Kanohar’s 500 MVA certification underpins Rs 568.669 crore order

Kanohar Electricals Limited, referred to hereafter as Kanohar, was one of five Indian companies with short-circuit test certification for 500 MVA, 400 kV transformers as of September 30, 2025. The certification supports eligibility for certain utility tenders, and Kanohar received a Rs 568.669 crore POWERGRID order in June 2025 for transformers of that rating.

How does Kanohar’s 500 MVA certification affect tender access?

Kanohar’s 500 MVA, 400 kV short-circuit certification enables it to compete for large transmission contracts where technical testing credentials form part of eligibility requirements. As of September 30, 2025, Kanohar was one of five companies in India with the certification, according to the CARE Report. A short-circuit test verifies whether a transformer can withstand thermal and mechanical stresses arising during fault conditions.

Kanohar had tested more than 200 transformer ratings as of June 30, 2025, including the 500 MVA, 400 kV rating. The company states that testing was conducted at government laboratories including the Central Power Research Institute and National High Power Test Laboratory. Kanohar incurred Rs 5.22 crore of testing expenses in Fiscal 2024, including expenses for short-circuit certifications for its 500 MVA, 400 kV power transformers and 100 MVA Scott transformers.

The certification is one condition for tender participation rather than an assurance of contract award. Kanohar states that transformer and engineering, procurement and construction, or EPC, tenders can also require a record of designing, testing and supplying transformers in the required voltage class, satisfactory operation for at least two years, prior EPC execution credentials, and financial criteria linked to turnover, net worth or paid-up capital. Continued access therefore depends on tender-specific requirements as well as the technical certification.

What does the POWERGRID order say about Kanohar’s market position?

Kanohar’s Rs 568.669 crore order from Power Grid Corporation of India Limited, or POWERGRID, shows that its 500 MVA, 400 kV capability has been used in a major transmission-utility award. The June 2025 order covers the supply of 500 MVA, 400 kV power transformers and is described by Kanohar as its single largest order. The disclosed information does not state the delivery schedule or revenue recognised from the order by September 30, 2025.

Kanohar’s Fiscal 2025 revenue mix shifted toward transformer manufacturing and power transformers. Power-transformer revenue rose by Rs 176.58 crore from Fiscal 2024 to Rs 242.24 crore in Fiscal 2025, while transformer manufacturing increased to 85.17% of revenue from operations from 51.75% in Fiscal 2024. The source links increased sales of 500 MVA, 400 kV power transformers in Fiscal 2025 with successful testing and the subsequent POWERGRID award, but does not disclose revenue for that rating alone.

The POWERGRID order amount exceeds Kanohar’s Rs 450.612 crore revenue from operations in Fiscal 2025. Its effect on reported revenue will depend on manufacturing, delivery, testing, customer acceptance and milestone-based billing. Kanohar states that contracts with government entities generally have structured payments tied to milestones, while project duration can range from six months to two years.

What production platform supports Kanohar’s high-voltage transformer work?

Kanohar’s Gangol manufacturing facility in Meerut is equipped to manufacture transformers up to 500 MVA and 400 kV, the rating covered by the POWERGRID order. The Gangol facility began operations in 1997 and is stated to be suitable for transformers up to 765 kV. Kanohar’s Rithani facility, which began operations in 1983, is equipped to manufacture transformers up to 25 MVA and 66 kV.

The two Meerut facilities had aggregate annual transformer manufacturing capacity of 19,200 MVA as of September 30, 2025. The capacity definition is based on two two-hour shifts a day and 300 working days a year. Kanohar also reported an order book of Rs 1,635.56 crore on an annualised basis for the six-month period ended September 30, 2025, calculated as opening order book plus orders received less revenue recognised.

Kanohar produces transformer tanks and pressed-steel radiators in-house. It cuts and welds purchased steel plates into tanks, while cold-rolled close-annealed steel coils are cut, pressed, welded and assembled into radiator elements. This backward integration reduces reliance on suppliers of finished tanks and radiators, although Kanohar continues to depend on the availability of steel plates and coils.

Kanohar proposes to use a portion of net offer proceeds for machinery and equipment at Gangol to increase transformer capacity, expand and automate backward integration facilities, and improve operational efficiency. The stated plan includes an additional annual installed capacity of 18,000 MVA, a static frequency converter-based transformer testing system, and field-service equipment for erection, testing and commissioning. These are proposed investments, so the reported installed capacity remained 19,200 MVA as of September 30, 2025.

How reliant is Kanohar on utility tenders and project execution?

Kanohar relies substantially on central and state utilities and public-sector undertakings, or PSUs, making tender eligibility and execution material to its business. Tender-led revenue from central and state utilities and PSUs was Rs 148.216 crore, or 89.51% of revenue from operations, in the six-month period ended September 30, 2025. Private entities generated Rs 17.362 crore, or 10.49%, during the same period.

The utility share has varied across the reported periods. Tender-led customers represented 64.09% of revenue from operations in Fiscal 2025, compared with 90.10% in Fiscal 2024 and 87.85% in Fiscal 2023. Kanohar states that government contracts commonly have approved budgets, structured payment mechanisms and milestone-based obligations, but delivery, testing and commissioning remain relevant to collection and revenue recognition.

Revenue was also concentrated geographically in the six-month period ended September 30, 2025. Punjab generated Rs 60.162 crore, or 36.33%, of revenue from operations, Rajasthan generated Rs 20.958 crore, or 12.66%, and Gujarat generated Rs 15.63 crore, or 9.44%. Together, those three states accounted for 58.43% of Kanohar’s Rs 165.578 crore revenue from operations in the period.

Kanohar entered the EPC business for substations in 2013 and began undertaking transmission-line EPC projects up to the 400 kV class in 2021. Its EPC services include turnkey installation of air-insulated and gas-insulated substations, bay augmentation, and transmission lines at 132 kV, 220 kV and 400 kV. EPC revenue was Rs 66.047 crore, or 14.66%, of Fiscal 2025 revenue from operations, compared with Rs 132.972 crore, or 48.06%, in Fiscal 2024.

Conclusion

Kanohar’s position as one of five Indian holders of the 500 MVA, 400 kV short-circuit certification provides access to a technically qualified transmission-equipment segment. The Rs 568.669 crore POWERGRID order and the increase in power-transformer revenue from Rs 65.66 crore in Fiscal 2024 to Rs 242.24 crore in Fiscal 2025 show the greater role of high-voltage transformer work in Kanohar’s reported business mix.

The next developments to watch are execution of the June 2025 POWERGRID order and Kanohar’s disclosed plan to add 18,000 MVA of annual transformer capacity at Gangol. The planned investment depends on new machinery, expanded testing capability, raw-material availability and working-capital management; Kanohar reported 197 net working-capital days on an annualised basis for the six-month period ended September 30, 2025.