To put a hard line under it, Bharat Forge has made July 3, 2026 the record date for its final dividend. They have put forward a recommendation of Rs 6.50 a share for FY26, which brings the year’s total to Rs 8.50. All in all, it shows they’re confident in the mix they have in defence and aerospace.
Payout timeline and eligibility
Come July 2, 2026, the stock will be trading ex-dividend. We are talking about a final dividend of Rs 6.50 for every equity share (face value of Rs 2), or 325 per cent, though that is still up to the shareholders to approve.
The company has an AGM on tap for August 11, 2026. Barring any hitches, they plan to make the payment from August 14 onwards, with TDS as applicable. If you are in the running for this, you need to be on the register at the close of business on July 3 – that includes any valid transmission or transposition you may have put in.
Here are the dates to put in your calendar:
– Ex-date: July 2, 2026
– Record date: July 3, 2026
– AGM: August 11, 2026
– Payment on or after: August 14, 2026
Why the dividend matters now
You have to see this in the context of a mixed earnings report and some good top-line numbers; the payout is there to show stability. With this last tranche, the total for FY26 is Rs 8.50 per share, a way to give back to shareholders while they pursue a growth plan that isn’t exactly light on capital.
Q4 FY26 scorecard
Net profit for Q4FY26 was Rs 233.4 crore, a 17% drop from the Rs 282 crore a year ago. And if you look at it sequentially, it was 14% lower than the Rs 277 crore of the quarter before.
Then you have revenue, and the story is a bit different. Consolidated numbers from operations hit Rs 4,528 crore, more than 17% better than the Rs 3,852 crore last year. Quarter on quarter, it was a 4% step up from Rs 4,342 crore.
Brokerage split on outlook
JM Financial has the view that Bharat Forge’s EBITDA margin in Q4 was 17.2 per cent, 50 bps off the mark from a year back and 10 bps from the previous quarter, but in their ballpark. They point to a robust order book in defence of some Rs 10,960 crore, not far from the Rs 11,100 crore in Q3.
From what JM is hearing from management, defence revenue is set to be up 50 per cent in FY27. The Indian manufacturing arm is also on track for 25 per cent or more, with aerospace leading the charge, then defence and components, with some upside in profitability to match.
With that in mind, JM has hiked EPS calls by 7.3 per cent for FY27 and 2.9 per cent for FY28E. On 42x P/E for the latter, they’ve put the target at Rs 2,315, up from Rs 2,085, and are sticking with their Buy.
Nuvama Institutional Equities is of a different mind. They don’t see much room in the valuation, with the stock at 29x and 24x for FY27E and FY28E EV/EBITDA. So they have downgraded to Reduce from Hold. They did nudge the target to Rs 1,650 from Rs 1,620, using 35x and 15x for the defence and other parts of the business, but that’s where they stand.
What investors should track next
All eyes will be on the AGM of August 11 to get the green light on the schedule. As for who is in, it comes down to having the shares on the July 3 record date, once the ex-date of July 2 has passed.
The stock has been holding up well of late. It’s up nearly 5% in a month, 38% over six, and 32% for the year to date.
So as the defence and aerospace wings build, the dividend is a floor for returns while the brokerages hash out the numbers. You have your two sides of the coin for FY27, and it will come down to how well they can deliver on the order book and keep a lid on margins.
