ICICI Prudential Is Buying IEX Shares After 30% Crash

Shares of the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) recently took a massive hit, falling by nearly 30%. This sudden drop has left many investors wondering what went wrong. Let's break down the reasons for the crash, look at the company's recent performance, and see how a major investment firm is reacting.

What Caused the Stock to Crash?

The main reason for the stock's sharp decline is a new rule from the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC). The CERC has approved a system called "market coupling," which will be introduced in phases starting January 2026.

For a long time, IEX has been the king of power trading in India, holding a massive 84.2% market share. Most of its business comes from the Day-Ahead Market (DAM), where electricity for the next day is bought and sold. The new market coupling rule will create a single, uniform price for electricity across all power exchanges. This change could erase IEX's biggest advantage, allowing smaller exchanges to compete more easily and potentially taking away a chunk of IEX's business. For more information, click here.

IEX Q1 FY26 Performance: Year-on-Year Comparison

These are IEX's financials, comparing the quarter ended June 30, 2025, with the comparable quarter from a year ago (ending June 30, 2024). 

Revenue Growth 

The company showed healthy development from its core revenue source. 

• Revenue from Operations (Q1 FY26): ₹141.75 Cr 
• Revenue from Operations (Q1 FY25): ₹123.56 Cr 
• Year-on-Year Growth: 14.72%

This is a healthy increase in core business income for the year.

Profit Growth 

IEX experienced a healthy jump in profitability, quicker compared to its revenue growth.

• Profit for the Period (Net Profit) (Q1 FY26): ₹120.06 Crores 
• Profit for the Period (Net Profit) (Q1 FY25): ₹96.44 Cr 
• Year-on-Year Growth: 24.5% 

The significant jump in net profit shows that the company has been able to turn its surge in revenue into even better bottom-line results.

Profit Margin

The profit margin shows how much profit the company makes for every rupee of revenue. A higher margin is better.

• Net Profit Margin (Q1 FY26): 84.6%
• Net Profit Margin (Q1 FY25): 78.0%

Analysis: The company's net profit margin expanded significantly by 7.1% year-on-year. This improvement is a key positive, showing that IEX has become more efficient at converting its revenue into actual profit over the past year.

ICICI Prudential Buys a Big Stake

Unexpectedly, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund bought a vast number of IEX shares just after the stock's price fell. The fund bought over 51 lakh shares on 24th July 2025.

Here’s a quick look at the details of the purchase:

• Shares held before acquisition: 4,13,87,520 (4.64% of the company)
• Shares acquired: 51,43,459 (0.58% of the company) 
• Shares held after acquisition: 4,65,30,979 (5.22% of the company)

Thereby, ICICI Prudential increased its overall level of holding in IEX to over 5%, providing a very solid vote of confidence regarding future company prospects.

Conclusion

IEX is facing an important phase. The new market coupling rule could reduce its dominance in power trading. At the same time, the company is still making good profits, and ICICI Prudential has increased its investment. The next few months will show how well IEX can adjust to the changes in the market.

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