Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. share price target

Incorporated in 1963, Hindustan Aeronautics is a public sector Defence undertaking, the only Indian company to design, develop and assemble aircraft, helicopters & aero-engines, and upgrade, maintain, repair & overhaul them.

The company achieved an order book of Rs1.89trn in FY25. We revise our FY26/27E EPS estimates upward by 14.5%/9.5%, accounting for the deliveries of LCA Mk1A and improved operating efficiencies. Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) reported a 7.2% YoY decline in revenue, with EBITDA margin contracting 131bps YoY to 38.6%. During the quarter, HAL received the first GE F-404 engine, with 11 more expected by December 2025, enabling the long awaited LCA Mk1A deliveries to the IAF. Management remains confident in...

HAL reported a better-than-expected FY25 performance, driven by improved margins on the back of lower provisions. The company ended the year with a robust order book of INR1.8t, clocking inflows of INR1t.

Our recent interactions with industry participants and defense consultants focused on the need to put defense and aerospace projects on a fast track, the potential bidders for future tenders for MRFA, the potential impact on the overall defense budget kitty if such large deals were to go through.

Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) is a market leader in aerospace defense. It boasts a strong order book of INR1.8t as of 31st Mar’25, along with a promising prospect pipeline of INR6t, which is likely to be awarded over the next few years.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has clocked revenue of INR 304bn in FY25 (vs INR 303.8bn in FY24).
Revenue was ~6% below our estimate of INR 322.4bn, mainly because of shortfall in delivery of ALH-Dhruv and other manufacturing revenue.

GE Aerospace has delivered the first of 99 (nos.) F404-IN20 engines to HAL for Tejas Mk 1A. We see this is a vital development that allays execution risk concerns. At Aero India, HAL expressed confidence in receiving 12 (nos.) F404- IN20 engines for the LCA Mk 1A this year.

In the year 2023-24, revenues of Aerospace & Defence companies are expected to remain largely stable or grow, as military programs continue to be critical to national security for many countries, especially considering rises in geopolitical tensions globally.

We attended Hindustan Aeronautics’ (HAL) earnings call. Key highlights: 1) double-digit revenue growth is likely FY25 onwards; 2) manufacturing is expected to stay subdued in FY24 with ‘repair & overhaul’ (RoH) revenue uptrend to sustain; 3) EBITDA margin (incl. other Income) might not sustain at 31% (as in Q4FY23), but is likely to remain robust owing to cost efficiencies.

Hindustan Aeronautics’ (HAL) Q4FY23 EBITDA was 8% ahead of consensus estimates mainly due to better than expected gross margin. Key highlights: 1) EBITDA margin improved QoQ to 26% at the upper end of 25-26% guidance for FY23-25; 2) provisions, as a percentage of revenue during the quarter, continued to remain high at 16.7% vs the historical range of 6-7%.