Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders emerged as the standout performer among India's defence PSU shipbuilders in Q1, with revenue growing 12% year-on-year despite seasonal weakness. The company's EBITDA surged 48% while EBITDA margins expanded by over 370 basis points to 15.2%, the strongest among the three major players. Net profit grew 22% from the year-ago period, significantly outperforming peers, with a sharp reduction in provisions from ₹540 crore to just ₹30 crore playing a crucial role in profitability growth. The company's current order book stands at ₹18,218 crore, with 64% comprising shipbuilding and the remainder from submarine and heavy engineering projects.
Garden Reach Shipbuilders delivered impressive results with revenue growth of 39%, well ahead of street expectations that had pegged growth at 22%. The company's EBITDA grew 33% and EBITDA margins reached 8.2%, though below Mazagon Dock's performance. Cochin Shipyard faced challenges with revenue declining 7% due to high base effects, weak execution, and lower ship repair business revenue. Shipbuilding margins at Cochin Shipyard stood at just 5%, well below the guided range of 10% to 12%, while margins narrowed by 655 basis points from last year due to rising employee costs and high base effects.
The company has demonstrated remarkable financial performance with consolidated revenue growing from ₹5,733.28 crore in FY2022 to ₹13,006.31 crore in FY2026, representing a significant 126.85% increase. Net profit showed even more impressive growth, rising from ₹563.11 crore in FY2022 to ₹2,421.88 crore in FY2026, an increase of approximately 330.08%. The company's EPS improved from ₹30.29 in FY2022 to ₹64.04 in FY2026, while ROE remained strong at 26.48% in FY2026. As reported by Moneycontrol, the company maintains a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05 in FY2026, indicating a healthy financial position.
Within the Defence sector, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders maintains a market cap of ₹1,02,943 crore and holds a market cap rank of 3 among companies in its sector. The stock has demonstrated strong long-term performance with a 193.11% increase over the last 3 years. The company's PE ratio stands at 36.05 while the PB ratio is 10.32, reflecting its growth trajectory and market valuation. Recent trading data shows total income of ₹3,255.88 crore with EBIT of ₹730.79 crore for the June 2026 quarter. Shares of Mazagon Dock have risen only 4% so far this year, while those of Garden Reach have risen 6.6% and Cochin Shipyard's stock has declined 9% year-to-date.
The P75I submarine contract remains a major trigger for Mazagon Dock, with management indicating the order book could cross ₹1 lakh crore if the contract materializes. Garden Reach is positioned for significant growth with the signing of Next-Generation Corvette contracts worth ₹33,000 crore expected shortly. The company is executing 11 projects across 44 platforms and is expanding capacity from 28 to 32 ships by the end of this calendar year. Despite having the weakest earnings trajectory, Cochin Shipyard's valuations are the highest among peers at 40 times forward earnings, compared to Mazagon Dock's 37 times and Garden Reach's 30 times, highlighting the market's varying assessment of growth prospects across the sector.
