Defence and Space Now Account for Over 80% of Premier Explosives’ Turnover

Premier Explosives Limited has moved decisively beyond its origins as a conventional industrial explosives manufacturer, with defence and space products accounting for 81.22% of its turnover in FY2025-26. The latest disclosure highlights how missile propulsion, countermeasures, warheads and aerospace-related energetic systems have become the company’s dominant business.

Premier Explosives disclosed the figure in its Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report for the financial year ended March 31, 2026, filed with the BSE and NSE on September 3. Commercial and bulk explosives contributed the remaining 18.78% of turnover, while exports represented 13.31% of revenue.

The shift is particularly significant because Premier began primarily as a supplier of explosives for mining and infrastructure. Over time, it has built specialised capabilities in high-energy materials required for missiles, rockets, aircraft countermeasures and space-launch systems, placing the company within India’s increasingly important private-sector defence supply chain.

Defence and Space Revenue Reaches ₹315 Crore

Premier Explosives reported FY2025-26 revenue from operations of approximately ₹388.3 crore. Defence and space revenue was about ₹315.4 crore, while commercial explosives contributed around ₹72.9 crore.

Total revenue was lower than the ₹417.5 crore recorded in FY2024-25, largely because the previous financial year benefited from heavier execution of emergency chaff and flare orders. Despite the decline in overall turnover, defence remained overwhelmingly the company’s largest business.

The trend became even more visible during the fourth quarter, when defence and space generated ₹67.7 crore, or 76% of quarterly revenue, representing year-on-year growth of about 43%.

Premier is therefore no longer best viewed simply as an industrial explosives producer with a defence division. Strategic applications now form the core of its business model.

Order Book Is Even More Heavily Tilted Towards Defence

The composition of Premier’s order book points towards an even greater concentration on defence over the coming years.

At the end of FY2025-26, the company reported its highest-ever order book of ₹1,569 crore. Defence contracts accounted for approximately ₹1,491 crore, or 95% of the total, while commercial explosives represented around ₹31 crore and operations and maintenance services another ₹47 crore.

The order book was equivalent to roughly four times FY26 revenue, providing substantial execution visibility for the company.

By August 2026, the order book stood at around ₹1,393 crore, with approximately 94% still originating from defence. The reduction largely reflects ongoing execution rather than a major change in the underlying business mix.

This means Premier’s current revenue concentration is backed by an order pipeline that remains even more heavily oriented towards military programmes.

From Explosives to Missile Propulsion

One of Premier Explosives’ most strategically important capabilities is the production of solid propellants and rocket motors.

Rocket motors are among the most critical components of missiles and launch vehicles because their energetic materials determine thrust, acceleration, range and propulsion reliability. Manufacturing them requires specialised knowledge of propellant chemistry, casting, ignition, insulation and quality assurance.

Premier supplies products associated with several Indian missile programmes and has previously identified systems including Akash, Astra and BrahMos within its defence business. Its capabilities extend to solid propellants, rocket motors, igniters, pyrotechnic devices and other energetic components used across missile and aerospace applications.

The company also exports fully assembled rocket motors, giving it a presence in international defence supply chains rather than restricting its business entirely to Indian requirements.

Chaff and Flares Form Another Specialised Capability

Premier Explosives has developed a significant business in aircraft countermeasures, particularly chaff and flares.

Flares are pyrotechnic devices designed to draw infrared-guided missiles away from an aircraft by presenting a more attractive heat source. Chaff performs a similar defensive function against radar-guided threats by releasing large numbers of radar-reflective elements.

The company describes itself as the only qualified Indian private company manufacturing such countermeasures, and the segment has already generated substantial orders from the Indian Air Force.

In October 2025, Premier secured an approximately ₹429.56-crore Indian Air Force order for chaff and flare countermeasures, illustrating the growing scale of this business.

The company’s countermeasure facility affected by an earlier industrial accident has since been recommissioned, according to management, improving domestic production capability and reducing dependence on imported components.

Expanding Into Warheads, Mines and Drone Payloads

Premier’s strategic portfolio has also expanded beyond propulsion and aircraft protection.

The company manufactures warheads, high-explosive payloads, mines and ammunition, creating a broader presence across the energetic-material portion of the defence value chain.

Management has identified land mines, payloads for drones and loitering munitions, and medium-calibre ammunition as areas expected to contribute increasingly to future revenue. Development in some of these categories had previously been constrained by raw-material availability, but the company said alternative materials had since been identified and accepted by designers.

Drone and loitering-munition payloads are especially relevant as Indian industry rapidly expands production of unmanned strike systems. While the airframe, propulsion, navigation and communication systems attract much attention, an effective weaponised UAV also requires specialised warheads, fuzing and energetic payloads.

Premier’s background in explosives and missile technologies gives it a natural route into this part of the unmanned-weapons ecosystem.

Strong Links With DRDO, BDL and ISRO

Premier Explosives’ transition towards strategic sectors has been supported by long-standing relationships with major Indian defence and space institutions.

Its customers and programme partners have included the Defence Research and Development Organisation, Bharat Dynamics Limited and the Indian Space Research Organisation.

The company’s space involvement extends beyond supplying energetic materials. Premier also undertakes operations and maintenance work at ISRO solid-propellant facilities, giving it experience across both manufacturing and propulsion-support services.

This dual defence-space presence is important because solid propulsion technologies have applications across tactical missiles, strategic systems and launch vehicles, although individual designs and production processes remain programme-specific.

Export Business Is Becoming More Important

Premier is also increasingly targeting international defence customers.

Exports accounted for 13.31% of FY26 turnover, according to the latest sustainability disclosure.

The company has previously supplied rocket motors and other defence products to customers in overseas markets, including Southeast Asia and Europe. In April 2026, it announced a major international order worth approximately ₹350.23 crore for defence products.

Exporting complete rocket motors rather than only individual components represents a higher level of industrial capability because it requires integration, qualification and production consistency that meet the customer’s complete propulsion requirements.

Growing exports can also diversify Premier’s customer base beyond Indian government procurement while providing larger production runs for specialised manufacturing facilities.

New Defence Manufacturing Complex Planned in Andhra Pradesh

Premier is preparing additional manufacturing capacity to support its growing strategic-sector business.

Management disclosed in May that it was in discussions with the Andhra Pradesh government for approximately 400 acres of land for a dedicated defence manufacturing facility.

Such a large site is particularly relevant to energetic-material manufacturing because explosives, propellants and ammunition facilities require extensive safety distances, segregated production areas, storage infrastructure and specialised testing zones.

The project could provide Premier with room to scale existing product lines while creating manufacturing capacity for newer categories entering its portfolio.

Strategic Materials Become the Core Business

Premier Explosives’ transformation reflects a broader change taking place across India’s private defence sector.

Companies that previously supplied basic components or dual-use industrial products are moving progressively higher up the value chain into missile subsystems, ammunition, propulsion, electronic warfare, unmanned systems and complete military equipment.

Premier occupies a specialised position within that trend because its expertise is concentrated on energetic materials — the propellants, explosives, countermeasures and warheads that enable weapons to perform their fundamental functions.

The latest figures make that transition measurable. Defence and space now generate more than four-fifths of turnover, while approximately 95% of the year-end order book was defence-related.

Premier Explosives has consequently evolved from a commercial explosives company participating in defence programmes into a predominantly strategic-sector manufacturer whose future growth is increasingly tied to India’s missile, aerospace, ammunition and unmanned-weapons requirements.

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