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Havells India Faces Sell-Off After Q3 Earnings Miss
Havells India Ltd. saw its share price tumble over 3% in early trading on the BSE, reaching an intra-day low of ₹1,398.10. The decline followed the company's release of its Q3FY26 financial results post-market on Monday, which failed to meet several key analyst expectations.
The company reported a net profit of ₹300.78 crore for the December quarter. This figure fell short of the Bloomberg consensus estimate of ₹344.1 crore. While revenue performance was a bright spot, with ₹5,587.89 crore exceeding the ₹5,385.08 crore forecast, the Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortisation (EBITDA) stood at ₹482.4 crore. This was below the Street's expectation of ₹507.87 crore, signaling pressure on operational profitability.
Divided Brokerage Outlook
Market analysts are offering varied perspectives on Havells India's future prospects. Motilal Oswal Financial Services maintained a 'Neutral' rating and a target price of ₹1,590. The brokerage cited ongoing margin pressure across its cables and wires (C&W), Lloyd, and cable segments as a primary concern. Key factors to monitor include room air conditioner (RAC) inventory levels, the impact of price hikes for new Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) norms, raw material cost inflation, and copper price fluctuations.
JM Financial Institutional Securities, however, reiterated its 'Buy' rating with an unchanged target of ₹1,750. The firm noted that while adjusted profit after tax was slightly below expectations, EBITDA was in line and revenue surpassed forecasts. Lloyd Consumer's performance exceeded expectations, with segment revenue declining only 6% year-on-year against an anticipated 8% fall. Management anticipates channel inventory normalization for Lloyd as the summer season begins in Southern India, and plans 5-10% price hikes in Q4FY26 to counter rising input costs.
In the crucial cables and wires segment, Havells reported volume growth exceeding 20%, supported by rising copper prices. Capacity utilization was strong, at 65-70% for wires and 90-100% for cables in December 2025. Based on this robust C&W performance, JM Financial raised its FY26E Earnings Per Share (EPS) estimate by 3%, keeping longer-term EPS estimates largely stable.
Nomura also maintained its 'Buy' stance, increasing its target price to ₹1,798 from ₹1,769. The brokerage anticipates strong demand from infrastructure and construction sectors, alongside capacity ramp-ups in cables, to fuel C&W growth. Nomura projects an 18% revenue compound annual growth rate (CAGR) and expects EBITDA margins to improve from 9.7% in FY26F to 11.5% in FY28F, translating into a significant 28% EPS CAGR over the period. The firm highlighted that a broader consumption recovery is vital for operating leverage and margin expansion, with near-term commodity inflation and price pass-through remaining critical monitorables.