Apar was a conductor company from inception and a transformer-oil maker for decades after, and the market gave its diversification a discount for most of that time. It became a grid pure-play only when the transmission, renewable and EV cycles all ordered at the same time. Diversification looks like a discount until every line runs. Here is the journey, year by year.
- Founded in 1958 in Mumbai (as Power Cables Pvt. Ltd.), starting with aluminium conductors for transmission lines.
- It added transformer oils (1968) and specialty polymer cables (2005), running three businesses in parallel.
- From 2023 the largest-ever Indian transmission capex cycle lifted its conductor business.
- By FY25 revenue topped ₹18,000 crore, and the stock compounded over 5x in eighteen months.
- FY25 Revenue tops ₹18,000 crore at an operating margin around 8%.
1958 D.D. Desai founds Apar in Mumbai (as Power Cables Pvt. Ltd.), its initial business aluminium conductors for overhead transmission lines.
1985 It becomes India’s largest transformer-oil manufacturer.
1968 It adds transformer oils (POWEROIL), pioneering high-performance grades for the state electricity boards.
2005 It expands into specialty polymer cables for solar, automotive and industrial use.
2018 Three businesses run in parallel, but the stock trades cheap for an extended period.
2021 Specialty cables become a growth engine on solar and EV-charging tailwinds.
2023 Power Grid Corporation begins the largest-ever Indian transmission capex cycle, and Apar’s conductor business benefits.
2024 The stock compounds over 5x in eighteen months, with margins at decade highs.
2025 It adds defence-cable orders and begins exporting to US data-centre customers, with grid capex and exports flagged as parallel drivers.
2026 Apar is one of three or four listed Indian companies with direct leverage to the grid super-cycle.
The pattern is the point
Apar was a conductor company from inception and a transformer-oil maker for decades after, becoming a grid pure-play only when transmission, renewable and EV cycles all ordered at once. Diversification looks like a discount right up until every diversification line runs together, and then it re-rates fast.
