NMDC shares surged nearly 18% to a 52-week high after reporting a significant turnaround in FY26 earnings. According to reports from The Economic Times and Business Standard, the stock rallied as much as 17.92% to an intraday high of ₹52.62 during Monday's trading session, with the stock hitting a 52-week high at ₹52.6 per share. The strong performance reflects investor confidence in the company's return to profitability and substantial revenue growth, with the stock outperforming the BSE Sensex which was down 0.03% at 74,751.85. Technical indicators support the rally, with the stock's 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) standing at 56.9, suggesting room for further upward movement without entering overheated territory. Motilal Oswal has now issued a buy rating on NMDC with a target price of ₹106, based on 7x EV/EBITDA on FY28 estimate, while Systematix has revised their target price upward to ₹112 per share from ₹95, implying a 21% upside potential from current levels, based on 6.7x FY28E EV/EBITDA.
The company returned to profitability in the March quarter, posting a consolidated net profit of ₹2,017.6 crore compared with a net loss of ₹473.39 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. As reported by Business Standard, this marked a significant improvement from the loss of ₹244 crore reported in the December 2025 quarter. The company also achieved its first profitable full-year performance, posting a net profit of ₹59 crore in FY26 compared with a substantial net loss of ₹2,374 crore in FY25. On a sequential basis, revenue showed strong momentum with revenue rising sharply from ₹3,007 crore reported in the previous quarter, demonstrating consistent quarterly improvement. Motilal Oswal estimates revenue at ₹84 billion (excluding third-party sales) for the quarter, growing 20% YoY and 22% QoQ, driven by better volumes during the quarter. Systematix reports that total revenue reached ₹11,340 crore (+62%/+49% YoY/QoQ) with average realisations at ₹4,759 per tonne this quarter, which fell 5% YoY but marginally increased by 2% QoQ.
Iron ore production demonstrated strong growth momentum, reaching 16.3 million tonnes (+22% YoY and +11% QoQ) during the quarter, while sales stood at 15.3 million tonnes (+21% YoY and QoQ). According to Systematix, EBITDA stood at ₹2,640 crore (+29%/+23% YoY/QoQ), which was 2% below brokerage estimates, with EBITDA margin during the quarter at 23.2% compared to 28.2% in Q3 FY26 and 29.3% in Q4 FY25, largely impacted by trading revenues for NMDC Steel. The company's cost of production excluding selling expenses and royalty stood at ₹3,425 per tonne (+129%/+93% YoY/QoQ), while employee costs per ton were ₹445 this quarter versus ₹432 in Q4 FY25. Motilal Oswal's research shows that blended Average Selling Price (ASP) for the quarter stood at ₹5,488 per tonne (flat YoY and QoQ), while iron ore ASP stood at ₹4,873 per tonne (-3% YoY and +3% QoQ) in Q4 FY26. The company's annual revenue from operations surged nearly 60% to ₹13,641.81 crore, compared with ₹8,503 crore in the previous financial year, highlighting strong growth in production and sales volumes.
NMDC's core iron ore business continued to deliver steady growth, with segment revenue rising to ₹7,455.8 crore during the quarter from ₹6,350.5 crore a year earlier. The company's steel business witnessed a sharp expansion, with revenue from HR Coil and Sheets soaring to ₹2,947.3 crore from just ₹102.9 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Revenue from pellets and other minerals, products and services also increased significantly to ₹1,115.6 crore, compared with ₹559.2 crore a year ago. This strong performance across multiple segments underscores NMDC's growing contribution from both its mining and steel operations, as the company continues to benefit from healthy demand across the metals value chain. The company undertook a temporary HR coil trading arrangement to support the working capital requirements of NMDC Steel, but management clarified this was a one-off transaction with no such trading activity planned going forward.
For the full financial year FY26, Systematix reports that NMDC reported FY26 revenue of ₹32,070 crore (+34% YoY), EBITDA of ₹9,260 crore (+8% YoY), and an EBITDA margin of 28.9% compared to 35.8% in FY25. The company's total production for FY26 was 53.2mt (+21% YoY), while sales were 50.3mt (+13% YoY). Systematix notes that long-term growth levers, including capacity expansion, improving logistics, ramp-up in coal assets and increased focus on value-added products are expected to support NMDC's earnings visibility over the medium term. The company closed FY26 with a net cash position of ₹5,500 crore compared to ₹6,300 crore in FY25, indicating strong financial health and operational efficiency. The board of directors recommended a final dividend of ₹1 per equity share of face value ₹1 each for FY26, subject to shareholder approval at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting, in addition to the interim dividend of ₹2.50 per share already declared and paid during the financial year.
