Praj Industries Ltd: Neutral: Order inflows recover, margins yet to follow

Research evidence excerpt

J P M O R G A N

Asia Pacific Equity Research

16 August 2026

Praj Industries Ltd

Neutral

PRAJ.NS, PRJ IN

Price (14 Aug 26):Rs335.25

Neutral: Order inflows recover, margins yet to follow

▼Price Target (Sep-27):Rs364.00

Prior (Sep-27):Rs387.00

Praj Industries reported a recovery in order inflows and revenue growth in

1QFY27, though profitability still trailed our estimates. Revenue rose 12% y/y to

Rs7.16bn (+3% vs JPMe), while EBITDA margin at 4.2% improved 144bps q/q (vs

2.8% in 4QFY26) but was down -71bps y/y (vs 4.9% in 1QFY26) and 180bps

below our estimate of 6.0%, mainly due to higher material costs, lower share of

export sales and a skew towards the lower-margin African market versus Europe/

Americas. Consolidated order inflows at Rs10bn jumped +26% y/y and +52% q/q

while order backlog at Rs45.89bn grew +3% y/y and +7% q/q, both beating our

estimates (Rs8.0bn/Rs44.1bn). Praj booked several notable wins during the

quarter: the country's first commercial-scale Bio-IBA demo plant, a greenfield

corn-to-ethanol plant in Brazil (~800 klpd), an exclusive Praj GenX framework

agreement with a leading EPC for critical modular infrastructure for hyperscale

data centres and a first combined ultra-pure water and ZLD order from a

semiconductor player in India. Despite the soft margin print, the policy backdrop

for Praj's newer growth vectors is firming. The Union Cabinet approved the

GOBARdhan scheme with a total outlay of >Rs 237bn, to accelerate CBG

production through assured offtake, stable pricing, capital assistance, pipeline

connectivity and access to finance. In the near term, Praj is leaning on brownfield

upgrades, lifecycle services and international markets to offset the domestic firstgeneration ethanol slowdown, which remains gated on higher blending mandates.

Longer-term, favorable policy on higher ethanol blending and/or diesel mandates

provides growth optionality. The stock is down sharply already from its peak. As

a result, we maintain a Neutral rating with a price target of Rs364 (vs Rs387

previously).

Bio-Energy: diversifying beyond the domestic ethanol cycle: Praj’s

domestic first-generation ethanol business continues to see a greenfield

…