Acme Solar Holdings Limited — Q1 FY26 earnings call

Call held 28 Jul 2025

Management summary

ACME Solar Holdings delivered a strong Q1 FY26, marked by significant revenue and EBITDA growth, driven by operational capacity expansion and strategic wins in the energy storage sector. The company commissioned 350 MW of new projects, bringing its operational portfolio to 2890 MW, and expanded its under-construction pipeline to 4080 MW plus 550 MWh storage with new BESS and FDRE project wins. Financial discipline was maintained through healthy debt metrics and successful refinancing, while the company continues to benefit from supportive government policies for renewable energy deployment.

Highlights

  • Revenue of INR 584 crores, up 72% YoY.

  • EBITDA of INR 531 crores, up 76% YoY, with a 91% EBITDA margin.

  • PAT stood at INR 131 crores.

  • Operational portfolio reached 2890 MW, capable of INR 2,000-2,050 crores annual EBITDA.

  • Under-construction portfolio expanded to 4080 MW plus 550 MWh storage.

  • Secured new orders for 550 MWh standalone BESS (NHPC) and 550 MW FDRE and solar projects.

  • Placed purchase orders exceeding INR 7,000 crores for the under-construction portfolio.

  • Refinanced INR 1,070 crores of debt at 8.5% fixed, reducing interest cost by 95 bps.

  • Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) improved to 28.5% from 27% last year.

Key financials

  1. Revenue ₹584 Cr +72%YoY
  2. EBITDA ₹531 Cr +76%YoY
  3. EBITDA Margin 91%
  4. PAT ₹131 Cr
  5. Net Operational Debt to EBITDA 4.2×
  6. Net Debt to Net Worth 1.7×
  7. Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) 28.5% +5.5%YoY
  8. Units Generated ₹163 Cr +107%YoY

What they filed

Q1 FY27: revenue up 67.9%, net profit up 79.4% against the same quarter last year.

₹ Cr · quarterly
Line itemQ2 FY25Q3 FY25Q4 FY25Q1 FY26Q2 FY26Q3 FY26Q4 FY26Q1 FY27
Revenue260 349 487 511 468 +80%497 +42%548 +13%858 +68%
EBITDA221 307 436 458 400 +81%444 +45%479 +10%734 +60%
Net profit15 112 122 131 115 +667%114 +2%138 +13%235 +79%
How to read this

₹ crore, as filed. The percentage beside a figure is the change against the same quarter a year earlier — never the quarter before, which would make every seasonal business look like it collapses and booms each year.

Order book

high confidence

Total value

2.2 GW

as of 2025-06-30 quantified

Inflow this quarter

550 MW

Execution

2.2 GW contracted capacity to be commissioned by FY27

Pipeline

other

Under construction portfolio including 4080 MW renewable and 550 MWh storage capacity, with purchase orders exceeding INR 7,000 crores.

The trend has shifted to solar plus storage and pure storage, with a focus on 24-hour procurement to drive higher peak power growth. The company is actively building out its under-construction portfolio, securing key equipment and grid connectivity.

Source: Prepared remarks

Capital allocation

high confidence
  • Capex ₹800 Cr this quarter · ₹14,000 Cr (FY26) planned 75% debt and 25% equity
    • FDRE projects (approx. INR 11 crores/MW)
    • Hybrid projects (approx. INR 8 crores/MW)
    • Purchase orders for under construction portfolio ₹7,000 Cr
    So capex wise, FDRE is closer to around INR 11 crores per megawatt and so and the hybrid is around INR 8 crores per megawatt. So that is typically for a -- for this year we have guided around INR12,000 crores to INR 14,000 crores of capex... Capex actually done is around INR800-odd crores... we will try and close the orders for around INR14,000-odd crores of capex in this year for sure... capex is financed 75-25 in terms of debt and equity for us.
  • Debt 4.2× EBITDA Cost 8.8%
    • Refinance Refinanced for a 250 MW operational project at 8.5% fixed for 5 years, resulting in a 95 basis points reduction in interest cost. ₹1,070 Cr
    net operational debt to EBITDA at 4.2x... our interest cost on a portfolio basis especially for operating projects is close to 8.75% as we speak.
  • Liquidity Undrawn ₹1,500 Cr Company has sufficient liquidity of more than INR 3,000 crores.
    we have sufficient liquidity of more than 3,000 crores... we have more than INR1500 crores of undrawn debt for the projects which we have already taken partial disbursements.

Guidance & targets

EBITDA

  • Annual Steady State Project Level EBITDA EBITDA · Annual · High confidence INR 2,000 to INR 2,050 crores
    capable of delivering an annual steady state project level EBITDA of INR2,000 to INR2,050 crores

    — Nikhil Dhingra

EBITDA Margin

  • EBITDA Yield EBITDA Margin · Annual · High confidence 14%-15%
    an EBITDA yield of around 14%-15%.

    — Nikhil Dhingra

Debt

  • Net Operational Debt to EBITDA Debt · Ongoing · High confidence 5.5x
    well within our guided range of 5.5x which we seek to maintain at all times.

    — Nikhil Dhingra

Cost of Financing

  • Cost of Financing Cost of Financing · Ongoing · High confidence below 8.5%
    our focus consistently is going to be on the cost of financing. We have already started reducing our cost of financing below 8.5% as we speak.

    — Rajat Singh

Credit Rating

  • Holding Company Rating Credit Rating · Ongoing · High confidence AA family

    From A+ with positive outlook today

    I think we expect going forward our rating to be consistently in the AA family, of course specific to rating of the projects... Today our holding company rating is A+ with positive outlook. We look to taking it further as we keep on adding more and more projects.

    — Rajat Singh

Capacity Addition

  • Commissioned Capacity (FY26) Capacity Addition · FY26 · High confidence at least 2.5 gigawatt
    Our target is to commission if not 3.1 gigawatt at least 2.5 gigawatt by this financial year and we will be doing it in phases.

    — Nikhil Dhingra

Capex

  • Capex (FY26) Capex · FY26 · High confidence INR 14,000 crores

    Previously INR 12,000 crores → INR 14,000 crores

    for this year we have guided around INR12,000 crores to INR 14,000 crores of capex... we will try and close the orders for around INR14,000-odd crores of capex in this year for sure.

    — Nikhil Dhingra

Capacity Commissioning

  • Contracted Capacity Commissioning Capacity Commissioning · FY27 · High confidence 2.2 gigawatt
    That 2.2 gigawatt will be done by FY '27.

    — Nikhil Dhingra

BESS Revenue

  • NHPC BESS Project Annual Revenue BESS Revenue · Annual · High confidence INR 70 crores
    NHPC tender... at its peak, around INR70 crores of revenue.

    — Nikhil Dhingra

What to watch in Q2 FY26

PPA Signing for Pending Projects

next 4 months
Current Omega Urja, NTPC Alpha Renewables, Hybrid 3.25 pending
Target Signed PPAs for these projects

Why it matters

Timely PPA signing is crucial for project execution and revenue visibility for the under-construction pipeline.

So, this should be signed, if not in July, maybe in August, this 2.52. There are no hurdles to it as far as we are aware. Then in terms of the 3 point – the NTPC Alpha Renewables 3.32 one. That is something which is pending as of now with NTPC... So we are quite positive that we should be able to conclude this whole pipeline in another 4 months.

Risks & concerns

  • Local BESS Assembly Quality/Warranty

    medium

    At the nascent stage of BESS, local assembly carries risks related to product reliability and warranty, leading the company to prefer importing full battery packs.

    Management acknowledged

  • FDRE Project Regulatory Approvals

    medium

    FDRE projects involve new regulatory pieces, such as obtaining NOC from counterparties and NRLDC approvals for early commissioning, which are being navigated for the first time.

    Management acknowledged

  • VGF Reduction Impact

    low

    Government reduced VGF for BESS from INR 27 lakhs to INR 18 lakhs per MWh, but management believes it's offset by falling capex costs and competitive tariffs.

    Both acknowledged

Q&A highlights

6 direct
VGF Reduction for BESS Projects Direct
in terms of the VGF reduction, as you know, the capex cost has come down for the whole battery solution. And the government is... Looking at the tariff reduction which has happened across the projects. Very competitive rates have come. So government believes that reduced VGF will also be fine in terms of getting the economical rates.

Explains the government's rationale for reducing VGF for BESS projects, linking it to falling capex costs and competitive tariffs, which impacts project economics.

Asked by Meet Katrodiya

BESS Sourcing Strategy (Local vs. Import) Direct
Assembly at this time, when the industry at nascent stage, is not a very good strategy. It can happen later, right? The government is the -- that is the reason even the government has given the option that you can get the full battery from outside by paying a small duty while you are importing. So my we want to reduce our risk of doing any local assembly at initially stage of battery deployment.

Clarifies the company's strategic decision to prioritize reliability and warranty by importing fully assembled battery packs over local assembly in the nascent BESS market, despite potential cost differences.

Asked by Meet Katrodiya

Early Commissioning & Merchant Market Strategy Direct
we will buy the power from the grid whenever is necessary or sometimes what happens, some of our plant, they have a what happens in the peaking peak generation hours, some of the power clips, we will use the free power also to charge the battery.

Details how the company plans to leverage early commissioning of BESS components by utilizing grid power and excess generation from their own plants to charge batteries for merchant market sales, optimizing returns.

Asked by Dhruv Muchhal

Debt Tie-up for 2.2 GW Capex Direct
the debt tie-up, if all of them are kind of in principle sanctioned, what happens is once we take the sanction, there is a fee payment which we need to do, and there is a disbursement timeline which we need to follow. So what we try and do is sync up the disbursement timelines with the capex timeline, where we actually need to spend money, right.

Explains the company's strategic approach to debt disbursement, aligning it with actual capex needs to avoid unnecessary fees and revalidation, indicating careful financial planning for large projects.

Asked by Mohit Kumar

Evacuation Challenges & HVDC Projects Direct
So you need to actually, if you're executing a IPP based portfolio, which is selling all the power to the government, it makes sense to block connectivity across the and that has a yearly commitment in terms of the PPAs. It makes all the sense to diversify across states and it makes all the sense to take plants which are the connectivity which are coming at early intervals rather than later and not tie up yourself with one state because that's not going to help you commission at frequent intervals of plants.

Highlights the company's strategy of diversifying connectivity across states and securing early intervals to mitigate evacuation risks and ensure timely commissioning, rather than relying solely on future HVDC projects.

Asked by Diana Bokinala

FDRE Early Commissioning Tariff Direct
in these FDRE projects, the battery is not considered as a source. So the solar and wind are considered as source and we have taken no objection from the counterparties that this is not considered as a source. It is explicitly mentioned in most of the PPAs. But wherever there is a vagueness, we have taken the explicit NOC from these counterparties because it is not a source. It's just a storage resource.

Clarifies that for FDRE projects, the battery is treated as a storage resource, not a power source, which impacts tariff calculations during early commissioning and ensures compliance with PPA terms.

Asked by Vikram Datwani

2 min read 6 chapters

Detailed narrative

Q1 FY26 Performance Overview

ACME Solar Holdings reported robust financial performance in Q1 FY26, with total revenue reaching INR 584 crores, marking a 72% increase year-on-year. EBITDA grew by 76% to INR 531 crores, achieving a healthy EBITDA margin of 91%. The company's Profit After Tax (PAT) stood at INR 131 crores. The operational portfolio now totals 2890 MW, capable of delivering an annual steady-state project level EBITDA of INR 2,000 to INR 2,050 crores.

Strategic Capacity Expansion & Order Book

The company commissioned 350 MW of new projects in Q1 FY26, including its first 50 MW wind project. The under-construction portfolio has expanded to 4080 MW of renewable energy and 550 MWh of storage, with 55% of this portfolio having signed Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). ACME Solar has placed purchase orders exceeding INR 7,000 crores for its under-construction portfolio, ensuring grid connectivity for the entire 4080 MW.

Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Focus

ACME Solar secured its first standalone BESS project of 550 MWh with NHPC and signed PPAs for an additional 550 MWh of standalone BESS projects. The company has placed orders for over 3.1 GWh of battery energy storage systems, with a total battery requirement of roughly 10 GWh for its under-construction portfolio. Management confirmed a strategy to import full battery packs for reliability and warranty, rather than local assembly, given the nascent stage of the BESS market.

Financial Discipline & Debt Management

The company maintained strong balance sheet discipline, with a net operational debt to EBITDA ratio of 4.2x and a net debt to net worth of 1.7x, both well within guided ranges. ACME Solar refinanced INR 1,070 crores of debt for a 250 MW operational project at a fixed interest rate of 8.5% for 5 years, leading to a 95 basis points reduction in interest cost. The interest cost for operating projects is currently around 8.75%, with further significant reductions anticipated due to ongoing refinancing efforts and credit rating improvements.

Industry Trends & Regulatory Support

The Ministry of Power announced a second tranche of the VGF scheme with INR 5,400 crores for BESS projects, providing INR 18 lakhs per MWh and targeting 30 GWh of BESS capacity. The 100% ISTS waiver was extended, signaling government support for energy storage. India added over 12 GW of renewable capacity in Q1 FY26, bringing the total installed renewable capacity to approximately 234 GW, with non-fossil fuel sources now comprising over 50% of the country's total installed electric capacity.

FDRE Project Execution & Challenges

The 2.2 GW of contracted FDRE capacity is scheduled for commissioning by FY27. Management noted that while FDRE execution is not inherently challenging, new regulatory aspects, such as obtaining NOCs from counterparties and NRLDC approvals for early commissioning, are being navigated for the first time. The company's strategy involves diversifying connectivity across states and securing early intervals to mitigate evacuation risks, rather than relying solely on future HVDC projects for its current pipeline.

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