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Informist, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025

By Akshat Saksena

MUMBAI - Astral Ltd. is expected to post a near flat net profit for the September quarter due to an extended monsoon and subdued demand on low channel inventory for plastic pipes. The company's top line for the reporting quarter is expected to improve due to higher volumes.

The company is expected to report a consolidated net profit of INR 1.10 billion for the September quarter based on an average of estimates from seven brokerages. The company's net profit is expected to stay flat on year but rise nearly 36% on quarter. The highest estimate for the company's net profit is INR 1.26 billion by ICICI Securities Ltd. and the lowest estimate for the metric is INR 997.00 million by Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt. Ltd.

The company's consolidated net sales for the September quarter are expected at INR 14.76 billion, based on an average of seven estimates. This would indicate a rise of nearly 8% on year and over 8% on quarter. The highest estimate for the company's net profit is INR 15.26 billion by ICICI Securities and the lowest estimate is INR 14.10 billion by brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher.

The company was affected by an industry-wide weakness caused by an extended monsoon season and subdued demand due to low channel inventory in the plastic pipe industry, according to brokerages. Low channel inventory is expected to have been caused by volatility in polyvinyl chloride resin prices, a key ingredient in making of these pipes. This saw channel partners reluctant to restock during the quarter, brokerages said.

PVC resin prices remained volatile primarily due to the government's delay in the imposition of anti-dumping duties on imports of the raw material. The prices of PVC rose 5% sequentially in the September quarter, according to brokerages. Despite the rise in prices, plastic pipe companies are not expected to see any inventory gains as the benefits have been passed on to the channel partners due to heightened competitive intensity, Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd. said

Astral is expected to outperform industry peers according to YES Securities (India) Ltd. The company's net sales are expected to rise, led by volume growth in its pipes and adhesive segment, according to IDBI Capital Market Services Ltd. However, the increased competitiveness in the industry along with the company's focus on gaining market share in the piping segment is likely to weigh on the company's profitability, according to ICICI Securities.

The company's piping volumes are expected to rise around 5-16% on year in the September quarter, according to estimates from four brokerages. The lowest estimate for September quarter volumes is 53,292 tonnes by brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher while the highest is 58,875 tonnes by Nuvama and ICICI Securities. The company reported a volume of 50,754 metric tonnes and a revenue of INR 9.66 billion for its plumbing segment in the year-ago quarter. The revenue from the segment accounted for nearly 71% of the company's total revenue in the year-ago quarter.

The company's revenue from its paints and adhesive business is expected to rise 9.9% on year in the reporting quarter, according to ICICI Securities and 13% on year according to Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. Prabhudas Lilladher estimates a 3.8% on-year growth for the company's paint business and a 14% on year growth for the company's adhesive segment. Astral's revenue from its paints and adhesive business was INR 4.04 billion and accounted for over 29% of its total revenue for the year ago quarter.

For the September quarter, the company is expected to report an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation of INR 2.20 billion on an average of seven estimates. This would indicate a marginal rise on year and a rise of over 13% on quarter. The highest estimate for the metric is INR 2.43 billion by ICICI Securities and the lowest is INR 2.11 billion by YES Securities (India) Ltd.

The company is expected to post an EBITDA margin of 14.6-15.1%, according to estimates from four brokerages. The highest estimate for the metric is by Nuvama and the lowest is by YES Securities. The company had reported an EBITDA margin of 15.3% in the year ago quarter and of 13.6% in the trailing quarter, according to brokerages. The company's higher share of value-added products such as CPVC plumbing and adhesives enables it to maintain margins despite the challenging environment, brokerage Motilal Oswal said.

Restocking across the channel is likely to improve once prices stabilise, with further support from regulatory tailwinds such as the implementation of the anti-dumping duties and quality controls on PVC by the Bureau of Indian Standards, JM Financial said. The Bureau of Indian Standards has extended the implementation deadline of quality control standards for PVC to Dec. 24, 2025, from Jun. 24, 2025. 

Incorporated in 1996, Astral is based out of Gujarat and started by making polymer pipes for domestic and industrial applications. It has since diversified into other business categories within the building materials industry. As of May, the company has 26 manufacturing units with a production capacity of 549,126 million tonnes per annum. The company's products includes pipes, water tanks, and bathware, with a combined capacity  of 381,957 million tonnes per annum and its adhesives and sealants with a capacity of 94,483 million tonnes per annum.

The company will announce its September quarter earnings on Wednesday. Investors should monitor the outlook for demand in the second half of 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) and in FY27 and the management's outlook on the adhesive segments, paints, and sanitary ware segment, according to IDBI Securities. Investors should also monitor any updates on the capacity addition or capital expenditure by the company in the near term, the brokerage added.

At 1230 IST, shares of Astral traded nearly 1% lower at INR 1,467.90 on the National Stock Exchange. The stock is up nearly 16% since the company announced its June quarter earnings on Aug. 11.

Of the 17 brokerage reports on the company available with Informist, 12 have a 'buy' rating on the stock, three 'hold', and two have a 'sell' rating on the stock. The average target price for the buy rating is INR 1,565 per share.

Following are the Jul-Sept earnings estimates of Astral from seven brokerages in descending order of the estimate of net profit in INR million:

End

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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