Rishi Laser's ₹190cr guide rests on a plant it just learned to run
After missing FY26 targets and shelving two growth plans, management bets everything on Malur and Caterpillar.
The numbers
- FY26 revenue grew 7% to ₹160 crore, missing the internal target.
- Net profit fell 55% to ₹3.67 crore, a steeper decline than the top line.
- FY27 revenue guidance is ₹190 crore, implying a 19% jump from the low base.
- Malur plant is targeted to contribute ₹60 crore in FY27, of which ₹25-30 crore is relocated work.
- Employee costs jumped 65% in FY26 due to the Malur ramp-up.
Management's story
- FY26 missed due to self-inflicted execution errors at Malur, not a demand problem.
- The Malur plant is now fully operational with a new paint shop running.
- Tube-processing segment is shelved for at least a year due to bandwidth constraints.
- Caterpillar demand is providing 'unprecedented' post-COVID traction to underpin the guide.
- The three-year CAGR target is 20%, pointing to a ₹300 crore endpoint by FY29.
“We underestimated the complexity of commissioning the large-format fabrication machinery at the scale the new plant demanded.”
— Management, on Malur
Where they diverge
The guidance of 19% growth is presented as a comeback, but it is a conservative number after a poor year. A third of the Malur target is just relocated work, meaning the true new business step-up is a modest ₹30-35 crore. More telling, two previously announced growth vectors—tube processing and Baroda retail—have been abandoned without explanation, concentrating all risk on executing a single plant ramp for a single major customer.
The full read
Rishi Laser's results are a lesson in managing expectations. The company admitted its FY26 expansion stumbled on execution, posting 7% revenue growth and a 55% profit drop after botching the Malur plant commissioning. Management's narrative is one of clear-eyed blame and a refocused plan. The numbers tell a story of concentrated risk. The ₹190 crore FY27 guide, while a 19% jump, is built on a low base and includes ₹25-30 crore of work merely shifted from Bangalore. The new organic growth step-up is ₹30-35 crore. The shelving of the tube-processing and Baroda retail strategies, both previously touted, leaves the company with a single growth lever: executing at Malur for Caterpillar. Management claims post-COVID customer traction is 'unprecedented,' but the reliance on one client and one plant for a ₹125 crore market cap company is stark. The Robotics vertical, a potential diversifier, is a ₹10 crore bet contingent on near-term conversion. After a year where ambitions outpaced ability, Rishi Laser now asks the market to trust a narrower, but still unproven, execution.
What we're watching
- Conversion of the ₹10 crore robotics pipeline by July, a contingent target.
- Malur plant's ability to deliver the full ₹60 crore target, not just relocated work.
- Proof that the Baroda plant can stabilise after losing a major customer.
- Impact of the 30% Karnataka wage inflation on already strained employee costs.