1. At a Glance – Blink and You’ll Miss the Punch
Reliance Power is that one stock in the Indian power sector that refuses to die quietly. Market cap sitting around ₹11,684 crore, stock price chilling near ₹28, and yet this company controls 5,305 MW of generation capacity with assets worth a jaw-dropping ₹111,000 crore as of Sep 2025. On paper, this is Godzilla. On cash flow, it’s more like a power plant running on backup diesel.
Q3 FY26 numbers look stable but not celebratory. Quarterly sales came in at ₹1,873 crore, PAT a modest ₹25 crore, and EPS a microscopic ₹0.06. ROCE is 6.15%, ROE is negative, and interest coverage is a thin 1.22x — basically the financial equivalent of holding your breath underwater and hoping nobody jumps on you.
The stock has fallen ~39% in the last three months, yet trades at 0.71x book value, which keeps value hunters sniffing around like stray cats near a fish market. The question is simple but brutal: is this a turnaround play… or just another Anil Ambani nostalgia trade?
2. Introduction – A Power Company Powered by Hope
Reliance Power is part of the Anil D Ambani–led Reliance Group, which means expectations are always high and patience is always tested. The company was built to develop, construct, and operate large power projects — and to be fair, it did that part well. Sasan UMPP alone is a 3,960 MW beast, one of India’s largest coal-based power plants.
But somewhere between coal linkages, aggressive leverage, regulatory shocks, and group-level drama, the balance sheet caught fire. Defaults happened. Credit ratings fell to the basement. Liquidity became a polite way of saying “cash khatam ho raha hai.”
Yet, like every Bollywood comeback trailer, Reliance Power is trying again — renewables, BESS projects, Bhutan solar, warrants, debt reduction, and lots of regulatory clarifications. The story today is no longer about growth; it’s about
survival, restructuring, and optionality.
So before you laugh, remember: zombies in Dalal Street sometimes do run marathons.
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
At its core, Reliance Power generates electricity. That’s it. No fintech, no AI, no D2C app.
Installed Capacity Breakdown
- Thermal: 5,160 MW
- Renewable: 145 MW
- Total: 5,305 MW
Key operational projects include:
- Sasan UMPP (MP): 3,960 MW coal-based
- Rosa Power (UP): 1,200 MW coal-based
- Solar PV (Rajasthan): 40 MW
- Solar CSP (Jaisalmer): 100 MW
- Wind (Tamil Nadu): 5 MW
Thermal assets generate steady revenue but are capital-heavy and debt-loaded. Renewables are the future, but currently tiny in contribution. So the business model today is basically: milk the thermal assets, pray the renewables scale up, and don’t default meanwhile.
Does this sound exciting? No. Does it sound realistic? Unfortunately, yes.
4. Financials Overview – The Table That Judges You Silently
Quarterly Comparison (₹ crore)
| Metric | Latest Qtr (Dec FY26) | YoY Qtr | Prev Qtr | YoY % | QoQ % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 1,873 | 1,853 | 1,974 | 1.1% | -5.1% |
| EBITDA | 604 | 492 | 618 | 22.8% | -2.3% |
| PAT | 25 | 42 | 87 | -40.1% | -71.3% |
| EPS (₹) | 0.06 | 0.10 | 0.21 | -40% | -71% |
Yes, EBITDA margins are healthy (~32%), but PAT keeps collapsing because interest eats everything like a Punjabi buffet guest.
Annualised EPS (Q3 rule): Average of Q1, Q2, Q3 EPS × 4 → still ugly, so let’s not pretend otherwise.
Question for you: When margins are good and you’re
