Best Solar Pump Stock: Oswal Pumps vs Shakti Pumps vs KSB

Oswal Pumps logo source: https://oswalpumps.com
Shakti Pumps logo source: https://www.shaktipumps.com
KSB logo source: https://www.ksb.com

India is a major pump exporter with a global market share of 1.5%. Around 16% of the pumps manufactured in India are exported to over 100 nations.

The domestic market for pumps is also rapidly growing and is expected to reach US$ 1.23 billion (bn) by 2030 from the current of US$ 0.97 bn.

The government is focussing on energy efficient pumps. The PM KUSUM scheme aims to add solar capacity of 30,800 megawatt (MW) by 2026.

So, the demand for solar pumps is going to increase. Industry experts have valued the opportunity to be around Rs 5,500 bn.

In this editorial, we compared three companies - Oswal Pumps, Shakti Pumps, and KSB - on various parameters.

Business Overview

# Oswal Pumps

Incorporated in 2003, Oswal Pumps is one of the leading solar pump manufacturers in India.

It has a vast product portfolio including solar-powered and grid-connected submersible and monoblock pumps, comprising induction and submersible electric motors as well as solar modules.

The company caters to diverse needs of its customers in the agricultural, residential, commercial, and industrial sectors.

In 2019, the company diversified its offerings to solar powered pumps and is one of the few fully integrated turnkey solar pumping systems providers in India.

It manufactures solar powered agricultural pumps, solar modules, pump controllers and also provides installation services for these systems.

Oswal Pumps has an installed capacity of 1,160.07 metric tons (MT) for stainless steel pumps, 2,366.04 MT for cast iron pumps, 1,314.72 MT for stainless steel motors, and 561.60 MT for cast iron motors.

It has a market share of around 38% in the domestic solar pump market under the PM KUSUM scheme. The company also has an extensive distribution network of over 1,000 distributors.

# Shakti Pumps

Shakti Pumps is engaged in the business of manufacturing pumps, motors, and controllers. It also offers advanced pumping solutions for domestic, commercial, and industrial applications.

Its products caters to industries like agriculture, building services, power, oil and gas, and mining.

The company is among the few Indian companies that have in-house production of solar and submersible pumps and motors. It has three manufacturing units that can produce over 500,000 pumps, 1,00,000 structures, and 200,000 inverters per annum.

The company has a market share of around 25% in the domestic solar pump market under the PM KUSUM scheme.

Recently, it has diversified into the electric vehicle (EV) segment to manufacture EV motors, charging stations, battery management systems, electric control panels, and smart electric control panels through its wholly owned subsidiary.

# KSB

KSB is a prominent manufacturer of pumps and valves.

It has an extensive product portfolio of pumps, including standard industrial end suction, high-pressure multistage pumps, solar-powered pumps, submersible motor pumps, monoblock pumps, and nuclear pumps.

The company's products have extensive usage in water, energy, agriculture, construction, oil and gas, and process industries.

It has 6 manufacturing facilities, four zonal offices, 22 warehouses, 14 branch offices, 5 service stations, 350+ authorised service centres, and over 1,000 authorised dealers in India.

KSB has a market share of around 13% in the domestic pumps and valves industry.

Recently, the company set up a new solar power project generating 10 GW annually covering 71% of its power needs.

Between the three companies, KSB is the largest in terms of market capitalisation. KSB's marketcap is Rs 147 billion (bn), whereas Shakti Pumps' marketcap is around Rs 120 bn.

Oswal Pumps, on the other hand, is set to list on the bourses on Friday, 20 June 2025.

In terms of order book, Shakti Pumps is leading with order book of Rs 16.5 bn as of March 2025. KSB has the next highest order book of Rs 12.9 bn, followed by Oswal Pumps with Rs 11 bn.

Shakti Pumps is also leading with respect to stock market performance. Its share price has given 110% return in the last one year whereas KSB's share price is down 9%. Nifty 50 is up 5% in the last one year.

# Revenue

The primary source of revenue for Oswal Pumps is turnkey solar pumping systems of submersible pipes, followed by solar monoblock pipes. The solar submersible pipes currently constitute 84% of the revenue, while the rest is from non-solar pumps and electric motors.

Between FY22 and FY24, the revenue of Oswal Pumps grew at a compound annual growth (CAGR) rate of 28.2%. In the first nine months of FY25, the revenue of the company was almost 1.4 times higher than FY24.

For Shakti Pumps, almost 69% of the revenue is from government projects and 21% is from exports. In the last five years, the company's revenue grew at a CAGR of 22% primarily due to strong growth of its solar pump sets and solutions.

For KSB, submersible solar pumps provide a major chunk of revenue (86.5%), followed by valves (13.5%). In the last five years, the company's revenue grew at a CAGR of 16%, primarily due to a strong solar order book.

Between the three, Oswal Pumps has the highest growth in revenue, followed by Shakti Pumps, and then KSB.

Revenue

# Profitability

The profitability of a company can be assessed through earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and net profit growth, and margins.

The EBITDA of Shakti Pumps and KSB have grown at a CAGR of 33.5% and 16.7% respectively. Their EBITDA margins have averaged about 14.4% in the last five years.

The net profit for Shakti Pumps and KSB have grown at a CAGR 40.1% and 21.4% respectively. Their net profit margins have averaged 8.5% and 9.4% respectively in the last five years.

For Oswal Pumps, the EBITDA and net profit grew at a CAGR of 57.7% and 79.4% respectively between FY22 and FY24. The EBITDA and net profit margin averaged 15.3% and 8.8%, respectively, during the same period.

Clearly, Oswal Pumps is leading in terms of profitability.

Profitability

# Debt Management

Monitoring debt helps understand a company's leverage as well as its fixed financial obligations.

KSB is a debt-free company. Shakti pumps has very little debt on its books.

In FY24, the debt-to-equity ratio of Oswal Pumps was 0.4. However, the company plans to repay its entire debt through the initial public offering (IPO) proceeds and become debt-free.

Oswal Pumps is planning to expand its solar module manufacturing capacity by 1,500 MW by investing Rs 1.5 bn which it plans to fund through the IPO proceeds.

Shakti Pumps has been actively investing in capex to expand its pumps manufacturing capacity. It plans to incur an expenditure of Rs 5.6 bn in the next two financial years to complete the capacity expansion it started a couple of years ago.

KSB, on the other hand, is investing to expand its nuclear pump capacity and pans to add 13.4 GW of reactors to its portfolio.

All three companies are able to manage their debt well despite high capex.

Debt Management

# Financial Efficiency

A company's financial efficiency can be measured through return on capital employed (RoCE) and return on equity (RoE).

RoCE measures the company's ability to generate profits from invested capital, whereas RoE measures the company's ability to generate profits from equity capital.

Financial Efficiency

The RoE and RoCE of both Shakti Pumps and KSB have been consistently expanding in the last three years due to strong profits. In the last five years, the RoE of Shakti Pumps and KSB averaged 21.2% and 14.8%, respectively, whereas the RoCE averaged 31% and 21%, respectively.

Clearly, Shakti Pumps has outpaced KSB in terms of financial efficiency.

For Oswal Pumps, the RoE and RoCE for FY24 was 77% and 73.5 respectively.

# Dividend

Dividends are the profits that the company distributes to its shareholders. A company paying consistent dividends to its shareholders is considered more stable than a company that doesn't.

KSB has been consistently increasing the dividend per share in the last five years, whereas Shakti Pump's dividend per share fell drastically in FY25.

The dividend payout ratio of KSB and Shakti Pumps averaged at 10.3% and 9.8% respectively in the last five years.

Clearly, KSB has the upper hand with respect to dividends.

Oswal Pumps isn't a public company yet. It's dividend policy will be decided by the management only after listing.

Dividend

# Valuations

Valuation ratios give us an idea of whether the company's shares are overvalued or undervalued.

The two important valuation ratios are price to earnings (PE) and price to book value (PB). These ratios help us make investing decisions.

The PE ratios of Shakti Pumps and KSB are 29.5 and 61.6, respectively. In terms of PE, KSB is overvalued compared to Shakti Pumps.

The PB ratios of Shakti Pumps and KSB 10.5 and 9.3, respectively. In terms of PB, Shakti Pumps is slightly overvalued when compared to its peers.

Oswal Pumps PE ratio is 70.3 and even though the company isn't listed, its shares are overvalued compared to its peers.

When compared to the industry average PE of 45, Oswal Pumps and KSB are overvalued, whereas Shakti Pumps is undervalued.

Which Solar Pump Stock is Better: Oswal Pumps, Shakti Pumps or KSB?

In terms of revenue and profit growth, Oswal Pumps has the upper hand over its peers.

In terms of financial efficiency and valuations, Shakti Pumps is leading.

In terms of dividends, KSB has outpaced its peers.

Oswal Pumps has a 38% market share in the domestic solar pump industry under the PM KUSUM scheme.

The company is increasing its manufacturing capacity, has a robust pending pipeline, and has won letters of award (LOA) from multiple states to supply solar pumps.

After going public, it plans to use its IPO proceeds for capital expenditure, repayment of its entire debt, investment in its subsidiary, and general corporate purposes.

Shakti Pumps caters to both government and non-government orders as well as domestic and export orders. It is also recognised as Star Export House by the government of India.

It has a diversified product portfolio with over 1,200 stock keeping units (SKU). It has 25% market share in the PM KUSUM scheme.

It has also entered the high-growth EV industry and manufactures motors and controllers for EVs. The company also invests heavily in R&D and has received several patents over the years.

KSB is a leading supplier of pumps for energy, oil and gas, and nuclear (pumps) sectors.

It's expanding its nuclear pump portfolio and is also gradually scaling up its solar pump portfolio.

With the capex cycle expanding across user industries, and government's push to increased solar pumps manufacturing in India, the growth for pumps is set to increase, and all the three companies stand to benefit from it.

It's important to conduct thorough research on financials and corporate governance before making investment decisions, ensuring they align with your financial goals and risk tolerance.

Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only. It is not a stock recommendation and should not be treated as such. Learn more about our recommendation services here...