Paras Defence shares in focus today, here's why 

Shares of defence engineering firm Paras Defence and Space Technologies are in focus today after the firm announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Israel's HevenDrones Ltd to explore potential in both the defence and civil drone markets.

Paras Defence shares rose 2.07% to Rs 1375.70 on Monday against the previous close of Rs 1347.80 on BSE. Market cap of the firm rose to Rs 5543.20 crore.

Total 1.86 lakh shares of the firm changed hands amounting to a turnover of Rs 25.44 crore. 

In a regulatory filing, Paras Defence stated, "We are excited to share that we have entered into an MoU with HevenDrones Ltd. to create new business opportunities and expand our presence within the Indian and global defence sectors."

The agreement includes plans to establish a Joint Venture (JV) in India focused on the development and manufacturing of logistics and cargo drones. This initiative supports the Government of India’s Make in India campaign and aims to cater to both local and international markets.

For the fourth quarter, Paras Defence reported a remarkable 97% increase in net profit, reaching Rs 19.7 crore compared to Rs 10 crore during the same period last year. The company’s revenue also rose by 35.8% year-on-year to Rs 108.2 crore, up from Rs 79.7 crore in the previous year’s quarter.

Moreover, Paras Defence's Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortisation (EBITDA) soared to ?28.3 crore, a significant rise from ?3.4 crore last year, with margins expanding nearly 10 percentage points to 26.2% from 15.6% a year ago.

Additionally, the board of the company has approved a stock split, converting one equity share with a face value of Rs 10 into two shares of Rs 5 each. The record date for this split will be announced in due course.

Paras Defence is engaged in designing, developing, manufacturing, and testing a wide range of defence and space engineering products and solutions. Paras Defence's business is highly dependent on projects and programmes that are undertaken by the central government and associated entities, such as defence public sector undertakings and government organisations involved in space research.