Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to JK Lakshmi Cement quarter and nine months year-ended 31st December 2024 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 touchtone phone. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Vaibhav Agarwal from PhillipCapital India Private Limited. Thank you, and over to you, Mr. Agarwal.
Yeah. Thank you, Michelle. Good evening, everyone. On behalf of PhillipCapital India Private Limited, we welcome you to the Q3 and nine-month FY 2025 call of JK Lakshmi Cement Limited. I need to highlight that JK Lakshmi Cement is also the holding company of its listed entity, Udaipur Cement Works Limited, and therefore this call is also open for discussion about the performance of Udaipur Cement Works Limited. On the call we have with us Mr. Arun Kumar Shukla , President and Director, and Mr. Sudhir Anna Bidkar , CFO at JK Lakshmi Cement. I would like to mention on behalf of JK Lakshmi Cement 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 which are based on current expectations.
These statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other important factors which may cause actual developments and the results to differ materially from the statements made. JK Lakshmi Cement Limited and the management of the company has no obligation to publicly alter or update these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise. I will now hand over the floor to the management of JK Lakshmi Cement for their opening remarks, which will be followed by interactive Q&A. Thank you and over to you, sir.
Yeah, Vaibhav, thank you and good evening to all of you. Thanks for attending this call. Though you have already seen the result, I will just give you a very brief update on the industry as such and our view on that. Last quarter from December, demand had started improving. The demand is good in our operating markets and so is the prices also are improving. Going forward, what I see, what we at JK Lakshmi see that this year the growth is going to be around 4% to 5%, somewhere around that. And next year, FY 2026, may be around 6% to 7%. That is what we see. Although, maybe because of the delayed CapEx release, all those pent-up demand is likely to come in next financial year. But we definitely see that next year is going to be good in terms of overall demand.
And also, I think prices also will be better than what we have witnessed this year, particularly during quarter two. JK Lakshmi Cement, we are still focused on how we are going to improve our efficiencies in this part for operations and that we keep on working on that. Our focus is also there on renewable energy, so we are improving our renewable energy proportion in our overall energy requirements. So last quarter it was at 48%. Distribution also, we are very focused as to where we operate and where we are going to sell. And that reflects in our lead in the quarters which we have achieved. Last quarter also it was similar to the quarter two. And on top line supply chain and operational efficiencies, that continuous endeavor is there to be amongst the best companies in terms of efficiency.
This is what I think a very brief update. I think result you must have seen. We are open for questions and maybe during that, answering those questions, we will have further conversation on some of the aspects which you want to know. Thank you so much.
Thank you very much, sir. We will now begin with the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask questions may press star and one on their touchtone phone. If you wish to withdraw yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use only handsets while asking your questions. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. You may please press star and one to ask questions. The first question is from the line of Praveen from Anandam Enterprises. Please go ahead.
Hi, ma'am. Thank you for the opportunity. My question is regarding conveyor belt. What is the current status of conveyor belt at Durg plant, and what is the expected timeline to complete this project?
Yeah. The status, this is on the final stages of approval. You know that taking lease from the PSUs or the government is little bit tedious. We are trying for that and hopefully, during this current quarter, we will be able to accomplish this approval.
Could you give me an approximate timeline?
Very difficult because these are the things which is not perfectly in our control. But as I said that this is on the final stages of approval, so any time we may get it, but it is very difficult to give a timeline.
Okay, sir. That is all from my side. Thank you.
Thank you. You may press star and one to ask questions. The next question is from the line of Mangesh Bhadang from Centrum Broking. Please go ahead.
Hi, good afternoon, sir. My question is on the volume growth. You mentioned that December onwards volume has picked up. We have commissioned the Udaipur unit some while back, but we have not seen too much of a volume uptake from there. Just wanted to understand from you what kind of volume growth can we indicate in FY 2026, and when can we see optimum utilization of the Udaipur unit? Thank you.
Udaipur Cement Works, I think we are going as per the plan only in terms of volume ramp-up. Last quarter, if you look at the capacity utilization was 57% along with the new unit. Which is as per the plan which we had laid out. Going forward, definitely we see, as I said, that next year is going to be good in terms of demand. So we will achieve somewhere around 65% of capacity utilization in FY 2026 for Udaipur, right?
Right. Sir, that means have we slowed down the production from other units just because Udaipur has come up, and because of which it is not getting reflected in the volume growth?
I am not so clear. Can you repeat this once?
Sir, I am saying, we are operating at almost, you said 45% from Udaipur right now, which was not there last year. But still we are showing growth of say 2% to 3% on volume. Is it that the production from the other units that we have has slowed down?
No, I think, more or less, if you look at only JK Lakshmi Cement utilization is about 78%. And overall is 68%. Okay. As I said that December onward demand has started improving. November was also quite sluggish. If you look at overall capacity utilization of the industry also, I think we are little better than others. Overall at about 68%, 69%, Udaipur alone at 57% and JK Lakshmi at 78%. To my mind is really okay, in line with what others are doing.
Okay, thanks. Sir, one more question was on the CapEx for next year. What could be that number?
Yes. CapEx we expect next year to be about, as I mentioned in my last call also. This year in nine-month period, we have already done about INR 250 crores. Another INR 100 may come in the current quarter. Then thereafter about INR 1,000 in the next FY 2026 and about INR 1,500 FY 2027.
Okay, sir. I will come back in this. Thanks, sir.
Thank you. You may press star and one to ask questions. The next question is from the line of Rajesh Ravi from HDFC Securities. Please go ahead.
Thanks. Good evening. First, could you share the numbers like what was the blended cement and trade share and premium sales in this quarter?
Blended cement was at 65%, trade proportion was 58%.
Okay. Premium share and fuel cost?
Premium sale on an overall volume basis, total trade non-trade put together was at 11%, and fuel was at INR 1.57 per kilocalorie .
INR 1.57. Okay. Lead distance?
Sorry?
Lead distance, AFR and Clinker-to-cement ratio.
381 km was the lead.
Sorry, how much?
381 km.
381 km . Okay. AFR?
AFR, I think at different unit we have different AFR. At Sirohi we are at 14%. At
Sirohi 14%. Overall it is 11%.
Overall it is 11%. Sirohi is at the highest at 14%.
Okay. Sir, the Clinker-to-Cement ratio would be how much for Q3?
Sorry?
Cement-to-Clinker ratio.
It's 1.45x.
And sir, these numbers you share is on a console basis. Is this understanding right?
It is also the same. The figure which we are telling you is console.
Console only. Okay.
Still unless you ask very specific about different companies, I think otherwise we mention only console.
Yes, wait. That is okay, sir. That is why I am saying it is all console only because that is how one should look at this company.
Yes.
And Udaipur, how much was the volume sold in Udaipur, sir, for the corresponding volumes for Udaipur?
Udaipur volume was at 8.3%.
This is total sales from Udaipur, okay.
Yes.
Okay. Is it fair, like Udaipur has driven most of the volume growth in this quarter?
Yes. You are right.
And sir, you mentioned in the nine- months we have done this INR 250 crore CapEx and another INR 100 crore CapEx. So are we running very short in terms of this is the total CapEx size which we have spent including maintenance and all, INR 250 crore?
Yes, you are right.
Okay. So is this as per the plan or are there any slowdown deferment which you are witnessing here?
No, there is no slowdown or deferment which we are witnessing.
Okay. The Phase 1 Railway Siding is already operational, east?
Yes.
Yeah
Okay. Lastly, in terms of the cost reduction programs, how much we have achieved and how much more we are looking at? Tangibly over the next one year, say by FY 2026 end?
So I think this improvement or cost efficiency is an ongoing process.
Plan we had, I think more or less, we have achieved, I would say, to the extent of about 75% to 80%. One of the major initiatives which was pending from our end, I had explained this to you before, that we are working on brand rejuvenation so as to improve our price positioning.
Exercise we have initiated from 15th of January.
Okay.
Brand rejuvenation, the idea is to improve price positioning and perhaps I think that is going to give some good benefit in terms of at least improving our price positioning by INR 80 to INR 100 a ton. That is one major, I would say, item which we have worked upon and perhaps I think that is going to give us benefit going forward.
Second, renewable energy front, as I said in my opening remark also, this is one area which we are very focused on based on our corporate responsibility also as to how we are going to be carbon net zero by 2047. We are aggressively working on this. This is another area which is going to give us benefit. Quantification, I think maybe in next call I'll give you because some of the things still we are working on.
Which we are working. Third, of course, is further working on supply chain efficiency.
That after merger of Udaipur and JK Lakshmi. So further synergy will come and that will benefit to an extent in logistics cost reduction also.
Okay. Just two
There are other items which we keep on working on energy, on heat value and TSR. Of course, I think we have further room of further improving by a percentage or two with the capability which we have. Right? So that is something we keep on working.
Okay, sir. Two small questions. One is how much was the RMC and non-cement revenue for this quarter? And second, the CapEx number for FY 2025. In last call you were targeting INR 900 crores, INR 500 crores as standalone, INR 200 crores as Udaipur and INR 200 crores for the Northeast project. Now, which we are talking about is somewhere sharply lower. INR 350 crores.
RMC revenue was INR 64 crores last quarter.
Non-cement revenue total?
INR 135.
INR 135 crores. CapEx number, which was pegged at INR 700 crores in Q2 for FY 2025. Why this is reducing to almost half, sir?
It is not reducing to half. I am saying INR 1,000 crores for the next year.
No, that is, I agree. For FY 2025, in last call you had contemplated that you would be spending INR 700 crores. In fact, INR 900 crores you had guided. INR 500 crores at the standalone level and INR 200 each at Udaipur and Northeast projects.
Yeah.
What is missing? Where are we going short on the expansions?
This is the standalone, and about INR 300 odd would be that. Question was for the standalone. So INR 500 is standalone and INR 300 is for the Udaipur.
How much we are spending for this year?
INR 800.
INR 800 crore. Okay. This explains. Okay. Great, sir. I will come back in queue. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. You have to ask questions. The next question is from the line of Shravan Shah from Dolat Capital. Please go ahead.
Thank you, sir. Sir, EBITDA margin on non-cement revenue is 5% for this quarter?
No. It is lower than 1%.
Okay, 1% only. Okay, got it. Just to, sir, again reclarifying, consol CapEx for FY 2025 is INR 800 crore. For FY 2026 is INR 1,000 odd crore. For FY 2027 is how much?
Could be close to about INR 1,500 crores.
Okay. INR 1,500 odd crores. Okay, got it. In terms of the ongoing expansion, Surat will be starting 1.35 million tons by this March end?
As we said before, we are commissioning it in two phases. First phase is going to get commissioned in the month of March itself or February end, which is about half of the capacity, about 0.8 million tons. Another 0.7 or rest of 0.6 million tons during around June 2025.
Okay. This is getting delayed. Initial will be maybe up three to six months earlier, the timeline was. Is there any specific reason why we are Because this is just already we have a unit and we will be adding there. Why there is a delay in this?
I think first phase was about to be commissioned during this time only. Yes, there is a delay, some delay. Because of some of the equipments which got delayed in terms of getting supplies at the site. Yes, little bit of delay, but not much because anyway, I think we are hopeful that by this month end or maybe middle of March, I think 0.8 million ton will be up.
Okay, got it. Second, just on the timeline for the Durg plant and II Phases. So the clinker 2.3 MTPA and 1.2 MTPA and 1.2 MTPA grinding at Durg and Prayagraj, that will be starting by one half of FY 2027.
Yes, you are right.
The second phase of 2.2 million ton grinding units in FY 2028.
Right.
Okay. The Northeast one, last time we said INR 1,800 crore CapEx expansion. That will be starting in FY 2028.
Yeah. It is what the timeline we have given as of today.
Yeah. Sir, if you can give us a gross standalone date and console date and cash also and net date standalone and console.
Standalone gross debt is INR 650 crores, INR 300 crores of cash, so net is INR 50 crores on a standalone basis. Net debt on a console basis, gross debt is INR 2,150, INR 400 is the cash, so INR 1,750 is the net debt on console basis.
INR 1,750. Okay. Got it. Second, sir, in terms of currently the prices for our core markets, if we compare with the third quarter average, right now would be higher by how much?
I would say definitely about INR 100, INR 75 to INR 100.
Okay. And for this quarter, fourth quarter at a console level, broadly in terms of industry, I think would be of 6% to 8% kind of a growth likely to see. For us, in terms of the volume growth in the fourth quarter would be similar at console level?
Fourth quarter, our estimation is likely to grow at about 8%. You are right. 7% to 8%. We are going to be in alignment with that anyway. 8%.
Okay. Next year at a console level, for industry, you mentioned 6% to 7%. Will we be growing much better, 8% to 10%, or mostly in line with the industry?
I think we are going to do better because I think we have now Udaipur and Durg also in place. Our growth is going to be better than industry.
Okay. Just main in terms of the profitability because we have done a good deal on the costing front for this quarter, decent INR 350 odd per ton QoQ reduction. Now we are looking at a kind of INR 75 to INR 100, INR 80 to INR 100 improvement on the pricing front, what we are trying to achieve and on the costing front. Is it fair to say that easily we can see INR 800-INR 900 plus kind of EBITDA per ton on a sustainable basis?
I think you are very quick in calculations perhaps. See, we are in the market and the market is always dynamic, right? Maybe I think why we should limit ourselves to only INR 75 to INR 100. We can go even up to INR 200 or maybe INR 50 also. I think some amount of volatility has to be there. I think I would give a range. I think you are right in that sense.
Okay. Got it. We are not worried given the kind of the incremental supply that will be coming at industry level. Broader calculation is will be 100 million tons plus capacity will be added in 2026 and 2027. In terms of the fight, in terms of how the market shares. Is it fair to say that if we can achieve the kind of a market share or maintain, then maybe one has to look at the lower prices and maybe a lower profitability or it could be a vice versa?
See, if you look at capacity addition for the last maybe post-COVID you look at, the addition has been about 40 million to 45 million, 50 million tons every year. The capacity addition year-over-year is about 6% to 7%. This year is about 7%. If demand is also going to be about 7% to 8%, so perhaps whatever capacity utilization we have at the pan India industry level, that is going to be there. On an overall basis, I think I do not see that is going to be much demand and supply mismatch. It is going to be the same way as it was before. Yes, the regional imbalances you may see wherever I think capacity is going to get added more. Right? Maybe some of the area where I think some ramp up is happening.
Maybe regional level you may see some kind of demand supply mismatch. On an overall basis, I think it is going to be the same as it was before. In our market, we are sure that I think we are going to retain our market share, and it is not going to mismatch in demand and supply too much in our market where we operate.
Okay. Thank you and all the best, sir.
Thank you. Thank you, sir. Thank you so much.
Thank you. Participants, you may please press star and one to ask questions. The next question is from the line of Uttam Kumar Srimal from Axis Securities Limited. Please go ahead.
Yes, sir. Good afternoon, and thanks for the opportunity. Sir, what would be our closing capacity on a standalone basis in FY 2026 and FY 2027?
So, FY 2026, I think on a standalone basis, I think we will be adding 1.35 million tons only. Right, Sudhir? This is what the addition as far as in FY 2026 goes. Okay.
And sir-
FY 2027, maybe during quarter two or quarter three, we will be adding this Durg and Prayagraj.
Durg and Prayagraj.
Right. So that-
Okay
you can see about 2.5 million ton. 1.2 million into 2.5 million.
2.5 million. Okay.
2.5 million. 3 million to 5 million is about close to 4 million tons we will be adding, as per the plan we have today. Maybe if we can really take up some other projects also, this may go further up.
Okay, sir. That is all from my side, yeah. Thanks.
You may press star and one to ask questions. Anyone who wishes to ask questions may please press Star and One now. The next question is from the line of Nihar Dave from IIFL Securities. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Good evening. I hope you can hear me properly.
Yes.
Yeah, we can hear very well.
Okay, great. Sir, congratulations, sir. You've had a very good set of numbers. I just had one question, sir. What can you tell me in terms of regional revenue split and regional volume split? What is it now and once our capacity comes online, what do you expect that to be by, let's say, 2026, 2027?
You are talking about regional play, right?
Yes.
Yes. Whatever information we have, I think capacities are going to be added in east. I think there, capacity is going to be added in east and if you look at east demand also is the fastest growing market. Even last quarter also the demand was highest in case of east. Right?
Yeah.
Capacity is going to get added. I think dynamics is going to be more or less same, not different than what it was before. In west, I think I do not see that till FY 2027 is going to be a major change. Whatever we can see today, right, is going to be like that only. Maybe, I think demand will go up and then maybe, I think capacity utilization will go further up. That will happen in tandem with the demand, but not much of a change which we see in west. The market where we operate, I am talking. Right?
Yeah.
North, yes, capacities are on the anvil for some of the players, but as you know that north is a place where from, I think supplies are going to some other market, right? There has always been excess capacity in north because north supplies to other markets like Central India to Far North India to U.P. West and so on, right?
Yeah.
It's not going to be a major change in terms of regional play and in terms of competitive intensity. Definitely, I think people have assets, so they'll try to utilize their assets to the extent possible. To that extent, I think that might have some temporary impact on pricing during low demand months. Otherwise, I think it's not going to have much change on the dynamics of demand and supply.
Okay, got it. Noted, sir. So west you expect to be more or less as is. East is a growing market.
Capacity will go up and so is the demand. So I think more or less, I think it's going to be a semblance.
Okay. Got it. Thank you so much, sir.
Thank you. Please press star and one to ask questions. The next question is from the line of Sourav Chakraborty from Dolat Capital. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hello, sir. Thank you for the opportunity. Just wanted to understand the pricing scenario for the industry right now, maybe from the exit of January. Considering the recent hikes that we had seen from the end of December, maybe can you just help me to understand the dynamics of the pricing front?
Pricing definitely goes along with the demand. And if demand is good, then prices are going to get reinforced. That is for sure, and that is what we have seen in case of December and January, whatever pricing movement has happened because of the support of the demand. Right? At least in the next two quarters, definitely I see that demand is going to be good, and hence prices are also going to be reasonably all right. Okay? Yes, during monsoon, as I said just before your question, that during lean demand, yes, there could be some pressure on pricing. But I think if demand is good, then prices are going to be in alignment with it. That applies to all markets wherever we operate.
Right. Got it. Thank you, sir. That's all.
You're not going to get something which is unusual. This is what I think. Kind of supply equation and hence the pricing is one of the outcomes of that.
Right. Okay. Thank you so much, sir. All the best.
Thank you.
You may press star and one to ask questions. The next question is from the line of Rajesh Ravi from HDFC Securities. Please go ahead. Mr. Ravi, I have unmuted you.
Yeah. Hello. Am I audible?
Yeah, very much. Rajesh Ravi, go ahead.
Hi, sir. Sir, you mentioned during when premium cement volume overall 11% of the volume, total sale, which I adjust for trade volume, this would work out to be 19%. In the preceding quarters, this number was maintained at between 25% to 30%. Is there any sharp change in sales strategy or how come this premium cement as percentage of trade come down so sharply?
I think our premiums here in case of east is not very good. As I said that we are also working on streamlining our brand and changing the positioning also, right? That has some impact on this. Yes, your observation is right. Perhaps, I think in coming quarter, we are going to go back to the same level. Because what we have done is in east also we have done some kind of brand restructuring because we have JK Lakshmi PRO+ Cement as a premium product here in this part of India, right?
And this part, there we have the base product. So some kind of realignment we have done so that pan India we have one, brand architecture and similar kind of value proposition for different brand.
Okay.
This is a temporary thing I would say. Yeah.
Okay. Great, sir. That's all from my end. Thank you. All the best.
Thank you.
Thank you. You may press star and one to ask questions. The next question is from the line of Amit Murarka from Axis Capital. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi. Good evening. Thanks for the opportunity. My question is on Sirohi. I believe the limestone there is going to expire in 2030. What is the plan there, like how you plan to manage the transition when it happens?
Yeah. I think auction is due in the year 2030 and this is the case for Sirohi and this is the case for some other locations for other companies as well. Definitely I think, we definitely want to retain this during re-auction also for sure. That may entail to kind of increasing cost a bit because in re-auction what will happen I think that we need to see. This is what the case is and parallelly we are also trying if we can, because we do have that limestone reserve at other places. I think Udaipur and Nagaur also we have taken that though I think we are in the process of kind of executing all those initial stages of land acquisition, environment clearance and so on and so forth. That is the backup.
That may not work on a long-term basis. We are, I think, reasonably all right that mines, when it goes for re-auction, we will definitely try to retain it.
I was just trying to understand in case, let's say the mine premium goes very high or for whatever reason don't get the mine then what is the backup plan for the plant then?
Backup, as I said, it's not all about cost benefit. So premium which we are likely to pay for Sirohi re-auction versus maybe bringing limestone from some other place. So that cost analysis has to be done, right? Because we do have source, limestone source from other locations which is not quite far.
Okay. But which mine would that be like, I mean?
Udaipur is the nearest one.
Okay. From there. Okay. Sure. On generally, the outlook on pricing, I believe, it's bottomed out after the monsoon, but still, it's been a bit up and down in the last couple of months as well. What is generally your expectation on the industry competitive intensity and the pricing outlook?
Competitive intensity, yes, of course, I think is going to be there and it was there before also. If demand supports, then I think prices are not going to see that level of bottoming up which we saw in quarter two, right? If demand supports then definitely I think it's going to be reasonably all right and round about, I would say. I'm quite optimistic that since demand is likely to be good in the coming year, FY 2026 which is about 7% to 8%, prices also are going to be reasonably all right. Because see, quarter one, quarter two was exceptional this year because of general election followed by monsoon which is prolonged little longer and heavy monsoon in some of the areas where we operate, right? That impacted.
In the coming year I think there is no such kind of major events which are going to happen, which we can foresee today, right? Demand is likely to be good. If you look at the budget also is the CapEx of about INR 11 lakh crore, INR 11.21 lakh crore. Out of that, half of that is going to be in areas where cement is directly related. Indirectly, I think everywhere, but directly related. Suppose, about INR 1,70,000 crore in national highway, metro about INR 35,000 crore and urban housing, rural housing, 120 additional airport destinations. I think all these are projects which did not take off, or some of the ongoing projects which did not take that scheme, is going to really be on the fast track in coming months and coming years. Demand is going to be good, and that will support pricing.
I am reasonably confident that pricing is going to be better than what we have witnessed in quarter two, particularly.
Sure. Understood. Lastly, on cost saving, are there any projects going on for you which will commission maybe in some time?
Sorry, I missed something. Sorry, I missed you.
No, I was asking on cost savings side. Are there any projects which you are doing, either AFR or WHR or anything like that, which will commission and give you some savings on the next year or so?
I did. Some gentleman asked this question. One is, of course, renewable energy, which we are working on, further improving our renewable energy proportion part of our portfolio. This is one. That will give some savings. Second, we will be ramping up our TSR at Udaipur because we have already commissioned that TSR capability, and we will try to take this TSR up at that place. In Sirohi also, we definitely see a percentage or two further we can improve with the given capability which we have. That is another headroom which we have. These are the major item, I would say, other than all those ongoing things. We are working on fixed cost also. Fixed cost reduction wherever we see opportunity to reduce that thing. We have taken some action in the past. We will take some action in the coming months and years also.
That is another thing which we are working on. Supply chain efficiency further, maybe because now we have railway at Durg, then the railway wagon loading at Udaipur. That is going to benefit us in further improving our supply chain efficiency, being able to serve our customer better and also reduce our distribution cost. These are the major items I would say.
Got it. If I may, just a last question. On Udaipur, what is the expected timeline for the completion of the merger process?
I think jobs are almost over. This cement wagon loading is now getting commissioned. We have already started commissioning that. Apart from that, all minor jobs like paper said and some raw material said and things like that, we are working on that. Otherwise, all the major jobs are over.
No, I was asking about the Udaipur merger. If it was already discussed, I missed it. What is the timeline of completion of the merger of Udaipur Cement into JK Lakshmi?
Merger, we already have the stock exchange SEBI approval. We have approved the NCLT, and that might take about eight to nine months.
Okay. So maybe end of this calendar, maybe.
We are targeting that.
Got it. That is all from my side. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you. Participants, you may please press star and one to ask questions. You may press star and one to ask questions. Ladies and gentlemen, this will be the final reminder, and no further reminders will be given that you may please press star and one to ask questions. Ladies and gentlemen, I now hand the conference over to Mr. Vaibhav Agarwal for closing comments. Over to you, sir.
Yeah. Thank you. Sir, I had a question for Arun sir. Last time on the call, Arun sir did mention that in the next call, he will be coming back with some newer strategy regarding branding and sort of something on that front. Anything, Arun sir, which you would like to throw some light on this call?
That I told one of the gentlemen because brand rejuvenation, which I had promised before that we are working. That has come to an execution level now. We have launched a new brand called JK Lakshmi Green+ Cement. We have launched on 14th of January this year, and the initial feedback from the market is very encouraging. One, I think our commitment towards greener products and greener environment. That was one of the motives. Second was also to improve the positioning of our brand, which we have done. And we definitely see that now this brand rejuvenation exercise and brand repositioning is going to benefit us in many ways. One, of course, our very strong commitment towards greener product, greener environment with this green plus. And second, also in terms of improving pricing positioning, that will further give benefit in terms of our bottom line.
That we have done and some of the brand restructuring, because there were different brands in different geographies with different kind of positioning and value proposition. That also we have aligned in all our markets. Pan-India, we have now across one brand architecture, and each and every brand has similar kind of value proposition for different markets all across India. It is quite a mammoth exercise, and we are almost into about one and a half months into this, and the encouraging feedback we are getting from the market and our customers. Hopefully, I think things are going to be turning out well for us as far as our objective goes.
Right, sir. Sir, also one more question I wanted to ask you specifically is that over the last couple of quarters, especially our numbers have been a little volatile versus relative to what our peers have reported. Since you are taking now so much of initiatives regarding branding and several other stuff which you mentioned in the call. Relative to that, from here on, where do you see your numbers getting better? I am ignoring the pricing aspect, but on a relative basis to versus to peers, do you think so that in next couple of quarters, you can come at a par to industry leaders in terms of profitability, or you will still be away like INR 100, INR 200?
And if that number will sustain as per your assessment at that gap only, or it will fluctuate like the way it has been in the recent past?
We have definitely bridged that gap, Vaibhav, you know that and all of you, because you track each and every company very closely. We have done a substantial job over the last couple of years. There is no doubt about it, and that is also reflecting in the gap which we have with our peer group. Now, one thing I would definitely want to request all of you, when you compare our result with others, I think let us compare like to like. Gray cement versus gray cement. Based on your input only, we have also done gray versus gray comparison. Because to compare apple with banana, then I think is not going to be good. We do not have any incentive with us. We do not have other than gray cement with us. Right?
I think based on those parameters, all of you should know, and all of you are learned people and doing a detailed analysis. I think I would really love to really see that gray versus gray and like to like comparison, where are we? We have done our own calculation. But when I see, I think I am not far behind. I am absolutely not far behind. I am as good as what you call that best in the industry. If you meet one to one to me, I will explain you why I am saying so and what kind of analysis I have done. Similar kind of things, if it is coming from you also, that will really help us and give some insight as to where we need to further work on. Otherwise, if we keep on comparing banana to apple, I think this is not fair.
Right, sir. We will discuss that in person, sir. I look forward to that. Thank you very much, sir. On behalf of PhillipCapital India Private Limited, we would like to thank the management of JK Lakshmi Cement for this call, and also many thanks for joining the call. Thank you very much, sir. We are now concluded the call. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you, members of the management. On behalf of PhillipCapital India Private Limited, that concludes this conference. We thank you for joining us and you may now disconnect your lines. Thank you.