Smart meter manufacturers' revenue to grow by 20% to ₹9,000 crore in FY26
Crisil Ratings
.
The ratings agency said that the revenue growth mirrors the strong performance seen in fiscal year 2025 and signals a buoyant period for the industry.
The surge in revenue is expected to translate into improved profitability for manufacturers. Crisil forecasts an increase in operating profitability by 75-80 basis points (bps), pushing it close to 13 per cent in fiscal 2026, driven by inherently higher margins of smart electric meters.
1 basis point is 0.01 per cent.
Furthermore, rising capacity utilisation driven by accelerated order execution will lead to better cost absorption for these companies, Crisil said.
The positive financial trajectory is also expected to strengthen the balance sheets of
smart meter manufacturers
. Improved cash flows are anticipated to reduce reliance on debt for managing increased working capital requirements and moderate capital expenditure (capex), thereby maintaining healthy credit profiles.
The primary catalyst behind this growth is the accelerated implementation of the
Smart Meter National Programme
(SMNP), a flagship initiative by the government of India aimed at replacing 25 crore conventional electricity meters with
prepaid smart electric meters
.
The execution under SMNP will gather pace from fiscal year 2026 due to three factors – streamlining of direct debit facility (DDF) establishment of for Advanced Metering Infrastructure Service Providers (AMISPs); improved availability of semiconductors; and government's mandate to import Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)-certified smart electric meters, said Nitin Kansal, director of Crisil Ratings
While the outlook is largely positive, increased execution of smart meter deployments will lead to a 25-30 per cent rise in working capital requirements this fiscal.
Crisil has projected healthy balance sheets for smart meter manufacturers, with gearing and interest coverage ratios expected to remain range-bound at 0.50-0.55 times and 3.0-4.0 times, respectively, over the next two fiscal years.
Despite the strong growth prospects, the pace of smart electric meter installations by discoms, timely payment collection, and the potential impact of any geopolitical events disrupting semiconductor supply will require close monitoring, according to the report.
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