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W&C companies under our coverage are expected to report strong revenue growth in Q1FY27, supported by commodity-led realization gains, and healthy domestic sales, with cables continuing to outperform wires. The FMEG segment is likely to witness a gradual recovery, aided by price-led growth across appliances and consumer electricals, although demand remains mixed across categories. The RAC segment is expected to deliver healthy growth, driven by premiumization and summer-led demand while maintaining healthy profitability. We expect our consumer durables universe to register sales/EBITDA/PAT growth of 21.1%/23.7%/20.3% YoY in Q1FY27. Furthermore, we anticipate RRKABEL, POLYCAB, and VOLT to outperform, while CROMPTON to underperform in sales. In terms of profitability, RRKABEL is expected to outperform.

We continue our positive view on W&C companies driven by higher realization, domestic demand, and favorable industry trends in both domestic and export markets. LGEL and BLSTR are our top picks.

W&C - Commodity-led realization improvement: W&C companies under our coverage are expected to deliver single-digit volume growth in Q1FY27, with cables outperforming wires. Revenue growth is likely to remain strong, driven by higher realization, while channel demand remained healthy. Rise in RM prices is driving realization higher (Cu up 55.1% & Al up 61.1% YoY in Q1FY26). Domestic infrastructure buildout, housing activity, and the ongoing shift toward organized/branded players continue to support steady offtake. We estimate HAVL/ POLYCAB/KEI/RRKABEL to see W&C revenue growth of 22%/35%/26.6%/38% YoY in Q1FY27.

FMEG – Solar products to drive growth: The FMEG segment is expected to witness a gradual recovery in Q1FY27, supported by healthy growth in appliances and consumer electricals, although consumer sentiment remained somewhat cautious. Appliances witnessed steady traction, while lighting products continued their gradual recovery. Solar products maintained strong momentum, supported by sustained demand in the rooftop solar market. We expect coverage companies to report 8.2% YoY growth in the FMEG segment.

Summer-led demand fuels RAC growth: Coverage companies are expected to report 29.8% YoY growth in the RAC segment during Q1FY27, driven by an intense summer season, healthy secondary sales, and continued premiumization following the transition to higher BEE-rated energy-efficient models. Demand remained robust across key markets, with leading brands reporting record sales. VOLT achieved the milestone of selling over 1mn RAC units in Q1FY27, reflecting strong industry demand and channel execution. The UCP segment of VOLT/BLSTR is expected to grow by 36.5%/25.4%, and Lloyd expect sales to grow by 20% YoY, with margins broadly remaining under pressure.

Writing Instruments to drive growth: CELLO's Consumerware segment is expected to deliver steady 5.0% YoY growth, while the Writing Instruments & Stationery segment is likely to register robust 45.0% YoY growth, supported by the re-entry into the stationery category under the “CELLO“ brand and continued market expansion. Meanwhile, the Moulded Furniture & Allied Products segment is expected to witness a marginal decline of 2.0% YoY.

Key changes in ratings/TP: We downward revise our FY27E earnings estimates by 32% for BJE and upward revise for CELLO/POLYCAB by 2.6%/2.5% for FY27E and 2.3%/2.2% for FY28E. We upgrade CROMPTON to ‘BUY’ from ‘Accumulate’, and downgrade POLYCAB to ‘Accumulate’ from ‘BUY’ and RRKABEL to ‘Hold’ from ‘BUY’ due to recent movements in stock prices, while maintaining our ratings on the rest of the coverage universe.

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