

Apollo Tyres’ margin upside looks capped, to weigh on stock
₹580 crore to the sponsorship, spread over two and a half years. “This impact is likely to reflect in financials from Q3 onwards,” Motilal Oswal’s analysts noted.Apollo’s consolidated Ebitda margin in the September quarter (Q2FY26) had risen 130 basis points (bps) year-on-year to 14.9%, the highest in the past six quarters, having declined about 110 bps to 13.2% in Q1.
Softening raw material costs were a key factor, aiding margin growth.“Management had earlier guided that input costs were likely to soften in H2. However, based on trends visible in Q3, input costs are now expected to remain stable QoQ, given the INR (Indian rupee) depreciation and cyclone-related disruptions in Thailand impacting rubber production,” said the Motilal Oswal report dated 27 December.The stock has declined around 8% in the past year and now trades at 19x estimated FY27 earnings, according to Bloomberg data.
The company continues to struggle to find a balance between market share and profitability, Elara Securities (India) said in its Q2 review last month. Truck and bus radial (TBR) replacement share was at around 29% in Q2, and passenger car radial (PCR) replacement was at 20%.“Apollo consciously avoided low-margin PCR OEM tenders, leading to share loss, but management emphasized a return to profitable OEM mix rather than chasing volume,” pointed out Elara.Muted demand in Europe, a slow replacement market recovery and relatively soft margin outlook are near-term headwinds.Catch all the Business News , Market News , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint.
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