Knowledge marine & engineering works Limited delivered one of its strongest quarterly performances in recent history during Q3 FY26, as revealed in its earnings call held on February 19, 2026. The marine engineering and dredging company demonstrated significant growth momentum across all key financial metrics.

Financial Performance Highlights

The company's financial results for Q3 FY26 showcased exceptional growth across all parameters:

The 56% year-on-year revenue increase underscores the acceleration in the company's growth trajectory, reflecting scaling efficiencies from expansion initiatives, improved realizations, and stronger market demand across key segments. The quarter-on-quarter growth of 79% demonstrates the company's ability to capitalize on its expanding order book and operational capabilities.

Major Contract Wins and Order Book

Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works secured substantial orders across its three business verticals during the quarter:

Shipbuilding Contracts

• Orders worth over INR230 crores from Inland Waterways Authority of India
• Supply of work boats, accommodation boats, survey boats, and cutter suction dredgers
• Execution period: 2 years

Long-term Chartering Agreements

• Significant orders from Vishakhapatnam port and VOC port
• Construction and chartering of 60-tonne bollard pull green tugs
• Total contract value: approximately INR700 crores
• Execution period: 15 years

Specialized Dredging Projects

• Capital dredging contract at JNPT port coastal berth
• Contract value: INR50 crores
• Execution period: 6 months
• Technical scope: dredging with controlled drilling and blasting

Current Order Book and Pipeline

The company's robust order book position reflects strong market demand:

Fleet Operations and Utilization

Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works operates a comprehensive fleet of 45 vessels:

• 16 dredgers
• 3 hopper barges
• 11 support vessels for dredging equipment
• 15 port ancillary crafts (survey boats, patrol boats, pilot boats, and tugs)

The company reported 100% fleet utilization with dredgers operating 270-300 days annually and port ancillary crafts utilized throughout the year.

Capital Raising and Corporate Actions

To support its growth trajectory, the company successfully raised INR285 crores through preferential issue of equity shares and warrants. The capital allocation includes:

The company also implemented a share subdivision from INR10 to INR5 effective December 22, 2025, to enhance liquidity and retail participation.

Tax Structure Optimization

Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works has adopted the tonnage tax scheme, which provides significant tax advantages. The company expects the effective tax rate to be less than 1% of turnover, substantially lower than the previous corporate tax structure. This transition supports the company's profitability enhancement initiatives.

Market Position and Growth Outlook

The company maintains a strong competitive position with less than 2% market share in the overall dredging market, indicating substantial growth potential. In the small craft business, Knowledge Marine operates less than 25 vessels out of 550-600 vessels required across 12 major ports, presenting significant expansion opportunities.

With the government's focus on developing 20 additional national waterways, the inland waterway dredging market is expected to grow from INR1,500 crores to INR5,000 crores, providing a favorable operating environment for the company's continued expansion.

Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works Limited has announced its unaudited consolidated financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2025, demonstrating strong operational performance across its marine engineering and dredging operations. The company's board meeting held on February 12, 2026, approved the quarterly results and key strategic decisions, including the issuance of a postal ballot notice for enhancing borrowing limits.

Financial Performance Highlights

The company delivered robust financial performance in Q3 FY26 with significant growth across key metrics:

The company's nine-month performance also showed strong momentum with consolidated revenue from operations reaching Rs. 18,866.28 lakhs compared to Rs. 15,323.17 lakhs in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Postal Ballot Notice for Borrowing Limit Enhancement

The company has issued a postal ballot notice dated February 12, 2026, seeking shareholder approval for a special resolution to enhance its borrowing limits. The proposal aims to increase the company's borrowing capacity from Rs. 500 crores to Rs. 1,200 crores to support existing and proposed business expansion and growth plans.

The company has engaged MUFG Intime India Private Limited to provide remote e-voting facility to its members. Ms. Preeti Singhania of P Singhania & Associates, Chartered Accountants, has been appointed as the scrutinizer for conducting the postal ballot process.

Segment-wise Performance

Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works operates across multiple business segments, each contributing to the overall growth:

Dredging and Ancillary Services

This segment generated revenue of Rs. 6,343.36 lakhs in Q3 FY26 compared to Rs. 3,287.50 lakhs in Q3 FY25. For the nine months ended December 31, 2025, this segment contributed Rs. 12,518.03 lakhs in revenue.

Ship Building and Repairing

The newly operational ship building segment reported revenue of Rs. 2,658.10 lakhs for Q3 FY26 and Rs. 4,199.87 lakhs for the nine-month period, marking the company's successful diversification into shipbuilding activities.

Strategic Corporate Actions

The board approved several important strategic initiatives during the quarter:

Capital Structure and Regulatory Updates

The company received approval from the Joint Commissioner of Income Tax, Mumbai under section 115VP(3) for the Tonnage Tax Scheme, effective for 10 years beginning from Assessment Year 2026-27. This scheme allows the company to compute income from qualifying shipping activities on a presumptive basis.

The company's current equity share capital structure reflects recent corporate actions with 2,44,44,108 equity shares of Rs. 5.00 face value each, totaling Rs. 1,222.21 lakhs in equity share capital.