Dixon eyes a spot among world's top 5 electronics makers, bets beyond phones

Dixon Technologies is aiming to break into the ranks of the world's five largest electronics contract manufacturers within a decade, betting on components, IT hardware and data centre equipment to lift margins beyond its mainstay smartphone assembly business, Chairman and founder Sunil Vachani told Bloomberg Television.

The Noida-based company, which currently ranks outside the global top 10 in an industry led by Taiwan's Foxconn, wants to enter the top 10 within five years, Vachani said in an interview in Mumbai.

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"The vision is very clear," Vachani, 57, said. "We need to be in the top ten EMS global rankings in the next five years and the top five in the next 10 years," he added, referring to electronics manufacturing services.

Push into components

Dixon is looking to make higher-margin components such as camera modules while expanding its smartphone and laptop production, Vachani told Bloomberg.

Dixon's management said on the company's earnings call that it plans to scale annual camera module capacity through its subsidiary Q Tech from 70 million units to 180-190 million units over the next 15 to 18 months. Trials at its display facility are slated to begin in the third quarter of FY27, with mass production expected in the fourth quarter, the management added.

IT hardware and data centres

Dixon is also moving into servers and defence manufacturing, Vachani told Bloomberg. The company has partnered with a Taiwanese firm to manufacture optical equipment used in data centres and will open a second IT hardware plant in late November, he said.

"India imports IT hardware worth almost $15 billion," Vachani said. "That's going to be a huge area for growth for the company."

Vivo venture cleared

Smartphones account for over 90% of Dixon's revenue. The company this year won government approval for a smartphone manufacturing venture with the Indian unit of China's Vivo.

According to the company, Dixon will hold 51% in the venture and Vivo the remaining 49%. The approval came after a review under Press Note 3, which governs investments from countries sharing a land border with India. The venture is scheduled to begin operations in the third quarter of FY27, the company said.

Excluding the Vivo venture, Dixon expects FY27 mobile volumes to remain flat to positive at 32-33 million units, despite a double-digit contraction in the domestic smartphone market, its management said.

Margins under pressure

The expansion comes as Dixon's core business faces margin pressure. In its results for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, filed with the stock exchanges on July 31, the company reported a 21% year-on-year rise in revenue from operations to ₹15,547.66 crore, while net profit attributable to owners rose to ₹663.42 crore from ₹225 crore a year earlier.

The profit jump was largely one-off. According to Dixon's investor presentation, the quarter included a fair value gain of ₹519 crore on its 2.38% stake in Aditya Infotech. Excluding this, EBITDA fell 2% to ₹472 crore and the margin narrowed 80 basis points to 3%. The company attributed the margin pressure in its mobile business partly to the end of benefits under the first mobile PLI scheme.

Also read: Dixon Technologies shares decline 4% despite 156% YoY spike in Q1 profit

Dixon's shares surged after its 2017 listing but have lost momentum as investors weigh its ability to compete with larger global rivals. The stock has fallen 28% over the past year.

From rented shed to 'India's Foxconn'

Vachani founded Dixon three decades ago with borrowed money in a rented shed on the outskirts of New Delhi. The company now manufactures smartphones, washing machines and televisions for brands including Motorola, Xiaomi, HP and Samsung, earning it the label of India's Foxconn.

Its ambitions mirror the government's push to draw manufacturing to India through production-linked subsidies. While the country has made early gains in attracting brands such as Apple and Samsung, it still trails manufacturing powerhouses China and Taiwan.