Adani Power Ltd.
NSE: ADANIPOWER
Utilities · Utilities - Independent Power Producers
₹196.50 last close on 15 Oct 2026 +0.69%
Research updated
CESC Ltd.
NSE: CESCUtilitiesUtilities - Regulated Electric
- Last close
- ₹135.85
- Day change
- −₹3.01 (−2.17%)vs
- Market cap
- ₹18,015 crIndian rupees
- Research updated
- 1 report
About CESC
CESC Ltd. is an integrated electrical utility company based in Kolkata, India, and the flagship power business of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group. The company’s core activities span generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, with a focus on serving urban and semi-urban regions. CESC Ltd. operates multiple thermal power stations and participates in coal mining to support its generation portfolio, while also adding renewable assets such as solar facilities to its mix. It is the sole licensed distributor of electricity across a 567-square-kilometre area covering Kolkata, Howrah and adjoining districts, supplying power to a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial and industrial users. Beyond its primary licensed area, CESC Ltd. manages distribution licenses in Greater Noida and Chandigarh and runs input distribution franchisee operations in cities in Rajasthan and Maharashtra, giving it a geographically diversified presence in India’s power sector. Headquartered in Kolkata and founded in 1899, the company today plays a significant role in ensuring reliable grid power in several key Indian regions.
- Sector
- Utilities
- Industry
- Utilities - Regulated Electric
- Listing
- NSE: CESC
- Employees
- 5,688
- Headquarters
- Kolkata, India
- ISIN
- INE486A01021
- Website
- cesc.co.in
Public research · Report of
Business model & financial foundation
CESC (NSE: CESC), Integrated electricity generation and distribution: revenue of ₹18,570 crore in FY26 (+9.2% on FY25), an EBITDA margin of 25.3%, net profit of ₹1,542 crore and net debt of ₹17,011 crore.
- Revenue, FY26 (₹ crore)
- 18,570
- consolidated
- Revenue growth, FY26
- +9.2%
- on FY25
- EBITDA margin, FY26
- 25.3%
- EBITDA including other and regulatory income / revenue
- Net profit, FY26 (₹ crore)
- 1,542
- to owners
- Return on equity, FY26
- 12.6%
- on average equity
- Net debt, FY26 (₹ crore)
- 17,011
- Derived net borrowings less cash and liquidity investments
- Market capitalisation (₹ crore)
- 18,779
- at the close of 16 Oct 2026
Company profile
CESC operates integrated power generation and distribution in Kolkata, with subsidiaries in Haldia and Chandrapur thermal generation and Greater Noida distribution. It also operates Chandigarh distribution and franchise circles in Rajasthan and Malegaon, and is building Purvah Green's renewable portfolio and solar manufacturing. Regulated income depends on tariff recovery and annual performance reviews; renewable construction and acquisitions add funding and execution risk.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Legal name | CESC Limited |
| Exchange and ticker | NSE: CESC; BSE: 500084 |
| ISIN | INE486A01021 |
| Sector | Utilities |
| Industry | Integrated electricity generation and distribution |
| Headquarters | Kolkata, India |
| Fiscal year end | March |
| Reporting basis and unit | consolidated, in ₹ crore |
| Auditor | S. R. Batliboi & Co. LLP |
| Market capitalisation | ₹18,779 crore (16 Oct 2026) |
| Shares outstanding | 132.56 crore shares (FY26) |
| Price | ₹135.9 (close, 16 Oct 2026) |
| 52-week range | ₹128.3 - ₹204.5 (to 16 Oct 2026) |
| Website | https://www.cesc.co.in |
Corporate structure and shareholding
| Entity | Holding | Business |
|---|---|---|
| Haldia Energy Limited | 100% | 600 MW thermal generation |
| Dhariwal Infrastructure Limited | 100% | 600 MW thermal generation |
| Noida Power Company Limited | 72.73% | Greater Noida distribution license |
| Crescent Power Limited | 67.83% | Generation |
| Purvah Green Power Private Limited | 96.14% | Renewable generation platform; effective group economic interest |
RPSG group-controlled listed utility. Subsidiary profits are consolidated before deduction of non-controlling interests.
| Shareholding (% of shares) | Q3FY26 | Q4FY26 | Q1FY27 | Q2FY27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Promoter | 52.10% | 52.11% | 52.11% | |
| Promoter holding pledged | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | |
| Foreign institutions | 11.90% | 11.61% | 11.46% | |
| Domestic institutions | 25.60% | 26.30% | 26.20% | |
| of which mutual funds | 17.41% | 18.10% | 18.27% | |
| Retail | 7.45% |
The promoter holding pledged is a share of the promoter's own holding.
Business model
| Peer | Why the dossier compares them |
|---|---|
| Tata Power (TATAPOWER) | Integrated power and distribution plus renewable development |
| Torrent Power (TORNTPOWER) | Closest private licensed distribution and generation comparator |
| JSW Energy (JSWENERGY) | Generation and renewable build-out comparator |
| NTPC (NTPC) | Regulated generation and renewable capex benchmark |
| Adani Energy Solutions (ADANIENSOL) | Private regulated transmission/distribution comparator |
Financial databook
| Profit and loss (₹ crore) | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue from operations | 12,544 | 14,246 | 15,293 | 17,001 | 18,570 |
| Cost of revenue (vendor classification) * | 7,372 | 9,694 | 10,535 | 11,608 | 12,159 |
| Other operating costs (vendor classification) * | 977.7 | 1,026 | 1,204 | 1,253 | 1,237 |
| EBITDA (vendor classification) * | 4,204 | 4,017 | 4,487 | 4,613 | 4,980 |
| EBIT including other and regulatory income | 3,094 | 2,932 | 2,917 | 3,107 | 3,479 |
| Finance cost | 1,178 | 1,193 | 1,234 | 1,324 | 1,360 |
| Profit before tax | 1,915 | 1,739 | 1,683 | 1,783 | 2,119 |
| Total tax expense | 511.4 | 341.8 | 235.8 | 354.4 | 501.0 |
| Profit after tax including NCI | 1,404 | 1,397 | 1,447 | 1,429 | 1,618 |
| Basic and diluted EPS (₹) | 10.25 | 10.13 | 10.38 | 10.33 | 11.63 |
| Fuel cost excluding stock purchases | 4,379 | 4,017 | 3,731 | ||
| Purchases of stock-in-trade | 10.6 | 6.13 | 107.2 | ||
| Cost of energy purchased | 5,588 | 6,988 | 7,622 | ||
| Employee benefits expense | 1,214 | 1,221 | 1,478 | ||
| Other expenses | 1,976 | 2,080 | 2,185 | ||
| Other income | 251.1 | 374.2 | 357.0 | ||
| Regulatory income net | 1,757 | 1,249 | 902.6 | ||
| Depreciation and amortisation | 1,217 | 1,205 | 1,228 | ||
| PAT attributable to NCI | 70.9 | 59.0 | 75.6 | ||
| PAT attributable to owners | 1,376 | 1,370 | 1,542 | ||
| Fuel, stock-in-trade and purchased power | 9,978 | 11,011 | 11,460 | ||
| EBITDA including other and regulatory income | 4,134 | 4,313 | 4,707 | ||
| Separately disclosed exceptional items | n.d. | n.d. | n.d. | ||
| Equity-accounted associates and JV result | n.r. | n.r. | 0.00 |
| Balance sheet (₹ crore) | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equity attributable to owners excluding NCI | 11,446 | 12,011 | 12,530 | ||
| Current and noncurrent borrowings excluding leases | 14,961 | 14,263 | 14,363 | 17,719 | 21,319 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 2,153 | 1,129 | 1,275 | 2,181 | 4,208 |
| Current trade receivables net | 2,095 | 2,192 | 2,256 | 2,425 | 2,416 |
| Inventories | 659.4 | 880.2 | 878.5 | 724.0 | 697.9 |
| Current and noncurrent trade payables | 1,042 | 1,090 | 1,330 | 1,662 | 1,915 |
| Net property plant and equipment | 10,839 | 11,278 | 21,949 | 21,727 | 21,724 |
| Capital work-in-progress | 102.5 | 140.4 | 174.6 | 402.8 | 2,905 |
| Total assets including regulatory deferral balances | 37,493 | 37,712 | 37,168 | 41,010 | 46,470 |
| Equity non-controlling interest | 539.7 | 592.8 | 658.5 | ||
| Current mutual fund liquidity investments | 5.07 | 0.00 | 99.1 | ||
| Derived net borrowings less cash and liquidity investments | 13,083 | 15,538 | 17,011 |
| Cash flow (₹ crore) | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net cash from operating activities | 1,862 | 1,305 | 2,351 | 2,581 | 4,057 |
| Free cash flow (vendor definition) * | 1,721 | 1,283 | 1,580 | 718.3 | 141.3 |
| Dividends paid (the provider's sign: an outflow is negative) * | -602.6 | -603.8 | -606.2 | -603.1 | -803.5 |
| Cash PPE and CWIP purchases positive spend | 771.2 | 1,863 | 3,916 | ||
| CFO less cash PPE and CWIP capex | 1,580 | 718.3 | 141.3 |
| Other reported lines (₹ crore) | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subscribed fully paid ordinary shares | 132.56 | 132.56 | 132.56 | 132.56 | 132.56 |
| Quarterly profit and loss (₹ crore) | Q2FY25 | Q3FY25 | Q4FY25 | Q1FY26 | Q2FY26 | Q3FY26 | Q4FY26 | Q1FY27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue from operations | 4,700 | 3,561 | 3,877 | 5,202 | 5,267 | 4,005 | 4,096 | 5,485 |
| Cost of revenue (vendor classification) * | 3,026 | 2,170 | 2,182 | 3,366 | 2,327 | 2,481 | 3,527 | |
| Other operating costs (vendor classification) * | 446.0 | 613.0 | 656.0 | |||||
| EBITDA (vendor classification) * | 1,085 | 1,042 | 1,154 | 1,180 | 1,078 | 1,339 | 1,149 | |
| EBIT including other and regulatory income | 790.0 | 701.0 | 802.0 | 875.0 | 906.0 | 728.0 | 970.0 | 858.0 |
| Finance cost | 328.0 | 339.0 | 335.0 | 363.0 | 337.0 | 343.0 | 317.0 | 312.0 |
| Profit before tax | 462.0 | 362.0 | 467.0 | 512.0 | 569.0 | 385.0 | 653.0 | 546.0 |
| Tax expense | 89.0 | 80.0 | 81.0 | 105.0 | 121.0 | 81.0 | 194.0 | 127.0 |
| PAT total including NCI | 373.0 | 282.0 | 386.0 | 407.0 | 448.0 | 304.0 | 459.0 | 419.0 |
| Diluted EPS vendor reproduction (₹) * | 2.67 | 1.99 | 2.81 | 2.92 | 3.21 | 2.15 | 3.31 | 3.03 |
| Fuel including purchases of stock-in-trade | 1,100 | 896.0 | 937.0 | 970.0 | 1,040 | 852.0 | 976.0 | 962.0 |
| Cost of electricity purchased | 1,926 | 1,274 | 1,245 | 2,396 | 2,246 | 1,475 | 1,505 | 2,565 |
| Employee benefit expense | 332.0 | 313.0 | 273.0 | 359.0 | 396.0 | 391.0 | 332.0 | 407.0 |
| Other operating expense | 446.0 | 468.0 | 610.0 | 613.0 | 524.0 | 508.0 | 540.0 | 656.0 |
| Other income | 70.0 | 96.0 | 153.0 | 83.0 | 84.0 | 94.0 | 96.0 | 74.0 |
| Regulatory income net | 119.0 | 300.0 | 141.0 | 233.0 | 72.0 | 163.0 | 435.0 | 180.0 |
| Company EBITDA including other and regulatory income | 1,085 | 1,006 | 1,106 | 1,180 | 1,217 | 1,036 | 1,274 | 1,149 |
| Depreciation and amortisation | 295.0 | 305.0 | 304.0 | 305.0 | 311.0 | 308.0 | 304.0 | 291.0 |
| Fuel incl stock and purchased power | 3,026 | 2,170 | 2,182 | 3,366 | 3,286 | 2,327 | 2,481 | 3,527 |
| PAT attributable to NCI vendor reproduction * | 20.0 | 17.0 | 12.0 | 17.0 | 20.0 | 19.0 | 19.6 | 17.0 |
| Derived owners PAT primary total less vendor NCI | 353.0 | 265.0 | 374.0 | 390.0 | 428.0 | 285.0 | 439.4 | 402.0 |
| Separately disclosed exceptional items | n.d. | n.d. | n.d. | n.d. | n.d. | n.d. | n.d. | n.d. |
| Equity-accounted associates and JV result | n.r. | n.r. | n.r. | n.r. | n.r. | n.r. | n.r. | n.r. |
Consolidated, as reported. Lines marked * are the market-data provider's figures; the rest are extracted from the company's filings or derived from them. n.d. not disclosed, n.r. not retrieved, n.a. not applicable.
Metrics dashboard
| Metric | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 7.8% | 13.6% | 7.3% | 11.2% | 9.2% |
| EBITDA margin | 27.0% | 25.4% | 25.3% | ||
| Net margin | 9.0% | 8.1% | 8.3% | ||
| Return on equity | 12.0% | 11.7% | 12.6% | ||
| Return on capital employed | 11.3% | 11.2% | 10.9% | ||
| Return on assets | 3.7% | 3.5% | 3.5% | ||
| Net debt (₹ crore) | 13,083 | 15,538 | 17,011 | ||
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.16x | 3.60x | 3.61x | ||
| Interest cover | 2.63x | 2.46x | 2.36x | 2.35x | 2.56x |
| Asset turnover | 0.34x | 0.38x | 0.41x | 0.43x | 0.42x |
| Receivable days | 61 | 56 | 54 | 52 | 47 |
| Inventory days (on revenue) | 19 | 23 | 21 | 16 | 14 |
| Payable days (on revenue) | 30 | 28 | 32 | 36 | 38 |
| Cash conversion | 1.71x | 1.88x | 2.63x | ||
| Capex intensity | 5.0% | 11.0% | 21.1% | ||
| Free cash flow (₹ crore) | 1,580 | 718.3 | 141.3 | ||
| Dividend payout | 44.0% | 44.0% | 52.1% | ||
| EPS, diluted (₹) | 10.25 | 10.13 | 10.38 | 10.33 | 11.63 |
| Book value per share (₹) | 86.35 | 90.61 | 94.53 |
Computed from the statements above:
- Revenue growth: revenue over the previous year's, less one.
- EBITDA margin: EBITDA including other and regulatory income / revenue.
- Net margin: net profit to owners / revenue.
- Return on equity: net profit to owners / average equity.
- Return on capital employed: EBIT / average equity plus borrowings.
- Return on assets: net profit to owners / average total assets.
- Net debt (₹ crore): Derived net borrowings less cash and liquidity investments; negative is net cash.
- Net debt / EBITDA: net debt / EBITDA including other and regulatory income.
- Interest cover: EBIT / finance cost.
- Asset turnover: revenue / average total assets.
- Receivable days: receivables / revenue x 365.
- Inventory days (on revenue): inventory / revenue x 365.
- Payable days (on revenue): payables / revenue x 365.
- Cash conversion: cash from operations / net profit to owners.
- Capex intensity: capital expenditure / revenue.
- Free cash flow (₹ crore): cash from operations less capital expenditure.
- Dividend payout: dividends paid / net profit to owners.
- EPS, diluted (₹): as reported (Basic and diluted EPS).
- Book value per share (₹): equity / shares outstanding.
Source: the company's filings and disclosures as extracted into Mool's company dossier (version 1, information to 16 Oct 2026); market data at the close of 16 Oct 2026. Every figure is read from the dossier's files or computed from them; the account of the business model is the analyst's, from the dossier's workings.
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What the full research on CESC includes
Every piece of Mool’s research is built the same way: a researched evidence base, analyses that build on each other, a research model and a report with the call. This page shows the first analysis.
The report and Mool’s call
- The 12-month rating and target
- The 3-month view
- Mool's estimates beside the street's
- The claims the view rests on, and what would change it
The analyses, among them
- Business model & financial foundationOn this pageWhat the company does and how it makes money, its structure, five years of financials and the metrics that matter for it.
- Future earnings & financial modelForecasts built from the drivers that move the business, by scenario, beside the street's.
- Fundamental valuation & 12-month thesisWhat the business is worth on several methods, what the market already prices in and the 12-month thesis that follows.
The research model
The model behind the report: the company’s history, the drivers that move it, its forecasts by scenario and the valuation the 12-month target comes from.
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Report history
Reports on CESC
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Prices are the last close on the NSE, 15 Oct 2026. Research from Mool’s report of 16 Oct 2026; page updated 16 Oct 2026.
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