Baba Kalyani, the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Bharat Forge, expressed strong confidence in the company's defence vertical, citing a robust order book and anticipation of indigenous orders for artillery guns materialising in December.

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"We are very confident of growth in our defence vertical. We have a pretty good orderbook. Our indigenous orders will also materialise in December for the artillery guns hopefully and that will add to the orderbook. So things are looking pretty good," Kalyani stated in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

On Monday, November 6, Bharat Forge announced financial results for the second quarter of FY24, with a consolidated net profit of ₹214.86 crore, marking a 52% year-on-year (YoY) increase compared to the same quarter in FY23, when it stood at ₹141.55 crore. Bharat Forge revenue rose by 22.6% to reach ₹3,774 crore during the second quarter, driven by increased export and domestic revenue. In the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year, the revenue was ₹3,076 crore.

Baba Kalyani shared that an indigenous order for artillery guns will be shared between two companies in a 40:60 ratio, contributing an estimated ₹2,000 crore to the defence order book. The defence business at Bharat Forge continued to strengthen with significant order wins. During the second quarter, the defence vertical secured a new business worth ₹1,100 crore, further enhancing the executable order book to ₹3,000 crore, to be fulfilled over the next 24 months.

In addition to the success in the defence sector, Baba Kalyani pointed out substantial improvements in North American Class 8 truck orders. The company's financial performance metrics, including topline, EBITDA, and PBT for H1FY24, were on par with the numbers achieved in the full fiscal year of FY20, representing significant growth in just four years.

"In the North American Class 8 truck orders, we have had big improvements. The topline, EBITDA, PBT that we have posted for H1FY24 are similar to the numbers that we posted in the full year of FY20. So that is the kind of growth that has happened in four years," Kalyani said.

Furthermore, Bharat Forge has been diligent in managing its debt. The company has already repaid ₹350 crore of debt and plans to repay an additional ₹500 crore within the next six months as part of its long-term debt reduction strategy.

Bharat Forge's stock witnessed a 4.72% increase on Monday, closing at ₹1,079.55 per share. Over the past six months, it has surged by 38.71%.

(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)