Revenue of India’s cable and wire (C&W) manufacturers is expected to rise 28-30% in FY27, driven by 18-20% price hikes to offset soaring raw material costs, even as the sector continues to benefit from a ₹10-12 lakh crore investment pipeline across power, renewable energy, real estate, data centres and smart meters, according to Crisil Ratings.
The sharp growth outlook comes after the industry delivered more than 20% volume-led growth in FY26, with demand continuing to be supported by infrastructure-linked sectors amid rising power consumption, urbanisation and digitisation.
An analysis of 17 cable and wire manufacturers, accounting for nearly 70% of the organised sector’s ₹1 lakh crore revenue, indicates that volumes are expected to grow around 10% this fiscal despite higher prices. Organised players account for nearly two-thirds of the overall industry revenue.
“This fiscal too, volumes will continue to grow on the back of demand for housing wires and power cables (~50% of total revenue) with investments upto Rs 10-12 lakh crore lined up in renewables, power, real-estate and new age sectors like data centres and smart meters.
However, volume growth is expected to be a tad lower this fiscal at ~10% as higher prices (18-20% rise in realizations) may lead to some deferment of discretionary capex spends by industrial sector,” said Mohit Makhija, Senior Director, Crisil Ratings.
The rating agency said realisations are being pushed up by a sharp rise in raw material costs amid tightening global supplies linked to the West Asia conflict. Prices of copper and aluminium have increased 22-27%, while prices of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) have risen about 12% over the last fiscal.
Despite the commodity price surge and increasing competition from new entrants, Crisil expects manufacturers to maintain pricing discipline and pass on most of the cost increases. As a result, absolute operating profits are expected to expand 12-13% this fiscal.
The report also points to a fresh investment cycle in the sector. Capacity utilisation touched around 75% last fiscal, prompting manufacturers to expand production capacities.
“Healthy cash flows and steady demand will encourage players to ramp up capex as utilization levels already touched ~75% last fiscal. Overall, capacities are expected to go up gradually by 20–22% by the end of fiscal 2027, of which nearly half will be added by new players,” said Rucha Narkar, Associate Director, Crisil Ratings.
According to Crisil, most of the expansion will be funded through internal accruals and equity, helping maintain healthy balance sheets. Debt-to-Ebitda is expected to remain at 0.5-0.6 times, while interest coverage is projected at 16-17 times, supporting stable credit profiles.