Rs 15/Share Dividend: Govt-Backed Defense Stock To Trade Ex-Dividend For Rs 502 Crore Worth Dividend Payout

Government-backed defense stock, Hindustan Aeronautics will be in focus on Wednesday as the shares are set to trade ex-dividend on August 24. HAL will pay the final dividend for fiscal year 2022-23 to shareholders aggregating to nearly Rs 502 crore. In percentage terms, the dividend payout is to the tune of 150%. HAL is a multi-bagger with gains of nearly 335% on BSE in a 5-years span.

HAL will pay Rs 15 dividend per share having a face value of Rs 10 each to shareholders. This would be the final dividend amounting to Rs 501.58 crore for FY23.

As per the regulatory filing, HAL said, "The Register of Members and Share Transfer Books of the Company will remain closed from August 25, 2023, to August 31, 2023, for the purpose of AGM (both days inclusive)."

Following this, the record date for 150% dividend payout is set on August 24, which will also be the ex-dividend date.

For the FY23 fiscal, the company has already paid the first and second interim dividends of Rs 20 per share each -- totalling Rs 1,337.55 crore to its shareholders. Taking into consideration the upcoming final dividend of Rs 15 per share, the company is paying a total dividend of Rs 1,839.13 crore to its shareholders in the financial year.

FY23 profits were at Rs 5.086.50 crore, up by 14% YoY, while the company recorded the highest ever turnover of Rs 26,360.56 crore, experiencing strong growth of 8% from the previous year. Its order book position is also healthy to Rs 81,784 crore for the fiscal.

As per Trendlyne data, HAL has rewarded 10 dividends to shareholders since March 2019. In the past 12 months, the company declared a total dividend of Rs 55 per share for shareholders.

At the current market price, HAL's dividend yield is at 1.03%.

Currently, HAL's shares are at Rs 3891 on BSE. The stock rose by 2% on Tuesday alone. The company's market cap is over Rs 1.30 lakh crore.

Notably, the stock is closing the gap towards its 52-week high of Rs 3,999.10 apiece. From its 1-year low of Rs 2,202.20, the stock has jumped by nearly 77% to date.

Year-to-date, HAL's share price has zoomed by over 53% on BSE, while in a year, the stock rallied by nearly 74%.

In its annual report, HAL's Chairman and Managing Director, C.B. Ananthakrishnan said, "In the medium term, we are also looking forward to diversifying and increase our presence in UAV, Civil MRO & allied operations,Digital Solutions and new space segments as strategic initiatives. Also, we are focusing on strengthening marketing efforts, expanding geographical presence and collaboration with Indian Industry / Global OEMs to boost export sales."

Also, in the near future, the MD highlighted that the Indian Defence market will continue to be prime revenue source for HAL due to projects like LCA Mk1A, LCH, LUH and HTT-40. The company has taken various initiatives to make systems more agile, effective, cost-efficient and to be competitive. He added, "Enhancement of HAL capability is being planned to cater above projects. New production line are being installed for HTT-40 and LCA Mk1A Production."

During the June 2023 quarter, HAL posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 814.09 crore compared to Rs 620.13 crore in Q1FY23. Revenue from operations stood at Rs 3,915.35 crore in the quarter as against Rs 3,622.46 crore in Q1 of the previous fiscal.