- The Indian Tyre Industry in Short
- Why Tyre Profits Move Up and Down
- Why BKT Still Earns the Most
- What Changed in FY26
- The FY26 Scorecard
- The Bigger Lesson
- Conclusion
Balkrishna Industries (BKT), a company that doesn't make a single tyre for your car or bike, was earning more profit per rupee of sales than any big tyre maker in India. Its profit margin was more than double that of its nearest rival.
FY26 changed that. BKT still earns the most, but the gap has narrowed significantly. Higher costs, a steep US import tax, and a strong recovery by the mass-market players all pulled the numbers closer together. So this year's question is different: why did BKT's lead shrink, and is its advantage still safe?
The Indian Tyre Industry in Short
India's tyre industry now earns close to ₹1 lakh crore a year. It is one of the country's biggest exporting sectors, sending tyres to over 170 countries.
Five companies run the market: MRF, Balkrishna Industries, Apollo Tyres, CEAT, and JK Tyre. MRF is the volume leader across cars, bikes, trucks, and buses.
BKT is the odd one out. It makes almost only off-highway tyres, the large tyres used on tractors, mining trucks, and construction machines. That single focus is the reason its profits look different from everyone else's.
Why Tyre Profits Move Up and Down
A tyre is mostly made of commodities: natural rubber, crude-oil-based compounds, and steel. Because of this, tyre profits rise and fall with raw-material prices.
When rubber or crude gets more expensive, and a company can't raise its prices fast enough, that extra cost comes straight out of profit. This is exactly what happened in FY26. After a calm period, costs started rising again, and companies felt it at different speeds depending on how quickly they could pass it on.
Why BKT Still Earns the Most
The reason BKT makes more profit hasn't changed.
While the others fight for a share in the crowded car and truck tyre market, BKT works in a quieter space with fewer rivals. It sells business-to-business, supplying tyres to farm, mining, and construction equipment makers, not to everyday buyers.
It is also mainly an export company. Most of its sales come from Europe and the Americas, not India. Specialised products plus fewer competitors let it charge higher prices, and that shows up as a bigger margin.
The difference is clear when you compare exports. CEAT earned only about 19% of its revenue from exports, and MRF earned around 8%. BKT is the opposite; most of its sales are overseas.
But that same export focus is what hurt it in FY26.
What Changed in FY26
Two things happened at the same time.
First, BKT's own profit fell. Its FY26 net profit dropped 25% to ₹1,222 crore, even though revenue stayed steady at ₹10,656 crore. A big reason was a 50% US import tax imposed in late August 2025 (later cut to 18% in February 2026) that hit export volumes, along with higher raw-material costs.
Second, the mass-market players got much stronger. A GST cut on tyres (from 28% to 18%) lifted demand at home, a better product mix helped, and input costs stayed low for most of the year. MRF's full-year profit rose nearly 30% to ₹2,426 crore. CEAT had its best year ever. Apollo and JK Tyre also improved.
So BKT still earns the highest margin, but its lead shrank from more than 2x last year to about 1.5x this year.
The FY26 Scorecard
Here is where the five ended the year (consolidated):
| Company | FY26 Revenue (₹ cr) | FY26 Net Profit (₹ cr) | Net Profit Margin |
| Balkrishna Industries | ~10,656 | ~1,222 | ~11.5% |
| MRF | ~31,149 | ~2,426 | ~7.8% |
| Apollo Tyres | ~28,471 | ~1,372* | ~4.8%* |
| JK Tyre | ~16,384 | ~774 | ~4.7% |
| CEAT | ~15,678 | ~697 | ~4.4% |
*One point to note on Apollo: its FY26 profit was helped by one-time gains, including a ₹574 crore tax reversal. Without those, its real margin is thinner than the number shows.
BKT still wins the profit race, but it is no longer far ahead. MRF, on the strength of its size and a margin recovery, has closed most of the gap.
The Bigger Lesson
Last year's lesson still holds: a focused company with global reach and premium pricing can out-earn much larger rivals. BKT's ~11.5% margin on a fraction of MRF's sales shows that where you compete matters as much as how big you are.
FY26 adds a second lesson. A niche protects you, but not completely. BKT's export focus gave it high prices, but it also left it exposed when one big market added a 50% tax. Meanwhile, the volume players showed they can raise margins quickly when conditions turn in their favour.
BKT knows this. It is now entering new areas like truck, two-wheeler, and car radial tyres, and is aiming for around ₹23,000 crore in revenue by FY30. Whether this move protects its margins or waters down the focus that made it special is the real question ahead.
Conclusion
India's tyre industry runs on volume, but profit comes from strategy. BKT is still the most profitable of the big five, but FY26 tells a more balanced story than last year's clear win. Higher costs, import taxes, and a stronger home market narrowed a lead that once looked wide.