Blue Star Q3FY26: Net profit drops 39% to ₹80.55 cr, revenue rises 4%

Air-conditioner and refrigerator maker Blue Star Ltd on Thursday said its consolidated profit declined 39.2 per cent year-on-year to ₹80.55 crore in the December quarter of FY26, citing a flat growth in the room AC business.

The company posted a net profit of ₹132.46 crore in the October-December quarter a year ago, according to a regulatory filing.

The board of the home-grown cooling product maker has approved the re-appointment of B Thiagarajan as Managing Director from April 1, 2026 to May 24, 2027.

Revenue from operations increased by 4.2 per cent to ₹2,925.31 crore in the December quarter of FY26. It was at ₹2,807.36 crore in the year-ago period.

"In Q3FY26, the company delivered moderate revenue growth despite market challenges. The room AC business recorded modest growth, primarily driven by channel partners building inventory ahead of the mandatory energy-label transition effective January 1, 2026," Blue Star said in its earnings statement.

Total expenses were at ₹2,772.53 crore in the latest third quarter, up 4.67 per cent year-on-year.

Total income, which includes other income, was up 4.3 per cent at ₹2,937.19 crore.

Blue Star's revenue from the electro-mechanical projects and commercial air-conditioning system segment was up 8.56 per cent to ₹1,696.21 crore.

Its "business saw healthy momentum in enquiries from buildings, data centres, and factories, with a few large order finalisations deferred to the next quarter. Hospitals and malls, including in Tier-3 cities, continued to demonstrate strong growth potential, supporting a favourable medium-term outlook."  Commercial office demand remains healthy in select pockets. However, the company said that with a few infrastructure projects approaching closure, the segment margins are likely to be impacted as the profitability of the infrastructure project vertical is lower than that of other verticals of the electro-mechanical project business.

The company's revenue from unitary products, which houses its consumer-facing room AC business, was marginally down 0.8 per cent to ₹1,154.22 crore in the December quarter. It was at ₹1,164.36 crore in the corresponding quarter.

Revenue of the professional electronics and industrial systems segment declined by 7.08 per cent to ₹74.88 crore in Q3/FY26, compared to ₹80.59 crore in Q3/FY25.

About the outlook, the company's Chairman & Managing Director, Vir S Advan, said the first three quarters of the current fiscal year were challenging, but the signs of market revival are encouraging.

The company expects Q4FY26 to be a strong quarter for room ACs, commercial air-conditioning and commercial refrigeration businesses, he said, adding, "In anticipation of robust growth in FY27, the company is continuing to expand distribution and invest in R&D, manufacturing, digitalisation and the brand, while introducing cost optimisation and productivity improvement measures."  He is hopeful that Q4FY26 will be an "encouraging quarter".

Shares of Blue Star Ltd on Thursday settled at ₹1,722.90 apiece on BSE, up 1.29 per cent from the previous close.