Mukul Agrawal Portfolio Infra Stock With Nuclear Exposure to Keep on Your Radar
Every quarter tells a slightly different story, and this one is no different. On the surface, the numbers look soft. But look a little closer and there's a turnaround story quietly building underneath, backed by big bets on nuclear power, a genuine push to cut debt, and one smart money investor who keeps adding shares.
HCC shares were trading at Rs 21.51 today, down slightly by 0.19% from the previous close of Rs 21.55, and still nearly 24% below its 52-week high of Rs 28.48. The company's market cap stood at Rs 5,634 crore, with the stock trading at a consolidated P/E of around 34 times.
Margins Slip, But It's Not All Bad News
Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) posted a mixed Q1 FY27. Standalone turnover came in at Rs 982 crore with a net profit of Rs 37 crore. On a consolidated basis, PAT stood at Rs 51 crore on revenue of Rs 993 crore.
The number that probably worried investors most was EBITDA margin, which fell to 10.7% from 14.9% in the same quarter last year. That's a sharp drop, and honestly, it's the kind of number that spooks the market. But the company has an explanation. Nearly Rs 8,000 crore worth of new orders, won over the last 15 months, are currently in the mobilization stage.
That means the company is spending money to get these projects moving, but the revenue and profit from them hasn't kicked in yet. Management has said margins should climb back to the 13-14% range once these projects pick up pace.
Order Book Still Growing, Slowly
The current order book stands at Rs 12,976 crore, with an average execution timeline of roughly three and a half years. Transport projects dominate this book at 64%, followed by hydro at 17% and water at 16%, while nuclear and buildings together make up the rest. Geographically, Maharashtra leads with 32% share, with Bihar and Uttarakhand also contributing a meaningful chunk.
The company also picked up a new order in Bhutan worth Rs 127 crore and is the lowest bidder on projects worth Rs 2,124 crore (its own share being Rs 1,671 crore), expected to convert by the end of this quarter. On top of that, bids worth close to Rs 9,997 crore are under evaluation, and there's a much bigger pipeline of nearly Rs 85,907 crore being tracked, spread across hydropower, metro projects, and industrial work.
Debt-free in future & Nuclear on the Radar
One of the more encouraging parts of the story is debt. Total debt now stands at around Rs 2,000 crore, and a prepayment of Rs 100 crore was planned for August 2026, with more repayments to follow. The company has made it clear that becoming largely debt-free is very much the goal, and it doesn't want to wait on the arbitration money to get there. Speaking of which, HCC also has arbitration awards worth about Rs 1,700 crore in its favour, expected to be realized over the next three to four years, which should give the deleveraging push an extra boost once that cash starts coming in.
There's also growing interest in nuclear power as a future growth area. India's nuclear capacity target is set to rise sharply from the current 9 GW, and the company already accounts for about 60% of India's installed nuclear power capacity built so far. That long track record gives it a strong starting point as more nuclear projects come up for bidding in the coming years.
Big Investor Keeps Adding Shares
Shareholding data shows ace investor Mukul Agrawal has been steadily increasing his stake, moving from 1.68% in December 2025 to 1.91% by June 2026. FII holding has also moved up to 11.38% as of June 2026. Promoter holding, meanwhile, has stayed largely steady over the past year, hovering around the 16-17% mark.
Bottom Line
This quarter's numbers weren't great, and management has openly admitted order booking hasn't grown as fast as it should have. But the bigger picture tells a different story. Debt is falling, big arbitration money is expected to come in over the next few years, and a large project pipeline is still being chased. Add to that a known investor quietly building his position, and this starts to look like a company in the early stages of a turnaround, even if the road ahead needs patience.
About the Company
Hindustan Construction Company is one of India's oldest infrastructure builders, with a legacy spanning a hundred years. It works across sectors like hydropower, metro rail, nuclear infrastructure, water projects, and transport, and has been involved in some of the country's most complex construction projects.