SJVN Limited

Utilities — Utilities - Renewable · NSE

₹53.28−₹2.11 (−3.81%)

DalalBaazaar Score

46 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

Very High

Driven by high debt relative to equity, short-term liabilities exceed short-term assets, negative free cash flow.

In simple words: The business is earning a fairly low return on the money invested in it, though profits are falling even as sales grow. Debt is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 7:03 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

The 60-second version of SJVN Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

SJVN Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the generation and sale of electricity in India and internationally. The company is also involved in thermal power, hydro power, wind power, solar power, and power trading and transmission businesses.

IndustryUtilities - Renewable

SectorUtilities

Employees1,572

Annual revenue₹4,244 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹4,244 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹15 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹77 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 1,572 employees supports ₹2.70 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹2.70 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are NTPC LTD, POWER GRID CORP. LTD., TATA POWER CO LTD. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

Compared side by side in Peers ↓

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 5.0% are at or below what the capital likely costs. That is the financial pattern of a business competing largely on price, where advantage has to come from execution rather than position.

Peer median ROE13.7%

What is the outlook?

2 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 32.4% and earnings to grow about 19.5% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+32.4%

Est. earnings growth+19.5%

Analysts2

What has been driving growth?

Sales and margins have both contributed to where profit is now. Over 3 years revenue moved +50% while net margin moved -69% relative to itself. What this cannot tell you is which products, customers or geographies did the work — that lives in the segment disclosures of the annual report.

Revenue effect+50%

Margin effect-69%

DalalBaazaar Score

46/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Debt/Equity of 2.27x is high — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything
✗ Current ratio of 0.72 — short-term liabilities exceed short-term assets
✗ Free cash flow is negative — growth is being funded by borrowing or fresh equity
✗ Interest cover of only 2.3x — little room if profits dip
✗ Debt has grown 31.9% a year — worth checking what it bought

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

41/ 100

Weak

How good the business is, ignoring the share price entirely.

Valuation

50/ 100

Fair

What you are being asked to pay, ignoring how good the business is.

Weak on business quality and not cheap enough to compensate.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

32.9x

3Y Median

38.0x

40 monthly readings · mean 37.7x · range 18.1x–57.5x

Sector Median

14.6x

median of 3 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 14% below its 3y median of 38.0x. Cheaper than its own history, which is worth a reason too: the market may be pricing in something the backward-looking numbers do not show.

⚠️Against its sector it trades 125% above the peer median of 14.6x.

vs. its own history

Fair

38.0x median over 40 months · -14%

vs. sector peers

Expensive

14.6x median of 3 peers · +125%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

EV/EBITDA

16.0x

PEG

—

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well1

Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention2

Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 9.8% to 4.5% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 7.0% to 5.0% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

8 items require attention · 4 high · 4 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 130% over 3 years, from ₹14,059 Cr to ₹32,278 Cr.
🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 2.27x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🔴Free cash flow negative for 4 yearsFinancial
The business has not covered its capital spending from operations for several years running, which has to be funded externally.
🔴Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 626% against revenue up 50% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.
🟡Profit is decliningFinancial
Net profit is down 53% over 3 years.
🟡Margins are compressingFinancial
EBITDA margin is down 3.4 points over 3 years.
🟡Inventory building faster than salesFinancial
Inventory up 87% against revenue up 50% — stock may not be moving.
🟡Short-term liquidity is tightFinancial
Current ratio of 0.72 — near-term obligations exceed near-term assets.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Earnings have proved durable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years. Consistency lowers the risk that any single bad year is structural rather than cyclical.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

Margins are being competed away
EBITDA margin has fallen from 80.0% to 76.7%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.
The debt load needs earnings to hold up
Debt is 9.9x EBITDA. At that level a downturn in earnings turns a manageable balance sheet into a refinancing problem, and lenders get paid before shareholders.
Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 626% against revenue up 50%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
A premium to the sector to defend
It trades 125% above the peer median. That premium needs a reason that persists, or it closes.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 9.8% to 4.5%. Each rupee of equity earns less than it did, so profit growth increasingly depends on raising more capital rather than on the existing base working harder.

🟡 Key Things to WatchMeasurable tripwires, set against where this company stands today

1Revenue growth stays above 11% a year✓ 14.6% CAGR
Latest reported year was 52.0%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 75%✓ 76.7%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x✗ 9.9x
Already stretched, so this is a reduction target rather than a level to hold. Around 3x is where lenders typically start attaching conditions.
4Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹3,839 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
5Interest cover stays above 3x✗ 2.3x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.

Investment Checklist

5 / 12 checks passed

✗ Strong return on equity (ROE ≥ 15%)
✗ Strong return on capital employed (ROCE ≥ 15%)
✓ Healthy net margin (≥ 10%)
✗ Generates positive free cash flow
✗ Manageable leverage (Debt/Equity < 1.0)
✗ Adequate short-term liquidity (Current Ratio ≥ 1.0)
✓ Revenue growing year-over-year
✗ Profit growing year-over-year
✓ Not trading at an extreme valuation (P/E < 40x)
✓ Not buying right at the 52-week high
✓ Analyst consensus isn't majority-sell
✗ Short-term technical trend isn't bearish

Price history

Quick Metrics

4 good · 2 neutral · 5 weak

Market Cap

₹20,938 Cr

Small Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

32.9x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

1.47x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹1.62

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

4.5%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

5.0%

Weak

Low return on total capital employed

Debt/Equity

2.27x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

52.0%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

-1.7%

Falling

Profits are shrinking

Dividend Yield

2.82%

Healthy

Meaningful cash return while you hold the stock

Free Cash Flow

-₹3,839 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

13.6x

Improving

Below the trailing multiple — the street expects earnings to grow into the price

Operating Margin

45.7%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

12.8%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

0.72

Tight

Tight short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.50

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

58.6 / 63.1

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

22.9

Oversold zone

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹2,821 Cr	₹2,567 Cr	₹3,029 Cr	₹4,244 Cr	+14.6%
EBITDA	₹2,258 Cr	₹2,076 Cr	₹2,429 Cr	₹3,255 Cr	+13.0%
EBITDA Margin	80.0%	80.8%	80.2%	76.7%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹1,359 Cr	₹911 Cr	₹820 Cr	₹642 Cr	-22.1%
EPS	₹3.46	₹2.32	₹2.08	₹1.63	-22.2%
ROE	9.8%	6.5%	5.8%	4.5%	—
ROCE	7.0%	4.7%	4.2%	5.0%	—
Total Debt	₹14,059 Cr	₹20,323 Cr	₹27,025 Cr	₹32,278 Cr	+31.9%
Free Cash Flow	-₹5,237 Cr	-₹4,340 Cr	-₹4,186 Cr	-₹3,839 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 14.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 13.0% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 80.0% to 76.7% over 3 years (-3.4 pts).

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has shrunk at 22.1% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EPS has shrunk at 22.2% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 9.8% to 4.5% over 3 years (-5.3 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 7.0% to 5.0% over 3 years (-2.1 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 31.9% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹51,766 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹37,516 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹1,100 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹1,860 Cr

Capex

-₹5,699 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

5.8%

Insider Holding

81.8%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹1.5

Ex-Dividend Date

24 Aug 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

1 Buy · 1 Hold · 0 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹66.5

+24.8% vs CMP

Target Range

₹61 – ₹72

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
NTPC LTD	11.0x	13.7%
POWER GRID CORP. LTD.	14.6x	15.8%
TATA POWER CO LTD	29.3x	9.8%

Recent News

3 positive3 mixed

Suzlon Energy vs Tata Power vs SJVN: Which Power Stock Charged Up FII’s Portfolios In March Quarter?

Goodreturns, 17 OctResults

🟡Mixed / dependsA results event. The figures on this page update once the new statements reach the data feed, which usually lags the announcement.

SJVN (NSEI:SJVN) Stock Forecast & Analyst Predictions

Simply Wall Street, 14 OctAnalyst view

🟡Mixed / dependsBroker commentary — an opinion about the price rather than new information about the business.

SJVN Share Price Falls 2.02%: Price Action and Valuation

Univest, 15 OctPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move rather than a change in the business. If the figures on this page have not moved, the fall is either an opportunity or news they have yet to catch up with.

Energy stocks dividend leaderboard: Power Grid, NTPC, SJVN, NHPC or IREDA - Which power stock beats the rest on yield?

Livemint, 18 OctCapital return

🟢Potentially positiveCash or shares returned to holders. A buyback is only good value if the shares were cheap when bought.

SJVN’s Revenue Surge 40 Percent, Earns Rs 1000 Crore Profit

HimbuMail, 31 AugResults

🟢Potentially positiveReported improvement. Check whether it came from volume, price or a one-off item before treating it as a trend.

SJVN declares ₹0.35 final dividend per share for FY26 at AGM

scanx.trade, 31 AugCapital return

🟢Potentially positiveCash or shares returned to holders. A buyback is only good value if the shares were cheap when bought.

Watch Items

Trading very close to its 52-week low — worth checking whether this reflects a temporary setback or a structural problem.
Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.
RSI is in oversold territory — could mean either a bargain or a stock still falling for good reason. Check the 'why' before assuming reversal.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongValuation

MiddlingBusiness Quality · Profitability · Risk

WeakFinancial Health · Growth

Points for each in the Score ↑

Weak on the fundamentals

Poor scores on business quality without a price low enough to compensate. There is no obvious argument for owning this over a stronger company at a similar valuation. 4 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

3 of 5 tripwires tripped — Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x; Free cash flow remains positive; Interest cover stays above 3x · see Key things to watch ↑