Garden Reach Eyes Long-Term Growth With Rs 22,680-Crore Order Book, P-17A Frigates At Core
GRSE is banking on the next-generation corvette programme to fuel growth beyond its current slate of orders.
With a strong order pipeline and new defence contracts on the horizon, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd. is positioning itself for long-term growth.
"Almost 50% of our order book is for the P-17 Alpha Frigates project," Chairperson PR Hari told NDTV Profit in a conversation on Thursday.
The first of these ships is expected to be delivered by July, setting the stage for consistent revenue in the years ahead. The company's order book currently stands at Rs 22,680 crore, with all ongoing projects scheduled for completion by 2029. GRSE expects margins to remain steady as it continues project execution at pace.
In addition to its domestic defence portfolio, GRSE has completed two successful projects for Bangladesh in the past two years. Addressing a recently cancelled Bangladesh contract, Hari clarified that the deal was quite small in size — just 0.8% of the total order book — and carried no material impact.
"This project was supposed to be taken through a line of credit scheme, which did not move forward, and therefore the cancellation," the managing director explained, emphasising that the decision was purely mutual.
Looking ahead, GRSE is banking on the next-generation corvette programme to fuel growth beyond its current slate of orders. The company expects its share of this project to be over Rs 25,000 crore.
When asked about its L-1 status in the Rs 48,000 crore NGC programme, the CMD said the contract is likely to be signed by the end of calendar year 2025. Pre-production will follow, with a two-year ramp-up period. Revenue recognition is expected to begin in fiscal 2027, with final deliveries slated between 2034 and 2035.
On the non-defence front, about 12% of GRSE's order book includes civil and scientific vessels. The company is currently building eight multipurpose vessels for a German client, along with two research vessels—one for the Ministry of Defence and one for the Ministry of Earth Sciences. A new Rs 500 crore contract for two coastal research vessels is also expected to be signed in the coming weeks.
Hari added that most European nations are now viewing India as a shipbuilding destination. "We see a huge opportunity for the entire Indian shipbuilding industry in the export space," he said.
Garden Reach's net profit more than doubled in the quarter ended March 31, 2025. The company's profit surged to Rs 244 crore in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 as compared to Rs 111.6 crore in the same period last year.
The board of GRSE recommended a final dividend of Rs 4.9 per share for the financial year 2024-25, subject to the approval from the shareholders at the annual general meeting.
