Finolex Cables Ltd (FINCABLES) Q1 FY27 Earnings Call: Revenue Jumps 44% YoY, Accelerates Fiber Capacity to 8M km

Finolex Cables Ltd held its Q1 FY27 earnings call on August 11, 2026. Here's a quick read of what management said — performance, strategy, and the outlook ahead.

Strong Revenue & Profit Growth Driven by Cables

• Revenue Rs.2,013 Cr in Q1 FY 2026-2027 — grew 44% YoY, led by robust performance across Electrical and Communication cables.
• PBT grew 62% YoY to margin of 13.4% — compared with 11.8% in Q1 FY 2025-2026; PAT rose 59% YoY to margin of 10.7% vs. 9.6%.
• EBITDA margin expanded to ~12.5% — up from 10.5% in Q4 FY 2025-2026 and 9.4% in Q1 FY 2025-2026; management considers ~10.5% sustainable for domestic electrical cables.
• JV contributed ~Rs.87 Cr revenue and ~Rs.7 Cr profit — in Q1 FY 2026-2027, continuing the Rs.24 Cr profit trend from FY 2025-2026.

Electrical Cables Lead; Communication Cables Surge

• Electrical Cables revenue Rs.1,767 Cr in Q1 FY 2026-2027 — up 47% YoY, with high double-digit volume growth in automotive, battery, solar, and agricultural cables.
• Communication Cables revenue Rs.176 Cr — surged 62% YoY with ~30% margins; management cautioned against annualising this Q1 FY 2026-2027 margin due to sustainability concerns.
• Building wire posted low single-digit volume growth — in Q1 FY 2026-2027 as channel inventory destocked; channel inventory was low at quarter end.
• Copper Rods revenue fell sharply to Rs.8 Cr — vs. Rs.403 Cr in Q1 FY 2025-2026, due to LPG availability restrictions impacting production.
• Electrical wires revenue mix in Q1 FY 2026-2027 — construction wires ~60%; auto, agriculture, and industrial each 10-12%; solar cables at a smaller share; auto cables grew to >14%.

Fiber and Preform Expansion Accelerated

• Fiber capacity expanding to 8 million km by end-Q2 FY 2026-2027 — accelerated from original phased plan (4M to 6M to 8M) into a single phase, driven by global fiber shortage.
• Preform facility (100 ton) expected fully functional by end-Q2 FY 2026-2027 — all output used captively for fiber drawing; may enable ~100 bps margin improvement from normalized levels, subject to volatile input costs.
• Cable capacity to expand from 8M to 10M km — on a longer timeline in later FY 2026-2027 or FY 2027-2028.
• Capex guidance for FY 2026-2027 maintained at ~Rs.300 Cr — preform production has commenced with stability expected within 2-3 months.
• Further preform expansion to be assessed after holistic review — given the recent surge in data-centre demand, management will decide on phase-two preform capacity later.

Exports Nearly Match Full FY26 Run Rate

• Export revenue ~Rs.50 Cr in Q1 FY 2026-2027 — nearly matching the full FY 2025-2026 export value; primary markets are the US and Europe.
• Export proportion 35-40% of communication cable revenue in Q1 FY 2026-2027 — slightly below the 30-40% range; export business drove incremental margins.
• Export orders are not one-off — a revamped export team is building long-term relationships across multiple geographies, with immediate opportunities captured from the US and Europe.
• Global fiber (G.652.D) prices settling at ~$12-13/km as of Q1 FY 2026-2027 — up from ~$5-6/km in Dec 2025 (FY 2025-2026), with a peak of $17-18/km; premium fiber sold as high as $50/km.
• Germanium tetrachloride supply constrained — management confirmed it is a restricted item with long lead times; sufficient inventory covers the rest of calendar 2026, requiring daily follow-up.

Comms Margin Spikes but Seen as Temporary

• Communication cable margin of ~30% in Q1 FY 2026-2027 not sustainable — management stated this was temporary due to low-cost inventory sourced in Nov-Dec 2025; margins expected to normalise to double digits as higher-cost RM is consumed.
• Full-year FY 2026-2027 EBITDA margins seen at "low double-digit" levels — as old raw material stockpiles that boosted communications margins are depleted.
• Domestic electrical cables ~10.5% margin considered sustainable — management indicated this level is achievable on an ongoing basis.
• Long-term contracts represent more than half of communication cable revenue — repricing occurred at end of June 2026, already factored into current margins.
• Helium price volatility cited as a cost headwind — prices surged from Rs.1,600/cubic metre to Rs.5,000/cubic metre, moderating to ~Rs.3,500; volatile input costs make precise margin guidance unreliable.

AI/Data Center Demand on the Horizon; FMEG Target Reaffirmed

• FMEG target of Rs.5 billion revenue by FY 2027-2028 reaffirmed — despite a weak Q1 FY 2026-2027 due to industry-wide LPG shortage (fan production) and high PVC prices (conduit pipes); both issues resolving but fan season largely passed.
• CEO expects robust demand for communication cables over next ~2 years — driven by telecom (5G rollouts) and AI/data centre infrastructure from hyperscalers announcing "$5-6bn+ investments in India".
• Hyperscaler data centre demand may begin contributing in 6-8 months — Microsoft data centre near Pune nearing completion; bulk of near-term growth expected from consumer distribution and telecom.
• Management noted India's per capita fiber consumption is low — national consumption ~25 million km/year vs. China's 400 million+ km/year, suggesting potential to reach 50-60 million km (period unspecified).
• BharatNet not a near-term catalyst — with prevailing high prices, project winners are "waiting and watching," per management.