Cello World Q1 profit falls 9 per cent as revenue slips to Rs 527 crore

MUMBAI: Cello’s first-quarter numbers have a little less spring in them. Cello World reported a marginal dip in consolidated revenue for Q1 FY27, while profit took a sharper knock as expenses moved higher.

The consumer products company posted consolidated revenue from operations of Rs 526.72 crore for the quarter ended 30 June 2026, down 0.4 per cent from Rs 529.01 crore in the same quarter last year. Total income was almost flat at Rs 544.81 crore, compared with Rs 546.26 crore a year earlier.

The bigger dent came at the bottom line. Consolidated profit before tax fell 11.9 per cent to Rs 94.69 crore, from Rs 107.55 crore in Q1 FY26. Profit after tax declined nearly 9 per cent to Rs 73.40 crore, compared with Rs 80.65 crore a year ago.

The pressure was not from one runaway cost, but from several lines moving in the wrong direction. Total expenses increased to Rs 450.12 crore from Rs 438.71 crore, a rise of about 2.6 per cent. Employee benefits expense climbed to Rs 68.02 crore from Rs 60.44 crore, while depreciation and amortisation rose to Rs 21.85 crore from Rs 18.64 crore. Finance costs also increased sharply to Rs 57.2 lakh, from Rs 11.57 lakh.

Material costs also moved up, with the cost of materials consumed rising to Rs 232.18 crore from Rs 194.90 crore. Purchases of stock-in-trade increased to Rs 64.80 crore from Rs 59.53 crore. Other expenses, however, eased to Rs 108.90 crore from Rs 116.07 crore.

The quarter’s tax bill was lower at Rs 21.29 crore, compared with Rs 26.90 crore in Q1 FY26. Current tax stood at Rs 22.22 crore, while deferred tax was a credit of Rs 93.03 lakh, against a deferred tax expense of Rs 49.80 lakh a year earlier.

Earnings per share consequently slipped to Rs 3.25 from Rs 3.58. Total comprehensive income stood at Rs 73.15 crore, compared with Rs 80.37 crore in the year-ago quarter.

The sequential comparison was less forgiving. Revenue from operations fell from Rs 653.59 crore in Q4 FY26 to Rs 526.72 crore in Q1 FY27, while profit after tax dropped from Rs 90.12 crore to Rs 73.40 crore. Total income declined from Rs 661.21 crore to Rs 544.81 crore over the same period.

At the standalone level, Cello World’s revenue from operations fell to Rs 257.15 crore, from Rs 281.93 crore a year earlier. Total income declined to Rs 271.67 crore from Rs 301.34 crore, while profit after tax dropped to Rs 16.86 crore from Rs 23.46 crore.

Standalone profit before tax fell to Rs 21.06 crore from Rs 30.90 crore, while total expenses declined to Rs 250.61 crore from Rs 270.44 crore. Basic and diluted EPS stood at Rs 0.75, against Rs 1.04 in Q1 FY26.

The results also reflect the company’s ongoing corporate restructuring. The Composite Scheme of Arrangement involving Wim Plast, Cello Consumer Products and Cello World was sanctioned by the NCLT’s Ahmedabad Bench on 14 May 2026 and became effective from 1 April 2025 after the order was filed with the Registrar of Companies on 27 May 2026. As part of the scheme, Cello World is in the process of allotting 46,53,239 equity shares of Rs 5 each to eligible Wim Plast shareholders.

The company also disclosed the utilisation of its Rs 738 crore QIP, raised on 5 July 2024. Of the allocation, Rs 91.74 crore has been utilised towards a new manufacturing facility for stainless steel bottles, plastic insulatedware and household articles. Another Rs 236.96 crore went towards repayment or pre-payment of borrowings at subsidiaries, while Rs 100 crore was used to repay borrowings from WimPlast and Rs 83.05 crore towards promoter-related borrowings.

A further Rs 79.80 crore was allocated to working capital, Rs 108.06 crore to general corporate purposes and Rs 24.20 crore towards issue expenses. The working-capital allocation was revised down from Rs 80 crore after QIP issue expenses increased by Rs 20 lakh from the original estimate of Rs 24 crore.

Cello World operates as a consumer products business, with the consolidated results covering 12 subsidiaries, including Cello Household Products, Cello Houseware, Cello Consumerware, Unomax Stationery and Wimplast Moulding. The 12 subsidiaries collectively reported revenue of Rs 429.71 crore and profit after tax of Rs 57.48 crore for the quarter, according to the auditors’ review.

With revenue broadly holding steady but profitability losing some ground, Cello World enters FY27 with the familiar consumer-products challenge: keeping the sales engine moving while making sure the costs do not take the shine off the numbers.