If you’ve been tracking the primary market this week, chances are the Kanohar Electricals IPO has already crossed your radar. A 50-year-old transformer maker from Meerut hitting the stock exchanges with triple-digit profit growth and a grey market premium that refuses to cool down — it’s exactly the kind of story that gets IPO investors talking. So let’s break down what’s actually going on, in plain language, without the jargon overload.
A Quick Snapshot First
Kanohar Electricals Limited opened its initial public offering for subscription on September 8, 2026, and the window closes on September 10, 2026. The company is looking to raise ₹1,055.74 crore through a price band of ₹601 to ₹632 per share (face value ₹2), and the lot size has been fixed at 23 shares — so a retail investor needs roughly ₹14,536 to bid for one lot at the top end.
The issue is a mix of a fresh issue worth up to ₹300 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of about ₹755.74 crore, meaning a large chunk of the money raised goes to existing shareholders rather than the company itself. That’s worth keeping in mind before you get swept up in the excitement.
Shares are expected to list on both the BSE and NSE around September 16, 2026, with allotment likely to be finalised on September 11 and refunds/demat credit around September 15.
Who Is Kanohar Electricals, Anyway?
This isn’t some fresh-off-the-boat startup riding a hype cycle. Kanohar Electricals was incorporated way back in 1972, founded by the late Mr. Kanohar Lal Singhal, and has spent over four decades manufacturing transformers for India’s power ecosystem. The company runs two manufacturing units in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh — the Rithani facility (operational since 1983) and the Gangol facility, which can produce transformers rated up to 500 MVA and 400 kV.
That last detail matters more than it sounds. Kanohar is among just a handful of Indian companies certified to carry out short-circuit testing on 500 MVA, 400 kV transformers, and it has tested more than 200 transformer ratings so far. It’s also one of the few RDSO-approved manufacturers of Scott transformers, which are specifically used in railway electrification — a segment that’s only getting bigger as Indian Railways pushes ahead with its electrification targets.
The business itself runs on two legs: transformer manufacturing (which contributes roughly 83% of FY26 revenue) and EPC work — turnkey execution of substations and transmission line projects. Combined manufacturing capacity across both plants stands at 19,200 MVA as of March 2026, with an order book of ₹1,818.32 crore, close to three times its FY26 revenue. That’s a healthy pipeline by any measure.
The Numbers That Are Getting Everyone’s Attention
Here’s where the story gets genuinely interesting. Kanohar’s financial performance over the last three years hasn’t just grown — it’s sprinted.
- Revenue from operations: ₹276.69 crore (FY24) → ₹450.61 crore (FY25) → ₹653.84 crore (FY26)
- EBITDA: ₹31.07 crore (FY24) → ₹93.39 crore (FY25) → ₹180.42 crore (FY26)
- EBITDA margin: expanded from 11.23% to 27.59% over the same period
- Profit after tax: ₹17.76 crore (FY24) → ₹65.12 crore (FY25) → ₹129.73 crore (FY26)
That’s roughly a 170% CAGR in profit over two years — the kind of trajectory that tends to catch analysts’ eyes. On top of that, the company is nearly debt-free: total borrowings of just ₹39.04 crore against a net worth of ₹372.84 crore as of March 31, 2026. Return ratios look strong too, with RoCE at 47.61% and RoNW at 26.78%.
At the upper price band, the post-issue P/E works out to around 38.58x based on FY26 earnings. For context, that’s well below large-cap peers like Hitachi Energy India (159.55x) and Schneider Electric Infrastructure (155.12x), though it does carry a modest premium over Transformers & Rectifiers India, which trades closer to 32x. The valuation gap is often attributed to Kanohar’s superior EBITDA margins compared to that mid-cap peer.
Where Is the Fresh Issue Money Going?
Of the ₹300 crore fresh issue component, the company plans to use:
- ₹64.18 crore for capital expenditure
- ₹155 crore for incremental working capital
- The remainder for general corporate purposes
That working capital allocation lines up with the company’s growing order book — scaling up execution on ₹1,818 crore worth of orders naturally demands more working capital.
Subscription Status and Grey Market Premium
Demand has built up steadily through the bidding window. On Day 1, subscription started slow but picked up pace through the day, crossing full subscription within hours in some tracking windows before settling around 2.71x by evening. By Day 2 morning, the overall subscription figure had climbed past 3.5x, and by mid-morning on the final stretch it had crossed the 5x mark, with retail and NII categories leading the charge while QIB demand — which typically builds late on mainboard IPOs — remained comparatively muted until the closing hours.
As for the grey market premium (GMP), it has been hovering in the ₹190–₹218 range through the subscription window, implying an estimated listing price somewhere around ₹828 to ₹850 — a premium of roughly 31–35% over the upper issue price. A quick reminder here: GMP is an unofficial, informal indicator traded outside the exchange framework. It reflects market sentiment, not a guaranteed outcome, and it can swing right up until listing day. Treat it as a mood ring, not a crystal ball.
What Should Investors Actually Weigh Before Applying?
No IPO story is complete without the flip side. A few things worth keeping in your back pocket:
- Heavy OFS component: A sizeable portion of the issue proceeds go to selling shareholders, not the company’s growth plans.
- Customer concentration: Kanohar’s business leans heavily on government and government-linked customers, which brings tender-cycle dependency and payment-timeline risks.
- Operating cash flow dip: Despite strong profit growth, operating cash flow reportedly declined in FY26 compared to FY25 — a detail that’s easy to miss amid the headline profit numbers, but worth a closer look in the RHP.
- Capacity utilisation: Manufacturing capacity remains under-utilised relative to the company’s installed base, so execution on the order book will be key to watch going forward.
None of these are dealbreakers on their own, but they’re the kind of details a careful investor checks before getting swept up in a hot GMP number.
Final Word
Kanohar Electricals brings a rare combination to the IPO table — a genuinely old, technically credentialed manufacturing business riding the current tailwinds in power transmission, railway electrification, and renewable energy infrastructure, backed by a financial performance curve that’s gone almost vertical over the last two years. The subscription numbers and grey market chatter suggest the street likes the story too. As always, though, GMP excitement is not a substitute for reading the RHP, understanding the OFS structure, and sizing your bid according to your own risk appetite — not the WhatsApp forward you got this morning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Kanohar Electricals Ltd a public company?
Yes. Kanohar Electricals Limited is registered as a public limited company, incorporated in 1972 and headquartered in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. With its IPO opening on September 8, 2026, it is now transitioning into a publicly listed entity, with its shares proposed for listing on both the BSE and NSE.
What is the IPO listing price?
The official listing price will be confirmed only on the listing day, expected around September 16, 2026, based on exchange-based price discovery. As an informal indicator, the grey market premium has suggested a possible listing somewhere in the ₹828–₹850 range against the upper issue price of ₹632, implying a premium of roughly 31–35%. Do note that GMP is unofficial and can change until the last moment, so it should not be treated as a confirmed figure.
What is the current credit rating of Kanohar Electricals Ltd?
CRISIL Ratings has assigned the company’s bank facilities a rating of CRISIL BBB+/Stable/CRISIL A2, most recently reaffirmed in December 2024. This rating reflects the company’s established market position, its promoters’ long industry experience, and a healthy financial risk profile, while remaining a step below the highest investment-grade tiers.
Why is NSE IPO delayed?
IPO listings on the NSE can get delayed for several reasons — pending regulatory clearances from SEBI, incomplete documentation, weak market conditions prompting issuers to reschedule, delays in anchor investor allocation, or simply the standard T+3 listing timeline being pushed due to processing at the exchange or registrar’s end. In Kanohar Electricals’ specific case, the IPO timeline has been running on schedule so far, with listing tentatively set for September 16, 2026 on both the BSE and NSE — so as of now, there’s no reported delay for this particular issue.
What is the turnover of Kanohar Electricals Ltd?
The company’s turnover (revenue from operations) stood at approximately ₹653.84 crore in FY26, up sharply from ₹450.61 crore in FY25 and ₹276.69 crore in FY24. Including other income, total income for FY26 came in at around ₹662.86 crore. This translates into a two-year revenue CAGR of roughly 54%, driven largely by the transformer manufacturing segment.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. IPO investments are subject to market risks. Please read the Red Herring Prospectus (RHP) carefully and consult a registered financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
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