New Delhi, April 3 -- APL Apollo Tubes Ltd's March quarter (Q4FY26) performance undershot expectations. Consolidated volumes rose 9% year-on-year to 925 kilo tonnes (kt), but fell well short of management's 20% growth guidance that would have taken volumes past the 1 million tonnes milestone. The miss pulled full-year volume growth down to 11%, with total volumes at 3.5 million tonnes.

The stock has slipped about 5% since the 1 April earnings announcement.

Two factors explain the shortfall. First, the war in West Asia, accounting for roughly 10% of volumes, weighed on output. Port bottlenecks and softer regional demand meant the Dubai plant operated at only about 60% utilization in Q4. Second, natural gas shortages at Raipur forced a 10...