Polycab India CEO Shashi Amin has declared the company will go 'all out' to defend its market share following the Aditya Birla Group's entry into India's wires and cables market. As per Mint, Amin told the publication that "We will go all out to retain our market share" in response to the high-budget entry that has caused significant share price volatility. Since Aditya Birla announced commercial production on September 1, Polycab shares have fallen 7%, underperforming the Nifty's 1% decline. Other market leaders including RR Kabel, Havells India, and KEI Industries have lost 5-20% during the same period. Amin dismissed the share price fall as a knee-jerk reaction, emphasizing that the company is closely tracking competitors' pricing strategies while pointing out that establishing a strong position in cables takes considerably longer than in wires.
The Aditya Birla Group launched UltraTvolt with an initial investment of ₹1,800 crore, setting up a new manufacturing plant that equals a tenth of the market's existing capacity. According to Mint, Kumar Mangalam Birla has set an ambition for the new business to become one of India's top two wires and cables sellers within five years. The company is commencing commercial production in the first phase at Jhagadia, Gujarat with an installed capacity of 1.1 million kilometres, eventually reaching full capacity of around four million kilometres. UltraTvolt's focus is on wires that cater to the consumer sector rather than heavy-duty cables for transmission grids, with the former category accounting for less than a third of the overall market. Amin noted that unlike wires, where entry can be relatively easier, cables require approvals and pre-qualification from government agencies, utilities, consultants and contractors.
Amin acknowledged that "there will be a bit of pressure on everybody as far as margins are concerned" due to the increased capacity in the market. As per Mint, he expects India's wires and cables market to expand from just over ₹1 trillion during FY26 to ₹1.5 trillion by 2030, led by demand from India's expanding power grid and booming real estate industry. However, the new player is entering the market with significant capacity at a time when incumbents are also investing in expansion, potentially leaving the industry with more capacity than demand can absorb in the near term. JM Financial analysts warn that while growth opportunities exist, UltraTech's targeting of Western and Northern markets means head-to-head competition with Polycab and KEI, with concerns that incumbents seeing their pricing power and margins being capped as UltraTech plays either the quality or pricing game could hurt industry-wide pricing discipline.
Polycab has committed around ₹8,000 crore in capital expenditure over the next four years, compared with the roughly ₹1,800 crore investment planned by the Aditya Birla Group. As per Mint, Amin said the similar investment will be for the next four years, while for them, it's one time. Polycab currently commands around 30-31% of the organised market, with the organised segment accounting for about 70-72% of the overall industry. The company is targeting a doubling of its 2025 base by 2030 and believes it could exceed that target ahead of schedule. One of the biggest growth opportunities is expected to come from data centres, where Polycab has been building a presence for seven to eight years, with every megawatt of data-centre capacity requiring about ₹3.5 crore worth of wires and cables.
Jefferies expects Polycab to deliver 22% PAT CAGR over FY26–29E, driven by volume growth and improving FMEG margins, with annual capex expectations of around ₹14–15 billion over FY26–29E. The industry was worth around ₹1.01 trillion in FY26, with nearly 25% still estimated to be informal, and with the market expected to expand at around 11-12% annually. JM Financial notes that competition in India's cables and wires space was on a clear uptick after the entry of UltraTvolt as well as the resurgence of Diamond Power, with Bajaj Electricals and Crompton also looking to eat into the market. Despite the correction, fundamentally Polycab remains strong with FY26 revenue crossing ₹28,800 crore and profit after tax exceeding ₹2,700 crore, supported by strong wires and cables demand and improving FMEG performance.
