Synopsis: A defence-focused metals PSU closed FY26 with record revenue, a big order book, and a string of aerospace certifications that open doors to global OEMs. Yet the stock trades at a discount to peers, weighed down by softer return ratios and import dependence on critical raw materials.
India’s defence and aerospace metallurgy space has always been a story of a handful of specialized players holding capabilities that took decades to build. Titanium alloys, superalloys, and high-strength steels used in fighter jets, missiles, and satellites aren’t things you can simply outsource or import your way into overnight. One of the country’s oldest names in this space posted its best year yet, though the market doesn’t seem entirely convinced.
With a market capitalization of roughly ₹7,391 crore, the shares of Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited were trading near ₹394 apiece, with a 52-week range of ₹454.80 to ₹266.65, and they are trading at a P/E of approximately 56x.
A Defence-Heavy Order Book
MIDHANI’s open order book stood at ₹2,290 crore as of April 2026, with defence accounting for nearly 79% of the total. Titanium orders alone exceeded ₹660 crore, and management has said capacity is more than sufficient to keep fulfilling these as they come in.
The company expects to book close to ₹1,500 crore worth of fresh orders in the current financial year, with exports, a relatively small piece of the pie at around ₹85 crore in FY26, targeted to cross ₹100 crore this year. Titanium production nearly doubled to 700 tonnes in FY26 on the back of a newly installed vacuum arc remelting furnace, and management has indicated there’s headroom to produce meaningfully more.
The ₹1,000 Crore Capex Push
To sustain this growth, the company plans to invest around ₹1,000 crore over the next three years, largely aimed at replacing ageing downstream equipment, some installed as far back as the 1980s, with automated, Industry 4.0-compliant machinery. The stated goal is to remove bottlenecks in forging and bar-rolling operations rather than build capacity for any single product line, since the same downstream equipment feeds most of the company’s alloy categories.
Detailed project reports are still being finalized, with board approval expected within a couple of months, and the company intends to fund this largely through internal accruals and term loans rather than equity dilution. A separate, smaller ₹40 crore facility for aerospace-grade fasteners used in missile and space applications has already been inaugurated and is expected to generate a stable ₹25 crore a year in revenue, a high-margin, value-added line given that MIDHANI manufactures its own wire rather than importing it like most fastener makers.
Certifications Opening New Doors
The company secured NADCAP certification for heat treatment during the year, one of the highest recognitions in the aerospace and defence supply chain, since it allows OEMs to procure materials directly from certified manufacturers without additional layers of approval. Alongside this, it received CEMILAC airworthiness certificates for 10 critical aerospace-grade superalloys and steels, a step that management describes as unlocking production for advanced aero-engine programs.
The company also developed a cast superalloy single-crystal blade material for the first time domestically, a technically demanding category considered among the toughest benchmarks in metallurgy, and delivered architectural titanium components to the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, a first for any Indian company. On the strategic front, MIDHANI is already supplying alloys for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) program in its developmental stage, positioning it for a larger share once the program moves to production orders.
Why the Valuation Still Lags
Despite the operational momentum, MIDHANI trades at an EV/EBITDA of 28.7x, below the defence peer median of 36.2x. Return ratios remain a sticking point, with return on capital employed at 11.3% and return on equity at 8.9%, both relatively modest for a company commanding premium positioning in a high-barrier sector.
Raw material dependence adds another layer of risk: none of the critical inputs like nickel, cobalt, molybdenum, tungsten, and titanium sponge is available domestically, leaving the company reliant on imports from Europe, former USSR nations, and countries like Kazakhstan.
To address this, MIDHANI has signed an MoU to set up a “metal bank,” a perpetual stockpile of six critical raw materials meant to cushion the business against supply disruptions, expected to be operational within a few months.
Financial Snapshot & Business Overview
On a standalone basis, MIDHANI reported its highest-ever annual revenue of ₹1,208.6 crore in FY26, up 12.5% year-on-year, while profit after tax grew 18.8% to ₹130.8 crore, against ₹110.1 crore in FY25. Fourth-quarter numbers were particularly strong, with quarterly revenue at ₹552.7 crore, up 34.6% year-on-year, and quarterly PAT at ₹77.8 crore, up 38.5%.
On a consolidated basis, the picture is broadly similar since MIDHANI does not carry material subsidiary operations, with full-year profit before tax coming in at over ₹134 crore and margins holding in the mid-teens. Management has guided for 15-20% revenue growth and EBITDA margins in the 23-25% range for FY27, contingent on raw material and energy supply chains stabilizing.
Conclusion
Between a defense-heavy order book, marquee certifications, and a clear capex roadmap, MIDHANI’s operational story looks stronger than it has in years. Whether the market starts pricing that in will likely depend on whether return ratios catch up with the growth narrative, and whether the metal bank genuinely insulates the business from the raw material shocks that have periodically disrupted it in the past.
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