Lakshmi Mills Company Limited held its 116th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on September 25, 2026, at 12:05 pm through Video Conferencing (VC) and Other Audio Visual Means (OAVM). The meeting saw significant engagement, with 73.95% of the company's shareholding represented by members participating remotely.

The Chairman, S. Pathy, presided over the meeting from the registered office in Coimbatore. He provided an overview of the economic landscape, the textile industry, and the company's performance. The Deputy Managing Director, Aditya Krishna Pathy, detailed operational aspects including raw materials, personnel, power, finance, and corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Meeting Attendance and Governance

The AGM was conducted in compliance with Ministry of Corporate Affairs and SEBI circulars regarding virtual meetings. The requisite quorum was present, allowing the proceedings to commence formally. The following key personnel participated:

Statutory Auditor T.S.V. Rajagopal, Secretarial Auditor M.D. Selvaraj, and Scrutiniser B. Krishnamoorthi also joined via video conference. Ashwin Chandran requested leave of absence and did not attend.

Voting and Resolution Process

The Company Secretary informed members that remote e-voting was available from September 22, 2026, to September 24, 2026. For shareholders present virtually who had not cast votes earlier, a 15-minute e-voting window was provided during the meeting. The results, consolidated from both remote and live voting, were scheduled for declaration within two working days of the AGM's closure.

The Chairman noted that resolutions set forth in the notice would be deemed passed on the date of the AGM, subject to the requisite number of votes. The meeting concluded at 1:05 pm with thanks to customers, shareholders, bankers, and employees.

The Lakshmi Mills Company Ltd reported a net loss of ₹1,554.94 lakh for FY26, widening significantly from the ₹467.53 lakh loss recorded in the previous year. The deterioration was primarily driven by a sharp increase in tax expenses rather than core operational performance.

While the company managed to turn its operations profitable before tax, recording a profit of ₹753.75 lakh against a loss of ₹740.45 lakh in FY25, this gain was entirely erased by non-operational tax adjustments. Revenue from operations fell 8.1% year-on-year to ₹24,183.48 lakh, reflecting headwinds in the textile segment.

Financial Performance

The company’s revenue decline was concentrated in its textile business, where sales dropped to ₹20,906.18 lakh from ₹23,181.39 lakh in the prior year. Export revenues specifically contracted by nearly 19%, falling to ₹2,738.14 lakh. Conversely, the rental services segment provided stability, with income rising to ₹2,480.28 lakh from ₹2,176.53 lakh, supported by new tenants and event-based revenue sharing.

What the Numbers Show

The divergence between operational profitability and the final bottom line highlights a significant one-time tax impact. Although the company generated an operating profit, the transition to the concessional tax regime under Section 115BAA triggered a material write-off of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) credit entitlement amounting to ₹918.03 lakh. This write-off, combined with deferred tax adjustments, resulted in a total tax expense of ₹2,285.16 lakh, which exceeded the pre-tax profit by more than three times. Consequently, the reported net loss does not reflect the underlying operational improvement achieved during the year.

Balance Sheet and Dividend

The company strengthened its balance sheet by reducing total borrowings to ₹8,129.28 lakh from ₹13,350.57 lakh in the previous year. This deleveraging effort improved the debt-to-equity ratio to 0.11 from 0.15. Despite the reported net loss, the Board recommended a dividend of ₹10 per share (10%), subject to shareholder approval at the upcoming Annual General Meeting on September 25, 2026.