1. At a Glance
Swan Defence and Heavy Industries Ltd is that one stock which makes you rub your eyes, refresh Screener, and still ask, “Is this real or is my Wi-Fi drunk?”
Market cap at around ₹9,447 crore, share price hovering near ₹1,793, and a six-month return that looks like a crypto chart after a WhatsApp tip — +431%. All this while sales are barely ₹50.8 crore, ROE is -46%, and the company spent the last few years inside NCLT instead of dry docks.
This is not a regular comeback story. This is a bollywood redemption arc with cranes, docks, defence contracts, and enough debt to make a PSU banker sweat. FY24 had virtually no operating revenue, only “Other Income” doing charity work. And yet, by FY26, Swan Defence is signing USD 227 million shipbuilding contracts, bagging an Oman defence export order, securing ₹1,150 crore long-term funding from NaBFID, and partnering with GRSE like it’s suddenly part of the defence cool club.
Is this a turnaround? A hype train? Or a once-in-a-decade resurrection of India’s largest shipyard?
Before Twitter threads crown it the next Mazagon Dock, let’s open the engine room and see what’s actually happening.
2. Introduction
Once upon a time, this company was called Reliance Naval — and yes, that name alone gives veteran investors mild PTSD. Years of stalled projects, crushing interest costs, and finally a full-blown Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) starting January 2020.
Fast forward to January 2024: new management walks in, old baggage (mostly) walks out, equity capital gets reset, trading resumes, and suddenly the same yard which was producing losses starts producing headlines.
By January 2025, the company formally rebrands to Swan Defence and Heavy Industries Ltd (SDHI). This wasn’t cosmetic. Ownership changed, control shifted to Hazel Infra Limited, promoter holding shot up to 94.91%, and the entire balance sheet was rebooted like a stuck Windows laptop.
But here’s the twist: unlike many “post-NCLT zombies,” SDHI actually has real assets. Massive ones. The Pipavav shipyard is among the largest in the world, just sitting there like a Ferrari in a
garage with no fuel for years.
Now fuel is arriving — defence orders, export contracts, MoUs, funding lines, and strategic tie-ups. The question is no longer “Can they build ships?”
It’s “Can they build profits before the market loses patience?”
3. Business Model — WTF Do They Even Do?
Let’s simplify this for the lazy but smart investor.
Shipbuilding
SDHI builds:
- Commercial vessels
- Defence ships
- Chemical tankers
- Offshore structures
The crown jewel is its 662 x 65 meter dry dock, capable of handling vessels up to 4 lakh DWT. That’s not “big by Indian standards.” That’s globally intimidating.
Ship Repair & Refits
Started only in August 2024, with the Indian Coast Guard as the first customer. This is crucial because:
- Repair brings faster cash flows
- Lower working capital stress
- Keeps the yard operational while large builds take time
Offshore Fabrication
A 750 x 265 meter fabrication facility with floor strength exceeding 25 tonnes per sq. meter. Translation: it can build offshore wind structures, oil & gas modules, and heavy steel monsters without crying.
Heavy Engineering
This is the flexible bucket — anything large, steel-intensive, and globally outsourced can land here.
In short:
SDHI is not short of capability. It was short of capital, credibility, and contracts.
All three are now being stitched back together — slowly, noisily, and expensively.
4. Financials Overview
Quarterly Performance (Q3 FY26 – Consolidated)
(Figures in ₹ crore)
| Metric | Latest Qtr | YoY Qtr | Prev Qtr | YoY % | QoQ % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 6 | 1 | 40 | +406% | -85% |
| EBITDA | -20 | -37 | -8 | Improvement | Deterioration |
| PAT | -33 | -53 | -20 | +38% | -65% |
| EPS (₹) | -6.28 | -10.13 | -3.77 | +38% | -67% |
