The Navratna PSU’s fourth-quarter profit more than tripled, pushing shares to an all-time high and rewarding investors with ₹3.85 per share
A Record-Breaking Finish to FY26
NLC India Limited closed 2025-26 with the highest annual profit in its history. The Navratna public sector enterprise reported a net profit of about ₹3,769 crore, up roughly 39 per cent from ₹2,713 crore a year earlier. Total income rose about 9 per cent to ₹18,467 crore, which shows that profit grew much faster than revenue and that the company is converting more of each rupee earned into earnings.
A Fourth Quarter That Stole the Show
Most of the year’s momentum came in the January-March quarter. Net profit for the quarter reached ₹1,481 crore, up about 216 per cent from a year earlier and roughly double the ₹724 crore posted in the December quarter. Total income for the quarter rose 30.8 per cent to ₹5,197 crore, and pre-tax profit jumped 66 per cent to ₹1,518 crore. Operating profit before depreciation, interest and tax hit a record ₹1,774 crore, an operating margin of 35.19 per cent, the highest in at least eight quarters and far above the 22.45 per cent of Q1 FY25.
What the 38.5% Dividend Really Means
The headline 38.5 per cent dividend is the full-year payout on shares with a face value of ₹10, which works out to ₹3.85 per share. It combines an interim dividend of ₹3.60 per share (36 per cent), paid earlier in the year with an effective date of January 20, 2026, and a proposed final dividend of ₹0.25 per share (2.5 per cent). The final dividend still needs shareholder approval, and the record date will be announced later. The payout is a sharp step up from FY25, when the company paid ₹1.50 per share in both the interim and final rounds.
Dalal Street Cheers
Investors responded quickly. After the results, NLC India shares surged more than 14 per cent in intraday trade on May 14 to around ₹371-374, touching a fresh all-time high of ₹387.70 on the BSE. The government holds a majority stake in the company, which stood at 72.20 per cent as of December 2024.
Betting Big on Green and Thermal Capacity
Behind the numbers is a year of heavy capacity building. NLC India added 1,013 MW to its portfolio in FY26, including 660 MW from Unit 2 of the Ghatampur Thermal Power Plant in Uttar Pradesh, a 300 MW solar project in Rajasthan and 3 MW of rooftop solar. Ghatampur’s first 660 MW unit had already been synchronised with the grid, so both units of the joint venture project with Uttar Pradesh’s state power utility now contribute to earnings. The balance sheet grew along with it, with total assets rising from ₹57,851 crore to ₹65,202 crore in a year, according to Moneycontrol.
Government as shareholder
With a 72.20% stake, the government is the biggest beneficiary of the dividend. You could estimate the payout flowing to the exchequer once you confirm the current shareholding and share count.
