Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the HeidelbergCement India Limited Q1 FY 2023 earnings conference call hosted by PhillipCapital (India) Private Limited. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star, then zero on your touch-tone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Vaibhav Agarwal from PhillipCapital (India) Private Limited. Thank you and over to you, sir.
Yeah, thank you, Lizan. Good afternoon, everyone. On behalf of PhillipCapital (India) Private Limited, we welcome you to the Q1 FY 2023 call of HeidelbergCement India Limited. On the call, we have with us Mr. Jamshed Naval Cooper, Managing Director, and Mr. Anil Sharma, Chief Financial Officer of HeidelbergCement India Limited. I would like to mention on behalf of HeidelbergCement India Limited and its management that certain statements that may be made or discussed on this conference call may be forward-looking statements related to future developments and the current performance. These statements may be subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and other important factors which may cause the actual developments and results to differ materially from the statements made.
HeidelbergCement India Limited and the management of the company are in no obligation to update or alter these forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise. Also, HeidelbergCement India Limited has uploaded a copy of the Q1 FY 2023 presentation on its stock exchange list and its website. Participants are requested to download a copy of the presentation from these websites. I will now hand over the floor to the management of HeidelbergCement India Limited for their opening remarks, which will be followed by an introductory Q&A. Thank you and over to you, Cooper, sir.
Thank you, Vaibhav, and thank you, everyone who has joined this conference for today. While you have downloaded our presentation, I will start by saying that it was one of the tough quarters for the industry. I'm sure for others also it would be. For us, it has been mainly because, I would say, the tune was played here by cost. So it has been a very costly quarter, I would say.
However, nevertheless, let me run through the presentation, some of the key points in the presentation which are there with you. So capacity utilization, as usual, we try to keep it at a very high level. So we operated close to about 72% capacity utilization, which I would say under such a difficult quarter, operating at this level was a good task done by the team. As a company, we operate 100% blended.
So on a carbon footprint, on a sustainability, we are on a very high note. We are close to about 511 kg per ton of cement. And we started our last time also, we said that we are sourcing renewable power. So in our journey to have more and more power under renewable and the green power, we got this 15 megawatts ticking in, ticking in from March. And now in Jhansi plant, we are having this power availability. Very happy to inform you that for the first time, highest-ever share of green power in this company has been 30%, which is, I would say, a very, very welcome move of the company going in the direction which leads this company, puts it ahead on the curve. We have, again, migrated.
Last time also, we mentioned that we are migrating to a lower corporate tax, and now it is a lower tax for this year. This has been accounted for while we are making our planning and while we are doing our results. Net cash in bank is close to about INR 2.2 billion. So we have a good reserve here. We continue to operate on negative working capital, which has always been one of the USPs in the market.
Despite a very strong pushback on the liquidity side, the team has been able to try to collect the money on time. Although there is a little bit of debt has increased, but sometimes it happens in certain weak months. But yes, overall, I would say it's good progress on the management side of the team has done relatively a good job.
Moving to slide number four, which is on page four, as I mentioned, blended, we are 100% CO2. We are 511 kgs per ton. And another bright spot, the silver line here, is that we have water positivity of 4.4. We are working to improve it further. And possibly, if this year the monsoons are good, we will be able to harvest far more water and improve this trajectory from 4.4 and upwards.
On the CSR side, we have been responsible, or we have been you should say that we have been able to be a change agent for the lives of about 32,000 people. And the journey goes on, and we keep contributing because we believe that industries cannot survive or exist in societies that fail. On the green power side, I mentioned to you, it is the highest ever we did 30% share of green power.
Moving to slide 5, this is a snapshot of how this 30% contribution is distributed. So it is in solar Jhansi [up] to 15 MW. In Narsinghgarh, with the help of 12 MW WHR and 5.5 MW solar plants, we are able to get a good respite in terms of power from the grid. Our grid content has reduced. Same thing in Ammasandra. It has been now a story for more than two years, two and a half, three years, where we have been operating close to 90% of our power is green power. On the right-hand side, you can see how our growth trajectory has been. One good point is that this quarter, we have achieved 30%. Coming to the results, which are on page six, whatever we did, okay, we tried to improve our pricing power.
We did every possible thing to improve our revenue on the revenue side. But on the cost side, the fuel and power, this has impacted us adversely. And our total cost has gone up by 24%. And on the side of realization, we have been able to take out about 13% out of it. So still, there is a lot of work to catch up. It is unfortunate that the markets have remained soft for reasons best known to the market. There was a good demand some period, but in the month of May, it has been a very bad month. In the month of June, it has improved. July, it seems to be a little better. But now let's see how the monsoons pan out.
Giving you a waterfall of how our EBITDA has got impacted or how the waterfall has happened, you can see that our EBITDA per ton was about 1,100 last June. We got added on price, and you can see on the right-hand side, in the middle of it, which is the center of drawing attention, which is about INR 620, the cover was taken away totally by power and fuel. The other items, you can see a little bit here, but then these are some of them, I would say, they are not critical ones. They are one-off ones. So that is not a major concern for us because there was some shutdown and some small, small things happened. So that's not too much of a concern for us that will come back to normal.
But this power and fuel will remain our question of concern for us, and I'm sure it will for the other industry members also. On page eight, you can see that we are on a net cash of INR 2.2 billion. As of now, after the debt is being paid, it will be taking its own time. It will be paid up. On the right-hand side, the breakup has been given, how the cash flow is going to go out from 2023 to 2026 and how it is going to be repaid. But today, as of now, the bank balance is about INR 4.58 billion, which is a good balance which we are sitting on. Coming on slide number nine, you can see that our road volumes are about 45%.
This time, you will see a little change in the coal because till February, the coal prices were lower than petcoke, and now petcoke prices are lower than coal. So we had to rechange, rejig the whole fuel mix, and now we have come back to on coal. Coal is 38% and petcoke is more. Coming to blended, our premium cement, happy to say that there is a 6% growth on year-on-year, which is very much in line with the trajectory we have planned. And we want to continue growing till we reach a reasonable amount. As of now, it is about 23% of our trade is premium brands. And about 83% of our trade has been in trade. 83% of our volumes are being in trade, and balance is in non-trade.
Non-trade and trade, I will be very happy to inform you that earlier, the difference between trade and non-trade was more. We have been able to narrow the gap. So to that extent, there is some merit in selling a little bit of non-trade, a little more. So another thing which I want to inform you, which you might have heard or you might have not heard, which is on page 10, this is a very unique initiative which we have launched probably the first time in the cement industry anywhere in the globe. I'm sure this has been this project we took up because to address the dilemmas of the cement consumers. Let me, for those people who are not aware of it, elaborate a little.
Normally, in the Indian cement industry or later consumer, where a cement chief goes to buy a cement, first of all, when a consumer goes to buy cement, he is not aware of which are the authorized dealers because you find dealers are in small shacks, whether they are authorized, not authorized, where they are bringing cement from, and how much of spurious cement flows into the market is known to people.
They are often raised by the government, and they find some lookalike brands coming to the market, and it takes away a big toll on the brand. So many times, brands lose their reputation because also of this. The more the premium segment you are, the more is the chances of your duplication. So you have to be very careful. The customer does not really know today, in today's time, where to buy cement.
Another thing, so what we tried to do is that this app is on WhatsApp. Now, what is a chatbot? It's basically a chatbot. Now, what happens is when you log on to this number and you just say hi, the system registers you as a customer, and then they give you a menu from what you have to choose.
The menu is very vast. You can download company catalogs. You can download product catalogs. You can download the dealer's name in the vicinity where you are. So you have to just type your PIN code in the area where you are. So if we have dealers, the system will tell you that these are the top 10 dealers and retailers in your market vicinity. So you can go and buy from them. Their phone numbers are given to them. So that is all there.
Another thing after that, another biggest dilemma of the customer is that what should the actual price be in the market? Today, you can go to a cement market, and you will find that dealer to dealer, shop to shop, the prices may vary from as low as INR 2 per bag to as high as INR 15-INR 20 a bag.
So in the same vicinity of 300 meters, you will find this type of differences. So to address this and to bring all the customers onto one line and to give them the confidence, today, there is no cement in the cement industry. Nobody prints a price list. So there is no price list displayed like other products. So what we have tried to do, we tried in the earlier past, we did our cards, which we put in the dealer shop where the suggestive retail prices were promoted.
But then we said it was limited to not every outlet was having it. So we extended it by using this technology, digitization, and we went into this WhatsApp thing. So you put a PIN code in your area, and you will get a suggested price. The prices, in our view, should not vary more than INR 5-INR 7 a bag between what is actually on the ground, and the dealer may give some discount here and there.
This is a price which he will get on the ex-shop price. And then if they have to sell it or supply it to a distant place, then he will charge you probably cartage extra for that. Sometimes, the volumes are more, so they may charge you the same price. In the same cost, they may deliver it to you at the site.
But for a customer who is buying five, 10 bags, 20 bags of cement, the chances are there that the person will get this as a very, very realistic price. The customer can even book for customer service van, service van, and then we will provide him the customer site services. He can register a complaint if anybody is charging him wrongly or if he finds that our address of the dealer is not there or the dealer is not responsive or he has not met his demands or he has taken the money or something or the other, then he can log a complaint, and we will call him back and understand the customer's details. Another area what we have also put up for our business associates, there are many people who don't know where to apply for dealership.
By this method, we are telling that here, you can make a call and let us know, and we will reach out to you and supply. So we try to see whether we can make you our dealer or not. We cannot make everybody a dealer because we do not want unhealthy competition to come into the business. So we are selective about it, but definitely, there is an opportunity for people to apply. And now, the company knows who is interested and who is not interested in the business. We will expand this WhatsApp for business, which is there, which we will expand it in the future.
This will become the order of the day which we want to establish that the customer should not feel grieved or in any way feel less, that he does not know anything about cement, from whom to buy, at what price to buy. By this, we are trying to build customer confidence in our brand and our company. I'm very happy to inform you also that our Patharia Mines was honored by the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Honorable Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who gave away a first prize to our Patharia Mines for the environment under the environment category. Outlook, just to run through quickly, we expect that the GDP rate to go at 7.3 as per the forecast, what has been coming now in the media.
So we expect that it will go to 7.3 when the cement demand should be aligned close to it or at least a little better than this. Government spending has been a little low of late, but we expect that with the coming Lok Sabha elections in 2024, the spending will go up because the government tax collection revenues have been going continuously at least 20% on month-on-month basis. So we are expecting that these growths will continue and the government will spend. Russia-Ukraine war, we know that it is nobody knows when it will end, but the fuel, it has taken a hit on the fuel. But I'm hopeful that now the Russian coal has started coming to the Indian market, which is cheaper. The coal production from Indian coal mines has gone up.
Last three months, we have been seeing a little bit of easing on coal availability. I'm sure in the months to come, we will also see a little bit of easing on the coal prices also. The rupee continues to struggle against the dollar, and it is one of its peaks. People talk about INR 80 to a dollar, which is probably the future also are forecasting that.
On the inflation side, we know how the global economies are positioned and how they are moving in what direction. There is an imminent risk which we see that if a recession was to trigger in, what will be the state, how will we face the industry, how the industry will go. We are making our plan B, how we will work if that recession was to come and how we will manage our businesses.
So we are working on that. Liquidity crunch, I mentioned to you that despite such a heavy, severe liquidity crunch in the market, our teams have been able to manage and do the businesses and still recover our money. We are still debt-free in the history of our company. We have not had a single bad debt in these so many years. And I'm hoping that we will continue this good work and continue to remain healthy as our organization. And this is all from my side. And thank you for your patience in listening and happy to answer any of your questions. Anil is with me, and we will be able to answer all your questions to the best of our ability. Thank you very much. Over to you, Vaibhav.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin with the question-and-answer session. Anyone wishing to ask a question may please press star and one on your touch-tone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question is from the line of Shravan Shah from Dolat Capital. Please go ahead.
Thank you, sir. Sir, the first question is on the pricing. So how we see the prices also? Have you seen any further decline from the start of July compared to the exit of June or the average for the first quarter?
So, Mr. Shah, there was little pressure developing because of monsoons not coming in. But now, when the monsoons are coming in, it's setting in. I think there will be some uptick in price.
I think for this month, the prices should remain flattish. Okay. Now, coming to the main question, power and fuel. So two things. First, in terms of the average fuel cost for the first quarter, how much was it blended? And how much more increase we can see in the second quarter? So you are saying for the power and fuel, both combined? Yeah. Power and fuel combined. I can give you separate, separate. Yeah, analyze. Okay. Power for this quarter is about INR 460, and fuel is about INR 1,410. Sir, I'm asking in terms of the coal petcoke consumption cost, what was for the first quarter?
Yeah.
Rupees per ton. Okay. Fuel cost per ton of cement has been about INR 1,410. And for power consumption, it is on per ton of cement is INR 460.
Yeah, sir, that I got. But in terms of the purchasing cost for us, in terms of the coal and petcoke, what was the average consumption cost for the first quarter?
On this particular quarter, the power cost has been almost 6.5 per unit, INR 6.50.
Okay. Sir, how do we see the further increase in the power and fuel cost in the second quarter?
I don't expect power to go up any further, but fuel, we cannot say. It depends on the market condition. But going forward, I am expecting fuel to come down a little.
Okay. Okay. And sir, what is the lead distance for the Q1 FY 2023? And also, in terms of the CapEx, last time we guided INR 50-60 crore CapEx, and also we are doing a de-bottlenecking. So any change in the number in that?
On the lead distance, it is the same. As far as the CapEx part is concerned, that is also constant.
Okay. Any update in terms of the Gujarat expansion? Because previously, we were saying that maybe after September, once we have environment clearance, we will take one, 1.5 years or two to get the environment clearance for September. So any change in deadline in that?
Nothing. No change. We have just received in the last month, we received our CRZ clearance approval. Now, we are applying for a ToR.
Okay. Okay. Okay. That's it from my side. Thank you.
Thank you. We'll move on to the next question. That is from the line of Kamlesh Bagmar from Prabhudas Lilladher. Please go ahead.
Yes. One question on the part of volumes. Our volumes are down 6%, and it is the lowest volume level since the Q1 FY 2018.
We had added some capacity through de-bottlenecking, but we continue to lag on that part because volumes, if we see the other peers as well, say ACC reported 10-odd% volume growth, and there are also no capacity addition. Even we believe that the rest of all peers would be having a growth in the vicinity of 8%-9%. Against that, we are degrowing at 6%. The fact that in Q1, in Q4, we had the elections, so some weakness could have been there. But in Q1, it was a significant decline. So Kamlesh, you notice it correctly, but if you look at it, if you compare it with the Q1 to Q on a year-on-year basis, okay, last year, in the same quarter, we grew by 38%.
Sir, but in the base, there was a COVID impact. Sir, I am comparing right from Q1 FY 2018, not from year-over-year or. Allow me to complete it. That's what I'm saying. That time, in Central India, other players did not grow by the same extent.
So our base was higher, so the growth did not come to that extent, okay? So that is one part. In terms of absolute number, I agree with you. There was a little bit of pressure on price between judgment between price and volume. And because of the liquidity crunch in the market, we did not want to cushion too much of material just only to get the money locked in. Because there have been incidences where some money got delayed, but we recovered it. There are some stresses in the market, so we were balancing this out. But now, this is not going to happen in this quarter.
We have overcome that situation which was there in the month of May. There was a little bit of tough time. That's why there was some setback on volumes also. We have taken a little hit, but this volume, we will recover.
Okay. Thanks, sir. Thanks for the answer. Secondly, on this revenue, sir, we used to give the breakup of other operating income. Even in the last quarter, we had reclassified our revenue breakup. Other operating income was there in the other quarter. Can you provide other operating income number for this quarter? Okay. Sir, I'll ask Anil to provide you that.
For the other operating income, from last quarter, we started grouping under the revenue similar to what the other companies have been publishing results. This other operating income comprises mainly two parts.
One is that our tax incentive, which is every quarter around INR 50 million. And second thing is some kind of CNS income on account of trade sales. So that amount, so we can consider around INR 30 million. So it is around INR 80 million other operating income during this quarter has been grouped under the revenue part. INR 80 million. 80. And these are the recurring things. Even the earlier quarter. The amount is in the range of 70-80 or maybe maximum INR 90 million on this account.
Okay. Because in press release, you were giving revenue net of other operating income. So in the last quarter as well, the same thing was done. So in this quarter, only your revenue numbers include your other operating income in the press release.
You're right. But what we had done in compliance with the annual accounts for the final audited accounts, we reclassify or regroup in the published results to keep the uniformity in the published results as well as the annual accounts.
Okay. Okay. Okay. Thanks a lot. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Rajesh Kumar Ravi from HDFC Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi, sir. Am I audible?
Yes. Yes. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Sir, a few questions first addressing the volume decline. Would you suggest what is the outlook? Because this is three consecutive quarters, we have seen volume decline. So what sort of number you're looking at for FY 2023?
So this year, we are for the whole year, you are talking about?
Yeah.
That is around INR 4.7 million, if I'm not mistaken. It is for the last year. Last year, 2021, 2022, fiscally, it was 4.75 million. It is the cement volume. And this year, it is similar. No, I think we will see some growth in the market. So at least 6%-7% growth must be here. This is what we are targeting at least because now the GDP numbers are coming at 7% growth. I think we should try to achieve more than that, 100% better than that.
So despite volume decline in Q1, you are still hopeful of full-year growth of 7%-8%? Yes. In the next quarter, we will make it up. We will make it up. And you discussed about the fuel mix. Could you share what was the fuel mix in Q1 and what is it in Q2? And on a per kiloton, what was the costing in Q1 and where do we?
So I mentioned it in the earlier one. The fuel mix is about in my presentation. It is 38% is coal in this Q quarter past, gone by. And this will keep changing depending on how the fuel prices pan out. Tomorrow, if the coal becomes cheaper, then we will shift to coal. So I cannot tell you for sure, but ultimately, what is the target is to keep our overall fuel mix in a lowest possible level. Correct. And what was the per kilotel costing in Q1? Per kilotel, this one was. It is coal is around INR 3.25, 3.25. Petcoke, it is around INR 3, INR 3.10. So INR 3.25 and INR 3.10, right?
Yes.
And how were these numbers in Q4, sir? Because we're just trying to understand what is the impact in Q1 numbers.
Actually, in this March quarter, that is Q4, the petcoke was INR 2.50 and the coal was INR 2.30. So there is significant high in the coal cost.
Coal price, INR 1 jump in coal and around 50%-60% jump in this petcoke prices. Petcoke price also increased significantly, but the impact on the coal was much, much higher than the petcoke. Much higher. Agreed. And that's why during this quarter, we increased our petcoke consumption. That gives the benefit on account of optimization of fuel mix during Q1, 2023. And so this 3.20 and 3.10, how these numbers are currently stacking up in Q2? It should be a little better. It should be a little softer. So the same cases, coal prices have come down from 3.20 levels lower because international coal prices, we understand, is north of INR 4. Depends on how the coal price is coming to the game.
We cannot say today because we are buying coal on a spot basis. Today, coal also, although there is a struggle there, but at least when we get our FSA coal, then it is better. But today, getting FSA coal earlier, so today, now, their government is clearing the amounts which we had paid last year in February, March. The coal is coming now this year to us.
Okay. So my asking is, sequentially, you're assuming the prices stay where they are for months of August and September. Is it fair to say that your fuel inflation has peaked out in Q1?
Yes. You can say so.
Okay. And sir, lastly, the solar power which you are purchasing annually, how will they improve your power cost? What would be the landed power cost for this new arrangement?
This INR 6.50 is including the solar power cost, which is much cheaper than the grid price. Gradually, when we will start getting more solar power, I think our landed cost of the average power will almost remain flat. We can fairly say that, okay, whatever the coal power prices with the grid increases, we will be able to verify that impact by increasing the new power from our long-term agreement as well as our own power plant.
Okay. Great, sir. I'll come back. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Reminder to the participants, you may press star and one to ask a question. The next question is from the line of Pinakin Parekh from J.P. Morgan. Please go ahead.
Thank you, sir. Sir, my first question is, can you give us some more granular color on cement prices in your key markets, where they were in April, and how they've trended over May, June, and July? I would say it is very much constant. Prices have been very flattish. In Central India, the prices have not really moved in a very narrow range, I would say.
But you can take comfortably around INR 380 somewhere prices in Lucknow, about INR 360, INR 317, Bhopal. So if you take these two major markets, it will be somewhere close to in this range bound only. So, sir, thank you, sir. So just to understand more clearly, the price hikes that you took in April, how much were there per bag broadly, and how have the entire price hike stuck through the last three months?
I won't be able to tell you so microfine because I don't have the figures of April because I will give you a big picture of the whole thing because, as I mentioned to you, it has been hovering around INR 380, INR 370, INR 380.
Understood, sir. So second, in terms of demand, right, you said that May was impacted. But broadly, if you were to look at demand across trade and non-trade, where is the weakness higher in terms of the end demand?
See, the demand is getting weak a little bit on the government side. The government side is about 30% under non-trade. Although we don't supply there, but when whosoever is filling up that demand, if they don't have, then they will build pressure on prices of certain areas. Understood. And sir, in terms of the expectations, you said that prices now in the range have come.
But would it be fair to say that the price hike is possible now only after the monsoon months in October? Or do you think that the company or the industry will try to push through prices over the next few weeks?
See, for us, it is very clear that we look at our day-to-day demand, okay, how the orders are coming, pouring in into our system. And then we take a call based on that. If our daily targets are getting over, then we try to take INR 1, INR 1, INR 2, INR 2 increases also. At least, we are not fussy about it that we have to take a big large increase or anything. But even if I can take INR 1 increase any day, particular day, it makes a difference to us. So we do that. So we play it by the market, how the market is serving us on that basis.
So I cannot tell you whether we can be able to how much we will be able to increase. But yes, we don't leave as a company, we don't leave a single day opportunity to take that money. We may have some benefits now after this, our new project which has started on WhatsApp, where if we are getting more inquiries and if we are getting more inputs, probably there might be some positive side. But I'm not very sure. It is just launched very recently, so can't say today.
Understood. And sir, my last question is, you mentioned that probably energy costs have peaked for you as a company. Now, going forward, sir, is that more driven by a normalization of domestic supplies from Coal India or expectation that the global coal prices will fall sharply from here? Just like this, Russian coal is available at about 20%-25% cheaper.
So that will bring that will put pressure on some other coals available. So they will also try to because everybody then will move towards Russian coal. So then there could be a so people might think, "Okay, let us negotiate the other types of coal which are coming from South Africa and other places." They might start reducing the price in this. Understood. Thank you very much, sir. Even just to add up to this, Mr. Parekh, that we are seeing that there is China weakening also happening for Indonesian coal.
So the coal movement which are sticking to China is also so Indonesian coal will also find its Indian shores soon. And then there will be a little so Indonesian coal is any day cheaper than South African coal.
Understood. Understood. Thank you very much, sir.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Jayant Gautam from Axis Capital. Please go ahead.
Hello?
Jayant, your line is on mute. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hello?
Yes, Mr. Gautam.
Yeah. Hi. This is Amit Murarka. So just a quick question on the market. In Central India, we had seen some flow of cement coming from south and east. So has that moderated, or are we still seeing that happening? No, in Central India, we are not having any inflow from south.
Okay. No, I remember after the mini-rakes scheme, at least some material was starting to come in from Ramco.
Right now, it is not there. Okay. And I believe even some rakes were coming in from Konark Cement and all. So that comes. That is coming from the eastern side. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. But it's not as bad as it was, let's say, one, 1.5 years ago. Exactly. Earlier, there used to be a straight subsidy which used to be there used to be.
Now, those have reduced. Now, the cost has gone up for everybody. I don't think people will be aggressive on pricing because Central India has seen very stable prices for last so many months together, or I would say quarters together. Okay. Right. And also, what's the status on the Gujarat plant if you could just refresh a bit over there? As I said, that we have the mining lease with us. We applied for ToR.
There were some small they wanted clearance from the, as he said, clearance. They wanted the coastal zone area. Clearances were required. Now, we have got it. The government has given it. Now, we are proceeding with our application to apply for ToR. ToR will take about a year, year and a half to do the studies. And then we are in parallel working on that.
Okay. But should we expect ordering and all should start in the next 6-12 months?
6-12 months, per se, that time. ToR will take another 1.5 years to do. So till that time, we cannot do anything there.
Okay. Okay. Okay. Got it. So then it's at least two years away, at least, the project start then.
Yes. Yes.
Okay. Thanks. That's all from me.
Thank you. A reminder to the participants, anyone wishing to ask a question, may please press star and one. Ladies and gentlemen, please note that this is the final reminder. After this, there will be no further reminders. The next question is from the line of Prateek Kumar from Jefferies. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Good afternoon, sir. My first question is on your coal mix. You said it is 38%. Can you split it further between domestic FSA coal, e-auction coal, and international coal?
For us, it is 100% domestic coal. There is no imported coal we buy in Central India from our plant.
And how much of that would be linkage and e-auction coal?
There is no linkage coal. Nowadays, linkage is gone. But 100% will be open market. There is no coal received during this quarter under the fuel supply agreement. So that's why we also expect that coming quarter, the cost may reduce once we start getting the coal under our fuel supply agreement. But during this quarter, it was 100% open market domestic coal.
And we may start getting the linkage coal from which quarter?
We expect because now, when the pressure will reduce from the power plant, maybe the Coal India will divert some of the coal to this cement industry. So it depends on how the rake allocation comes in. We cannot predict anything on that because the backlog is very huge. Depending on how the backlog is going to come out, we don't know. But ultimately, our right remains there that we will get our share of coal.
Okay. And sir, just on your CapEx, just for modeling purposes, your FY 2023 CapEx will be around INR 100 crore in that range. FY 2024 would be much higher related to Gujarat, or it will be pretty much similar in FY 2024 as well at INR 100 crore?
FY 2023, you're right that it is around INR 100 crore including some investment on account of de-bottlenecking projects. On the similar line, we expect that same amount will be in the fiscal year 2024. We'll see in case of Gujarat how much capacity will be required for the purpose of land acquisition depending upon the development of our licenses and permits.
Sure. Thank you, sir. I'll get back to the queue.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Deep Nayan Shah from DNS Investments. Please go ahead.
Especially this one, to understand, there is a note given in this quarter block that we have received INR 30 crore during the quarter. So just because in the quarter block, it is written during the quarter. So they just wanted to clarify that.
So if you see in the note, it is mentioned during the quarter, March 2022, and year-end March 2022, respectively. So this is the incentive we received, or you can say we received approval from the Madhya Pradesh government. And in March quarter, it was accounted for.
Okay. And what was the have we got any incentive in the current quarter, the GST part?
Incentive is valid until February 2023. So every quarter, our average amount is around INR 50 million. So in June quarter also, on this line, the INR 50 million were accrued.
Okay. So thank you, sir. That's all from my side.
T hank you. The next question is from the line of Ritesh from Investec. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi, sir. Thanks for the opportunity. The first question is, you indicated around INR 50 million of other operating income in the quarter. How much was the number corresponding period last year? Was it equivalent number?
June 2021 quarter, this amount was slightly lower. The amount is INR 55 million.
Okay. So sir, the question is, basically, if one looks at the price growth on a year-on-year basis, it looks pretty good as compared to one other mill which has actually reported. So is it more of a region-specific thing that we are looking at, or is it something specific to the company, reduction in discounts, higher trade volumes, or direct dispatches? Was there any other measure which actually contributed to better price growth?
Ritesh, there are a few things here. One is good contribution from our premium products, number one. Number two is we have narrowed the price difference gap between trade and non-trade. So that also has added to it. And since we do about close to 82% of our business in trade there, we try to see that we can inch up our premium over a period of time, which now we are working seriously on that, more seriously than before. And we hope that we will be able to deliver you better results in the months to come.
All right. Sir, all the three variables that you indicated, I think we have been doing it since quite some time. The price growth what we have seen for Hyderabad, it's actually a pretty good number. So I was just trying to probe, was there any one-off or anything specific that we have done besides things that we are already doing, or is the difference between trade and non-trade, has it reduced for us?
So in premium also, we have increased inched up of premium earlier between that also. What we are trying to do within that bracket also, if you have premium product, earlier, the difference used to be some X amount. Now, we have increased it to X plus something. So this is a part of our strategy, how to keep inching up our premium. So the product will remain the same, but the price difference between a normal PP bag and a normal premium product, the price gap will keep increasing over a period of five-10 years.
Sure, sir. Sir, my second question is on cost. You did indicate that we do expect costs to actually inch down. Sir, just was trying to understand, what is the sort of inventory that we maintain for both different fuels that we have? Would it be same as 30-35 days?
How should one look at basically how are you looking at it, basically inventory position given do you expect costs to actually come down? Fuel inventory?
Yes, sir. Petroleum fuel.
Okay. Fuel inventory nowadays it is a little lower than 25 days. But yes, the target would be that at least keep 30-35 days.
Okay. Okay. And sir, you indicated Russian coal was 20%-25% cheaper. Probably we might not be using it. But sir, can you give the landed costs in numbers, basically on dollar terms and the KCAL, what it gives? I'm just trying to understand the rupees KCAL comparison, what you give for us. How do you think Russian?
I think if I'm not mistaken, that coal is somewhere around $170, Russian coal, as of now.
So this is on landed Indian ports?
Yeah, Indian ports. Okay.
This is helpful. And sir, lastly, I just wanted to check, how does the parent look at India growth plan? So are they very much comfortable for us to word that the Gujarat expansion or at later date says, "Who are you merger to simplify the structure?" Sir, I just wanted to get some sense on how does the parent think of India as operations and the growth opportunity which is there available on the table? Thank you.
Ritesh, as I again, at the cost of repetition, I always say that the group is very focused on India. The group wants to stay invested and grow. So they know that it's an emerging economy. It is a developing state. And cement is one product where you have to stay there in such type of countries because this is it is not only that.
Tomorrow, because this also lays a foundation for other building materials for us because as a group, we are into many of the building materials. As you know that we are number one in aggregates world over. We are number two now in cement also and number two in ready mix also. So these are the building blocks which we have to remain in that.
And if we have to since it is the forte of the group, I don't think the India group will ever think of divesting any asset here or in fact, every time, they ask us if there are any opportunities where we can invest more. So of course, we are not able to provide them those opportunities. We have only these two greenfield projects here and there. And of course, simplification of our structure is there always on the cards. The working has already begun.
The group is already. We are discussing with the group. Our finance team, Mr. Sharma and his team, are working on that. It might take up maybe some time. And by that time, we will come back to them with the news whenever we decide that this merger has to take place. But ultimately, it will be one company.
Sure. And sir, have we taken any regulatory steps towards the group simplification? Have we already filed built-in any regulatory steps that we have taken?
No, not as of now. But in future, whenever we decide to do it, when our full drawing board is ready, then we will go step by step as the regulation asks us to go.
Sure, sir.
Thank you so much, Investec.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be taking the last question. That is from the line of Rajesh Kumar Ravi from HDFC Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi, sir. I have two questions. First, on this Gujarat CapEx, I understand this is still three years or three plus years ahead. But what would be the CapEx size, and what would be the funding mechanism? Will the parent company be infusing equity for the same?
I would say we have to just wait, Rajesh, on this and wait and watch because today, we have some cash sitting in our account here. The idea is that if this project is going to take about INR 2,500 crores, okay, INR 1,000 crores we can put from here, and the INR 1,500 crores, we can look at how to raise this money. So if the debt pushdown has to be there from the group, if it is cheaper than it is, we'll look at that, or we'll find out other sources of financing it.
But that won't be challenged because the net worth of the company is so good that we can borrow sufficient money to make the closure for this project.
So any number, if suppose you have to borrow any net debt to EBITDA or any net debt equity number which you are looking at that you won't try and breach those numbers?
By the time we will go for the funding, I think that time, our net worth will be or the free reserve will be around INR 1,500 crore. So if the same amount of the debt will be required, then also, it is not more than 1:1.
Okay. And second, you talked about Russian coal available at $170. So two things. On a per kilocalorie, how is that costing? Second, is that sufficiently available to make a meaningful pressure on the market for other sources to reduce prices in domestic markets?
I think kilocalorie as is at this moment coming INR 3.25 for us, the domestic coal. So for our Central India plant, there may not be possible to use the Russian coal because it is landlocked situation. But we understand from the other people, they have been importing at this level. And for them, CIF in South India, it will be below INR 3 kilocalorie.
Okay. Okay. So my point was, this Russian coal coming in, if the quantity is sufficient enough so that the other sources not directly in your market, but if there is a logistics revisit of south-based or the port-based player buying more and more of Russian coal, will relieve the other sources of coal for Central India players at a competitive price. Is this understanding right? Yes, of course, because some coal demand is getting replaced by Russian coal.
So there is some surplus which will get created, some surplus that will get created in the domestic coal, then that will be available at a cheaper price or much easily. Let me put it let us not build our hopes on cheaper, but let us say easy availability. Today, you are really struggling for coal. Sometimes, you wonder after five days whether the coal material will come or not, or we are going to run into a dry situation. Despite high prices, yes. Yes. Great.
Great, sir. Thank you. Thanks for taking my question. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that is the last question. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Vaibhav Agarwal for his closing comments.
Yeah. Thank you. On behalf of PhillipCapital (India) Private Limited, we want to thank the management of HeidelbergCement India Limited for supporting and transferring parts on the online call. We are going to now conclude the call. Thank you very much, sir.
Thank you. Thank you.