Chapter 2

Bottom line

From FY24 to FY26, revenue doubled to ₹1,124 crore and PAT nearly tripled to ₹202 crore [1], yet three-year cumulative statutory operating cash flow was negative ₹134 crore [2]. The FY26 gap reflects pipeline investment: management's ₹552 crore surplus excludes ₹813 crore of business-development, landowner and JDA spend [3]. My read is that earnings improved before cash conversion; 0.07 times adjusted net debt to equity is the counterweight [4]. Positive cumulative operating cash flow would change that read.

Three years of recovery

The booking and recognition distinction is set out in the Sunteck Primer. The statutory record shows what has reached the accounts: FY24–FY26 revenue rose 99%, PAT rose 185%, and PAT margin increased from 13% to 18%. Cash moved differently.

Sources: FY24–FY26 reported income [5]; BSE-filed cash-flow series [6]; BSE-filed balance-sheet series [7].

FY26 created a ₹635 crore gap between PAT and operating cash flow, equal to 7.0% of average assets. Over FY24–FY26, cumulative PAT was ₹423 crore while cumulative operating cash flow was negative ₹134 crore, a conversion ratio of negative 0.32 times. A longer window is less severe but still incomplete: FY22–FY26 operating cash flow equalled 0.22 times cumulative PAT, while free cash flow equalled negative 0.43 times [8] [9]. The lifecycle makes single-year conversion volatile, but the five-year sum avoids judging the company on FY26 alone.

Two definitions of cash

Sources: company-defined net cash-flow surplus [10]; statutory operating cash flow from BSE filings [11].

The management measure answers a narrower question than statutory operating cash flow. It deducts ₹589 crore of project expenses, ₹46 crore of JDA revenue share and ₹246 crore of other expenses from ₹1,433 crore of collections to reach ₹552 crore. The same table then discloses ₹813 crore spent on business development, landowners and JDAs below that subtotal [12]. Deducting that spend produces a ₹261 crore outflow. The disclosure does not reconcile the remaining ₹172 crore difference to statutory operating cash flow; the table does not show whether taxes, other working-capital movements or classification differences explain the gap. The surplus is useful for project-level operating progress, but not a substitute for the cash-flow statement.

Inventory carries the cycle

FY26 inventory increased ₹1,689 crore to ₹7,896 crore, or 80% of total assets, while receivables fell 4% to ₹113 crore [13]. This points to land and construction investment rather than unpaid recognized revenue as the main cash user. Receivables fell from 189 days of revenue in FY24 to 37 days in FY26, although that ratio is only directional because property revenue is recognized around project milestones and possession.

The latest full annual audit shows what the inventory balance contains. At FY25, it comprised ₹560 crore of finished property, ₹3,017 crore of land and development rights, and ₹2,618 crore of construction work in progress [14]. The auditor treated recoverability as a key audit matter because expected launch dates, selling prices and remaining construction costs determine net realizable value [15]. FY26's larger balance, before a full annual-report note breakdown, therefore carries both future revenue capacity and estimate risk.

Leverage still provides room. The company's bridge shows FY26 gross debt of ₹747 crore, less ₹95 crore of cash and ₹386 crore of loans to JDA partners, for ₹266 crore of net debt. Adding ₹27 crore of quasi-equity and other obligations gives adjusted net debt of ₹293 crore, or 0.07 times equity [16]. The balance-sheet presentation reports ₹774 crore of borrowings, exactly the ₹747 crore gross-debt bridge plus that ₹27 crore adjustment [17]. The capital structure is not presently stretched, but gross debt more than doubled from FY25 as inventory expanded.

Consensus requires another step-up

Source: consensus estimates as of 21 July 2026 [18].

Average estimates call for revenue growth of 33% in FY27 and 18% in FY28, with EPS growth of 36% and 18%, respectively [19]. Dispersion is wide: FY28 EPS ranges from ₹16.80 to ₹33.45. The direction of revisions is less supportive than the averages; FY27 EPS is 12% below its level 90 days earlier and FY28 is 16% lower [20]. Consensus expects the income statement to keep catching up, but provides no forecast for statutory cash flow.

The most useful FY27 confirmation would be statutory operating cash flow above ₹134 crore, enough to turn FY24–FY27 cumulative conversion positive. Management expects collections and cash flow to strengthen in FY27 and FY28 [21]. Positive cash flow alongside adjusted net debt below 0.1 times equity would support the view that FY26 funded a new project cycle; another operating outflow with rising inventory and gross debt would not.