Vikram Solar Limited files DRHP with SEBI

Vikram Solar Limited (VSL), one of India’s largest solar module manufacturers, in terms of operational capacity, and also an integrated solar energy solutions provider offering engineering, procurement and construction (“EPC”) services, and operations and maintenance (“O&M”) services as of December 31, 2021, has filed its DRHP with SEBI. With this, VSL follows another industry leader, Waaree Energies in preparing for an IPO in India.

The Initial Public Offer (IPO) consists of a Fresh Issue of up to Rs 1,500 crore and Offer for Sale (OFS) of up to 5,000,000 Equity Shares by the Selling Shareholders. For the year ended FY 2021, VSL had clocked revenues of Rs 1577 crore, with a profit after tax of Rs 37 crores.

The Kolkata-headquartered VSL has a global footprint through a sales office in the United States of America and a procurement office in China and has supplied solar PV modules to customers in 32 countries, as of December 31, 2021. In India, VSL’s customers include National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (“NTPC”), Rays Power Infra Private Limited, Amp Energy India Private Limited, Azure Power India Private Limited, West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited, Solar Energy Corporation of India, West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, Keventer Agro Limited while the international customers include Amp Solar Development Inc (customer since 2019), Safari Energy LLC, Standard Solar Inc and Southern Current.

As of December 31, 2021, VSL had an Order Book (including framework agreement / letters of intent) of ₹4,870 crore, of which ₹1,621 crore comprise projects/ operations which are already under execution and ₹3,248 crore comprise projects which are yet to be executed. The company clocked revenues ₹1,610 crore in Fiscal 2021.

The Book Running Lead Managers to the offer are JM Financial Limited and Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Limited. The equity shares are proposed to be listed on BSE and NSE.

A public listing will mark a major milestone for the firm, which has been one of the biggest believers in the Indian solar market, making investments into module manufacturing when few firms showed interest. The recent expansion with a second plant in Tamil Nadu has been a move by the firm to expand away from East India, and look ahead to the next decade of growth.

At SaurEnergy, we are happy to be vindicated for predicting this push towards public markets as far back as August, 2021.