DCM Shriram Q2 Results: Profit Falls 33% Even as Revenue Grows 21%

DCM Shriram Q2 results are a reminder that a bigger top line does not always mean a bigger bottom line. The diversified chemicals-to-sugar group grew consolidated revenue from operations to ₹4,150.8 crore in the September quarter from ₹3,432.4 crore a year ago, up about 21%. But consolidated profit, after its share of joint venture profit, fell to ₹105.7 crore from ₹158.7 crore, a drop of roughly 33%, according to the results it filed with NSE on October 26.

The CNBC-TV18 results liveblog reported the same headline: profit down 34% at ₹105 crore and revenue up 21% at ₹4,151 crore. Earnings per share came in at ₹6.72, against ₹10.14 a year earlier.

DCM Shriram Q2 results: why profit shrank

The company’s own press release uses revenue net of excise duty, which rose 22% to ₹3,977 crore from ₹3,272 crore. Operating profit before depreciation, interest and tax (PBDIT) fell 22% to ₹319 crore from ₹408 crore.

Two things explain that fall. Input costs rose in the chemicals business, and the agri input units earned less. The base also flatters last year. The September 2025 quarter carried a one-time ₹76 crore incentive from the Gujarat government in chemicals and ₹15.5 crore in sugar from an upward revision in power rates. Take those out and last year’s PBDIT would have been about ₹316 crore, which is close to this quarter’s ₹319 crore. So the operating business is roughly flat, not collapsing, even if the reported number looks ugly.

A mixed bag across businesses

Chemicals did the heavy lifting on revenue, up 47% to ₹1,343 crore on better realisations. Sugar and ethanol revenue rose 10% to ₹1,023 crore, and its PBDIT jumped 85% to ₹62 crore on firm domestic sugar prices and better ethanol margins. Fenesta, the windows and doors business, grew revenue 22% to ₹344 crore. Fertiliser revenue rose 40% to ₹502 crore.

The weak spots were the farm-facing units. Shriram Farm Solutions revenue slipped to ₹423 crore from ₹471 crore on lower volumes, and Bioseed fell to ₹73 crore from ₹86 crore. Management called this one of the weakest monsoons in a decade, and said El Niño hurt Bioseed in both India and the Philippines. We saw the same weather story in Sumitomo Chemical’s Q2 numbers on the same day.

Dividend and what comes next

The board declared an interim dividend of ₹4 per share of ₹2 face value, a total payout of ₹62.38 crore. The record date is Friday, October 30, 2026.

The first-half profit figure needs care. Reported half-year profit was ₹799 crore against ₹273 crore, but that includes a favourable tax adjustment of ₹474.3 crore and exceptional gains of ₹79.4 crore booked in the June quarter. The company puts normalised first-half profit at ₹253 crore.

Looking ahead, the group commissioned an aluminium chloride plant, part of a calcium chloride plant at Bharuch and the first phase of an aluminium extrusion plant at Kota this quarter, and lists several more projects due between Q3 FY27 and Q4 FY28. Management also flagged that recent government tenders restricting some sugarcane-based feedstocks are weighing on ethanol investments. How quickly the new plants cut costs is what we would watch in the next few quarters.

New to reading a results filing? Our guide on how to analyse quarterly results explains how to separate one-offs from the core business.

Disclaimer: This article is for information and education only and is not investment advice. Please do your own research or consult a SEBI-registered adviser before making any investment decision.