ideaForge Allots INR 26.5 Lakh Worth Of Equity Shares To Employees

Drone manufacturing startup IdeaForge has allotted an additional 4,126 equity shares under its existing employee stock option plan (ESOP).

In an exchange filing today (December 16), the company said that its board approved the allotment of 4,126 equity shares at a face value INR 10 each to eligible employees upon exercise of vested options under the ideaForge Employees Stock Option Scheme, 2018.

“These shares shall rank pari-passu with the existing equity shares of the company in all respects,” the filing added.

With the fresh allotment, the issued and paid-up equity share capital of the Mumbai-based company has increased to INR 43,03,70,200 Cr from INR 43,03,28,940 Cr earlier.

Shares of ideaForge ended 0.51% lower at INR 640.55 apiece on the BSE today. As per the stock’s last closing price, the newly-allotted equity shares are worth INR 26.42 Lakh.

The dronetech startup initially allotted 38,946 equity shares for the exercise of vested stock options under its employee stock option plan (ESOP) 2018, in August. 

Following which, the company allotted 2,608 equity shares in November, 1,450 shares in October and 3,936 shares in September, respectively.

ideaForge’s stock closed marginally up at INR 640.55 per share on the BSE during intraday trading session today (December 16).

Founded in 2007 by Ankit Mehta, Ashish Bhat, Rahul Singh, and Vipul Joshi, ideaForge makes unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems for inspection, surveillance and mapping. Its offerings span across sectors such as defence, construction, mining and agriculture.

A month ago, the drone manufacturer reported a consolidated net loss of INR 13.7 Cr in the quarter ending September 2024 (Q2) as against a net profit of INR 89.20 Lakh in the year ago period. 

However, its operating revenue rose about 56.52% to INR 37.1 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 23.7 Cr in Q2 FY24.

This development comes at a time when numerous startups have competitively been allotting ESOPs throughout this year to retain their employees, where companies like Paytm, Zomato and Delhivery have introduced multiple rounds of stock options.

For instance, a week ago, logistics unicorn Shiprocket expanded its employee stock option plan (ESOP) by adding 31,011 stock options under its ESOP Plan 2016, and logistics major Delhivery approved the allotment of 7.8 Lakh equity shares for the exercise of vested options under its employee stock option plan (ESOP).