Zuari Industries sees debt halving to ~₹700-800cr as Dubai project cash flows in
The sugar and ethanol beat is overshadowed by the real progress on deleveraging — the Dubai payoff is finally in sight.
What management said
- Sugar achieved highest ever capacity utilization of 101.7% and record crushing of 159.7 lakh quintals.
- Dubai St. Regis project received building completion certificate; expects ₹850-900 crore inflow over 6 months.
- Consolidated PAT swung to ₹105 crore from a loss of ₹94.4 crore in FY25.
- Ethanol JV Zuari NVN Bioenergy commissioned in Jan 2026 but faces stagnant OMC tender volumes.
The brief
Zuari Industries closed FY26 with standalone EBITDA of ₹191 crore, up 6.8%, and consolidated PAT of ₹105 crore versus a loss of ₹94.4 crore. The sugar division ran at a record 101.7% capacity utilization, crushing 159.7 lakh quintals. Ethanol production rose 10.1% but realizations stagnated. The critical signal is the Dubai project: the St. Regis residences received a building completion certificate, and management expects ₹850-900 crore of cash to flow in over the next six months from buyer handovers. Combined with an expected ₹250 crore from an associate, net debt should fall from ~₹1,900 crore to ₹700-800 crore. The bioethanol JV is commissioned but hamstrung by delayed OMC tenders. Management remains bullish on long-term ethanol blending but sees no near-term capacity expansion. The verdict: delivery on the Dubai cash waterfall finally makes deleveraging tangible.
In their words
“We received the building completion certificate just about a couple of days ago... we expect that about 850 to 900 crores should flow into us over the next six months.”— Alok Banerjee — CEO, Zuari Infraworld
“This amount will be used entirely for deleveraging.”— Athar Shahab — Managing Director
“Our external borrowings will be in the range of around 700 and 800 crores which we are able to manage from our operations.”— Nishant Dalal — Chief Financial Officer
Summarised from the Zuari Industries Ltd Q4 2026 earnings-call transcript. View transcript.