ideaForge had posted a net profit of INR 20.15 Cr in the year-ago quarter and a loss of INR 13.73 Cr in the preceding quarter
Operating revenue crashed 81% to INR 17.61 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 90.89 Cr
ideaForge's CEO Ankit Mehta cited elections and low government spending for the sharp fall in the company’s revenue
Drone tech company IdeaForge
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the company’s loss widened 42% from INR 13.73 Cr. The company’s EBITDA loss fell to INR 12.58 Cr from INR 9.99 Cr in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, EBITDA loss margin also plunged to 71.4% from 26.9% in Q2 FY25.
Meanwhile, operating revenue crashed 81% to INR 17.61 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 90.89 Cr in the year-ago quarter. This marked a 53% sequential decline from INR 37.10 Cr.
Including other income of INR 4.89 Cr, ideaForge reported a total income of INR 22.51 Cr in the quarter.
ideaForge’s CEO Ankit Mehta cited elections and low government spending for the sharp fall in the company’s revenue.
“Conversion of opportunities to orderbook has been muted thus far in this financial year, largely attributable to elections and low government spending in this timeframe. However, the third quarter of this year has started to bring everything together, be it rapid progress in technology development, rekindling the latent demand from customers, and recognition of our effort,” he said.
It is pertinent to note that Mehta had given a similar reason for the company’s loss in Q2 FY25. Speaking with Inc42 in November 2024, Mehta highlighted that the company had to align its expectations with the government’s contract allocation processes, which could be “tedious and time-straining at times”.
Back then, he had also mentioned that the trend of uncertainties on the financial front is expected to continue, as the business is heavily dependent on large government tenders.
As of now, the founder projects a better future, highlighting that the company ranked third globally as a dual-use drone manufacturer in DII’s Global Drone Review 2024. Besides, he also mentioned that its SWITCH UAV became “the first and only small UAV certified as ‘Fit for Indian Military Use’ by DGQA” in the quarter.
“In order to unlock the use of geospatial data in private enterprises, we have become part of Operation DRONAGIRI, a pilot project by the government of India under the National Geospatial Policy (NGP), 2022. Learnings from our successful Early Adopter Program initiative in the United States helped us conceptualise and also launch a new quadcopter platform (Q6 V3) in the United States. We are now excited to showcase our technology progress and vision at Aero India 2025,” he added.
Meanwhile, ideaForge announced the elevation of senior manager (CS) Nilesh Jaywant as its new company secretary and compliance officer with effect from January 30, 2025. Jaywant joined the company in July 2023.
Breakdown Of ideaForge’s Expenses
While the company’s top line plunged significantly, it also managed to trim its loss by 45% to INR 42.78 Cr from the INR 77.36 Cr it spent in the year ago quarter.
Cost Of Material Consumed: The spending under the head slid 77% YoY to INR 11.12 Cr.
Employee Expenses: Despite plunging into loss, ideaForge saw a 31% YoY jump in its employee costs to INR 12.80 Cr. However, sequentially, these expenses declined 6% from INR 13.68 Cr.
Other Expenses: Expenses under this head slumped 35% YoY to INR 12.77 Cr in Q3 FY25.
Shares of ideaForge ended the day 5.18% lower at INR 482.30 on the BSE.