Earnings● Neutral
Grasim Loss Narrows to ₹1,140 Crore as Paint Burn Eases
Grasim's Q1 net loss narrowed to ₹1,140 crore as Birla Opus Paints cut its cash burn 15% year-on-year. VSF EBITDA held flat at ₹1,222 crore. Debt rose to ₹32,500 crore on paint plant capex.
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Grasim Industries swung to a smaller consolidated net loss of ₹1,140 crore for the June quarter, from ₹1,628 crore a year earlier, as the paints division burned less cash and the viscose fibre segment held margins steady. Revenue from operations rose 12% to ₹34,191 crore, the company said in an exchange filing. EBITDA came in at ₹3,606 crore, up 21% from the year-ago period.
The improvement at Birla Opus Paints, now in its second year of operations, accounted for much of the narrowing loss. The unit reported an EBITDA loss of ₹735 crore for the quarter, a 15% improvement over the ₹863 crore loss in Q1 FY26. Himanshu Kapania, Managing Director and Business Head of Birla Opus, said the business is tracking toward its goal of hitting EBITDA breakeven in the second year of full-scale operations. The paints unit operates four plants with a combined capacity of 1,332 million litres per year.
The viscose staple fibre (VSF) business, Grasim's traditional earnings engine, delivered EBITDA of ₹1,222 crore, flat from ₹1,225 crore a year earlier. Revenue from the segment fell 2% to ₹5,593 crore. The company attributed the stability to better product mix and cost control, offsetting lower volumes in a weak global textile demand environment.
The chemicals segment, which produces caustic soda and chlor-alkali products, posted EBITDA of ₹542 crore, up 19% from the year-ago period. Revenue rose 6% to ₹3,428 crore. Kapania said the margin improvement came from higher realisation in domestic markets and lower input costs.