Ningbo Green Light Energy trades 45 percent below its PSX reference price after one week
The reference price came from the SPAC's last trade, not from a valuation of the solar contractor it merged with. At Rs11.60 on 5 November, the company's market value is about Rs1.94 billion below what that price implied.
Ningbo Green Light Energy, the Lahore solar contractor that became the first company to reach the Pakistan Stock Exchange through a special purpose acquisition company, traded at Rs11.60 at 2:59 pm on 5 November. That is 44.9 percent below the Rs21.06 reference price set for its first day, 29 October. Across 204,852,747 shares, the gap is about Rs1.94 billion: Rs4.31 billion at the reference price, Rs2.38 billion now.
Trading in NGLEL began on the Main Board on 29 October, under a PSX notice dated 28 October. The listing followed the Lahore High Court's sanction on 30 September of the merger of LSE SPAC I into the company. Holders of SPAC I received 1.50 NGLE shares for each share they held, and SPAC I was delisted as part of the merger. The exchange set the opening reference at SPAC I's last closing price, Rs21.06, with normal circuit breakers around it. The highest price since listing, Rs18.95, is itself about 10 percent below that reference. Of the shares, 92,183,736, or 45 percent, count as free float.
What the accounts show
The company's first quarter report, authorised on 20 October, shows revenue of Rs564.6 million for the three months to 30 September, up 19.0 percent, and profit after tax of Rs41.0 million, up 40.0 percent. Finance cost fell 62.8 percent to Rs5.4 million, a saving of Rs9.2 million that accounts for most of the Rs11.7 million rise in profit.
The year to June 2026 was weaker. Revenue was Rs1.58 billion, down 7.6 percent from Rs1.71 billion, and about 25 percent below Rs2.11 billion in 2024. Profit after tax was Rs144.0 million, against Rs192.0 million the year before and Rs326.6 million two years earlier. The merger raised the share count from 18,541,800 to 204,852,747, mostly through new shares issued to existing holders.
Reading the price
The Rs21.06 reference was an anchor inherited from the SPAC, not a valuation of the solar business. Each SPAC share turned into 1.50 NGLE shares, so SPAC I's last close corresponds to about Rs14.04 per NGLE share (21.06 divided by 1.5). The reference price therefore sat 50 percent above the SPAC's own implied price, and at Rs11.60 the stock is 17.4 percent below even the Rs14.04 figure.
The valuation has compressed accordingly. At the reference price the company was worth about 30 times its 2026 profit. At Rs11.60 it is worth about 16.5 times, or about 14.5 times if the first quarter's profit is multiplied by four, a crude test for a business that books projects unevenly. Shareholders' equity of Rs1.85 billion at 30 September, spread over the new share count, is about Rs9.02 a share, so the stock trades at roughly 1.3 times book value against 2.3 times at the reference. That book figure is approximate because the accounts were prepared without the merger adjustments.
The balance sheet explains some of the caution. Trade receivables were Rs894.8 million, about 1.6 times a full quarter's revenue, while cash and bank balances were Rs15.3 million. The board's own outlook puts turning receivables and advances into cash first. Revenue has fallen two years running, which makes that collection effort the main thing a buyer is paying for.
Holders who bought SPAC I at its Rs10 IPO price still show a paper gain: 1.50 shares at Rs11.60 is Rs17.40, 74 percent above Rs10. Those who bought near the Rs21.06 close are down 17.4 percent. The 3,530,000 shares SPAC I bought for Rs230 million in May became 39,000,003 shares in the share issue, 19.04 percent of the company and worth about Rs452 million at Rs11.60. At Rs11.60 the stock is 19 paisa above its low since listing, Rs11.41.
