MoD ropes in Bharat Dynamics to supply Akash Missiles; stock zooms 7%

The company has signed a contract worth about Rs 499 crore with Ministry of Defence for manufacture and supply of Akash Missiles to the Indian Air Force (IAF)

Shares of Bharat Dynamics (BDL) rallied 7 per cent to Rs 399 on the BSE in the intra-day trade on Friday after the company signed a contract worth about Rs 499 crore with Ministry of Defence for manufacture and supply of Akash Missiles to the Indian Air Force (IAF).

With the present contract signed for supply of Akash to Indian Air Force, the company's order book position stands at about Rs 8,683 crore.

"The company has bagged new orders worth about Rs 2,803 crore (including taxes) during the FY 2020-21 which includes Anti - Tank Guided Missiles order worth about Rs 1,820 crore and Surface to Air Missiles order worth about Rs 793 crore", BDL said in a press release.

BDL is supplying Akash Missiles to Indian Army and Indian Air Force. With the announcement from the Union Cabinet regarding clearance of Akash Weapon System for Export, the company is exploring to offer Akash for export to foreign countries. BDL has already received export leads from some countries expressing interest in procuring the Missile, the management said.

BDL is the prime production agency for projects under India’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). Akash is one of the missiles under IGMDP being manufactured by BDL, both for Indian Army and Indian Air Force.

The company also manufactures Anti-Tank Guided Missiles, Air to Air Missiles, Air to Surface Weapons, Launchers, Test Equipment, Underwater weapons and Counter Measure Systems.

That apart, BDL is also aiming to expand its footprints in the international market by offering Air to Air Missiles, Anti-Tank Guided missiles, underwater weapons and Counter Measure Systems in addition to Akash Missiles to friendly countries.

At 09:48 am, BDL was up 3 per cent at Rs 384, as compared to a 0.56 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. Trading volumes on the counter jumped over five-fold with a combined 1.9 million shares having changed hands on the NSE and BSE.