Waaree Energies Q2 FY27 Earnings Call: Rs. 30,000 Crore Capex On Track, US Realizations To Improve To 30-35 Cents (WAAREEENER)

Waaree Energies Ltd held its Q2 FY27 earnings call on October 27, 2026. Here's a quick read of what management said — performance, strategy, and the outlook ahead.

Strong Top Line, Refund-Flattered Margins, Flat H1 PAT

• Q2 FY 2026-2027 revenue of Rs.7,570.7 crores (+23.9% YoY) — with operating EBITDA of Rs.1,335.2 crores (17.8% margin) and PAT of Rs.753.6 crores; H1 FY 2026-2027 revenue was Rs.15,449.5 crores (+47.3% YoY) with PAT of Rs.1,645.5 crores vs Rs.1,651.1 crores year-ago.
• H1 FY27 EBITDA grew only 15% YoY vs 47% revenue growth — Q1 FY 2026-2027 included Rs.349 crore of US duty refund income vs only ~Rs.11 crore recognized in Q2 FY 2026-2027; management described Q2 as essentially a "pure play margin" with hardly any refund income.
• Module sales of 3 GW in Q2 FY 2026-2027 (+27% YoY) — consolidated sales include the US facility, which contributed ~400 MW (~100 MW purchased from third parties, ~300 MW self-manufactured); H1 FY 2026-2027 production totaled 6.2 GW of modules and 1.9 GW of cells.
• Domestic module capacity utilization dipped to 45% in Q2 FY 2026-2027 — below 50%, due to temporary supply-chain re-planning for non-DCR after the ~6-month ALM 2 extension starting July 2026; non-DCR volumes expected to rise in Q3 FY 2026-2027.
• Net debt-free balance sheet with ~Rs.3,224 crores net cash — ROCE 28.7%, ROE 24.2%; operating cash flow in Q2 and H1 FY 2026-2027 surpassed 5x the year-ago level.
• Revenue mix (Q1–Q2 FY 2026-2027) — retail 46.1%, utility/IPP/CNI 22.9%, overseas 18.5%, EPC/O&M/T&D and others 12.6%; top 5 customers at 15.2% and top 10 at 20% of revenue.

Order Book Rationalized; US Pricing Structure Reset Higher

• Total order book of ~Rs.59,200 crores as of 26 October 2026 — with a module order book of 25.6 GW; mix now 40.4% domestic India, 43.8% domestic US, and 7.8% exports from India.
• Management stopped reporting ~3 GW+ of export orders — seen at high risk of renegotiation/cancellation following US Section 232; contracts are not formally terminated and no liability is assumed — removal is a fair-disclosure practice; export share of the order book fell from ~24% (Q1 FY 2026-2027) to ~7.8%.
• US government fixed minimum import prices effective December 4, 2026 — modules 38 cents + 15% duty, cells 22 cents + 15% duty, wafer ~14-15 cents + 15% duty, polysilicon ~$21 + 15% duty; management says this removes ambiguity and sets the tone for the US market for the next few years.
• US realization per watt expected to improve from 26-27 cents (Q2 FY 2026-2027) to the 30 cents range, possibly 35 cents+ (period unspecified), as all orders are now negotiated factoring in Section 232.
• ADD/CVD exposure avoided via cell sourcing — CFO Abhishek Parikh said Waaree has not used Indian-made cells for US exports; it imports cells from US-permitted, non-Chinese, FOC-compliant sources, so it is not subject to AD/CVD in the US; India-origin product remains exposed to the MIP plus 15% duty under Section 232.
• Rs.2,300 crore increase in other current liabilities — CFO attributed this to significantly higher customer advances from strong Q2 FY 2026-2027 order inflows across India and US businesses, including a single 2 GW order received in Q2 FY 2026-2027.

Rs.30,000 Crore Program on Track; Cell Ratio to Jump to ~65%

• Outlined capex program of approximately Rs.30,000 crores (period unspecified) — 35% already deployed, 28% under execution, 37% under planning; management is investing around Rs.30,000 crores over 2.5 years in new business verticals.
• 10 GW cell expansion at the Unn facility on track for FY 2026-2027 commissioning — ~5 GW expected in Q3 FY 2026-2027 and ~5 GW in Q4 FY 2026-2027, taking total cell capacity to 15.4 GW (largest in the country) and lifting the cell-to-module ratio from ~22% to ~65%.
• US capacity ramp of 3.2 GW underway — two lines under trial production at the Brookshire factory by March 2027, of which 1.6 GW operational in Q3 FY 2026-2027 and another 1.6 GW in Q4 FY 2026-2027; Waaree Solar Americas to have 4.8 GW of PV manufacturing capacity (period unspecified).
• Ingot-wafer capex reaffirmed at Rs.6,500 crore — CFO confirmed "still stays there, no change" with all equipment orders placed; commercial production at the 10 GW facility envisaged around September 2027 (FY 2027-2028); ingot-wafer civil work stands at 70% vs hardly 20% for normal facilities.
• Solar glass facility targeted at Rs.3,900 crores capex — Rs.360 crores spent as of Q2 FY 2026-2027 (land acquisition, filling, duties); located in Gujarat near Navsari; expected to go live in FY29; technology partner discussions ongoing.
• China technology-transfer risk — no impact — CEO Jignesh Rathod said all equipment for cells and batteries has been secured and ingot-wafer orders are secured, so there is no impact on commissioning plans.

Diversification Engines Take Shape Ahead of FY28

• BESS Phase 1 comprises 5.1 GW container and 5.1 GW pack manufacturing plus 3.5 GWh of cell manufacturing — container commissioned in Q2 FY 2026-2027, pack go-live expected in Q3 FY 2026-2027, cell pilot-run production expected in Q4 FY 2026-2027.
• BESS revenue potential of ~Rs.4,000-5,000 crores from Phase 1 (~5 GWh) (period unspecified) at current utility-scale pricing of ~$100/kWh; Phase 2 (16.5 GW cell and 15 GWh container) cited with incremental revenue potential of Rs.40,000-50,000 crores (period unspecified); combined BESS revenue at 20 GWh of capacity put at Rs.18,000-20,000 crores (period unspecified).
• Phase 2 battery investment is conditional — location finalized, but management will commit only once there is more clarity on the policy front and/or more orders from overseas customers; no timeline given; initial BESS orders are small while long-term offtake discussions continue with multiple clients in India and overseas.
• ~Rs.1,200 crore committed across transformer, electrolyzer, and inverter businesses (as of Q2 FY 2026-2027) — 4 GW of inverter production has commenced, the existing transformer asset has started production, and incremental transformer capacity goes live by March (Q4 FY 2026-2027).
• Combined revenue from inverters, transformers, and electrolyzers could be around Rs.7,000-8,000 crores (period unspecified) — with expected EBITDA margins of 18-22% for inverters/transformers and 13-14% for electrolyzers (period unspecified).
• Renewable power infrastructure business: ~Rs.3,250 crore capital committed, 10 GW+ connectivity secured, ~2 GW of PPAs signed — including 700 MW of FDRE PPAs from SECI; land procurement of 25,000-30,000 acres underway; management intends to monetize PPA-signed projects during construction and hold at most minority equity, not hold-to-maturity annuity assets.

Retail Nearly Doubles; US Margins More Than Double Export Economics

• H1 FY27 retail revenue of Rs.5,753 crores — almost 2x YoY and 37% of total revenue — surpassing the entire FY26 retail revenue of Rs.5,515 crores; FY 2026-2027 retail revenue guided at Rs.10,000-11,000 crores from the retail stream alone.
• 775+ exclusive retail channels with 3,000+ attached distribution points and 5,000+ dedicated staff — built over ~8-10 years since 2016-17; CFO confirmed Waaree's retail market share is around 30%-odd, cautioning estimates vary as Waaree sells integrated kits while peers sell modules to EPC integrators.
• PM Surya Ghar execution lead — over the last 15-18 months of the PM Surya Ghar Yojana, installations by Waaree franchises have touched ~3-4x the number of roofs of the nearest competition.
• US-manufactured margins "more than double" export margins — CFO Abhishek Parikh: exporting modules from India to the US yields EBITDA of 3-4 cents/Wp, while US-manufactured modules earn 2-3 cents operating margin plus 7 cents underlying (IRA-linked) EBITDA — totaling 8-9 cents at 70%+ utilization; each watt supplied in the US earns ~7 cents of incentive.
• Domestic US manufacturing revenue grew 113% YoY in H1 FY27 — Q2 FY 2026-2027 overseas revenue fell to Rs.1,389 crores (vs Rs.2,875 crores year-ago) as US domestic revenue rose to Rs.1,300 crores while exports from India dropped to Rs.89 crores.
• India realizations (Q2 FY 2026-2027, spot basis) — DCR ~19-20 cents utility / 22-23 cents retail; non-DCR 12-12.5 cents utility / 13.5-14 cents retail; DCR margins 7-8 cents per watt; management expects a broad price correction in FY28, with forward FY28 pricing at ~17.5-18.5 cents (utility) vs ~20-21 cents (retail).

FY27 Guidance Reiterated; Rs.1 Lakh Crore Ambition and Consolidation

• FY27 operating EBITDA guidance maintained at Rs.7,000-7,700 crores — vs ~Rs.27 billion+ delivered in H1 FY 2026-2027; H2 FY 2026-2027 expected to contribute 55-60% of full-year guidance, with Q3 FY 2026-2027 loaded and Q4 FY 2026-2027 heavy.
• Q3 FY 2026-2027 ramp assumptions — existing cell capacity ran at ~81% utilization in Q2 FY 2026-2027 and is already running at 90%+ as of the call, implying 9-10% higher output and >100 MW of additional sales in Q3; ~30-40% utilization assumed for the new 10 GW cell capacity in Q4 FY 2026-2027.
• Rs.1 lakh crore top-line ambition over the next 4-5 years — management's math: ~20 GW of module production implies Rs.40,000-45,000 crores of solar business; at a conservative ~75% utilization across all segments, revenue of Rs.90,000 crores-Rs.1 lakh crore is achievable over the next 4-5 years, with ~45% of revenue from solar and ~50% potentially non-solar over the next 4 years.
• Directional revenue mix shift (no formal guidance) — new business verticals expected to rise from 15-20% to ~30-35% of revenue over the next 2-3 years; over the next 2-3 years, pure-play solar could remain ~50-60% of revenue with ~40-45% from new segments, predominantly BESS plus EPC and T&D.
• Industry consolidation expected over the next 2-3 years — management (Varun Goenka) stated "any player with less than 10 GW scale" is not well positioned, and flagged the upcoming ingot and wafer policy with minimum capacities of 5 GW or 10 GW indicated, so very few players will be able to participate.
• Localization tailwinds cited — Varun Goenka noted DAC's approval yesterday (Q3 FY 2026-2027) of over Rs.2 lakh crore of procurement with more than 80% India procurement as a signal that the government prioritizes localizing the new energy value chain; cell localization "will happen over the next 12 months" (through FY 2027-2028).
• India demand sized at 55-60 GW (DC basis) for FY 2026-2027 — management applied a 1.3-1.4x AC-to-DC multiplier to rooftop (~15 GW annualized) and utility-scale (~25 GW annualized) run-rates; a new PM Surya Yojana regulation is "just around the corner" per management's industry read.