Refex Industries Limited shares were sharply higher in Friday’s trade, emerging as one of the standout movers in the small-cap space after the company disclosed a large ash-handling contract worth about ₹100 crore. The move comes just days after the stock was languishing near its 52‑week low, setting up a dramatic reversal in sentiment.
Refex Industries share price today: double‑digit jump from recent lows
By late morning on 28 November 2025, Refex Industries was trading around ₹357–358 on the NSE, up roughly 11–12% versus Thursday’s close of ₹320.40, according to live data from the Economic Times.
The rally has lifted the stock away from this week’s 52‑week low of ₹315.25, though it remains far below its 52‑week high near ₹574.70. At current levels, Refex is still down close to 38% from that peak, despite today’s sharp intraday move.
Short-term performance has flipped positive: the stock is now showing a one‑day gain of around 11–12%, a one‑week return of about 10%, while one‑month returns are roughly flat. Over longer horizons, the picture is more nuanced — the stock is still down about 27–28% over the last year, but has delivered multi‑bagger gains of more than 500% over three years and nearly 19x over five years.
On valuations, Refex currently trades at a trailing price‑to‑earnings (P/E) multiple of around 31x and a price‑to‑book (P/B) ratio of about 3.6, placing it at a premium to many traditional industrial names in the broader market.
The trigger: fresh ₹100‑crore pond ash / bottom ash contract
The immediate catalyst for Friday’s buying is a fresh order in Refex’s core ash‑handling business. On Thursday evening, Refex informed the stock exchanges that it has secured an order valued at approximately ₹100 crore for the excavation, loading and transportation of pond ash/bottom ash.
Moneycontrol’s “Stocks to Watch” note for 28 November flagged Refex as a stock in focus, explicitly citing the ash‑handling order from a “large business conglomerate” as the key driver.Moneycontrol Business Standard similarly reported that the contract is for a duration of four months and clarified that it is not a related‑party transaction; promoters do not have any direct or indirect financial interest in the order.Business Standard
The new mandate adds to a string of ash‑transport and ash‑handling wins that Refex has disclosed through multiple exchange filings in November, further strengthening revenue visibility in its largest business vertical. Trendlyne’s aggregation of BSE filings shows several recent Regulation 30 updates tied to ash transportation contracts, ESOP allotments and subsidiary restructuring, underscoring a busy quarter for corporate activity.
Price action: from 52‑week lows to intraday momentum stock
Today’s surge is not just a gentle rebound; it has all the hallmarks of a high‑momentum session.
A MarketsMojo “Stocks in Action” note on Friday highlighted that Refex hit an intraday high of about ₹353.95 earlier in the day, with a day‑on‑day gain above 10% and intraday volatility over 15%. The stock opened with a gap‑up of nearly 5% and significantly outperformed both its sector and the benchmark Sensex, which was up only about 0.1% around the same time.Markets Mojo
Despite this, the longer‑term technical picture is still healing rather than outright bullish. According to the same analysis, the stock has moved above its short‑term 5‑day and 20‑day moving averages, but continues to trade below its 50‑day, 100‑day and 200‑day moving averages — a sign that the broader downtrend of 2025 has not yet been fully reversed. Over the past three months, Refex has modestly underperformed the Sensex, and its 12‑month return remains deeply negative even after today’s rally.
Earlier this week, MarketsMojo documented that Refex had slipped to a fresh 52‑week low of ₹315.25 amid sustained selling pressure. The bounce from those levels, helped by the order announcement, underlines just how quickly sentiment can swing in small‑cap, high‑beta names.
Q2 FY26 results: profits up, growth re‑centred on core operations
Under the surface of today’s price action lies a business that has been reshaped over the last year.
Refex’s Q2 FY26 results (for the quarter ended 30 September 2025) show a clear focus on continuing operations, primarily ash and coal handling, with the company deliberately exiting lower‑margin power trading. In its official Q2 press release, Refex reported standalone total income from continuing operations of about ₹431 crore, up from roughly ₹377 crore in Q1 FY26, a sequential rise of nearly 15%. EBITDA almost doubled quarter‑on‑quarter to roughly ₹74 crore, with the EBITDA margin expanding from around 11% in Q1 to about 17.4% in Q2. Net profit from continuing operations came in at about ₹52 crore, implying a double‑digit net margin above 12%.
On a consolidated basis (which includes discontinued segments), an EquityBulls summary of the results pegs Q2 FY26 total income at ₹432.05 crore and consolidated net profit at ₹36.19 crore, up around 16.5% year‑on‑year. However, the company’s half‑year consolidated income of ₹808.4 crore remains about 21% lower than the ₹1,022.8 crore reported in the same period last year, reflecting the scale‑down of non‑core operations.
Moneycontrol’s standalone earnings snapshot for the same quarter points to net sales of roughly ₹423.2 crore and standalone net profit of ₹52.0 crore, implying year‑on‑year profit growth of nearly 39%.
In other words, continuing operations are significantly more profitable than they were a year ago, even as reported consolidated revenue has dipped due to the deliberate shrinking of low‑margin businesses.
Order book and growth drivers: ash handling, wind and mobility
The Q2 FY26 earnings call sheds more light on Refex’s medium‑term growth levers. Management indicated that the order book for coal and ash‑handling services stands at around ₹1,200 crore, offering good visibility for the next few quarters. At the current quarterly revenue run‑rate of about ₹430 crore, that order book is roughly equivalent to close to three quarters of sales from the core operations.
Key strategic points highlighted in the call include:
- Ash & coal handling margins have temporarily surged into the 10–12% range thanks to a favourable mix and better site conditions post‑monsoon, versus a typical band of 8–11%.
- The wind turbine manufacturing business (Venwind) has secured two major orders: a 153.7 MW project worth about ₹750 crore and another near‑100 MW project close to ₹475 crore, with most revenue recognition expected in Q3 and Q4.
- The Refex Green Mobility vertical is being carved out via a demerger and is expected to list separately within 6–7 months, leaving the parent company more tightly focused on ash handling and wind.
- Refex is exiting power trading entirely, viewing it as a structurally low‑margin activity that doesn’t fit the long‑term strategy.
- Over the next three years, the company is targeting a 60–65% increase in daily ash handling capacity to around 105,000–110,000 tonnes per day.
This set of moves helps explain why, despite weak stock performance in calendar 2025, Refex continues to feature in “stocks to watch” lists and remains on the radar of investors hunting for turnaround stories. Mint, for instance, pointed out that while the stock is down more than 30% year‑to‑date after an extraordinary three‑year run, Q2 margins and profit growth were robust and the latest order win could help sentiment stabilise.mint+1
Valuation, cash flows and risk: why analysts are still cautious
Today’s 10–12% rally and the robust Q2 headline numbers do not mean all green lights.
A MarketsMojo research note published earlier today upgraded Refex from “Strong Sell” to “Sell”, describing the stock’s overall assessment as a mix of improved profitability and persistent financial stress. The analysis flags several pressure points:
- Negative operating cash flow of about ₹262 crore over the year to September 2025, driven by higher working capital needs and retention money across contracts.
- Net sales over the last six months down more than 22% to around ₹793 crore, reflecting the impact of business exits and possibly slower execution.
- Interest costs for the first nine months up more than 26% year‑on‑year to roughly ₹21.6 crore, adding to financing pressure.
- A price‑to‑book ratio near 3.5–3.6 that leaves the stock looking “very expensive” versus sector peers, despite the corrections seen in 2025.Markets Mojo+1
The same analysis labels the stock’s technical trend as bearish on longer‑term timeframes, even as short‑term price momentum has clearly turned positive. Investors therefore face an odd mix: a company with decent return on equity (around 13–14%), solid order visibility and improving margins, but also high working‑capital intensity, volatile cash flows and a premium valuation multiple.
What to watch in Refex Industries stock after today’s move
For investors tracking Refex, several data points will matter over the coming months:
- Execution of the new ₹100‑crore ash‑handling order and the pace at which similar contracts are added to the book.
- Conversion of the ₹1,200‑crore order book into revenue and cash, especially given the negative operating cash flow over the last year.
- Progress on the Refex Green Mobility demerger, including regulatory approvals, listing timelines and clarity on how capital and debt will be split between entities.
- Revenue recognition from wind orders, which could materially alter the earnings mix if the large 5.3 MW turbine projects execute on schedule.
- Any further Regulation 30 announcements on acquisitions, ESOPs or order wins, which have been frequent this quarter.
Given the stock’s history of sharp swings, the combination of a rich valuation, improving core profitability and volatile cash flows means that Refex Industries is likely to remain a high‑beta, news‑driven name rather than a quiet compounder — at least for now.
