Mumbai-based home appliances firm Blue Star Ltd announced on Tuesday (September 15) that W.J. Towell & Co LLC (WJT), an Oman-based entity, has approached the Dubai Court of Appeal seeking annulment of an arbitration award that dismissed all claims against the company. According to reports from CNBC TV18, the arbitration proceedings relate to a claim filed by WJT before the International Chamber of Commerce in connection with the Shareholders' Agreement dated October 1, 2015, entered into for managing the affairs of Blue Star Oman Electro Mechanical Company. Blue Star had disclosed on July 23, 2026, that the arbitrator had issued an award in favour of the company, dismissing all claims made by WJT.
As reported by CNBC TV18, Blue Star said it will make appropriate submissions before the Dubai Court of Appeal and believes the grounds raised by WJT are baseless. The company emphasized that annulment proceedings do not constitute an appeal or reconsideration of the merits of the award and are confined to limited procedural grounds. Blue Star stated that the development pertains to a subsequent development in the matter and does not constitute a material update, with the company receiving information on the appeal filed by WJT on Monday at 5:30 pm. The company has simultaneously disclosed the information to stock exchanges and on its website, emphasizing this is a subsequent legal step rather than a fresh dispute.
According to CNBC TV18, last week Blue Star said it expects margin pressure to continue in the July-September 2026 quarter as higher raw material costs outweigh the benefit of price increases. Managing Director B Thiagarajan explained that the summer season was good, though it was short, and the company couldn't deliver in terms of margins with a very poor margin of around 3% in the unitary cooling product segment. He attributed this to raw material price increase as well as exchange rate impact, stating that Q2 should become better but it continues to be a painful quarter.
As reported by CNBC TV18, despite margin pressure, Blue Star expects minor margin improvement in the room air-conditioning business in the third quarter, with its full-year goal of taking margins to around 6.5% by the fourth quarter. New product launches towards the end of the third and fourth quarters will also help. The company has raised prices twice, but Thiagarajan said it has still been unable to fully pass on the higher costs to customers. Despite the margin pressure, he said demand has remained better than expected. Shares of Blue Star Ltd ended at ₹1,486.80, down by ₹73.20, or 4.69%, on the BSE.
