operating Revenue Growth — 10%-15% · FY27
stated firmly by Saurabh Mittal
p. 5
“Firstly, we are looking to grow Operating revenues by 10%-15% for the year.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
EBITDA Margin — 17%-19% · FY27
stated firmly by Saurabh Mittal
p. 5
“Secondly, we are giving an EBITDA margin band guidance of 17%-19%. This guidance is lower than last year on back of increased costs due to escalation in the prices of paper/logistics/transportation/packaging due to currency depreciation and higher fuel prices in the current year”
Saurabh Mittal, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Content Licensing Revenue — more than Rs400m · FY27
stated firmly by Saurabh Mittal
p. 5
“We are looking to target revenues more than Rs400m in the Content Licensing opportunities of our text, images and videos repositories and growing the number of clients.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Operating Cash Flow — over Rs1,000m · FY27
stated firmly by Saurabh Mittal
p. 5
“We expect to deliver OCF of over Rs1,000m for FY27.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Content Licensing Business Size — at least Rs100 crores
stated as an aspiration by Saurabh Mittal
p. 7
“But we probably would outdo what we are planning for this year. And hopefully, we're trying to build it up to at least Rs100 crores business.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 7 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Paper Prices — 10% to 15% · FY27
stated conditionally by Himanshu Gupta
p. 8
“Yes, yes. Paper prices, definitely, we expect to grow by 10% to 15% this year at least, maybe more also.”
Himanshu Gupta, page 8 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Price Hike on Books — 6% to 8% · FY27
stated firmly by Himanshu Gupta
p. 8
“We expect that the price hike would be in the range of 6% to 8%. That's only maximum we can take.”
Himanshu Gupta, page 8 of the filed PDF · View the filing
NCF Rollout Completion — this year or the year after
stated conditionally by Himanshu Gupta
p. 6
“NCF rollout will be completed, we hope that this year, that exercise should be completed and the implementation will start this year or maybe early next year.”
Himanshu Gupta, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
International (CPD) Business Potential — US$8-US$10 Mn · a few years
stated as an aspiration by Himanshu Gupta
p. 3
“We believe this has the potential to be an US$8-US$10 Mn business in a few years.”
Himanshu Gupta, page 3 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Net Cash Position — Rs130-135 crores · FY27
stated conditionally by Saurabh Mittal
p. 7
“Considering we have a capex of about Rs20 crores coming up, I would say, we should be around Rs130 crores, Rs135 crores.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 7 of the filed PDF · View the filing
International Business Capital Outlay — Rs5 crores to Rs7 crores · next 2 to 3 years
stated as an aspiration by Himanshu Gupta
p. 12
“So we are not going to spend too much of money, maybe a small capital investment in the next 2 to 3 years of maybe Rs5 crores to Rs7 crores, nothing large, nothing major.”
Himanshu Gupta, page 12 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 guidance already factors in these advantages and represents good growth on a large base.
Answered by Himanshu Gupta
Asked by Niteen Dharmawat: Does the 10-15% revenue guidance include upside from NCF implementation?
p. 6
“10% to 15% is a good guidance because it's not a small number. It's a big number. Like this year, we have grown by around 11%.”
Himanshu Gupta, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management explained the client mix and said they are trying to build this into a larger business.
Answered by Saurabh Mittal
Asked by Niteen Dharmawat: How big can the AI content licensing business become given mixed one-time and recurring payments?
p. 6
“In our first year of this business we had 2 clients. In the year gone by we had 5 clients. During this year, we are picking up 2 more clients.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management declined to disclose exact margins due to confidentiality but noted in-house content carries much higher margin.
Answered by Saurabh Mittal
Asked by Niteen Dharmawat: What margins does the content licensing business generate?
p. 7
“Yes. So wherever our content is going, that is almost 90% margin for us.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 7 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said they are considering it but prefer to hold cash given war-related uncertainty and unclear input costs.
Answered by Saurabh Mittal
Asked by Niteen Dharmawat: Why not consider a buyback given strong cash and debt-free status?
p. 7
“Yes, yes, we are considering that. Unfortunately, because of the war situation, we are waiting for things to settle down because it's best to have cash in books for this uncertain period.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 7 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management estimated roughly 30-40% of content has been licensed so far.
Answered by Saurabh Mittal
Asked by Praneeth: What percentage of the company's IP is currently licensed for AI training?
p. 8
“I would say about -- on an average, about 30% to 40% is licensed as on today.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 8 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management clarified that digital licensing margins actually fell because more third-party sourced content was used, and incremental margin gains came from the publishing business instead.
Answered by Saurabh Mittal
Asked by Praneeth: Why did digital margins not improve despite EBITDA growth?
p. 10
“So this year, on the contrary, the margins from the digital business were lower than last year, while the revenue grew by about Rs10 crores to Rs11crores the margins were lower by about Rs4 crores.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 10 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said the Board is considering it and questioned whether buybacks influence share price, citing sector resilience versus global disruption.
Answered by Saurabh Mittal
Asked by Keshav Garg: Why is management not doing a share buyback given deep value versus peers trading at higher EBITDA multiples?
p. 13
“Having said that, yes. Please also look at the performance of the other buybacks in the same industry where people have done it, if it has done anything to the share price.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 13 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said higher education's share of the business has shrunk sharply while school segment revenue continued to grow.
Answered by Saurabh Mittal
Asked by Keshav Garg: What has happened to higher education revenue over the past decade?
p. 15
“Just to add to that, pre-COVID, higher education constituted almost 20% of our market. Currently, it's about 8%.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 15 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management attributed it to students not buying books, plus industry-wide piracy and reduced book purchases in college segments.
Answered by Saurabh Mittal
Asked by Keshav Garg: What is causing the decline in the higher education business?
p. 15
“Students are not buying books.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 15 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management confirmed the guidance already accounts for these cost pressures and expects to offset some through internal efficiencies.
Answered by Saurabh Mittal
Asked by Riya Mehta: Does the FY27 EBITDA margin guidance factor in expected higher raw material costs?
p. 15
“Yes, we'll be able to pass on some of it and the rest we'll make up from our internal efficiencies.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 15 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said the GST hike came in November after pricing was set, so the impact was already factored into results based on the ~40% of purchases made post-hike.
Answered by Saurabh Mittal
Asked by Murtaza: Was the full GST hike impact absorbed in FY26 or will it carry into FY27?
p. 16
“So, the impact was only on 40% of the paper purchases that happened post November. So, some impact will be factored, but that has been already factored into our numbers.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 16 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said prioritizing higher margins over cash generation was not the current strategy, contrasting historical cash flow with today's.
Answered by Saurabh Mittal
Asked by Praneeth: Can EBITDA margins return to historical levels of 25%?
p. 21
“Rs38 crores of cash flow from operations. This year at Rs800 crores, we've done Rs75 crores. There is no comparison between those times.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 21 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said brands would remain separate to preserve school 'bag share' and market share gained through distinct sales teams.
Answered by Saurabh Mittal
Asked by Praneeth: Will the company consolidate its multiple publishing brands and entities?
p. 21
“No, they'll continue as separate brands. They can't otherwise, we'll end up killing our own business because 3 different people have to go to schools, 3 different adoptions have to happen.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 21 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Risks flagged
War in the Middle East affecting collections from schools in the region
p. 4
“The war in Middle East also impacted collections from the schools in the region.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Increased costs from paper, logistics, transportation and packaging due to currency depreciation and higher fuel prices
p. 5
“This guidance is lower than last year on back of increased costs due to escalation in the prices of paper/logistics/transportation/packaging due to currency depreciation and higher fuel prices in the current year”
Saurabh Mittal, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Rising paper and consumable prices amid ongoing negotiations with suppliers
p. 8
“But right now, we are in negotiation stage with all the paper mills, and we have not finalized our rates for this year.”
Himanshu Gupta, page 8 of the filed PDF · View the filing
New Labor Code increasing labour costs
p. 8
“And even with the new Labor Code coming in the cost for the labour will increase.”
Himanshu Gupta, page 8 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Limits on ability to raise book prices due to customer pushback and affordability concerns
p. 8
“But we also cannot take too much of hike. We expect that the price hike would be in the range of 6% to 8%. That's only maximum we can take.”
Himanshu Gupta, page 8 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Decline in higher education segment due to piracy and reduced book purchases
p. 15
“There is an increase in piracy. There is a decrease in the number of books which are purchased by students.”
Atul Soni, page 15 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Dollar pricing and paper import costs rising, creating uncertainty on sourcing decisions
p. 16
“But now the dollar pricing has actually increased a lot in the last 1 year and the paper prices have also increased in terms of the normal paper prices, plus the logistics costs also increased.”
Himanshu Gupta, page 16 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Uncertain client budgets constraining growth of the content licensing business
p. 20
“See, again, it depends upon the clients' budgets. Clients also have budgets on how much they can spend on content. Everybody has got their own budgets. That is the constraint that they have.”
Saurabh Mittal, page 20 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Generated by claude-sonnet-5. Source: the transcript as filed with BSE. We link to the exchange's copy; we do not host transcripts. Parakho is a data and screening tool, not an investment adviser — nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell or hold.