Maheshwari Logistics Ltd Management Discussions

SECTION 1. ECONOMIC OVERVIEW: GLOBAL AND INDIAN ECONOMY

The global economy navigated a year of significant disruption during FY2025-26, moving from a position of cautious, broadly stable growth through the first three quarters of the year into a sharply more volatile environment in its final quarter, following the outbreak of conflict in West Asia in late February 2026. India, by contrast, delivered its strongest growth in three years, and entered FY2026-27 as one of the more resilient large economies navigating that disruption.

1.1 Global Economic Environment

Global growth held broadly steady through most of FY2025-26, before the International Monetary Fund revised its 2026 outlook down in response to the West Asia conflict. The IMFs April 2026 World Economic Outlook placed global growth at approximately 3.4% for 2025, with a reference forecast of 3.1% for 2026, a meaningful downgrade from the 3.4% bottom-up estimate that prevailed before the conflict began, and a forecast of 3.2% for 2027 as the disruption is expected to ease.

This relative calm was disrupted in the final weeks of FY2025-26. The outbreak of a new conflict in West Asia introduced a fresh and considerably sharper shock to global energy markets, with consequences that extended well beyond the region and are discussed in detail in Section 1.2.

Theme	Status at Year-End
Global GDP growth (IMF)	3.4% (2025) -> 3.1% reference forecast (2026), down from a pre-conflict 3.4%
Inflation	Moderating through most of the year; renewed upside risk from energy prices in Q4 FY26
Supply chain diversification	Continued China+1 momentum; India a key beneficiary
Russia-Ukraine conflict	Ongoing; commodity market impact more predictable than in 2022
West Asia conflict	Broke out late February 2026; major new source of volatility (Section 1.2)

Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook, April 2026.

1.2 The West Asia Conflict and Global Energy Markets

On 28 February 2026, the United States and Israel launched coordinated military action against Iran, triggering a war that became the most significant disruption to global energy markets in over a decade. Iran responded by closing the Strait of Flormuz, the shipping chokepoint through which approximately one-fifth of the worlds oil trade and a substantial share of global LNG trade normally passes. The International Energy Agency characterised the resulting disruption as the largest supply shock in the history of the global oil market.

Brent crude oil prices surged from approximately USD 72 per barrel immediately before the conflict to a peak of nearly USD 120 per barrel within weeks, before partially retracing to the USD 80 range by mid-2026 following a ceasefire announced on 8 April 2026, though shipping traffic through the Strait of Flormuz remained well below pre-war levels even after the ceasefire.

Source: International Energy Agency, market commentary on the 2026 Strait of Flormuz disruption; U.S. Energy Information Administration and World Bank Commodity Markets Outlook, Brent crude price data.

Indias Exposure and Response

India, which sources a significant share of its crude oil, LNG and LPG imports through the Persian Gulf, was directly exposed to the disruption. Liquefied petroleum gas, the primary cooking fuel for Indian households and restaurants, was among the first products affected, with supply queues reported in several cities during March 2026. The Gujarat ceramics industry, a significant consumer of piped natural gas, faced production disruption from the gas shortage. In response, the Government of India raised export duties on diesel and aviation turbine fuel to protect domestic supply.

Indias exposure was nonetheless cushioned relative to several regional peers. Domestic refiners moved quickly to increase purchases of discounted crude from alternative sources, including continued access to Russian crude that had become an established part of Indias import mix since 2022, helping to limit the pass-through of the global price spike into the domestic economy relative to more fully Gulf-dependent importers in East and Southeast Asia.

Monetary Policy and Macroeconomic Response

The Reserve Bank of Indias Monetary Policy Committee held the repo rate unchanged at 5.25% at its June 2026 meeting, maintaining a neutral policy stance for a third consecutive meeting after having cut rates by a cumulative 125 basis points since February 2025. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra noted that elevated energy prices were being reflected in both moderating growth and rising inflation, and the RBI revised its FY2026-27 GDP growth projection down to 6.6% from an earlier 6.9%, while raising its FY2026-27 CPI inflation projection to 5.1% from 4.6%.

Indias manufacturing sector showed resilience through this period of disruption. The HSBC India Manufacturing PMI stood at 55.0 in May 2026, comfortably in expansion territory. Indias Index of Industrial Production, under its newly rebased 2022-23 series, grew 4.9% in April 2026, with manufacturing output up 6.2% and capital goods production up a strong 16%, an indicator of continued infrastructure-linked investment activity even as the broader environment grew more uncertain.

Source: Reserve Bank of India, Monetary Policy Committee Statement, June 2026; HSBC/S&P Global India Manufacturing PMI release, May 2026; Indias revised Index of Industrial Production series (base year 2022-23), MoSPI, June 2026.

1.3 Indias Economic Landscape

Against this volatile global backdrop, India delivered an exceptionally strong year. According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementations provisional estimates, released in early June 2026, Indias GDP grew 7.7% in FY2025-26, up from 7.1% in FY2024-25 and ahead of the 7.6% Second Advance Estimate published earlier in the year. Manufacturing was a particular standout, expanding 10.7% during the year compared to 9.3% in FY2024-25.

Fiscal Year	India Real GDP Growth
FY2021-22	8.7%
FY2022-23	7.2%
FY2023-24	9.2%
FY2024-25	7.1%
FY2025-26 (Provisional)	7.7%

Source: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Provisional Estimates of National Income, released June 2026. Figures are subject to further revision in subsequent MoSPI releases.

This growth was underpinned by robust domestic consumption, sustained public capital expenditure, and continued formalisation of economic activity. Notably, Indias growth engine remained substantially domestically driven through the year, a structural feature that provided a degree of insulation from the global trade and energy market volatility of the final quarter.

1.4 Infrastructure Transformation and Policy Reforms

Indias multi-year infrastructure investment programme continued through FY2025-26, anchored by sustained increases in Union Government capital expenditure and continued implementation of flagship logistics and infrastructure policy initiatives.

Fiscal Year	Capital Expenditure (Core)
FY2023-24 (BE)	nO.OO lakh crore (3.4% of GDP)
FY2024-25 (BE)	Rs.11.11 lakh crore
FY2024-25 (RE)	Rs.10.18 lakh crore
FY2025-26 (BE)	Rs.11.21 lakh crore
FY2026-27(BE)	Rs.12.20 lakh crore

Source: Union Budget documents, Ministry of Finance, Government of India. BE = Budget Estimate, RE = Revised Estimate.

PM Gati Shakti, the Governments integrated infrastructure master plan, continued to coordinate planning across road, rail, port and industrial corridor development during the year. A flagship outcome of this policy effort has been a substantial improvement in the measured cost of logistics in India: the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, working with the National Council of Applied Economic Research, published a study placing Indias logistics cost at 7.97% of GDP for FY2023-24 (approximately Rs.24.01 lakh crore), compared to a widely cited earlier estimate of 13% to 14% of GDP that was based on more limited data.

Source: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), Cost of Logistics in India study.

1.5 What This Means for Maheshwari Logistics Ltd

The combination of Indias strong underlying growth, sustained infrastructure investment, and the structural shift in regional energy markets following the West Asia conflict creates a distinctly favourable set of conditions for Maheshwari Logistics Ltd entering FY2026-27. The Companys coal and petcoke trading business sits at the centre of the gas-to-coal substitution dynamic discussed in Section 1.2, reinforced by the fact that the Companys core transportation customers are cement manufacturers, an industry where this substitution is well documented at the sector level and, for at least one of the Companys named customers, confirmed at the company level (Section 2.3).

At the same time, the years events are a reminder that the Company operates in a genuinely global environment: fuel cost volatility tied to events in West Asia is a real and active risk for the Companys transportation segment (Section 5), even as the same disruption supports demand in its trading segment. Managements approach, set out in detail across Sections 4 through 6, is to lean into the structural tailwinds while actively managing the corresponding cost-side risks rather than treating either in isolation.

SECTION 2. INDUSTRY STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENTS

Maheshwari Logistics Limited operates at the intersection of five interconnected industries: logistics and road transportation, coal and petcoke trading, kraft paper manufacturing, packaging, and the commercial vehicle ecosystem. Infrastructure investment drives manufacturing growth; manufacturing growth drives freight demand and industrial fuel consumption; industrial production drives demand for paper-based packaging; and freight demand drives commercial vehicle sales. This section reviews developments across each of these industries during FY2025-26 and sets out what each means specifically for the Company.

2.1 Indias Evolving Industrial and Logistics Ecosystem

Indias industrial and logistics landscape continued its multi-year structural transformation during FY2025-26, supported by sustained infrastructure investment, continued manufacturing-sector diversification away from single-country sourcing dependence, and steady formalisation of previously fragmented industries. The events of the final quarter of the year, discussed in Section 1.2, added a fresh and significant dimension to this transformation: a sharp, conflict-driven realignment of regional energy markets that has direct implications for several of the industries in which the Company operates.

Key Structural Drivers

• Infrastructure-led economic growth, anchored by sustained Union Government capital expenditure (Section 1.4)

• Continued China+1 manufacturing diversification toward India

• Logistics modernisation and multimodal integration under PM Gati Shakti and the National Logistics Policy

• Growing formalisation of previously unorganised trucking, warehousing and trading segments

• A structural, conflict-driven shift in regional energy markets favouring domestic coal demand (Section 1.2, Section 2.3)

• Continued sustainability-led transition toward recycled and paper-based packaging materials (Section 2.4, Section 2.5)

2.2 Indian Logistics Industry

Policy continuity remained an important driver of industry change during the year. PM Gati Shakti continued to coordinate planning across road, rail and port infrastructure, while the National Logistics Policys push toward standardisation and digitalisation continued to support the gradual formalisation of what has historically been a highly fragmented trucking industry. GPS-enabled fleet tracking, FASTag-based tolling and electronic documentation have become standard tools for organised fleet operators, reducing transit times and improving asset utilisation.

What This Means for Maheshwari Logistics Ltd

The Companys transportation and port services segment, concentrated in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra and serving primarily cement sector customers, sits within a national logistics market still growing at a high single-digit pace. The segments 6.3% standalone revenue growth during FY2025-26 (Section 6.2) tracks below the broader markets structural growth rate, reflecting the segments relatively concentrated customer base rather than a lack of underlying industry opportunity, an opportunity the Company began to capture more fully with the addition of Reliance Industries as a new client during the year.

Source: Grand View Research, India Logistics Market Report; Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), Cost of Logistics in India.

2.3 Coal and Petcoke Industry

Coal remained central to Indias energy and industrial base during FY2025-26, even as the country continued to expand its renewable energy capacity. Domestic coal production crossed the symbolically and practically significant threshold of one billion tonnes for the second consecutive year, while a structural shift in regional energy markets during the final quarter of the year added a new and directly relevant growth dimension to the industry.

Metric	FY2023-24	FY2024-25	FY2025-26
Total coal production (India)	997.83 MT	1,047.57 MT	-1.04 Bn tonnes*
Captive & commercial mine production	154.16 MT	197.50 MT	210.46 MT
Captive & commercial mine dispatch	149.81 MT	196.83 MT	204.61 MT

Source: Ministry of Coal, Government of India. *FY2025-26 total production declined approximately 0.6% year-on-year, falling short of the Ministry of Coals 1.16 billion tonne target, even as captive and commercial mine output, the segment most relevant to the Companys trading business, grew a strong 10.22%.

The West Asia Conflict and Coal Demand: A Direct Read-Through

As discussed in Section 1.2, the conflict that began in February 2026 disrupted Gulf petroleum coke and LNG supplies, prompting industrial fuel users across Asia, including Indian cement, sponge iron and other industrial consumers, to substitute toward coal. The evidence at the level of individual named customers is genuinely mixed: trade data reported by Argus Media shows Nuvoco Vistas Corporation, one of the Companys named transportation customers, cut petroleum coke to 37% of its kiln fuel mix in January-March 2026, down from 52% in the same period a year earlier, with Indias largest cement producer, UltraTech, showing a similar shift. JK Cement, another named customer, has been separately flagged by sector analysts as carrying above-average petcoke dependence, though a confirmed fuel-mix shift specific to JK Cement was not identified in research for this report. No company-specific confirmation was found for Grasim/JK Lakshmi Cement; the read-through for that relationship rests on the broader sector trend rather than a company-specific data point.

This is best understood as a reinforcing tailwind on top of already-strong underlying momentum, rather than the primary explanation for the years performance: the Companys trading segment grew 20.0% in standalone revenue terms across the full year (Section 6.2), the great majority of which occurred before the conflict began in the years final month. The detailed financial implications of this dynamic, and its expected continuation into FY2026-27, are set out in Section 6.10.

Source: Argus Media, reporting on Indian cement makers petcoke-to-coal fuel mix shift, May 2026; JM Financial, domestic coal cost competitiveness analysis, 2026; Kpler, Ember and IEEFA, Asia gas-to-coal switching commentary, April-May 2026.

What This Means for Maheshwari Logistics Ltd

For the Company, the coal and petcoke segment is more than a trading business; it is a position at the centre of Indias evolving industrial fuel supply chain, and one that the events of FY2025-26 have, on balance, reinforced rather than disrupted. The Companys trading model, characterised by low inventory holding (typically capped at 10,000 to 20,000 tonnes, corresponding to a single vessel consignment) and back-to-back sales, limits its direct commodity price exposure while allowing it to participate in volume growth across this expanding market. The Company is an authorised dealer of Nayara Energy for petroleum coke, supplying customers in Gujarat and Rajasthan, giving it a direct, established sourcing relationship in this market.

2.4 Kraft Paper Industry

The kraft paper industry continues to benefit from Indias structural shift toward sustainable, paper-based packaging, supported by e-commerce growth, organised retail expansion and a global movement away from single-use plastics. Domestically, Indias overall paper market stood at approximately 23.84 million tonnes in FY2024-25, of which packaging paper and board accounted for approximately 15.54 million tonnes, the single largest category within the domestic paper industry.

Metric	Estimate	Source
Kraft paper market (volume), 2024	11.02 million tonnes	IMARC
Kraft paper market (volume), 2033E	21.31 million tonnes (7.23% CAGR)	IMARC
Paper packaging market (value), 2025	USD 19.07-19.42 Bn	IBEF / Mordor Intelligence
Paper packaging market (value), 2030E	USD 46.43 Bn (-19.5% CAGR)	IBEF / Mordor Intelligence

The Companys Position

The Companys kraft paper manufacturing operations, based entirely on recycled waste paper feedstock, produced 92,123 MT during FY2025-26, against the facilitys installed capacity of 350 tonnes per day, implying approximately 85% capacity utilisation. Managements stated medium-term target is 90% to 95% utilisation, implying meaningful additional volume potential from the existing asset base without further capital investment (Section 4.1).

Source: IMARC Group; India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF); Mordor Intelligence.

2.5 Packaging Industry

Indias packaging industry has evolved from a purely protective, low-visibility function into a strategic component of modern supply chains, shaped by e-commerce growth, organised retail expansion, pharmaceutical sector growth and an accelerating shift toward sustainable materials. IBEF estimates the industry grew from approximately USD 84 billion in 2024 toward a projected USD 143 billion by 2029, an 11% compound annual growth rate.

The Companys Position

The Companys packaging operations, conducted through its subsidiary Vidhik Prints Pvt Ltd, grew revenue by approximately 92.5% during FY2025-26, from Rs.23.32 crore to Rs.44.89 crore, on the back of business expansion, a wider customer base and stronger order execution, a growth rate well ahead of the broader industrys already-strong 11% CAGR, indicating genuine market share gains rather than purely market-driven growth.

Source: India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), packaging industry growth projections.

2.6 Commercial Vehicle Industry

The commercial vehicle industry remains one of the most direct, real-time indicators of Indias industrial and infrastructure activity. The industry delivered strong growth during FY2025-26, supported by sustained Government capital expenditure and resilient industrial freight demand.

Segment	FY2024-25	FY2025-26	YoY Growth
Commercial Vehicles	9,58,679 units	10,79,871 units	+12.6%
Total Industry Wholesales	2,56,09,399 units	2,82,65,519 units	+10.4%

Source: Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), FY2025-26 wholesale data.

The Companys Position

The Companys commercial vehicle dealership, operated as an authorised dealer of Mahindra & Mahindras Truck and Bus Division since 2024, earned three zonal recognitions during the year: Highest Volume in FICV Tipper sales, Best Customer Experience, and FICV Market Share exceeding 6%, evidence of a young dealership business already performing well ahead of typical early-stage benchmarks within its network.

2.7 Strategic Industry Outlook

The industries in which the Company operates are converging around a small number of powerful, mutually reinforcing structural themes: sustained infrastructure investment, continued manufacturing-led industrialisation, a global and domestic shift toward sustainable packaging materials, and, following the events of FY2025-26s final quarter, a renewed and more immediate link between geopolitical energy market disruption and domestic coal demand.

Unlike a single-industry operator, the Companys diversified presence across trading, manufacturing and transportation means it is positioned to draw on several of these themes simultaneously rather than depending on any one of them, as set out in the segment discussion in Section 6.2 and the opportunity analysis in Section 4.1.

SECTION 3. COMPANY OVERVIEW

3.1 Building an Integrated Industrial Platform

Maheshwari Logistics Limited ("MLL" or "the Company") has, over two decades, grown from a single-truck coal transportation business in Vapi, Gujarat, into a diversified industrial platform spanning coal and petcoke trading, kraft paper manufacturing, packaging, transportation and port services, and commercial vehicle dealership operations. This evolution has been deliberate: each new vertical was added to deepen the Companys participation in industrial value chains it already understood, rather than as an unrelated diversification.

The Company is listed on the National Stock Exchange of India under the symbol MAHESHWARI and on the BSE under scrip code 538394 (ISIN: INE263W01010), having migrated from the NSE SME platform to the NSE Main Board in FY2019. As at the end of FY2025-26, the Companys promoter group, led by the Maheshwari and Kabra families, held approximately 57.15% of the Companys equity, with the balance held by approximately 11,836 public shareholders.

3.2 Corporate Evolution

The Companys growth has unfolded in clearly defined phases. Maheshwari Logistics Ltd was incorporated on 12 October 2006 at GIDC Vapi, Gujarat, commencing operations as an end-to-end coal provider with an initial fleet of 10 trucks. The Company became an authorised dealer of Mahindra & Mahindras Truck and Bus Division in 2024, adding commercial vehicle dealership to its Services vertical, and simultaneously upgraded its Ambethi kraft paper facility with a plastic-fired EVO boiler and a new turbine.

FY2025-26: Scaling New Heights

• Paper manufacturing produced 92,123 MT at the Ambethi plant, at approximately 85% utilisation

• Coal, petcoke, lignite and waste paper volumes totalled approximately 8,19,439 MT, with coal, petcoke and lignite sales value of approximately Rs.570.74 crore.

• Reliance Industries was onboarded as a new logistics client, supported by the deployment of 17 new trucks on a dedicated Dahej/Hazira to Vapi/Silvassa route

• Vidhik Prints Pvt Ltd , the Companys packaging subsidiary, nearly doubled its turnover, growing approximately 92.5% year-on-year from Rs.23.32 crore to Rs.44.89 crore

• The Mahindra Truck & Bus dealership earned three zonal awards: Highest Volume in HCV Tipper sales, Best Customer Experience, and HCV Market Share exceeding 6%

Source: Company management discussion transcript, 2026; Company internal MIS (MPD_MFG_SALE_25_26), figures to be reconciled against the audited segment note (Section 6.2) prior to finalisation.

3.3 Business Verticals

The Company organises its operations into three reporting segments: Trading, Manufacturing (Kraft Paper) and Transportation & Port Services, supplemented by packaging operations conducted through its subsidiary. The Trading segment is the Companys largest and fastest-growing business, contributing approximately 64% of standalone revenue in FY2025-26 and growing 20.0% during the year; Manufacturing contributed approximately 28%, achieving annual output of 92,123 MT at approximately 85% capacity utilisation; and Services (transportation, port services and the commercial vehicle dealership) contributed approximately 11%.

Packaging operations, conducted through Vidhik Prints Pvt Ltd , grew revenue approximately 92.5% during FY2025-26 to Rs.44.89 crore, supplying packaging solutions that draw on the Companys underlying kraft paper manufacturing capability.

3.4 Structural Synergy Across Segments

A defining feature of the Companys business model is the operating linkage between its Trading and Services verticals. Large coal suppliers typically sell coal without providing transportation, meaning that customers who purchase coal directly from such suppliers at a fixed market rate still require a transportation partner, a role the Company is positioned to fill. This linkage supports profitability in the Companys transportation business even where standalone trading margins are structurally thin, a source of resilience not available to single-segment competitors.

3.5 Listing and Shareholding

Particulars	Detail
NSE Symbol	MAHESHWARI
BSE Scrip Code	538394
IS IN	INE263W01010
Equity Shares Outstanding	2.96 crore
Promoter Holding (FY26-end)	57.15%
Public Holding (FY26-end)	40.98%
Number of Public Shareholders	-11,836
Listing History	NSE SME (2017) -> NSE Main Board (FY2019)
Registered Office	GIDC, Vapi, Gujarat

Source: NSE/BSE exchange filings and shareholding pattern disclosures, as of 31 March 2026.

3.6 Key Value Drivers and Strategic Priorities for FY2026-27

Having substantially completed its multi-year capital expenditure programme (Section 6.5 and 6.9), the Companys stated strategic priorities for FY2026-27 centre on consolidation and operating leverage rather than further capital commitment: scaling the coal and petcoke trading business leveraging its capital-light, credit-driven model; improving kraft paper plant utilisation from approximately 85% toward the 90% to 95% target range; strengthening working capital discipline as the trading segment scales; and continuing to build on the early momentum of the Mahindra Truck and Bus dealership and the Vidhik Prints Pvt Ltd packaging subsidiary.

Management has explicitly ruled out near-term expansion into adjacent, unrelated business lines such as renewable energy trading, maintaining the Companys deliberately diversified, multi-segment model as its primary source of resilience across economic and commodity cycles.

Source: Company investor relations transcript, 2026; JM Financial Services, ICICI Direct, Upstox, lnvesting.com and Nirmal Bang, company profile and listing data; Screener.in, standalone and consolidated financial data, FY2015-FY2026.

SECTION 4. OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS

4.1 Opportunities

A trading business with structural room to run

The Companys coal, petcoke and lignite trading segment grew 20.0% during FY2025-26 (Section 6.2) and enters FY2026-27 with several reinforcing tailwinds. Indias domestic coal production crossed 1.04 billion tonnes for the second consecutive year, with captive and commercial mine output crossing 210 million tonnes for the first time. At the same time, the disruption to Gulf petcoke and LNG supplies following the outbreak of conflict in West Asia has pushed cement manufacturers, the core customer base of the Companys transportation segment, towards greater use of coal as a substitute kiln fuel, a dynamic explored in detail in Section 6.10.

Operating leverage from capacity already built

The kraft paper facility produced 92,123 MT during FY2025-26, but this still represents only approximately 85% utilisation against the installed capacity of 350 tonnes per day. Managements medium-term target of 90% to 95% utilisation implies a meaningful volume opportunity from the same asset base with no further capital expenditure required. With the capital expenditure cycle across the dealership, packaging facility and kraft paper modernisation now substantively complete (Section

6.5 and 6.9), incremental revenue growth from FY2026-27 onward is positioned to convert into profit at a materially better rate than it did during the investment phase.

A packaging business hitting its stride, and infrastructure-led transportation demand

Vidhik Prints Pvt Ltd grew revenue by approximately 92.5% during FY2025-26, within a broader Indian packaging industry

that IBEF estimates grew from approximately USD 84 billion in 2024 towards a projected USD 143 billion by 2029, an 11% CAGR. Separately, Indias logistics market was valued at approximately USD 228.4 billion in 2024 and is projected by Grand View Research to reach USD 357.3 billion by 2030; the Companys transportation segment demonstrated its ability to capture this kind of opportunity during the year with the onboarding of Reliance Industries as a new logistics client, supported by the deployment of 17 new trucks on a dedicated Dahej/Hazira to Vapi/Silvassa route.

Structural synergy across segments

A distinctive feature of the Companys business model is the operating linkage between its trading and transportation segments. Large coal suppliers typically sell coal without providing transportation, meaning customers who purchase coal directly from such suppliers at a fixed market rate still require a transportation partner, a role the Company is positioned to fill. This cross-segment relationship supports profitability in the transportation business even where standalone trading margins are structurally thin, and is a source of resilience not available to single-segment competitors.

Opportunity	Supporting Data Point	Segment Most Benefited
Domestic coal cost advantage	Domestic coal competitive above USD 70/tonne import price (JM Financial)	Trading
Cement sector petcoke-to-coal substitution	Petcoke supply disrupted by West Asia conflict (Kpler)	Trading, Transportation
Kraft paper utilisation headroom	85% utilisation vs. 90-95% target	Manufacturing
India packaging industry growth	USD 84 Bn (2024) -> USD 143 Bn (2029E), 11% CAGR (IBEF)	Packaging
India logistics market growth	USD 228.4 Bn (2024) -> USD 357.3 Bn (2030E) (Grand View Research)	Transportation
Rising Government capex	5=11.21 lakh crore FY26 -> Rs.12.2 lakh crore FY27 (Union Budget)	Trading, Transportation
Capex cycle complete, operating leverage ahead	CWIP fell from Rs.30 Cr to nil; net fixed assets +15.4% (Section 6.5)	All segments

4.2 Threats

Fuel and energy price volatility, and customer concentration

Diesel and fuel-linked costs remain a meaningful cost component for the transportation segment, and the same West Asia conflict that supports coal demand (Section 6.10, Section 4.1) carries a corresponding risk: a prolonged or escalating conflict could sustain elevated crude oil prices for longer, raising fuel costs faster than the Company is able to pass them through to customers. Separately, the transportation and port services segment remains concentrated among a small number of large cement sector customers, with JK Cement accounting for approximately 30% to 40% of segment revenue and Grasim, including JK Lakshmi Cement, for approximately 20%; this concentration risk, and its mitigants, is discussed further in Section 5.

Working capital intensity, interest coverage, and modal shift

The trading segment, the Companys primary growth driver, is also its most working-capital-intensive business: the Companys cash conversion cycle lengthened by 10 days and operating cash flow declined during FY2025-26 as this segment scaled (Section 6.6 and 6.7). Interest coverage stood at a relatively modest 1.67x for FY2025-26 (Section 6.4 and 6.8). Continued expansion of the Dedicated Freight Corridors under PM Gati Shakti, while broadly positive for Indias logistics efficiency, also represents a long-term competitive threat to road-based transportation operators for high-volume, long-haul cargo where rail offers a structurally lower cost per tonne-kilometre.

Single-site manufacturing concentration

The Companys kraft paper manufacturing operations are concentrated at a single facility. Any significant, prolonged disruption at this site, whether from equipment breakdown, regulatory action or a local disruption, would directly affect the Manufacturing segments output with no alternate production site to fall back on in the near term.

Commodity and input price volatility

Realisations in the kraft paper business are linked to waste-paper input costs and finished paper prices, both of which are subject to global commodity-linked volatility outside the Companys control, as reflected in the broadly flat standalone Manufacturing segment revenue during FY2025-26 despite higher production volumes (Section 6.2).

On balance

The Companys opportunity set for FY2026-27 is broader and more immediate than its threat set: a structurally supported trading business, a kraft paper plant with built-in utilisation headroom, a packaging subsidiary scaling rapidly, and a fully capitalised asset base positioned for operating leverage.

The principal threats, fuel cost volatility, customer concentration and working capital intensity, are well understood, actively monitored, and are addressed in detail with specific mitigation approaches in Section 5.

SECTION 5. RISKS AND CONCERNS

The Company operates a risk managementframework that identifies, assesses and monitors risks across its business segments, overseen by the Board and the Audit Committee. The risks set out below are those management considers most relevant to an understanding of the Companys business and financial position as at the end of FY2025-26, together with the approach taken to manage each.

5.1 Business and Operational Risks

The transportation and port services segment derives a significant proportion of its revenue from a small number of large cement sector customers, with JK Cement accounting for approximately 30% to 40% of segment revenue and Grasim, including JK Lakshmi Cement, for approximately 20%. The Companys kraft paper manufacturing operations are also concentrated at a single facility; a significant operational disruption there would directly affect output in the Manufacturing segment, with no alternate production site available in the near term. The Indian road transportation industry as a whole continues to face a structural gap between demand for, and availability of, trained long-haul drivers, a challenge affecting fleet utilisation and operating cost sector-wide.

5.2 Financial Risks

Diesel and fuel-linked costs are a meaningful component of the Companys transportation cost base; Brent crude surged from approximately USD 72 to nearly USD 120 per barrel at its February 2026 peak before partially retracing, and a renewed escalation remains a live risk through FY2026-27. The Companys cash conversion cycle lengthened from 75 to 85 days during FY2025-26, and cash flow from operating activities declined to Rs.16 crore from Rs.57 crore over the same period (Section 6.6 and 6.7). Interest coverage stood at 1.67x for FY2025-26, against 1.77x in the prior year (Section 6.4 and 6.8), a relatively modest cushion that would come under additional pressure from a sustained rise in rates or borrowings.

5.3 Regulatory and Compliance Risks

Evolving emission standards, including further phases of BS6 norms, and vehicle overloading regulations under the Motor Vehicles Act, could increase compliance costs or require accelerated fleet replacement for the Companys transportation business. Environmental regulation relating to petcoke usage and coal-linked emissions continues to evolve in India, and any tightening of end-use restrictions could affect demand from the Companys industrial customers over time.

5.4 Macroeconomic and Geopolitical Risks

While the current phase of the West Asia conflict has, on balance, supported demand for the Companys coal and petcoke trading business (Section 4.1, Section 6.10), a material escalation, a prolonged closure of the Strait of Flormuz, or a broader regional spillover could disrupt global trade flows, sharply elevate fuel and freight costs, and weigh on industrial demand from the Companys customer base in ways that would outweigh the current demand-side benefit. The Companys performance across all segments is also linked to the pace of Indias industrial and infrastructure-led growth; a slowdown in industrial production, construction activity or government capital expenditure would be expected to directly affect freight volumes, coal and petcoke demand, and packaging and kraft paper consumption.

Risk Category	Key Risk	Trend vs. FY25
Operational	Customer concentration (cement sector)	Improving
Operational	Single-site manufacturing concentration	Stable
Financial	Working capital / cash conversion cycle	Widening
Financial	Interest coverage	Slightly weaker
Financial	Leverage (Debt-Equity)	Improving
Macroeconomic	Fuel price / energy market volatility	Elevated, actively monitored
Macroeconomic	Domestic GDP / industrial growth	Supportive

SECTION 6. FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW

6.1 FY26 at a Glance

Maheshwari Logistics Limited delivered double-digit consolidated revenue growth of 14.2% during FY2025-26, with revenue from operations increasing to 51,110 crore from 5972 crore in the previous year. Growth was led by strong momentum in the coal, petcoke and lignite trading business, which expanded 20.0% during the year. FY2025-26 also marked the substantive completion of a multi-year capital investment programme; consolidated profit after tax for the year stood at 517 crore, broadly steady against 518 crore in FY2024-25, while net worth grew a healthy 8.5% to 5216 crore.

Particulars (Consolidated)	FY2024-25	FY2025-26	YoY Change
Revenue from Operations	5972 Cr	5=1,110 Cr	+14.2%
EBITDA (Operating Profit)	569 Cr	570 Cr	+1.4%
EBITDA Margin	7.1%	6.3%	-80 bps
Profit After Tax	518 Cr	517 Cr	-5.6%
Net Worth	5199 Cr	5216 Cr	+8.5%
Total Borrowings	5269 Cr	5276 Cr	+2.6%

Source: Company quarterly and annual financial results (consolidated). EBITDA is computed as revenue less total operating expenses, before other income, interest and depreciation.

Standalone Financial Highlights (Parent Company)

Particulars	FY2024-25	FY2025-26	YoY Change
Revenue from Operations	5948 Cr	51,066 Cr	+12.4%
EBITDA (Operating Profit)	565 Cr	565 Cr	0.0%
EBITDA Margin	6.9%	6.1%	-80 bps
Profit After Tax	518 Cr	516 Cr	-11.1%
Earnings Per Share (Basic, 5)	5.93	5.52	-6.9%

The gap between standalone and consolidated performance is explained substantially by Vidhik Prints Pvt Ltd , the Companys packaging subsidiary, which grew revenue by approximately 92.5% during the year, from 523.32 crore to 544.89 crore.

6.2 Revenue Performance Analysis

Revenue growth during FY2025-26 was not uniform across the Companys business segments.

Segment (Standalone)	FY2024-25	FY2025-26	YoY Growth	% of FY26
Trading (Coal, Petcoke & Lignite)	Rs.569 Cr	Rs.683 Cr	+20.0%	64%
Manufacturing (Kraft Paper)	Rs.300 Cr	Rs.296 Cr	-1.3%	28%
Transportation & Port Services	Rs.112 Cr	Rs.119 Cr	+6.3%	11%
Total Standalone Revenue*	Rs.952 Cr	Rs.1,067 Cr	+12.1%	100%

Source: Company quarterly segment disclosures. *Segment totals computed by summing four reported quarters and may differ by Rs.1-4 crorefrom the audited annual revenue figure of f948 Cr (FY25) and f1,066 Cr (FY26) due to rounding in quarterly disclosures; to be reconciled against the audited segment note before publication.

Trading, Manufacturing and Transportation Segments

The trading segment remains the Companys largest and fastest-growing business, accounting for 64% of standalone revenue and growing 20.0% over the previous year; combined coal, petcoke, lignite and waste paper volumes during FY2025-26 totalled approximately 8,19,439 metric tonnes. The kraft paper manufacturing segment at 92,123 metric tonnes, (approximately 85% utilisation), though standalone segment revenue was broadly flat, declining 1.3% to Rs.296 crore as higher volumes were largely offset by softer realisations. The transportation and port services segment grew 6.3% on a standalone basis, supported by the onboarding of Reliance Industries as a new logistics client during the year.

Customer concentration in the transportation segment remains high: JK Cement accounts for approximately 30% to 40% of segment revenue and Grasim (including JK Lakshmi Cement) for approximately 20%, with the balance spread across Nuvoco, Reliance Industries and other cement sector clients. Segment capital efficiency improved meaningfully through the year, with quarter-end Return on Capital Employed for this segment moving from negative territory in the first half of FY2024-25 to a midteens percentage by the fourth quarter of FY2025-26.

6.3 Profitability and Cost Structure

On a consolidated basis, EBITDA increased by only Rs.1 crore (+1.4%) to Rs.70 crore, even as revenue increased by Rs.138 crore, indicating that incremental revenue during the year, driven substantially by the trading segment, carried a materially thinner contribution margin than the existing revenue base. Consolidated EBITDA margin accordingly contracted from 7.1% to 6.3%, and standalone EBITDA margin from 6.9% to 6.1%. Below the EBITDA line, finance costs rose by Rs.2 crore to Rs.35 crore (consolidated) and depreciation rose by Rs.1 crore to Rs.17 crore, reflecting capital expenditure undertaken over the preceding two to three years.

Consolidated profit after tax declined by Rs.1 crore to Rs.17 crore, with PAT margin contracting from 1.9% to 1.5%; on a standalone basis, profit after tax fell 11.1% to Rs.16 crore against a 12.4% increase in revenue. Interest coverage (standalone) stood at 1.67x in FY2025-26, against 1.77x in FY2024-25, broadly in line with the increase in total borrowings to Rs.276 crore from Rs.269 crore.

6.4 Balance Sheet Strength

Particulars (Consolidated)	FY2024-25	FY2025-26	YoY Change
Net Worth	Rs.199 Cr	Rs.216 Cr	+8.5%
Total Borrowings	Rs.269 Cr	Rs.276 Cr	+2.6%
Debt-Equity Ratio	1.35x	1.28x	Improved
Total Assets	Rs.613 Cr	Rs.648 Cr	+5.7%
Net Fixed Assets	Rs.162 Cr	Rs.187 Cr	+15.4%
Capital Work-in-Progress	Rs.30 Cr	Rs.0 Cr	Fully capitalised

A particularly clear balance sheet signal supports managements stated position that the Companys recent capital expenditure cycle is now substantively complete: capital work-in-progress reduced from Rs.30 crore to nil during the year, while net fixed assets increased by 15.4% to Rs.187 crore, consistent with the commercial vehicle dealership, the Vidhik Prints Pvt Ltd packaging facility and the kraft paper plants turbine and boiler upgrade all having moved from work-in-progress to fully operational, capitalised assets.

6.5 Working Capital and Cash Flow

Metric (Standalone)	FY2024-25	FY2025-26	Change
Inventory Days	72	71	-1 day
Cash Conversion Cycle (days)	75	85	+10 days
Cash from Operating Activities	Rs.57 Cr	Rs.16 Cr	-72%
Cash from Investing Activities	(Rs.18 Cr)	(Rs.7 Cr)	Lower outflow
Cash from Financing Activities	(Rs.19 Cr)	(Rs.24 Cr)	Higher outflow
Net Cash Flow	+Rs.21 Cr	(Rs.15 Cr)	Turned negative
Free Cash Flow	Rs.37 Cr	Rs.5 Cr	-86%
CFO / Operating Profit	97%	39%	-59.8%

The Companys cash conversion cycle extended by 10 days during FY2025-26, driven by a combination of marginally slower receivable collection (debtor days increased from 58 to 62) and a faster payment cycle to suppliers (creditor days reduced from 54 to 48), with inventory days broadly stable at 71 against 72, increasing the Companys reliance on working capital borrowings. Per Schedule V of the SEBI LODR Regulations, the CFO-to-Operating-Profit ratio fell from 97% in FY2024-25 to 39% in FY2025-26, a decline exceeding the 25% disclosure threshold; the decline was primarily a function of the working capital movements above, as the trading segment expanded its share of the revenue mix and the Company funded part of the resulting incremental working capital requirement through financing activities. Cash used in investing activities reduced to Rs.7 crore from Rs.18 crore, consistent with the substantive completion of the capital expenditure programme discussed in Section 6.5, while cash used in financing activities increased to Rs.24 crore from Rs.19 crore; net cash flow for the year consequently turned negative at Rs.15 crore, against a positive Rs.21 crore in FY2024-25.

6.6 Key Financial Ratios

The table below sets out the financial ratios required to be disclosed under Schedule V of the SEBI LODR Regulations, together with year-on-year movement.

Ratios	Formulae	Mar-26	Mar-25	% Change	Reason
Debt equity ratio	Total borrowings/Total equity (In times)	1.26	1.34	-5.71%
Debt service coverage ratio (DSCR)	Net Operating Income/ Debt Service (In times)	1.36	1.31	3.98%
Current Ratio	Current Assets/ Current liabilities (In times)	1.20	1.21	-1.02%
Trade Receivables Turnover Ratio	Net Credit Sales / Average Accounts Receivable (In times)	6.50	6.48	0.36%
Tarde Payables Turnover Ratio	Net Credit Purchase / Average Accounts Payable (In times)	7.81	7.76	0.64%
Net profit margin (%)	Net Profit after tax/Value of Sales and Services	2.13%	2.57%	-17.05%
Inventory turnover ratio	Cost Of Goods Sold / ((Beginning Inventory + Ending Inventory) / 2) (In times)	5.52	5.28	4.55%
Net Capital Turnover Ratio	Net annual sales / Working capital (In times)	15.73	12.54	25.38%	The Net Capital Turnover Ratio increased due to a 14% growth in net sales, while working capital increased by only 6%, indicating more efficient utilization of working capital during the year
Return on Equity	Net income / Average shareholders equity (In percentage)	8.32%	10.04%	-17.13%
Return on Investment	Net Return on Investments/ Cost of Investments (In percentage)	-31.93%	1.94%	-1747.43%	Quoted Equity Shares were sold at loss
Return on Capital employed	EBIT/ Capital Employed	0.21	0.20	4.49%

6.7 Capital Allocation and Managements Perspective

Overthe past two to three years, the Company has pursued a deliberate phase of capital deployment across its diversified business portfolio, including the Mahindra Truck and Bus dealership, the Vidhik Prints Pvt Ltd packaging facility, and modernisation of the kraft paper facility. Management has indicated that this phase is now substantively complete, corroborated by capital work- in-progress reducing from Rs.30 crore to nil during the year; the Companys stated capital allocation priority for the year ahead is consolidation, improving the utilisation and profitability of recently commissioned assets rather than committing capital to new segments. No dividend was paid during FY2025-26, consistent with the Companys practice in recent years.

FY2025-26 marked an important inflection point: the year in which a multi-year capital investment programme moved from active execution to substantial completion, even as the underlying business continued to scale at a strong double-digit pace. Management is confident in the Companys ability to sustain its growth trajectory into FY2026-27 and beyond, while prioritising working capital discipline and capital efficiency as the principal levers for converting that growth into improving profitability.

6.8 Global Energy Disruption: A Structural Tailwind into FY27

The final quarter of FY2025-26 coincided with the outbreak of a major conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran in late February 2026, which led to a temporary closure of the Strait of Flormuz, a chokepoint for roughly a fifth of global oil and LNG trade. With LNG and petroleum coke supplies from the Gulf disrupted, industry trackers have documented a broad-based shift by Asian economies, including India, towards coal as a substitute fuel, particularly relevant to the cement manufacturers who make up the overwhelming majority of the Companys transportation and port services customers. Separately, JM Financial has noted that domestic coal becomes the more cost-competitive option once international coal prices exceed approximately USD 70 per tonne, a threshold that elevated freight and import costs arising from the conflict make increasingly likely to hold on a sustained basis.

This is not a new or untested pattern: a similar shift towards coal followed the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022. Taken together, management views the post-February 2026 energy environment as a net incremental positive for the trading segments medium-term growth trajectory, layered on top of the segments already-established 20.0% growth momentum (Section 6.2), while continuing to actively manage fuel cost pass-through in the transportation business as a risk rather than passively absorbing it.

Source: CNBC, NPR, Carbon Brief, IEEFA, The Core and JM Financial research, April-May 2026.

SECTION 7. INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEMS AND THEIR ADEQUACY

This section is presented in accordance with Regulation 34(2)(e) read with Part B, Paragraph B(v) of Schedule V of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, which requires Managements discussion of the adequacy of the Companys internal control systems, at the standalone and, where applicable, consolidated group level for the year ended 31 March 2026.

7.1 Framework Overview and Internal Audit

The Company has established an internal control framework designed to support reliable financial reporting, safeguard assets, ensure regulatory compliance and promote operational efficiency across its diversified business operations. The framework is overseen by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, which includes Independent Directors and meets at least four times a year to review internal audit reports, financial statements, and compliance certificates before recommending the financial statements for Board approval. The Company engages an independent internal auditor to conduct periodic audits covering financial processes, working capital management, inventory controls, regulatory compliance and information system controls.

7.2 Financial Reporting Controls

The Company prepares its standalone and consolidated financial statements in accordance with Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS), the Companies Act, 2013 and SEBI LODR Regulations. Key financial reporting controls include segregation of duties between transaction authorisation, recording and reconciliation; management review of month-end financial results against budget and prior period; periodic reconciliation of bank accounts, trade receivables, trade payables and inventory; and approval matrices for capital expenditure commitments and procurement.

7.3 Segment-Specific Controls

The trading business operates on a back-to-back sales model with coal inventory capped at approximately 10,000 to 20,000 tonnes, inherently limiting exposure to inventory write-down risk; controls include purchase order and goods receipt matching before payment release and counterparty credit limit monitoring. The kraft paper facility operates under a standard cost system with daily production and rejection logs reconciled to input consumption and periodic yield variance analysis. Fleet operations are supported by GPS-enabled tracking and digital freight documentation, with freight billing verified against trip sheets before revenue is recognised. The commercial vehicle dealership operates under Mahindras prescribed dealership management systems, and Vidhik Prints Pvt Ltd is subject to separate internal controls at the entity level, included in the consolidated audit scope.

7.4 Compliance Controls and Managements Assessment

The Company maintains a compliance management framework covering applicable requirements under the Companies Act 2013, SEBI LODR Regulations, Income Tax Act, GST legislation, Environmental Protection Act and Motor Vehicles Act, with the Company Secretary overseeing statutory compliance and a Compliance Certificate submitted to the Audit Committee and the Board periodically. Based on this framework, management believes that the Companys internal control systems are adequate and operating effectively for a company of its nature and scale.

No material weaknesses in internal financial controls over financial reporting were identified during FY2025-26. The Statutory Auditors have separately reported on the adequacy of the Companys Internal Financial Controls as required under Section 143(3)0) of the Companies Act, 2013; their report forms part of the financial statements included in this Annual Report.

SECTION 8. HUMAN RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

The Companys workforce is the operational backbone of its diversified business model. Across logistics and transportation, coal and petcoke trading, kraft paper manufacturing, packaging and commercial vehicle dealership operations, people are the primary determinant of execution quality, customer satisfaction and safety performance.

8.1 Workforce Composition and the Driver Workforce

The Companys workforce spans multiple functions reflecting the diversity of its business operations, from trained commercial vehicle drivers and logistics coordinators to production and maintenance personnel at the kraft paper facility, procurement and credit management teams in trading, and Mahindra-certified sales and service staff at the dealership. As discussed in Sections

2.2 and 5.1, the Indian road transportation industry as a whole continues to face a structural shortage of trained, licensed long-haul drivers; the Company is not immune to this challenge, and driver availability and retention are active management priorities, particularly as the fleet expanded during the year with 17 new trucks for the Reliance Industries contract.

8.2 Safety as an Operating Standard

Safety is a non-negotiable operating requirement across the Companys transportation, manufacturing and service operations. The Companys commitment to transportation safety was externally recognised during the year: in FY2024-25, Grasim Industries Limited (Aditya Birla Group), one of the Companys principal logistics customers, awarded the Company the Strong Commitment to Transport Safety recognition, providing external, third-party validation of the Companys safety culture.

8.3 Talent Development and Industrial Relations

The Companys diversification across five business verticals creates a multi-discipline talent requirement that evolves as each vertical matures. Management has highlighted the Mahindra dealerships achievement in its first full operating years, including three zonal awards in FY2025-26, as evidence that a newly established vertical can reach operational maturity quickly when staffed and managed appropriately. The Company maintained harmonious industrial relations across all operating locations during FY2025-26, with no strikes, lockouts, work stoppages or material labour disputes during the year.

8.4 The People Strategy Going Forward

As the Company enters its stated consolidation phase in FY2026-27 (Section 6.9), the people priority shifts from rapid staffing- up toward retention of the experienced workforce now in place across all three verticals, and focused skill deepening to improve productivity and service quality. At the kraft paper facility specifically, the path from 85% to 90-95% utilisation is as much a people and process question as a capital one: maximising output from a fixed-capacity plant depends on reducing unplanned downtime, improving maintenance discipline and optimising production scheduling, all primarily driven by workforce skill and operational culture.

SECTION 9. OUTLOOK

This section sets out managements assessment of the prospects and priorities of Maheshwari Logistics Ltd as it enters FY2026-27, informed by the macro and industry context in Sections 1 and 2, the opportunities and risks in Sections 4 and 5, and the financial position in Section 6, and should be read in conjunction with the Cautionary Statement in Section 10.

9.1 Managements Strategic Position

Maheshwari Logistics Limited enters FY2026-27 from a position of financial and operational stability, with a fully capitalised asset base and a diversified business portfolio that showed simultaneous growth across all five operating verticals for the first time in FY2025-26. Management has explicitly characterised FY2026-27 as a consolidation phase: the Company does not plan to enter new business segments, commission a second kraft paper facility, or materially expand its geographic footprint beyond Gujarat, Rajasthan and, to a limited extent, Maharashtra. As management put it in the investor discussion transcript, "whatever capital expansion was supposed to happen, has happened," and FY2026-27 is about harvesting the benefit of that investment rather than committing further capital.

9.2 Trading Segment: The Primary Revenue Growth Engine

Management has identified the coal, petcoke and lignite trading business as the primary driver of top-line revenue growth in the near term, consistent with the segments FY2025-26 performance where it grew 20.0% and contributed 64% of standalone revenue. The trading model is capital-light in the sense that growth is constrained primarily by available working capital and credit lines rather than by fixed asset investment, structurally different from the kraft paper business, where growth requires either higher utilisation or new capacity.

Two independent industry developments provide meaningful external support to this growth pathway in FY2026-27: Argus Medias confirmed trade data shows Indian cement producers substantially cutting petroleum coke from their kiln fuel mix, with broader industry estimates pointing to a potential 50% fall in cement sector petcoke imports across full-year 2026; and ICRA expects crude oil to average approximately USD 95 per barrel in FY2026-27 versus approximately USD 72 in FY2025-26, pushing up petcoke prices as a refinery by-product and reinforcing the coal competitiveness dynamic.

Source: Argus Media, Indian cement makers petcoke imports outlook, May 2026; ICRA Ratings, cement sector and crude oil price projections, 2026; JM Financial, domestic coal cost competitiveness analysis, 2026.

9.3 Kraft Paper: Margin Improvement from Utilisation Gains

Managements stated target for the kraft paper facility is to increase capacity utilisation from approximately 85% toward 90% to 95%. As management noted directly, fixed costs remain the same, so as soon as production increases, profitability in this segment increases; this is the most directly controllable profitability lever available to the Company in the near term, requiring no new capital expenditure. Revenue growth in this segment is volume-constrained at the current plant scale: without a second manufacturing facility, revenue growth will come from volume efficiency rather than capacity expansion, and the segments modest -1.3% revenue decline in FY2025-26 despite higher production reflected soft realisations rather than an operational issue.

9.4 Packaging, Transportation and Dealership

Vidhik Prints Pvt Ltd 92.5% revenue growth reflects a business that has successfully built its customer base during its first full operating years; management has set a medium-term target of 10% net profit margin, with depreciation from recent investment currently the primary constraint on reported profitability. The transportation segment enters FY2026-27 with its largest new client relationship, Reliance Industries, bedded in, with management indicating no near-term plans for geographic expansion, meaning growth is expected to come from deeper utilisation with existing customers. The commercial vehicle dealerships objective for FY2026-27 is stable, sustainable profitability rather than further expansion; SIAM data shows the industry grew 12.6% during FY2025-26 and has separately flagged that a prolongation of the West Asia conflict carries potential risks for the sector in FY2026-27.

Source: India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), packaging industry growth projections; Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), FY2026-27 sector outlook.

9.5 Macro Backdrop for FY2026-27

Indias macroeconomic environment for FY2026-27 is broadly supportive, though somewhat more cautious than FY2025-26 given the West Asia disruptions second-order effects. The Reserve Bank of India revised its FY2026-27 GDP growth projection to 6.6% in June 2026 (from an earlier 6.9%), while raising its inflation projection to 5.1% from 4.6%. Forthe Company specifically, this does not change the picture materially, since the Companys businesses are driven more by industrial production activity, cement sector demand and domestic coal volumes than by GDP as a headline number, and both remain directly supported by the continued rise in Government capital expenditure.

Segment	Primary FY27 Growth Driver	Key Risk to Monitor	Confidence Level
Trading (Coal/Petcoke)	Petcoke-to-coal substitution, working capital scaling	West Asia ceasefire restoring petcoke supply	High
Manufacturing (Kraft Paper)	Utilisation gains 85% ->90-95%, fixed cost leverage	Waste-paper input cost inflation	High
Packaging (Vidhik Prints Pvt Ltd)	Revenue scaling toward 10% net margin target	Depreciation drag until revenue scale achieved	Medium-High
Transportation	Reliance Industries contract ramp-up, cement volumes	Fuel cost pass-through, driver availability	Medium
Dealership	Profitability consolidation, volume sustainability	CV sector demand if West Asia prolongs (SIAM)	Medium

Confidence levels reflect managements stated priorities and managements own directional commentary in the investor transcript; they are not quantitative forecasts or earnings guidance. Readers should refer to the Cautionary Statement in Section 10.

9.6 Managements Summary Outlook

FY2026-27 is the year in which Maheshwari Logistics Ltd expects to demonstrate that the investments of the preceding three years translate into improving profitability. Revenue growth will continue to be led by the trading segment; the kraft paper facility will focus on closing the gap between current and optimal utilisation; Vidhik Prints Pvt Ltd will scale toward its target margin; and the dealership will consolidate its gains. The Company does not plan to commit significant fresh capital during the year, preferring to let recently commissioned assets reach their full operating potential first.

Disciplined working capital management, particularly in the trading segment, will be a key determinant of whether revenue growth in FY2026-27 translates into stronger operating cash flows and, ultimately, improving returns for shareholders.

Source: Management discussion transcript (MLL Investor Relations, 2026); Reserve Bank of India, Monetary Policy Committee Statement and Monetary Policy Report, June 2026; Union Budget 2026-27, Ministry of Finance.

SECTION 10. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

Statements in this Management Discussion and Analysis describing the Companys objectives, projections, estimates, expectations, beliefs or predictions may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws and regulations. These statements are based on certain assumptions and expectations of future events as at the date of this Annual Report. Actual results, performance or achievements of the Company could differ materially from those expressed or implied, due to risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to: changes in Government policies and regulations; developments in domestic and global economic conditions; volatility in commodity prices and crude oil and diesel prices; changes in interest rates and borrowing conditions; geopolitical events affecting trade routes and energy supply, including the ongoing conflict in West Asia; and changes in the competitive and regulatory landscape.

The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement made from time to time. Financial data and operational metrics presented in this Management Discussion and Analysis are as at or for the year ended 31 March 2026 and are based on the Companys financial statements prepared in accordance with Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS). Macro-economic data, industry statistics and market size estimates cited in this report are sourced from publicly available third-party reports including, inter alia, the International Monetary Fund, MoSPI, the Reserve Bank of India, the Ministry of Coal, the Ministry of Finance, SIAM, DPIIT, NCAER, IBEF, Grand View Research, IMARC Group and Argus Media. The Company has reproduced this data in good faith and has not independently verified all such information. Readers should refer to the original published sources for complete information.