Raymond shares rise 4% after former BEL chief joins defence business

Raymond shares rose nearly 4% on Monday after the company appointed former Bharat Electronics chief Bhanu Prakash Srivastava as the chief executive officer (CEO) of its defence business. The stock gained nearly 4% to hit an intraday high of Rs 632 on the NSE. It later gave up some gains and was last trading at Rs 622.5, up 2.4%.

Raymond said in an exchange filing that Srivastava has been appointed CEO-Defence as the company looks to expand in the defence and aerospace sector.

Srivastava has nearly 40 years of experience at Bharat Electronics (BEL), where he worked across defence technologies, programme execution and organisation building. He also served as chairman and managing director of BEL.

At Raymond, he will lead the company’s defence business. He will be responsible for its strategy, operations and growth plans.

During his tenure as chairman and managing director of BEL, Srivastava oversaw the company’s market value increase from about Rs 51,000 crore to Rs 1.5 lakh crore. BEL also secured more than Rs 55,000 crore in new orders and launched over 100 products during this period.

He has worked on programmes in radar systems, naval and sonar systems, missiles, electronic warfare and tactical communications. He also supported indigenous defence capabilities and helped set up AI incubation centres.Raymond said Srivastava will focus on building its long-term defence strategy. The company plans to expand its engineering capabilities into defence electronics, software, systems integration and related aerospace and automotive technologies.Raymond Chairman and Managing Director Gautam Singhania said India’s defence sector is entering a new phase of growth and self-reliance. He said this creates opportunities for companies with strong engineering capabilities.

Singhania said Srivastava’s experience in handling complex defence programmes and building large organisations makes him the right person to lead Raymond’s defence business.

Srivastava said he is joining Raymond at an important point in its growth journey. He said India’s focus on local defence manufacturing opens up strong opportunities for the company.

He said Raymond will look to build technology-led solutions, form strategic partnerships and create a defence business that can compete globally.