BRUNNTHAL (dpa-AFX) - The Indian Ministry of Defense increasingly relies on fuel cell supplier SFC Energy to supply energy to its units. SFC is to supply 900 stationary methanol fuel cell generators in cooperation with an Indian partner company. The power sources will be produced in India. The initial order volume amounts to more than €17.5 million, SFC announced in Brunnthal on Tuesday.

At the beginning of March, SFC had already received a similarly large order from the Indian Defense Forces, which had given the share a boost, and it also rallied strongly on Tuesday. In the morning, the SDax share was up more than six percent, heading for the 25-euro mark. The SFC share had last seen this level in mid-February. However, the previous high for the year, which was reached at the beginning of February, is still somewhat higher.

According to SFC, the order from the Indian government includes the delivery of the systems over a period of one year and a five-year service contract. The delivered fuel cells will then be used to power sensors, surveillance and communication units of infantry and special forces units.

According to industry expert Malte Schaumann of analyst firm Warburg Research, the order, in combination with the already high order backlog at the end of the first quarter, should be the basis for SFC to reach the upper end of its sales forecast for fiscal 2023. Management is targeting 2023 earnings of between €103 million and €111 million, up from just over €85 million last year. SFC's order backlog at the end of March was a good 81.6 million euros./lew/mne/tih