Wiring Indias Grid — and Moving Up the Voltage Ladder
1. The Year in Perspective
FY 2025-26 was the year in which Diamond Power Infrastructure Limited ("DICABS", "Diamond Power" or "the Company") ceased to be a turnaround story and became a growth story.
Three years ago, the Company emerged from an insolvency resolution process with a rebuilt balance sheet, a restarted plant and a revenue base of 343 crore. In the financial year under review, it recorded revenue of 1,910.10 crore, EBITDA of 223.63 crore and profit after tax of 158.17 crore. Revenue grew 71% over the previous year and has multiplied 5.6 times over two years. EBITDA grew 238%, and the EBITDA margin nearly doubled, from 6.00% to 11.71%. Profit after tax grew 358%. The order book at the close of the year stood at 3,240 crore, against 2,028 crore a year earlier.
These are not the numbers of a recovery. They are the numbers of a manufacturing platform that has been rebuilt, re-qualified and re-entered into the market, and that is now beginning to be utilised.
Three-year operating trajectory
| in crore | FY 2023-24 | FY 2024-25 | FY 2025-26 | 2-year multiple |
| Revenue from operations | 343 | 1,115 | 1,910 | 5.6x |
| EBITDA | 43 | 67 | 224 | 5.2x |
| EBITDA margin (%) | 12.5% | 6.0% | 11.7% | — |
| Profit after tax | 17 | 35 | 158 | 9.3x |
| Earnings per share () | — | 0.65 | 3.00 | — |
| Closing order book | 1,100 | 2,028 | 3,240 | 2.9x |
Source: Company reported financials.
FY 2023-24 and order-book figures per the Companys investor materials.
What we want investors to take away
• India has entered a decade-long grid investment cycle, and it is now funded: The National Electricity Plan (Transmission) commits an investment opportunity of over 9.15 lakh crore to 2032. The transmission network is planned to expand from about 5.09 lakh circuit kilometres in June 2026 to 6.48 lakh ckm by 2032, transformation capacity from 1,478 GVA to 2,345 GVA, and inter-regional transfer capacity from 120 GW to 168 GW. This is not a projection derived from a demand model; it is a published national plan with schemes already under construction and under bidding.
• Value inside that cycle is migrating up the voltage ladder:
Every structural driver in Indias power sector - renewable evacuation, urban undergrounding, data centres, industrial load density, coastal resilience - pulls demand away from commodity wire and towards medium voltage, high voltage and extra high voltage cable systems and towards high- performance conductors. These are the segments with the fewest qualified suppliers, the longest qualification cycles and the widest margins.
• The Companys assets are in place ahead of the demand wave, and are substantially under-utilised: Diamond Power manufactures power cables to 400 kV, tests inhouse to 700 kV, operates an integrated aluminium rod-to- conductor-to-cable platform on a single campus, and holds a portfolio of type-tested products and utility approvals accumulated over five decades. Conductor production in FY 2025-26 represented approximately 23% of installed conductor capacity. Growth from here is, to a substantial degree, a question of utilisation and mix rather than of new plant.
• The balance sheet has now been recapitalised: In July 2026, after the close of the financial year, the Company completed a Qualified Institutional Placement of 1,614 crore (net proceeds) with 56 institutional allottees, achieving Minimum Public Shareholding compliance and bringing the Companys net worth into positive territory. The proceeds are committed to capacity completion, debt prepayment and the working capital required to convert capacity into revenue.
The strategic proposition is simple.
India will spend more than 9 lakh crore strengthening its grid by 2032, and a rising share of that spend will be underground and at higher voltages. Diamond Power intends to be one of a small number of Indian manufacturers qualified, equipped and capitalised to supply it.
2. Global Economic Review
The global economy maintained steady growth during 2025 despite a year characterised by evolving trade policies, geopolitical developments and differing regional growth trends. Continued investment in technology - particularly artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure - supported economic activity across several major economies, while inflationary pressures moderated further. Global headline inflation remained stable at 4.1%, aided by easing price pressures across a number of economies and a gradual normalisation of supply conditions.
The external operating environment nevertheless remained influenced by geopolitical developments. Continued conflict between Russia and Ukraine, together with heightened tensions across West Asia, affected global trade flows, energy markets and supply chains during the year. These developments contributed to fluctuations in crude oil and commodity prices, increased freight costs on certain trade routes and created periodic disruptions in the availability and movement of critical inputs. While the overall impact varied across regions and industries, businesses continued to operate in an environment characterised by elevated geopolitical and supply chain risk.
Against this backdrop, the global economy recorded growth of 3.5% during the year. Advanced economies expanded by 1.9%, supported by growth of 2.1% in the United States, 1.4% in the euro area and 1.1% in Japan. Emerging market and developing economies continued to outperform, registering growth of 4.5%, with China expanding by 5.0% and India recording growth of 7.7%. The comparatively stronger performance of emerging economies reflected sustained domestic demand, ongoing infrastructure investment and continued economic activity across key sectors.
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook Update, July 2026. P = Projections.
Global trade conditions showed signs of improvement during the year following a series of policy measures aimed at easing tariff-related pressures. The United States and China reached a temporary trade understanding that reduced bilateral tariff rates through November 2026 while also suspending export restrictions on semiconductors and rare earth minerals. In addition, the United States removed tariffs on certain agricultural products applicable across trading partners, resulting in only a limited change to its overall effective tariff rate. Although policy uncertainty moderated from the elevated levels witnessed in October 2025, it remained higher than a year earlier.
Financial markets remained broadly supported by accommodative financial conditions despite intermittent volatility in sovereign bond yields. Investor sentiment continued to favour technology- oriented businesses, reflecting sustained confidence in artificial intelligence and digital technology-led growth.
Outlook
The global economy is expected to maintain a steady growth trajectory over the medium term despite continuing geopolitical developments, trade policy adjustments and macroeconomic uncertainty. Global GDP is projected to expand by 3.0% in 2026 before improving to 3.4% in 2027, supported by sustained investment in artificial intelligence, digital technologies and fiscal measures across several major economies.
Growth across advanced economies is projected at 1.7% in 2026, improving marginally to 1.8% in 2027. The United States is expected to remain the principal contributor, supported by fiscal initiatives and a recovery following the 2025 federal government shutdown. The euro area is projected to grow by 0.9% amid persistent structural challenges, while Japan is expected to record growth of 0.6% as the impact of recent fiscal support gradually moderates. Emerging market and developing economies are projected to expand by 3.8% in 2026 before accelerating to 4.5% in 2027, with India expected to remain among the fastest-growing major economies.
Global headline inflation is projected at 4.7% in 2026 before moderating to 3.9% in 2027. Monetary policy across major economies is expected to follow a gradual easing path. Global trade growth is projected to moderate to 3.5% in 2026 as economies adjust to evolving tariff structures, although continued expansion in technology-related exports is expected to support international trade.
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook, January 2026; World Economic Outlook, April 2026; World Economic Outlook Update, July 2026.
3. The Global Electricity and Grid Investment Cycle
For a manufacturer of transmission and distribution products, the single most important fact about the global economy today is not its rate of growth but its rate of electrification. Electricity is the fastest-growing part of the worlds energy system, and the physical infrastructure that moves it has become the binding constraint on almost every other energy objective.
3.1 Electricity demand is accelerating, and the load is changing shape
Global electricity demand is rising faster than total energy demand and is being reshaped by three simultaneous forces. First, generation is shifting to variable sources: the share of solar photovoltaic and wind in global generation is set to rise from approximately 17% today to 27% by 2030, which requires far more transmission capacity per unit of energy delivered because renewable resources are located away from load centres and generate intermittently. Second, new categories of highly concentrated load - data centres, electric vehicle charging clusters, electrolysers and electrified industry - are being added to networks that were designed for dispersed, predictable consumption. Third, ageing networks across both advanced and emerging economies are reaching the end of their design lives at exactly the moment they are being asked to carry more power.
The consequence is visible in the connection queues. More than 2,500 GW of projects - renewables, storage and large loads including data centres - are currently waiting to connect to grids worldwide. Grid investment has lagged well behind investment in generation, and many power systems are already experiencing congestion-related curtailment of clean energy that has already been built and paid for.
Source: International Energy Agency, Electricity 2026.
3.2 Grid investment must rise by roughly half by 2030
Annual global investment in electricity networks currently runs at approximately USD 400 billion. The International Energy Agency estimates that meeting forecast electricity demand through 2030 will require this figure to increase by roughly 50%, alongside a significant scaling-up of grid-related supply chains. Some analyses place the requirement higher still, at over USD 800 billion per year by the early 2030s.
This is the definitive structural statement about the industry in which the Company operates. Transmission and distribution infrastructure is no longer a slow-growing utility adjunct to the power sector; it is the sectors principal bottleneck, and capital is being redirected towards it at a pace not seen in a generation. Wires, cables and conductors are the physical medium through which that capital is spent.
Source: International Energy Agency, Electricity 2026 and World Energy Investment 2026.
3.3 The global high-voltage supply base is structurally short
The supply side has not kept pace with this shift, and the shortage is most acute precisely at the top of the voltage range. The global market for high-voltage direct current cable is supplied predominantly by a small group of European manufacturers, which together account for approximately two-thirds of global HVDC supply, with manufacturing slots reported as booked through 2030. Waiting lists for direct-current cable extend beyond five years in some cases, compounded by a limited global fleet of cable-laying vessels and skilled operators. Comparable tightness exists in large power transformers, where lead times have roughly doubled over recent years, and manufacturers report record order backlogs.
Building new high-voltage cable manufacturing capacity is not a rapid response. A greenfield facility typically takes three to four years to construct and commission, before the multi-year process of type testing and utility qualification even begins. The result is a market in which credentialled capacity, rather than raw manufacturing ambition, is the scarce asset - and in which incumbents enjoy pricing power that has been reflected in record order backlogs and margin expansion across the listed global cable sector.
Source: International Energy Agency, Building the Future Transmission Grid; company disclosures of listed global cable manufacturers.
3.4 Why this matters for an Indian manufacturer
Three implications follow directly, and they frame the Companys strategy.
• Global tightness in high-voltage supply is an opening for qualified Indian capacity: As Western utilities, contractors and distributors seek to diversify sourcing away from a concentrated supply base, and as China-plus-One procurement policies mature, Indian manufacturers holding international certifications are being qualified as alternative suppliers. Indias exports of wires and cables have already grown from approximately 32 billion in FY2020 to approximately 178 billion in FY 2025-26. The constraint on capturing this opportunity is credentials, not cost.
• Equipment cost inflation is a real planning risk, and early capacity is therefore valuable: Indian policymakers have publicly flagged that the cost of critical transmission equipment is set to rise materially each year as global demand outstrips supply. Manufacturing capacity ordered and commissioned early in the cycle carries a structural cost advantage over capacity ordered late.
• The premium accrues to companies that can serve the whole voltage ladder: Utilities and large developers increasingly prefer to consolidate procurement with suppliers who can deliver across low, medium and extra high voltage, and across cables and conductors, with a single qualification file and a single point of accountability. Breadth of range, once a nicety, has become a commercial advantage.
4. Indian Economic Review
The Indian economy exhibited resilience in FY 2025-26 amid global trade uncertainties and financial market fluctuations. Provisional Estimates indicate real GDP growth of 7.7% alongside Gross Value Added growth of 7.9%, underscoring the strength of a domestic demand-led growth trajectory. Robust agricultural performance bolstered rural earnings, while urban consumption gained momentum from stable employment conditions and easing inflation.
India: Real GDP growth
Source: Press Information Bureau (Second Advance Estimates and Provisional Estimates). PE = Provisional Estimates; P = Projections.
Domestic demand continued to anchor Indias economic growth during the year, supported by healthy private consumption, improving real incomes and a favourable inflation environment. Public capital expenditure of 12.2 lakh crore further strengthened economic activity by accelerating investment across infrastructure, manufacturing, construction and the energy sector. Long-term national initiatives such as Viksit Bharat 2047 continued to encourage infrastructure creation, industrial capacity expansion and self-reliance.
Retail inflation remained well contained for a significant part of the year, with average Consumer Price Index inflation at 1.7% during the first nine months of FY 2025-26, supporting household purchasing power. Inflation subsequently increased to 3.4%, primarily reflecting the impact of geopolitical developments in West Asia on global energy and commodity markets. Indias macroeconomic fundamentals nevertheless remained stable, supported by prudent fiscal management, healthy growth in bank credit and a well-capitalised banking system with improved asset quality. Foreign exchange reserves remained above USD 700 billion, providing an additional buffer against external uncertainty and supporting Indias position as the worlds fourth- largest economy.
The Union Budget 2026-27 and subsequent policy measures continued to support domestic demand and investment activity while maintaining fiscal discipline, with a retained focus on infrastructure development, manufacturing expansion and employment generation. Complementing these fiscal initiatives, the Reserve Bank of India adopted an accommodative monetary approach during 2025, cumulatively reducing the policy repo rate by 100 basis points to 5.25%, alongside liquidity-enhancing measures. The implementation of the New Income Tax Act, 2025 and GST rate rationalisation simplified the indirect tax framework, reduced rates across several goods and addressed inverted duty structures in multiple sectors, improving input tax credit alignment. For manufacturers, these measures are expected to lower compliance costs, improve supply chain efficiency and strengthen cost competitiveness.
Outlook
The outlook for the Indian economy remains positive and stable, with real GDP growth for FY 2026-27 projected between 6.8% and 7.2%. Government spending on infrastructure will continue to provide solid support, private sector investment continues to rise, and policy measures and capacity building further reinforce the manufacturing base. Improving credit conditions and lower financing costs are expected to strengthen investment across housing, infrastructure and the MSME sector, creating a favourable operating environment for industries associated with power infrastructure, electrical equipment and transmission and distribution networks.
Source: Press Information Bureau; Reserve Bank of India.
5. Indias Power Sector: A Decade-Long Investment Cycle
Indias power sector is midway through the largest capacity and network expansion in its history. For a transmission and distribution products manufacturer, the sector must be read in three parts - generation, transmission and distribution - because each generates a distinct and quantifiable pull on a different part of the product portfolio.
5.1 Generation: capacity is being added faster than the network can absorb it
Indias total installed electricity generation capacity crossed 500 GW during 2025, of which non-fossil sources now account for more than half. Installed non-fossil capacity stood at 283.46 GW as at 31 March 2026. Capacity addition from non-fossil sources during FY 2025-26 was 55.29 GW - the highest annual addition ever recorded, against a previous high of 29.5 GW in FY 2024-25. India achieved its Nationally Determined Contribution milestone of 50% of installed capacity from non-fossil sources in June 2025, five years ahead of the 2030 target, and is working towards 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030.
The significance of this for the Company is not the generation capacity itself but its location and its variability. Utility-scale renewable capacity is concentrated in resource-rich zones - Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh - far from the industrial and urban load centres that consume the power. Every gigawatt added in Khavda or Bhadla must be evacuated through inter-plant cabling at 11 kV to 33 kV, pooled at 66 kV to 220 kV, and transmitted at 400 kV and above or through HVDC. The conductor and cable intensity per gigawatt of renewable capacity is materially higher than for conventional generation located at the load centre.
Source: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy / Press Information Bureau, April 2026; Ministry of Power.
5.2 Transmission: a published, funded 9.15 lakh crore plan to 2032
The National Electricity Plan (Volume II: Transmission), covering the period 2023 to 2032, is the single most important demand document in the Companys industry. It plans the transmission system required to serve a projected peak demand of 388 GW by 2032, explicitly taking into account emerging load categories including electric mobility, data centres and industrial expansion, together with the changing geography of generation.
Execution against this plan is already visible. Between FY 202324 and FY 2025-26, India commissioned 35,172 circuit kilometres of transmission lines. Independent analysis of the plan estimates that 4.91 lakh crore of investment is required in the FY2027- FY2032 window alone, of which approximately 3.91 lakh crore is directed towards the Inter-State Transmission System and approximately 99,296 crore towards intra-state systems
- against 4.25 lakh crore planned for the preceding FY2022- FY2027 cycle. Investment delegation to POWERGRID, the countrys largest transmission utility, has been enhanced, with the permissible equity investment limit per subsidiary raised from 5,000 crore to 7,500 crore.
The plan also explicitly identifies new technology options for the transmission sector, including high-performance conductors, monopole structures, insulated cross arms, dynamic line rating, hybrid substations and the upgradation of maximum operating voltage to 1200 kV AC. High-performance conductors - the AL- 59, high-ampacity and High Temperature Low Sag families in which the Company has invested - are named in the national plan as a preferred route to extracting more capacity from existing and new corridors.
Source: Press Information Bureau; Central Electricity Authority; InVed analysis of the National Electricity Plan.
5.3 Distribution: reform has restored the buying power of the utilities
The distribution segment has historically been the weakest link in Indias power sector and, consequently, an unreliable customer. That position has changed materially. Under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme, over 4 crore smart meters were installed nationwide by mid-January 2026, with 5.62 crore installed across the country under all schemes combined. Outstanding distribution company dues fell from approximately 1.4 lakh crore in 2022 to approximately 4,109 crore by early 2026.
For a supplier, this is a structural improvement in the credit quality and capital expenditure capacity of the largest single customer group in the industry. Distribution utilities are the principal buyers of 11 kV, 22 kV and 33 kV cable and of distribution-class conductor, and their return to financial health directly enables the loss-reduction and network-strengthening programmes
- feeder separation, feeder bifurcation, aerial bunched and covered conductor deployment, and urban undergrounding - that consume those products.
Source: Ministry of Power; Press Information Bureau, March 2026.
5.4 Translating the plan into product demand
The step from national plan to order book runs through conductor intensity and cable intensity per circuit kilometre. Indicatively, a 765 kV or HVDC corridor consumes in the order of 30 to 35 metric tonnes of conductor per circuit kilometre, a 400 kV line approximately 15 MT/ckm, and a 220 kV line approximately 8 MT/ ckm, while distribution feeders at 11 kV consume approximately
1.5 MT/ckm and low tension networks approximately 0.75 MT/ckm. Applied to a plan that adds roughly 1.39 lakh circuit kilometres of 220 kV-and-above network by 2032, alongside the far larger sub-transmission and distribution build below it, the implied conductor requirement runs to several million tonnes over the plan period, before any allowance for reconductoring of the existing 5 lakh ckm network.
On the cable side, the translation runs through the proportion of new network built underground rather than overhead - a proportion that is rising in every urban, coastal, industrial and data-centre application, for reasons set out in Section 8.
6. The Global Wires and Cables Industry
The global wires and cables industry continued to witness steady expansion during the year, supported by increasing investment in power transmission and distribution networks, renewable energy integration and urban infrastructure development. The global market was valued at USD 233.0 billion in 2025 and is projected to increase to USD 246.48 billion in 2026 before reaching USD 409.01 billion by 2034, registering a compound annual growth rate of 6.54% over the forecast period. Asia Pacific remained the largest regional market, supported by sustained investment in infrastructure, industrialisation and electrification across major economies.
The global transition towards cleaner energy systems is creating additional opportunities for the industry. Expansion of renewable energy capacity, strengthening of electricity transmission networks, increasing electrification across transport and industry, and investment in smart grids are driving demand for advanced power and specialised cables. Growing deployment of artificial intelligence infrastructure and hyperscale data centres is increasing requirements for reliable, high-performance cable solutions, while stricter safety standards are encouraging adoption of premium, fire-resistant and environmentally responsible products across residential, commercial and industrial applications.
India is well positioned to benefit from these evolving global trends, owing to expanding manufacturing capability, a competitive cost structure and improving product quality. Global supply chain diversification and China-plus-One sourcing strategies are encouraging international customers to diversify procurement towards alternative manufacturing destinations. India has steadily strengthened its position in the global insulated wires and cables trade, accounting for 1.3% of global exports, with exports increasingly catering to major industrial markets including the United States and Germany. Supported by expanding manufacturing capacity, adherence to international quality standards and favourable policy initiatives, Indian manufacturers are strengthening their presence across overseas markets.
Source: Fortune Business Insights; Mordor Intelligence; NITI Aayog Trade Watch Quarterly.
7. The Indian Wires and Cables Industry
The Indian wires and cables industry continued to expand during FY 2025-26, supported by investment in power transmission and distribution, electrification, construction, renewable energy integration and digital infrastructure. The domestic market was valued at approximately 1,618 billion in FY 2025-26, compared with 787 billion in FY2020 - a compound annual growth rate of 13% over the period. The increase was supported by strong growth in High Voltage and Extra High Voltage cables of 66 kV and above, as well as elastomeric cables, alongside PVC control and instrumentation cables and building wires. Higher production volumes and increased realisations arising from higher commodity prices also contributed to the increase in market value.
7.1 Where the value sits
Power transmission cables represented the largest product category within the domestic industry during FY 2025-26, accounting for 43-45% of the overall market, followed by building wires at 27-29%. Within power transmission cables, low voltage PVC and cross-linked polyethene cables accounted for the largest share at 49-51%; High Voltage and Medium Voltage cables covering 11 kV, 22 kV and 33 kV accounted for 28-30%; and Extra High Voltage cables of 66 kV and above represented 20-22%.
Indian wires and cables market: composition, FY 2025-26
7.2 Formalisation and scale
The industry has continued to move towards greater formalisation. The share of organised players increased from approximately 72-74% in FY2020 to 76-78% in FY2025, while the unorganised segment declined from 26-28% to 22-24% over the same period. Organised players hold a relatively higher share in power transmission cables, reflecting the importance of technical standards, product quality and compliance in these applications. Further consolidation is expected, which could result in a continued increase in the share of organised manufacturers.
Manufacturing volumes have expanded alongside market demand. Indias wires and cables production crossed 21.2 million kilometres in FY 2025-26, compared with 14.7 million kilometres in FY2020, representing a compound annual growth rate of 6.3%. Cable manufacturing remains dependent on the availability and quality of specialised polymer compounds, which materially influence the performance, reliability and service life of cable products - a dependency the Company is addressing through its own polymer compounding initiative described in Section 15.
7.3 Exports
The export market has emerged as an important growth avenue. Indias wires and cables exports increased to approximately 178 billion in FY 2025-26 from 32 billion in FY2020, registering a compound annual growth rate of 33.0%. Growth has been supported by renewable energy projects, electrification, electric vehicles and data centre development. The China-plus-One sourcing trend is creating opportunities as Western utilities, contractors and distributors increasingly qualify alternative suppliers; Indian manufacturers holding international certifications such as UL, CPR and AS/NZS are positioned to participate in this diversification.
Saudi Arabia was Indias largest export destination for wires and cables in FY 2025-26, accounting for 45% of total exports, followed by the United States and the United Arab Emirates at 12% and 10% respectively. Australia, Nepal, the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia and Germany were among other destinations, with the remaining 19% distributed across other international markets. Crisil Intelligence expects wires and cables exports to continue growing at a compound annual growth rate of 9-10% between FY2026 and FY2031, reaching approximately 270-285 billion by FY2031.
7.4 Domestic outlook
Crisil Intelligence projects the Indian wires and cables market to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 13-14% between FY2026 and FY2031, reaching approximately 2,980-3,120 billion by FY2031. Investment in distribution networks under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme, together with investment plans by Central Transmission Utility of India Limited, the InterState Transmission System and the Green Energy Corridor programme, is expected to support demand across lower and higher voltage segments. Expansion of data centres, driven by digitalisation, cloud adoption, increasing artificial intelligence workloads and policy support, together with expanding digital connectivity and smart grid investment, is expected to provide additional demand.
Source: IEEMA; Crisil Intelligence; Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
8. The Medium Voltage and Extra High Voltage Opportunity
This section is the centre of the Companys investment case, and it deserves to be read on its own terms. The Indian cable market is often discussed as a single market growing at 13-14%. It is not. It is a set of distinct markets, separated by voltage class, with radically different competitive structures, entry barriers, customer types and margin profiles. Understanding where Diamond Power has chosen to compete requires understanding those differences.
8.1 The voltage ladder
Cable products can be grouped into four broad tiers, each with a different economic character.
Value in this industry does not scale with volume; it scales with voltage. As voltage rises, the number of manufacturers capable of bidding falls sharply, qualification periods lengthen from months to years, the capital intensity per line rises by an order of magnitude, and realisation per kilometre rises from a few lakh rupees to several tens of lakh rupees. A single kilometre of 220 kV cable can carry the realisation of dozens of kilometres of low tension cable, and it is sold into a market with a fraction of the competitive intensity.
8.2 Why Indias demand is migrating underground and upward
The historical Indian network was overwhelmingly overhead, because overhead lines are cheaper to build. Six structural forces are now pushing new and replacement network underground, and each of them lands squarely in the MV and EHV cable market.
• Urban undergrounding mandates: More than 650 cities are covered by smart city and urban renewal missions that mandate or strongly favour underground cabling of distribution networks. Undergrounding converts an overhead conductor requirement into a cable requirement at 11 kV to 33 kV, and increasingly at 66 kV for feeder- level intake.
• Vertical urbanisation: Indian cities are growing vertically rather than horizontally. A high-rise cluster concentrates load that would previously have been dispersed across a large footprint, forcing higher-voltage intake, compact ring-main networks and dedicated substations inside the development - all of which are cable-served rather than line-served.
• Coastal and disaster resilience: Repeated cyclone damage to overhead distribution networks in coastal states has made undergrounding a policy priority under disaster- management and network-resilience schemes. This is a direct conversion of overhead assets into MV cable assets, funded specifically to avoid the recurring cost of storm repair.
• Renewable evacuation architecture: Utility-scale solar and wind parks are cabled internally. Inter-plant collection at 11 kV to 33 kV runs to pooling substations, which connect at 66 kV to 220 kV. A single large renewable park consumes thousands of kilometres of MV cable before a single overhead transmission tower is erected.
• Load density in existing networks: Feeders across urban and industrial India are running at their thermal limits. The upgrade path is not more feeders at the same voltage but fewer feeders at a higher voltage and higher ampacity - which again means new cable, at a higher voltage class than the asset it replaces.
• Right-of-way scarcity: In dense corridors, transmission- class overhead line is increasingly impossible to route. Where right of way cannot be obtained, the network goes underground at 220 kV and 400 kV - the most technically demanding and least contested segment of the market.
Every one of these six forces converts demand that would historically have been served by overhead conductor into demand for insulated cable, and pushes the required voltage class upward. This is the single most important structural trend in the Indian cable market, and it is the trend the Company has organised itself around.
8.3 The supply side: a narrow and slow-moving club
The reason this opportunity is attractive is that it is difficult to enter. Four barriers separate a company that manufactures cable from a company that can sell 66 kV and above to a transmission utility.
• Process technology: Cross-linking above 33 kV requires catenary continuous vulcanisation or vertical continuous vulcanisation lines operating in controlled clean-room conditions, with triple extrusion, dry curing and degassing. These are long-lead, high-capital assets sourced from a small number of global suppliers, with delivery and commissioning measured in years.
• Type testing and qualification: Every voltage class, conductor size and construction must be type tested to Indian and international standards, and the results witnessed. Utilities then apply their own vendor qualification, which typically requires demonstrated supply history at that voltage. The cycle from investment decision to first commercial supply at a new voltage class routinely exceeds three years.
• Testing infrastructure: The ability to conduct type and routine testing in-house, and to have customers witness those tests at the plant, is decisive in EHV. Reliance on external laboratories introduces cost, queueing and schedule risk that few utilities will accept on transmission- class assets.
• Accessories and system capability: EHV is bought as a system, not a product. Joints, terminations, cross-bonding and installation supervision are integral to the qualification, which favours suppliers with engineering depth over suppliers with extrusion capacity.
The consequence is that while the low tension market has many credible suppliers, the number of Indian companies that can quote 220 kV and above is in low single digits, and the number that can demonstrate in-house testing to ultra-high voltage is smaller still. This is the definition of a structurally attractive market: growing demand, published and funded, meeting a supply base that cannot expand quickly.
8.4 Import substitution
A material proportion of Indias historical EHV cable requirement above 66 kV has been met through imports or through Indian entities dependent on foreign technology licences. As domestic transmission investment scales and as public procurement policy increasingly favours domestic value addition, this represents an identifiable pool of demand available to Indian manufacturers who can demonstrate the technology and the credentials. The Companys investment in manufacturing capability to 400 kV, and in an in-house 700 kV testing ecosystem, is directed precisely at this pool.
9. The Indian Conductor Industry
Conductors form a critical component of the power transmission network, enabling the movement of bulk electricity from generating stations to load centres and large industrial consumers. The Indian conductor industry comprises a range of technologies, including All Aluminium Conductors, All Aluminium Alloy Conductors, Aluminium Conductors Steel Reinforced, AL-59 alloy conductors, high-ampacity conductors and High Temperature Low Sag conductors.
9.1 Market size and growth
The domestic conductor market has expanded significantly in recent years, reaching approximately 227 billion in FY 2025-26 compared with 102 billion in FY2020, registering a compound annual growth rate of 14%. Demand during this period was supported by railway electrification, reconductoring activity and continued additions to transmission lines. Crisil Intelligence expects the conductor industry to grow at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 12-15% between FY2026 and FY2031, supported by continued government-led investment in the power sector and increasing exports, reaching approximately 400-460 billion by FY2031.
Production volumes have also increased over the longer term. Production of conductors in India stood at 419,653 MT in FY2023 and increased to 654,038 MT in FY 2025-26. The earlier period of contraction during FY 2020-22 reflected the entry of newer conductor technologies, a reduction in overall orders and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
9.2 The product mix is shifting to higher-performance technologies
The mix is moving decisively towards conductors offering higher efficiency and performance. AL-59 conductors accounted for the largest share of the domestic conductor market at 48-50% in FY 2025-26, supported by higher conductivity and corrosion resistance - particularly for coastal and high-load applications - higher current carrying capacity compared with ACSR, and improved resistance to thermal expansion for long-span applications. High-ampacity conductors accounted for a further 9-11% of the market. ACSR, AAAC and AAC accounted for 2729%, 10-12% and 0-2% respectively.
Indian conductor market: technology mix, FY 2025-26
Source: IEEMA; Crisil Intelligence.
9.3 Reconductoring: the second demand curve
Alongside new line construction, a second and less widely understood demand curve is emerging: reconductoring. India operates in excess of 5 lakh circuit kilometres of transmission network at 220 kV and above, much of it strung with conventional ACSR that is now thermally constrained. Replacing that conductor with High Temperature Low Sag or high-ampacity conductor can substantially increase the carrying capacity of an existing corridor without acquiring new right of way, without new towers and without new statutory clearances.
In a country where right-of-way acquisition is the single largest source of transmission project delay, this is a structurally advantaged solution, and it is explicitly recognised in the National Electricity Plans identification of high-performance conductors as a preferred technology option. Reconductoring demand is additive to the new-build demand implied by the plan, is concentrated in exactly the congested corridors where the economic value of released capacity is highest, and carries materially higher realisation per tonne than conventional conductor.
9.4 Exports
Indias power conductor exports increased from approximately 25 billion in FY2020 to 38 billion in FY2026, a compound annual growth rate of 7%. Funding by multilateral institutions, including the World Bank and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, for power transmission projects across Africa, Central Asia, South Asia and East Asia is expected to provide further opportunities for Indian conductor manufacturers. Distinct conductor technologies dominate distinct export markets - aluminium alloy conductors in Europe, ACSR and HTLS in Australia, and ACSR in the United States - which rewards manufacturers with a broad technology portfolio and the relevant international approvals.
Source: IEEMA; Crisil Intelligence; Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
10. Demand Drivers, Quantified
The Companys planning process converts each structural driver into a number rather than a sentiment. The table below sets out the ten drivers that the Company considers material to its addressable market, the quantum attached to each, and the part of the portfolio each one pulls.
10.1 The data centre driver deserves separate treatment
Of the ten drivers, the data centre and artificial intelligence buildout is the fastest-moving and the least reflected in historical industry data. India added 387 MW of information technology capacity in 2025, more than double the 191 MW added the previous year, and added 258 MW in the first half of 2026 alone. Total installed capacity is projected to rise from approximately
1.5—1.7 GW to between 4 GW and 9 GW by 2030 depending on the pace of artificial intelligence adoption, with annual additions running at 350-500 MW from 2026, roughly double the rate of 2022-25. Cumulative announced investment had reached approximately USD 126 billion by 2025 and may exceed USD 180 billion during 2026, with hyperscalers alone having announced tens of billions of dollars of Indian commitments.
Wires and cables account for approximately 8-10% of a data centre projects capital expenditure. Critically for the Company, data centre load is not served at low tension: a hyperscale campus takes dedicated medium and extra high voltage intake, requires redundant feeders, and specifies fire-survival, low-smoke zero-halogen and high-reliability constructions with witnessed testing. The segment therefore pulls precisely the product mix the Company has prioritised, from a customer base that procures on capability and schedule rather than on lowest price.
Source: Savills India; CBRE India Alternate Sectors Outlook 2026; Cushman & Wakefield; Rubix Data Sciences; Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
10.2 Premiumisation and formalisation
Underlying all ten drivers is a shift in how electrical products are bought. Increasing emphasis on electrical safety, product quality and regulatory compliance is accelerating the shift towards organised manufacturers with established brands and certified portfolios. Evolving building regulations, rising awareness and growing preference for reliable electrical solutions are supporting adoption of premium products including fire-survival cables, low-smoke zero-halogen wires and other specialised solutions. This structural transition favours industry participants with strong manufacturing capability, certified product portfolios and continued investment in product development.
11. Diamond Power Infrastructure Limited
Diamond Power Infrastructure Limited, operating under the DICABS brand, is an integrated manufacturer of power transmission and distribution products, serving utilities, transmission licensees, infrastructure developers, industrial customers, renewable energy developers, engineering and construction contractors and data centre operators.
The Companys origins date to 1970. In 2022, it was acquired through a resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code by the GSEC-Monarch group, and its equity shares were readmitted to dealings on the stock exchanges in September 2023. What the acquirers acquired was unusual: a manufacturing campus of substantial scale, with cable and conductor assets capable of high voltage classes, an ultra-high-voltage testing ecosystem, and five decades of accumulated product approvals and type tests - assets that would take the better part of a decade and a very large capital outlay to recreate. What the business lacked was working capital, market presence and utilisation. The last three years have been spent supplying all three.
11.1 The integrated manufacturing platform
The Companys operating model is built on a single-location integrated campus at Vadodara, Gujarat, where aluminium wire rod, conductors and power cables are manufactured within one facility. Integration of this depth is uncommon in the Indian industry and confers three specific advantages: control over the metallurgy and quality of the aluminium that goes into every downstream product; insulation from the availability and pricing volatility of externally purchased wire rod, which is the single largest cost component in aluminium-based products; and the ability to convert the same metal stream into conductor or into cable conductor depending on where demand and margin sit in a given quarter.
11.2 Product portfolio
The Companys cable portfolio spans Low Voltage, Medium Voltage, High Voltage and Extra High Voltage power cables, together with control and instrumentation cables, solar cables, fire-survival and halogen-free cables, and specialised constructions developed for critical applications. Manufacturing capability extends to 400 kV. The conductor portfolio spans conventional ACSR, AAAC and AAC through to AL-59, MVCC, GAP-type, ECO and High Temperature Low Sag conductors, addressing both new transmission construction and the reconductoring market.
Product development during the year continued to focus on expanding the portfolio of specialised and premium solutions, including National Building Code-compliant products, retail-oriented low voltage cables, and application-specific constructions developed for renewable energy installations and data centre projects.
11.3 Technology partnership
The Companys alliance with TS Conductor, United States, provides access to advanced aluminium-encapsulated composite core conductor technology for transmission applications. The technology addresses the central requirement of the reconductoring market — substantially higher ampacity and lower sag at elevated operating temperature — while terminating with standard compression fittings rather than proprietary hardware, and offers a materially lower installed cost than conventional reconductoring alternatives. The Company is an approved supplier to Power Grid Corporation of India Limited and is being assessed for High Temperature Low Sag conductor supply.
12. Strategic Positioning: Building Indias Next MV and EHV Champion
12.1 The strategic choice
Every cable manufacturer in India faces the same choice. One route is to compete for the retail and building wire market: a large market, a familiar market, but one that is won through brand spend, dealer incentives and distribution reach, and in which the Company would be one of many established names competing on price and shelf presence.
The other route is to compete where the nations grid is actually being built: medium and extra high voltage cable systems and high-performance transmission conductors. This is a market won through type tests, utility approvals, process technology and demonstrated execution - assets that take years to build and cannot be bought quickly, but which, once built, are extremely difficult for a new entrant to replicate.
Diamond Power has made the second choice deliberately. The Companys ambition is not to be another brand on a hardware store shelf. It is to be one of the small number of Indian manufacturers qualified to wire the national grid at medium and extra high voltage - and to lead that segment.
This is not a repositioning; it is an alignment of strategy with the assets the Company already owns. Manufacturing capability to 400 kV, in-house testing to 700 kV and a five-decade approval history are of limited value in the retail wire market and are decisive in the transmission market. The strategy is to place the Companys capital, capacity and commercial effort where its inherited and rebuilt capabilities are worth the most.
12.2 Five sources of competitive advantage
• Backward integration into aluminium: The Company manufactures its own aluminium wire rod, including alloy rod for AL-59. Approximately, 95% of the Companys metal consumption is aluminium, which positions the business favourably against copper-weighted peers on both working capital intensity and exposure to copper price volatility, and aligns it with the aluminium-based product classes - transmission conductor and high-voltage cable conductor - that the national build-out consumes.
• A voltage ladder that reaches 400 kV: Few Indian manufacturers can quote the entire ladder from 1.1 kV to 400 kV from a single campus with a single qualification file. This breadth allows the Company to serve a utility, a renewable developer or a data centre operator across their whole requirement rather than a slice of it, and to shift mix towards whichever voltage class is commercially strongest in a given period.
• An in-house 700 kV testing ecosystem: The NABL- accredited testing infrastructure, and the portfolio of type- tested products built on it, is the Companys most durable competitive asset. Competitors can purchase extrusion lines; accumulated qualification cannot be purchased. Every additional voltage class type tested extends the moat and enlarges the tenderable market.
• Capacity ahead of the curve, at low utilisation: The
Companys installed base is substantially under-utilised. This means incremental volume can be served with limited incremental fixed cost, which is the mechanism behind the EBITDA margin expansion recorded during the year. Operating leverage of this kind is available only to a company whose capacity precedes its order book.
• A recapitalised balance sheet: Following the Qualified Institutional Placement completed after the year end, the Company has the equity base to fund both the completion of its capacity programme and the working capital that high- growth cable manufacturing consumes. In an industry where growth is frequently constrained by working capital rather than by demand or capacity, this is a material advantage.
12.3 Where the Company intends to lead
The Companys commercial priorities are directed at the segments identified in Section 10, and are pursued through a marketfacing organisation structured around customer type rather than geography alone.
• Medium voltage as the volume engine: The 3.3 kV to 33 kV range represents the Companys strongest position: it is where approvals, credentials and conversion probability are highest, and it carries the largest volume pool in rated cable. This segment funds the ascent of the ladder.
• 66 kV and 132 kV as the growth frontier: The Companys principal capacity additions are directed at 66 kV and above, including aluminium-corrugated sheathed constructions to utility specification. A dedicated extra high voltage marketfacing team has been established for this segment.
• 220 kV and 400 kV as the capability statement: Capacity at the top of the ladder serves both a commercial and a credentialling purpose: demonstrated capability at 220 kV and above changes how a customer evaluates the Company across its entire range.
• Conductors as the transmission franchise: AL-59 remains the volume backbone of the conductor business, with High Temperature Low Sag and ECO conductors targeted at the reconductoring and capacity-uprating market where realisation and technical differentiation are highest.
• Data centres as a dedicated vertical: A dedicated business development effort covers credentialled data centre developments across all four zones of India, working with developers, their consultants and their engineering contractors from the design stage rather than at the tender stage.
• Exports as the medium-term diversifier: The Company is establishing international marketing offices to address the European market and the Middle East and Africa market, with a conductor and cable portfolio matched to the technology preferences of each region.
12.4 Focus markets
Within India, the Companys cable business concentrates its field organisation on Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, the National Capital Region and Uttar Pradesh, while maintaining national coverage for utility, transmission and large corporate accounts. The conductor business operates a separate market-facing organisation reflecting its distinct customer base of transmission utilities, transmission licensees and turnkey contractors.
13. Business Segment Review
13.1 Cables
The cables business is the Companys principal vertical by strategic priority and the focus of its capital programme. During FY 2025-26, the business supplied utilities, industrial customers, renewable developers, infrastructure projects and data centre developments across the low, medium and high-voltage ranges. High-tension products accounted for approximately 40.6% of revenue during the year and low-tension products approximately 21.0%.
Operationally, the year was characterised by a marked increase in throughput and in the proportion of higher-voltage output. Cable operations are supported by continuous catenary vulcanisation lines with clean-room manufacture, in-house conductor supply from the conductor division, and testing infrastructure that permits customer-witnessed type and routine testing at the plant. Product development during the year extended the portfolio into specialised and premium constructions, including products developed specifically for renewable energy and data centre applications.
The strategic direction of the cables business is unambiguous: to increase the share of medium, high and extra high voltage in the mix, to complete the capacity additions that make 66 kV and above a volume business rather than a capability demonstration, and to move progressively towards system supply - cable together with accessories, engineering and installation support - in the extra high voltage segment.
13.2 Conductors
The conductors business is the Companys scale business and its principal point of contact with the transmission segment. It accounted for approximately 38.4% of revenue during FY 202526. The portfolio spans ACSR, AAAC, AAC, AL-59, MVCC, GAP-type, ECO and High Temperature Low Sag conductors, manufactured from the Companys own aluminium wire rod.
Demonstrated execution during recent periods includes bulk supplies of AL-59 Moose and Zebra conductor to a major transmission developer, AL-59 Moose to a state transmission utilitys contractor network, and ECO conductor to a renewable developer - supply records in the thousands of kilometres that constitute the delivery credentials on which future transmission tenders are qualified.
The business is now positioned around two demand curves rather than one: conventional conductor for new line construction, where AL-59 has become the dominant technology, and high- performance conductor for reconductoring and uprating, where the Companys technology alliance and its investment in a dedicated world-class conductor testing laboratory are directed. The Company is progressing its qualification for High Temperature Low Sag supply with the central transmission utility.
13.3 Order book
The order book grew from 2,028 crore at 31 March 2025 to 3,240 crore at 31 March 2026, representing approximately 1.7 times the revenue recorded during the year. Order intake has continued into the current financial year. The book is diversified across conductors, medium voltage cable, low tension cable, solar cable and data centre products, and across utility, transmission, renewable, industrial and data centre customers. Orders are contracted on a variable-price basis, with realisation linked to a price variation formula referencing aluminium and exchange rates, which limits the Companys exposure to metal price movement between order and delivery.
14. Operational Review
14.1 Manufacturing capacity and utilisation
The single most important operational fact about the Company is the gap between its installed capacity and its current output. Conductor production during FY 2025-26 was approximately 22,831 MT against an installed conductor capacity of 100,000 MTPA - a utilisation of approximately 23%. Cable operations similarly operate well below installed capability across most voltage classes.
Installed capacity
| Facility | Installed capacity | Position |
| Power cables | 54,300 KMPA | Rising to approximately 64,800 KMPA on completion of the announced expansion |
| Conductors | 100,000 MTPA | FY 2025-26 production approximately 22,831 MT (approximately 23% utilisation) |
| Aluminium wire rod | 61,908 MTPA | Integrated rod capacity across the Companys rod mills, including the Nexgen Alloy facility |
| Testing | Up to 700 kV | NABL-accredited in-house testing ecosystem supporting type and routine testing |
This utilisation position is the mechanism behind the margin expansion recorded during the year. EBITDA margin rose from 6.00% to 11.71% principally because higher volume was absorbed across a largely fixed manufacturing cost base, supported by an improved product mix. The same mechanism remains available: a substantial proportion of the Companys growth over the medium term can be delivered from existing assets, with new capital deployed to add capability at higher voltages rather than simply to add tonnage.
14.2 Quality, testing and approvals
Quality infrastructure is treated as commercial infrastructure. The Company operates high-voltage testing laboratories capable of testing to 700 kV, accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories, together with physical, chemical and metallurgical laboratories supporting incoming material control and product validation. The Company holds a portfolio of type-tested products spanning multiple voltage classes and constructions, and maintains certifications and utility approvals that determine eligibility across central and state utility tenders.
During the year, the Company continued to invest in this infrastructure, including a new conductor testing laboratory designed to meet the expectations of the central transmission utility for High Temperature Low Sag and ECO conductor qualification.
14.3 Research and development
The Company has established a centre of excellence for research and product development. Its current work programme covers rubber and elastomeric cables, alternative constructions and materials in medium and extra high voltage cable, and fire- resistant and water-resistant cable across types and voltage classes, alongside the laboratory renovation required to support conductor qualification. The Company has committed to a sustained annual investment in research and new product development over the coming years.
14.4 Customers
The Company served 665 customers during FY 2025-26, spanning central government utilities and transmission licensees, state transmission and distribution utilities, private transmission developers, renewable energy developers, engineering and construction contractors, industrial and infrastructure customers, and data centre developers. Concentration has reduced materially as the customer base has broadened, with the share of the top five customers declining from 84.2% to 73.7%.
The Companys products have been supplied into landmark infrastructure across India, including large renewable energy parks, port infrastructure, airport development, thermal generation, urban distribution networks and expressway infrastructure. Where a single customer group represents a significant share of revenue, the Company transacts on market terms through competitive processes, and has adopted an internal policy of managing exposure to any single group as a proportion of total revenue.
15. Capital Structure, Fund Raising and Capital Allocation
15.1 Understanding the Companys reported net worth
International investors reviewing the Companys FY 2025-26 balance sheet will observe a negative reported net worth, and it is important that the reason is understood, because it is an artefact of history rather than a reflection of the current business.
Reported net worth as per the audited FY 2025-26 accounts was negative 614.55 crore. This position is caused solely by legacy other reserves of negative 866.59 crore arising from writeoffs mandated under the NCLT-approved Resolution Plan at the time of the Companys acquisition. Against this legacy entry, the Companys paid-up capital stood at 52.70 crore and cumulative profits earned since the takeover at 199.33 crore. The Company has been profitable from operations in each of the last three years, and the promoter group had infused in excess of 400 crore as unsecured funding to support the rebuild.
Following the Qualified Institutional Placement completed in July 2026, the Companys net worth turned positive and stood at 679.33 crore. The Company continues to engage with procuring entities whose tender eligibility criteria are framed by reference to historical net worth, on the basis that a resolution applicant under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code acquires the business on a clean slate and that legacy accounting entries mandated by the resolution process should not disqualify a demonstrably profitable and now well-capitalised enterprise.
15.2 Resolution Plan closure
The Company has progressed the closure of its NCLT-approved Resolution Plan, including pre-payment ahead of schedule of the final instalment due to the secured financial creditors, and is pursuing the consequent release of security, satisfaction of charges and issue of no-dues confirmations. Completion of this process removes the last structural overhang from the Companys pre-acquisition history.
15.3 Qualified Institutional Placement
In July 2026, subsequent to the close of the financial year, the Company completed a Qualified Institutional Placement of 7.11 crore equity shares at 227 per share, aggregating approximately 1,614 crore in net proceeds, to 56 institutional allottees including leading domestic mutual funds, foreign portfolio investors, insurance companies and alternative investment funds. Following the placement, promoter and promoter group holding stood at 74.03%, thereby achieving compliance with Minimum Public Shareholding requirements. Institutional holding stood at 14.24%, the Company had 66,795 shareholders, 99.99% of shares were held in dematerialised form and there was no promoter pledge.
The placement was the decisive event in the Companys recapitalisation. It converted a business that had been growing on a constrained balance sheet into one with the equity base required to fund capacity completion, prepay legacy debt and, most importantly, carry the working capital that scale in this industry demands.
15.4 Capital expenditure programme
The Board has approved a capital expenditure programme directed at completing the Companys capability across the voltage ladder and at securing critical inputs. The programme is funded within the capital expenditure envelope identified in the placement documentation.
| Project | Purpose | Status |
| Low tension / low voltage cables facility | Conversion of an existing facility into a dedicated LV cables plant, adding a high-volume product line and serving the project, channel and retail-adjacent markets | Approved at a project cost of approximately 133.59 crore; targeted completion December 2026 |
| Aluminium corrugation lines | Two aluminium corrugated sheathing lines enabling 66 kV and above cable constructions to utility specification | Approved at a project cost of approximately 17.03 crore |
| Additional CCV line | A further continuous catenary vulcanisation line within the existing layout, adding dedicated 66 kV capacity | In-principle approval; commissioning targeted before June 2027 |
| Polymer compounding facility | A 30,000 TPA polymer compounding plant securing quality and supply of the specialised compounds critical to cable performance, and improving margin | In-principle approval; commissioning targeted by March 2027 |
Beyond these projects, the Company is progressing a greenfield extra high voltage cables and conductors facility at Vadodara, alongside equipment upgradation, storage automation and multilevel storage, additional finished goods storage and staff amenities across the existing campus.
15.5 Working capital
Cable and conductor manufacturing at scale is working-capital intensive, and the Company treats working capital as the principal call on its balance sheet rather than capital expenditure. The operating target is a cash conversion cycle concluding within approximately 90 days - raw material 15 days, manufacturing 30 days, testing and despatch 15 days, and receivables 30 days - supported by nonfund-based limits, letter of credit and channel discounting arrangements that reduce the on-balance-sheet funding requirement. The debtors turnover ratio declined during the year as receivables grew faster than sales, a normal consequence of rapid scale-up, and its normalisation is an explicit management priority.
16. Financial Review
16.1 Statement of profit and loss
( in lakhs, unless otherwise stated)
| Particulars | Mar-26 | Mar-25 | YoY % | Reason for variance |
| Total revenue | 1,91,010.22 | 1,11,539.25 | 71% | Stronger market traction, an expanded customer base and improved market penetration, supported by higher capacity utilisation and operational scaling. |
| EBITDA | 21,961.19 | 6,639.36 | 231% | Higher operating scale, improved capacity utilisation, better absorption of fixed manufacturing costs and an improved product mix, producing substantial operating leverage. |
| Profit before tax | 16,193.74 | 3,441.20 | 371% | Substantial improvement in operating profitability, supported by higher revenue, improved EBITDA margins and better operating efficiencies. |
| Profit after tax | 15,816.93 | 3,449.77 | 358% | Consequent to the improvement in operating profitability and profit before tax. |
| Earnings per share (?) | 3.00 | 0.65 | 358% | Increase in profit attributable to equity shareholders. |
The years performance is best understood as the combination of two effects. Volume growth of the order of 70% was delivered largely through existing assets, and the resulting absorption of fixed manufacturing costs converted that revenue growth into a near- quadrupling of EBITDA. Mix contributed to the same outcome, with high-tension products representing approximately 40.6% of revenue. The margin expansion is therefore structural rather than cyclical: it reflects the movement of a low-utilisation asset base towards its operating point, and further utilisation gains remain available.
16.2 Key financial ratios
| Particulars | Mar-26 | Mar-25 | % variance | Explanation where variance is 25% or more |
| Current ratio | 2.04 | 1.10 | 85.37% | Substantial increase in current assets relative to current liabilities. |
| Debt-equity ratio | (4.19) | (2.68) | (55.96%) | Increase in borrowings together with a reduction in negative equity arising from profits. The ratio is distorted by the legacy negative reserves described in Section 15.1 and is not meaningful as a measure of leverage. |
| Inventory turnover ratio | 6.65 | 6.85 | (2.92%) | — |
| Debtors turnover ratio | 5.97 | 9.52 | (37.27%) | Substantial increase in average trade receivables relative to the increase in sales, consequent to the scale-up in revenue. |
| Interest coverage ratio | 6.28 | 5.42 | — | — |
| Operating profit margin | 11.50% | 5.95% | — | Higher operating scale, improved capacity utilisation, better absorption of fixed manufacturing costs and an improved product mix. |
| Net profit ratio | 8.28% | 3.09% | 167.73% | Improvement in profitability. |
17. Strategic Outlook
The Company enters FY 2026-27 with a materially stronger balance sheet, a larger order book, a capital expenditure programme under execution and a demand environment that is defined by a published national investment plan rather than by cyclical sentiment. Managements priorities for the medium term are set out below.
• Convert capacity into output: The primary source of value creation over the next two years is utilisation. Managements focus is on throughput, line balancing, scheduling discipline and on-time delivery across the existing asset base, since incremental volume through installed capacity carries the highest incremental margin available to the Company.
• Complete the voltage ladder: Execution of the approved capital programme - the low voltage facility, aluminium corrugation lines, additional cross-linking capacity and polymer compounding - together with the greenfield extra high voltage project, is intended to make 66 kV and above a volume business rather than a capability demonstration.
• Improve mix: Every unit of capacity redirected from low tension towards medium and extra high voltage carries a materially higher margin. Mix discipline is therefore treated as a directly controllable margin lever and is embedded in the commercial incentive structure of the sales organisation.
• Secure and de-risk inputs: Backward integration into aluminium rod is being extended by integration into polymer compounding, addressing the two input categories that most directly determine product quality, cost and delivery reliability.
• Broaden the customer base and reduce concentration:
The Company continues to widen its customer base across utilities, transmission developers, renewable developers, industrial customers and data centre operators, and to manage exposure to any single customer group.
• Build the export franchise: International marketing offices addressing Europe and the Middle East and Africa are intended to convert Indias growing credibility as an alternative supply base into a durable export business, initially in conductors and progressively in cable.
• Invest in people and systems: Strengthening middle management, structured training, graduate intake, a substantially increased proportion of women in the manufacturing workforce, and continued investment in enterprise systems and traceability are treated as prerequisites for operating at multiples of the current scale.
The Companys assessment is straightforward. The demand is published and funded. The barriers to entry in medium and extra high voltage are real and slow-moving. The assets required to compete there are already installed and under-utilised. The balance sheet has been recapitalised. What remains is execution - and that is the task management has set itself.
18. SWOT Analysis
Strengths
• Integrated manufacturing platform: A single-location model spanning aluminium wire rod, conductors and power cables, providing control over quality, cost and supply across the value chain, and insulating the business from external wire rod availability and pricing.
• Capability across the full voltage ladder: Manufacturing capability from 1.1 kV to 400 kV, together with a comprehensive conductor portfolio, allowing the Company to serve a customers complete requirement rather than a segment of it.
• Testing depth and accumulated qualification: An inhouse NABL-accredited testing ecosystem to 700 kV and a portfolio of type-tested products, representing years of qualification that a new entrant cannot purchase.
• Substantial unutilised capacity: Installed capacity materially in excess of current output, providing operating leverage on incremental volume and reducing the capital required to grow.
• Aluminium-weighted portfolio: A predominantly aluminium-based product and cost structure, aligned with the transmission and renewable evacuation build-out and less exposed to copper price volatility and its working capital consequences.
• Recapitalised balance sheet: Equity raised from a broad base of domestic and international institutional investors, providing funding for capacity completion and for the working capital that growth in this industry requires.
• Technology partnership: Access to advanced conductor technology for the reconductoring and capacity-uprating market through the alliance with TS Conductor.
• Diversified customer base: 665 customers across utilities, transmission developers, contractors, industry, renewables and data centres, with reduced concentration.
Weaknesses
• Dependence on commodity inputs: Exposure to aluminium and, to a lesser extent, copper prices, which influence procurement costs and can affect margins where increases cannot be passed on within contractual timelines.
• Working capital intensity: Rapid revenue growth consumes working capital, as reflected in the decline in the debtors turnover ratio during the year. Sustained scale-up requires disciplined receivables and inventory management.
• Legacy balance sheet presentation: Reported net worth remains affected by Resolution Plan-mandated write-offs, which have, in certain instances, affected tender eligibility notwithstanding the Companys operating profitability and subsequent recapitalisation.
• Capital-intensive expansion: Extending capability at higher voltage classes requires long-lead, high-capital equipment and extended qualification periods before commercial returns are realised.
• Competitive industry structure: The Company operates in a market with established domestic and international manufacturers across multiple product categories, several with longer continuous operating and financial track records.
• Scale relative to leading peers: The Company remains smaller than the largest listed Indian participants in absolute revenue and in brand presence in the retail and channel segments.
Opportunities
• Expansion of Indias transmission network: A published investment opportunity of over 9.15 lakh crore to 2032, adding approximately 1.39 lakh circuit kilometres of 220 kV- and-above network and 867 GVA of transformation capacity.
• Renewable energy integration: Progress towards 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030, with record annual additions, creating sustained demand for evacuation infrastructure, medium voltage collection cable and high- performance conductors.
• Underground urban networks: Undergrounding mandates across more than 650 cities, vertical urbanisation and coastal resilience programmes converting overhead demand into medium voltage cable demand.
• Data centres and artificial intelligence infrastructure:
Installed capacity projected to rise several-fold by 2030 against an announced investment pipeline in excess of USD 100 billion, with cable representing approximately 8-10% of project capital expenditure.
• Reconductoring and uprating: Over 5 lakh circuit kilometres of existing network available for capacity uprating using high-performance conductors, explicitly identified in the National Electricity Plan.
• Import substitution in extra high voltage: Domestic capability at 66 kV and above addressing a requirement historically met through imports or foreign-licensed supply.
• Export market expansion: Indian wires and cables exports growing at a compound annual rate of 33% since FY2020, supported by global supply tightness in high-voltage cable and by China-plus-One sourcing.
• Polymer integration: Backward integration into specialised compounds, improving quality control, security of supply and margin.
Threats
• Commodity price volatility: Significant fluctuations in aluminium, copper and polymer prices may affect production costs and profitability, particularly on fixed-price contracts.
• Pricing pressure: Competition from organised and unorganised manufacturers may influence pricing across certain product categories and market segments, particularly in the low-tension range.
• Execution and timing risk on capacity: Long-lead equipment, extended commissioning and multi-year qualification cycles mean that capacity may arrive later than the demand it was intended to serve, or that competitors may qualify first.
• Customer concentration and receivables: Large orders from a small number of substantial customer groups create both concentration and collection exposure, requiring active credit management.
• Regulatory, tender and policy changes: Changes in environmental regulation, trade policy, technical standards, tender qualification criteria or procurement policy may influence operations, eligibility and compliance costs.
• Macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty: Economic slowdown, geopolitical developments and supply chain disruption may affect infrastructure investment, commodity availability and customer demand.
• Technological evolution: Continuous advancement in transmission and cable technologies requires sustained investment in product development and manufacturing capability to remain competitive.
19. Risk Management
The Company operates in an industry influenced by commodity price movements, infrastructure spending, regulatory developments and broader economic conditions. The Company continues to review and strengthen its risk management framework to identify key business risks, assess their potential impact and implement appropriate mitigation measures, through a structured approach covering risk mapping, trend analysis, exposure assessment, impact evaluation and mitigation.
| Risk | Description | Mitigation |
| Raw material price volatility | Aluminium, copper and polymer compounds constitute the principal raw materials. Price volatility can influence procurement costs and affect operating margins where increases cannot be passed on within contractual timelines. | Contracting on a variable-price basis with realisation linked to a price variation formula referencing metal indices and exchange rates; backward integration into aluminium wire rod and, prospectively, into polymer compounding; structured procurement and vendor development programmes. |
| Working capital and receivables | Rapid revenue growth consumes working capital and extends the receivables cycle, as reflected in the movement in the debtors turnover ratio during the year. | A defined operating target for the cash conversion cycle; credit control and collection discipline; use of nonfund-based limits, letter of credit arrangements and channel discounting to reduce on-balance-sheet funding; recapitalisation through the equity placement. |
| Customer concentration | A significant proportion of revenue may derive from a limited number of large customer groups. | Deliberate broadening of the customer base, reflected in the reduction of top-five concentration; an internal policy of managing single-group exposure as a proportion of revenue; expansion into data centres, exports and industrial segments. |
| Project execution and capacity timing | Long-lead equipment, extended commissioning and multi-year qualification cycles create the risk that capacity arrives late relative to demand. | Structured project governance with a single work breakdown structure, defined ownership, weekly review and daily critical-path monitoring; early ordering of long- lead equipment; phasing of capability additions. |
| Tender eligibility and qualification | Certain procurement processes apply eligibility criteria, including historical net worth and licensor or technology conditions, which may restrict participation. | Recapitalisation restoring positive net worth; structured representation to procuring entities on the clean-slate principle applicable to resolution applicants; continued investment in type testing, laboratory capability and technology partnerships to satisfy technical qualification. |
| Logistics and supply chain | Transportation forms an important component of the supply chain. Increases in fuel and freight costs may raise distribution expenses and affect project execution economics. | Negotiated logistics arrangements; drum and packaging rate contracts; production planning aligned to despatch schedules. |
| Market fragmentation and quality standards | The presence of manufacturers supplying products that do not consistently adhere to prescribed quality standards may create pricing pressure in certain segments. | Strategic positioning in technically gated segments where qualification and testing are prerequisites; emphasis on certified, type-tested and premium product categories. |
| Macroeconomic environment | Economic uncertainty, changes in investment activity or slower infrastructure spending may influence demand across the power transmission and distribution sector. | Diversification across utility, industrial, renewable, data centre and export end markets; order book visibility; flexible allocation of the metal stream between conductor and cable. |
| Technology obsolescence | Advances in conductor and cable technology may erode the competitiveness of existing product lines. | Sustained research and development investment; a centre of excellence programme; technology partnership for advanced conductors; continued type testing at new voltage classes. |
| Information and operational systems | Growing scale increases dependence on enterprise systems, traceability and data integrity. | Continued investment in enterprise resource planning, inventory traceability and plant-level digital systems. |
20. Sustainability and Responsible Manufacturing
The Companys products are, by their nature, enabling infrastructure for the energy transition. Transmission conductors and high-voltage cable systems are the physical means by which renewable generation reaches consumption, and high- performance conductors reduce transmission losses and release capacity from existing corridors without additional land acquisition. The Company regards this contribution as central to its purpose rather than incidental to it.
Operationally, the Companys focus areas include energy efficiency across the manufacturing campus, responsible management of process waste and scrap, water stewardship, workplace safety, and progressive alignment of its product portfolio with environmental and safety standards including halogen-free, low- smoke and fire-survival constructions. The Company has also undertaken structured scrap and waste clearance programmes across the campus with independent audit oversight.
The Company discharges its corporate social responsibility obligations through programmes designed to benefit the families and communities of its workforce and the villages surrounding its manufacturing operations, within the framework prescribed under Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013.
21. Human Resources
The Company considers its human capital to be a decisive enabler of sustainable growth and operational excellence. As DICABS strengthens its capabilities across the power transmission and distribution value chain, it remains focused on building a skilled, agile and accountable workforce aligned with its manufacturing, engineering and commercial objectives.
The Companys human resources agenda for the coming period is framed around the requirement to operate at a multiple of current scale. Its priorities include strengthening middle management across every function; structured training and development through a dedicated internal talent academy; defined career progression programmes for middle managers; quality graduate intake from leading institutions; a significant increase in the participation of women in the manufacturing workforce, including dedicated all-women operations; and the build-out of a pan-India commercial organisation with a renewed export focus.
The Company places significant emphasis on capability development through structured learning initiatives, technical training programmes and functional skill enhancement across all levels of the organisation. These initiatives support the adoption of new technologies, strengthen operational capabilities and equip employees to address evolving business and customer requirements while encouraging a culture of continuous improvement.
The Company remains committed to providing a safe, inclusive and collaborative workplace, and maintains cordial industrial relations through constructive dialogue, regular communication and timely resolution of workplace matters, fostering a stable and harmonious working environment.
22. Internal Control Systems and their Adequacy
The Company maintains an internal control framework tailored to its operational scale and complexity, designed to manage evolving risk factors and to reinforce a culture of sound corporate governance. The framework covers authorisation and approval protocols, segregation of duties, physical and system controls over inventory and fixed assets, and financial reporting controls.
The Internal Audit plan, approved by the Audit Committee, systematically reviews internal controls and assesses risks across all Company operations. This oversight extends to factories, warehouses and centrally managed business units, ensuring adherence to established standards and procedures. Findings and management responses are reported to and reviewed by the Audit Committee, which monitors the implementation of corrective actions.
During the year, the Company continued to strengthen controls over physical verification of property, plant and equipment, inventory management and traceability, and enterprise systems, and continued to invest in digital systems supporting material traceability and production control across the manufacturing campus.
23. Cautionary Statement
This Management Discussion and Analysis may contain statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of applicable securities laws and regulations. These statements are based on the Companys current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the Companys control. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements.
Factors that could cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, changes in government policy, regulation and procurement practice; political and economic developments in India and internationally; movements in the prices of aluminium, copper, polymer compounds and other raw materials; movements in exchange rates and interest rates; the pace and quantum of investment in power transmission and distribution infrastructure; the timing of capacity commissioning and product qualification; industrial relations; competitive conditions; and other risks inherent to the Companys growth and operations. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forwardlooking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Market data, industry statistics and product analysis presented in this report are derived from internal Company records together with industry, government and research publications believed to be reliable. Such information has not been independently verified by the Company, and no representation is made as to its accuracy, completeness or reliability. Statements concerning the Companys competitive position and market opportunity reflect managements assessment based on the information available to it.
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