Shares of GAIL (India) Ltd rose 2.42% to ₹185.00 on the NSE on Tuesday, as investor sentiment remained buoyant despite a weaker-than-expected Q1 FY26 earnings print. The uptick appears to have been driven by optimism around the company’s capital expenditure plans and upcoming pipeline projects.
On Monday, GAIL reported a 30.77% year-on-year decline in net profit to ₹1,886 crore for the April–June quarter, missing Street estimates (₹1,978 crore). In the same period last year, the PSU gas utility had posted a profit of ₹2,724 crore.
Despite the drop in profit, revenue came in at ₹34,768 crore, slightly above expectations, supported by higher gas trading volumes. EBITDA stood at ₹3,334 crore versus the projected ₹3,389 crore, while EBITDA margin came in at 9.6%, slightly below the 9.8% estimate.
GAIL CMD Sandeep Kumar Gupta addressed investors’ concerns by outlining a robust infrastructure roadmap. He noted that the company incurred capex of ₹3,176 crore during the quarter, primarily on pipelines, petrochemicals, and equity infusion into joint ventures.
Crucially, Gupta announced that PNGRB has approved the expansion of the Jamnagar-Loni LPG pipeline capacity from 3.25 MTPA to 6.5 MTPA, with an estimated investment of ₹5,000 crore. The project is expected to be completed in three years and will significantly reduce CO₂ emissions and road-related incidents from LPG tanker transport.
The market appeared to view this strategic investment as a long-term positive, offsetting the profit dip and driving the stock higher.
