IDEAFORGE

** India's defence stocks .NIFTYINDDEFENCE up more than 1% to seven-week high of 6,243.6 points; set for sixth straight day of gains

** Defence acquisition council approves purchase of arms and equipment worth more than 540 billion rupees ($6.3 billion)

** Defence index up more than 10% so far this week on bargain hunting and deal wins; YTD, index is down about 4%

** Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers GRSE.NS up 30% for the week, signs pact with public works authority to supply steel bridges in Nagaland state

** GRSE on course for biggest pct gains since May 2024

** Cochin Shipyard COCH.NS and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders MAZG.NS up nearly 12% each for the week, set for best pct gains since November 2024

** Bharat Electronics BAJE.NS and Hindustan Aeronautics HIAE.NS up 6.4% and 15%, respectively, for the week, while Ideaforge Technology IDEF.NS and Bharat Dynamics BARA.NS jump 19% and 15%, respectively

(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M)

(([email protected];))

** Shares of India's Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers GRSE.NS soar 20%, on course for their steepest-ever daily percentage rise

** Other defence stocks rise as well; Nifty India Defence .NIFTYINDDEFENCE up 5%

** Bargain-hunting and Germany's massive defence spending boost sentiment

** "Street is expecting some benefits to flow through for domestic defence players especially in shipping sector," says Sunny Agrawal, head of fundamental equity research at SBICAPS Securities, on Germany's defence spending boost

** Adds, recent correction offers some valuation comfort in defence stocks

** Ideaforge Technology IDEF.NS and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders MAZG.NS jump 16% and 10%, respectively, while Cochin Shipyard COCH.NS is up 9%

** Hindustan Aeronautics HIAE.NS and Bharat Dynamics BARA.NS jump 4.5% and 6%, respectively, while Paras Defense and Space Technologies PRAF.NS gains 5%

** YTD, GRSE, BARA, and MAZG turn positive, while COCH, PRAF, HIAE, and IDEF are still in the red

** Defence index up 19% so far in March, on course to snap a three-month losing streak

(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M)

(([email protected];))

Feb 20 (Reuters) - ideaForge Technology Ltd IDEF.NS:

• INVESTS $1.83 MILLION IN VANTAGE ROBOTICS

Source text: ID:nBSE68ygg0

Further company coverage: IDEF.NS

(([email protected];;))

Feb 18 (Reuters) - ideaForge Technology Ltd IDEF.NS:

• FILES SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION IN SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

• PETITION CHALLENGES JAN 31, 2025 ORDER BY MADRAS HIGH COURT

Source text: ID:nBSE8sRMwh

Further company coverage: IDEF.NS

(([email protected];;))

Feb 5 (Reuters) - ideaForge Technology Ltd IDEF.NS:

• IDEAFORGE TECHNOLOGY LTD - HIGH COURT OF MADRAS DISMISSES CO'S PETITION

Source text: ID:nBSE440LSz

Further company coverage: IDEF.NS

(([email protected];;))

** Indian defence stocks rise between 1.3% and 4%

** The Defence Acquisition Council approves five proposals worth 217.72 bln rupees ($2.57 bln) to enhance operational capabilities of the armed forces

** Data Patterns Ltd DATP.NS leads pack with 4% gain; state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd HIAE.NS and Bharat Electronics Ltd BAJE.NS rise 1.3% and 1.6% respectively

** Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd MAZG.NS, Bharat Dynamics Ltd BARA.NS, Ideaforge Technology Ltd IDEF.NS, Paras Defence and Space Technologies Ltd PRAF.NS up between 1.9% and 3.1%

** Analysts tracking stocks rate most at "buy" or higher; PRAF rated "sell" and MAZG at "hold" - LSEG data

** MAZG leads pack with YTD gains of 110%

($1 = 84.6700 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; Mobile: +91 9591011727;))

** Shares of Zen Technologies ZETE.NS, Paras Defence and Space Technologies PRAF.NS, and ideaForge Technology IDEF.NS rise 2.2%, 8% and 2.1% respectively

** India's government is planning an incentive scheme for the drone sector to enhance implementation and documentation, a government official said at an industry body event

** Paras and ideaForge manufacture drones, while Zen is involved in the production of anti-drone systems

** ZETE set for biggest one-day gain in more than 2 months; more than 414,000 shares traded, highest in over 2 weeks

** Vols on PRAF at highest since late-August, with 144,000 shares traded

** PRAF up 54.5% YTD vs 125% jump in ZETE; IDEF down 17%

(Reporting by Aleef Jahan in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]))

** Shares of DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations DRON.BO rose as much as 4.2%, last up 2.8% at 133 rupees

** Drone-maker signed a deal to become re-seller of SISIR Radar products in Southeast Asia and Africa and to jointly develop radar-based products

** Stock fell in three straight weeks, losing 6.6%; it is up 1.6% so far this week

** DRON down ~30% YTD vs ~15% decline in rival ideaForge Technology IDEF.NS

(Reporting by Varun Vyas in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]))

** Shares of India's ideaForge Technology IDEF.SN slump 10.8% to 765.45 rupees

** Co, which makes drones and unmanned aircraft systems, said consol Q1 net profit tanked ~94% y/y, revenue fell 11%

** Trading vols 2.2x 30-day avg

** YTD stock has fallen 7%

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru)

(([email protected];))

July 10 (Reuters) - ideaForge Technology Ltd IDEF.NS:

• IDEAFORGE TECHNOLOGY - CO ENTERED INTO SHARE SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENT WITH GALAXEYE SPACE SOLUTIONS

• IDEAFORGE TECHNOLOGY - CO TO BUY SHARES OF GALAXEYE SPACE SOLUTIONS WORTH 82.9 MILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE4DMptn

Further company coverage: IDEF.NS

(([email protected];))

** Shares of Ideaforge Technology IDEF.NS rise as much as 7.3% to 782.3 rupees before trimming some gains to trade 3.3% higher

** The drone maker is entering the U.S. drone market, Indian daily The Hindu reports, citing news agency PTI

** Ideaforge Technology did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment

** Shares of space-linked cos rose between 0.2% and 8% on Thursday after govt relaxed foreign investment rules

** Stock set for best weekly rise since its listing in July 2023

** Trading vol is 3x the 30-day daily avg, tops 1 mln for the sixth time since listing

(Reporting by Anuran Sadhu in Bengaluru)

(([email protected] ;))

** Shares of most space technology firms up after Indian govt on Wednesday relaxed some rules around foreign direct investment in space sector

** MTAR Technologies MTAR.NS, Paras Defence PRAF.NS, Indo National INNL.NS, Mishra Dhatu Nigam MISR.NS, ideaForge Technology IDEF.NS up between 0.2% and 8%

** IDEF, INNL were up roughly 2%-3%, before giving up most gains

** Moon mission-linked stocks had gained on Aug. 23, 2023 ahead of landing attempt, and the next day after a successful landing

** However, IDEF and INNL have declined between 6%-27% since the moon landing, while most of the other stocks have risen

(Reporting by Varun Vyas in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]))

Oct 4 (Reuters) - ideaForge Technology Ltd IDEF.NS:

• RECEIVED 91.9 MILLION RUPEES FROM TATA AIG GENERAL INSURANCE CO AGAINST CLAIM MADE DUE TO FIRE INCIDENT

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE2NDxv9

Further company coverage: IDEF.NS

(([email protected];))

** Shares of drone maker Ideaforge Technology IDEF.NS up as much as 4.9% to 979.55 rupees

** Co secures order worth about 580 mln rupees ($6.99 million)

** Order to supply 400 surveillance copter with accessories to M/s. Strategic Marketing

** More than 128,000 shares change hands in early trade, 0.7x the 30-day avg

($1 = 82.9250 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Navamya Ganesh Acharya in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; +91 8805175330 ;))

Sept 21 (Reuters) - ideaForge Technology Ltd IDEF.NS:

• CO RECEIVED DEMAND NOTICE FROM DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF CIVIL AVIATION

• NOTICE REGARDING CO'S FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH RULE 17 OF DRONE RULES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nNSE5ltB3c

Further company coverage: IDEF.NS

(([email protected];;))

Aug 9 (Reuters) - ideaForge Technology Ltd IDEF.NS:

• RECEIVED ORDERS WORTH ABOUT 880.6 MILLION RUPEES

• ORDER TO SUPPLY SURVEILLANCE QUADCOPTERS WITH ACCESSORIES TO ONE OF FORCES UNDER MINISTRY OF DEFENCE, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE22clb6

Further company coverage: IDEF.NS

(([email protected];))

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own. Updates to add chart.

By Pranav Kiran

BENGALURU, July 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Defence stocks in India may scale new heights. Drone maker ideaForge Technology’s IDEF.NS shares have nearly doubled from their initial public offering price since their Mumbai debut on Friday. It’s a sign that investors are betting big on New Delhi’s military spending hike.

Founded in 2007, ideaForge claimed more than 50% of India’s drone market last year. It’s a nascent market, at $43 million in sales, per consulting firm 1Lattice. But that figure is expected to increase 20-fold by 2027, thanks to New Delhi’s ambitions to modernise its military. The country is forecast to spend $130 billion on defence by 2029, according to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. That puts ideaForge in a sweet spot: its biggest customer is the Indian government, which accounted for about 70% of its top line last year.

The country increased overall defence spending by 13% in its February budget. It has long had tense relations – and occasional border skirmishes – with neighbours China and Pakistan. All three of them possess nuclear weapons. And India is the world’s largest importer of arms, so the government is moving to reduce its reliance on overseas shipments: in 2020, it liberalised foreign direct investments in the defence sector as part of an attempt to have firms like Lockheed Martin LMT.N manufacture locally. Last February, the country banned drone imports, effectively blocking products made by China’s DJI. Such policies, plus generous government subsidies, are handing a huge windfall to homegrown manufacturers like ideaForge.

Little wonder investors have piled into the drone-maker and peers. Demand for ideaForge’s IPO exceeded 100 times the shares on offer, IFR reports; as of Monday, the company, backed by heavyweights including the $129 billion Qualcomm QCOM.O and local IT giant Infosys INFY.NS, boasted an equity valuation of $586 million, or an eye-watering 151 times its earnings for the last fiscal year. That’s well above compatriots like MTAR Technologies MTAR.NS and Data Patterns DATP.NS, which trade on 47 and 57 times respectively. In the first half of the year, a National Stock Exchange index tracking defence stocks has returned 24.16% to shareholders, easily beating the 6.58% from the broader Nifty 50 Index over the same period.

India’s defence companies are just starting to take off.

Follow @PranavKiranBV on Twitter

CONTEXT NEWS

Drone maker ideaForge Technology’s Mumbai shares closed down 10.2% to 1162.40 rupees on July 10 after rising 93% from their initial public offering price on their first-day trading on July 7.

The company issued 2.4 billion rupees ($29 million) worth of primary shares while existing investors sold an additional 3.3 billion rupees worth of secondary shares.

In the fiscal year to March 2023, ideaForge’s earnings were 320 million rupees, and 597 million rupees after excluding share-based compensation.

(Editing by Robyn Mak and Thomas Shum)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on KIRAN/
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** Shares of drone maker ideaForge IDEF.NS nearly double in market debut

** Shares opened at 1,300 rupees on NSE vs IPO price of 672 rupees

** Stock hit a high of 1,343.95 rupees and low is 1,260 rupees

** IPO comprised fresh issue worth up to 2.4 bln rupees (~$29 mln) and offer for sale up to 3.3 bln rupees

** Issue was subscribed 106x

** "Despite expensive ask valuation, ideaForge attracted stronger response due to its market leadership in Indian unmanned aircraft systems," says Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities

** About 7.4 mln shares change hands in early trade

($1 = 82.6780 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; (+91 8061822737); Reuters Messaging: [email protected]))