₹3,200 Cr Order Book: Can This Smart Meter Stock Evolve Into an Electrical Solutions Co.?

Synopsis: HPL Electric delivered a record FY26, backed by strong smart meter demand and rapid growth in its consumer & industrial business. With a Rs 3,200 crore order book, an expanding wires and cables segment, and a strategic entry into smart water meters, the company is building multiple growth engines beyond smart metering.

India’s smart metering rollout is creating one of the largest opportunities in the country’s power infrastructure sector. HPL Electric & Power has emerged as a key beneficiary, supported by a Rs 3,200 crore order book and strong execution capabilities. However, the company is no longer relying solely on smart meters for growth. 

Its consumer & industrial business, led by wires and cables, is scaling rapidly, while its entry into smart water metering opens a new addressable market. As these businesses gain traction, investors are evaluating whether HPL can evolve into a diversified electrical solutions platform.

With a market cap of Rs 2,400 crore, the shares of HPL Electric & Power Ltd are trading at Rs 367 and are trading at a PE of 25 compared to their industry’s PE of 33. The shares have given a return of more than 500% in the last 5 years.

FY26 Marks a New Phase for HPL Electric 

FY26 was significant for HPL Electric since the company registered revenues of over Rs 1,800 crore for the very first time and a profit of Rs 91 crore , whereas revenues of the fourth quarter were over Rs 520 crore and a profit of Rs 31 crore.

The EBITDA growth outpaced the revenue growth, the gross margins improved, and the cash profits increased. Despite the adverse effects of depreciation because of recent investments made by the company on account of capacity addition, the management has emphasized that the company has entered a new stage of development and is now having two growth drivers. 

HPL is not limited to its business in smart metering anymore. In addition to its existing core metering business, HPL has been able to build up its Consumer and Industrial (C&I) business, consisting of wires and cables, switchgear, lighting, and fans.

Smart Metering Remains the Core Growth Engine 

Smart metering continues to form the basis of HPL’s investment thesis. Smart metering was seen as a long-cycle story because of favorable government policies, relevance of technology, and visibility through a large order book. 

The company had an order book worth above Rs 3,200 crore in May 2026, and more than 97% of the order book pertained to smart metering projects. It offers great visibility of revenue going forward. 

The company is a vendor of smart meters to various AMISPs, and its products and software are performing well, thereby making the company a preferred supplier. Management reiterated that smart metering continues to be one of the most important transformation stories in India’s power sector.

India’s Smart Meter Opportunity Remains Massive 

Though there may be issues with delays during the initial phases of implementation, management is quite bullish about the potential in the long term. As per the industry and government data cited during the call, 22 crore smart meters had been sanctioned as part of the programme. 

Approximately 7 crore smart meters have already been deployed and account for almost 30% of execution. 15 crore smart meters have already been tendered. Management estimates that even post-deployment of the existing sanctioned meters, the total demand from the industry can ultimately grow to 31-32 crore smart meters. 

This means that there is scope for growth beyond the existing rollout cycle as well. For HPL, the addressable market continues to be quite large since it is approved by all leading AMISPs and supplies to all leading players in the ecosystem.

The Consumer & Industrial Segment Is Emerging as a Second Pillar 

While smart meters remained a dominant topic of discussion with regard to HPL, one of the most important learnings from the conference call is the increasing conviction shown by the management about the consumer & industrial segment. 

This segment reported revenue growth of 26% to Rs 784 crore during FY26 from Rs 624 crore in the previous year, and its share of revenue grew from 37% to 43%. Q4 saw the best performance by the segment, with revenue of Rs 214 crore. It is worth noting that this growth came without any compromise from the focus on the smart meters. The management attributed this growth to better channel coverage, improved execution, and an expanded product portfolio.

Wires & Cables Are Driving the Momentum 

In the Consumer & Industrial business segment, wires and cables stood out as the outstanding category. The revenue from the category saw an increase of close to 50% to Rs 340 crore in FY26. It is important to note that according to management, the increase was mainly on account of the increase in volumes and not due to any change in commodity prices. 

The category saw an increase in demand from several industries such as real estate, the industrial sector, solar projects, telecom networks, institutions, and residential sectors. Management noted that the category would move from the phase of high growth into a structural scale-up phase.

Why Management Is Betting on Smart Water Meters 

One of the most intriguing strategic moves highlighted during the conference call is the expansion of HPL’s product offerings into smart water metering using the Neeram Pulse platform. Management considers the launch of smart water meters as an adjacent market for the company’s current smart metering business. 

Currently, HPL has launched a manufacturing facility for smart water meters in Gurugram and has launched pilot projects. Although the revenue impact may not be immediate, the company believes that water metering will be a durable business opportunity for it. The logic behind this is pretty simple. 

HPL already has the capability to manufacture smart meters, the communication technology and software to develop and deploy them, as well as an R&D infrastructure for smart electricity meters. All this can be used for developing smart water meters too.

Distribution Strength Provides a Competitive Advantage 

One of the major competitive advantages emphasized time and again by the management team at HPL is the vast distribution network possessed by the company. The company currently operates in excess of 900 authorised dealers and some 85,000 retailers. This distribution network has taken decades to build and helps sell the wires, cables, switchgear, lighting, and fans of HPL. 

With HPL continuing to expand its product line, the same distribution network will help the company increase its throughput ratio and enhance operating leverage. Management of HPL has also been putting a lot of effort into digitising its channels, making connections with its dealers and adding more retailers for better sales.

Can the New Growth Driver Change the Narrative? 

The important thing for investors is to understand the reason behind management’s focus on new drivers of growth while there is plenty of scope in smart metering itself. The key seems to be diversification and scalability. Smart metering gives visibility due to the Rs 3,200 crore order book and the multi-year government-led implementation programme.

Yet, management hopes that HPL would become a wider electrical equipment and solutions firm. For instance, the consumer & industrial unit is already approaching revenues of Rs 1,000 crore, and smart water meters have the potential to create another large-scale addressable market. 

Alongside investments in products, software capabilities, foreign countries, and distribution channels, this will help to become less reliant on any one particular line of business. If the performance of the company continues to be successful in both units, HPL would transform from a smart meter firm to a diversified platform in the space of electricity solutions with a number of growth drivers.

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