Can Laser Power & Infra IPO deliver long-term growth for high risk investors?

ET Intelligence Group: Laser Power & Infra, a manufacturer of power cables and conductors, plans to raise ₹542 crore through a fresh issue to repay debt and ₹200 crore through an offer for sale. The promoter stake will fall to 75.3% after the IPO from 100%. The company is expected to benefit from increasing demand for wires and cables, supported by robust investments in power infrastructure and network expansion projects. While the company has improved its return ratios, it continues to face risks from elevated debt levels, volatility in raw material prices, and customer concentration. Given these factors, the issue appears to be suitable for long-term investors with a higher risk tolerance.

Business
Incorporated in 1988, the company earns nearly 73% of the revenue from the power and cables business wherein it manufactures specialised products and components for the power transmission and distribution sector. The remaining revenue comes from the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) division that builds transmission lines, substations, underground cabling and distribution infrastructure. The company operates three manufacturing facilities in West Bengal, with a combined installed capacity of 85,448 metric tonnes (MT) for cables and conductors as of FY26, up nearly 38% from FY24. It supplies products to government utilities and power companies and had an order book of about ₹3,243 crore as of March 2026. The wires and cables market is expected to grow 11-13% annually to reach around ₹2.6 lakh crore by FY30 from ₹1.4 lakh crore in FY25, according to Crisil Intelligence. However, the business remains exposed to volatility in raw material prices, particularly copper, aluminium and polymers. It also faces customer concentration risk with the top 10 customers contributing over 72% to FY26 revenue.

Financials
Revenue rose 15% annually to ₹2,326 crore in FY26 from ₹1,748 crore in FY24. Operating margin before depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda margin) expanded to 13% from 8.9%. Net profit nearly quadrupled to ₹151.6 crore in FY26 from ₹40.4 crore in FY24. Return on equity more than doubled to 23.3% in FY26 from 10.4% in FY24 against a peer range of 15%-25%. The net debt-equity ratio rose to 1.1 in FY26 from 0.6 in FY24. The operating cash flow turned negative to ₹119 crore in FY26 from ₹171 crore in FY23 as the company initiated new projects in the previous fiscal.


Valuation
The issue is valued at the FY26 price-earnings (P/E) multiple of 19.8 on post-IPO basis compared with a P/E of 20.2 for Dynamic Cables and 23 for Universal Cables.