Ellenbarrie wins Rs 480.7 crore BHEL order, plans FY28 plants

Ellenbarrie Industrial Gases Ltd won a Rs 480.7 crore BHEL turnkey order in September 2026 for a 1,200-tonnes-per-day cryogenic air separation unit, while Ellenbarrie has North and Central India bulk merchant facilities under work for FY28. The disclosures combine a large project-engineering order with planned capacity additions beyond the company’s existing operating footprint.

What did Ellenbarrie win from BHEL?

Ellenbarrie won a Rs 480.7 crore order from BHEL in September 2026 to supply and erect a 1,200-tonnes-per-day cryogenic air separation unit, or ASU, on a turnkey basis. The presentation does not disclose the execution schedule, customer payment terms, revenue-recognition timing, project margin or capital commitment for the order. The disclosed order value exceeds Ellenbarrie’s Rs 114.3 crore revenue from operations in Q2FY27, although an order value and quarterly revenue measure different things.

BHEL is establishing what it describes as the first commercial-scale coal-to-ammonium-nitrate plant at Jharsuguda, Odisha, under the Coal Gasification Mission, and Ellenbarrie says the ASU is a key component of that project. Ellenbarrie’s product portfolio lists turnkey tonnage ASUs and related projects under project engineering services, together with medical gas pipeline systems and medical equipment. This identifies the BHEL assignment as part of its disclosed engineering capability.

How does the BHEL order fit Ellenbarrie’s business mix?

The BHEL assignment adds project-engineering work to a business in which sale of gases supplied 98% of Q2FY27 revenue and project engineering supplied 2%, compared with 99% and 1%, respectively, in Q2FY26. The presentation therefore shows project engineering as a smaller reported revenue activity than gases, despite the Rs 480.7 crore value of the newly announced BHEL order.

Ellenbarrie’s gases division reported Rs 112.1 crore of revenue in Q2FY27, up 15% from Rs 97.4 crore in Q1FY27 and 27% from Rs 87.9 crore in Q2FY26. Management attributed the increases to higher volumes as merchant plants ramped up. Segment-result margin, defined as segment revenue less directly attributable expenses, was 39% in Q2FY27, versus 38% in Q1FY27 and 41% in Q2FY26.

Bulk customers generated Rs 82 crore in Q2FY27, compared with Rs 69.4 crore in Q1FY27 and Rs 63.1 crore in Q2FY26. Package revenue increased to Rs 15.4 crore from Rs 13.6 crore sequentially, while onsite revenue was Rs 13.9 crore after Rs 14 crore in Q1FY27. Steel accounted for 34% of Q2FY27 revenue by industry, pharmaceuticals and chemicals for 23%, dealer and retail networks for 18%, and healthcare for 8%.

What merchant capacity is Ellenbarrie planning for FY28?

Ellenbarrie has a 220-tonnes-per-day North India bulk facility marked as work in progress for FY28 and a Central India bulk facility also marked as work in progress for FY28. Capacity for the Central India project is listed as to be determined. The business update describes the planned merchant plants as being in North and West/Central India, while the operational-capabilities page specifically identifies Central India for the second facility.

The presentation does not provide a commissioning date within FY28, capital expenditure, customer allocation or output estimate for either merchant project. Ellenbarrie’s strategy includes expanding onsite supply in North and West India, automating and scaling merchant packaging nationwide, and improving the distribution of cylinder-filling stations. The company also states an aim to reinvest in organic projects with return on capital employed, or ROCE, above 15% and to preserve a net-cash balance sheet for capital-expenditure flexibility.

The planned FY28 facilities follow the ramp-up of the Kurnool and Uluberia 2 merchant plants through FY27. Ellenbarrie says these plants are expected to be key growth drivers during FY27 and that its focus remains on increasing capacity utilisation. Separately, Ellenbarrie commissioned a new onsite plant in East India during Q2FY27 and expects it to contribute full revenue in Q3FY27.

What operating factors could affect the capacity plans?

Ellenbarrie reported Rs 114.3 crore of revenue from operations in Q2FY27, up 28% year on year from Rs 89.2 crore and 16% sequentially from Rs 98.7 crore. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, or EBITDA, rose 21% year on year to Rs 40.7 crore. EBITDA margin was 36%, below 39% in Q1FY27 and 38% in Q2FY26.

Management attributed the sequential margin decline to higher transport costs and salary-hike arrears. Power expense was Rs 25.7 crore in Q2FY27, compared with Rs 22 crore in Q1FY27 and Rs 18.4 crore in Q2FY26. Management said price increases to offset higher transport costs were under negotiation and should come through over the next couple of quarters; it also said plans to add solar capacity were under way, without disclosing capacity, cost or commissioning dates.

Profit after tax was Rs 35.6 crore in Q2FY27, up 2% from Rs 35 crore in Q1FY27 but down 3% from Rs 36.7 crore in Q2FY26. Ellenbarrie attributed the year-on-year decline to a Rs 4.5 crore deferred-tax credit included in Q2FY26. The source leaves several execution matters undisclosed, including the Central India plant’s capacity, the FY28 project timelines, the BHEL order’s financial schedule and the outcome of freight-price negotiations.

Conclusion

Ellenbarrie is combining a Rs 480.7 crore turnkey ASU order for BHEL’s Jharsuguda project with planned FY28 merchant capacity in North and Central India. The operating base remains gases-led, with Rs 112.1 crore of gases revenue in Q2FY27, while bulk revenue reached Rs 82 crore and existing merchant plants at Kurnool and Uluberia 2 continued to ramp up.

What to watch next is the East India onsite plant reaching full revenue in Q3FY27, utilisation progress at Kurnool and Uluberia 2 through FY27, and details on the Central India project’s capacity and the FY28 commissioning timetable. Management’s stated freight-price negotiations over the next couple of quarters and its solar-capacity plans are further disclosed operating milestones.