Knowledge Marine raised its FY27 revenue growth guidance to 80% from 60% due to strong dredging projects. CEO Sujay Kewalramani said, "We have entered large-volume business, and we are looking to see an uptick in the margins as well." The company expects its order book to cross ₹2,000 crore this year.
Knowledge Marine has raised its FY27 revenue growth guidance to 80% from 60%, backed by maintenance dredging contracts and a growing order pipeline. The company expects its order book to cross ₹2,000 crore by the end of the financial year and sees EBITDA margins improving as high-volume dredging projects begin contributing.
Knowledge Marine & Engineering has raised its revenue growth guidance for the financial year 2026-27 (FY27) to 80%, citing strong execution, a growing order pipeline and the commencement of large maintenance dredging projects.
Sujay Kewalramani, CEO of Knowledge Marine & Engineering, said the order book is expected to cross ₹2,000 crore before the end of the financial year.
The company's order book currently stands at ₹1,700 crore and he said it has submitted bids in the defence maintenance dredging segment, with outcomes expected soon.
The company recently secured the New Mangalore Port maintenance dredging contract, valued at ₹256 crore over multiple years.
Kewalramani said the project is expected to contribute ₹90-100 crore in the current financial year. In addition, the company is awaiting the outcome of bids for maintenance dredging work at the Southern Naval Command, which could add another ₹100 crore of business if awarded.
The higher contribution from maintenance dredging is also expected to improve profitability.
"We have entered large-volume business, and we are looking to see an uptick in the margins as well," Kewalramani said. He added that the company now expects EBITDA margins to move to 40-45%, compared with its earlier guidance of 35-40%, as large dredging contracts commence in the third and fourth quarters.
The CEO said the order book is currently diversified across dredging, chartering and shipbuilding businesses. By the end of the financial year, the company expects the order book to exceed ₹2,000 crore, while next year's revenue mix is likely to comprise 50-55% from dredging, around 40% from shipbuilding, and 5-10% from chartering.
Knowledge Marine also expects to benefit from the government's tonnage tax scheme. Kewalramani said the dredging and chartering businesses qualify under the scheme, reducing tax liability substantially.
"We were initially paying approximately 4% of our revenue towards taxes... which will significantly come down to less than 0.25%," he said, adding that the company expects to save around 3.5-3.6% of revenue generated from these businesses.
The company has maintained a 60% year-on-year revenue growth guidance for the following financial year, after targeting 80% growth in the current year, supported by execution of maintenance dredging contracts and continued order inflows.