Shares of Astral Ltd. declined 7% on Tuesday, marking the third consecutive session of losses following the release of fourth quarter earnings that fell short of street expectations across all parameters. According to reports from TradingView News, the stock dropped to an over three-month low of ₹1,440.50 per share, having declined 8% in the last three sessions. The stock is now trading significantly below its yearly highs, with the latest decline representing the biggest single-day fall for the stock since August 2025. As of 12:16 PM, Astral shares were trading at ₹1,456.40 on the National Stock Exchange, declining 5.78%.
For the fourth quarter, Astral's consolidated net profit increased 20% to ₹213 crore from ₹179 crore in the previous year, though this figure was significantly below street expectations of ₹249 crore. Revenue for the quarter grew 24% to ₹2,089 crore from ₹1,681 crore in the fourth quarter last fiscal, but also missed the Street's estimate of ₹2,163 crore. However, operating performance exceeded expectations with EBITDA increasing 25.5% to ₹383 crore from ₹305 crore last year, surpassing the estimated growth of 39%. The company's operating profit margin expanded marginally to 18.34% from 18.14% in the year-ago period, though this was below the Street's estimate of 19%. For the full financial year FY26, Astral's consolidated net profit stood at ₹537 crore compared to ₹524 crore in FY25, rising 2.5%, while revenue increased 13% to ₹6,569 crore from ₹5,832 crore in the preceding financial year.
Despite the recent earnings miss, analysts from CLSA noted that Astral's Q4 EBITDA came in line with expectations, while profit after tax fell short due to higher foreign exchange fluctuation costs and an elevated tax rate. They highlighted that piping volume growth remained strong at 24% year-on-year during the quarter, indicating market share gains, with robust profitability in the piping segment. However, they pointed out that consolidated margins were impacted by the adhesives segment. Meanwhile, Jefferies analysts indicated that Astral's March quarter profit came in ahead of expectations, driven largely by strong performance in the plumbing segment, which contributes around 70% to the overall sales mix. They highlighted that plumbing volumes grew about 24% year-on-year to nearly 84,000 MT, with segmental sales rising 25% and EBIT margin expanding to 19.1%, up 280 basis points.
Astral increased its pipes and fittings production capacity to 417,645 tonnes during FY26 from 381,957 tonnes, with the company commencing operations at its Kanpur facility in October 2025. As part of the first phase of expansion, the company installed a capacity of 19,037 M.T. The company's consolidated cash, including cash equivalents and bank balances, stood at ₹943 crore as of March 31, 2026. Astral incurred a capex of ₹328 crore on a standalone basis and ₹373 crore on a consolidated basis during the year. The company's board of directors has recommended a final dividend of ₹2.50 per equity share of face value ₹1 each for FY26, subject to approval at the annual general meeting.
