Shares of Hindustan Aeronautics opened flat on Monday after the company signed of a new contract with the Ministry of Defence.

What Happened: The defence ministry has awarded HAL a contract to upgrade the avionics systems of Dornier-228 transport aircraft, the company said in a press release on Friday. This is to enhance the Indian Armed Forces’ operational capability.

The upgrade, which involves the majority of indigenously designed and developed avionics sub-systems, represents a major milestone in advancing the “Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan”, the company added in its statement.

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The defence public sector firm is due to report its second-quarter results later this week. PhillipCapital expects HAL to report a 15% year-on-year sales growth in Q2FY25, reaching ₹6,481 crore, driven by strong performance in services and manufacturing deliveries. The brokerage forecasts HAL's EBITDA margin to remain steady at 26%, with a net profit of ₹1,393.6 crore for the quarter.

Antique Broking expects HAL to see moderate 10% revenue growth in Q2FY25, reaching ₹6,199.4 crore. The brokerage forecasts an 87 basis-point increase in EBITDA margin and a net profit of ₹1,411.2 crore.

Earlier in October the firm was conferred with “Maharatna” status following the nod from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Price Action: HAL was trading 0.31% lower at ₹4,386.75 on Monday morning.

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