Gail's valuation looks attractive, but West Asia conflict weighs

Ashish Agrawal
1 min read18 Mar 2026, 12:44 PM IST
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Gail procures 5.8 million tonnes per annum of LNG, or about 7.7 mmscmd of natural gas from the US. (Mint)
Summary
With the West Asia conflict continuing, and media reports suggesting that QatarEnergy would need about four weeks to restart normal delivery, Gail’s Q4FY26 profit may erode significantly.

Gail (India) Ltd’s shares have declined about 12% since the conflict in West Asia began, hitting 52-week low of 144.50 on Monday. The Strait of Hormuz blockade and QatarEnergy's suspension of operations at its LNG plant would hit Gail’s transmission and marketing businesses.

As per Elara Capital, the state-owned company transported 123 million standard cubic meter (mmscmd) of natural gas in 2025, and about 30% of it came from sources that pass through or are close to the Strait and are stalled currently.

The marketing segment traded volume of 105 mmscmd in 2025, and its dependency is less at 16%, thanks to diversified contracts from the US, Russia, and Australia. The segment should also gain from higher spreads in US LNG contracts, as procurement prices are largely stable given adequate supplies, while the natural gas selling price has spiked in India. Gail procures 5.8 million tonnes per annum of LNG, or about 7.7 mmscmd of natural gas from the US.

Also Read | India’s gas crisis: How Iran war poses an outsized threat

Transmission and marketing contributed about 56% and 42% of Gail’s Ebit (earnings before interest and taxes) for the nine months ended December (9MFY26), respectively. While LPG & liquid hydrocarbon, LPG transmission, and other segments collectively contributed about 15% of Gail’s 9MFY26 Ebit, it was offset by losses in the petrochemicals segment.

Soft petchem prices meant the segment made a loss of over 1,000 crore at Ebit level for 9MFY26, against 94 crore profit in 9MFY25. The segment would be hit to some extent by the Indian government’s recent order that has curtailed supply to industrial sectors such as petchem, power, to ensure adequate supplies to household and other essential segments. On the bright side, 100% gas allocation to LPG production should benefit Gail as it can increase its LPG output.

With the conflict continuing, and media reports suggesting that the Qatar plant would need about four weeks to restart normal delivery even after an agreement is reached, Gail’s Q4FY26 profit may erode meaningfully. Given the current scenario, Emkay Global Financial Services has revised its FY26 Ebitda estimates downwards by 8% for Gail.

Also Read | Energy security: India’s LPG shortage spotlights the value of central planning

Gail’s shares trade at nine times its FY27 estimated earnings per share, as per Bloomberg consensus, below the long-term average of 10.7 times. A cessation of hostilities in the region could provide a much-needed breather for the stock.

About the Author

Ashish Agrawal has extensive experience in business research, analysis & writing and is the author of a book, “Indian Economy & Business : Overview of Recent Trends & Events”. Ashish has done his masters in business administration from IIM Calcutta, specialising in finance. He has considerable understanding of Metals & Mining Industry, Power Sector, Indian and Global Economy. As a part of enterprise risk management team in a leading manufacturing company, he had conceptualised, proposed and developed a Risk Index for the enterprise to quantify and keep all the risk factors under radar.

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