In 2024-25, Tata Projects swung to a consolidated net loss of ₹696.57 crore from a consolidated net profit of ₹81.97 crore in FY24, while revenue declined 1.63% to ₹17,470.59 crore. In FY26, however, the company expects to be back in the black with double-digit revenue growth with work on its large projects almost over.
“The game for Tata Projects would now be short-duration and fast-track projects that could be executed in a 12-24 month period,” said Vinayak Pai, managing director and chief executive of Tata Projects, in an exclusive interview to Mint.
“Earlier, we were doing a lot of infrastructure projects where our average contract duration was three years or more. So, we needed more or less a backlog order book of three years-plus to be able to manage that,” Pai said.
“Now, we are doing a lot of short-cycle projects—industrial projects, data centers, 4G manufacturing, power distribution, and transmission projects—where the average contract period is 12-24 months. So our three-year backlog becomes much more healthier on a shorter cycle.”
Tata Projects’ new fast-track orders and shorter-term contracts are expected to ramp up its revenue while providing higher margins, which, in turn, would improve the company’s bottom line. “We will be in a much better financial position in FY26,” Pai said, adding that Tata Projects’ immediate focus is to restore profit growth and generate cash.
“Once we know things are back to normal, we can very easily grow the top line at a very rapid pace. But right now, we are more focused on the bottom line and cash generation.” he said.
Also read | Govt’s capex appetite in Q4 fails to lift FY25 investment performance
India’s EPC market: Hobbling, but growing
After recording a profit during the peak covid year of 2020-21, Tata Projects ran into losses in the two subsequent years as projects got delayed and commodity prices spiked, resulting in huge cost overruns on some marquee government-contracted projects.
The Tata Group’s engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company completed work on most of these projects in FY25, with just 2-3 remaining. It now expects ₹10,000-15,000 crore in new project orders to lift its total order book position to above ₹50,000 crore by the end of FY26.
Companies working on EPC projects typically face inherent risks with respect to land acquisition and other regulatory clearances, resulting in cost escalations and project delays, said Saket Mehra, partner, Grant Thornton Bharat.
“The increased geopolitical environment can further exert a pressure on commodity pricing, impacting project profitability and cost escalations,” Mehra added. “However, the outlook looks stable considering strong order books of EPC companies, especially in roads, airports, renewable, public charging infrastructure, and green hydrogen.”
Also read | A private capex slump: An imperfect but indicative survey points to one
Crisil Ratings said in a recent report that the Indian government’s push for infrastructure growth, along with an increase in public-private partnerships, would play a key role in supporting domestic revenue growth for EPC companies.
India’s EPC companies earned a total revenue of ₹3.5 trillion in 2023-24, accounting for about one-third of all construction spending in the country, Crisil added.
Tata Projects competes with the likes of Larsen & Toubro Ltd, Reliance Infrastructure Ltd, and GMR Group for mega projects in India and abroad.
According to a recent survey by the ministry of statistics and programme implantation, estimated provisional capital expenditure per enterprise for purchasing new assets in 2024-25 was ₹172.2 crore, representing an overall increase of 66.3% in aggregate capital expenditure (unweighted) from 2021-22 through 2024-25.
Despite challenges like weak demand, geopolitical tensions, and high borrowing costs, the overall trend indicates growing corporate confidence and a judicious approach to investment amid improving economic certainty, the ministry said in its report.
The size of India’s India EPC management market was estimated to be $69.28 billion in 2025 and expected to reach $ 126.91 billion by 2030, at a compound annual growth rate of 12.87% from 2025 to 2030, according to Mordor Intelligence, a global market research and consulting firm.
Also read | Highway expansion struggles despite government’s capex push
Tata Projects: Venturing into new-age territories
Tata Projects has been involved in several landmark projects apart from the ones mentioned at the beginning of this report—the Mumbai and Chennai metro rail networks; an airport terminal in Prayagraj, Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd’s refinery in Rajasthan; the National Maritime Heritage complex; a power project in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, and a wind tunnel in Kerala.
Tata Projects is also constructing an advanced semiconductor assembly and test plant in Sanand, Gujarat for US-based Micron Technology Inc. It is also building a semiconductor facility for Tata Electronics Pvt. Ltd in Dolera, Gujarat.
About 10% of the company’s contracts are in Africa, West Asia, Nepal and other overseas markets.
“Public sector contracts are difficult to administer because of the nature of the contracts and very poor DPRs (detailed project reports) and frontend design, which leads to a lot of changes,” Pai said. “So we are very selective in doing public sector projects and doing just metros and airports at present and would be selective in deciding other such projects in future.”
However, he clarified, this does not mean Tata Projects will stop taking up large infrastructure projects.
“We will have a mix of both,” Pai said. “As part of the Tata Group, we have a commitment to nation-building. If there is another project like the new Parliament House or Atal Setu (Mumbai trans harbour bridge), we will definitely be interested.”