
KEI Industries continues to face regulatory scrutiny as Income Tax Department search operations continue across approximately six locations, including its Delhi offices. According to latest reports, the company has not issued a formal exchange filing on the matter as of reporting time. The searches, which began on Thursday, 7 May, are reportedly examining financial records, tax filings, and compliance documentation. Under standard procedure, such operations typically create near-term overhang on the stock regardless of the eventual outcome. The company maintains its commitment to fully cooperating with authorities and providing all necessary information during the ongoing proceedings.
KEI Industries reported Q4 revenue of ₹3,476 crore, up 19% year-on-year, with net profit growing 26% YoY to ₹284 crore. As reported by CNBC-TV18, the performance was driven primarily by the wires and cables segment, with EBITDA coming in at ₹381 crore, up 27%, and margins expanding to 11%. The company's wires and cables segment revenue grew 18% with margins reaching a multi-year high of 12.4%, while stainless steel wires delivered 22% revenue growth with margin expansion to 9%. However, EPC business remained broadly flat with ongoing margin pressure, continuing to weigh on the blended margin profile. According to Equirus Securities, overall EBITDA margins were the highest since Q4FY24, while wires and cables margins improved 140 basis points to 12.4%, and stainless steel wires margins expanded sharply by 400 basis points to 9%. The company's gross margin improved 150 basis points to 25.2%, with EBITDA rising 27% YoY to ₹381 crore, beating expectations.
KEI Industries' stock fell nearly 3.5% on May 7, 2026, trading at ₹5,068 per share after the Income Tax search reports emerged. The shares had reached ₹4,966.3 during intraday trading before recovering slightly. With a market capitalisation of ₹48,357.65 crore, the stock is trading at a P/E ratio of 53.59. Analysts flagged the order book at quarter-end stood at ₹3,585 crore, down 9% sequentially, as a caution signal for the near-term revenue pipeline alongside rising competition in the wires segment. Despite strong earnings, the regulatory uncertainty has created immediate market pressure. The development comes days after KEI Industries reported its March quarter earnings, following which Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to 'equal weight' from 'overweight', while raising its price target to ₹5,213. The brokerage said the downgrade follows the stock's sharp 35% outperformance versus the Sensex over the last six months.
The company maintains an optimistic outlook with guided volume growth of around 17-18% in FY27 and nearly 20% in FY28. However, analysts from Equirus Securities note that the 19% revenue growth may be largely value-led rather than volume-led, with higher raw material costs potentially passed through to customers potentially flattering the topline. This suggests that underlying volumes may have declined on a year-on-year basis, though the margin improvement reflects genuine operating leverage on pricing rather than genuine demand acceleration. The company's order book remained healthy with a backlog that included ₹625 crore in EHV cables, ₹310 crore in EPC projects, ₹2,150 crore in domestic institutional cables and ₹500 crore in export orders. For FY26, KEI Industries reported 21% revenue growth, exceeding its earlier guidance range of 19–20%, though the order book stood at ₹3,585 crore, down 9% sequentially and 6% YoY.