As India’s railway sectors achieve momentum, firms like Kernex Microsystems and HBL Engineering are rising as key gamers in area of interest, high-growth segments. Whereas Kernex focuses solely on railway security methods, HBL boasts a diversified portfolio spanning industrial batteries, railway & defence electronics. However which firm is healthier positioned to capitalise on the present market tailwinds? Let’s take a more in-depth look.
Value Motion
Shares of Kernex Microsystems (India) Restricted (KMIL), with a market cap of Rs. 2,180 crores, hit 5 p.c higher circuit and closed within the inexperienced at Rs. 1,300.75 on Friday. The inventory has delivered multibagger returns of almost 247 p.c in a single 12 months, and gained by round 64 p.c in a single month.
In the meantime, HBL Engineering Restricted, with a market cap of Rs. 16,383.6 crore, noticed its shares fall by round 2 p.c to shut within the pink at Rs. 591.05 on BSE. The inventory has delivered constructive returns of almost 23 p.c in a single 12 months, and jumped round 17 p.c in a single month.
Enterprise Overview
KMIL manufactures and sells railway security methods and software program companies with a plant positioned in Hyderabad and a department in Cairo, Egypt. Its core focus stays on the rail security gear and companies phase, which serves as its sole enterprise phase.
Moreover, Kernex has a presence in different areas, together with Telecom & Defence, Turnkey Mission Execution, Embedded & IoT options, and Product Design & Growth companies.
HBL’s principal actions comprise of producing of various kinds of batteries, together with lead acid, nickel cadmium, silver-zinc, and lithium, together with railway & defence electronics and different merchandise.
Phase Income
Kernex Microsystems stories all its working income underneath a single phase — Security Methods for Railways. In This autumn FY25, HBL derived round 74.6 p.c of its income from Industrial Batteries, 12.2 p.c from Electronics, 9.7 p.c from Defence & Aviation Batteries, and the remaining 3.5 p.c from Different segments.
Order E book
As of March 2025, Kernex Microsystems reported a complete order e book valued at Rs. 2,124.16 crores. This consists of Rs. 1,730 crore from Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW), Rs. 179.21 crore from South Jap Railway (SER), Rs. 1,735.38 crore from KMIL-exclusive tasks, and Rs. 388.78 crore from joint ventures and consortium-led engagements.
As compared, HBL’s whole Kavach orders stood at Rs. 3,763.83 crores. The corporate is among the choose few concerned in executing Kavach orders for Indian Railways, together with business gamers akin to KEC Worldwide, KMIL, RailTel, and Siemens. The corporate tasks its whole gross sales for FY26 to succeed in ~Rs. 3,000 crore.
Monetary Efficiency
Kernex reported a big soar in income from operations by almost 822 p.c to Rs. 83 crores in This autumn FY25. Internet revenue additionally noticed a progress from a lack of Rs. 13 crores in This autumn FY24 to a revenue of Rs. 33 crores in This autumn FY25. The income grew at a CAGR of over 200 p.c, reaching Rs. 190 crores in FY25, up from Rs. 7 crores in FY22.
Moreover, the important thing monetary indicators present a Return on Fairness (RoE) of 37.8 p.c and a Return on Capital Employed (RoCE) of 23.8 p.c. The inventory at present trades at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 40.8, in comparison with the business common of 31.4, and has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.
In distinction, HBL reported a decline in income from operations by almost 22 p.c to Rs. 476 crores in This autumn FY25, and its internet revenue additionally decreased round 44 p.c YoY to Rs. 45 crores. The income elevated at a CAGR of ~17 p.c to Rs. 1,967 crores in FY25, as towards Rs. 1,236 crores in FY22.
By way of key monetary metrics, the corporate has a RoE of 20.5 p.c and a RoCE of 26.3 p.c. Additional, the inventory has a P/E ratio of 61.1, in comparison with the business’s P/E ratio of 30.8, and its debt-to-equity ratio stands at 0.05.
Written by Shivani Singh
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