SEPC's ₹10,000 crore order book has a catch

SEPC Limited (SEPC) has signed an ₹854.57 crore contract with Steel Authority of India Limited for work at the IISCO Steel Plant in Burnpur. Its order book was already ₹10,670 crore at June 30, 2026, and this new contract adds to that pipeline. The scale is striking. SEPC's market capitalisation was around ₹1,024 crore when the latest order announcement moved the stock higher. But I would not value an EPC company by comparing its order book with its market capitalisation alone. Look at the execution numbers. In Q1 FY27, SEPC reported revenue of ₹282 crore, up about 39% year on year. Yet EBITDA fell to ₹26 crore from ₹30 crore, and the EBITDA margin dropped from 14.9% to 9.2%. The company also reported a net loss of ₹11 crore. That is the part I would focus on. SEPC is winning contracts, but margins on some overseas projects are under pressure. Large projects can take years to execute, and delays, cost overruns or slow customer payments can weaken cash flow even when the order book looks strong. The new SAIL contract has a 32-month execution timeline. Investors will need to track progress over several quarters, not expect the full contract value to appear as immediate revenue. My view: The order pipeline is encouraging, but margin recovery and cash collection matter more than the headline order book. The next trigger is the Q2 FY27 result. I want to see EBITDA margins improve and revenue growth translate into profit.