The Rs 3,100 crore offer opens Sunday; losses in FY23-24 turned to profit in FY25 but valuations raise eyebrows despite sector tailwinds
CleanMax Enviro Energy Solutions Ltd. is launching India’s largest renewable energy IPO this year, seeking to raise Rs 3,100 crore through a combination of fresh equity and promoter selling. The company positions itself as India’s largest commercial and industrial renewable energy provider with major technology giants and industrial houses as clients, but investors must navigate unusual metrics—losses turned to modest profits recently, making traditional P/E multiples largely meaningless for valuation assessment.
The Model
CleanMax Enviro Energy Solutions is a unique player in the renewable energy segment, distinct from utility-scale developers. With over 15 years of experience since inception in 2010, it emerged as India’s largest commercial and industrial renewable energy provider as of March 31, 2025, according to CRISIL. The company generates solar power and distributes it to corporates, data centers, AI and technology industries rather than participating in competitive government tenders based solely on lowest tariff bids.
The business model focuses on customer-specific contracting, tailoring projects for corporate consumers’ needs and selling energy generated from solar, wind and hybrid renewable energy farms. This approach has enabled the company to foster relationships with 555 customers as of September 30, 2025, with 71.72% of contracted capacity for H1FY26 attributable to repeat customers. The model also allows pricing at a premium compared to large utility-scale peers, according to CRISIL.
CleanMax operates 2.80 GW of operational, owned and managed capacity, with 3.17 GW of contracted yet-to-be-executed capacity as of October 31, 2025. The company had an 8% market share of annual open access renewable energy capacity additions in FY25 for commercial and industrial segments in India, with higher market share in Gujarat and Karnataka where the majority of operational capacity was located during FY24.
Customer quality is strong—as of September 30, 2025, 94.72% of customers have a credit rating of “A-” or above by CARE, India Ratings and CRISIL, or are subsidiaries of multinational corporations with such ratings. The company has built a portfolio of power purchase agreements with weighted average tenure of 22.85 years and average lock-in period of 16.86 years as of September 30, 2025.
The client roster includes global giants like Google, Amazon, Apple, Cisco and Equinix, alongside domestic corporates including Ultratech Cement, UPL, Exide Industries, Cipla, TVS Srichakra, MRF, Bajaj Auto and Grasim Industries. Current investors include global renewable energy investors Brookfield and Augment India I Holdings. As of September 30, 2025, the company had 565 employees.
Financial Performance
| Period | Total Income (Rs Cr) | Net Profit/(Loss) (Rs Cr) | EBITDA Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY23 | 960.98 | (59.47) | Not disclosed |
| FY24 | 1,425.31 | (37.64) | Not disclosed |
| FY25 | 1,610.34 | 19.43 | Not disclosed |
| H1FY26 | 969.35 | 19.00 | Not disclosed |
The company marked growth in topline with improved bottomline year-on-year. Revenue grew from Rs 960.98 crore in FY23 to Rs 1,610.34 crore in FY25, representing approximately 29% CAGR. More significantly, the company turned profitable in FY25 after posting losses of Rs 59.47 crore in FY23 and Rs 37.64 crore in FY24.
The H1FY26 performance shows continued momentum with net profit of Rs 19 crore on total income of Rs 969.35 crore, suggesting annualized FY26 profitability could reach Rs 38-40 crore if the trajectory holds.
However, the financial profile reflects characteristics of asset-heavy renewable energy businesses. The company operates in a sector characterized by stable and predictable EBITDA and operating cash flows, but profit after tax typically scales up as assets mature due to depreciation and financing costs being higher in initial years. Given that the average age of the company’s portfolio is relatively young (less than 2.5 years), current PAT does not fully reflect normalized earnings potential and long-term return profile.
For the last three fiscals, the company posted average negative EPS of Rs (1.38) on a basic basis and average negative return on net worth of (0.92)%.
The company completed a pre-IPO placement of 2,819,548 equity shares at Rs 1,053 per share, mobilizing Rs 296.90 crore. Notably, sophisticated pre-IPO investors paid the same price as the IPO upper band, suggesting institutional validation of the valuation.
Post-IPO, current paid-up equity capital of Rs 10.57 crore will expand to Rs 11.70 crore.
Issue Snapshot
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Issue Opens | February 23, 2026 |
| Issue Closes | February 25, 2026 |
| Price Band | Rs 1,000-1,053 per share |
| Fresh Issue | Rs 1,200 crore |
| Offer for Sale | Rs 1,900 crore |
| Total Issue Size | Rs 3,100 crore |
| Lot Size | 14 shares |
| Minimum Investment | Rs 14,742 (at upper band) |
| Listing | BSE, NSE |
| Market Cap (at Rs 1,053) | Rs 12,325.29 crore |
| Post-IPO Dilution | 25.15% |
| Pre-IPO Placement | Rs 296.90 crore at Rs 1,053/share |
Fund Utilization
| Purpose | Amount (Rs Crore) |
|---|---|
| Repayment/prepayment of borrowings | 1,122.67 |
| General corporate purposes | Balance |
Valuation Analysis
| Valuation Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| NAV (as of Sep 30, 2025) | Rs 256.14 |
| Post-IPO NAV (at upper band) | Rs 349.88 |
| Price-to-Book (pre-IPO NAV) | 4.11x |
| Price-to-Book (post-IPO NAV) | 3.01x |
| P/E (based on FY25 earnings) | 634.34x |
| P/E (based on FY26 annualized H1 earnings) | 324.00x |
| EV/EBITDA (Sep 2025) | ~15x |
Prima facie, the issue appears aggressively priced based on traditional earnings multiples. At Rs 1,053, the issue trades at 634x FY25 earnings and 324x annualized FY26 earnings based on first-half performance.
However, renewable energy businesses are typically valued on different metrics given their asset maturation profile. On a price-to-book basis, CleanMax is valued at approximately 3.01x post-IPO NAV, which represents a meaningful discount to listed peers such as Adani Green Energy and NTPC Green Energy. On an EV/EBITDA basis for September 2025, the IPO valuation is approximately 15x, lower than comparable companies in the sector that trade at higher multiples.
The company has demonstrated industry-leading growth along with strong cash return on investment and cash return on equity metrics, supported by attractive project payback periods and high-quality contracted cash flows.
Peer Comparison
| Company | Current P/E |
|---|---|
| Acme Solar | 28.4x |
| NTPC Green | 136.0x |
| Adani Green | 102.0x |
| ReNew Global PLC | NA |
| CleanMax Enviro (issue price) | 634.34x (FY25) |
Listed peers are not truly comparable on an apple-to-apple basis given different business models, scale and asset maturity profiles. Utility-scale developers like NTPC Green and Adani Green participate in government tenders focused on lowest tariff bids, while CleanMax pursues customer-specific contracting at premium pricing for commercial and industrial clients.
Dividend Policy
The company has not declared any dividends for the referred periods. It adopted a dividend policy in August 2025 based on financial performance and future prospects, but no specific payout commitment has been made.
