/**

NLC India in FY2026: Record profits, record capex, and a structured renewable push

NLC India Limited closed FY2026 with its strongest reported performance in the presentation. Revenue from operations was ₹17,490 crore, up 14% year on year, and profit after tax rose 39% to ₹3,769 crore. The year also marked the company’s highest ever capex of ₹9,131 crore, signalling that growth is being funded through fresh asset creation rather than only sweat-equity on existing operations.

Operationally, the company continues to sit at the junction of India’s two-track power reality. Thermal power is still needed to meet evening peaks and provide grid stability, while renewables are now the largest source of incremental capacity. NLC’s portfolio spans mining, thermal generation, and a growing renewable base, with diversification projects beginning to move from concept to execution.

FY2026 performance and what drove it

The presentation reports consolidated EBITDA of ₹7,475 crore, with an EBITDA margin of 43%. Profitability improved materially compared to FY2025, with PAT increasing from ₹2,714 crore to ₹3,769 crore. The document also highlights an all-time-high share price of ₹387.80 and market capitalisation of ₹53,774 crore as of 14 May 2026.

On the operations side, coal production and dispatch from Talabira II and III open cast projects are described as highest ever, with production at 19.14 million tonnes and dispatch at 17.69 million tonnes. Renewable generation also touched a record, with green power generation of 2.26 billion units in FY2026.

Financial summary

Note: Values are as presented in the investor presentation; EBITDA margin is shown as 43% for both years.

Segment mix: mining and thermal still dominate revenue

NLC presents segment revenues for FY2026 including inter-segment revenue. Mining revenue is shown at ₹8,795 crore, thermal power at ₹14,443 crore, and renewable power at ₹726 crore. It also provides a segment revenue share of 60% mines, 37% thermal and 3% renewables.

This explains the near-term economics of the business. Renewables are becoming strategically central, but the earnings base still depends on the mining and thermal platform. The company’s installed capacity mix reinforces that, with thermal capacity at 5,960 MW and renewable capacity at 1,734 MW.

Strategy to 2030: scale renewables, add storage, and diversify cautiously

A central feature of the presentation is the formal structuring of the renewable business under NLC India Renewables Limited (NIRL), incorporated in June 2023. NIRL is positioned as the growth engine to reach 10 GW by 2030. The company discloses 1,734 MW of operational renewables, 5,810 MW under implementation, and 3,885 MW tied up through joint ventures.

The company also states that an initial public offering of NIRL is planned in FY2027 to support the renewable build-out. This is one of the few explicit capital-market milestones mentioned in the document.

Storage is presented as the other pillar supporting the renewable scale-up. The “green book” section discloses an energy storage pipeline of 3,300 MWh, with 500 MWh under a signed PPA and additional volumes under PSPCL and SECI processes. Separately, a 250 MW and 500 MWh BESS project in Tamil Nadu is described as awarded under a viability gap funding scheme.

Beyond renewables, NLC’s diversification roadmap spans multiple maturity stages. Overburden-to-manufactured sand has moved into commercial sales, with a 1.0 MTPA mine-washed silica sand plant commissioned in February 2026 and commercial sale commenced. Critical minerals have entered the planning and exploration stage, with the company described as the successful bidder for phosphorite and limestone blocks in Chhattisgarh and a tender floated for detailed geological exploration.

Risk signals embedded in the presentation

The document includes one explicit course-correction indicator. For coal and lignite gasification, the revised detailed feasibility report for the 1,200 TPD lignite-to-methanol project is under review due to a significant increase in project cost and adverse IRR projections. This disclosure matters because it suggests the company is not assuming every diversification project will proceed unchanged.

From a financial risk perspective, the presentation shows improving debt-to-equity over time, from 1.57 in FY2022 to 1.29 in FY2026. Multiple agencies are shown assigning AAA stable ratings. At the same time, liquidity ratios are low in FY2026, with current ratio at 0.80 and quick ratio at 0.58, indicating limited short-term buffer in working capital.

The takeaways from FY2026

NLC India’s FY2026 message is consistent. The core business delivered record revenue and profit, and the company used the year to push capex to a new high. Strategically, the move to create and scale NIRL makes the renewable roadmap more structured, and the stated FY2027 IPO plan gives the market a clear upcoming milestone.

At the same time, the near-term economics remain anchored in mining and thermal, and some diversification themes are still early-stage. The presentation’s own caution on the lignite-to-methanol project and the low liquidity ratios suggest investors should track execution discipline and funding structure closely as the capex cycle accelerates. */