Originals · Startup · Startups & Fintech
Drone maker ideaForge swings to Rs 6.5 Cr Q2 profit as revenue more than doubles to Rs 91 Cr
The Mumbai company says it has already delivered half of its FY27 opening order book and is lining up for a large wave of defence drone purchases.
ideaForge Technology, the Mumbai-based maker of unmanned aircraft systems (drones) for defence and enterprise customers, reported a net profit of Rs 6.5 Cr for the September quarter of FY27 (Q2 FY27), against a loss of Rs 19.6 Cr a year earlier, according to its results press release filed with the stock exchanges and reports by Inc42 and Entrackr. Revenue from operations rose 124% to Rs 91.3 Cr from Rs 40.8 Cr, and grew about 33% from Rs 68.6 Cr in the June quarter.
The turnaround follows a small loss of Rs 2.6 Cr in Q1 FY27. EBITDA, a measure of operating profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, was Rs 23.2 Cr in the quarter, a margin of 25.4%, compared with a negative Rs 8 Cr a year ago, the company said. Other income of about Rs 6.3 Cr took total income to Rs 97.6 Cr, while total expenses rose roughly 42% to about Rs 90 Cr, Inc42 and Entrackr reported.
For the first half of FY27, the company reported its highest ever H1 revenue of about Rs 159.9 Cr, up 199%, and a profit after tax of about Rs 3.9 Cr. ideaForge said it has executed more than half of its FY27 opening order book, despite global supply chain constraints and some delays in customer approvals for deliveries.
Co-founder and CEO Ankit Mehta said the company worked during the quarter on a hybrid version of its ZOLT drone with an internal combustion engine for longer range and endurance, and launched a combat variant, as it pushes beyond surveillance into combat uses. The press release also said ideaForge secured Rs 151 Cr in RDI funding for its YETI platform.
The bigger bet is on government buying. The company pointed to an estimated Rs 20,000 Cr opportunity under the Fast Track Procurement programme for surveillance and combat drones, where it said the first request for proposals is at an advanced stage of evaluation, and to Defence Acquisition Council approvals worth Rs 2.12 lakh crore that include several drone programmes. ideaForge shares closed at Rs 639.25 on Monday, giving it a market value of about Rs 3,126 Cr, Entrackr reported.
