Astra Microwave Products Limited (ASTRAMICRO) Q4 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the Astra Microwave Products Limited Q4FY26 Earnings Conference Call. This conference call may contain forward-looking statements about the company which are based on the beliefs, opinions, and expectations of the company as on date of this call. These statements do not guarantee the future performance of the company and it may involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during this conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star, then zero on your touch-tone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. S.G. Reddy, Managing Director. Thank you, and over to you, sir.

Thank you. And good morning to everyone, and a warm welcome to all the participants of our company. I am joined today by my colleagues, Mr. Mv Reddy, and Akin Kavra, and AGA, our Investor Relations Advaisers. The financial results and investors' presentation for Q4 and FY26 have already been uploaded on the company's website on the stock exchanges. I hope you had an opportunity to review them. Let me begin with an overview of the industry outlook. The environment for the defense industry continues to remain highly supportive for the domestic players. The government's strong focus on indigenization is creating significant opportunities for private sector participation, with nearly 75% of India's defense capital acquisition budget now allocated towards The long-term defense manufacturing cycle also remains robust, supported by accelerating government procurement momentum and increasing localization across critical defense programs. Indigenization is creating a structural opportunity for Indian companies, particularly in defense electronics, drones, and aerospace, which continues to be among the fastest growing segments within the industry. India's defence exports have also gained strong momentum, exceeding approximately 38,000 crores in FY26 and continuing to grow steadily. At the same time, global supply chain diversification and raising defence spending across various regions are generating additional opportunities for Indian defence electronics and subsystem manufacturers like Astro. Order book across the industry remains at historical high levels. Thank you. FI26 has been a year of steady delivery, strong execution, and important strategic initiatives aimed at building long-term growth for the company. Some of the financial performance highlights for the year, I would like to announce here. FI26 has been another strong year for the company, characterized by consistent growth, effective execution, margin expansion, driven by favorable revenue mix. And improved working capital cycle, resulting in operating cash flow of 370 crores, compared to minus 99 crores as of last year. This is a very significant improvement, and we expect to maintain the trend. On a both standalone and consolidated basis, we have delivered strong growth across all key financial parameters. Detailed information, including growth percentages and Q-on-Q or year-on-year comparisons have already been shared through our stock exchange filings and investor presentation, and I request you to kindly refer to these documents for more information. The Board has recommended a dividend of Rs. 2.40 per equity share, that is about 120% of face value, for the year 25-26, subject to approval of shareholders at the Insuring Annual General Meeting. We also witnessed steady progress in our joint venture company, Asta Raffa Reconcis. The JV closed the financial year FY26 with an order book of about 625 crore and continued to receive significant orders from PSUs and the Ministry of Defense. It is expected to deliver a top line of over 600 crores in FY27. Although the profitability during the year was impacted due to forex-related provisions, We expect improved profitability in the coming year. Our other only-one subsidies have also performed well while continuing to support captive business requirements. Further, we continue to see robust opportunities across all three product segments in the defense market and therefore reaffirm our FY27 top-line growth at 15-20% rate. with the potential for much stronger growth over the coming years. We continue to proactively invest in the development of products and solutions for various defense applications, which is reflected in our increased R&D expenditure on year-on-year basis. These investments are expected to translate into significant business opportunities over the medium to long term and help us to achieve important milestones in revenue and profitability as we move forward. Other key business development happened during the year. On a strategic front, the board of directors have in principle approved the merger of our space, meteorology, and hydrology business. The object of this movie is to create sharper strategic and operational focus. The proposed structure will enable dedicated management teams to pursue sector-specific growth opportunities, enhance governance and accountability, simplify the corporate structure, and create clearer investment propositions to the shareholders. Furthermore, this restructuring will position us to capitalize on emerging opportunities both in India and globally. Over the medium to long term, we believe this initiative will support focused growth. Better Capital Allocation and Improved Operational Efficiency We will share the detailed scheme of demurter once it is formally approved by the Board, which is expected over the next few weeks. I will now hand over the call to Mr. Amiri Reddy and Athin Kabra, who will provide more further insights into new product developments, business outlook across year and long term, and the strategies being adopted to take the company to its next phase of growth. Thank you for now.

Good morning, everyone. This is Amvi Reddy, Jai Nalien Director, and thank you for joining us today. I'm pleased to share that Ever26 has been another strong year for our company. As mentioned, we achieved turnover of 1,157 crores, delivering at par with the guidance given in the beginning of the year that shows the strength of the technology portfolio and execution capabilities. Our radar business continues to be a primary growth driver, contributing nearly 60% of our revenue, while space and meteorology segment contributed around 16%, demonstrating our expanding footprint in strategic and high-technology domains. In Q4 alone, we secured thresholds worth of approximately 530 crores. Taking our total order book to robust 2141 crores as on 31st March, and concluded PNCF 300 crores more orders, which are expected to be received in the next couple of months. Key orders received during the quarter, which is in Q4, including SDR programs, subsystems of various gutter projects from BEL, and the checkout hardware for prestigious governing and mission from ISRO. I'm also proud to share that we have successfully completed all our related works in Shibu and Radar, which we took about a couple of years back, and handover the systems to day or go for final testing. This marks the successful delivery of one of the nation's most strategic and technologically advanced defense programs during this financial year, further reinforcing our capabilities in complex mission critical systems. Additionally, we have successfully delivered critical subsystems for one-off the nation's unique and strategic defense-based program, showcasing our growing technological strength and contribution towards the Indian strategic space capabilities. We also continue to strengthen our future growth pipeline through proprietary products, particularly in MMIC technologies. On the execution front, we have achieved Q4 billion of 490 crores. Reflecting the strong 16% year-on-year board. Major programs executed during the quarter included subsystems of radar, AW and satellite programs, and Doppler weather radar for IMD. Going forward, we have clear visibility of approximately 1,600 course-plus orders, which can be booked in the current year, that is FY27. Around 25% of this is expected to come from R&D programs, while balance are basically driven by the production orders. Segment-wise, radar segment is expected to contribute around 45%, electronic warfare and missiles together around 25%, space and meteorology is around 25%, and the remaining other strategic business areas. So this provides us a strong confidence in sustaining our growth momentum and improving scale in the coming years. Regarding execution front, we have planned to book states of 1,300 to 1,400 crores, that is around 15 to 20 percent growth as compared to FI26, covering 40 percent of R&D and 60 percent from the production area. As far as GDC is concerned, it was a fabulous year for ARC. It surpassed the guidance. We booked orders worth of 546 crores in the last year, that is, FI26, and sale of 360 crores. Going forward, in FI27, we expect ARC to outperform, and we expect the minimum growth of 50 percent, both in terms of order booking and as well as sales. As and yet, we have visibility of 1,200 crores order book in FI27 for ARC. And also expected to cross 600 crore's space. Looking ahead, the outlook in Indian defense and strategic electronic sectors remains highly promising. With the government's strong push towards indigenous defense manufacturing and self-reliance, we are confident that the company is well-positioned to sustain its growth trajectory and create long-term value for the stakeholders. That's all from my side. I would be happy to answer your questions. Now, I'll hand over to Mr. Atim Khabra, Director of Business Development Strategy. Over to you, Atim.

Hi. Good morning, everybody. And first and foremost, my gratitude to SGR, MVR, and the entire SDR team for delivering a strong set of numbers. Thank you. It's never accidental. It is an outcome of discipline, persistence, and clarity of purpose. And I think that is what is visible here. At ASSA, we have always believed in a simple maxim. Speak less, think long-term, and deliver on what we promise. We are trying every single day to live up to that philosophy. There are two other principles which guide us deeply. The first, The only constant in life is change in technology and defense. Standing still is equivalent to moving backwards. You have to keep running simply to retain your position. The second principle comes from Andy Grove, Intel. Only the paranoid survives, and we take that quite seriously. Healthy paranoia keeps organizations humble, agile, and hungry. It prevents complacency, and it forces reinvention. And these principles, combined with our long-term orientation, define Astral's strategic DNA. Over the last few years, we have consistently spoken about three priorities. Enhancement of or enhancement on our return on equity. Second, relentless focus on achieving a positive operating cash flow generation capability. And third, creation of operating leverage. And I'm happy to say that Astra team has delivered meaningfully on all three fronts. And we think this is only the beginning of good things. As operating leverage kicks in, Increasingly, we believe that Astra's story will become significantly stronger over the next five years, which is the outlook which we had presented to you last quarter. Whether it takes five years, four and a half, or five and a half years is less important than the direction of travel. Our trajectory is clear and our intent unwavering. We believe that Astroi is structurally positioned to nearly triple its turnover over this period, while simultaneously improving the quality of earnings, cash generation, and long-term shareholder value creation. Importantly, I think we've discussed this multiple times, that we do not run this company for quarterly applause. Quarterly numbers are outcomes, but not our identity. Because we see ourselves as custodians of long-term interests of more than 100,000 shareholders who have placed their trust in us, with our objective being to build a sustainable, technologically relevant, cash flow-focused enterprise that can compound value predictably over decades. So today, while we are on track on these parameters, I also want to redefine how Astra should be viewed. Surprisingly, our website still describes us as a Tier 2 subsystem supplier. But I am glad to tell you that that description is now outdated. We have in reality evolved. From a component manufacturer to a deeply integrated IP-driven systems manufacturer to now becoming a development-come production partner for strategic national programs. I'll repeat, we are now a deeply integrated IP-driven systems manufacturer and a DCPP for a critical national program. And beyond that, Lies what I would call the Holy Grail, where Astra-owned intellectual property, Astra-branded products and Astra-led solutions for India and the global markets are going to be created and sold. And that future, I'm glad to say, is visible now. This financial year itself, hopefully before Diwali, you will have multiple Astra products, which are beyond the complete IP. There are other band-aid products and solutions for global markets, India-first global markets. So our roots, as many of you know, were in telecom, especially antenna design and manufacturing. And because of the heritage and technical depth of our founders, we gradually became trusted partners to India's defense labs. Over three decades, we built extraordinary, horizontally, technological depth across multiple domains. In fact, one of our ongoing internal exercises is to catalog the sheer number of indigenous programs and products whose development journey Astra has contributed to over the years. And the breadth is so extensive that even today we are still uncovering the full extent of our own technological footprint. Ironically, it sounds stupid that we can't do that, but This very well may be Astra's greatest hidden strength in a world where technologies, threads, and platforms evolve rapidly. This horizontal capability stack creates resilience, adaptability, and strength power. And more importantly, it forms a moat which is difficult to replicate. So we are not building merely for the next quarter or the next order cycle, but for the next three to five decades. We've been around for three decades. And that is the lens through which we allocate capital, build capabilities, and take strategic bets. You are very well aware we have touched upon this, that MMIC was created, MMIC division itself was created in 2005. And that chip design capability has become one of our most important competitive advantages. This sends us our technological independence and complements the horizontal breadth which we have built over decades. So where do we stand in the defense value chain? Yes, we manufacture components. Yes, we build subsystems ranging from advanced multilayer PCBs to MMIC chips and highly sophisticated RF building blocks. But equally important is the fact that we design, integrate, and deliver complete systems. We are very much a tier-one systems company. I don't say this lightly, because I'm going to rattle off a few complete systems which Astra has delivered. Mobile multi-object tracking radar, Tushar and ISO, complete. Space array telemetry. That's PATM system to IPR and DRDO, fixed head Doppler radars to IPR, DRDO, radiation mode TNE facility to same, to DLRL and DRDO. We have delivered PPTR, which is so important, to PFT and DRDO, multifunctional pulse compression radars for SHAR and ISRO. We have delivered FNCW and MSCW, this short range and medium range. Tracking complete radars to ITRD-IDOs. These are systems, complete systems which have been delivered. Military radars, we have delivered ground-based surveillance radar systems. We have delivered active antenna array units for long-range multifunction radars, and I still don't call this a system, but a subsystem for you. But VRISTI counter-grown radar, we call it B4 radar. We are developing... And in the next few months, we will hear much more about it, low-level lightweight radar and bird detection and monitoring radar, complete system. On weather radars, as MVR had alluded, we have, you know, delivered satellite edge stations. We have delivered complete X, C, and S-band doppler-weather radars, LNUS, UHF-based spin-profiler radars. I can go on. But I think these are end-client delivery of complete systems, which have been done by Astra, tier one, and systems manufacturer. So, this is not aspirational anymore, but it is based on execution. We do not hesitate to share design parameters and technical details with our customers. Because we stand behind our engineering capabilities with confidence and transparency. But this is what establishes AFSA, not merely as a supplier, but as a trusted indigenous technology partner. If you speak to our customers, you will hear the same sentiment that we feel internally. A quiet sense of pride, but pride tempered with humility. In what persistent engineering effort and long-term commitment. So this evolution continues. Having established ourselves as a systems manufacturer, we are now proud to participate in the next phase of value addition as a DCPP for our major 2.30 electronics warfare upgrade program, which is a GUT. This marks a strategic transition upward in the value chain from participation to ownership. From execution to influence. And then the final frontier, the holy grail, Astra-owned, Astra-branded, IP-led products and solutions. Before Diwali, there will be multiple Astra products, Astra-branded, where a complete IP is with Astra, and we can compete in the rest of the world, which will be hitting the market. These are solutions which we intend to offer, not only to Indian, Armed Forces, but eventually to the global markets. And our first NCNC demo is planned within this quarter. And God willing, that will mount the beginning of an entirely new chapter in Astra's history. So let me make one point very, very clear. The work underway today has the potential to position Astra in the immediate... Coming back to more than half a billion dollar revenue enterprise and potentially much larger thereafter. And we do not make such statements lightly. You know, what we have said, we deliver. In fact, the entire tripling of our turnover that we spoke about in the four and a half, five and a half year time frame is based on just five to six programs and the rest is not even included in the numbers. So what I would tell... Our long-term investors, even more, is this, that not a single rupee from these future proprietary IP-led opportunities has been factored into our near three-fold growth aspiration over the next five years. Everything beyond remains potential upside, contingent, of course, on successful execution. And it means that our stated growth path is grounded not in optimism. But in visible execution pipelines and existing business momentum, and that distinction is extremely important. We want you to focus not only on our narrative, but also on delivery. So therefore, our focus is unchanged. Technology depth, capital discipline, cash flow generation, customer trust, and long-term value creation. With this, I'm sure many of you have questions for SDR, particularly around sustainability of margins, cash flows, and scalability. So let's open the door for discussion.

Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and 1 on their touchstone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and 2. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question comes from the line of Amit Dixit with Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.

Yeah, hi. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for the opportunity. Congratulations for a very strong fit of numbers, operating cash flow, as well as a very nice deck that you have bought, highlighting quite a few details. I have a couple of questions. The first one is essentially, if I look at EBITDA margin for the quarter, again, I mean, not looking at the quarter per se, but if I look at the overall trajectory of EBITDA margin, particularly, I mean, it is like almost 33.3 for this quarter, and space revenue has increased. I understand I mean margins in space can be quite high. Exports has also gone up, and so just want to understand two points over here since we are focusing a bit more on space. And in export as well, if I look at the order and flow, it has remained quite strong. So considering that the space proportion would grow, so can we expect margin trajectory to strengthen further? And secondly, what are these exports? I mean, traditionally, we had deemed exports which used to give us lower margin, but I think these are more IP-driven exports or, you know, subsystem-driven exports, actually. So, just wanted to get your thought on these parameters. This is the first question.

Hi. Amit? Yeah. Regarding exports, these are the exports made over the holy ones of the ARC. As we mentioned in the previous calls, these exports are different from the earlier offset-based exports, where we are paid only for the conversion costs. Here, actually, these are the things where the RF portion of the SDRs are being... Co-developed between Rafal and Astra. So because of that, the value add is much higher than the regular exports that were recorded in the previous periods. Therefore, generally, these carry a good amount of value add. I would say the gross margin will be close to about 40% kind of thing in these exports. So that is the reason why there is an improved margin from the export business as such. I think I have answered your first question, Amit. What is the next one?

Sir, another part was space, because space is going up.

You have another question, Amit, as far as space is concerned. We have delivered subsystems for a defense satellite program, which is a very, I mean, like a complex subsystems which we made in over a period of one year that we completed in last quarter, and that has a decent contribution. And we are expecting similar subsystems going forward as the user is planning to go for a constellation of those satellites. So this will continue for the orders, what we are expecting from both ISRO and as well as from the Dickens side as well as the space business is concerned. And your other question on the deemed export, yes, we, year on year, we are increasing our value addition in the overall contribution, like whatever we've been contributing to our JV as well as the company. We are increasing that value addition in Astra, and both in the testing front and also in the qualification front, hence the margins are also winning.

So just as a follow-up, sir, I mean, since you, ARC outlook is expected to be quite strong, and space, as you highlighted, that, you know, we will be continuing the value addition. So the trajectory of margins, I mean, I'm not asking for a quarter or something, I'm asking a year-on-year kind of trend, would continue to strengthen or at least remain at this particular level?

Yes, as far as the AIC is concerned, we have an order book. In the last quarter, we booked some orders, and this year also, we are expecting close to 150 crores kind of orders from the JVC, and the value addition will remain the same. So, going forward, for the next two to three years, we have a clear visibility to have a good growth.

Okay.

The second question will be a function of the order mix, which has been delivered, right? So there may be some variations. You have to be acceptable and ready for that.

No, no, that's fine. That's fine. I'm quite mindful of that factor. The second question is on Sukhoi, and you highlighted in your prepared remarks that on the DCPP role. So there are two parts to a Sukhoi upgrade. One is the radar, the Biroo Paksha, which we are, of course, the partner. I wanted to understand a bit more on ASPJ pods. Are we doing something over there as well? And is it possible for you to highlight broadly a range of business size that we can expect from these upgrades?

Yeah, Amit, two things. One is on the radar front. As we mentioned in our last couple of calls, we have been developing AAAU with the DRDO, and we are the part of the Virupasha program, and the development is going on. We are expecting that our portion to get completed in the next few months. And hopefully, the entire radar will also be completed soon, in this year or maybe. As far as the EW is concerned, we are part of the UNGAR program. Again, it's the DRDO program. And we are the DCPP, one of the DCPP. As you are aware that they are selected to DCPP. We are one among them. And the development program is going on with the DRDO, the JetCapsic Lab.

Okay, great. That's very helpful, sir. Thank you, and all the best. Thank you.

The next question comes from the line of Vikas Singh from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.

Good morning, sir, and thank you for the opportunity, and lastly, congratulations on very good set of numbers. We just wanted to understand this revenue triple link guidance which we are giving. So, do we expect what kind of capex we need to spend further in order to achieve that or majority of the capex are already in place and we just need to invest working capital to and forward?

In terms of the capex, as you know, every year now we are augmenting, registering the... So that will continue. Therefore, there won't be any additional capex beyond this, what we are doing normally. Working capital, yes, depending on how the things are going to pan out. There will be working capital requirements. As I mentioned in my call, there is a significant improvement happening in the working capital cycle in the last year. We are releasing a significant amount of code data. which are being held up for various technical reasons. I would say that the improvement in terms of realization of the receivables will continue. Therefore, though the increased volumes call for higher working capital utilization, we should be able to manage within the sanction limits as of today. Thereby, the finance cost and other things are going to be more or less similar to what has been incurred by the company in the current year.

Okay, so the working capital situation would improve further going forward.

Yes.

Can you take that as well?

Thank you, sir.

My second question pertains to our mix of the order book. Given that the space segment order book as a percentage, year start order book as a percentage has shrunk, how should we look at the overall margin mix, basically? Because I understand that public space Is number one or number two in terms of our margin profile?

Definitely the space margins are better compared to even defense also, but when you look at the overall space, the company. It is just around 10 to 15 percent kind of thing. Therefore, the reduction in the space order book or overall space contribution to the sales of the company should not have any negative impact in terms of the overall margins.

Sir, can we, just correct me if I'm wrong, can we assume that given we are transitioning into a better product category going forward, our margins actually should be higher than what we have seen in the historical levels?

The margin delivered by the company in the current year is about 55%. Okay. So, you are still expecting an improvement over 55%. Look at the industry standards. Yes, as we move forward, definitely there will be a change in the product mix of the company. But again, it is subjected to various other variables. We feel that we should be doing very well by sustaining the current margins achieved by the company. Not only in terms of the gross margin, but also in terms of various profit margins.

And added to that, as mentioned, our business model towards the exports also changed. If you look at the historical data, till FI24 or so, we largely depend on that BTP business where our value addition was less and margins were very less. And we came out of that and we are accepting orders only if the value addition is more. We are focusing in that and also we are focusing on IP-driven products for the export market. That is the reason our margins have been increased in the last couple of years.

No, sir.

But from a guidance perspective, I think we should very clearly say this probably is the top end. You can actually, you should factor in slightly lower numbers only of the margin points, you know, so that there is no, you know, disappointment coming in at a later date, you know. This is probably as best as it gets, if I may say.

Thank you so much, sir. Just lastly, if I can squeeze in one last question. In terms of our overall dependency on MMIC, so if you could explain that have we seen any problems so far or what is the percentage we are able to source in-house or domestically versus the import dependency?

If you look at the overall MMIC, as of now, we have not encountered any issue, and that production and as well as development is going very smooth. There's a dependency, like, yes. Most of the active devices, we are sourcing out from our in-house MMIC division, and also we are started... Strategically, you know, looking at that particular business segment to enhance the product range and also to meet the captive consumption and as well as to generate more revenue from the external market.

Thank you. Thank you and all the best for people.

Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Sanjeev Zabarte with Antique Stock Broking. Please go ahead. I am sorry to interrupt Sanjeev, I would request you to be a little louder please, thank you.

Yeah, sir, in our presentation, we have a slide which, you know, gives us total addressable opportunity of around 28,000 crores between FI 26 to 28.

Now, since FI 26 has been passed, what kind of, would you want to change this number in terms of addressable market for us for the next two years?

Well, Sanjeev, the total accessible market will remain same, but only there is a shift in the year. As you know, there are many programs got delayed for various reasons, as these are all government-driven programs, depending on the budget and also depending on the priority, this gets shifted, and also a few development activities got delayed at various levels. So the overall accessible market remains, but the only thing is we, instead of a 28 container, may go up to 30, 31. So that's the one thing, and we are always, you know, focusing on that particular market to, you know, maximize our share of the business.

Yeah, sir, and my next question is on the new initiatives like in terms of ground-penetrating radars and the other developments that we are in the process of making. How are we positioned there?

Yeah, ground-penetrating radar, we have developed it with collaboration with one startup company. We have worked on some trials. There were few observations, we have been addressing that, and very soon we launched that product, time to come and to meet the customer experiment. But we started participating in few tenders.

Okay, sir. That's it from my side and all the best.

A reminder to all participants, you may press star and want to ask a question. The next question comes from the line of Vansh Modi with Swan Investments. Please go ahead.

With your guidance on revenue, I heard you say that you expect to triple your revenue. Just wanted to know what the timeline would look like and what would be the drivers for this.

We are expecting at least next, you know, down the line three to four years to triple the revenue, or maybe you can say after FI 30 to 31. So that's something which we are looking at based on the timing of the orders and finalization of the contracts and all. So that's the one. And second question, what was your question?

What would be the growth drivers for this?

Yeah, growth drivers, there are many problems out there, both, you know, especially in the radar segment. We have seen clear visibility to grow in airborne radar, fire control radar, and, you know, surveillance and tracking radars, and medium range and long range radars. So, likewise, in data segment, we have huge opportunities in the industry. Similarly, in the electronic warfare segment also, as I've explained just now, we are there in the DRDO programs for a few of the airborne platforms, which we are DCPP in that. So, we are developing that, and once the development and qualification is completed, we expect production orders to come from the services. And also, apart from that, we are part and parcel of BEL major programs like LionShakhti, Himeshakhti, Kshetrugart, Sambagart. There are so many programs which BEL is integrating, so we are the qualified subsystem supplier for these systems. That business will continue for next three to four years. And in the other segment, like in the missile and telemetry also, we are the, when the seekers, some of the active seekers we have developed for a couple of missions, we are expecting a few orders in the next two to three years. And in space segment, we are expecting repeat orders for the, some of the satellite programs from ISRO. And also from the defense satellites. So these are all our goal drivers going forward. And apart from that, as Mr. Rathim had mentioned, that in the methodology business also, we have developed Doppler weather radars, wind profile radars, which are, you know, the production radars are ready to come. So we are, we already booked a few orders. More radars we are expecting next two to three.

Okay, thank you, sir. Just one last question. What is the current order book right now? As you said, you are planning to execute around 1,600 crores in F527. Just wanted to know what the current order book is right now. That's it. Thank you.

Yeah, we have order book of 2141. This is the order book, standalone order book of Astra.

Okay, thank you. Consolidated is 2,600?

Yeah, consolidated is 2,600, but standard is 2,141.

Yeah. Thank you, sir. Thank you for the detailed access.

The next question comes from the line of Jatin Jadav with Sahasraj Capital. Please go ahead.

Hello, am I open it? Yes, please. Thank you so much for the opportunity. Most of my questions have been answered. But on a technological front, just to gain a better understanding, I wanted to understand where does Astra Microwave essentially sit in the entire radar ecosystem relative to other similar companies? Specifically, which layer of the radar architecture do we participate in, RF, electronics, TR models, beamforming, and so on, and so forth, so that's my question.

Yeah, when we compare with the other industries working in the radar domain, the differentiating factor here is, we have grown from the component subsystems to the systems. So whatever systems we have taken it up to, you know, participate in the MOD program or in services, we have been developing in-house the total with the complete IP with Astra. It takes some time for us to come to this standard of, you know, global, you know, make, but, you know, finally the contribution will be better, and also we can be more competitive as compared to other players. And as far as the overall business in the radar is concerned, as I said, we are continuing our participation in the DRDO programs for all the development in the ground and airborne programs, and also we are partnered with BEL for the production programs, as we are the qualified supplier during the development phase. So while continuing that business in subsystems and components, we are focusing in the systems For the M.O.D., as Mr. Rathim had mentioned, we have taken a few projects to address directly to the M.O.D. Those projects are in development phase. Most likely in the next few months. We are working out on the, to provide overall solutions. It is not only a system, it is a complete solution to the end user, including a couple of systems mounted in the one platform. More details will be shared to you in time to come, but we are focusing on that, and those programs are also in very active stage of completion. So by November, I think we should be in a position to roll out at least one or two systems. Thank you, sir.

My second question is kind of like a follow-up on this only. So over the time, over 30 years, you've developed in-house ITs and technological capabilities, and so you've positioned yourself very strongly in the radar ecosystem. So, based on that, I wanted to understand, for example, is it possible for us or, let's say, a similar company to divulge into different types of radars? Let's say, right now, if we can cater to AESA radar, then can we shift to, let's say, a surveillance radar based on the possibility that fire control radar is probably a small feature also.

We are working in the futuristic technologies. Like, we have recently developed and delivered major subsystems for the digital array radar for DRDO, and that is giving us edge to get more orders in the digital array radar. And similarly, we have developed photonics radar, which is working in the optical domain, and that also, with collaboration with one startup company, we have developed this overall solution for the DRDO, and we have successfully delivered. So these are the few technologies which are the new futuristic, you know, the technologies from the radar domain which we have been working. So we are continuously working on this domain, and also for an existing radar, we are optimizing the technology, for example, to, you know, minimize the size of the array and all. Like, you know, since we have the components within the company, so we are in a position to scale down the overall size and complex so that, you know, to offer miniaturized size. So, these are all. We have been working continuously to make sure that we should be in a better position as compared to the competitors.

Thank you so much. Thank you so much. I'll get back in a minute. Thank you.

The next question comes from the line of Prerich Jain with Motilal Oswal. Please go ahead.

Yes, thank you for the opportunity. Sir, I only have one question. Can you please give us an update on the QR SIM and Ustam SR radar orders? Like you earlier mentioned that there have been some delays in some of the orders from DRDO site itself. So can you give us an update on that and whether these orders will come all together and the execution will be panned out in subsequent years or even the orders will come in batches?

Yeah, as far as the Ustam radar is concerned, the negotiations have been started with the HAL. As you know, they have been negotiating because of the big price in contracts, so we have already... You know, started, I think it is almost reaching the final stage. I think we are expecting, you know, this particular order sometime in the Q2 or Q3, and as the process is more like, you know, to place the order. But as far as today's position, as of today, negotiations are on for Uttam Radar with HAL. That much I can tell you. And second is on the QRsum front, as probably you're all aware, that they know BEL stated that they are expecting. Thank you.

Got it, sir. Yeah, that is what I'm going to say. Thank you.

Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Sahil Karia with White Pine Investment Management. Please go ahead.

Yeah, thank you for the opportunity. I just wanted to ask on the tablic, what are the timelines for the suit at the application program for both Radar and the ASPG POS? By then, can we expect the production orders to come in?

Yeah, I think I have answered this question just some time back, but anyway, again, repeat. For the radar, the WU, which we have taken up development, that is, I think, next two to three months, we should be in a position to complete the development and hand over to DRDO. And in all probability, I think in maybe FI28, DRDO will be ready to qualify the overall radar, but we cannot comment on behalf of DRDO. We are expecting that this will be completed in next year, financial year. And similarly, in the UW front also, we are taken up as a DCPP for that overall program, and it is in the development phase, and we are expecting next one year that also we should be completed and disqualified. So soon after qualification, we hope to get production order from the services.

So, the reason behind this was on Vazia Sonics' call, they had mentioned that the 2.30 program is still in the development stage, and it will be in the same stage for the next five years. So, just wanted to hear a call from your side that, like, do we receive the production orders after five years, or, like, how it will be?

So, as I said, you know, the next year, probably next FY28, I think, you know, the radar should be get qualified, but, you know, the user qualification end all may take another one more year, and so thereafter, I think, you know, maybe next two to three years will take time to get the production orders. This is what our expectation as far as the progress is concerned.

Okay. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Participants, you may press star and want to ask a question. The next question comes from the line of Bala Subramaniam from Aryan Capital Markets. Please go ahead.

Good morning, sir. Thank you so much for the opportunity. Sir, our export has been declined because we are moving away from low-margin built-to-print business. I just want to understand what is our current margin in this built-to-print and other design-laid export orders. I just want to know the difference between goods, sir.

Margins? See, as I mentioned, like, you know, the low margin BTP business, we have left it out, and we are not addressing that particular market. We are only addressing market in exports where our value addition is more, and margins are much better than the BTP market. So here, although it is BTP, but our value addition is more. And the margins, as Mr. Azir had already mentioned, it is around 45% as compared to the... Single-digit figure in the BTP business.

Yes, sir. Sir, my second question, on the JV, we have seen just 1 crore share of profits from JV in FI26. But in earlier con call, we have mentioned around ARC revenue of 350 crores with 10 to 12% PPT margin. Just want to understand, is there any significant cost in terms of technology transfer, fees, royalties, or any pre-operational expenses on the JV level?

I think 1 crore profit you are referring to the quarter. Otherwise, for the year, it is around close to about 8 crores. That is the share of profit after tax. That is from the JV. Yes, during the current year, of course, the royalty expenditure is always there. In addition to that, there is a foreign exchange provision which the company has to make. So, because of that, the close to about $2 million of provision was made in the books of accounts. As a result, the overall profitability has come down. But otherwise, the share of profit from the JV for the entire year is close to about $8 crores after tax.

I got it, sir. Thank you.

The next question comes from the line of Darshal Javeri with Crown Capital. Please go ahead.

Hello. Good morning, sir. Thank you so much for taking my question, sir. A lot of my questions have been already answered, but just a few regarding the 3x target. So, number one, it would be kind of like an asymmetrical growth, right, like that we would be having because of our product approval. So, a lot of this growth would come towards the end, like FI 2930. Is that a fair assumption, sir? And are we including the JV's revenue, our share of JV's revenue in this, or this is a standalone, sir?

Let me answer this. Yeah, you're right. Absolutely. It is going to be rear-end. There are basically five or six major programs which are driving this, I think, a couple of times now. We have QSM. We have Uttam radars. We have Su-30 Virupaksha. We have Su-30 Angal. And we have a regular business, which we do for our JV. And also, maybe, you know, electronic mines, for example, is a big area for us. Okay. So, it is only just these five or six programs that we are talking about, which will lead us to the kind of numbers which we have indicated. Good morning, everyone. We are not factoring in our export potential out there. We are not factoring in a whole lot of other programs which we are a part of, and I think we alluded to a lot of BEL programs, you know. That's all gravy on the top. As and when it comes in, it keeps adding to our bottom line and makes up for some delay or some mischief which happens, which can pull back those numbers. So there's enough flexibility and depth built into these numbers to achieve them.

I just wanted to understand for the JV, we are kind of, I think, targeting around 600 crore revenue this year. So what would be the margins in this, like, business? What can we expect to hit our P&L, sir? Rough range would also be fair enough, sir.

Thank you.

Definitely, it is going to be an improvement over the current year. EBITDA, I think, around 18 to 20 percent is what is being projected by the company. So, basing on that, on a 600 crore top line, at least about 20 plus crore will be our share of profit for the entire year. That is what I am expecting as of now.

Okay, okay, okay. So, we, I think, in the past, have said around, you know, 10% PBT. So, 20 crores would be kind of a lower PBT. So, what would we, so, is that a higher depreciation or interest cost that, you know, something that is eating up, or how would you say?

See, I have given the number at the lower end. Let us wait for the year to proceed. When I said 20 crores, that is a minimum. Let us see how the things proceed.

Okay, okay. Yeah, yeah. Fair enough. That's it from my side. Thank you so much, sir. All the best.

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that was the last question for today. I would now like to hand the conference over to the management for their closing remarks.

Thank you, and thank you for your presence. I guess we had a good discussion, and I wish you meet you again at the end of Q1. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, guys. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Astra Microwave Products, that concludes this conference call. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines.