I spent this week on Kross
they make axles and suspensions for trailers, the long beds pulled behind big trucks
plus forged and machined parts for trucks and tractors
in trailer axles they’re number two, with about 26–28% of the market
the leader has about 45%
I read their May and July 2026 calls
then the July–September results came out on 17 October
₹272 now, its highest in a year
in an uptrend since late August. it bounced off about ₹222 three times
The good and the bad
July–September sales ₹235 Cr, was ₹131 Cr
a weak base. truck owners had waited for the GST rate cut
July–September profit ₹20 Cr, was ₹8 Cr
OPM went from 11% to 13%
more axles went through plants they had already built
steel cost settled in July, paid back to April
truck makers pay suppliers for steel price rises, but late
OPM 13%, they promised 14–15%
the bigger catch-up, for gas, oil and tooling, wasn’t settled by the July call
₹28 Cr cash from ₹55 Cr profit last year
customers took about 107 days to pay
debt went from ₹34 Cr to ₹54 Cr
tipping jacks: about 200 kits, aimed for 300
small product, still short of what they planned
What did management say
sales came in ahead of what they said. margins and new products came in late
in May the CFO said 22% sales growth for the year
“In Quarter 4, we have been able to increase our revenue by around 22%. That is what we would be looking at for this financial year as well.”
— Kunal Rai, whole-time director and CFO, call of 13 May 2026
April–September came in up 55%
same call, on margin:
“But between 14% to 15% margin is what we are looking at for the further quarters as well.”
— Kunal Rai, call of 13 May 2026
April–June was 12%. July–September 13%
the tipping jack number changed inside that same May call
Sumeet Rai said 300 kits by the end of June
then the CFO said:
“And in Quarter 1, we would be doing approximately 150 to 200 kits.”
— Kunal Rai, call of 13 May 2026
it came in at about 200. the CFO’s number was the right one
the single-piece axle line slipped for months. in July:
“We have finally commissioned and productionized our extrusion line.”
— Sudhir Rai, chairman and managing director, call of 27 July 2026
no sales figure for it yet
why the numbers moved
the last 12 months, against the year before:
sales ₹605 Cr to ₹821 Cr
profit ₹50 Cr to ₹69 Cr
OPM 13% to 14%
1. trucks and trailers came back
July–September 2025: sales down 6% on the year
then up 18% and 22%
then 32% in April–June
now up 79.6% in July–September
“But, for the last six months, we have seen both tonnage and demand going up.”
— Kunal Rai, call of 13 May 2026
this one is real, but it moves with the truck cycle
it ran backwards a year ago. sales fell and OPM dropped from 13% to 11%
July–September 2025 was the low, ₹131 Cr
2. more axles through the same plants
January–March: over 10,500 trailer axles and 3,500 suspensions
April–June: about 9,500 axles, up 30% on last year
in May they couldn’t keep up:
“Very honestly, at the moment, we are struggling to meet the demand which is being given to us, struggling to ramp up to meet our peak capacity.”
— Sumeet Rai, whole-time director, call of 13 May 2026
an analyst put axle capacity at 7,500 a month, up from 5,000 with the new line
forging and casting are already built:
“We would not be requiring any more in the forging and casting for these volume ramp-up and we will still be operating at around a 70% utilization.”
— Kunal Rai, call of 27 July 2026
operating profit in July–September: ₹15 Cr to ₹31 Cr
operating profit grew faster than sales in January–March and April–June too
it goes into reverse if trucks slow
OPM peaked at 15% in January–March
3. steel and other costs, paid back late
truck makers cover their suppliers’ cost rises, a quarter later
“we get it retrospective, but the settlement is at least delayed by one quarter.”
— Kunal Rai, call of 13 May 2026
that’s a big part of why OPM went from 15% to 12% in April–June
the steel part settled in July:
“So steel, there has been a very recent settlement which has been given retrospective to all the suppliers.”
— Kunal Rai, call of 27 July 2026
the gas, oil and tooling part hadn’t:
“That is a larger factor because that is somewhere we have been paying since day one and not yet been compensated on yet.”
— Kunal Rai, call of 27 July 2026
on trailer axles there’s no catch-up. they deal with fabricators and set prices themselves
up 3–5% from April
another 1–2% planned
but they can’t go past the leader:
“We are a #2 player. So, we cannot price our product more than the #1 player.”
— Sudhir Rai, call of 13 May 2026
OPM 13% in July–September, still under the 15% of January–March
4. tipping jacks, slower than planned
the hydraulic lift under tipper trailers
75–80 kits in January–March
about 200 in April–June
they can make 800 a month
they hope for 65–70% use by next March
for now it’s too small to move profit
5. the seamless tube plant
they import these tubes now
₹100 Cr term loan taken, trials by March 2027
“So, it is not going to be in this financial year that the seamless tube will contribute towards revenue growth.”
— Sudhir Rai, call of 13 May 2026
not running yet, so I’m not counting it
P/E 30.4, usual level about 26
what I’m watching next
the gas, oil and tooling catch-up from truck makers
OPM needs to reach 14% to keep the May promise
if it slips under 13% in October–December, I’ll be worried
cash: ₹28 Cr from ₹55 Cr of profit last year
the March 2027 numbers will show if customers pay faster
anyone who runs trailers, have fabricators started asking for the single-piece axle?
that’s it from me, see you tomorrow
— Roshan, Sector Alpha
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Prices as of 16 October 2026 · results to Jul–Sep 2026 · business analysis from 10 October 2026
Sector Alpha shows what has happened in published results and market data, and explains the business behind it, so you can study a stock yourself. It is never a recommendation to buy or sell, and Sector Alpha is not registered with SEBI as an adviser. Data as of 21 October 2026. Full data page: https://sectoralpha.in/stocks/KROSS