Why Is NCDEX In 46 Cr. Loss Despite Revenue Growth?

The National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) has released its audited financial statement for FY26 annual and quarterly results. The exchange has reported a 9.8 cr loss in Q4FY26 and a yearly loss of Rs 46 cr, in spite of a jump in yearly revenue. Let’s break down the FY26 financials of NCDEX and the recovery plans of the exchange.

NCDEX Financial Statement Analysis

Note: The quarterly numbers for March 31, 2026 and March 31, 2025 are partly calculated from:

• The audited full-year numbers, and

• The already published results from the first 9 months of the year.

A) Revenue

NCDEX quarterly results showed an increase in revenue from Rs. 39.10 cr to Rs. 46.61 cr in Q3 FY26, whereas a slight decline was seen in Q4 FY26 to Rs. 45.13 cr, reflecting a nearly -3.2% QoQ change. 

However, revenue improved by 15.4% in FY26, an increase of Rs. 153.37 cr from Rs. 122.06 cr in FY25. This indicates that the core business continued to expand despite market challenges.

B) Expenses

The expenses climbed from Rs. 50.81 cr in Q4 FY25 to Rs. 62.11 cr in Q4 FY26, around 9.1% increase could be seen among the 3 quarters. Whereas expenses reached Rs. 219.88 cr in FY26 from Rs. 197.01 cr in FY25, a nearly 22.2% YoY increase was seen. This means that the higher operational costs significantly impacted margins and profitability. Hence, expenses increased faster than revenue growth.

C) Profit / Loss

The major concern might come from the performance of earnings. In Q4 FY26, the company had a loss of Rs. 14.77 cr, while in Q4 FY25 it had huge profits of Rs. 287.78 cr. 

A similar pattern was noticed in the annual figures, with a profit of Rs. 278.82 cr in FY25 to a loss of Rs. 63.99 cr in FY26.

D) PAT

Now, PAT also slipped to a loss of Rs. 9.80 cr in Q4 FY26, against a profit of Rs. 240.91 cr in Q4 FY25. Yearly PAT also declined from Rs. 236.09 cr to a loss of Rs. 46.24 cr in FY26.

Hence, exceptional income is impacting profitability substantially in FY25, but in FY26, without any single gain, even in a single quarter, it could impact the earnings.

E) EPS

EPS also turned negative from Rs 46.86 per share in FY 25 to a negative Rs 6.36 per share in FY 26.

Overall, the company showed strong revenue momentum, but rising expenses and weaker profitability weighed heavily on financial performance. Going forward, controlling costs and improving operational margins will be crucial for sustaining long-term growth

SEBI Restrictions Causing A Loss Of Revenue To NCDEX

On March 26, SEBI released a circular extending the restriction on NCDEX for fresh positions for futures and options contracts in commodities like wheat, chana, soybeans, and refined oil. These are the key commodities of NCDEX, and a restriction on these is causing a loss of revenue for the exchange.

Team and Technology Becoming A Major Expense

Employee benefit expense has become a large part of costs, sitting at Rs 31.1 cr in Q4 FY26. This is followed by technology and other expenses amounting to Rs 13 crore and Rs 11.1 crore, respectively. So NCDEX is spending on new projects and operations (discussed later in the blog)

NCDEX Cash Flow Statement Analysis

• The cash flow from operating activities was seen as negative in FY26 of -Rs.133.70 cr compared to Rs.11.84 cr in FY25. The decrease indicates pressure on core operations.

• Similarly, cash flow from investing activities also went down from Rs. 60.18 cr in FY26 to - Rs. 579.78 cr in FY26. Now, the decrease here could be due to the deployment of funds into financial assets. 

• However, cash flow from financing activities was seen as up from -Rs. 7.48 cr in FY25 to Rs. 755.69 cr in FY26. The increase could help operational and investing outflows. 

Despite a decrease in operating activities, a net increase was seen of Rs. 42.21 cr in FY26. Also, there was an increase seen in opening and closing both cash and cash equivalents, where Rs. 162.35 cr of opening cash in FY26, and the closing was Rs. 204.56 cr in FY26. Therefore, it could provide better liquidity to the company.

How does NCDEX plan recovery?

NCDEX is planning for a business recovery through diversifying its operating activities, technical infrastructure upgrades, and a big capital raise.

1. Diversification beyond agri-commodity

NCDEX is planning to trade in the following segments:

A) Equity and Equity Derivatives

The exchange plans to enter equity derivatives trading within the next 12 months and to launch its equity cash segments by the end of 2026.

B) Mutual Funds platform rollout 

NCDEX has planned a mutual fund platform rollout on June 26. The exchange received in-principle approval for the same in 2025.

Thus, NCDEX is finally moving beyond its identity as a commodity derivatives trader from the last two decades.

2. Raising Capital for capital expenditure

In September 25, NCDEX raised Rs 770 crore from 61 investors, including Groww, Zerodha, R.K. Damani, and Ramesh Damani. This was raised to make capital expenditures for trading facilities and compliance mechanisms, as well as financial support during the rollout of new products.

3. Tech Stack and Disaster Recovery Framework

NCDEX is upgrading its technology stack, including 

A. Vendor tie-ups like LSEG for additional servers, near real-time recovery systems, and better connectivity.

B. Internal circulars and guidelines on technical glitches, making it compulsory for them and members to have documented response and recovery plans.

To conclude, NCDEX’s recovery plan is growth-linked; it's using tools, technology, people, and capital to build new business segments and build not just profitability but relevance. In the future, this will directly affect the investor sentiments for NCDEX unlisted shares.