Adani Power Q4 FY26: Profit jumps 64%, stock slips

Key takeaway from the March-quarter print

Adani Power Ltd reported a sharp year-on-year rise in consolidated profit for Q4 FY26, even as revenue from operations stayed broadly flat. The company said operating performance held up despite a volatile demand environment. Markets, however, reacted cautiously, with the stock ending lower on the day of the results despite the headline profit growth.

Q4 FY26 profit rises, helped by lower tax and other income

Adani Power posted consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of ₹4,271.40 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, up 64.33% from ₹2,599.23 crore a year ago. One account of the results attributed the jump largely to a steep fall in tax outgo, which was reported to be down 83% year-on-year in the quarter. Another filing-based summary also pointed to a surge in other income and lower fuel costs supporting profitability.

Separately, the company’s other income was reported at ₹1,766 crore, up 492% from ₹298 crore in the year-ago quarter. Adani Power also reported receiving a ₹538.99 crore refund from government authorities pertaining to earlier years, as per filings cited in the report. These line items helped lift reported earnings even as underlying demand remained mixed.

Revenue picture: flat core operations, higher “reported” revenue

On the topline, the quarter showed two different views depending on the metric used. Revenue from operations was reported as ₹14,223.09 crore in Q4 FY26 versus ₹14,237.40 crore a year ago, effectively flat. A separate filing-based summary pegged the decline at 0.10% to ₹14,233 crore from ₹14,237 crore in the same period last year.

At the same time, total reported revenue / total income was reported at ₹15,989 crore, up 10% year-on-year for the January to March quarter. The same report also provided “continuing” revenue metrics that strip out prior-period adjustments: continuing revenue of ₹15,059 crore (up 3.7%) and continuing operating revenue of ₹14,560 crore (up 2.9%). The gap between core operational revenue and reported totals highlights the impact of adjustments and non-operating items on the quarter’s headline numbers.

EBITDA and margins: mixed signals across reported vs continuing metrics

EBITDA trends also differed by definition in the reported coverage. One set of numbers said EBITDA fell 1.67% to ₹4,732.47 crore in Q4 FY26 from ₹4,812.63 crore a year earlier, with EBITDA margin at 33.27% versus 33.80%.

Another report said reported EBITDA rose 27% year-on-year to ₹6,498 crore, supported by prior-period income recognition, while continuing EBITDA increased 9.3% to ₹5,573 crore. Read together, the data suggests the quarter benefited from non-recurring or prior-period items at the reported level, while the “continuing” metrics pointed to steadier underlying growth.

Costs: expenses rose, fuel costs eased slightly

Adani Power’s total expenses were reported at ₹11,605 crore in Q4 FY26, up nearly 3% from ₹11,274 crore a year earlier. Fuel costs, a key driver for thermal generators, were reported to have declined 0.28% to ₹7,895 crore from ₹7,918 crore. The combination of slightly lower fuel costs and higher other income helped the company expand profitability even with largely steady operational revenue.

Demand and volumes: modest demand growth, higher sales

The company pointed to a volatile demand environment during the quarter. All-India power demand rose 1.6% year-on-year to 422 billion units in Q4, with growth improving towards the end of the quarter as temperatures rose.

Despite pressure on merchant demand in parts of the market, Adani Power said overall power sales volumes increased to 27.2 billion units from 26.4 billion units a year earlier. The rise was attributed to higher contribution from tied-up capacities and operational ramp-up.

Long-term PPAs: higher tied capacity for stability

A key operational highlight flagged in the coverage was that 95% of capacity is now tied to long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs). For investors, a higher contracted share typically reduces exposure to volatile merchant power prices and improves cash-flow visibility, although the quarter’s reported numbers show that non-operating items can still meaningfully influence results.

Stock reaction: record high touched, but closes lower

Despite the strong year-on-year PAT growth, Adani Power shares ended lower on Wednesday. The stock was reported to have hit a record high of ₹226.25 during the session, but later closed about 2% lower at ₹219.10 on the BSE. Another market update said the stock ended at ₹217.80, down 2.48% for the day, indicating a roughly 2-2.5% decline around the results.

Snapshot table: reported numbers mentioned in the coverage

Why the quarter matters for investors

The Q4 FY26 result underscores how reported profitability can swing sharply when tax outgo and other income move materially in a given quarter. At the same time, the steady core revenue and the continuing revenue and EBITDA metrics point to incremental, rather than explosive, operational growth.

For the market, the stock’s decline despite higher PAT suggests investors may have focused on the quality of earnings and the role of prior-period items, alongside the broader demand and merchant-market backdrop. The higher proportion of capacity tied to long-term PPAs remains a structural datapoint to watch, especially as it can influence the stability of future quarters.

What to track next

The company has announced audited financial results for the quarter and year ended March 31, 2026, and an earnings conference call was scheduled for April 29, 2026 at 5:00 PM IST. Investors will track management commentary on demand conditions, the mix between contracted and merchant sales, and how much of the quarter’s uplift came from recurring operations versus one-offs or adjustments.