ReNew Energy Global Plc (NASDAQ:RNW) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

ReNew Energy Global Plc (NASDAQ:RNW) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript August 14, 2025

Operator: Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the ReNew First Quarter FY ’26 Earnings Report. [Operator Instructions] I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Anunay Shahi. Please go ahead.

Anunay Shahi: Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. We put out a press release announcing results for the fiscal 2026 first quarter ended June 30, 2025, last night, and a copy of the press release and the earnings presentation is available in the Investor Relations section on ReNew’s website at www.renew.com. With me today are Sumant Sinha, our Founder, Chairman and CEO; Kailash Vaswani, our CFO; and Vaishali Nigam Sinha, Co- Founder and Chairperson, Sustainability. After the prepared remarks, which we expect will take about 30 minutes, we will open the call for questions. Please note that our safe harbor statements are contained within our press release, presentation materials and materials available on our website.

These statements are important and integral to all our remarks. There are risks and uncertainties that could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or furnished or implied, I’m sorry, by such forward-looking statements. So we encourage you to review the press release we furnished in our Form 6-K and the presentation on our website for a more complete description. Also contained in our press release, presentation materials and annual report are certain non-IFRS measures that we reconcile to the most comparable IFRS measures, and these reconciliations are also available on our website in the press release, presentation materials and our annual report. It’s now my pleasure to hand it over to our CEO, Sumant Sinha.

Sumant Sinha: Yes. Thank you, Anunay. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, everyone, and glad to have you all on our earnings call for the first quarter of fiscal 2026. We continue to pursue excellence and our vision is to be a global leader in clean energy. We recently filed our 20-F and our second integrated report, highlighting our unwavering commitment to transparency and sustainability. As we look at the year ahead, we are leaving no stone unturned to outperform over previous years. While there will always be factors that are beyond our control, our focus towards improving margins and capital discipline will continue to create shareholder value. Some of the investments we have made over the past few years, such as our manufacturing business have started bearing fruit for us.

Turning to highlights for the quarter. Since July of last year, we have commissioned around 2.2 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, marking a 23% growth in our portfolio after adjusting for asset sales. We also continue to expand our committed portfolio and have signed PPAs for 3.7 gigawatts of installed renewable energy capacity for projects that should provide returns towards the higher end of our targeted IRR range, if not better. We reiterate our FY ’26 megawatt guidance to remain on track to complete construction of 1.6 to 2.4 gigawatts of capacity in fiscal 2026. In fiscal 2026, we also expect several of the unsigned PPAs to be signed, providing us with an even clearer path beyond the current 18.2 gigawatts of committed portfolio, along with clarity on execution time lines.

We will continue to be disciplined and highly selective in our approach towards bidding for future growth and we look to secure projects with a lower risk and higher return profile. Turning to our financial highlights. We demonstrated superior performance this quarter, delivering an adjusted EBITDA of INR 27.2 billion, which is a 43% growth year-over-year. In the first quarter of fiscal 2026, we have a profit after tax of INR 5.1 billion, higher than the profit for the full fiscal 2025. We have also meaningfully improved our leverage metrics for operational projects and we reaffirm our FY ’26 guidance. Our manufacturing business, comprising of an operational capacity of 6.4 gigawatts of modules and 2.5 gigawatts of cells is fully stabilized and produced 900 megawatts of modules and 400 megawatts of cells in this quarter.

Manufacturing also made a meaningful contribution of INR 5.3 billion towards adjusted EBITDA for the quarter. And we are revising our FY ’26 adjusted EBITDA guidance from the manufacturing business upwards to INR 8 billion to INR 10 billion. We are also steadfast in our ESG commitments and the second addition of our integrated report is a testament to the standards we hold ourselves to. To name a few, during the year, we successfully reduced our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 18.2% from the FY ’22 baseline, surpassing our target of 12.6% and saved 540,372 cubic meters of water, marking a 51% improvement. Turning to Page 9. Execution is our topmost priority and a key differentiator for us. We have commissioned over 2.2 gigawatts of capacity over the last 12 months or so and reiterate our guidance to complete the construction of 1.6 to 2.4 gigawatts in fiscal 2026.

Year-to-date, we have commissioned more than 700 megawatts, which is split into more than 650 megawatts of solar capacity and about 50 megawatts of wind. In addition, we have commissioned over 500 megawatts of wind and about 300 megawatts of solar that have already been erected and will enable us to hit our construction targets for this year. We also continue to be optimistic about signing PPAs from our current pipeline in the current fiscal year. Turning to Page 10. Our solar manufacturing facilities are fully ramped up and currently producing over 10 megawatts of modules and 5 megawatts of cells on a daily basis. In the first quarter of this year, we produced over 900 megawatts of modules, operating at a high utilization and efficiency levels.

We have current third-party orders to sell approximately 800 megawatts more this fiscal with close to 1.9 gigawatts already delivered till date. Earlier this year, in May, we secured a marquee investment from British International Investments for over USD 100 million for an approximate 10% stake in the solar manufacturing business, and we expect the transaction to close by the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2026. Along with this, we are pleased to say that the construction on our new 4-gigawatt TOPCon cell facility is well underway with land acquisition completed and civil works already having been started. Our manufacturing business has started contributing meaningfully to the consolidated P&L by delivering an adjusted EBITDA of INR 5.3 billion this quarter at a margin of over 40%.

The EBITDA contribution in this quarter was a bit higher than normal as most of the production went towards external sales. The proportion of which might — should decline somewhat in the next few quarters. In addition, the margins were slightly higher due to some cost advantages and some procurement ahead of time, which may normalize to some extent. Now let me hand it over to Kailash to talk more about the finance highlights.

Kailash Vaswani: Thanks, Sumant. Turning to Page 12. We continue to deliver consistent growth across all our performance indicators. Since the same time last year, we have constructed over 2.2 gigawatts of projects, a 23% increase in operating capacity after adjusting for the 600 megawatts sold during the trailing 12 months. Our cost optimization initiatives continue to help us with EBITDA margins in the IPP business improving from 80.7% to almost 82%. Our profit after tax stands at 13x compared to Q1 FY ’25, largely driven by increase in megawatts, higher PLF that we got quarter year-on-year, meaningful contribution from the manufacturing business as well as our cost optimization measures. Turning to Page 13 and the EBITDA walk.

While we saw subdued solar PLFs this quarter due to lower irradiation from the early onset of monsoons, However, higher wind PLFs made up for the loss from solar, resulting in a net positive impact of INR 1.4 billion on EBITDA year-over-year. The new projects that we commissioned over the last 12 months contributed INR 1.8 billion to our EBITDA, while the manufacturing business came in at INR 5.3 billion. Over the past year, we have sold over 600 megawatts of solar assets as well as the transmission line due to which we have lost close to INR 300 million of EBITDA for this quarter. Leverage at the operating asset level continues to be well below the 6x threshold that we have set. On a trailing 12-month basis, the leverage was around 5.7x EBITDA, excluding our under construction portfolio and the convertible debt contribution from our JV partners.

The cash flow from our manufacturing business have also contributed meaningfully towards reduction in our leverage levels. As we continue to grow our portfolio, the proportion of under construction projects as a percentage of overall portfolio should come down and will improve the ratios in addition to our efforts to be disciplined in our approach towards capital deployment. Just to update on the offer from the consortium, we announced ReNew had received a final revised nonbinding offer at USD 8 on 3rd of July. Discussions between the consortium and the special committee are ongoing, and the special committee has indicated, an update will be provided to the shareholders no later than 30th September 2025. Let me now hand it over to Vaishali for comments on ESG.

Vaishali Nigam Sinha:

Cofounder of ReNew & Chairperson of Sustainability: Thank you, Kailash. Now turning to Page 15. I’m delighted that we released ReNew’s second annual integrated report for fiscal year ’25. This affirms our commitment to transparency, accountability and leadership in ESG reporting. Building on the strong foundation of our inaugural edition, the FY ’25 report set new benchmarks in our ESG vision, performance and disclosures. Report has been crafted in alignment with IIRC, GRI, SASB, IFRS S2, UNGC, among other global reporting framework. There are significant enhancements over the previous year’s report, including the integration of the business responsibility and sustainability report, which is referred to as the BRSR framework to align with Indian regulatory requirements, strengthened interlinkages between financial and nonfinancial indicators and a deeper articulation of the interplay amongst the 6 capitals, namely financial, manufacturing, natural, social relationship and intellectual capital.

There is an innovative introduction of an AI chat box for seamless navigation and learning more about the integrated report, positioning the fiscal year ’25 report as a first of its kind smart report. The financial and the nonfinancial parameters for FY ’24, ’25 have been externally assured by SR Batliboy & Company LLP and E&Y, respectively. Renewals FY ’25 ESG performance highlights. In FY ’24, ’25, ReNew has made significant strides in its ESG efforts, showcasing a strong commitment to safety, sustainability and social responsibility. Environment. We successfully reduced our Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 18.2% from the FY ’22 baseline, surpassing our target of 12.6% and saved 540,372 millimeter cube of water, marking a 51% improvement. Our operations saw 76% of electricity from green sources exceeding our ’25 target of 50%, and we achieved carbon neutrality for Scope 1 and 2 emissions for the fifth consecutive year.

On the social front, through our socioeconomic program, we have positively impacted over 1.7 million lives with a CSR spend of INR 320 million this year. Our workforce today reflects a 16% gender diversity rate with women now representing 12% of STEM roles approximately. We achieved a lost time injury frequency rate, LTIFR of 0.21, a 5% reduction from previous year and for the second consecutive year as well. 100% of our critical suppliers were assessed against ESG criteria, which is a big step towards our supply chain commitment. Governance. Our Board composition reflects our commitment to diversity and independence with women marking up 40% and independent directors comprising 60% of the Board. On Page 16, we highlight the key value additions we have made with this year’s annual integrated report.

Our key value addition this year is our voluntary alignment with BRSR. As I mentioned, India’s sustainability reporting framework, underscoring our dedication to enhancing ESG transparency in line with national and global expectations. For the first time also, we have mapped material ESG issues to our ERM, which is the enterprise risk management framework, marking a significant step towards embedding sustainability into our enterprise-wide risk strategy. We have also included a detailed progress showcase against our firm-wide sustainability targets, reinforcing accountability and our commitment to delivery. Additionally, we have expanded our decarb strategy to cover manufacturing operations and continued our alignment with the EU taxonomy. Now turning to Page 17 to review the progress made across our ESG targets.

We remain committed to our overall sustainability targets. We completed the LCA, which is the life cycle assessment of our manufacturing solar module in Jaipur and published a verified EPD, which is the environment product declaration under the International EPD system. Additionally, two of our sites are now certified as water positive for operational water as per Niti Aayog’s Water Neutrality Standard for Indian industry. Social responsibility is core to our mission. We’ve already impacted over 1.7 million lives, aiming for 2.5 million by 2030. So we are on track. We have partnered with IIT and ISM Dhanbad to upskill coal mine workers in green technologies. Our CDP A rating for supplier engagement reflects our leadership in value chain sustainability.

As we move forward, we remain dedicated to embedding resilience, responsibility and impact into everything we do. I will now turn it over to Kailash.

Kailash Vaswani: Thank you, Vaishali. Turning to the guidance for fiscal year ended March 31, 2026. We reiterate our guidance provided earlier. We expect to be at the higher end of the adjusted EBITDA range of INR 87 billion to INR 93 billion if the weather stays on track for the rest of the year and the asset sales fructify in line with our expectations. We also continue to expect to construct 1.6 to 2.4 gigawatt of projects during the year and generate cash flow to equity of INR 14 billion to INR 17 billion. During the year so far, while we saw a positive impact versus last year in Q1 as far as weather is concerned, we have subsequently seen a slight underperformance, both on wind and solar, taking away most of our weather upside during the first quarter. We have increased the range of EBITDA contribution from our manufacturing business to INR 8 million to INR 10 million, given the performance in the first quarter. With that, we’ll be happy to take any questions.

Operator: [Operator Instructions] And our first question will come from Justin Clare with ROTH Capital Partners.

Q&A Session

Justin Lars Clare: I first wanted to just start out on the manufacturing business here. So you had indicated in your prepared remarks that the production volume went primarily to external sales in fiscal Q1, and it sounds like we could see a decline in the volumes in the coming quarters. So just wondering actually if you could share how many megawatts were delivered in fiscal Q1? And then if you could share how many megawatts you plan to deliver in the remaining quarters in fiscal 2026. I know you have an 800-megawatt backlog, but also wondering if you anticipate booking additional volumes with expected delivery in fiscal ’26.

Kailash Vaswani: Justin, thanks for your question. So just to answer it, in Q1 FY ’26, we sold almost close to 700 megawatts of modules to third party. And the balance was basically used for our internal consumption. Largely, the profit and the margins come from our cell business, which is predominantly third-party focused. And in that, we sold almost 1.2 megawatt of direct sales of cells to third party. And so there was some upside, which was related to that.

Justin Lars Clare: Got it. Okay. And could you talk about expectations through the back half of the year? Do you think you could sell or book more for this year for delivery? Or have you essentially reached your capacity for the year? How should we think about that?

Kailash Vaswani: So the reason for us revising our guidance on the EBITDA contribution from manufacturing business is that we continue to see contribution of third-party sales through the remaining part of the year also. Just how much to the extent that will happen is something that we will get to know as we progress through the course of the year. But right now, we have reasonable visibility to the guidance that we’ve given.

Justin Lars Clare: Got it. Got it. Okay. And then just one more. Just wondering if you could update us on the attractiveness of the bidding environment that you see currently. How is that evolving? Are there any particular areas that you see as being particularly attractive right now? And then just how active do you plan to be in fiscal ’26 through the balance of the year when you’re looking at new projects here?

Kailash Vaswani: Yes. So I would say that the bidding environment is continuing on a steady basis. The government has this target to get up to 500 gigawatt by 2030. So they are looking to auction out 50 to 70 gigawatt every year in line with whatever projects are being auctioned, we do participate in them. I would say that our win ratio has been a little bit lower compared to, say, fiscal ’24 and part of ’25 because the competition has become a little bit, I would say, irrational to some extent. And we are seeing people really going with much lower return expectations. We have a very disciplined approach when it comes to bidding as we have demonstrated over the last many years. And so unless we make our required rate of return, which is our hurdle rate, we are happy to not win any capacity. But I would say that we have also a very good pipeline that we are sitting on. So there is no urgency for us to really add capacity at lower returns.

Operator: And the next question will come from Nikhil Nigania with Bernstein.

Nikhil Nigania: Good to see the numbers and the strategy play out of focusing on manufacturing and battery over pump storage. My first question is on renewable execution. Again, the numbers have been good, but just wanted some — if you could share some color on the key issues which others and possibly the sector is facing, whether it’s grid availability, right of issues and transformer shortages. So how is that landscape shaping up?

Kailash Vaswani: Go ahead Sumant.

Sumant Sinha: Okay. No, look, I think that capacity addition is, by and large, going at reasonable pace, I would say. There are occasional shortages, not shortages as much as delays in some of the transmission infrastructure that sometimes lags generation capacities getting put up. But it’s a few months here and there. It’s not something more substantial than that. And as for transformer shortages, it’s usually — if you are relatively good about ordering in advance, which we tend to do, then that’s something that you can work around. So I think it’s not something that is holding back execution. I think what tends to hold back execution is the usual issues around land acquisition and so on, more than anything else.

Nikhil Nigania: Understood. And I remember your earlier statement, I think a couple of calls back, specifically on wind, you said you’ll be surprised to see India do more than 5 gigawatts of wind a year given the challenges that come along land or evacuation. Would you still hold the same views? Or do you see that front improving as well?

Sumant Sinha: Even if we do more than 5, it may be a little bit more. I don’t see that number being exceeded this year, by the way. Maybe in future years, if there are more people doing wind projects, maybe the number goes up by a little bit. But I don’t see it getting to 10 gigawatts or a number of that nature. So maybe 5 will go to 6 or something. But last year, for example, we saw only about 4 gigawatts getting done. Maybe this year, it will be 5, maybe in future years, it will be around the same is my sense.

Nikhil Nigania: Got it, Sumant. My second question then is on the solar manufacturing business, which seems to be doing very well. I was surprised to see a 0.8 gigawatt TOPCon facility. I thought the entire 2.4 was Mono PERC. So if you could give some color on that and if there are plans to convert the entire facility to TOPCon going forward?

Sumant Sinha: No. So Nikhil, that 2.4 is actually Mono PERC. I think if we gave the impression that it was 800 megawatts of TOPCon, that is not the case. The whole tunnel facility is TOPCon — is Mono PERC. But the new facility that we are setting up, the entire new 4 gigawatts, that is a TOPCon facility. Now as far as modules are concerned, by the way, in modules — in modules, by the way, we have a 4 gigawatt that entire Jaipur plant is converted to TOPCon modules.

Nikhil Nigania: Got it. Understood. I think I did it wrong. Appreciate that. And any plans on Ingot Wafer as some of your peers are doing or…

Sumant Sinha: I think we are going to follow government lead in that matter. As you know, the government policy has been really the one that has been driving implementation of manufacturing capacities. And at this point, we’ll have to wait and see whether they come up with an equivalent of [ ALM ] for wafers or not or they start giving us that indication. So at this point, those conversations haven’t yet got to a point where we can be comfortable to set up anything on the wafer side. But should that come into place, then yes, for sure, we’ll think about wafers as well.

Nikhil Nigania: Got it. I understand that. And one last question I had was on the recent ammonia tenders, which happened. If you could share some color, did ReNew participate or were the bid just too aggressive for it to make sense for ReNew?

Sumant Sinha: Yes. No, we did not participate for the reason that we felt that those contracts were not appropriately structured. First of all, there are only 10-year PPAs or green ammonia purchase contracts. So we felt that was just too short. So what happens to your entire plant after 10 years was not something that was clear. And the second thing is there aren’t — there are some structural other issues with those contracts like there is no change in law pass- through, for example, and so on. So therefore, we decided not to participate in that tender actually. Because again, as Kailash said earlier, we are not sitting in a situation where we need to participate in any new bids desperately. We can be very selective about the quality of the bids that we win and the returns that we win them at.

So our view was that the green ammonia tender was just not structured appropriately. That’s why we did not participate. And secondly, if you see some of the tariffs that people have won, those also seem actually quite low, especially given all the risks involved and the informative of the contracting involved in that case.

Operator: [Operator Instructions] There are no further questions at this time. I would like to conclude the question-and-answer session as well as our conference call for today. Thank you for your participation, and you may now disconnect.