CEAT aims for EBITDA break-even at Camso by March 2027

what happened

CEAT Ltd is counting on higher sales, fuller plant utilisation and customers moving over from Michelin to turn around its $225 million Camso acquisition. The off-highway tyre business is still loss-making but moving closer to break-even. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, sales rose 35% sequentially in the September quarter, while the negative operating margin narrowed from about 10% to 2%.

CEAT now services 85% of Camso's customers directly, with the remaining 15% expected to switch by December. Executive Director and CFO Kumar Subbiah expects EBITDA to reach break-even or a marginally positive margin by March 2027. He said the priority is sustaining revenue growth, since higher production spreads fixed costs over larger volumes.

Subbiah also said raw-material costs rose about 9% sequentially in the second quarter and will climb further in the third. Tyre prices have risen roughly 12–14% since April, which he warned could discourage commercial-vehicle operators from replacing tyres.

why it matters

For markets, the key question is whether CEAT can pass rising raw-material costs on to prices and bring Camso to break-even. Margin pressure and debt that rose by about 400 crore rupees in the second quarter remain important factors in assessing the company.

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