Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to Astra Microwave Products Limited, Q2 FY2026 earnings conference call. This conference call may contain forward-looking statements about the company, which are based on beliefs, opinions, and expectations of the company as of the date of this call. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and 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 the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star then zero on a touch-tone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. S. G. Reddy, Managing Director of Astra Microwave Products Limited. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thank you, and good evening to everyone. A warm welcome to all the participants joining the post-results earnings call of our company. I am joined today by my colleagues, M. V. Reddy, Joint Managing Director, and Mr. Atim Kabra, Director of Strategy and Business Development, and a representative from SGA, our Investor Relations Advisors. The results and investors' presentations for Q2 and H1 FY26 have been uploaded on our company website and stock exchanges. I hope you had the opportunity to go through them. In terms of the business and the financial performance, I am pleased to report that we have delivered a strong performance for this quarter, with the improved margin supported by a favorable revenue mix. We are gradually and strategically transitioning from primarily supplying subsystems and components to delivering complete systems and integrated solutions.
In terms of actual performance for Q2 FY26, standalone revenues stood at INR 213 crores, with EBITDA of INR 46 crores, reflecting a healthy margin expansion to 21.7% and a profit after tax of INR 21 crores. On a half-year standalone basis, the revenue was INR 410 crores, up 7.2% year-on-year, with EBITDA stood at INR 85 crores, with a margin of 20.6%, while the PAT grew by 13.5% year-on-year. These results underscore the strength and the resilience of our core operations. Major product deliveries during the quarter included modules for Aclaysia and Rohini Radars, 3D- CAR Prime, FLR, MPR, HMR, LDR, and several others. In terms of order book and business outlook, our standalone order book stood at INR 1,916 crores as of 30th September 2025, and on a consolidated basis, it is at INR 2,209 crores, providing strong visibility for the coming quarters.
The order book continues to be predominantly domestic, particularly in the defense sector. Since most of the domestic business is built to spec-driven, profit margins remain strong. A key highlight during the period was securing a major order for refurbishment of Inter Electronics for a long-range radar. Successful execution of this project is expected to open doors for many more such opportunities. We have also completed several price negotiation committees and participated in a good number of RFPs, with strong winning potential, giving us confidence to achieve our year-end order booking targets. We have also seen a notable improvement in the operating cash flows during the first half of the year, and we expect this positive trend to continue. On the product development front, we continue to make progress in AESA, Virupaksha, and Uttam Radars. As far as the joint venture is concerned, our ARC continues to perform well.
The Backpack SDRs for the Indian Army, developed by the company on the MCNP model, are waiting for final technical approval. In the meantime, ARC continues to deliver software-defined radios for the Indian Air Force and has received initial orders for maintenance of electro-optic products, a new product line adopted by the company very recently. It has also secured an INR 286 billion order from the Ministry of Defense for supplying advanced communication systems to the Indian Air Force Special Forces very recently. It is expected to do about INR 41 million sales for the year and is expected to have an order book of close to INR 100 million by the end of the year. In terms of technical achievements, we are proud of our recent achievements that highlight Astra Microwave Products' technological leadership.
We have been engaged with India's space program for the last 25 years and have contributed to several landmark missions, including the recent ISRO CMS-03 satellite, India's heaviest communication satellite, through the supply of advanced RF and microwave subsystems such as C-band 15-watt SSPE and the KU-band receiver and converter. In terms of industry outlook, India's 15-year defense roadmap envisions a future-ready, self-reliant, and technology-led military by 2040, emphasizing indigenization, innovation, and integration across land, sea, air, space, and the cyber domains. The recently approved procurement proposals worth INR 79,000 crores mark a significant step towards accelerated capability building and a deeper participation from the Indian defense industrial base. This vision also aligns with India's goal of becoming a global defense exporter, paving the way for greater opportunities for the private players like Astra Microwave.
In the long term, Astra is well-positioned to capitalize on these developments, continue delivering cutting-edge products, and expand its capabilities, and contribute meaningfully to India's defense and space region. With these remarks, now I hand over to Dr. M. V. Reddy, Joint MD, and Atim Kabra later on, who will give more insight into new product development, business outlook in the near and long term, and the strategies adopted to take the company to the next level of growth cycle. Over to M. V. Reddy.
Thank you, S. G . Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. The overall performance of the company in the first half of FY26 is in line with the expectation, and we are well-positioned to do much better in the second half, both in terms of order inflow and sales. We would like to share a few key achievements and business updates of this quarter. With regard to the standalone order book, we are at INR 1,916 crores as of 30th September and concluded negotiations for INR 400 crores plus orders, which are expected to book in Q3. We plan to book INR 600 crores plus worth of orders in Q4. In the last quarter, the majority of the orders we booked are in the radar and EW segment, including strategically very important orders, as S. G. mentioned, for the growth of our organization.
I'm also happy to share that we have emerged as a successful bidder in most competitive projects of EW suite for Su-30 as a lead system integrator. On the execution front, we are almost at par with our sales target, though we are facing a few challenges to complete a couple of space projects. Our JVC ARC has picked up well and is expected to book approximately INR 100 million-INR 120 million worth of orders by the end of FY26. With regard to sales also, ARC is in line with the guidance given and is expected to book sales of $42 million in the current year. We reiterate to mention that with strong order inflow, healthy prospects, and strengthened technological capabilities, we have a clear visibility of delivering consistent growth and creating long-term value for our stakeholders.
Our focus remains on executing existing strategically important and critical orders efficiently while leveraging new opportunities in defense, aerospace, satellite, and metallurgy market segments. That's all from my side. I would like to be happy to answer your questions. Now I'll hand over to Mr. Atim Kabra, Director of Strategy and Business Development. Over to you, Mr. Atim.
Yeah, thanks, M. V. Thanks, S. G . Good afternoon, friends, and welcome to our quarterly outlook meet. This time, I want to address two broad themes in my presentation today. One, I would like to draw your attention to the reality of product development and cycles, and the time it takes to create products, and hence the moat in the business which arises. Second, I would like to give you a sense of our growth plans and the number outlooks for the next three years, four years, five years or so. That is for the first time that we will be doing so. Basically, capabilities in the new modes of warfare will be tech-driven. As you know, tech curve is steep with a very short shelf life. The questions which arise are manyfold. Will electronic warfare limit the ability to penetrate enemy skies?
Will slow-moving aircraft, helicopters, stand a fighting chance against the max-speed missiles, which are now the order of the day? Will a fight to strike enemy locations with precision over long distances shell turn the tide of the war? Will infantry stand a fighting chance against drones? These drones will be maneuvered over long distances by drone pilots sitting across remote locations, and so on. If you really think about it, all of these scenarios are concurrent. The new rules that are being called in for writing the manuals of warfare are new for everybody. One thing is clear. The ability to detect threats ahead of time using radars will be critical. Similarly, offensive capabilities will be built around radars and seekers homing into targets with agility and precision. Astra is proud to be operating in all these critical segments.
As you know, and as we stressed big time and explained in detail the last time, we spoke that we are a very well-diversified company operating in the areas of radar, missile systems, electronic warfare, space, chip design, weather, meteorology, communication systems, etc., etc. When we speak of radars, they are both airborne, shipborne, and ground-based. We are a platform company operating in the entire segment of electronic warfare, if I may say so. Our scientists have proven that systems which have been developed over the years have worked well, and self-reliance and self-sufficiency have gained much currency. Expectations, accordingly, have risen sky-high, but we will churn out globally competitive new warfare-based solutions and products in no time. Reality, if I was to stress, is a slightly different scenario.
Products, they take time to be designed, built, tested, and they require serious multi-year tests before they can be given the green light to be produced in mass numbers, which can create high sales volumes and profits for the creators. We have seen companies talking about 10-year horizons in which their sales will take off, etc., etc., and they will become platform companies. When we require tests across multiple user trials, across different conditions, and creating products that require coordination and supply chain linkages amongst various components, subcomponent suppliers, these are typically multi-year efforts where core capabilities get morphed into products and solutions using parts which are produced in-house or core to us, and then several which are procured from external vendors, and everything morphs into one product. Where does Astra fit into the above scenario?
As we see it, our revenue base would comprise of a traditional supply of subsystems and critical components, with us being part of designated supply chains for various products which have been developed within our country over decades by distinguished clients in the defense PSUs as well as defense labs. This subsystem capability we will layer with complete Astra-designed and produced radars and other war-gamed systems and solutions. Last time I mentioned to you, we are creating three completely Astra radars which will be in the market pretty soon. While the former provides us regular sustenance business, which highlights our very well-diversified and electronic development capabilities, the latter solutions will enable us to book high-volume, mass business with multi-year production contracts. That, I think, will be the essence.
It has taken us, please remember, the 33 long years to cross a revenue of INR 1,000 crores, which also reflects partly on how the Indian defense industry has developed from scratch. The timeline is also, if I would say, a reflection of the long development cycles that form the bedrock of our nation's defense equipment production and designing capabilities. It is going to be a hard and time-consuming exercise, in my opinion, for any new entrant to break into this business at scale and in a short period of time. That is the moat which long-established defense sector companies hope to benefit from. We have seen stellar results over the last few days from Data Patterns, from Paras, Axis K9s. I think it's a fair thing to say that this is a sign of times to come.
Somebody will come in one quarter, somebody will come in the other quarter. The trend is fairly positive over a period of time. We will all capitalize on the significant market for solutions opening up based on the extensive product ranges which have been created over a period of time. Now, as you know, Astra management has always prided itself on its conservative estimates. They love to meet our guidance, and we put in a serious amount of efforts to do so. We have waited for clarity on our numbers to share our ambitions with you for a long, long time. As you know, we are very crucial partners in multiple platforms which are going into production now. I'm talking of QR-SAMs, Uttam Radars, Virupaksha, Su-30 EW upgrade, which we just mentioned. We are the LSIs over there, software-defined radios.
These are the cornerstones of our enhanced visibility, which we are very comfortable to share with you now. What are we talking about? We are happy to share in our belief that what we accomplished in 33 years, the X turnover which we have achieved in 33 years, we are seeking to build on that foundation. We have a very good chance of doubling our turnover, 2X plus over the next three to four years. I think this is very important that for the first time, Astra management is coming out and telling you that over the next three to four years, we will become 2X of our current size. That lays the platform over the next few years thereafter for a 3X, and we will talk to you about how. Let me be quiet for a second and let that sink in, right?
That will be a quarter million dollars on current exchange rate that we will exceed. FY27 turnover, okay? Before I go into that, I want to highlight about approximately half a year back, we met investors during our QIP round. We were very clear that growth will be rear-ended. I think we were the only guys talking about a rear-ended growth at that point in time. That speaks for our conservatism. We defined at that time around INR 8,000 plus crores of business, which we had in sight very clearly. We were very clear also that the first three years, and I'm talking of two years, two and a half years back, the first three years would be the staging grounds preparing for the execution required in the production orders.
We have just explained or mentioned to you the orders and the key platforms which we shall be executing. What are the numbers that we are talking about? I think FY27 turnover, we shall start seeing revenues from QR-SAM project. We hope to close it somewhere around INR 1,400-INR 1,500, plus or minus INR 50 range that particular year. That year, the year after that, we will have QR-SAM plus revenues starting to come in from Uttam Radars for Tejas. We hope to cross, I would say, somewhere around INR 1,650, plus or minus again, INR 50 crores in FY2028. That is a year, if you recall, where the QR-SAM will start going into full-blown production. Of course, our numbers depend on our clients' delivery schedules, okay? FY29 will reflect revenues from QR-SAM plus Uttam Radars.
We hope at that point in time, Su-30 upgrades shall start to kick in. That shall bring us to a very nice number, very close to INR 2,000 crores at that point in time. I think the year after that, all these programs that we are talking about, QR-SAM, Uttam Radars, Su-30, EW Suite, Virupaksha, okay, they will be in full-blown production. FY30 should see us somewhere around INR 2,250- INR 2,500 crores range. Please, whenever you look at these numbers, remember that we are talking of three to four years, and we are just about INR 1,051 crores last year, okay? We are focusing on our production lines for now. This is as promising a future as it can be. Whether it takes three years, 3.5 years, or four years, I cannot cast it in stone. It is a great business outlook.
I always believe that if time is our only major variable amongst many, that is unclear. Here, time is the only factor which depends on the clients. We are fixing our production lines. A new building is being constructed to take care of these requirements. We are beginning to focus on Astra-branded products and solutions, which I will speak more about the next time. Let me not stop here on the $250,000 plus projections. We are now very seriously planning and deliberating in due earnest on multi-pronged strategies to jump at least fourfold from the $250,000 to a billion dollar company. Astra will be a billion dollar company. I cannot put a timeline onto that. If you can see the scale at which we are growing up, you can very well be confident that we will get there.
If Astra is going to be a billion dollar company, we believe that it is a very achievable target given the capabilities that exist in our company, which we intend building on further and deliver a world-class billion dollar company over a period of time, which is based on capitalizing on our nuts and bolts to a multiple-platform strategy vision backed by capabilities of an amazing team with multifaceted talents. We have spoken about this earlier, and I think I'll stop, take a breather, answer a lot of questions, I'm sure, which you will have as we move forward. That is the broad vision. We will create a 2X in the next three to four years, 3X soon thereafter. We are focusing on a billion dollar target, becoming a billion dollar revenue company over a period of time. Thank you.
Thank you very much. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on the touchstone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. 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 is from the line of Amit Dixit from Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi. Good evening, and thanks for the opportunity and sharing the medium-term stroke long-term vision for Astra. A couple of questions from my side. The vision that we talked about actually is more domestic-focused. What we are seeing now is a lot of spending surge in Europe. With our branded product solutions, what kind of a strategy do we have to penetrate these export markets with the kind of products we have, particularly now some of these like Uttam Radar, EW Suite for Su-30? These are fairly proven. I just wanted to get a little bit of flavor on export strategy. That is the first question. The second question I have is on the working capital side, as Mr. Reddy said in his opening remarks, and it is very well evident also that receivables have been unlocked.
What kind of working capital days or cash conversion cycle are we looking at at the end of FY20?
Let me take the first question, the first part of the question. Then I'm sure Mr. Reddy will address the second part. Just two hours back, Mr. Reddy and I had a discussion on our European and NATO expansion strategy. We cannot build anything from scratch sitting here, right? We have identified one potential partner. We don't know if the deal is going to happen or not, okay? These are guys who have been working in that space, etc., etc. We have multiple ways of collaborating with them. I think collaboration is the way to go forward, wherein not only will they act as our distributors, but also technology partners, sourcing technologies, licensing technologies, etc., etc. I would hasten to add here that to penetrate overseas markets in any larger context, you require complete products.
I can't go to somebody and say that I will build an Triple A unit for you, okay? Or I will bring a small subsystem for you. It has to fit in into their overall context. If you have to really look at capturing a larger slice of the overall market out there, you need solutions which have been tested here, tested somewhere, and meet the needs of the market, right? We are actually, that will be one of the key cornerstones of our strategy. If I'm answering your question, obviously, I cannot give you any significant details. That is the broad first of our thing. If you think about it, our leap strategy, which we have defined earlier, we are a collaborative platform. We are looking, we don't seek to claim that we have everything or we are 100% in-house complete platform.
Platforms and solutions will require skill sets and tech which we source from others also to build up around our core tech and have it tested out for real-time solutions. That is probably one of the quickest ways to go into the market. I think S. G. will answer your working capital question.
Yeah. Amit, the days are improving primarily because of some of the critical programs. We are able to close it in the first half of the year. As a result, the long-pending receivables were realized, and hence the cash flow position has improved. Going forward also, we see the same trend to continue. Therefore, there is a positive thing happening in terms of working capital days. Only time will tell whether we are actually able to stand at that number by the end of the financial year. We are very hopeful that the number of days will come down significantly. I do not want to put any specific number now. I am sharing with you the internal developments, which I believe will facilitate the improvement of the working capital days.
Great. Thanks for sharing the trend, and all the best.
Yeah. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Ketan Gandhi from Gandhi Securities and Investments Private Limited. Please go ahead.
Hi, Atim. You have really indeed made our heartbeat stop for a second. It is so overwhelming to understand. No, no. I mean, it's really fabulous. I had some questions, but I forgot all my questions. I'm just thinking what you are going to do in the next couple of years and then another couple of years. I think, as you rightly said, what you have done in the last 30, 33 years, you are going to achieve in the next three, four years. As being a conservative management in terms of the guidance and all that, I'm sure you will be able to achieve this. Thank you, and all the best, Atim, and all the teams.
Thank you. I'll just add to this. We could have come up with this vision two years back and kept on speaking about it, right? We are mentioning this at this point in time because these are programs now which are crystal clear in sight, right? At Astra, we only want to talk about what is more or less clear. I think that's where we are fairly confident of delivering these.
Sure. That also gives us a lot of confidence that all the, as you rightly said, all the programs are in the pipeline now, and it is all established now. Even I do not feel that you should not be achieving all this that you have said. Congratulations and all the best for the future. Thank you very much.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Vikas Singh from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Thank you for the opportunity. Just pertaining to this billion dollar program, basically, or the target, in terms of capability or the CapEx, in order to achieve there over the next five or six years, how much of the capability are already in place, what we need to develop, and how much the additional CapEx would be needed for the same?
First, it is about five to six years for the billion dollars. Next, three to four years are to cross to exceed quarter million dollars, okay? As you know, these programs require years of proactive planning. Today, three, three to four years back, we are embarking on multiple strategies, fine-tuning partners, alliances, etc., etc. Let me give you one example of what we are talking about, right? Okay? Everybody knows that space is the next frontier, right? Okay? As you mentioned, we have been more than two decades in the space business. Quite a few of you actually have come to our unit, and you have gone through the kind of equipment which we have in place to test space-grade equipment and subsystems which are made for ISRO or SAC, etc., etc.
Is it a far shot to imagine that we would be doing what we have been doing for ISRO and SAC for global players where everywhere the space is exploding? Number one. Number two, we have all been talking about LEO. Now, near LEO is also very well getting established, which at some point in time will compete with drones, drones which may possibly become an intermediate step in the evolution, right? Okay? That, again, will necessitate a large number of satellites mass manufacturing to happen. Companies are raising money at like $750 million, $800 million valuation with hardly any revenue numbers to their credit. If I extrapolate these numbers, actually, I got close to my current market capitalization. Actually, I have numbers to support that kind of valuation if I extrapolate space business alone. Forget about that.
Very near Earth orbit will require, and LEO satellites will require a whole lot of satellites to be put in place, right? I think five or six companies in India which have the capability to create these kinds of products on a mass scale, okay? We being one of them, we intend completely to capitalize on this larger trend. I believe space will be a fascinating business. In terms of CapEx, space, I do not think it will require, honestly, in the immediate short term, any significant investment from our side because we have already commissioned a facility in Bangalore to design and assemble small satellites. It is already commissioned, okay? We are building our own satellite which we shall put in space in about less than 24 months. Our own Astra Sat-1 should be in space with multiple payloads, okay?
We could have done that earlier as a demo satellite, but no. We want it to be revenue-accretive. We don't want to just spend money to be eligible for programs. We want it to be revenue-accretive and profitable for us. That's why we delayed the launch of these satellites. These are multiple programs which are in the works, right? As the strategies develop, I guess capital requirement subsequently will be at that point in time. Please remember that if you're doing $250,000 kind of a turnover, our cash flow is also going to be quite significant. If our cost base doesn't increase, it should not because we have the facilities in place. We will not see dramatic improvement or requirement to invest in doubling our turnover, okay? That should lead to a disproportionate impact on the bottom line from a cash flow perspective.
That's where we are. The rest time will tell.
Noted, sir. To sum up, up to $250 million kind of the revenue, all necessary ingredients are in place. Is that a correct assumption? How should we look at the margins because space and defense are the two better margin business usually? How should we look at your margins going forward overall?
I think there are a couple of players in the market which have better margins than us. So we have something to look forward to, okay? I do not think our margins have reached probably the peak. As we go into systems, right, okay, in which we are increasingly going into, I do not in a very competitive environment, okay? I think instead of an upfront complete margin business, you might see a strategic decision where upfront is less, but you have AMC contracts which are kicking in, which will be multi-year, etc., etc. I think the margin base which we have right now, right, that plus minus a few percent is very, very defensible. S.G., Amit, do you want to add something to this? Or am I being right?
Yeah. Not much, I think.
Perfect. I'm on the right track, right? Okay.
Is it safe to assume that much of this growth would be back-ended, probably FY 20 27, 2028, rather than 2026?
Absolutely. As you said, something you can look at on a quarterly basis or short-term side, okay? There are multiple other companies which can probably meet that need, right? Okay? We are a company. We are very clearly defining for you a three to four-year vision, right, where substantial growth is right now sitting in front of us. The challenge is execution. I am proud to say that we have a fairly kick-ass execution team led very heavily by S.G.R and M. V. R here, okay, and supported by some really fantastic guys who have performed. I think we are very well placed, if I may say so.
Sir, if I can just phrase one more question. Going forward, if we look at the defense procurement document which has come out a couple of months back, a lot of focus has been given on electronic warfare where we are also present. In terms of the capability side, you said you were going to develop systems. Could you give us a little bit more insight that where we are in terms of capability currently and what are the segments where we want to develop?
No. We have the basic building blocks in place, but I get beaten up by M. V. R. for disclosing too much, right, in a competitive world. So I'm going to defer this question to M. V. R, okay?
Anyway, Atim has answered this question. Basically, we started our EW journey now almost about 20 years back. We basically started building components and subsystems. Now we started building systems, especially for the airborne platforms. We started developing with the concurrent designs with the DRDO. There is a reason why we got that EW order for Virupaksha, sorry, on an Angad project. Apart from that, we were also focusing a few EW systems like ESM and ECM systems, especially ESM for the naval application. That we started off a couple of years back. In between, we put that project on hold because a few specifications were changed. Now, again, we are resuming that. Probably in a couple of years, we'll be in the position to complete that and deliver to our demonstrator navy.
Likewise, we started both in ground as well as for airborne applications. We are slowly building the capability in all broad spectrum of the EW segment. We have a core design team with us. We have the advantage of having the core design team who understand well right from the components to the entire system level. Recently, we have added a few guys who got a good experience in system engineering that adds value to all the existing team. With that, we are confident that we'll be in a position to develop EW systems.
Noted, sir. Thank you for answering my question and all the best for the future.
Thank you.
Hello? Hello. Is audio all right? We are not able to hear anyone. Hello?
I can hear you guys, but I can't hear anybody else.
Yeah. We are able to hear you.
Okay. Oops.
I think they were lying.
Hello, Dharmik?
Can you call Dharmik? Can you call Dharmik on the other line?
Dharmik [Foreign language] .
Okay. I'm calling him. He's writing something.
Hello, sir.
I'm going to—we should cut off, and then they will, I guess, try and reconnect us.
We disconnect now?
Yeah. I would think so. Hello. Dharmik, are you there?
Hello?
Yeah.
This is the operator. Am I audible?
Uh, yeah. You are audible, but what's happening?
Hello?
Hello.
Yes, yes.
I can hear you, brother.
Yes. Yes.
What's happening?
Sir, actually, the line got disconnected.
Can you connect and tell everybody the participants we are back on?
Yes, sir.
It's not expected, yeah.
Can we move on to the next question then?
Yeah. We can.
Yes. The next question is—
Is everybody back on?
Yes, yes. Everybody's back.
Okay.
The next question is from the line of Nikhil Kanodia from Swam Advisors Limited. Please go ahead.
Hi. So I'm audible to you?
Yeah. We can hear you.
Yeah, yeah. Hi. Firstly, congratulations on great margins and for giving such a fantastic outlook for FY 30. Just wanted to ask, you have given for FY 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030 as well. If you can throw some light, how are you planning to close this year, maybe on the top-line basis, on the margin front?
Margins should be there. Amit, how do you want to handle this? Hello? Yeah.
Yes, sir. I can hear you.
My guidance is for INR 1,150-INR 1,200, if I'm not wrong. That's our guidance. I think we'll meet it, hopefully.
Yeah. This was the guidance that was given. You are—
We're in that INR 1,150-INR 200. INR 1,150-INR 200 is the range. Guys, listen, most of our efforts are now for the next year and the next three years thereafter. That is what we are focusing on. Amit, you want to add something?
Actually, Nikhil, the question is not clear. You are asking about the margins for the coming years.
Current year. No, no. Current year. Current year, S.G.. He's asking for current year's guidance.
Current year, the gross margins will continue to be what we have delivered now. I would say in terms of EBITDA or PBT, we should be able to maintain the margins what we have delivered up to now. I see some positive side out of it, but minimum is whatever is delivered now, we should be able to maintain.
For FY 27?
Yeah. That's what. I have given you for FY 26. Now, for the going years, FY 27, FY 28 kind of thing, the gross margins continue to be around 45%-50%. That is what the standard for the last two years. Once we maintain that, the follow-up margins will continue to be what is there, with a slight positive increase there.
Bias is on the positive side. Yeah.
Yeah. Bias is on the positive.
Very well put. Yeah. Very well explained. Yeah.
Okay, sir. And sir, just wanted to confirm, you said that in Q3, you will receive new orders for about INR 400 crores and INR 600 crores in the last quarter, right?
Yeah. That's it.
Okay, sir. So those were my questions. Thanks for answering them, and all the best, sir.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Hello?
What's happening? They are hanging up. Somebody is hanging up, I think. Again, S.G., is that you and me?
Sir, I have promoted another participant.
Okay.
Yes. Kiran Kumar Vaddela, you there?
Yes. Hello.
Yeah. Hi.
Am I audible?
Yes. You're audible. Please go ahead.
My question is, if we track our last eight quarters, is it like second quarter, we have delivered a number of end defense related to INR 160 crores? Why, as POs all are putting the great numbers, is our number not on the growth aspect? First question is that. Second is, in last quarter, you had told us that Naval Radar and the Seeker have been made a trial, and further on that, we will expect all the orders from. What are the positions on that, sir?
Guys, isn't it not a function of what products, which client is delivering, which company is delivering in which quarter, right? We cannot comment on any quarterly numbers, but look at the trend, do the half-year numbers. We cannot be looked at quarterly, right? This is not the company, the right company, the right industry to look at on a quarterly basis. I think we made it amply clear. We don't want to address this again and again. Okay? We are here to present to you in a long product cycling, long gestation product business. We are here to deliver consistent value over years.
This headphone.
We cannot, we will not be able to.
It's the Jovi announcement.
It's not possible.
For the chain here.
Hello? Can you hear us?
Yes, sir.
Hello.
Hello. Yeah, I'm able to hear you, sir.
Somebody else said something else. We cannot be looking at that on a quarterly short-term basis. Guys, look at us in blocks of years. See where we were two years back, where we were four years back, six years back, right? I think the trend will be very, very clear to you of what we are trying to do. We are, for the first time, giving you a four-year vision, right? Okay? Where we are X is becoming 2X plus, 2X plus, okay, on the back of orders which are there in sight. Okay? That is how we need to be, that is how we look at the business. It is your prerogative how you look at the company, right? We are nobody to comment on that. That is how we look at our business, right? If I may say so.
There was a second part to the question, which I think on the Seeker, which Amit can answer probably.
That's Ashish, naval radar, and Seeker.
Seeker part, most of the tests have been completed. Some repeat orders we are expecting in the next couple of months with the limited series production numbers. The exact quantity will come to know only by next month. We are expecting at least 20 plus numbers by March 2026.
Okay. Sir, last thing, in last quarter, we have commented that you have submitted many RFI on the counter-drone sites, and there was kind of ground penetration radars that we can get in like 100 units every year. What is the status on that, sir?
On counter-drones, let me answer the counter-drones, right? On the counter-drones, we were L2, L2 in three bids. We lost out on them. There are many more opening up. Hopefully, we'll get something. Okay? It is a bid-based process. On GPR, I think it is we are that's the kind of outlook we have. That's one of the product lines. Amit, if I'm not wrong, none of the GPR bids have been opened, right?
No. We have participated in a few RFIs that the team is going on. Yeah. We'll come to know in the next couple of months. Actually, counter-drone, now we are working out a strategy to optimize further the technology to make sure that we can offer a different solution to different market segments. Initially, the product we have developed is basically kind of a generic product. For a few of the customers, it became a bit costly. Hence, we lost out in a couple of cases. Now we are further optimizing this technology. Our team is working on that to make sure that each segment will have kind of a competitive solution.
I think what Amit is saying is we do not want to be competing at the low-end, low-volume space in counter-drones. I think we are rather going for specialized, high-value, slightly more complicated, multifaceted solutions. That is our strategy on which we are working on right now.
Okay. Or any comment on the meteorology product you were saying last quarter?
Yeah. You got the order? We will explain. Please.
Yeah. Meteorology front, we have already bagged a good number of orders. Going forward also, now one contract is almost finalized. We have concluded negotiations. We are expecting orders soon. Also, two more tenders we have participated for which TEC is going on. In a way, I would say in most of mission programs, especially in the dog radar front, weather stations front, we are the leading supplier, and we bagged maximum orders till date. Going forward also, we have a very competitive solution. Hence, we are confident of bagging the majority of the shares.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is on the line of Vipul Kumar from Sumangal Investments. Please go ahead.
Hi. Thanks for the opportunity. What is the current outstanding order book for Astra Rafael Comsys Private Limited?
The overall order book as of 30th September is somewhere around INR 336 crore. We are expecting around close to INR 800- INR 850 crore in the next six, seven months.
For Astra Rafael, right, sir?
Yeah. Yeah.
What was their contribution to revenue and EBITDA for this six months, sir?
No contribution. I think it is close to about 35%. I don't have the exact number of Rafael contribution. They have made a profit before tax of about INR 11 crores for the half-year. For Q2, it made about INR 7 crores on a top line of about INR 78 crores or so.
Okay. Okay, sir. Over the next six months, what type of execution can we see in this Astra Rafael?
By the end of the financial year, it is attempting to do a business of close to about INR 350 crores, close to that.
350 crores for the entire year. That should be the revenue, right?
For the entire year. Yeah.
Thank you, sir. All the best.
Yeah.
Thank you. The next question is on the line of Ayush Ja from Shagun Capital. Please go ahead.
Yes, Hi, hello. Am I audible?
Yes. Please go ahead.
Thank you for the opportunity, sir. My first question is regarding the improvement of the gross margin. If you compare year over year, gross margin has been improved by 1,000 basis points. For H1, it is improved by 600 basis points. I want to know the reason. My second question is regarding the other expenses. It is INR 26 crores. If you compare to the other, it is significantly higher. What was the reason? That was the two questions from my side, sir.
Yeah. As we said many times, gross margin is directly related to the product mix that has been sold by the company in a particular period. I will not be able to give specifically why it has gone up, but it is entirely due to the product mix. Probably, we might have sold some of the products where the gross margin is slightly higher compared to the standard margins. That is the reason why it has gone up. Secondly, the other expenditure, there are one or two expenditures like equipment maintenance, which is a long-term contract with the supplier, Keysight Technologies, which was pending for quite a long period of time. That got finalized in this quarter. We are under obligation to pay them. That is one line item which has increased the other expenditure in a big way.
The second one which I can recollect is about the CSR expenditure. The entire CSR expenditure for this financial year was close to about INR 2.65 crores incurred in this. These are the two items which have pushed up the overall other expenses.
Thank you so much, sir.
Yeah.
Thank you. The next question is on the line of Hansel Thakkar from Lalgarh Securities Private Limited. Please go ahead.
Good evening, gentelman. Firstly, let me congratulate the entire management for painting such an ambitious mural of a vision. It is just very heartening to know that the company is going to grow leaps and bounds from here. I have a specific question regarding the recent order that the company got with respect to the communication system. I just was wondering if this is the Manpack SDR order that we got.
No, it's not Manpack SDR. Manpack SDR, that TEC is still going on. Most probably by December or January, we'll get completed. The order which we bagged is from Indian Air Force for the different communication sets. That is under emergency procurement. They placed the order.
Noted. Noted. How do we feel about this Manpack order whose POC will complete in December? Do we have any color on that?
Trials will get completed. We are expecting by March, I think they may open the bids.
Okay. Great. Thank you so much, sir. All the very best.
Thank you.
Thank you. Due to time constraint, that was the last question. I would now like to hand the conference over to management for closing comments. Over to you, sir.
Yeah. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for participating and interacting with us. We hope we were able to answer all your questions. Happy to see you again at the end of the quarter. Thank you. Thank you.
On behalf of Astra Microwave Products Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines.
Thank you very much.