Bharat Forge reported a 16.38% year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 212.78 crore and a 10.1% drop in revenues to Rs 3,475.54 crore for the December quarter. This decline was attributed to reduced performance in the European and defence sectors, as well as losses in the company’s overseas subsidiaries.

Baba Kalyani, chairman and managing director of Bharat Forge, stated that the decrease in performance was largely due to a drop in exports to Europe and challenges within their European operations. “We will conduct a thorough review of our manufacturing footprint in our overseas business, with the aim of achieving operational stability in this challenging environment,” Kalyani remarked.

Additionally, the lumpiness in the defence business impacted the company’s performance. The defence business revenue for the BFL group was Rs 337 crore during the quarter. With order wins amounting to Rs 97 crore in Q3, the total executable order book stood at Rs 5,706 crore as of December 31. Overall the company secured new orders worth Rs 830 crore during Q3 FY25.

Bharat Forge also announced two collaborations in the aerospace sector. They are working with Liebherr Aerospace & Transportation SAS to establish an advanced aerospace manufacturing facility in Pune. This new facility will feature a ring mill equipped with advanced forging and machining technologies to produce high-precision components, including landing gear components. Kalyani indicated, “We have approved an investment to set up a dedicated machining line for landing gear components and a ring mill for high-precision forging to meet the growing demands for jet engine components from the global aerospace industry. These capacities are expected to come online in FY27. We expect the aerospace business to witness strong growth over the coming 3-4 years,” Kalyani said.

Bharat Forge and VEDA Aeronautics have formed a partnership to develop and supply Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and other high-speed aerial weapon systems. Bharat Forge will be supplying the micro jet engines used in the unmanned systems developed by VEDA. The company is focusing on the indigenous development of jet engines with thrust capacities up to 400 Kgf to power these systems for the Indian defence forces. The 40 and 45 kgf engines developed by Bharat Forge are currently in serial production and will be utilized by VEDA for all defence projects.