HPL Electric: 8.5% PAT Growth, 153-Day Debtors, and an Order Book Fatter Than Its Margins
1. At a Glance
Q1 FY26 was a mixed plate — revenue slipped 2.5% YoY to ₹383 Cr, but PAT still rose 8.5% to ₹18.48 Cr thanks to fatter margins (+85 bps). The company flashed a ₹3,000 Cr order book, which is almost 8x its quarterly sales — like a restaurant with bookings till 2030 but still struggling to serve today’s customers.
2. Introduction
HPL Electric is the Indian uncle who insists on doing everything — meters, switches, switchgear, LEDs, cables — because “why waste talent on just one thing?” After 40 years in business, they’re a household name in the utility and government contract space, with exports to 42+ countries. They also lead the on-load change-over switch segment with 50% market share — a product you probably didn’t know existed, but without which your power supply might behave like Mumbai traffic signals.
3. Business Model (WTF Do They Even Do?)
Five verticals: Metering solutions, modular switches, switchgear, LED lighting, wires & cables.
Customers: Power utilities, government agencies, retail & institutional.
Exports: Asia, Africa, Europe, UK — basically anywhere the power grid has mood swings.
Moat: Strong government contract pipeline, brand recall in B2B, and manufacturing integration.
4. Financials Overview
Metric
Q1 FY26
Q1 FY25
Q4 FY25
YoY %
QoQ %
Revenue (₹ Cr)
383.03
392.00
493.00
-2.5%
-22.3%
EBITDA (₹ Cr)
58.00
56.00
82.00
+3.6%
-29.3%
PAT (₹ Cr)
18.48
17.03
37.00
+8.5%
-50.0%
EPS (₹)
2.87
2.65
5.78
+8.3%
-50.3%
Commentary: QoQ fall is steep — Q4 was inflated by a strong year-end billing cycle. YoY growth in PAT is mostly from improved cost control, not top-line expansion.
5. Valuation (Fair Value RANGE Only)
Method 1 – P/E
EPS (TTM) ≈ ₹14.81
Reasonable P/E for mid-cap industrials: 25–35x (given growth + infra push).
FV range: ₹370 – ₹518
Method 2 – P/BV
Book Value ≈ ₹142
Sector P/BV: 2.5–3.5x
FV range: ₹355 – ₹497
Method 3 – DCF (high-level)
Base PAT ≈ ₹95 Cr, growth 10%, CoE 13%, terminal growth 4% → FV ≈ ₹380 – ₹520
📌 Final FV Range: ₹355 – ₹520 (Educational purposes only). CMP ₹593 is above range — implying market is already pricing in future growth perfection.
6. What’s Cooking – News, Triggers, Drama
₹3,000 Cr order book — mostly from metering and switchgear.
