HFCL Limited makes optical fibre, optical fibre cables, optical connectivity products, and also runs defence and digital infrastructure businesses, and it enters this quarter on the back of a record Q1 with revenue up 119.85% YoY. The print will speak to whether the ~23% EBITDA margin holds against a guided 20-25% preform price rise, and whether the NFS turnkey losses of Rs. 87.53 crore in Q1 cease as guided by Q2 FY27.
| Results date | October 19, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Quarter | Q2 FY 2026-2027 |
| Previous quarter revenue | Rs. 1,914.98 crore (+119.85% YoY, +4.98% QoQ) |
| Previous quarter PAT | Rs. 245.64 crore vs Rs. (29.30) crore loss in Q1 FY26 |
| Previous quarter EBITDA margin | 23.25% (+1,832 bps YoY) |
| Market cap | Rs. 40,101.78 Cr |
| CMP | Rs. 262.0 |
The board will meet on Monday, October 19, 2026, to approve the un-audited standalone and consolidated financial results for Q2/H1 ended September 30, 2026. The insider trading window closed on September 30, 2026, and reopens on October 22, 2026.
A 60-minute earnings conference call is scheduled for October 19, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. IST, hosted by Nuvama Institutional Equities. Participants include MD Mahendra Nahata, CFO V. R. Jain, President & CS Manoj Baid, and Head IR Amit Agarwal.
The key test this quarter is whether the ~23% EBITDA margin guide holds while a management-guided 20-25% preform price rise passes through, with the fibre chain already repriced sharply (G.657A2 up ~90% per industry-source estimates, May 2026) and the material-cost/revenue ratio at 50.6% in Q1. Demand signals point the other way: hyperscaler AI capex is accelerating (UBS pegged 2026 hyperscaler capex at +76% to $673 Bn; Goldman Sachs sees the five largest US hyperscalers' AI capex rising >50% next year to $1.2 trillion), and HFCL announced ~Rs. 3,293 crore of fresh order inflows in the window, headlined by a 3-year, ~USD 244 Mn (~Rs. 2,329 crore) OFC supply agreement on September 1, 2026. The Q2 YoY comparison is against a low base of Rs. 1,043.34 crore, and the company has guided no quarter-on-quarter decline with profitability 'not inferior' from Q2 FY27, which hinges on the guided cessation of NFS turnkey losses (Rs. 87.53 crore segment loss in Q1) by Q2 FY27. Management raised its FY27 revenue growth aspiration to 40% from 20-25% on the July 22, 2026 call, with the order book at an all-time high of Rs. 26,665 crore as of June 30, 2026.
Performance vs previously stated guidance: A wide set of FY27 targets from the Q1 FY27 call and earlier calls will be checked against the Q2 print.
Hyperscaler order flow and data center ramp
Capex vs funding
Preform cost pressure and margin bridge
Defence and Turnkey segment losses
On the Q1 FY27 call (July 22, 2026), MD Mahendra Nahata confirmed the move from 20% to 40%: 'we are saying that the growth would be 40%, not 20%'. The raise came alongside a record order book of Rs. 26,665 crore as of June 30, 2026, and surging AI/data-center-driven demand for optical connectivity.
Asked whether Rs. 1,900 crore quarterly revenue is sustainable, the MD said: 'no, there is not going to be quarter-on-quarter decline... we will not be inferior to this, in my opinion'. He added that 5% or 10% here and there is very difficult to predict.
Management guided that NFS turnkey losses would cease by Q2 FY27 via a transition to the AMC model. The Turnkey segment posted a loss of Rs. 87.53 crore in Q1 FY27, so the Q2 segment result is the checkpoint.
Over 90% of preform is imported from Japan and management guided preform prices to rise 20-25%. The MD said preform is bought on long-term contracts so the near-term impact is not visible, but 'with the preform price rising, the price of cable will also rise... everything happens in tandem'.
The sale of HFCL's entire stake of 2,17,594 equity shares to Trinity Tech Solutions has been extended to on or before December 31, 2026, from the earlier September 30, 2026, via an SPA addendum executed October 1, 2026. No other terms of the deal changed.