HAL, BDL, Data Patterns rally up to 5%; why defence stocks in focus today?

At 10:20 AM; Nifty India Defence index was up 1.5 per cent, as compared to 0.35 per cent rise in Nifty 50 in Friday's trade.

Defence companies share price today

 

Shares of defence companies rallied up to 5 per cent on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in Friday’s intra-day trade amid heavy volumes on the back of positive corporate developments.

 

Data Patterns (India), MTAR Technologies, Bharat Dynamics (BDL), Zen Technologies, Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), Astra Microwave Products, Apollo Micro Systems and Bharat Electronics were up in the range of 2 per cent to 5 per cent.

 

At 10:20 AM; Nifty India Defence index was up 1.5 per cent, as compared to 0.35 per cent rise in Nifty 50. However, the defence index quotes 10 per cent lower when compared with its 52-week high.

 

Why are defence stocks in focus today?

 

HAL announced that the first Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mark IA fighter aircraft produced at its new Nashik facility will take flight today in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The plant serves as HAL’s third assembly line for the LCA Mark IA and also houses the second production line for HTT40 trainer aircraft. 

 

The LCA Mark 1A features advanced avionics and radar systems, offering a significant upgrade over the initial 40 LCAs supplied to the Air Force and are expected to replace the ageing MiG-21s, which are being phased out in the coming weeks. Currently, HAL has an order backlog of 180 Tejas Mk1A fighter jets and 70 HTT-40 trainer jets.

 

With this new Nashik facility, HAL’s production capacity of Tejas Mk1A aircrafts has increased to 24 annually from 16 earlier. Moreover, the company is actively collaborating with private players to further increase the output to 30+ by FY27E end. The company has a target of delivering 12 Tejas Mk1A aircrafts by end of FY26E considering the pick-up in engine supply from GE, according to ICICI Securities.

 

The brokerage firm believes that strong focus on increasing production capacity across segments (including all types of aircrafts and MRO) will help the company considerably in pick-up in overall execution of its large order backlog of Rs 2.5 trillion (~8x TTM revenue).

 

Meanwhile, in another development, Apollo Micro Systems has been declared the lowest bidder for orders worth ₹39.27 crore, including ₹4.3 crore from DRDO and ₹34.97 crore from Defence Public Sector Undertakings. Additionally, the company has received an approval from DRDO for the Transfer of Technology (ToT) of the Mechatronic Fuze for Grenades, marking a key step in expanding its indigenous defence manufacturing capabilities.

 

Moving forward, the defence budget has been targeted by the government at ₹6.81 trillion for FY2025-26 with a view to further strengthening the country's military strength. Of this, 27 per cent is targeted for capital expenditure. Defence production is likely to increase from ₹1.46 trillion in FY2024-25 to ₹3 trillion by 2029, reflecting an estimated compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20 per cent and firmly establishing India as a global leader in defence manufacturing, Apollo Micro Systems said in FY25 annual report.

 

In the longer term, defence production of ₹8.8 trillion and exports of ₹2.8 trillion are targeted by 2047. The defence budget is expected to rise to ₹31.7 trillion with capital expenditure rising to 40 per cent and R&D spend to 8-10 per cent of the budget in 2047. The nation aims to attain global leadership in emerging technologies such as AI, quantum computing, hypersonics, cyber defence and autonomous systems, the company said.