HFCL Q2 profit rises 448% to Rs 394 crore; shares hit upper circuit

HFCL reported a 448% year-on-year rise in net profit to Rs 394 crore for the second quarter of FY27 on Monday, October 19. Its shares reached the 5% upper circuit at Rs 268.70 on the BSE, according to Economic Times Markets, which cited the company's regulatory filing for its earnings figures.

Revenue from operations increased 144% to Rs 2,542 crore from Rs 1,043 crore a year earlier, while net profit compared with Rs 71.92 crore in the corresponding quarter. Revenue also rose 33% from the preceding quarter. The reported share-price snapshot—not a live quote—put HFCL's gain for the year at nearly 300%.

Operating earnings rise faster than revenue

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, or EBITDA, reached Rs 658 crore, up 223.55% year on year and 47.78% sequentially.

The EBITDA margin widened to 25.89%, an improvement of 640 basis points from a year earlier and 264 basis points from the previous quarter. Those increases represent 6.4 and 2.64 percentage points, respectively.

Managing Director Mahendra Nahata described the quarter as the company's strongest yet, attributing the performance to greater business scale and momentum.

Order book supports growth forecast and capacity plans

HFCL reported an order book exceeding Rs 28,900 crore. Management said this, alongside its order pipeline, offers revenue visibility extending six to seven years and beyond. It expects FY27 revenue to grow by at least 80% over FY26.

Nahata pointed to rising demand from AI infrastructure, hyperscale data centres and telecom networks. He said opportunities involving international hyperscalers and telecom operators were increasingly turning into firm contracts.

The company plans to invest around Rs 1,800 crore in optical fibre, cable and preform manufacturing to increase capacity and bring more production stages in-house. This is a planned investment, not reported expenditure already incurred; similarly, the revenue-growth guidance remains a management forecast rather than an achieved result.

Defence and aerospace expansion remains on the agenda

HFCL said it remained on course for around Rs 500 crore in FY27 revenue from its defence and aerospace business. Nahata identified thermal weapon sights, electronic fuzes, surveillance radars, multi-mode hand grenades and aerostructures as parts of the portfolio.

An aerospace-business acquisition is expected to be completed in the current quarter, according to management. Completion was not announced in the earnings account.

Nahata set out optical fibre cables and connectivity solutions, telecom, and defence and aerospace as the main areas of HFCL's growth strategy, with management expecting the mix to broaden its revenue base.