Altman Z″
Needs current assets and current liabilities.
This is a lending business. Cash-flow reads that suit a manufacturer do not apply: disbursing loans is an operating outflow, so negative operating cash is normal and not a warning sign. Leverage is the raw material of the model, not a red flag on its own. Reads that would mislead here have been withheld rather than shown with a caveat.
A plain-language read of the business, how it actually earns, where the edge is, and the economics of every reported segment — taken from the annual report and investor presentation, not a one-line industry label.
Trading at 5.4x earnings against its own median of 5.2x: 0.1 standard deviations above its usual range. This compares the company with its own history, not with other companies.
How to read this: Price shows the closing price with its 50-day (amber) and 200-day (grey) averages; bars at the bottom are daily volume, green on up days and red on down days; dashed lines mark the 52-week high and low. vs Nifty 50 starts both at 100 so you can see which did better over the period. P/E shows what the market paid for each rupee of profit, inside the band it usually trades in. Drawdown shows how far below its best price the share has been. Hover anywhere for the numbers on that day.
The three to six things that actually matter about this company, each with the exact filing and note it came from — never a fact without the context that makes it meaningful.
What the numbers mean when read together — computed from the filings, not a score.
Capital work-in-progress has stayed high (19% of fixed assets) without converting to productive assets — worth checking whether projects are genuinely progressing.
Why this reading: Noted with caution — worth watching, but not yet conclusive on its own. Business has ups and downs; one soft reading is not a verdict.
CWIP ₹144 cr vs ₹39 cr two years earlier, against fixed assets ₹755 cr. Perennial CWIP that never becomes a fixed asset can hide stalled projects or capitalised costs that should have been expensed.
Both revenue and profit grew over the last year (4.6% and 4.1%) — growth is translating to the bottom line.
Why this reading: A positive signal in the numbers, shown for balance alongside the concerns.
Trailing revenue ₹115,432 cr, trailing profit ₹33,642 cr. Profit growing at least as fast as revenue indicates operating leverage or pricing power.
Every score below is calculated here from the reported numbers — none of it is asserted. Open the notebook at the foot of the section to see each formula with this company's figures in it.
Needs current assets and current liabilities.
Piotroski F-Score — fundamental momentum — Joseph Piotroski, University of Chicago, 2000, in a study of whether accounting signals could improve returns among cheap stocks.
Nine yes-or-no tests across profitability, leverage and operating efficiency. Each pass scores one. It asks a narrow question: is this business getting better or worse on its own terms, year over year?
How to read it7 or more suggests improving fundamentals; 3 or fewer suggests deterioration. It measures direction, not quality — a weak company improving can score higher than a strong one holding steady.
Where it failsA single year of comparison, so one unusual year distorts it. Says nothing about valuation, competitive position or management. Piotroski designed it to rank already-cheap stocks, not to judge a company in isolation.
Needs trade receivables, current assets, other expenses, borrowings.
Accruals are 3.1% of assets.
DuPont decomposition — Devised inside the DuPont Corporation in the 1920s and still the standard way to read a return on equity.
Splits return on equity into its three sources, so the same headline number can be traced to very different businesses.
How to read itA 20% ROE built on margin and turnover is a different proposition from a 20% ROE built on 3× leverage. The first survives a downturn; the second amplifies it.
Where it failsA single year. Negative equity makes it meaningless. Leverage is structural for lenders, so the third term carries no signal there.
cumulative operating cash flow ÷ cumulative net profit
₹-536,038 cr ÷ ₹191,601 cr, over 12 years
-2.80×
Below 1.0 and persistent means profit is being recognised before the cash arrives.(net profit − operating cash flow) ÷ average total assets
(₹33,625 − ₹-4,504) cr ÷ average assets
3.1%
The share of profit that is accounting entries rather than cash. Above ~10% is where accruals start to dominate.net margin × asset turnover × leverage
29.1% × 0.09 × 9.37
25.3%
Splits ROE into whether returns come from operations or from borrowing.EBIT ÷ finance cost
₹112,265 cr ÷ ₹69,415 cr
1.62×
How many times operating profit covers the interest bill.Needs more balance-sheet detail (only 3 of 6 flags testable).
Models that need these lines are withheld rather than estimated: net worth, current assets, current liabilities, trade receivables, inventory, net block. Nothing on this page is back-solved from a figure the company did not publish.
Each framework below is a set of stated, mechanical criteria from published work, run against this company's own filed numbers. Passing or failing a screen is not a verdict — different frameworks disagree by design, and that disagreement is itself informative.
Benjamin Graham's stated criteria for a defensive stock, applied to the filed numbers. A company failing several is not disqualified — Graham designed these to be deliberately strict.
Two ratios only: what the business earns on its capital, and what you pay for those earnings. Designed to be ranked across a universe rather than read in isolation.
The fundamental half of William O'Neil's framework. The market and leadership components are judgement calls and are not scored here.
The characteristics long-term holders commonly look for: cash-backed earnings, high returns on capital, and debt that never forces a decision.
Median of the companies we hold in the same sector (Financial Services). Every figure on both sides is the live feed's trailing twelve months, so the two are measured the same way whatever depth of extraction this company has had. A number only means something next to something else — expensive against the market and cheap against peers are different facts.
Bars are revenue; the line is net margin. Revenue rising while the line falls is the shape worth noticing.
Operating cash first, then what the business spent and raised.
One year is a snapshot. These are the two lines that matter across a cycle.
Set your own assumptions and watch the numbers move. A scenario calculator — the outputs are the arithmetic of your inputs.
One canonical set of figures — the same numbers used everywhere else on this page and on the screener.
How the register has moved over recent quarters — the direction matters more than the level.
Promoter held steady from 55.99% to 55.99% across these quarters.
FII rose from 18.84% to 20.54% across these quarters.
MF trimmed from 10.58% to 9.34% across these quarters.
Other trimmed from 14.59% to 14.13% across these quarters.
| Metric | Q2 FY27 | Q1 FY27 | Q2 FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Loan Outstanding (₹ crore) | 1,189,152 | — | 1,163,768 |
| Gross Credit Impaired Assets Ratio | 0.55% | — | — |
| Net Credit Impaired Assets Ratio | 0.13% | — | — |
| Capital Risk Adjusted Ratio (CRAR) | 23.89% | — | — |
| Operating Margin | 33.02% | 36.16% | — |
| Net Profit Margin | 26.28% | 28.86% | — |
From the quarterly results and the earnings call, read by FinMinutes. Latest quarter, read in full.
Read using the Power and utilities framework (named in the filing read). Primary valuation lens: P/B against allowed RoE.
Read more closely in this sector: Regulatory receivables and late payment surcharge · Capacity announced against commissioned.
The shape of the business over time (annual) — read the direction, not the single print.
| Line | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue from operations | 71,656 | 76,262 | 77,568 | 91,508 | 106,502 | 115,450 |
| Other income | 46 | 79 | 47 | 69 | 85 | 49 |
| Depreciation | 25 | 35 | 52 | 53 | 56 | 63 |
| Finance cost | 44,684 | 44,709 | 47,017 | 57,968 | 64,644 | 69,415 |
| Profit before tax | 19,891 | 23,382 | 26,496 | 33,588 | 38,632 | 42,850 |
| Net profit (owners) | 15,716 | 18,768 | 21,179 | 26,461 | 30,514 | 33,625 |
| EPS (₹) | 35.60 | 42.47 | 48.15 | 59.88 | 69.67 | 78.49 |
Exceptional items, total income and EBITDA are read from the filed statements.
| Metric | Sep 2023 | Dec 2023 | Mar 2024 | Jun 2024 | Sep 2024 | Dec 2024 | Mar 2025 | Jun 2025 | Sep 2025 | Dec 2025 | Mar 2026 | Jun 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 22,391 | 23,572 | 24,141 | 24,717 | 25,722 | 26,798 | 29,265 | 28,539 | 28,890 | 29,095 | 28,920 | 28,527 |
| Other Income | 13 | 22 | 35 | 20 | 33 | 24 | 20 | 90 | 11 | 27 | -63 | 36 |
| Expenses | -551 | 791 | -589 | 310 | 366 | 429 | 2,148 | 212 | 1,514 | 1,031 | 416 | 35 |
| Depreciation | 13 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 18 | 16 | 18 |
| Finance cost | 14,313 | 14,827 | 15,154 | 15,521 | 16,008 | 16,562 | 16,567 | 17,204 | 17,314 | 17,572 | 17,333 | 17,250 |
| Profit before tax | 8,629 | 7,961 | 9,597 | 8,894 | 9,368 | 9,816 | 10,554 | 11,199 | 10,057 | 10,502 | 11,092 | 11,260 |
| Net Profit | 6,628 | 6,294 | 7,556 | 7,182 | 7,215 | 7,760 | 8,358 | 8,981 | 7,834 | 8,212 | 8,598 | 8,998 |
| EPS | 14.65 | 14.33 | 17.04 | 16.80 | 16.07 | 17.66 | 19.14 | 20.81 | 17.40 | 19.07 | 21.21 | 21.25 |
| Item | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equity Capital | 2,640 | 2,640 | 2,640 | 3,300 | 3,300 | 3,300 |
| Reserves | 58,127 | 69,036 | 81,518 | 97,847 | 114,438 | 129,561 |
| Net block | 341 | 719 | 782 | 764 | 761 | 755 |
| CWIP | 336 | 53 | 22 | 39 | 88 | 144 |
| Investments | 3,499 | 3,774 | 5,973 | 10,971 | 12,792 | 15,549 |
| Total Assets | 775,707 | 791,000 | 896,112 | 1,038,877 | 1,178,086 | 1,244,579 |
| Line | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash from operations | -59,143 | 4,904 | -74,699 | -97,820 | -92,270 | -4,504 |
| Cash from investing | 1,741 | -547 | -1,694 | -3,409 | -2,212 | -3,441 |
| Cash from financing | 60,424 | -8,371 | 75,518 | 101,261 | 94,159 | 9,265 |
| Free cash flow | -59,234 | 4,604 | -74,821 | -98,143 | -93,110 | -4,841 |
| Net change in cash | 3,023 | -4,014 | -874 | 32 | -323 | 1,319 |
Cash from operations is the number profit has to answer to. Free cash flow is what remains after the business pays for its own growth.
The part no one reads: the auditor's opinion, the contingent liabilities buried in the notes, the covenants, and the claims in the deck placed beside the figures that test them.
Where analysts pressed management on the earnings call, and exactly how management answered — the questions that were hardest to answer are usually the ones that matter.
The same read, applied to the companies this one competes with.
Power Finance Corporation Ltd. reported revenue of ₹29,044 cr for July to September 2026, +0.5% on the year and +1.8% on the quarter. That is slower than this quarter has grown in recent years (+13.6% on average). Over the last four quarters revenue comes to ₹1.16 lakh cr, +1.8% on the four before.
Operating profit (EBITDA) was ₹27,665 cr, a margin of 95.3%, +49 bps on the year and −463 bps on the quarter. Over the last 8 quarters the margin has ranged from 36.0% to 99.9%, averaging 59.5%. Operating costs grew −8.9%, broadly with revenue, so operating profit kept pace with sales.
Net profit was ₹7,682 cr, −2.0% on the year and −14.6% on the quarter, with earnings per share of ₹18.29. Profit before other income, one-offs and tax fell 4.5%, so the profit growth came from the business itself. The tax rate of 21% is in line with its recent average. Profit over the last four quarters totals ₹33,489 cr, +1.7% on the four before.
Of the 11 companies in Power and utilities that have reported Q2 FY27 so far, Power Finance Corporation Ltd. ranks 11th on revenue growth; the sector median is +22.8%. Its margin moved +49 bps on the year against a sector median of +66 bps.
Most power earnings are regulated returns on equity, with fuel costs passed through, so revenue can swing with fuel prices while profit moves far less.
On earnings per share of ₹79.82 over the last four quarters, the stock at ₹334.70 trades at 4.2 times trailing earnings.
Less than half the profit turned into operating cash. Working capital, or something else?
Source: Cash flow statement
Could not run on this quarter: Exceptional items that recur, Inventory against sales, Earlier promises against delivery. The filing did not carry these lines.
Net profit a year ago, each driver's change, and net profit now. Blue added profit, red took it away.
| Balance sheet | Sep '26 | Last year end | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trade receivables | ₹229 cr | ₹327 cr | ▼ 29.8% |
| Cash | ₹1,138 cr | ₹1,409 cr | ▼ 19.2% |
| Bank balances | ₹3,925 cr | ₹3,263 cr | ▲ 20.3% |
| Long-term borrowings | ₹3.63 lakh cr | ₹3.52 lakh cr | ▲ 3.2% |
| Short-term borrowings | ₹6.42 lakh cr | ₹6.47 lakh cr | ▼ 0.8% |
| Trade payables | ₹196 cr | ₹211 cr | ▼ 6.7% |
| Net block | ₹691 cr | ₹710 cr | ▼ 2.7% |
| Capital work in progress | ₹147 cr | ₹128 cr | ▲ 14.8% |
| Equity | ₹1.47 lakh cr | ₹1.33 lakh cr | ▲ 10.5% |
| Total assets | ₹12.74 lakh cr | ₹12.45 lakh cr | ▲ 2.3% |
| Cash flow, year to date | This year | Last year |
|---|---|---|
| Operating cash flow | ₹1,349 cr | −₹8,676 cr |
| Capital expenditure | −₹32.9 cr | −₹243 cr |
| Investing cash flow | ₹65.5 cr | −₹1,564 cr |
| Financing cash flow | −₹1,344 cr | ₹15,754 cr |
| Dividends paid | −₹3,313 cr | −₹3,743 cr |
Operating cash flow was 0.08× profit. Receivables at 1 days of sales (−0 days against the last year end).
Other matter 1: “”We did not review the unaudited financial results of a subsidiary included in the unaudited consolidated financial results, whose financial results reflect Group's share of total assets of ₹6,74,188.47 crore as at 30th September, 2026, Group's share of total revenues… Read in full
We did not review the unaudited financial results of a subsidiary included in the unaudited consolidated financial results, whose financial results reflect Group's share of total assets of ₹6,74,188.47 crore as at 30th September, 2026, Group's share of total revenues of ₹15,010.43 crore and ₹29,479.92 crore, total net profit after tax of ₹3,477.73 crore and ₹7,670.49 crore and total comprehensive income (net of tax) of ₹4,036.58 crore and ₹11,476.53 crore for the quarter and half year ended 30th September, 2026 respectively, and cash flows (net) of ₹507.17 crore for the half year ended 30th September, 2026 as considered in the unaudited consolidated financial results.
Other matter 2: “”The unaudited consolidated financial results also include the financial results of two other subsidiaries which have not been reviewed, which reflects Group's share of total assets of ₹1,023.43 crores as at 30th September 2026, Group's share of total revenues of… Read in full
The unaudited consolidated financial results also include the financial results of two other subsidiaries which have not been reviewed, which reflects Group's share of total assets of ₹1,023.43 crores as at 30th September 2026, Group's share of total revenues of ₹92.80 crore and ₹192.10 crore, total net profit after tax ₹51.63 crores and ₹111.34 crores and total comprehensive income of ₹59.58 crore and ₹119.52 crore for the quarter and half year ended 30th September, 2026 respectively, and cash flows (net) of ₹4.84 crore for the half year ended 30th September, 2026.
Filing p. consolidated limited review report p.1-3
₹0.0 cr still unused. “Raised ₹6,643.50 crore via three series of NCDs during Q2 FY27 (₹2,500.00 crore on 25-Aug-26, ₹2,168.50 crore and ₹1,975.00 crore on 07-Sep-26); fully utilised with nil deviation.”
Board of Directors approved Scheme of Merger of REC Limited into PFC on June 28, 2026; received RBI NOC on October 15, 2026 and BSE/NSE no-objection letters on October 19, 2026. (p. note 7 of consolidated results)
Audit Committee presently comprises of one Independent Director, awaiting appointment of other Independent Directors by the Government of India. (p. note 3 of consolidated results)
Tax: Consolidated tax expense of ₹2,099.80 crore (current tax ₹2,115.76 crore, deferred tax credit ₹15.96 crore) on Profit before tax of ₹9,781.31 crore. Refund of ₹416.09 crore for FY 2016-17 received, of which ₹282.25 crore is under contest.
| Metric | Q2 FY27 | Q1 FY27 | Q2 FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Loan Outstanding (₹ crore) | 1,189,152 | — | 1,163,768 |
| Gross Credit Impaired Assets Ratio | 0.55% | — | — |
| Net Credit Impaired Assets Ratio | 0.13% | — | — |
| Capital Risk Adjusted Ratio (CRAR) | 23.89% | — | — |
| Operating Margin | 33.02% | 36.16% | — |
| Net Profit Margin | 26.28% | 28.86% | — |
PFC monitors discom payment discipline via the PRAAPTI portal under Late Payment Surcharge (LPS) rules; Government serviced bond receivables stood at ₹29,357.36 crore and loan assets at ₹11,89,151.80 crore.
PRAAPTI portal and LPS rules enforce structured recovery of discom dues across the power sector.
not disclosed
As a dedicated financial institution lending to power, logistics, and infrastructure, plant-level MW capacity figures are not published in financial results filings.
Read using the Power and utilities framework (named in the filing read). Primary valuation lens: P/B against allowed RoE.
Read more closely in this sector: Regulatory receivables and late payment surcharge · Capacity announced against commissioned.
| Segment | Revenue | YoY | Result | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lending to power, logistics and infrastructure sector | ₹29,044 cr | ▲ 0.5% | ₹9,781 cr | ▼ 2.7% |
| Q3 FY24 | Q4 FY24 | Q1 FY25 | Q2 FY25 | Q3 FY25 | Q4 FY25 | Q1 FY26 | Q2 FY26 | Q3 FY26 | Q4 FY26 | Q1 FY27 | Q2 FY27 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ₹23,572 cr | ₹24,141 cr | ₹24,717 cr | ₹25,722 cr | ₹26,798 cr | ₹29,265 cr | ₹28,539 cr | ₹28,890 cr | ₹29,095 cr | ₹28,920 cr | ₹28,527 cr | ₹29,044 cr |
| YoY | — | — | +18% | +15% | +14% | +21% | +15% | +12% | +9% | −1% | −0% | +1% |
| EBITDA margin | 33.7% | 39.7% | 36.0% | 36.3% | 36.6% | 36.0% | 39.0% | 94.8% | 36.1% | 38.6% | 99.9% | 95.3% |
| Other income, % of PBT | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 0% | −1% | 0% | 2% |
| Exceptional items | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tax rate | 21% | 21% | 19% | 23% | 21% | 21% | 20% | 22% | 22% | 22% | 20% | 21% |
| Net profit | ₹6,294 cr | ₹7,556 cr | ₹7,182 cr | ₹7,215 cr | ₹7,760 cr | ₹8,358 cr | ₹8,981 cr | ₹7,834 cr | ₹8,212 cr | ₹8,598 cr | ₹8,998 cr | ₹7,682 cr |
| YoY | — | — | +20% | +9% | +23% | +11% | +25% | +9% | +6% | +3% | +0% | −2% |
| Core profit YoY | — | — | +20% | +8% | +23% | +10% | +25% | +8% | +7% | +6% | +1% | −5% |
| EPS | ₹14.33 | ₹17.04 | ₹16.80 | ₹16.07 | ₹17.66 | ₹19.14 | ₹20.81 | ₹17.40 | ₹19.07 | ₹21.21 | ₹21.25 | ₹18.29 |
| Flags | · | · | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 1 |
Each quarter is read with the same rules. Balance-sheet and cash checks run on half-year and annual quarters; filing-read checks run where a read exists.