HFCL shares jumped 8.33% to Rs 125.70 on Monday, extending their post-results rally as investors absorbed not just a dramatic fourth-quarter turnaround but a specific and ambitious margin expansion roadmap from management that signals the company believes the best is still ahead.
The stock is now up approximately 110% from its 52-week low — and the FY26 full-year results, combined with Monday’s guidance, give the market a clear reason to continue repricing the stock upward.
The Q4 numbers
HFCL reported a standalone net profit of Rs 178.5 crore for Q4 FY26 against a loss of Rs 81.4 crore in the same quarter last year — a complete reversal. Revenue more than doubled year-on-year to Rs 1,824 crore from Rs 800.7 crore, driven by strong order execution across its optical fibre cable, telecom products and system integration businesses. EBITDA swung from a loss of Rs 36 crore to a profit of Rs 315 crore, with EBITDA margin at 17.3% for the quarter.
The guidance that is moving the stock
The element that has excited the market beyond the quarterly numbers is the forward margin guidance. HFCL expects its EBITDA margin to expand from 16.7% in FY26 to 20-21% by FY29 — a 330 to 430 basis point expansion over three years driven by an improving business mix, backward integration benefits and operating scale.
Managing Director Mahendra Nahata framed FY26 as a defining year, noting that the company delivered its highest-ever performance with over 21% year-on-year revenue growth and approximately 97% year-on-year PBT growth. “Looking ahead, we strongly believe that HFCL is entering a structurally stronger and more predictable growth phase. We are witnessing not only a substantial expansion in our order book but also improvement in its business composition, with a higher share of exports, long-term contracts, and high-margin products,” he said.
Nahata highlighted four specific strategic pillars underpinning the confidence: backward integration into optical fibre preform — which reduces raw material dependence and improves margins at source — expansion into the defence sector where margins are structurally higher, a growing global export footprint, and a product mix shift toward proprietary, high-value offerings. The combination of these factors is what gives the 20-21% EBITDA margin target by FY29 its credibility — it is not a number plucked from optimism but one grounded in specific margin-accretive initiatives already underway.
The board declared a dividend of Rs 0.20 per share for FY26 — modest in yield terms but a signal of capital discipline from a company that has just made a decisive turn to profitability.
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