ideaForge takes flight as Q2 FY27 revenue jumps 124% to Rs 91 Cr

Strong execution and technology innovation helped drive a sharp financial turnaround for Indian drone maker ideaForge in the second quarter FY27.

“Building on the steady start of the year in Q1 FY27, Q2 FY27 saw continued progress in order book execution, new product development, and preparations to capitalise on upcoming procurement opportunities,” said Ankit Mehta, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of ideaForge Technology.

A return to profitability

In Q2 FY27, revenue from operations reached Rs 91.3 crore, up 124% year-on-year (YoY) from Q2 FY26. For the half-year period H1 FY27, operating revenue surged 199% YoY to a record Rs 159.9 crore from Rs 53.5 crore in H1 FY26, driven by delivering over 50% of the opening order book.

Revenue streams were led by the defence vertical, which generated Rs 65.7 crore or 72% of Q2 FY27 operating revenue. The civil and enterprise segment contributed Rs 25.6 crore or 28% in Q2 FY27, driven by mapping projects, crowd safety monitoring, and Drone-as-a-Service software subscriptions, which offer cloud-based drone operations.

The company returned to profitability, reporting a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 6.5 crore in Q2 FY27, with a net margin of 7.1%. This compares with a loss of Rs 19.6 crore and a negative margin of 48.1% in Q2 FY26.

EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) stood at Rs 23.2 crore, with a margin of 25.4%, compared with a loss of Rs 8 crore and a negative margin of 19.6% in the year-ago quarter.

Q2 FY27 total expenses rose 41.8% YoY to Rs 90.1 crore. The largest cost centre in Q2 FY27 was material costs at Rs 48.1 crore, representing 53.4% of total expenses, followed by employee benefit expenses of Rs 16.6 crore (18.4%), other expenses of Rs 16.0 crore (17.8%), depreciation and amortisation of Rs 14.7 crore (16.3%), and finance costs of Rs 1.0 crore (1.1%).

Operational hurdles and expansion

“We have maintained our execution momentum despite persistent global supply chain constraints and a few delays in customer approvals for deliveries. While these challenges remain significant, we continue to closely monitor developments and take measures to minimise their impact on our operations and deliveries,” Mehta commented.

The firm secured Rs 151 crore in research debt funding from the Technology Development Board to develop YETI, a middle-mile logistics drone carrying 200 kg payloads over 200 km.

It completed field testing for the ZOLT hybrid tactical drone, offering 100 km range and 6 hours endurance with electronic warfare resilience to withstand signal jamming during intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions.

Additionally, equity capital raised via QIP enabled complete debt payoff.

However, hurdles remain with global supply bottlenecks, customer delivery acceptance sign-off delays, and a shrinking order book that stood at Rs 202.2 crore by Q2 FY27 end, down from Rs 350.8 crore in Q3 FY26 as execution outpaced new contract awards.

High working capital intensity also persists, with inventory at Rs 155 crore and trade receivables at Rs 161.1 crore. Nevertheless, an estimated Rs 20,000 crore Fast Track Procurement pipeline offers strong medium-term visibility.