Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the Astra Microwave Products Limited Q4 FY 2026 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. Good morning to everyone, and a warm welcome to all the participants for the post earnings call of our company. I'm joined today by my colleagues, Mr. M.V. Reddy and Atim Kabra, and SGA, our investor relations advisors. The financial results and investors' presentation for Q4 and FY 2026 have already been uploaded on the company's website and 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 domestic companies. 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 defense exports have also gained strong momentum, exceeding approximately INR 38,000 crore in FY 2026 and continuing to grow steadily. At the same time, global supply chain diversification and rising defense spending across various regions are generating additional opportunities for Indian defense electronics and subsystem manufacturers like Astra. Order book across the industry remains at historical high levels, providing strong long-term visibility. We expect FY 2027 and FY 2028 to witness stronger execution and improved revenue conversion across the sectors. Overall, the defense sector is steadily transitioning into a sustained execution and manufacturing scale-up story. We believe the company is well-positioned to benefit from these industry trends.
To sum up, FY 2026 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. FY 2026 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 INR 370 crore compared to -INR 99 crore as of last year.
This is a very significant improvement, and we expect to maintain the trend. On both standalone and consolidated basis, we have delivered strong growth across all key financial parameters. Detailed information, including growth % and QoQ or year-over-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 INR 2.40 per equity share. That is about 120% of face value for the year 2025, 2026, subject to approval of shareholders at the ensuing annual general meeting. We also witnessed steady progress in our joint venture company, Astra Rafael Comsys. The JV closed the financial year FY 2026 with an order book of over INR 625 crore and continued to receive significant orders from PSUs and the Ministry of Defence. It is expected to deliver a top line of over INR 600 crores in FY 2027. Although the profitability during the year was impacted due to Forex-related provisions, we expect improved profitability in the coming year. Our other wholly owned subsidiaries have also performed well while continuing to support captive business requirements.
We continue to see robust opportunities across all three product segments in the defense market and therefore reaffirm our FY 2027 top-line growth at 15%-20% rate, with a 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 demerger of our space, meteorology, and hydrology business. The object of this move is to create sharper strategic and operational focus for our business segments.
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 our shareholders. 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'll share the detailed scheme of demerger once it is formally approved by Board, which is expected over the next few weeks. I will now hand over call to Mr. M.V. Reddy and Atim Kabra, who will provide further insights into new product developments, business outlook across near 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 M.V. Reddy, Joint Managing Director. Thank you for joining us today. I'm pleased to share that FY 2026 has been another strong year for our company. As mentioned, we achieved turnover of INR 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 continued 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 fresh orders worth of approximately INR 530 crores, taking our total order book to a robust INR 2,141 crores as on 31st March, and concluded P&Cs of INR 300 crores more orders, which are expected to be received in next couple of months.
Key orders received during the quarter, which is in Q4, including SDR programs, subsystems of various radar projects from BEL, and the checkout hardware for prestigious Gaganyaan mission from ISRO. I'm also proud to share that we have successfully completed all our related works in Shipborne Radar, which we took about a couple of years back, and handed over the systems to DRDO 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 of the nation's unique and strategic defense space programs, 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 billing of INR 490 crore, reflecting strong 16% year-on-year growth. Major programs executed during the quarter included subsystems of radar, EW, and satellite programs, and Doppler weather radar for IMD. Going forward, we have clear visibility of approximately INR 1,600 crore+ orders, which can be booked in the current year, that is FY 2027.
Around 25% of this 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 missile put together around 25%, space and meteorology is around 25%, and the remaining others are some strategic business areas. 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 sales of INR 1,300 crore-INR 1,400 crore.
That is around 15%-20% growth as compared to FY 2026, covering 40% of R&D and 60% from the production area. As far as JVC concerned, it was a fabulous year for ARC. It surpassed the guidance. We booked orders worth of INR 546 crores in the last year, that is FY 2026, and sale of INR 360 crores. Going forward in FY 2027, we expect us to outperform, and we expect the minimum growth of 50%, both in terms of order booking and as well as sales. As on date, we have visibility of INR 200 crores order book in FY 2027 for ARC, and also expected to cross INR 600 crores sales. Looking ahead, the outlook in Indian defense and strategic electronic sector remains highly promising.
With the government's strong push towards indigenous defense manufacturing and self-reliance, we are confident that 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. I'll hand over to Mr. Atim Kabra, who's Director, Business Development and Strategy. Over to you, Atim.
Hi, good morning, everybody. First and foremost, my gratitude to SGR, MVR, and the entire Astra team for delivering a strong set of numbers. Performance is never accidental. It is an outcome of discipline, persistence, and clarity of purpose, and I think that is what is visible here. At Astra, 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 survive, and we take that quite seriously. Healthy paranoia keeps organizations humble, agile, and hungry.
It prevents complacency, it forces reinvention. These principles, combined with our long-term orientation, define Astra's strategic DNA. Over the last few years, we have consistently spoken about three priorities. Enhancement on our return on equity. Second, relentless focus on achieving a positive operating cash flow generation capability. Third, creation of operating leverage. 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 Astra 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 have discussed this multiple times, that we do not run this company for quarterly applause. Quarterly numbers are outcomes, but not our identity. 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. 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. I'm 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 cum 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. 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. That future, I'm glad to say, is visible now. This financial year itself, hopefully before Diwali, we will have multiple Astra products where we own the complete IP. They are our branded products and solutions for global markets. India first, global markets. Our roots, as many of you know, were in telecom, especially antenna design and manufacturing.
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 horizontal 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. 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 do that, but this very well may be Astra's greatest hidden strength. In a world where technologies, trades, and platforms evolve rapidly, this horizontal capability stack creates resilience, adaptability, and staying power.
More importantly, it forms a moat which is difficult to replicate. 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 division itself was created in 2005, and that chip design capability has become one of Astra's most important competitive advantages, which strengthens our technological independence and complements the horizontal breadth which we have built over decades. Where do we stand in the defense value chain? Yes, we manufacture components.
Yes, we build subsystems ranging from advanced multi-layer PCBs to MMIC chips and highly sophisticated RF building blocks. 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 to SHAR and ISRO, complete.
Phase array telemetry, that's PATM system to ITR and DRDO. Fixed head Doppler radars to ITR, DRDO. Radiation mode T&E facility to same, to DLRL and DRDO. We have delivered TPTR, which is so important to PXE and DRDO. Multifunctional pulse compression radar for SHAR and ISRO. We have delivered FMCW and MFCW-based short-range and medium-range tracking complete radars to ITR, DRDO. 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 probably. DRISHTI counter-drone radar, we call it D4 radar.
We are developing, and in the next few months, you 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 delivered satellite earth stations. We have delivered complete X, C, and S-band Doppler weather radars, L- and UHF-based wind profiler radars. I can go on, but I think these are end-client delivery of complete systems which have been done by Astra. Tier 1 and systems manufacturing. 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. This is what establishes Astra, 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 have enabled the Astra team to deliver. 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 a major Su-30 electronics warfare upgrade program, which is Angad. This marks a strategic transition upward in the value chain from participation to ownership, from execution to influence. 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 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. Our first MMIC demo is planned within this quarter. God willing, that will mark the beginning of an entirely new chapter in Astra's history. Let me make one point very clear. The work underway today has the potential to position Astra in the immediate coming decade to more than half a billion-dollar revenue enterprise and potentially much larger thereafter. We do not make such statements lightly. What we have said, we deliver. In fact, the entire tripling of our turnover that we spoke about in the 4.5 , 5.5 y ear timeframe is based on just five to six programs, and the rest is not even included in the numbers.
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. It means that our stated growth path is grounded not in optimism, but in visible execution pipelines and existing business momentum. That distinction is extremely important. We want you to focus not only on our narrative, but also on delivery. 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 SGR, particularly around sustainability of margins, cash flows and scalability. Let's open the door for discussion.
Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. 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 set of numbers, operating cash flow, as well as very nice debt that you have put, highlighting quite a few details. I have couple of questions. The first one is, essentially, if I look at EBITDA margin for the quarter, again, I'm not looking at the quarter per se, but if I look at the overall trajectory of EBITDA margin, particularly, it is almost 33.3% for this quarter. Space revenue has increased. I understand margins in space can be quite high. Exports has also gone up. Just want to understand two points over here, since we are focusing a bit more on space. In export as well, if I look at the order inflow, it has remained quite strong.
Considering that the space proportion would grow, can we expect margin trajectory to strengthen further? Secondly, what are these exports? Traditionally, we had deemed export, which used to give us lower margin, but I think these are more IP-driven exports or subsystem-driven exports, actually. 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 only one subsidiary, ARC. As we mentioned in the previous calls, these exports are different from the earlier offset-based exports, where we were paid only for the conversion costs. Here, actually, these are the things where the RF portion of the SDRs are being co-developed between Rafael and Astra. Because of that, the value add is much higher than the regular exports that were recorded in the previous periods. 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. 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.
Your other question, Amit, as far as space is concerned, we have delivered the subsystems for the Defense Satellite Program, which is a very complex subsystems, which we made in over a period of one year, that we've completed in last quarter, that has a decent contribution. We are expecting similar subsystems going forward as the user is planning to go for a constellation of those satellites.
This will continue for the orders, what we are expecting from both ISRO and as well as from the defense side as far as the space business is concerned. Your other question on the deemed export, yes, year-over-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 been increasing.
Just as a follow-up, sir. Since ARC outlook is expected to be quite strong, and space, as you highlighted that we will be continuing the value addition. The trajectory of margins, 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?
Yeah, definitely. Yes. As far as the ARC is concerned, we have an order book. In last quarter, we booked some quarter orders. This year also, we are expecting close to INR 150 crore kind of orders from the JVC. The value addition will remain same. Going forward for next two to three years, we have a clear visibility to have a good growth.
Okay.
Numbers will be a function of the order mix which has been delivered, right? There may be some variations. You have to be acceptable and ready for that.
No, that's fine. Quite mindful of that factor. The second question is on Sukhoi. You highlighted in your prepared remarks that on the DcPP role. There are two parts to it, Sukhoi upgrade. One is the radar, the Virupaksha, which we are, of course, the partner. Wanted to understand a bit more on ASPJ pods. Are we doing something over there as well? Is it possible for you to highlight, I mean, broadly, a range of business size that we can expect from these upgrades?
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. We are the part of that Virupaksha program. That development is going on. We are expecting our portion to get completed in next few months. Hopefully, the entire radar will also be completed soon, in this year or maybe. As far as the EW is concerned, the pod jammer, we are part of that ANGER program. Again, it's a DRDO program. We are the DcPP, one of the DcPP. As you are aware, that they've selected two DcPP, we are one among them. That development program is going on with the DRDO, that it can be declared.
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. Thank you for the opportunity. Lastly, congratulations on very good set of numbers. Just wanted to understand this revenue tripling guidance which we are giving. What kind of CapEx we need to spend further in order to achieve that? Majority of the CapEx are already in place, and we just need to invest working capital going forward?
In terms of the CapEx, as you know, every year we are augmenting the existing requirements by spending close to about INR 40 crore, INR 50 crores. 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 significant improvement happened in the working capital cycle in the last year, by releasing a significant amount of debtors, which are being held up for various technical reasons. I would say that the improvement in terms of realization of the receivables will continue. Though the increased volumes call for higher working capital utilization, we should be able to manage within the sanctioned 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. The working capital situation would improve further going forward?
Yes.
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? I understand that probably space is number one or number two in terms of our margin profile.
Definitely, the space margins are better compared to even defense also. When you look at the overall space sales contribution in the overall sales of the company, it is just around 10%-15% kind of thing. 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.
Noted. Sir, just correct me if I'm wrong. Can we assume that given we are transitioning into a better product category going forward, our margins at least 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? You are still expecting an improvement over 50%, 55%? Look at the industry standards. Yes, as we move forward, definitely there will be a change in the product mix of the company. 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.
Added to that, as mentioned, our business model towards the exports also changed. If you look at the historical data till FY 2024 also, we largely depend on that BTP business, where our value addition was less and margins were very less. 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 from the export market. That is the reason our margins have been increased in last couple of years.
Noted, sir. Sir, lastly, if I may ask?
Amit, from a guidance perspective, I think we should very clearly say this probably is the top end. You should factor in slightly lower numbers only on the margin fronts, so that there is no disappointment coming in at a later date. 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, if you could explain that, have we seen any problems so far? What is the percentage we are able to source in-house or domestically versus the import dependency?
If you look at the overall MMIC thing, as of now, we have not encountered any issue, and that the production as well as development is going very smooth. Second thing is, as well as the dependency, yes, in all our subsystems, most of the active devices we are sourcing out from our in-house MMIC division. Also, we have started promoting these MMICs to the domestic players and international players also. We are strategically 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.
Noted. Thank you, and all the best for you, sir.
Thank you.
The next question comes from the line of Sanjeev Zarbade with Antique Stock Broking. Please go ahead.
Yes, sir. Congratulations on the good set of numbers. Sir,
I'm sorry to interrupt, Sanjeev. I would request you to be a little louder, please. Thank you.
Sir, in our presentation, we have a slide which gives us total addressable opportunity of around INR 28,000 crores between FY 2026 to FY 2028. Since FY 2026 has been passed, would you want to change this number in terms of addressable market for us for the next two years?
Sanjeev, the total accessible market remains same, but only there is a shift in the year. As we know, there are many programs got delayed for various reasons. As these are all government-driven programs, depend on the budget and also depend on the priority, this gets shifted. Also a few development activities got delayed at various levels. The overall accessible market remains same. Only thing is that we, instead of FY 2028, FY 2029 may go up to FY 2030, FY 2031. That's the one thing. We are always focusing on that particular market to maximize our share of the business.
Yeah. Sir, 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 and all, we have developed it with collaboration with one startup company. We have won for some trials, and there were a few observations. We have been addressing that, and we soon will launch that product in time to come and to meet the customer requirement. We started participating in a few tenders.
Okay, sir. That's it from my side, and all the best.
Thank you.
A reminder to all participants, you may press star and one to ask a question. The next question comes from the line of Vansh Modi with Swan Investments. Please go ahead.
Hi. Am I audible?
Yeah.
Hello. Yeah.
Yes, please.
Sir, I just went through 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, down the line, three to four years to triple the revenue, or maybe you can say up to FY 2030 and FY 2031. That is something which we are looking into based on the timing of the orders and the finalization of the contracts and all. Second question, what was your question?
What would be the growth drivers for this revenue thing?
Yeah. The growth drivers, there are many programs are there. Both especially in the radar segment, we have seen clear visibility to grow in airborne radar, fire control radar, and surveillance and tracking radars, and medium-range and long-range radars. Likewise, in radar segment, we have huge opportunities from the industry. Similarly, in the electronic warfare segment also, as I've explained just now, we are there in the DRDO programs for some few of the airborne platforms, which we are DcPP in that. We are developing that. Once the development and qualification gets completed, we expect production orders to come from the services. Also, apart from that, we are part and parcel of BEL major programs like Nayan Shakti, Himshakti, Shatrughat, Samaghat. There are so many programs which BEL is integrating. We are the qualified subsystem supplier for the B system.
That business will continue for next three to four years. In the other segment, like in the missile and telemetry also, in the seekers, some of the active seekers we have developed for a couple of missiles. We are expecting a few orders in next two to three years. In space segment, we are expecting repeat orders for some of the satellite programs from ISRO and also from the Defense Satellites. These are all our growth drivers going forward. Apart from that, as Mr. Atim Kabra had mentioned, that in meteorology business also, we have developed Doppler weather radars, wind profiler radars, which the production orders are yet to come. We already booked few orders. More orders we are expecting next two to three years.
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 INR 1,600 crores in FY 2027. Just wanted to know what the current order book is right now. That's it. Thank you.
As of now, we have order book of INR 2,141. This is the standalone order book of Astra.
Okay, sir. Thank you. Congratulations.
Sorry to interrupt you. Consolidated is INR 2,600?
Yeah. Consolidated is INR 2,600, standalone is INR 2,141.
Yeah. Thank you, sir. Thank you for the detailed answers.
Thank you.
The next question comes from the line of Jatin Jadhav with Sahasrar Capital. Please go ahead.
Hello, am I audible?
Yes, please.
Thank you so much for the opportunity. Most of my questions have been answered. 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, the RF electronics, T/R modules, beamforming, antenna system, and so on, so forth. 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. Whatever systems we have taken it up to 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 the standard of global make, but finally, the contribution will be better, and also we can be more competitive as compared to other players. As far as the overall business in the radar is concerned, well, as I said, we are continuing our participation in the DRDO programs for all the development in the ground and airborne programs. Also, we are partnered with BEL for the production programs as we are the qualified supplier during the development phase.
While continuing that business in subsystems and components, we are focusing in the systems for the MoD. As Mr. Atim had mentioned, we have taken up few projects to address directly to the MoD. Those projects are in development phase. Most likely in next few months, by this year end, I think we should be in a position to demonstrate to the user and to become a qualified supplier for these.
We are growing in both subsystem-wise and as well as in the systems front. Apart from that, we are also working out 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. We are focusing on that, and those programs are also in very active stage of completion. By November, I think we should be in a position to roll out at least one or two systems.
Got it, sir. My second question is like a follow-up of this only. Over 30 years, you've developed in-house IPs and technological capabilities, you've positioned yourself very strongly in the radar ecosystem. Based on that, I wanted to understand, for example, is it possible for us or let's say a similar company to diverge 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, then fire control radar, probably a small seeker also. Is that possible based on our current capability?
Got your question. See, apart from the current business of the radar, we are working in the futuristic technologies. 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. Similarly, we have developed photonic radar, which is working in the optical domain, and that also with collaboration with one startup company, we have developed this overall solution with the DRDO, and we have successfully delivered.
These are the few technologies which are the new futuristic technologies from the radar domain, which we have been working. We are continuously working on this domain. Also, for an existing radar, we are optimizing the technology, for example, to minimize the size of the array and all. Since we have the components within the company, we are in a position to scale down the overall size and form factor so that to offer miniaturized size radars in the future. These are all we have been working continuously to make sure that we should be in a better position as compared to the competitors.
Got it, sir. Got it. Thank you so much. I will get back into the queue for follow-up questions.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Prerit 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 QRSAM and Uttam AESA radar orders? Like you earlier mentioned that there have been some delays in some of the orders from DRDO side itself. 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?
As far as the Uttam radar is concerned, the negotiations have been started with HAL. As you know, they have been negotiating. Because of the big size in contracts, we have already started, I think it is almost reaching a final stage. We are expecting this particular order sometime in the Q2 or Q3. As the process is more to place the order. As far as today's position, as on today, negotiations are on for Uttam radar with HAL.
That much I can tell you. Second is, on the QRSAM front, as probably you're all aware that BEL stated that they are expecting contract by June or so. We also expect orders once they will get the order. Before that, we are expecting the FOPM version, that is first off production model, which they got clearance from internally the board. They are placing orders on vendors, we have started receiving a small quantity for that FOPM model. Once after they get the main contract, we expect the orders in next three to four months from their order.
Got it, sir. Yeah, that is all from my side. Thank you.
Yeah.
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, what are the timelines for the Su-30 upgradation program for both radar and the ASPJ pods? By when can we expect the production orders to come in?
Yeah, I think I answered this question just while sometime back, but anyway, I'll again repeat. For the radar, the [EW which we have taken up development, that is on. I think next two to three months, we should be in a position to complete the development and hand over to DRDO. In all probability, I think in maybe FY 2028, 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 financial year. Similarly, in the EW front also, we are taken up as a DcPP for that overall program, and it is in the development phase. We are expecting next one year, that also we should be completed and gets qualified. Soon after qualification, we hope to get production order from the services.
Sir, the reason behind this was on Bharat earnings call, they had mentioned that the Su-30 program is still in the development stage, and it would be in the same stage for the next five years. Just wanted a color from your side that do we receive the production orders after five years, or how it will be?
As I said, the next year, probably next FY 2028, I think, the radar should be get qualified. The user qualification and all may take another one more year. Thereafter, I think, maybe next two to three years will take time to get the production orders. This is what our expectations, as far as the progress is concerned.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you so much. That's it from my side.
Thank you.
The next question comes from the line of Bala Subramaniam from Arihant Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
Good morning, sir. Thank you so much for the opportunity. Sir, our exports has been declined because we are moving away from low margin build-to-print business. I just want to understand what is our current margin on this build-to-print and other design lead export orders. Just want to know the difference between both, sir.
Margins, see, as I mentioned, 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. Here, although it is BTP, but our value addition is more. The margins, as Mr. M.V 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 INR 1 crore share of profit from JV in FY 2026. In earlier con calls, you have mentioned around ARC revenue of INR 350 crore with 10%-12% PBT 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 INR 1 crore profit you are referring to the quarter. Otherwise, for the year, no, it is around close to about INR 8 crores. That is a share of profit after tax. That is from the JV. Yes, during the current year, of course, royalty expenditure is always there. In addition to that, there is a foreign exchange provision which the company has to make. Because of that, close to about $2 million of provision was made in the books of accounts. As a result, the overall profitability has come down. Otherwise, the share of profit from the JV for the entire year is close to about INR 8 crores after tax.
Got it, sir. Thank you.
Yeah.
The next question comes from the line of Darshil Jhaveri 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. Number 1, it would be kind of like an asymmetrical growth, right? That we would be having, because of our product approval. A lot of this growth would come towards the end, like FY 2029, 2030. Is that a fair assumption, sir? Are we including 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 layered. There are basically five or six major programs which are driving this, as I think I said a couple of times now. We have QRSAM, we have Uttam radars, we have Su-30 Virupaksha, we have Su-30 Angad , and we have a regular business which we do for our JV. Also maybe electronic mines, for example, is a big area for us.
Okay. It is only just these five or six programs that we're talking about, which will lead us to the kind of numbers which we have indicated. 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. We alluded to a lot of the programs. 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 mishap which happens, which can pull back this number. There's enough flexibility and depth built into these numbers to achieve them in four and a half to five and a half year time frame.
Oh, okay. Fair enough, sir. Sir, just wanted to understand for the JV, we are kind of, I think, targeting around INR 600 crore revenue this year. What would be the margins in this business? What can we expect to hit our P&L, sir? Rough range would also be fair enough, sir.
Yeah. One minute. Definitely it is going to be an improvement over the current year. EBITDA, I think around 18%-20% is what is being projected by the company. Basing on that, on an INR 600 crore top line, at least about INR 20+ crore will be our share of profit for the entire year. That is what I am expecting as of now.
Okay. Fair enough. We, I think in the past had said around 10% PBT, INR 20 crore would be a kind of a lower PBT. Is that a higher depreciation or interest cost that, something that eating up or how would you say it?
See, I have given the number at a lower end. Let us wait for the year to proceed. When I say INR 20 crores, that is a minimum. Let us see how the things proceed.
Okay. 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, thank you for your presence. I guess we had a good discussion, I wish we meet again at the end of Q1. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you, guys. Take care .
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.