Defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics expects as many as 12 LCA Mk1A aircraft to be delivered to the Indian Air Force this year, following the commencement of delivery of engines from GE, the management said on May 16 during an earnings call, with the first jet expected roll out in the next couple of months.
The aircraft and helicopter manufacturer said it sees FY26 revenue growth in the range of 8-10%, and has projected a double-digit revenue growth, possibly from this fiscal or the next one.
Share of Hindustan Aeronautics were higher by 5 percent on May 16, and up 22 percent in last one month, tracking the broad and continued momentum in defence stocks. There has been an across-the-board rally in defence shares since Operation Sindoor's success, which is expected to push for greater indigenization and increased orders for defence suppliers. News reports have also suggested that the defence budget could be bumped up by another Rs 50,000 crore, in light of a tense border truce, and a growing risk of another armed conflict.
Read More: HAL Q4 results: Net profit falls 8% to Rs 3,977 crore on aircraft supply delays
HAL added that it has a healthy orderbook of around Rs 1.89 lakh crore as of April 2025, compared to around Rs 94,000 crore a year ago. The pipeline of order inflow includes 97 LCA Mk1A, 143 ALH for the Indian Air Force and 10 Dorniers for Indian Navy, said HAL, totalling up to Rs 1.25 lakh crore as of FY25.
For the LCA Mk1A, HAL has planned two manufacturing lines, one each in Bengaluru and Nasik. “We plan to keep investing in our capacities to support new projects like LCA Mark 2, the GE F414 engine manufacturing under Transfer of Technology, and the IMRH engine programme,” one HAL official had told Moneycontrol earlier this week.
The management will focus on 'cost optimization' as one of the key areas going forward, and said it expects order execution to pick up as well.
Hindustan Aeronautics added that it is working on enhancing the manufacturing capacities for aircraft and helicopters. The capacity addition at the Nashik factory in Maharashtra is expected to be key in the ramp up, helping with deliveries of indigenous platforms such as the LCA, HTT-40 and the Helicopters.
"These enhanced capacities would not only enable HAL to speed up execution of the existing orders but would also help us to free up our capacities for additional orders from our customers and aggressively pursue the export markets," HAL had said last year.
The company has lined up strong capex line up for the next five years. "...the capex plan for the next 5 years is estimated to be somewhere between Rs 14,000-15,000 crore which translates into an average capex of almost Rs 3,000 crore on annual basis," HAL had previously said.
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