Key takeaways
- Founded in 1987 to make telephone-exchange equipment in India, then the first to build digital switching for the Department of Telecom.
- The 2002 telecom bust and a contract dispute crashed the stock and left promoter shares heavily pledged.
- A 2015 reset, pledge released, optical-fibre expansion, began the turnaround, followed by defence and 5G.
- A 2023 BSNL 4G/5G award was the largest indigenous telecom-equipment order in Indian history; FY25 revenue reached around ₹4,500 crore.
- 1987 Mahendra Nahata founds Himachal Futuristic Communications (HFCL) in Shimla, betting India’s imported telephone exchanges can be built at home.
- 1992 It becomes the first Indian company to manufacture digital switching equipment for the Department of Telecom.
- 2002 The telecom bust and a dispute over the Reliance Infocomm contract crash the stock, leaving promoter holdings heavily pledged.
- 2008–2014 A decade under corporate-debt restructuring follows, and analysts write the company off.
- 2015 The pledged holding is released, a strategic reset begins, and an optical-fibre-cable expansion is announced.
- 2018 First defence contracts are secured, in electro-optic devices and military communications.
- 2020 5G-equipment development begins, alongside indigenous router and switch design.
- Aug 2023 BSNL awards 4G and 5G equipment orders, the largest indigenous telecom-equipment order in Indian history.
- 2024 The defence order book hits record levels, spanning drone hardware, soldier-modernisation and optical-surveillance systems.
- FY25 Revenue runs around ₹4,500 crore across three businesses, optical fibre, 5G equipment and defence electronics, with an order book above ₹6,500 crore.
- 2026 Three businesses compound at once, optical fibre, 5G equipment and defence electronics, after the optical-fibre capacity expansion and Korean joint ventures.
HFCL did not survive by luck. It survived because its promoter did not sell, holding the company together through the telecom bust, a pledged-share crisis and a decade in the wilderness, until 5G, Make-in-India and defence indigenisation made it relevant again. Here is the journey, year by year.
The pattern is the point
HFCL’s survival came down to one thing: Nahata did not sell. Through the bust, the pledge and the wilderness years, the promoter held the company together until 5G, Make-in-India and defence indigenisation made it relevant again. The wilderness is part of almost every multibagger, the trick is owning it before the wilderness ends.
