Ardee Industries: sales climb, but margins come under pressure

what happened

Moody's reports that investor Ashish Kacholia bought Ardee Industries stock ahead of its listing at Rs 53 per share. The company recycles spent lead-acid batteries and lead scrap, turning them into pure lead and alloys. It debuted on 12 August 2026, opening on the BSE at Rs 73.60. In early October the shares traded near Rs 48, below both the listing and the offer price.

Between FY24 and FY26, revenue grew from Rs 463 crore to Rs 1,168 crore, while net profit rose from Rs 8.95 crore to Rs 84.7 crore. The Ebitda margin improved from about 6.1% to 12.6%, and annual capacity increased 50.9% to 156,950 tonnes. Exports reached roughly Rs 465 crore, with shipments going to eight countries.

In the June quarter, revenue rose 35.2% year on year and net profit about 6%, yet Ebitda was broadly flat and the margin fell to 9.90% from 13.44%. Management blamed global uncertainty, shipping disruptions, higher freight and imported scrap costs, and called a margin near 10% a cautious assumption. Customer concentration is high, with Amara Raja providing 40.6% of FY26 revenue. Some anchor-investor shares became saleable in September, and another batch unlocks in November.

why it matters

For a recently listed stock, lock-up releases add to the available supply, though they do not mean holders have actually sold. For a metal recycler, profitability depends on imported scrap costs, freight and lead prices. Rising sales alone do not guarantee profit, so the key questions are capacity utilisation, profit per tonne and customer diversification.

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