ideaForge Shares Tank Over 13% After Q1 Profit Drops 94% YoY

Shares of ideaForge nosedived as much as 13.6% to INR 740.7 apiece during the intraday session on the BSE today after the drone manufacturing startup posted a 94% year-on-year decline in its profit after tax (PAT) for the quarter ended June 30, 2024 (Q1 FY25).

The stock opened today at INR 741 apiece, down more than 13% from the previous close.

However, the stock recovered some of its early losses and was trading 9.93% lower at INR 772.55 apiece on the BSE at INR 11:28 AM.

ideaForge reported a PAT of INR 1.2 Cr in Q1 FY25 as against INR 18.9 Cr in the year-ago quarter.

Revenue from operations also slipped 11.2% to INR 86.2 Cr during the quarter under review as compared to INR 97.1 Cr in Q1 FY24.

Sequentially, ideaForge’s PAT declined 87% while operating revenue fell 15.7%.

The drone startup’s EBITDA slipped more than 73% to INR 8.5 Cr in Q1 FY25 from INR 32 Cr in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

The weak Q1 performance resulted from a rise in spending towards cost of materials, which reached INR 56.1 Cr in the June quarter of the ongoing fiscal, up 321% YoY.

Founded in 2007 by IIT Bombay graduates Mehta, Ashish Bhat, Rahul Singh, Vipul Joshi, and Amardeep Singh, ideaForge designs and manufactures drones for applications in use cases such as mapping, security, and surveillance.

ideaForge made a stellar market debut last year, with its shares listing on the bourses at a 94% premium to the issue price after its public issue was oversubscribed 106X.

Earlier this month, ideaForge acquired an undisclosed stake in Bengaluru-based spacetech startup GalaxEye Space for INR 8.28 Cr. The acquisition will enable ideaForge to build drone-based sensors for fog and foliage penetrations, the company then said.

In its annual report for 2023-24 (FY23), ideaForge chairman Srikanth Velamakanni said that the startup is planning to strengthen its presence in the US and enter new markets to increase exports.

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