This Small-cap Defence Company Posts 90.3% Growth In PAT YOY, Declares 80% Dividend

Astra Microwave Products Limited, a small-cap defence company, has announced an 80% dividend for the year ending March 2023, after its board meeting was held on Friday. The company informed through a securities exchange filing when posting the Q4FY23 and FY23 results.

March Quarter Performance
Astra Microwave Products' revenue stood at Rs. 256.3 crores for Q4FY23 as against Rs. 238.9 crores for Q4FY22; a growth of 7.3% YoY. The gross margins remained flat at 28.5% for both Q4FY23 and Q4FY22 last year; a sequential decline in gross margins due to an increase in export business.

EBITDA of Rs. 31.2 crores for Q4FY23 was higher by 7.5% YoY in contrast to the EBIDTA of 29.0 in Q4FY22. The geographical spread of total revenue for the quarter stands as follows: India - 45% and Exports -55% which was completely the other way around in the previous two quarters.

Full Year Performance
For the full year, the revenue stood at Rs 807.3 crores for FY23 as against Rs. 735.0 crores for FY22; a growth of 9.8% Gross profit increased by 36.7% to Rs. 288.6 crores in FY23 vs Rs. 211.2 crores FY22, due to change in geographic sales mix (more domestic sales than exports).

Notably, Q2 & Q3 FY23 saw higher amounts of domestic sales resulting in better margins. This trend was reversed in Q1 & Q4 FY23 resulting in lower margins EBITDA improved by 72% on YoY basis to Rs. 149.6, primarily due to better gross margins

The company reported Profit after Tax of Rs. 76.7 crores in FY23 as against Rs. 40.3 crores in FY22, a growth of 90.3%, with margins soaring to 9.5% from 5.5%. The geographical spread of total revenue stands as follows: India - 60% and Exports - 40%.

Outlook
Commenting on the performance S G Reddy, its Managing Director said, " This has been a milestone year for us as we completed our QIP and registered our best financial performance across all metrics. Our performance during the quarter and the year was close to our guidance given during the last quarter.

He further mentioned, "Currently, our order book stands at Rs. 1,544 Cr which is almost double of FY23 Revenue. This order book consists of only 24% of export orders rest 76% are domestic orders. The BTP segment is a major contributor to our export orders, which are executable in the next 24 months.

"As seen by our order book, going forward, our sales mix is anticipated to be skewed towards domestic, high-margin business. Various tailwinds in the defence sector are creating a wide range of opportunities for Indian firms. Astra Microwave is ideally situated to profit from this trend because of its extensive domain expertise and solid client relationships", Reddy concluded.

Dividend Details
The results of the company and the dividend to be handed out to shareholders were announced through multiple securities exchange filings.

Its Board of Directors has recommended a dividend of Rs.1.60 per share which is 80% of the face value of Rs. 2.00 per equity share for FY23. The dividend is subject to the approval of the members at the ensuing Annual General Meeting (AGM).

The dividend shall be credited /warrants thereof dispatched within specified timelines from the conclusion of the AGM. The AGM date and record date for the payment of dividends will be announced in due course.

About The Defence Company
Astra Microwave is a small-cap company incorporated in 1991 by a team of distinguished scientists with experience in RF/Microwave/Digital electronics and management of projects with high-technology content. The company designs, develops, and manufactures sub-systems for RF and microwave systems used in defense, space, meteorology, and telecommunication. It has a market capitalisation of Rs 3,086.19 crore.

The company has grown substantially since its inception with continuous investments in infrastructure, captive test facilities, and other resources. Astra Microwave has 3 Automatic assembly lines for PCBA assembly, 5 class 10K cleanrooms, functional test infrastructure that extends from 30MHz up to 40GHz, in-house Environment test facilities including EMI/EMC facility, and a first for any Indian Private Industry - Near Field Antenna test and measurement range.

Share Price Movement
The latest closing price of this defence small-cap stock is Rs 325.05, it is down by 3.76% on an intraday basis. In the last one year, its share price has rallied by 51.43% and surged massively by 398.93% in the last three years.