Adani Power Limited ($ADANIPOWER)

Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to the Adani Power Limited Q4 FY '26 Earnings Conference Call hosted by ICICI Securities. [Operator Instructions]. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Mohit Kumar from ICICI Securities. Thank you, and over to you, sir.

Thank you, Sonali. Good morning. On behalf of ICICI Securities, I would like to welcome you all to Q4 FY '26 Earnings Call of Adani Power Limited. Today, we have with us from the management, Mr. S.B. Khyalia, CEO; Mr. Dilip Jha, CFO; and Mr. Nishit Dave, Head, Investor Relations. We'll start with the brief opening remarks, which will be followed by Q&A. Thank you, and over to you, sir.

Good morning, friends. I want to extend a warm welcome to everyone who has joined us today for our fourth quarter and full year '25-'26 earnings call. I appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to connect with us. Before we begin, I encourage you to download and review our quarterly results and the analyst presentation, which are available on the stock exchanges and our website. With me on the call today are our CFO, Mr. Dilip Jha ; and our Investor Relations Head, Nishit Dave. As you all know, the world is trying to endure a major energy price shock, which happened due to geopolitical reasons. Most of the people have nothing to do with this event, and therefore, they can't avoid such risk. The only way to combat this is to mitigate the fallout, which means we have to become self-sufficient in our lives. This is vital for health and growth. Luckily for India we have natural resources like solar and wind energy or coal. They help us enhance our energy security and lead us to a position where we can enjoy energy sovereignty. Now the world has also come to realize that fossil fuel generated power cannot be just switched away. It has a crucial role to play to balance the grid as renewable energy penetration increases. As our power needs become more intense, it is reliable and domestic energy sources like coal that come to our help and provide electricity that runs our ACs, our factories or our data centers. I'm proud to say that Adani Power has consistently delivered a strong performance and supplied power reliably for its customers. In financial year '26, we achieved a milestone by generating 5 billion units of power. This is in the backdrop of rapid growth in power demand, which was only 0.08% for financial year '26 and 1.6% for Q4 financial year '26 over the previous year. As you all know, this slow growth in an early and extended monsoon that lasted almost till November and cold weather in some parts of the country following that. However, we have started to see a good revival in power demand from March as warmer weather has arrived. Peak demand has recently reached 256 gigawatts, and it is expected to rise further in the current year. We believe that 2027 will see a strong growth in overall power demand as well as peak demand. Despite a dynamic demand environment influenced by variable weather patterns, we reported a robust EBITDA of INR 23,431 crores for the full year. Our performance in the fourth quarter was particularly strong with an EBITDA of INR 6,498 crores, marking a significant 27% increase year-over-year. This demonstrates our operational resilience and financial discipline. We have ended financial year '26 with a solid INR 12,971 profit after tax. Our capacity expansion program is a cornerstone of our strategy. We are making excellent progress towards our goal of adding 23.7 gigawatts of thermal capacity by 2032. During the year, we have successfully tied up 10.4 gigawatts of expansion capacity under long-term power purchase agreements. A key highlight this quarter was securing a letter of award for a 1,600-megawatt PPA from Maharashtra DISCOM. With this, our total tie-up expansion capacity now stands at an impressive 13.3 gigawatts. Furthermore, we have ensured revenue visibility for our current operations with 95% of our operating capacity now tied up under long-term and medium-term PPA. This strategy provides stability and derisk our business from short-term market volatility. We expect higher PPA offtake and stronger bilateral demand in 2027. As we look ahead, we are sure of reaching our capacity expansion goals according to our target time lines. The 1,600-megawatt Mahan Phase II project in Madhya Pradesh is 86% complete. In Chhattisgarh, the Raipur Phase II has achieved 54% progress and Raigarh Phase II is 47% complete. And the Korba Phase II project is close to completion. We expect to commission Korba II during the course of this current year. Our upcoming capacity commissioning will drive the next phase of EBITDA and cash flow growth. We expect significant earnings growth in the years to come. These new PPAs are highly earning which will generate significant cash flows in the coming years. We will maintain a careful approach to capital allocation to take advantage of new opportunities in India's expanding energy sector. We are expanding our area of focus beyond the Indian territory. We will evaluate internal projects in thermal hydro and transmission sector and invest in attractive opportunities that qualify. We have recently incorporated an SPV in Bhutan setting up a 50-megawatt hydro power plant. We are also aligning ourselves to the emerging long-term opportunities in the power sector such as nuclear power. We have incorporated several SPVs in India for investment in nuclear power projects. We are identifying lands for these projects and seeking necessary approvals. This is a very exciting time for the committed IPP players in India like us. I would now like to hand over the call to our CFO, Mr. Dilip Jha, to elaborate further on the Q4 results and full year results. Thank you, and over to you, Mr. Dilip.

Thank you, sir, and good morning, everyone. I will take you through the financial and operational performance for Q4 and FY '26 and then share a brief update on our balance sheet. On operating environment front, let me start with the operating backdrop. FY '26 was marked by weather-induced demand volatility, lower peak temperatures and increased renewable generation. As a result, merchant prices remain subdued for most of the year. However, core demand drivers linked to economic growth remain intact and demand recovery is already visible as we move into FY '27. On operational performance, despite this environment, Adani Power achieved excellent operating performance in the recently concluded quarter. Consolidated P&L for Q4 remained healthy. And at Q4, this is 74%. On an annual basis, this is 66.5%, reflecting strength in the middle of demand volatility. Our Q4 power sales reached 27.2 billion unit, while full year sales increased 3.4% to 99.1 billion unit. The volumes were supported by higher operating capacity, stable plant availability and new PPAs for the existing capacities. Revenue performance, Q4 FY '26 revenue grew to INR 15,059 crores, up nearly 4% year-on-year. At the same time, reported revenue for Q4 FY '26 grew 10% to INR 15,989 crores. For FY '26, continuing revenue was INR 55,583 crores, broadly stable, despite lower margin rate. Carry for imported coal were also lower due to reduction in import coal prices. On EBITDA performance, continuing EBITDA for Q4 FY '26 increased 9% year-on-year to INR 5,573 crores. At the same time, reported EBITDA was INR 6,498 crores, up 27% year-on-year versus the EBITDA for Q4 last year. This improvement was driven by higher PPA tariff contribution, cost discipline, better operating efficiency and contribution from recently acquired assets. For FY '26, continuing EBITDA was INR 21,285 crores, broadly stable year-on-year basis. On profitability part, at the bottom line, Q4 FY '26 PAT increased sharply by 64% year-on-year to INR 4,271 crores. This was added by strong operating performance and lower tax charges. For FY '22, PAT increased to INR 12,971 crores, broadly in line with last year and demonstrating earnings resilience despite market volatility. On the balance sheet and funding front, at March 31, '26, total debt stood at INR 53,556 crores, while net debt was INR 45,022 crores. The increase in leverage primarily reflects planned bridge financing for ongoing CapEx. During the recent quarter, we successfully raised INR 7,500 crores secured nonconvertible debentures. We also have raised interim funds from banks in the form of corporate debt. We have continuously maintained strong credit rating and liquidity access. We continue to follow a conservative capital management approach with the majority portion of expansion being funded for internal accruals over time. On contracted portfolio and visibility front, 95% of our operating capacity of 18.15 gigawatts is now tied up under long-term and medium-term PPAs. We have also tied up 13.3 gigawatts of long-term PPAs for the ongoing 23.7 gigawatt expansion. These PPAs provide availability-based fixed charges, offering stable per megawatt EBITDA. New PPAs carry materially better capacity charges, improving future return metrics. As you may be aware, the fuel cost is pass-through for the PPAs. The fuel availability is also assured as the states have to force the fuel allocation and then operate to the winning bidders. Now to summarize, our business fundamentals remain strong. Operations continue to be highly liquid and profitable. Capacity expansion is progressing well. Liquidity and funding access are robust. Earnings visibility has improved materially. Thank you for your continued confidence in Adani Power. We will now be happy to take your questions. Over to you moderator.

[Operator Instructions] Will take the first question from the line of Abhinav Nalawade from ICICI Securities.

My first question is, can you help us with the detailed contours of RERTC, the 2.5 gigawatt MSEDCL contract? If possible, can you also share the tariffs?

The contract which we have signed in Maharashtra is not only for power, we have it for other type of products. Renewable with a battery installation, is also with power, which is having thermal capacity and whatever will be left out from the PPAs will be obviously offered under this trading platform. So, this PPA is signed from the point of view of offering the residual capacity by creating a suitable product as per the customer. So, this PPA will be served through the trading platform, which we are going to create under either of the company. So that is the intent of this agreement.

So, if, I mean we will be, I mean, there will be some coal capacity that will be signed that is right understanding?

Can you repeat?

There will be certain coal capacity that will be signed and that will be what Adani Power will be supplying, right? That understanding is correct?

Yes. Whatever coal capacity is left out, let's say, we have been saying that at the end of all the tie-ups, which we will be doing, there is a possibility of 1% to 1.5% capacity left out, small, small capacity in different power stations. So that capacity will also be used under this PPA, will also use the renewable either wind or solar. We will also use the ESP. We will also use the batteries. So, this would be a product created by the trading platform. And through the trading platform, we will be servicing this PPA.

Sir, my second question is on merchant power. When you say merchant sales, trying to understand how you exactly define it. Given that 20%, 21% of total units sold was merchant, that will roughly come out to be about 4 gigawatts. So how much of this capacity is under medium term? And I mean, is there anything that will get converted into long-term?

So as stated in the speech that today, the merchant capacity is only 5%. The meaning of merchant is not tied up under long-term and the medium term. So, if you take 5% of 18,000, let say, only about 1,000 megawatt RTC basis. But in the beginning of the year, we were at 16% merchant capacity. So these units are supplied through the average capacity may have remained throughout the year ranging from 16 to [ 25 ]. So that is the way we have achieved this quantum. Apart from that, sometimes when a PPA-based power station is out and there is a possibility and there is a, let's say, facility which is allowed that you can buy from the market and you can service this quantum, which is to be supplied under the PPA medium term or long-term through buying from the market. So that type of quantum is also considered under merchant.

Sir, my final question is on capacities that we expect to get commissioned in FY '27, '28. And what will be the CapEx plan for FY '27, '28 and the funding for it?

So, capacity is about 100% of that. In FY '26, '27, we are adding Korba of 1.32 gigawatt. And in terms of CapEx for FY '26, '27, it will be near about INR 25,000 crores, for our expenses.

He is asking '27, '28.

And '28 as well. FY '28 as well.

So for FY '27, '28 it will be near about INR 32,000 crores, INR 33,000 crores. Roughly, you can say INR 33,000 crores.

And what capacity will be commissioned?

Next year, our capacity will be 1.6 gigawatt. So to precisely for FY '26-'27, our capacity addition will be 1.32 gigawatt. For '27, '28, our capacity addition will be 1.6 gigawatt. In terms of CapEx, FY '26, '27, it is roughly INR 25,000 crores. And for FY '27, '28, it will be near about INR 33,000 crores.

We have the next question from the line of Manish Somaiya from Cantor.

Just to stay on the last topic on Korba and maybe if you can also help us with Mahan. But first with Korba, when should we, what quarter should we expect the commissioning in '27? And then with Mahan, if you can just give us some sense of commissioning. I would imagine that's fiscal '28. And if you can just also help us with EBITDA contribution from Korba and from Mahan please?

Manish your voice is not very clear, but what I understood is that you are seeking the details of when the Korba and the Mahan will get commissioned. Korba will get commissioned something between June to September. So it will be in the second quarter of this year, first unit, and the second unit will get commissioned before the year-end. And as regards to Mahan is concerned, Mahan's first unit is likely to get commissioned in the last quarter of this year. But at the most, it will get commissioned in the first quarter of the next year and second unit six months thereafter.

And then how should we think about the EBITDA contribution from Korba and Mahan in '27 and '28?

Yes. So in terms of contribution, this is an estimated number as we are adding this year only. So its EBITDA will be contributed roughly near about INR 1,000 crores. And subsequently, it will add in its contribution. So from the next year '27, '28, it will be the full year, and it will contribute roughly INR 2,500 crores plus. And its peak, while it will be at peak when it will be under PPA, we are expecting that the contribution will go to near about INR 3,000 crores. In terms of Mahan, we are adding this capacity in FY '27, '28, we are expecting that EBITDA will be near about INR 2,200 crores or INR 2,300 crores.

And then just to go back to the plant load factor. Obviously, we saw a nice improvement in the fourth quarter sequentially. If you could just give us an idea of how that's faring so far in Q1 of '27? And how should we think about PLS in fiscal '27?

Unfortunately, your voice is not very clear.

So, let me ask it in a different way. The plant load factor in FY'27, how should we think about that? I was just wondering how that's fairing so far in Q1 of this year and how should we think of PLS for the full year?

So Manish, your voice is breaking, but what we understood, you want to know the plant availability. So, our plant availability for the quarter is more than 91%. And the same time the quarter last year, it was roughly about 88%. On a year-on-year basis, it is in the same line. In terms of PLF, PLF for this quarter is 74%. If you compare same quarter in the last year, it was almost in the same line. But on a year-on-year basis, this time, the PLF is slightly lower than the last year PLF due to all these merchants. In terms of '27, the PLF is better. We are expecting that the PLF will be far more better than the first quarter of last year. And in terms of expectation, what also said that the power demand is rapidly increasing. And due to all the geopolitical scenario also, the dependence on power, especially for baseload power is increasing. So what we hope that this quarter, first quarter of this year and also during the year, PLF will be far better than last year.

Okay. And then just lastly, if I can just squeeze one more in. On the Bangladesh Power Development Board receivable collection and the reconciliation process, can you just give us a quick update on where we stand?

Sorry, we are unable to understand. Though we are hearing your voice, we are not getting. So whatever we could interpret what you said because of the issue about clarity as regards to collection is concerned, the outstanding has gone down. And therefore, we are getting regular payments from the Bangladesh. As regards to the other issue probably which you are asking or seeking details about the undisputed amount and its regulation process. So as a part of the process, we have appointed an expert and expert is going to hear the both parties soon. And once the order of the expert is received, if it is acceptable to both parties, it will get implemented. If it is not accepted by any of the party of the party, the party can approach Singapore International Arbitration Council. So that is where we are today. Thank you.

Thank you very much. And congratulations once again.

Thank you.

There is a feedback that our audio is not very clear. So I would request the moderator to reconnect if everybody excuses for a minute or so. We hope that the line will become clearer after that.

[Operator Instructions] Sure Sir. Everyone, please stay connected. We will be right back. [ Break ] So let's go. We will take the next question from the line of Uma Menon from Bernstein. Please go ahead.

My first question was on the recent the 1,600-megawatt PPA with MSEDCL. Since this doesn't increase our pipeline, which project out of the list of projects will this be assigned to? And if you could also please share the tariff details for the PPA.

We have yet not assigned the project location so far. So, the probability is either Raigarh or Raipur. So, these are the 2 probabilities, or at the most it can be Korba. These are the locations where we are developing the power stations and where we have not allocated the capacity to certain PPAs. So, either it can be considered as Raigarh or Raipur or Korba. So that is the first part. As regards to the tariff is concerned, the tariff has been stated, I think, in the stock exchange filing 530, which consists of INR 4.11 the capacity charge and INR 1.19 as the charge.

My second question is on the Jaiprakash resolution plan. What exactly would Adani Power would be since in the presentation, it is mentioned as an implementing agency. Could you please elaborate on that, sir?

So there is one asset within that is a small capacity at 180 megawatts. So that will be taken over by Adani Power as the implementing agency. Apart from that, is having 24% shareholding of JV ventures. So that 24% shareholding will again be taken over by Adani Power as the implementing agency. So these are the 2 generating assets in case of JPVL. Actually generating stations are three. One is [Indiscernible] generating projects.

Sir, could you please repeat the 3 projects? Your voice broke a little bit.

In the case of JPVL, there are 3 power projects, one is at Nigri, second is at Bina and third is at Vishnuprayag. So these would be 3 assets under JPVL. There is a small generating station under JPVL itself is Churk power station, which is 180 megawatts. So overall, there will be these 4 locations and 4 stations.

Understood, sir. My third question would be on the nuclear plan that we have. I think great to hear that. But are we planning only small modular reactors? Is there a target capacity or timeline that we have planned for?

So far, the government of India has not notified the rules. So we are only, let's say, getting ourselves ready as and when the rules come, which will give us clarity on the type of size of capacity and how we will proceed. So once we get the rules from the government of India, then only we can, I think, elaborate on this. At this stage, we are only preparing ourselves. Therefore, we are identifying the sites. Wherever we already have the sites, we are applying for the necessary approvals. So we are preparing ourselves, waiting for the opportunity as and when the rules come, so that we can move fast.

Are we planning on the existing thermal sites only we have? Or are we looking for newer land sites for these?

In our case, this would be all new sites. It will not be at existing thermal sites.

We will take the next question from the line of Ishan Verma from Antique Stockbroking.

One continuing question is that on the 1,600-megawatt Maharashtra PPA, what is the time line of starting this PPA?

PPI is yet to be signed. So, once the PPA is signed, we can decide the timeline. We have received the LOA, and Maharashtra is yet to file the application for tariff adoption. So we expect that in the next 3 months, we should be in a position to get the PPA signed. And then we will need 48 months. So from now onwards, you can consider 4 to 5 years for commissioning the project related to this PPA.

Okay. Secondly, what is the CapEx per megawatt for the Korba expansion? And Mahan expansion initially, we were targeting to commission that capacity in December. What has led to the delay in postponing it to FY'28.

Can you repeat your question?

Firstly, I wanted to understand what the CapEx per megawatt is for Korba? And secondly, what has led to the delays in postponing the commissioning of Mahan in FY '28? Initially, we were targeting it around October to December this year, right?

As regards to the Korba is concerned, the overall CapEx in addition to the; you are asking the CapEx of the project, which we are going to commission this year?

Yes.

So, in addition to the amount which we spent on acquiring this asset, around INR 4,100 crores, we are going to spend another INR 4,000 crores. So, it would be roughly INR 8,000 crores, INR 8,500 crores in total, which includes the first 2 units commissioned and these 2 units, which we are going to commission. So, it would be very difficult to specifically say what would be the per megawatt cost of Units 3 and 4 because the acquisition cost includes 1 and 2 also. As regards Mahan is concerned, we thought of that we should be in a position to commission both units this year. We are still hopeful, but because of this ongoing geopolitical situation, which is slightly impacting the availability of labor and the availability of LPG. Therefore, we are taking a conservative approach and of the view that. One unit, yes, we are targeting by the end of this year. If the geopolitical situation continues for a longer time, then at the most, it can go to the first quarter of the next year.

Okay. Got it. Lastly, sir, I just want to know what the weighted average cost of borrowing right now is, post the increase in debt.

Yes. So recently, what we are getting from the market, this is about 8% getting from the market, either [Indiscernible] or from domestic.

We will take the next question from the line of Vishal Periwal from PL Capital.

Okay. Fine. Sir, in terms of the merchant share, you mentioned that currently, only 5% is there. So, is it fair to say from Q1 FY '27, we'll have a 5% as a merchant capacity and generation, or is it staggered over the year?

No. This year, since we have already achieved the 95% tie-up under the medium-term or the long-term PPA. So obviously, 5% of capacity will be available for merchant during this current quarter.

Okay. Starting Q1 onwards. And is it fair to say, I think you did mention on Korba as giving an example like how the EBITDA will move in PPA and non-PPA. So, once we move our capacity to a PPA, then EBITDA trajectory is better vis-a-vis what we are getting in merchant?

It would not be fair to say in advance that whether you will get realization better in merchant or the PPA. Under PPA, you have surety that you will get, let's say, INR 5.5 or so. Whereas in case of merchant, nowadays, you are getting INR 7, INR 8 also and sometimes you are getting INR 3. So, it all depends on the weather volatility. So, we will not be in a position to forecast or make a comment exactly on whether the merchant would be better or whether the PPA would be better. But obviously, in PPA, you get surety, you get complete side, what we are going to get at the end of the year. But in case of merchant, it can give you upside. But at the same time, sometimes because of weather problems, your realization may go down also.

Okay. But is it fair to say like when we have signed those PPAs and moving from merchant to PPA, so the EBITDA trajectory for them, it is maybe equal or better or anything on the signed PPA vis-a-vis the merchant when they were selling power?

See, why we are signing the long-term PPA is that it gives you a stability and long-term stability. In case of merchant, of course, let's say, the last year, the prices or the rates were very good. 2026, '27, the rates were not very good. Current quarter, the rates are very good. But going forward, we are not sure. But we feel we are of the view that when more and more renewable will get added, the prices of merchant are bound to go down. So that is the risk which we are trying to mitigate by signing the more and more. So, risk is visible. What would be the impact of that risk, how much that risk is only the future will tell. But one thing is sure that renewables are going to get added every year in a big quantum, and that is going to suppress the merchant prices.

Sure, sir. Got it. And then in the PPT, I think there is one slide of consol debt profile that we have, which talks about like how exactly has been the net fixed asset movement in FY '26 over FY '25, which has seen an increase of almost like 25-odd percent, almost like 25% movement year-on-year basis, but our capacities have moved by maybe like 6%, 7%. So what exactly could be the reason for this, sir?

Yes. So, as I explained in one of the questions that we have incurred near about INR 22,000 crores, INR 23,000 crores in the CapEx for expansion. Also, we have acquired some assets, Bara the market. So operating capacity addition of Bara adding into the fixed asset addition. There also the expansion plan, the work in progress expenditure is also adding. That is why the operating capacity has not increased by that proportionate. It is only added by 600. But in terms of expenditure, capacity acquisition for 600 and also part of expansion plan. So this CWIP also adding into the total fixed assets.

Sorry to interrupt Vishal. I would request you to please rejoin the queue again. [Operator Instructions] We will take the next question from the line of Karthik Sharma from Anand Rathi.

My question was answered by the earlier gentlemen. But I do have a question on a macro level. Given the coal shortages and the war situation, could you just give us insight...

Sorry to interrupt.

Karthik, we are not audible clearly. Can you please repeat...

Am I audible now? I had questions on the CapEx and the capacities, which were answered earlier. But if you could give some insights on the coal shortages that are happening in India and how insulated are we or how are we taking measures to mitigate that?

Coal shortage? So far, there is no coal shortage, which we are facing. So, since the domestic coal is not directly impacted by the geopolitical part issue and the production of coal in India is sufficient. So, we are not really having any issue as far as domestic coal availability is concerned. As regards to imported coal is also concerned, there is some impact on the price because of increase in bunker fuel, et cetera. And therefore, the shipping cost has gone slightly high. But since it is passed through, we will not get impacted by that.

We will take the next question from the line of Mohit Kumar from ICICI Securities.

My first question is on the minority interest or noncontrolling interest item in P&L. I think the sharp jump Q-on-Q. Can you please explain that?

Sorry, we are not getting, sir, your voice is breaking it.

Sir, noncontrolling interest, the minority interest, the entry in the P&L, consolidated P&L has jumped from INR 8.5 crores in Q3 FY '26 to INR 254 crores in Q4 FY '26. Can you please help explain that?

If you see the last year, the financial year '25-'26, and financial year '24-'25, we acquired last year, it was operational partly. But during the year '25, '26, plant operational fully. So, due to the timing of the year, this year it is 12 months vis-a-vis last year, it was not 12 months. So that is why this percentage has increased.

My question is more about the Q-on-Q, Q-on-Q. Q-on-Q also there is a sharp jump Q-on-Q.

Let me give a moment please. This is due to impact in PPA. This impact minority controlling interest is the impact of PPA last quarter. So in quarter 3, there was no PPA in Moxie limited. We entered into an agreement with Moxie with Tamil Nadu 558 megawatt. So the impact of PPA midterm PPA we executed.

My second question is, can you help us with the outlook on the new PPA from the states? How many active tenders you see currently? And has there been any development in Rajasthan, which will help us tie up the 3.2 gigawatt power plant.

Upcoming PPAs in the market, we have almost 13 gigawatt. So precisely, it is from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Gujarat. So there are PPAs in the market. And that is 13.8 gigawatt Further, Gujarat has also issued the last bidding equipment bidding process equipment of another 4,000 gigawatts. So PPAs are in the market from various states, including Uttar Pradesh Rajasthan, Uttar and West Bengal and Gujarat.

My last question on the, you mentioned that your merchant capacity is going to decline significantly, right? And I understand Vidarbha is going to medium term, 625 megawatt, Karnataka will start operational. Coastal has tied a 600 megawatt. But still, does it also mean that some of the capacities, our merchant capacities will also tie up with the group in FY '27, under long-term PPA?

So Mohit, are you asking about the PPA that we have with group companies related to that?

Mohit, I got your question. You are saying, have we signed any long-term PPA within the group?

Because the merchant capacity is declining significantly, I do understand that a few of the short-term capacity will move to medium term and long term. But is there something which also tied to the group companies?

No, we have not signed during the year '26, '27. FY '26.

We will take the next question from the line of Shirom Kapur from Jefferies.

My first question is on your open merchant capacity, it is 5%. Would it be possible for you to give a breakup plant-wise, which plants have the open merchant capacity? You had shared this in 3Q, but now could you share the updated number?

Yes. So primarily open capacities now are with Mundra. We have some open capacity available in Mundra in the Unit #9 that partially tied up. And apart from that, we have got merchant capacity spread between different units - Raipur Maharashtra. Mainly you can say.

So mainly we have now in 3 power stations, the merchant capacity Mahan Stage 1, then Mundra Unit 9 and small capacity in Raipur. So these are the 3 stations where we have small capacities, which makes it to 5%.

And second is you had last quarter shared an annual addition plan of how you plan to get to the 42 gigawatt number. So you had mentioned FY '27, you'd be adding 2.9 gigawatts, FY '28 would be 2.4 gigawatts, FY '29, 2.4. But now you seem to have revised that downwards with FY '27 only being 1.32, FY '28 only being 1.6 being the Mahan plant. So could you give an updated sort of plan till '32 of how you would be adding your capacity to achieve this 42 gigawatts, bearing in mind that '27 and '28 now have been revised down?

I think we can give this trajectory in the presentation because giving all those 5, 6 years trajectory on a may be difficult. But yes, earlier, we said that even the Mahan and both projects will come in this current year. But because of this geopolitical issue, we are taking a conservative approach because certain things, as I said earlier, the issue of availability of workforce. There are issues of availability of certain critical sources like LPG, et cetera. So therefore, we are moving this 1.6 gigawatt of Mahan to the next year. But we are still trying that it should get, the first unit should get commissioned in the current year. And therefore, on a conservative side, we have considered this year 1.3 gigawatt, next year, 1.6 gigawatt. And for the rest of year, we will give the trajectory separately in the presentation.

But just directionally, last time you had mentioned by 30, you would have around 34 gigawatt capacity. Are we still on track for that? Or would it be now directionally lower?

Yes, these are on track.

Actually, what's happening is we are only deferring the sort of commissioning an average of 6 months, and that falls across over the financial year boundary. So in FY '29, there would be the capacities that are being shifted, let's say, from FY '28, those will get commissioned in FY '29. And then similarly, there would be around 6 months of. But beyond that, actually, it is very much in line with what we have. So it's evenly spread out starting from FY '29 to FY '22, we are commissioning 4 gigawatts or more every year.

And as our plan is still the same. So we are moving as per our plan. But on the conservative approach. So we are comping like that. But still we are confident that we are in line with our plan.

We will take the next question from the line of Bharat Shah from BCS Capital Ideas Limited. Please go ahead.

[Foreign Language] Operational cash flow when we talk about last 2, 3 years, the operational cash flow in '23, '24 was about INR 14,000 crores. I'm talking of purely operational cash flow. And '25 and '26 has been about INR 21,000, if I look at our EBITDA, they are INR 22,000 to INR 24,000 crores in last 3 years, '24, '25, '26. So when do we see our EBITDA kind of touching INR 50,000 crore number? Is that something a matter of 4 years or a matter of 5 years?

I think we need to clarify this. Let me give some broader numbers.

If you look at our EBITDA has been ranging from 22,000 to 24,000 in the last 3 years, '23, '24, '24, '25 and '25, '26. Given our upcoming capacity, the target of 30 gigawatt capacity, which is to come up and the agreements which are in pipeline and commissioning schedule, this INR 24,000 crores, INR 25,000 crores EBITDA, when do we see it essentially doubling to INR 50 odd thousand crores in 4 years' time, 5 years' time, when do you think this is most likely to be the case?

So Bharat Bhai, we should be in a position to achieve 50,000 conservatively 2031.If  what we have planned today, if we could achieve that and let's say, no issues arise during this period related to like the presently we have et cetera. In that case, we can touch this even in 2030. But if we because of any reasons, then at most, it would be 2031.

Okay. Fantastic. Secondly, given the fact that while we are, of course, incurring a decent amount of CapEx, INR 25,000 crores in '26, '27 and INR 33,000 crores in '27, '28. But essentially, the business is throwing a lot of cash and as we complete our expansion program, I think the level of cash would be rising. So what are broad thoughts? I'm sure you will find the way to invest in. But given the fact of large upcoming cash flows that the business will generate, any broad thoughts on the deployment plan subsequently?

Yes. Now, so as you rightly said, we are expecting that this year, we will have CapEx of INR 25,000 crores and then subsequent year, it will be INR 33,000 crores in the overall gamut of INR 2 lakh crores of expansion plan. On an annual basis, so if you will compute annualized and average cash flow, this is INR 20,000 crores we are adding. Now the interim gap, we are either arranging from domestic capital market or domestic bank. Now to second part of your question, sir, the quantum of cash flow we will generate from this business, what is our strategy and what is our plan. We also said that this is the moment for thermal expansion. As peak capacity is growing, every state is ensuring their resource adequacy, there are PPAs in the market are moving.

Sir, your voice is not audible. Your voice was not audible, sir.

Okay, sir. So entire voice lost or some part.

Instead of speaker phone, just lift the phone and speak. That will be easy.

Is it better, sir?

Yes.

So to repeat it again that our CapEx plan is to add 24 gigawatt crores. And for this year, this is INR 25,000 crores, next year, this is INR 33,000 crores. So on an annualized basis, we are generating an FFO of INR 20,000 crores. So there is interim cash flow requirement, which we are arranging from the market for a short-term period. But to answer, sir, your next part of question, what is our strategic plan for when we will have a huge amount of cash surplus because literally by 31, '32, we can pay our entire debt. And thereafter also from '32,33,' we have huge cash surplus. So as sir also said that moment for thermal. Capacity expansion is going on across the country. We have also targeted 24 gigawatt. So this is the moment to invest all this cash flow in thermal. But strategically, if you see as a country from 9 gigawatt to 100 gigawatt energy addition is there. So maybe we will have a huge surplus of the area or the global scenario, the things are in place opportunity in the market, but it's time to focus on execution and achieve our planned capacity of 24 gigawatts. So we are confident that by31,32 our capacity will be 42 gigawatt from a planned capacity. And the quantum of surplus multiple avenues we have, we can deploy to leverage far more better and it is a debt-free company.

No, no, I'm sure given the growth hunger, we'll always find a way to utilize the cash flow that we generate. But I just wanted to get a kind of a glimpse into strategy or thought process. So thank you.

[Operator Instructions] Ladies and gentlemen, as there are no further questions from the participants, I now hand the conference back to the management for closing comments. Over to you, sir.

Thank you very much for your time and opportunity given to us to present our business. And we are hopeful that we will have the same type of support and engagement with us. Thank you. Thanks a lot. Have a great day.

Thank you, members of the management. On behalf of ICICI Securities, that concludes this conference. Thank you all for joining with us today, and you may now disconnect your lines.