Cera Q2 FY27 standalone: revenue +23.6% YoY but PAT flat, margins miss 13.5-14% guide

Cera Sanitaryware's standalone revenue grew 23.6% YoY to ₹602.96 Cr in Q2 FY27, comfortably ahead of management's maintained 18-20% FY27 guidance band, but net profit was essentially flat YoY at ₹56.14 Cr (-0.9%) as margins compressed sharply. NPM fell to 9.15% from 11.23% a year ago (-208 bps) and OPM to 12.15% from 13.76% (-161 bps) — both short of the 13.5-14% EBITDA margin management reiterated on the last call. There is no formal Street consensus estimate specifically for this quarter available; broader FY27 full-year consensus (from brokerage trackers) has pencilled in 15-20% PAT growth, a bar the H1 FY27 run-rate (standalone PAT down ~1.7% YoY) is currently tracking well behind, so vsStreet is left unknown rather than inferred from a non-quarter-specific number. The margin bridge sits squarely on input costs: combined material consumption and traded-goods purchases rose roughly 41% YoY to ₹361.0 Cr, well ahead of the 23.6% revenue growth, while other expenses climbed 18.7% YoY and employee benefits expense rose 10.7% YoY — consistent with the ₹18.3 Cr full-year wage headwind flagged at the last concall. Sequentially the picture is better: revenue (+24.1% QoQ) and PAT (+23.9% QoQ) grew roughly in step with each other, and OPM improved 202 bps QoQ from Q1 FY27's 10.13%, showing some within-year margin recovery even though the YoY comparison still lags guidance. No management press release or post-result commentary was available in the context to cross-check against the Board's own framing; the filing itself only discloses the unaudited numbers and a limited-review report from Singhi & Co. with an unmodified opinion. The quarter's other corporate developments — Board approval of the results on 4th November, the scheduled Q2/H1 FY27 earnings call on 5th November, and re-appointments of the Chairman & Managing Director and an Independent Director — are governance items with no direct bearing on this quarter's numbers.