Praj Industries hits 52-week low, tanks 54% from January high; here's why

A cautious approach among participants in the domestic ethanol market, following the achievement of the 20% EBP target and pending new blending mandates, influenced performance in Q1FY26.

Praj Industries share price today: Shares of Praj Industries hit a 52-week low of ₹406.60, falling 9 per cent on the BSE in Tuesday’s intra-day trade after reporting weak earnings for the quarter ended June 2025 (Q1FY26). 

 

The stock price of the industrial products company has fallen below its previous low of ₹441.45 touched on May 7, 2025. It tanked 54 per cent from its 52-week high level of ₹874.30 touched on January 1, 2025.

 

At 10:22 AM; Praj Industries was quoting 7 per cent lower at ₹416.50, as compared to 0.30 per cent rise in the BSE Sensex. The average trading volumes on the counter jumped over eight-fold. A combined 2.48 million equity shares have changed hands on the NSE and BSE.

 

 

Praj Industries Q1 results

 

In April to June 2025 quarter (Q1FY26), Praj Industries reported a sharp 93.7 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) and 86.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) decline in its consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of ₹5.34 crore. The company had posted PAT of ₹84.18 crore in Q1FY25 and ₹39.82 crore in Q4FY25). Income from operations was down 8.4 per cent Y-o-Y to ₹640.20 crore.

 

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) margins contracted by 883 bps Y-o-Y and 569 bps Q-o-Q at 5.49 per cent.

 

A cautious approach among participants in the domestic ethanol market, following the achievement of the 20 per cent Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) target and pending new blending mandates, influenced performance in Q1FY26. Additionally, the current geo-political environment and uncertainty regarding US tariff policies have delayed capital expenditure decisions, the management said. 

 

Praj Industries reported the drop in volume in the domestic ethanol business on account of delayed execution cycles and liquidity crunch at the customers end. Delayed execution of a couple of high value engineering orders at Kandla led to higher labour and infrastructure expenses. Despite good enquiry basket from Americas region, low order booking due to delays in decision making due to Tariff uncertainty, the company said.

 

Crisil Ratings view on Praj Industries

 

Praj operates in the inherently cyclical capital goods sector, where demand is dependent on the capital expenditure (capex) cycle of its end-user industries. Any slowdown in the growth prospects of end-user industries affects the topline and profitability of Praj. For instance, revenue fell in fiscal 2010, 2011 and 2013 owing to overall global economic slowdown, which led to fewer orders from developed countries. Further, in fiscals 2017 and 2020, weak capex momentum resulted in lower revenue from operations. This also impacts the working capital cycle, which gets stretched significantly due to slow project execution during economic slowdown.

 

Business is exposed to project-related risks such as fluctuations in input prices. As the average duration of a project is 12 months, volatility in input prices during this period impacts cost, and therefore, profitability. Further, turnkey projects in India normally do not contain escalation clauses. However, Praj collects advance payment in most of the fixed price contracts and has prudent purchase policies in place, thereby mitigating the impact of any adverse movement in the cost of raw materials, Crisil Ratings said in rationale. 

 

Meanwhile, Praj should continue to benefit from its established position in the domestic distillery and brewery installation business, improving order pipeline for second-generation ethanol units and growing revenue diversity. The financial risk profile should remain strong, supported by steady cash accrual, prudent funding for capex programmes and strong liquidity, the rating agency said.

 

About Praj Industries

 

Praj, India's most accomplished industrial biotechnology company is driven by innovation, integration and delivery capabilities. Praj's diverse portfolio comprises Bio-energy solutions, Critical process equipment & modularisation, Breweries, Zero liquid discharge systems and High purity water systems.