Schneider Electric Infrastructure Ltd posted a 43.2% drop in second-quarter net profit on Thursday, hit by delayed cost pass-throughs on legacy contracts. Net profit shrank to ₹29.7 crore for the quarter ended September 30, down from ₹52.3 crore a year earlier. Operating revenue climbed 19.8% to ₹779.12 crore, but escalating input expenses squeezed core profitability.
Shares of the automation and power equipment maker fell ₹19.95, or 1.74%, to close at ₹1,128.00 on the BSE.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) tumbled 28.3% to ₹60.13 crore from ₹83.81 crore. Operating margin contracted to 7.7% from 8.9% in the year-ago quarter. Operating profit before interest and tax (EBIT) fell to ₹56 crore against ₹72 crore last year. Management pinned the compression on commodity price volatility and lag times in passing elevated raw material expenses to customers on older contract commitments.
| Metric | Q2 FY27 | Q2 FY26 | YoY Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue from Operations | ₹779.12 cr | ₹650.14 cr | +19.8% |
| EBITDA | ₹60.13 cr | ₹83.81 cr | -28.3% |
| EBITDA Margin | 7.7% | 8.9% | -120 bps |
| Net Profit | ₹29.70 cr | ₹52.30 cr | -43.2% |
| Order Inflow | ₹1,265 cr | ₹915 cr* | +38.3% (QoQ) |
Yet capital goods buyers showed no hesitation. Order bookings reached a record ₹1,265 crore during the three months, comfortably beating the previous peak of ₹915 crore set in the April-June quarter. Demand held firm across core utilities, power grids, and high-growth segments including data centres and semiconductor fabrication lines.
The total order backlog expanded 49.6% year-on-year to ₹2,701 crore as of September 30, 2026. For the first half of the financial year, total order intake rose 24.7% to ₹2,180 crore, while six-month sales reached ₹1,430 crore—an increase of 12.5% over the same period last year. First-half EBIT, however, collapsed to ₹64 crore from ₹130 crore in the prior fiscal period, reflecting the cumulative toll of cost inflation.
Execution is accelerating. Sales rose 19.6% sequentially from the first quarter, pointing to a faster conversion of raw orders into factory dispatches. Udai Singh, managing director and chief executive officer of Schneider Electric Infrastructure Ltd, said the focus has shifted entirely to execution efficiency and clearing backlog quality. To meet volume commitments, the company's board sanctioned a capacity expansion at its Kolkata manufacturing facility.
Deepak Sharma, zone president for Greater India and board director, noted that while profitability trailed prior-year benchmarks, incoming contracts booked at prevailing price levels should steadily restore margin health as legacy orders roll off the delivery schedule.