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Informist, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026

 

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--KEC Intl: See pick up in transmission, distribution in Q2 
--CONTEXT: Comments by KEC Intl's management in post-earnings concall 
--KEC Intl: Project executions in West Asia not impacted due to war 
--KEC Intl: Facing supply constraint, shipping cost escalation on W Asia war 
--KEC Intl: Facing delay in order conversion in West Asia 
--KEC Intl:See around INR 4 bln collection from Saudi Arabia, W Asia projects 
--KEC Intl: Margin improvement depends on when West Asia war ends 

 

By Avishek Rakshit and Shruti Nair

 

KOLKATA/MUMBAI – KEC International Ltd. Tuesday said its project executions in West Asia are not getting delayed despite the ongoing war in the Gulf region, but project conversions are getting delayed due to the hostilities in the region.

 

In the last four months, KEC International executed three or four projects in West Asia amid military escalations and subsequent stalemates in the US-Israel war on Iran which has engulfed the region.

 

"I think the problem is twofold. One is logistics costs have gone up, fuel costs have gone up. So, local operating costs have gone up significantly, which is reflected in the margins," Vimal Kejriwal, managing director and chief executive officer at KEC International, told sector analysts in a post-earnings call with sector analysts. 

 

"The second part is on the supplies. So, typically, 25%, 30% of all revenues come from supplies or items. So, we are seeing a significant challenge on the shipping side with the ports under attack also. So, vessels from China, Europe, and even from India are difficult to get and then also the rates have gone up," he said. 

 

Kejriwal said that despite the war situation in the region, projects are being rolled out and tenders are being issued but the conversion of the tenders into the order book is taking time and thus getting delayed. 

 

"It's not that it's unduly delayed, but it is taking time. But the tender pipeline is there. In fact, now also we saw some new tenders getting announced even yesterday also in Middle East (West Asia)," Kejriwal said.

 

However, Kejriwal is bullish that when the war ends in the Gulf region, the tenders which will be floated then will have higher margins. He argued that, historically, the company has seen projects which are floated after the war have better margins as they are prioritised for fast completion. Hence, KEC International expects its margin profile to improve from the West Asian region once the war ends.

 

"Hopefully, the situation is slowly normalising. So, it should come back maybe by the end of this quarter or so. We will keep our fingers crossed on that," he said later, adding that the company is yet to collect around INR 4 billion as payment from the ongoing projects in West Asia.

 

However, the West Asia war may affect the company's revenue projection for the current financial year by 0.5–1% only, according to a senior company official, as the company has a total order book of INR 400 billion and has lined up projects which it plans to execute in the latter half of the ongoing financial year. The company is targeting a revenue growth of 11–15% in 2026-27 (Apr-Mar). At 1158 IST, KEC International's shares were trading over 4% down at INR 455.10 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

 

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