Version 1: Raymond, the suits brand, now earns a fifth of its income from aircraft parts

Its aerospace and defence business grew 72% to a record Rs 139 crore in July to September, after Raymond split off its clothing and property arms.

Say the name Raymond and most people think of a wedding suit or a crisp shirt fabric. Now picture this instead: wing parts for a fighter plane. On Tuesday, 27 October 2026, Raymond filed its results for July to September, and they showed something surprising. Its aerospace and defence business now brings in about a fifth of the company's total income. A year ago, the same business brought in about 14%.

So how did a clothing name over 100 years old end up making aircraft parts? The answer is a story about how a company can slowly change what the company does.

What did the new numbers say?

The aerospace and defence business earned revenue of Rs 139 crore in the July to September quarter. That is up 72% from Rs 81 crore in the same quarter last year, and up from Rs 123 crore in April to June. Raymond called the figure an all-time high.

Revenue is simply the money a business collects from selling things. Think of a samosa stall: if it sells 100 samosas at Rs 20 each, its revenue for the day is Rs 2,000, before paying for oil, potatoes or rent.

The business also made an operating profit, called EBITDA, of Rs 29 crore. EBITDA is the money left from running the business before paying interest on loans, taxes and the cost of machines wearing out. Rs 29 crore out of Rs 139 crore gives a margin of 21%. A margin is how much of every Rs 100 of sales is left as profit. Here, about Rs 21 of every Rs 100 stays with the business.

A counter rising to Rs 139 crore, the aerospace and defence revenue for July to September 2026 — Aerospace and defence revenue hit a record Rs 139 crore in July to September, up 72%.

And the whole company?

Across all of Raymond, total income rose 21% to Rs 683 crore. The consolidated results, which add up the parent company and the companies it owns, show total income of Rs 68,322 lakh, the same Rs 683 crore written another way. Revenue from operations rose 24% to Rs 655.16 crore.

Profit grew faster. Net profit, the money left after every cost and tax, rose 130% to Rs 32 crore, from Rs 13.9 crore a year earlier, according to Business Today. The board approved these numbers at a meeting on 27 October 2026.

Aerospace is still not the biggest part. The larger engineering business makes precision parts and auto components. Its revenue rose 15% to Rs 471 crore, helped by exports of parts for hybrid cars and by global firms looking beyond China for suppliers. Exports make up over 65% of this business.

Two panels comparing the aerospace share of Raymond's income, about 14% a year ago and about a fifth now — Aerospace and defence went from about 14% of total income to about a fifth in one year.

Why is the aerospace part growing so fast?

Raymond gave three reasons. Big global plane makers are producing more, so they need more parts. Raymond has added new products. And it has moved towards making complex units in India for large international suppliers. Here a unit means a bigger chunk of a machine made of many small parts fitted together, like a full bicycle gear set instead of one single gear.

The company also said easing supply chain problems and its added factory space leave the company in a good position to deliver on a growing order book. An order book is the list of orders customers have already signed but which are not yet delivered. It is like a tailor holding 50 sewing orders for the wedding season: the money has not come in yet, but the work is lined up.

Earlier, the company disclosed an aerospace order book of more than Rs 5,960 crore spread over 10 years. Aircraft programmes run for many years, so orders stretch far ahead.

Chairman and Managing Director Gautam Hari Singhania said the company is "converting our robust order book into sustainable, high-margin value" for shareholders.

From a woollen mill to wing parts

Raymond began in 1925 as a small woollen mill near Thane Creek. Over the years, it grew into a famous fabric and suit brand with hundreds of shops across India.

Then came the big change. In November 2023, Raymond said it would buy a 59.25% stake in Maini Precision Products for Rs 682 crore. A stake is a share of ownership. Buying 59.25% is like buying more than half of a friend's lemonade stand: once you own more than half, you get to make the big decisions. This deal took Raymond into aerospace, defence and electric vehicle parts.

Next, Raymond split up. This is called a demerger: one company breaks into separate companies, each with its own owners' shares, a bit like a big joint family deciding to run two shops instead of one. The clothing business began trading on its own as Raymond Lifestyle in September 2024. The real estate business was demerged from 1 May 2025. What is left in Raymond Ltd today is an engineering company.

Four steps showing Raymond's change: a woollen mill in 1925, buying Maini Precision in 2023, the lifestyle split in 2024 and the realty split in 2025 — Four steps took Raymond from fabrics to engineering.

What kind of work is this?

In September 2026, Raymond's aerospace arm, JK Maini Global Aerospace, won orders to supply wing and fuselage structures for a fighter aircraft programme to an Indian plane maker. The fuselage is the main body of a plane, the long tube where the pilot sits. The same month, the arm got a yearly contract worth about Rs 33 crore to make over 300 part types for several aircraft.

This video from Business Today looks at the company's new aerospace plant plan in Andhra Pradesh.

Watch on YouTube

What comes next?

Raymond is building new plants in Andhra Pradesh: about Rs 510 crore for aerospace and about Rs 430 crore for precision parts and auto components. In the first six months of this year, the company spent about Rs 76 crore on plants, machines and similar long-term things, nearly double the Rs 39 crore spent a year ago.

Why should a young reader care?

First, this is a lesson in how companies change. A brand known for suits used one big purchase and two splits to become a maker of plane and car parts. The change did not happen in one day: the deal came in 2023, the splits in 2024 and 2025, and the record aerospace quarter in 2026.

Second, the work is being done in India for buyers abroad. Raymond said part of its growth came from making complex units in India for large international suppliers, and over 65% of its precision parts business is exports. Its new plants in Andhra Pradesh are meant to add more of this factory capacity.

And yes, the Raymond suit in a wedding wardrobe still exists. It just comes from Raymond Lifestyle now, a separate company.

As it was first published

Raymond, the suits brand, now earns a fifth of its income from aircraft parts