Jairam Varadaraj, Managing Director, Elgi Equipments
As Coimbatore-based air compressors major Elgi Equipments grows double-digits in FY26, Managing Director Jairam Varadaraj said that cost reductions and calibrated price hikes helped them drive profitability in a year marred by geopolitical crisis. In an interaction with businessline, Varadaraj said he anticipates rising input costs to weigh on FY27 performance, but stressed that customer demand remains intact. “Our current inquiry levels are also very strong. We have some strong cost reduction projects that could absorb some of the potential shocks. So overall, I think it’s positive,” he said. He also flagged Chinese dumping as a key concern for the air compressors and wider manufacturing sector, urging the government to ensure a level playing field.
Your revenue has grown 13 per cent, and profits by almost 23 per cent in FY26. What have been key drivers?
From a revenue point of view, biggest growth came from India and North America — these were the real growth engines for the top line. All regions grew except Australia, which was also flat. Profitability wise, I think the team has done a fantastic job of recovering from the tariffs and making sure that we didn’t let it impact us. It’s a combination of marginal price corrections and a significant reduction in cost that we have been able to achieve this. We were also hit by the crisis in West Asia. Fuel prices went up, and for some inexplicable reason, even metal commodity prices have gone up, but we anticipate the impact of that to be more in FY27.
