HAL's net profits drop 8% in March quarter; shares remain upbeat

HAL's earnings results released on Wednesday showed that the company's net profits fell from Rs 4,309 crore to Rs 3,977 crore from the year-ago quarter. According to a report by Reuters, the net profit drop was weighed down by a delay in the supply of its Tejas light combat aircraft.

However, HAL's shares were 4 per cent higher at the time of filing this report. HAL shares have risen by over 1,700 per cent over the past five years, reflecting investors' interest in this critical sector.

On the contrary, net profits rose from Rs 7,620 crore to Rs 8,364 crore in the entire financial year 2024-25, registering a jump of about 10 per cent.

Coming to the defence maker's revenue from operations, it mopped up revenue worth Rs 13,700 crore in the January-March 2025 quarter, against Rs 14,768 crore in the same quarter of last fiscal, registering a 7 per cent decline.

Revenue from operations was Rs 30,980 crore in the entire fiscal 2024-25, as against Rs 30,381 crore in 2023-24, a marginal increase of 2 per cent.

Indian defence sector stocks, which had recently corrected from their highs, have again been soaring over the past weeks, much of it due to the recent tensions with Pakistan and Indian Defence Force's response to aggression.

Last week's successful performance of India's indigenously developed systems against the adversary also lent support to the defence stocks basket. The response to Pakistan's aggression also alluded to the fact that it is critical to achieve self-reliance in defence manufacturing.

The Nifty India Defence index has climbed over 30 per cent over the past three months, reflecting investor confidence in the strategic sector and commercial growth of India's domestic defence sector.

With the government's thrust on the Make in India initiative, defence production has surged to historic highs. This rise in defence manufacturing has also led to substantial returns for investors in major defence manufacturing PSUs over the past years.

The government is also investing heavily in defence and aerospace manufacturing, with several defence hubs being set up. Notably, many global companies have either shared or shown intent to share critical defence and aerospace knowledge with India.

Defence exports from India are at all-time highs, having seen a 34-fold over the past decade. India exported defence goods worth Rs 23,622 crore in 2024-25 as against just Rs 686 crore in 2013-14. (ANI)