India's Voltas posts sharper-than-expected profit dip on weak cooling product earnings

Voltas

29/01/2026 12:35

Jan 29 (Reuters) - Air conditioner maker Voltas VOLT.NS reported a bigger-than-expected 35.7% fall in quarterly profit on Thursday, hurt by a dip in income from its cooling products segment and a one-time charge relating to India's labour code revamp.

Net profit fell to 849.5 million rupees ($9.24 million) in the quarter ended December 31, from 1.32 billion rupees a year ago.

Analysts, on average, were expecting a profit of 1.29 billion rupees, according to data compiled by LSEG.

A one-time charge of 264.9 million rupees relating to the labour code changes also weighed on its bottom line.

The firm's overall revenue fell 1.1% to 30.71 billion rupees, below analysts expectation of 32.79 billion rupees.

KEY CONTEXT

Profit from Voltas' unitary cooling products segment fell despite stable revenue, as seasonal factors and higher spending on sales and customer support in a competitive market weighed on margins, the company said.

Demand for room air conditioners remained weak in the country for most of the quarter as cooler weather prevailed while elevated inventory with dealers weighed on orders, analysts said.

Rival Blue Star BLUS.NS reported a 39% fall in profit, hurt by weakness in the segment that sells room air conditioners as well as a charge relating to India's labour code revamp.

PEER COMPARISON

Valuation (next 12 months)
Estimates (next 12 months)
Analysts' sentiment
RIC
PE
EV/EBITDA
Revenue growth(%)
Profit growth(%)
Mean rating*
# of analysts
Stock to price target**
Div yield (%)
Voltas
VOLT.NS
45.40
35.92
15.98
50.18
Hold
37
0.95
0.53
Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals
CROP.NS
22.58
14.68
11.63
21.53
Buy
32
0.60
1.35
Blue Star
BLUS.NS
46.17
30.59
16.34
28.73
Hold
23
0.90
0.54
Havells India
HVEL.NS
42.46
28.31
15.27
23.68
Buy
25
0.78
-

* The mean of analyst ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell, and Strong Sell

** The ratio of the stock's last close to analysts' mean price target; a ratio above 1 means the stock is trading above the PT

OCT-DEC STOCK PERFORMANCE

 -- All data from LSEG

-- ($1 = 91.9830 Indian rupees)

VOLT https://tmsnrt.rs/4rg4oLf

 (Reporting by Aleef Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

 ((aleefjahan.cs@thomsonreuters.com))