The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →HFCL and Tejas Networks both supply equipment and solutions used in telecom networks, but they are not the same kind of business. HFCL combines optical-fiber products, telecom and defence equipment, and EPC and system-integration work. Tejas Networks is more focused on designing and manufacturing wireline and wireless networking products. Their reported FY26 order figures also measure different things, so a larger headline order-book number is not, by itself, evidence that one company is stronger.
The clearest reported contrast is financial: HFCL reported positive FY26 profit, while Tejas Networks reported a steep fall in revenue and a loss. That comparison needs context, including the different debt definitions disclosed and the fact that HFCL’s defence order figure includes orders tied to a proposed acquisition. The figures below are company disclosures, not an independent assessment of product quality, market share or future returns.
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What each company does
The comparison starts with business mix. HFCL describes four business lines in its April 2026 investor presentation: optical fiber, optical fiber cable and connectivity solutions; defence equipment; telecom equipment; and EPC and system integration. Tejas Networks describes itself as a designer, developer, manufacturer and seller of telecom and networking products. The businesses overlap in network equipment, but HFCL’s disclosed activities extend further into cable manufacturing and project execution, while Tejas’s portfolio is organized around network products.
HFCL: products plus project execution
HFCL’s optical-fiber and connectivity activity includes OFC and passive connectivity solutions. The company also lists data-center connectivity, fixed-wireless customer-premises equipment, Wi-Fi access points, unlicensed-band radios and MPLS routers. Its defence equipment portfolio includes thermal cameras and drone-detection radar. EPC and system integration adds a different kind of exposure: executing telecom, public-network, government and defence network projects, rather than only selling a discrete product.
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This breadth can mean exposure to several demand sources, but it also makes a single company-wide order figure harder to interpret. Cable supply, equipment sales and EPC contracts have different delivery schedules and working-capital requirements. The cited disclosures do not provide enough comparable segment-level cash-flow or margin detail to establish which activity contributes most to profit or cash generation.
Tejas Networks: wireline and wireless networking products
Tejas’s disclosed product range includes 4G/5G radio access, fiber broadband access, optical transmission, Ethernet and IP/MPLS switching and routing, satellite communications, and broadcast networking. Its stated customer groups include telecom operators, internet service providers, utilities, defence organizations and government agencies. The company says its products are deployed in more than 500 carrier networks across over 75 countries; that is a company-reported deployment footprint, not an independent measure of market share or product performance.
Tejas identifies BSNL 4G/5G and BharatNet among its projects. During FY26 it reported additional BharatNet packages and described itself as a leading supplier of IP/MPLS routers for BharatNet Phase III. It also said it was selected as router OEM for the largest number of Phase III packages announced in FY26 and had shipped more than 17,000 routers for deployment across nine states and five union territories. These are distinct milestones: selection, shipment and deployment do not necessarily mean the same thing as recognized revenue or collected cash.
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| Comparison point | HFCL | Tejas Networks |
|---|---|---|
| Disclosed business structure | Four lines: OF, OFC and connectivity; defence equipment; telecom equipment; EPC and system integration. HFCL Investor Presentation 2026. | Designs, develops, manufactures and sells wireline and wireless telecom and networking products. Tejas Networks investor materials. |
| Illustrative product areas | OFC, passive connectivity, data-center solutions, fixed-wireless CPE, Wi-Fi access points, radios, MPLS routers, thermal cameras and drone-detection radar. HFCL Investor Presentation 2026. | 4G/5G RAN, fiber broadband access, optical transmission, Ethernet and IP/MPLS networking, satellite communications and broadcast networking. Tejas Networks investor materials. |
| Project-execution exposure | Explicit EPC and system-integration business for telecom, public, government and defence networks. | Product deployments and network programs are disclosed; a directly comparable EPC business figure is not stated in the cited materials. |
| Reported order-book presentation | Four separate business buckets in the FY26 presentation; one includes proposed-acquisition-related defence orders. | One reported order-book figure at March 31, 2026, with a later Q1 FY27 figure also disclosed. |
The table describes reported business structures, not comparable segment profitability. The cited materials do not establish an apples-to-apples split of each company’s revenue, gross margin, backlog quality or cash conversion across these activities.
How to read the order figures
Order books are snapshots of reported demand, not a promise that all the amount will become revenue in a particular period. Timing, delivery milestones, customer acceptance, contract terms, margins, cancellations and collection all matter. HFCL’s FY26 presentation separates its figures into four business buckets; Tejas reported a single number for a specific quarter end. Treating either company’s total as directly comparable to the other’s would conceal those differences.
HFCL’s FY26 order buckets
| HFCL business bucket | Reported order figure | What the disclosure says |
|---|---|---|
| OF, OFC and connectivity solutions | ₹13,483 crore | Includes ₹12,248 crore of export orders. HFCL Investor Presentation 2026. |
| Defence equipment | Approximately ₹2,230 crore | Includes ₹1,930 crore of export orders through a proposed aerospace business acquisition. The proposal-related component should not be presented as ordinary, completed consolidated backlog without that qualification. HFCL Investor Presentation 2026. |
| Telecom equipment | ₹804 crore | Reported as a separate order-book bucket. HFCL Investor Presentation 2026. |
| EPC and system integration | ₹6,620 crore | Reported as a separate order-book bucket. HFCL Investor Presentation 2026. |
HFCL also highlighted a ₹10,159 crore multi-year export OFC order as its largest single export OFC order. The presentation separately gives ₹13,483 crore for the OF/OFC/connectivity order book, including ₹12,248 crore in export orders. Do not add the highlighted contract to that order-book figure unless the company’s definition confirms it is excluded; the cited presentation does not establish that it is an additional amount.
The four business-bucket figures should remain in their own categories rather than being collapsed into a headline total for comparison with Tejas. In particular, the defence category has a specific acquisition qualification, and the OFC headline contract may already be represented in the category’s reported order book.
Tejas Networks’ dated order-book figures
In its Q4 and FY26 results release dated April 15, 2026, Tejas Networks CFO Sumit Dhingra reported an order book of ₹1,514 crore at March 31, 2026, up 49% year over year. The release also reported that Tejas had won additional BharatNet packages, shipped routers for deployment, received its first international commercial order for 4G/5G wireless products, and secured a 5G Massive MIMO radio supply contract with NEC. The company separately described successful trials of 5G products for an operator in the Americas. An order, a shipment, a deployment and a trial are not interchangeable evidence of completed sales or cash collection.
Tejas’s investor page later listed a ₹1,529 crore order book for Q1 FY27, alongside Q1 FY27 revenue of ₹402 crore and a PAT loss of ₹202 crore. These are later-period figures than the FY26 year-end measures. They should not be spliced into a same-date comparison with HFCL’s FY26 presentation or treated as a comprehensive update to both companies’ backlogs.
Later HFCL order announcements
HFCL announced an approximately ₹522.73 crore export OFC order on August 2, 2026, and an approximately ₹2,329 crore long-term OFC supply agreement on September 1, 2026. These are subsequent announcements, not a verified revised order-book total. The cited disclosure does not establish how much of either announcement had been delivered, recognized as revenue or collected by October 2026.
FY26 financial results and debt
The reported FY26 outcomes diverged sharply. HFCL’s investor page reported positive EBITDA and PAT. Tejas Networks’ April 15, 2026 results release reported a major decline in revenue from FY25 and a net loss. The figures are company-reported; they show what happened in the stated periods, but they do not by themselves explain why results changed or predict what follows.
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| Metric | HFCL FY26 | Tejas Networks FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue / total income | Total income ₹5,014.52 crore. HFCL FY26 investor highlights. | Net revenue ₹1,103 crore. Tejas Networks results release, April 15, 2026. |
| EBITDA | ₹826.75 crore; reported EBITDA margin 16.70%. HFCL FY26 investor highlights. | Not stated in the cited FY26 figures. |
| PAT | ₹329.44 crore; reported PAT margin 6.66%. HFCL FY26 investor highlights. | Loss of ₹909 crore. Tejas Networks results release, April 15, 2026. |
| EPS / ROCE | EPS ₹2.13; ROCE 11.04%. HFCL FY26 investor highlights. | Not stated in the cited FY26 figures. |
| Debt disclosure | Debt ₹1,713.37 crore; debt-equity ratio 0.35. HFCL FY26 investor highlights. The cited highlight does not label this as net or gross debt. | At March 31, 2026: net debt ₹3,531 crore, gross debt ₹4,035 crore and cash ₹505 crore. Tejas Networks results release, April 15, 2026. |
These debt figures are not defined on the same basis in the cited summaries. HFCL’s investor highlight gives “debt,” without specifying net or gross in the material cited here; Tejas explicitly reports net debt, gross debt and cash. A reader comparing leverage should check the companies’ full financial statements and consistent balance-sheet definitions rather than treating ₹1,713.37 crore and ₹3,531 crore as like-for-like values.
Tejas’s year-on-year swing
| Tejas Networks measure | FY25 | FY26 | Reported period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net revenue | ₹8,923 crore | ₹1,103 crore | Full financial years; Tejas Networks results release, April 15, 2026. |
| PAT | Profit of ₹447 crore | Loss of ₹909 crore | Full financial years; Tejas Networks results release, April 15, 2026. |
| Q4 net revenue | ₹1,907 crore in Q4 FY25 | ₹333 crore in Q4 FY26 | Fourth quarters; Tejas Networks results release, April 15, 2026. |
| Q4 PAT | Loss of ₹72 crore in Q4 FY25 | Loss of ₹211 crore in Q4 FY26 | Fourth quarters; Tejas Networks results release, April 15, 2026. |
The results establish the size and direction of the change, but the cited material does not establish a single cause. Project phasing, product mix and customer demand are relevant questions to examine in company filings and management commentary; they should not be substituted for an evidenced explanation. A large order book at year end does not erase the FY26 loss, just as the FY26 loss alone does not show whether subsequent orders will convert successfully.
What the disclosures do—and do not—show about traction
There are signs of commercial activity in both companies’ disclosures, but the evidence has different forms. HFCL’s figures emphasize the value of orders across manufacturing, defence and EPC categories, including export OFC orders. Tejas’s FY26 narrative includes BharatNet router selection and shipments, international wireless commercial activity, an NEC supply contract and product trials. Those are useful facts, but they are not a common measure of recurring sales, customer diversification or sustainable margins.
Tejas reported that its first international commercial order for 4G/5G wireless products was secured during FY26, and it cited a 5G Massive MIMO radio supply contract with NEC. The company also described successful product trials for an operator in the Americas. The first two are commercial order disclosures; a trial is not a commercial deployment. The release does not, in the cited information, state the value or revenue timing of these wireless developments.
HFCL’s September 2026 long-term OFC supply agreement and August 2026 export order show further announced demand after FY26. They do not, without delivery and collection evidence, establish recognized sales or cash generation. Nor do the cited sources provide a single updated HFCL total order book that can be aligned with Tejas’s Q1 FY27 snapshot.
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Order conversion, margin and cash collection
For either company, order-book value is only the starting point. Investors and business readers need to understand when work is due, what conditions trigger delivery or acceptance, whether orders carry advance payments, and what receivables and inventory are required to execute them. A cable supply contract, telecom equipment shipment and EPC project can have very different cash profiles. The cited summaries do not provide a directly comparable schedule of delivery milestones, advances, receivables or working capital for the two companies.
Customer and program concentration
Both companies are exposed to large institutional and government-linked network programs. Tejas specifically identifies BSNL and BharatNet among its projects, and reports router activity associated with BharatNet Phase III. HFCL describes public-network, government and defence EPC work alongside telecom and export manufacturing. The cited materials do not quantify customer concentration on a comparable basis, so they do not support a claim that either company is more dependent on a particular buyer. Check annual-report customer disclosures and segment details before making that judgment.
Execution and product mix
HFCL’s wide portfolio spans OFC manufacturing and EPC/system integration as well as equipment. That makes capacity utilization, contract execution and the mix between product supply and project work important questions. Tejas’s large FY25-to-FY26 revenue and profit swing makes project timing, product mix and customer demand especially important to investigate. The available figures show the swing; they do not establish one definitive cause. Product launches, awards and shipments should be assessed separately from their eventual effect on margins and cash.
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Leverage and profitability
HFCL reported ₹329.44 crore of FY26 PAT and debt of ₹1,713.37 crore, with a debt-equity ratio of 0.35. Tejas reported a ₹909 crore FY26 PAT loss and ₹3,531 crore of net debt at March 31, 2026, alongside ₹4,035 crore gross debt and ₹505 crore cash. The disclosed measures differ in definition and period presentation; the more useful analysis is to examine each company’s operating cash flow, interest costs, maturities, working-capital needs and subsequent quarterly results on a consistent basis. The cited headline figures alone do not answer those questions.
Acquisition and expansion assumptions
HFCL’s defence order book includes ₹1,930 crore of export orders through a proposed aerospace business acquisition. That qualification matters: the figure depends on a proposed transaction and should be distinguished from backlog attributable to an already completed business. Tejas’s international wireless developments range from commercial orders and a supply contract to trials. Commercial wins should not be conflated with trials, and neither company’s disclosed announcements alone establish the size or profitability of future international business.
Technology and competition
Telecom equipment demand evolves with network standards, operator investment cycles and technology transitions. Tejas’s materials discuss 4G/5G RAN products, 5G wireless activity, 6G and Open RAN; HFCL’s presentation spans network equipment, fiber and connectivity offerings. The cited sources do not provide independent comparative tests, market-share data or product-performance benchmarks. It is therefore not possible from these disclosures to conclude that one has a technological lead or stronger competitive position across the full portfolio.
A practical way to compare the two
Rather than rank the companies by one order-book total, make the comparison in layers and keep dates and definitions visible:
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- Match the business to the question. For a broad manufacturing and project-execution profile, examine HFCL’s four reported businesses separately. For a product-focused wireline and wireless networking profile, examine Tejas’s product families and project disclosures.
- Use dated order snapshots. Keep HFCL’s FY26 presentation buckets distinct from Tejas’s ₹1,514 crore order book at March 31, 2026. Treat Tejas’s later ₹1,529 crore Q1 FY27 figure and HFCL’s August and September 2026 announcements as later updates, not as equivalent full backlog totals.
- Check what is conditional or potentially included elsewhere. Account for the proposed-acquisition qualification on HFCL’s defence orders. Do not add HFCL’s highlighted ₹10,159 crore OFC contract to the OFC/connectivity order-book figure unless inclusion is clarified.
- Separate the order stages. Record whether an item is an announced order, selection, shipment, deployment, trial, revenue recognition or cash receipt. These stages answer different questions.
- Compare profitability and financing with consistent definitions. Read HFCL’s positive FY26 PAT alongside its disclosed debt and ratio; read Tejas’s FY26 loss alongside its net debt, gross debt and cash. Then consult full statements for comparable debt, cash-flow, interest and working-capital measures.
- Test concentration and execution risk. Review customer concentration, segment revenue and margins, contract duration, delivery schedules, receivables and advances in the companies’ fuller filings before assigning quality to a headline order number.
That process does not produce a stock recommendation. The disclosed facts point to different profiles: HFCL’s reported FY26 profitability and diversified business lines on one side, and Tejas’s concentrated networking-product orientation, major FY26 downturn and subsequent product and program activity on the other. Whether either profile is preferable depends on execution, cash conversion, customer demand and financial developments beyond the headline figures summarized here.
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