1. The business in brief
HHSL has operated helicopters in India's high-altitude regions since 1998. Its core business is pilgrimage shuttles, carrying devotees to shrines such as Vaishno Devi, Amarnath and the Char Dham circuit. It also runs helicopter tourism, private charters, aerial work (geophysical and LiDAR surveys, external load), defence support, aviation consultancy, and in-house helicopter maintenance. The fleet is built around Airbus H125 (AS350 B3) single-engine helicopters, suited to high-altitude flying.
In FY26, 96% of revenue came from charter and pilgrimage services, with the rest from ground handling and landing income, royalty income and other operations.
Key numbers (audited, ₹ crore)
| Metric | FY25 | FY26 | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue from operations | 132.2 | 115.2 | Route closures (next section) |
| Operating profit (EBITDA) | 20.5 | 18.0 | Held up despite lower revenue |
| EBITDA margin | 15.5% | 15.6% | Unchanged |
| Helicopter hire (lease) charges | 26.6 | 15.4 | Less leasing |
| Depreciation | 5.1 | 10.2 | More owned helicopters |
| Finance cost | 2.6 | 4.4 | Loans for the fleet |
| Profit after tax | 3.7 | 2.5 | |
| Helicopters & parts (gross block) | 77.7 | 121.6 | Plus ₹30.3 cr more under acquisition |
| Net worth | 39.0 | 49.8 | Equity raised in FY26 |
| Total borrowings | 32.7 | 64.8 | Fleet purchases, working capital |
2. Why FY26 revenue fell
The 13% revenue decline came almost entirely from charter and pilgrimage services (₹126.5 cr to ₹111.1 cr). Three events outside the company's control hit its most important routes in the same year:
- Amarnath Yatra ran without helicopters. After the April 2025 Pahalgam attack, the J&K government declared all Amarnath routes a no-flying zone for the 2025 yatra, so no helicopter shuttle operated at all. HHSL had reportedly secured the Amarnath shuttle contract for 2025–2027.
- Vaishno Devi was shut for 22 days. A landslide on the route on 26 August 2025 led the Shrine Board to suspend the yatra, cancel all helicopter bookings and refund passengers until it reopened in mid-September.
- J&K tourism slowed after Pahalgam, weighing on charter and tourism demand in the region.
3. From leased to owned helicopters
Historically, HHSL leased part of its fleet, paying a hire charge for every helicopter it did not own. Over FY25–FY26 it moved to owning: helicopter assets rose from ₹48.4 cr to ₹81.6 cr (gross), with a further ₹30.3 cr of aircraft under acquisition. Hire charges fell from ₹26.6 cr to ₹15.4 cr.
Why owning is better over time
- Lease rent never ends; a loan does. A lease is paid for as long as the helicopter is used. A purchase loan is repaid in 5–7 years, after which the helicopter keeps earning with no rent or EMI attached.
- The helicopter keeps its value. The company depreciates helicopters over 20 years, and well-maintained aircraft retain resale value. A leased helicopter builds no asset for shareholders.
- Depreciation is front-loaded. HHSL uses the written-down value method, which charges the highest depreciation in the first years. FY26 profit therefore carries the heaviest charge; it falls each year after.
- Control over deployment and maintenance. Owned aircraft can be moved between pilgrimage, charter and aerial-work contracts as demand shifts, and maintained in-house to the company's own schedule.
4. How IPO money cuts interest cost
To fund the fleet and working capital, borrowings doubled to ₹64.8 cr in FY26. Much of this was taken late in the year, so FY26's ₹4.4 cr interest cost understates the full-year burden. Based on the rates disclosed for each loan in the audited accounts:
| Debt at 31 March 2026 | Amount (₹ cr) | Avg. rate | Annual interest (₹ cr) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Secured loans (banks, NBFCs, overdraft) | 42.3 | ~11% | ~4.7 |
| Unsecured working-capital loans | 22.2 | ~18% | ~4.0 |
| Total | 64.4 | ~13.5% | ~8.7 |
| Of which, loans at 14% or more | 37.3 | ~16.7% | ~6.3 |
How we calculated this
For every loan in the borrowing schedule (Note 5 of the audited accounts), annual interest = amount outstanding × interest rate. Adding these up gives each bucket's interest, and dividing by the bucket's total outstanding gives its weighted average rate, so larger loans count more.
| Lender (₹ lakh) | Outstanding | Rate | Annual interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Secured loans | |||
| Yes Bank – fixed asset loans (4) | 2,049.57 | 8.25–9.25% | 183.23 |
| Yes Bank – WCTL | 67.71 | 9.25% | 6.26 |
| InCred Finance | 1,382.63 | 14.50% | 200.48 |
| Trustedge Capital | 200.00 | 16.25% | 32.50 |
| Yes Bank – overdraft against FD | 455.00 | 8.75% | 39.81 |
| Vehicle loans (7) | 73.49 | 8.55–10% | 6.77 |
| Secured total | 4,228.40 | 11.1% | 469.05 |
| Unsecured loans | |||
| Indresh Financial Services | 400.00 | 30.00% | 120.00 |
| ICICI | 151.11 | 14.50% | 21.91 |
| Oxyzo | 127.90 | 14.50% | 18.55 |
| Kotak | 119.52 | 14.50% | 17.33 |
| Tata Capital | 77.80 | 15.61% | 12.14 |
| Neo Growth | 75.00 | 17.50% | 13.12 |
| 34 other NBFC and bank loans | 1,263.87 | 13.75–18.25% | 198.24 |
| Unsecured total | 2,215.20 | 18.1% | 401.29 |
| All loans | 6,443.60 | 13.5% | 870.34 |
Example: Secured average = 469.05 ÷ 4,228.40 = 11.1%. Loans at 14% or more (InCred, Trustedge, Indresh and most unsecured loans) total ₹3,733.9 lakh with ₹625.4 lakh interest, an average of 16.7%. Figures use balances at 31 March 2026; as EMIs reduce principal, actual interest over the next year will be somewhat lower unless new loans are added. Loan-wise total is ₹64.4 cr against ₹64.8 cr in the balance sheet, as a few scanned rows were not legible.
Using IPO proceeds to repay the costliest loans first saves interest directly:
| High-cost debt repaid from IPO | Interest saved per year (pre-tax) | Compared with FY26 profit before tax (₹3.7 cr) |
|---|---|---|
| ₹20 cr | ~₹3.3 cr | Nearly doubles it |
| ₹30 cr | ~₹5.0 cr | More than doubles it |
| ₹37 cr (all 14%+ debt) | ~₹6.3 cr | Roughly 2.7× |
5. MRO: a new revenue line beyond pilgrimage
The company is working to set up an MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) business with Airbus Helicopters. An MRO keeps helicopters airworthy through scheduled inspections, component overhauls, repairs and spare parts, and it can serve other operators' aircraft as well as HHSL's own.
Why it reduces dependence on yatra seasons
- A different customer base. Today HHSL earns only when its own helicopters fly. An MRO earns from other operators' helicopters too, including those flying for state governments, corporates and other charter companies.
- Year-round, not seasonal. Helicopters need inspections and overhauls whether or not a yatra is open. FY26 showed how a security ban or landslide can stop flying revenue; maintenance demand continues.
- Already an MRO for its own fleet. HHSL already carries out maintenance, repair and overhaul on its own helicopters in-house, with its pilots and engineers on the payroll since April 2025. The capability, team and tooling exist today; the new business opens them to other operators.
- A large addressable fleet. The H125/AS350 family is among the most widely flown civil helicopters in India, giving an Airbus-aligned MRO a ready pool of customers.
- Better use of existing capacity. Serving outside helicopters keeps engineers and hangar capacity busy in the off-season, when its own fleet flies less, turning a fixed cost into a revenue earner.
6. Valuation at ₹180 per share
The company has 1,11,04,900 equity shares, plus 69 compulsorily convertible preference shares that convert into 5,27,436 equity shares. On a fully diluted basis that is about 1.16 crore shares.
| Metric | Value | How it is calculated |
|---|---|---|
| Market capitalisation | ₹209.4 cr | 1,16,32,336 shares × ₹180 |
| Enterprise value | ₹264.4 cr | Market cap + debt ₹64.8 cr − cash & deposits ₹9.8 cr |
| EV / EBITDA (FY26) | 14.7× | ₹264.4 cr ÷ ₹18.0 cr |
| EV / EBITDA (FY25) | 12.9× | ₹264.4 cr ÷ ₹20.5 cr |
| EV / Revenue (FY26) | 2.3× | ₹264.4 cr ÷ ₹115.2 cr |
| Price / Book | 4.2× | ₹209.4 cr ÷ net worth ₹49.8 cr |
| P/E (FY26 reported) | 85× | ₹209.4 cr ÷ PAT ₹2.5 cr |
The FY26 P/E looks high because profit was weighed down by route closures and by depreciation and interest on the newly owned fleet. EV/EBITDA, which looks through financing and depreciation, is a fairer measure for an asset-heavy aviation business. As IPO proceeds reduce high-cost debt (see section 4), the interest saving flows directly into profit, lowering the effective P/E.
7. Points to keep in mind
- GST dispute. The audited accounts disclose a ₹65.3 cr GST demand (18% vs the 5% applied on services to the Vaishno Devi Shrine Board) and a ₹6.5 cr service tax matter. The company considers its position tenable on legal advice, and management indicates the GST matter is close to settlement. The final outcome should be confirmed.
- Amarnath 2026. Helicopter services were again suspended for the 2026 Amarnath Yatra on security grounds, so recovery in FY27 relies on Vaishno Devi, Char Dham and other routes, with Amarnath's return as upside.
- Route concentration. Revenue remains concentrated in a few pilgrimage routes exposed to weather and security decisions, which the MRO business is designed to offset.
- IPO and MRO details. The IPO filing is expected in the next few months; its size, price and use of proceeds, and the MRO's investment, approvals and timeline, should be confirmed with management.