Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the Ambuja Cements Limited Q4 FY 2025 earnings call hosted by HDFC Securities. 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 touchstone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Rajesh Ravi from HDFC Securities Limited. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thank you, Elric, and thank you everyone for joining in this call. I welcome you all on behalf of HDFC Securities. I now hand over the call to Mr. Deepak Balwani, Head of Investor Relations. Over to you, Mr. Deepak.
Yeah, thank you, Rajesh. First of all, apologies for the delay. On behalf of Ambuja Cements, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all participants joining us for the earnings call for the fourth quarter FY 2025. Ambuja Cements Limited is one of India's leading cement companies and a member of the diversified Adani Group, the largest and fastest-growing portfolio of diversified sustainable businesses. As Adani Group continues its rapid expansion across industries and geographies, cement businesses are implementing a strategic leadership realignment that sharpens commitment to growth supported by internal talent development. Over the last couple of years, Mr. Vinod Bahety has been setting the foundation for making Ambuja Cements as an industry leader. As CFO, Mr. Bahety led the acquisitions of Sanghi, Penna, My Home, Asian Cements , and the most recent, Orient Cement. Mr.
Bahety has now been elevated to the role of Whole-Time Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company with effect from 1st April 2025. Appointment of Mr. Rakesh Tiwary, Chief Financial Officer of the company. Mr. Rakesh Tiwary is a qualified chartered accountant, cost accountant, company secretary, and MBA with about 30 years of work experience in airport, power utilities, solar panel manufacturing, and steel production. Mr. Ajay Kapur has been elevated as Managing Director of the company. Before we start, please note that this call may include forward-looking statements based on our current beliefs and expectations. These are not guarantees of future performance and may involve unforeseen risks and uncertainties. We are pleased to have with us on the call Mr. Vinod Bahety, Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. Rakesh Tiwary, Chief Financial Officer. Now, I invite Mr. Bahety to provide his valuable insights on the quarterly performance.
Thank you, Deepak. Good afternoon and a warm welcome to each of you for our Q4 and FY 2024-2025 earnings call. This quarter and these results will remain special because, friends, I'm happy to share that Ambuja Cements has crossed more than 100 million tons of cement capacity, becoming the ninth-largest cement company globally. Others have taken decades, but we have achieved this in 13 months. We continue to strengthen our position as a market leader in the cement industry. Adani Cements is getting stronger over time, underscoring our strategic focus on growth, operational excellence, increasing market presence, standing ground network, efficiency improvements, and cost leadership. We remain committed to sustaining our market share by achieving consistent volume growth and high ESG performance, delivering unmatched value for our stakeholders.
We are happy to share that our subsidiary, ACC, has become India's first large-scale cement company with science-based net-zero targets validated by SBTi. Through our community engagement initiatives, we have delivered societal value for 5.7 million lives. I would like to share some of the high-level highlights before diving into specifics. Ninety-nine MW wind power at Khavda has been commissioned in Q4 FY 2025. I had mentioned last time that by June 2026, the entire 1,000 MW will be up and running. Already, we have achieved 300 MW. 367 million tons of new limestone reserves secured in Q4 2025, taking the total limestone reserves to 9,000 + million metric tons. With the completion of Orient acquisition, commissioning of grinding units at Farakka, and the de-bottlenecking of capacity at various plants, as I mentioned, we have now crossed 100 million tons.
Sooner, we should be also announcing additional grinding units to be commissioned in Q1, primarily Sankrail and Sindri, and with every prospective quarter, we should be hitting 118, 118 million metric tons by the end of this financial year. The consolidated quarterly year-on-year performance is as under. We achieved a revenue of INR 9,889 crore, up by 11% year-on-year, driven by a strong focus on our micro-market management strategy, expansion of our ground network, blended cement, which remains at 82%, and an increase in premium products as a percentage of our overall trade sales, which is up by 5.3% to 29.1%. Operational cost for the quarter stood at INR 4,104 per ton. This is driven by better fuel management and a strong focus on green power. Kiln fuel cost has reduced by a whopping 14%, 14% to INR 1.58 per 1,000 Kcal from INR 1.84 per 1,000 Kcal.
The transportation cost also declined 2% at INR 1,238 per ton on account of footprint optimization and closer to market strategy. With increasing grinding units, this is expected to further come down. Primary distance lead has reduced by 15 km at 265 km and secondary lead by 2 km at 46. Direct dispatch to customers increased by 600 basis points to 58%. With the improvements mentioned on the cost front, EBITDA stood at INR 1,868 crore at an EBITDA margin of almost 19% and EBITDA per ton at INR 1,001. As of 31st of March 2025, the consol cash and cash equivalent stands at INR 10,125 crore. The consol financial year 2025 year-on-year performance is as under. Highest-ever annual revenue of INR 35,045 crore. Operational cost at INR 4,275 per ton. EBITDA stood at INR 5,971 crore and EBITDA per ton at INR 915.
As we aim, this INR 915 is for the year, but now our journey anyways is going to be towards achieving 1,500 EBITDA per ton by FY 2028. You have seen a good level of improvement in the last quarter, March quarter. In the best interest of time, I'm not going to discuss the standalone financial performance of the listed companies separately as they are available on the stock exchanges. Now, I will share with you the progress which we have made on our announced long-term strategic plan. We have crossed the 100 million tons capacity, growth of nearly 50% in 30 months. Our growth journey continues as we aim for 118 million tons by FY 2026 and 140 million tons by FY 2028, largely this time driven by organic expansions.
Focus for FY 2026 is on commissioning of our fairly advanced stages projects like Sankrail, Sindri, Salai Banwa, Dahej, Marwar, Kalamboli, Krishnapatnam, Bhatinda, Jodhpur, and Warisaliganj. We are on course to commission our 4 million tons of clinker unit at Bhatapara in Chhattisgarh and the associated grinding units in Sankrail, in Bengal, and Sindri in Jharkhand by Q1 2026. The grinding units at Salai Banwa in Uttar Pradesh are expected to be commissioned in Q2 of 2026. Kalamboli unit expansion in Maharashtra is targeted to be commissioned in Q3. Brownfield expansion of Bhatinda in Punjab, Marwar in Rajasthan, Dahej in Gujarat, and Jodhpur in Rajasthan. Jodhpur as an integrated unit of that Penna, which was under construction, is expected to be commissioned by Q3 of FY 2026.
Further, the clinker unit of 4 million tons at Maratha in Maharashtra and grinding unit at Warisaliganj in Bihar are also expected to be commissioned by the end of FY 2026, enabling us to reach 118, 118 million tons capacity by FY 2026. We have also identified nine additional grinding unit projects for which land acquisitions and statutory approvals are under process, which shall enable us to reach 140 million tons, which is by FY2 2028. There is a clear, clear blueprint which is there to achieve 140, which we had committed way back in 2022 September. For the new facilities, 4 million tons per annum clinker at Bhatapara, as I said, it is expected by Q1 of 2026. We have made 87% progress. Overall, erection work is almost completed. Refractory and P&I work and no load trial is in process.
The overall project progress for Sankrail is 88%, and as I said, it's expected by Q1 of 2026. Over there, also, major equipment has already been installed and under process of the dry runs. For the new facility of 4 MTPA clinker line at Maratha in Chandrapur, 76% of the major equipment ordering is done and 44% civil work is completed, and it's expected to be commissioned by Q4. These kiln lines will have 42 MW of WHRS and provision for utilizing 30% of AFR in the kilns. For the new facility of 3 MTPA clinker line in Jodhpur, 95% of civil work is through and major equipment ordering is done. 48% mechanical erection work completed and expected to commission by Q3 of 2026. The entire roadmap for the project expansion is there in the presentation. I won't take more time on that.
Now, I will share some of the key initiatives being undertaken for becoming the cost leader in the Indian cement industry. Raw material cost, we have secured raw material at competitive prices. Efficiency and productivity improvement, CapEx will further help in raw material cost optimization by 8-10%. Friends, as you know, we have put our commitments to achieve INR 3,650 per ton of cost by FY 2028. Our long-term flyers agreements, supply chain synergies, and operational efficiencies will ensure that the cost reduction goes hand in hand with our relentless pursuit of quality. On the energy side, as of now, we have WHRS capacity of almost 218 MW, and down the line, we are targeting to achieve 30%, including all the new projects at 140 million capacity, 30% to be WHRS.
We have already earlier announced our investments of 1,000 MW of renewable energy, which is expected to commission by 2026. 300 MW is already up and running, which I already shared with you. As previously explained, to meet our requirements, we aim to maximize captive coal consumption. As a result, we are bidding for coal mines in the auctions being conducted by the government of India. A higher share of coal from the captive mines and the opportunistic buying of imported petcoke will help us to reduce our overall basket of fuel and therefore fuel cost. Cost reduction possible through multiple strategies of maximization of the domestic coal, 40% of the kiln heat mix, linkage, booking in tranche seven and tranche eight, 2.4 million tons for the next 10 years, of which 1.4 million tons by direct rail.
Linkage coal rake planned through GPWIS rake, which is like our own rake. First time in cement industry, thus ensuring regular low-cost linkage movement to expect start from Q2 of 2026. Leveraging of group synergy in booking of low-cost imported petcoke and imported coal is the underlying point, which will be there continuously right from beginning. It has been helping us. Driven by better fuel management and structural initiatives undertaken, our kiln fuel cost reduced by 14% from 1.84 to 1.58. These initiatives include better fuel mix and source mix optimization. The share of green power and power mix has increased to 26% from 15.6%, almost 10% improvement. Coming to the another major cost focus, which is freight and forwarding, there are three focus areas for cost reduction here. Reduction in the lead distance, warehouse footprint optimization, and railroad mix optimization.
We are targeting to reduce the lead distance by almost about 100 km to 170 km. Primarily, lead distance in the current quarter was 265 versus 280, and secondary at 46 versus 48. This has been done with improvement in direct dispatch by 600, which is point from 52% to 58%, and overall network optimization. We have enhanced our coastal presence, empowering a model shift towards increased share of marine logistics, driving reduction in the emissions and costs. To further optimize our cost in logistics, we have ordered 11 GPWIS rakes, of which 11 have been all delivered and running in approved circuits. These rakes will enable cost-efficient clinker movement from the mother plants. In addition to this, we have also ordered 26 BCFC rakes for safe and cost-effective transportation of fly ash from thermal power plants to our facilities.
Of these 26 BCFC rakes, eight rakes have been delivered in FY 2025. Because of these initiatives, our overall logistics costs have reduced by 2%, but this is just the beginning. You will see more and more improvement in coming quarters. This 2% reduction from INR 1,258 to INR 1,238, which has been achieved. On the limestone, we have secured almost 367 million tons of limestone, and as I said in my initial remarks, we have reached to 9,000+ million tons. This 367 million tons comes from three new mines, two of them in MP and one in Assam. In terms of ESG, we have made significant progress on our ESG agenda. We took actions on multiple fronts to inch closer to our ambitious commitment of net zero by 2050. Lots of details on the ESG are already there in my presentation. I won't spend more time on this now.
Coming to the digital part, we have embraced Industry 4, predictive analytics, automation, artificial intelligence, ML, and several digital technologies to enhance efficiency, streamline operations, and improve our customer experience. This is an area, friend, very close to our leadership, and we will drive a lot on this, and you will see lots of good progress coming in terms of the efficiency improvements, optimizers, which will in turn help us in terms of improving our overall EBITDA. Our brands stand as a testament to the trust and quality with innovation and customer-centric solutions. To better serve our customers, we are sending our distribution network through investments in logistics, supply chain, and overall regional expansion.
On the industry side, friends, I remain positive as the cement consumption grew almost 6.5-7% in Q4, and we are expecting that it will have a continued improvement and reach 8% overall demand growth for FY 2026. This is supported with improved construction activities, rural demand, the overall housing, and increased government spending. Cumulative growth for FY 2025, we believe, is for the industry between 4-5%, but as a company, we have delivered better than the industry results. To conclude, friends, Ambuja Cements will benefit from accelerated growth, lower costs driven by and supported by group synergies, all of which will contribute to lead the market share and achieve sustainable performance in the near future. We believe that a strong leadership team is paramount to achieving organizational goals and driving success. The leadership team set the strategic direction, making critical decisions and inspiring the entire organization.
We have made significant new additions to our leadership team to make our organization more agile and responsive to market demands. I'm pleased to, because first time we are coming on this call after this appointment, I'm pleased to introduce you to the new members of our leadership team. Mr. Sanjay Bahl, who is the Head of Sales, Marketing, and Logistics, Sanjay brings with him a wealth of experience and a proven track record in driving sales growth via branding excellence. His strategic insights will be instrumental in expanding our market presence and enhancing customer engagement. Previous to joining Adani, Sanjay has worked as CEO in Greaves and Raymond, where he has been instrumental in business turnarounds. Rakesh Tiwary, our homegrown leader, now who has taken over as the CFO.
Rakesh's expertise is in financial management, and his deep understanding of the industry will be crucial in steering our financial strategy and ensuring robust financial health. Rakesh has been a veteran in the group and has led as CFO of many important group companies, and most recently worked for the airport business. Madhavi Isanaka has joined us as the Chief Digital Officer. I told you that digital will be a key focus area. Madhavi's extensive experience in digital transformation will help us leverage technology to drive innovation, improve operational efficiency, and enhance the overall customer experience. Madhavi had a long stint in the U.S.A for 20 years, after which she joined Adani a year back. After leading the digital transformation agenda in Adani Green Energy, she has joined Ambuja Cements to help us drive the digital agenda here.
Our new, another addition, who is a young leader at the age of 46, he is now my Head of Manufacturing, Vaibhav , who joined the business way back in ACC, in fact, as a GET in 2000. Vaibhav journey from a GET to the Head of Manufacturing is truly inspiring and serves as an inspiration for any young campus cadre. Through dedication and hard work, a relentless pursuit of excellence, Vaibhav steadily climbed the ranks within the company. Additionally, we are thrilled to welcome over 1,000 campus graduates who have joined us from prestigious institutions across the country. These graduates have been hired in a first-of-the-kind, touchless hiring to eliminate any interview biases and have been hired under the overall guidance of our Chairman's vision of building skills and employment at local level.
With this, we are aggressively refreshing our talent pyramid to bring in more agility and optimize our cost of talent. These hires will fuel our growth and innovation and represent the future leaders of Adani Cement. From an overall talent management perspective, we have deployed a new operating model and are now working towards a culture of internal nurturing of talent and providing a faster roadmap for growth for our performing talent. In terms of agility and cost optimization, we have now executed the operating model change of incorporating shared services setup, wherein we have moved HR, IT, procurement, finance functions to the shared services, what is that GCC, what we say here, with clear service-level agreements and rapid technology deployment to rationalize costs and speed of our operations.
These strategic developments in our team at the leadership as well as at the entry level with the operating model changes are a testament to our commitment to build a dynamic and forward-thinking organization. We believe that these changes will drive our company towards greater success and create significant value for our stakeholders. We are happy to be the fastest-growing cement company in the country, from being also the highest, which is at Darlaghat, to having the oldest operating plant, which is Lakheri, which I call it as OHF story of Adani Cement. In our journey to become most valuable, we are now duly supported by talent and technology. Finally, friends, we are driven by purpose and defined by progress. [Foreign language]. 100 million tons in 30 months is a remarkable achievement.
As a team, we feel proud about it to have a contribution in nation-building. With this, now I will hand over to my newly appointed CFO, Mr. Rakesh Tiwary, for his opening remarks, and then we'll quickly come to the Q&A. Rakesh.
Thank you for the inspiring talk, and it was really great. Good afternoon, everyone. It's great to connect with all of you today at such a pivotal moment in our journey. Over the past few quarters, we have been relentlessly focused on four pillars, which are growth, ESG, cost reduction, and stakeholders' value creation. I'm thrilled and I'm going to update you on all these four pillars as to how we are delivering across all the fronts. Before I proceed, let me take the first thing first, the major milestone.
Ambuja Cements has crossed 100 million tons per annum, and a big congratulation to Vinod, under whose leadership the same has been achieved in a very short period of 30 months. It is really a congratulatory time to Vinod and the entire cement team and to the entire Adani. This is like we are just getting started. We are on the course to hit 118 MTPA by financial year 2026 and 140 MTPA by financial year 2028, as we have promised in September 2022. The recent acquisitions of Sanghi, Asian, Tuticorin g rinding unit, Penna, and Orient have turbocharged our growth. I am happy to report that the integration of these assets is progressing extremely well, unlocking the synergies faster than what we expected across operations, logistics, and procurement. To put into perspective, the broader environment is also working in our favor.
The current, I mean, the country's cement demand remains very strong, driven by infra investment, housing need, and rapid urbanization. Now, Ambuja is uniquely positioned to ride this multi-year growth wave with a robust platform and a future-ready strategy. Looking back, it has been an incredible 30 months since we acquired the wholesale stake in September 2022. From March 25th quarter onwards, now we will see that there is an acceleration of organic growth complemented by all the brownfield expansion which we have done. This will not only add capacity and market share, but also fortify our cost leadership journey. Importantly, almost 40-50% of our capacity is new, and it is giving us a huge impetus, huge advantage in terms of higher efficiencies across CapEx, OpEx, green power, and the infrastructure which is being built.
On cost leadership, as we have announced, the team which announced at that point of time in March 2024, we targeted a cost reduction of close to INR 500 per metric ton, and I'm happy to share that we are formally on the track for the same. On the renewable energy front, we had committed setting up a gigawatt of renewable energy projects, and the same is starting being delivered, and it is on track. Already, 200 MW of solar and close to 100 MW of energy have been delivered by March 2025, and the full gigawatt will get commissioned by quarter two of financial year 2026. This massive RE shift will not only lower our energy cost, but significantly reduce our carbon footprint, which is underscoring our strong commitment to sustainability and ESG leadership. Another area where we are making real strides is the digitization piece.
Our query to lobby digital transformation is taking firm root, enhancing operational efficiencies, and it is becoming a key catalyst for the growth and the EBITDA enhancement which is happening and the margin expansion which is being done. Most of you, if you have visited this building, ACH Adani Corporate House, must have seen our CNOC, our Cement Network Operating Center, at our headquarters. We are continuously adding new features, which is ensuring that our century-old industry becomes smarter, faster, and more agile. Ambuja is leading the traditions towards a younger, more tech-driven cement industry. On financials, Vinod has given a detail point-wise in terms of how actually we have done, but just to make you a little bit comfortable, the balance sheet has never been so strong. The net worth has climbed to close to INR 64,000 crore, up from close to INR 50,000 crore a year ago.
That is point number one. Point number two, we still remain debt-free. Point number three, we are enjoying the highest credit rating in this industry. Point number four, our tangible assets, which is TP and cash, which forms a strong share of our net worth, with cash and cash equivalent at the industry-leading level. These are the four pillars on which the financials have been built up. At the same time, we continue to follow a disciplined approach towards our capital allocation, I mean, prioritizing high-return projects and maintaining a razor-sharp focus on the profitable and sustainable growth. Lastly, a few words on our organization. See, we have further strengthened our leadership team, which Vinod has totally explained in terms of making it a more young and agile team and a young operating team to support this new phase of accelerated growth.
Talent is the real engine behind this flawless execution, and I'm confident that our team is geared up to deliver superior results quarter after quarter, henceforth. In conclusion, while the industry is entering an exciting phase, Ambuja is at the forefront. Push for growth, margin expansion, and enhance stakeholder value, powered by cost leadership, green energy, digitization, and an exceptionally strong balance sheet. We are building a future-ready Ambuja, and the best is yet to come. With that, I'll now hand over to the coordinator back again.
Thank you, sir. We will now begin with the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touchstone 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 comes from the line of Rahul Gupta from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hi. Thank you for taking my question. Two questions from my side. Hearting to hear that cost optimization journey is on track, but can you please help us understand the quantum of cost savings achieved during the year? Also, is there any change in the guided benefits of INR 100 per ton in fiscal 2026 and INR 150 in fiscal 2027? That's my first question. Thank you.
Thank you, Rahul. When we started way back in September 2022, we had been at the levels of INR 4,250 around of cost. And then somewhere like in December 2023, we have been at, say, INR 4,170 around that level, and then we committed to achieve INR 3,650.
In this journey, so far, we have achieved already around INR 150-INR 175 per ton of cost, and the balance INR 300-INR 325 per ton is what we are going to expect in FY 2026 to up to 2028. Now, this cost largely will be driven by three, four factors. One is our continued investment on WHRS, AFR, and renewable power as one component. Second is the fly ash, and for which, for example, we are setting up the fly ash handling systems. Just to share, and I mentioned last time that we have entered into a 10-year agreement with Adani Power for 5 million tons of fly ash supply at almost negative INR 400, wherein we have invested into handling the fly ash from the Tiroda power plant to some of our grinding units. Now, these are like strategic investments which are being made.
This BCFC is going to be a game changer for us. On top of it, still the marine logistics has not taken and achieved its full play, but we are in fairly good stages of ordering almost eight shipping vessels, which will help us to achieve a significant improvement in our marine shipping or marine transportation as well. I think the journey is very clear. 3650 is, for example, which we have a complete detailed blueprint, and every passing quarter, we are increasing it. In terms of power, now green power, when we got 300 MW, it's already started reflecting in my power cost per unit, wherein it has reduced by almost INR 0.20-INR 0.25 to what we were getting last quarter. And so on and so forth, I can go with more details.
I think this is a larger broader outline on the cost part. What was your second question, Rahul?
Yeah, I just wanted an update on the guidance for the next couple of years. I remember last quarter, you talked about greater than INR 100 per ton savings expected in fiscal 2026 and another INR 150 in fiscal 2027. That is broadly on track, right?
That is absolutely broadly on track. In fact, I am going to also work that the whole team is committed here to work to achieve it before what we have committed. That is like the spirit of what we are working on. 3650, absolutely clear roadmap.
Great. Thank you so much. My second question is on the revenue side. Share of premium products has improved to 29%.
Can you just help us understand how to look at this over the next couple of years, taking into account your expanded capacity both on organic and inorganic basis?
Very good question again, Rahul. In terms of our premium cement, right from the beginning, I think both the brands have been doing extremely well, and the share of premium cement has been averaging 25-26%, and this time it is like 29-30%. Our focus remains very core to promote the premium cement because we also see the customers are looking forward to it. Towards this, for example, we are substantially increasing our ground network. We are putting a whole lot of branding and promotion activities around this. We are also going to ensure a consistent quality supplies towards this.
The trade sales, because this premium product actually becomes part of the trade sales, and precisely over there, our deeper engagement on the ground will help us facilitate it. Typically, you will know that the premium cement, for example, gives you almost INR 200-INR 300 per ton extra realization, and that is what is going to differentiate the leader from the others. Our target for FY 2026 is around 35% on the premium cement.
Great. Thank you so much. These are my questions. All the best.
Thank you, Rahul.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Amit Murarka from Axis Capital. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hi. Good afternoon. My first question actually is on ACC. There were a few transactions in ACC, which I just wanted to understand better.
There was some land purchase under ACC Mineral Resources, which was for about INR 680 crore. Could you help understand what is this land for, and by when can we expect, I believe, new capacities also have been planned on this? Some clarity on that, please.
Yeah, yeah, sure. I think there have been these investments which are coming from ACC. I can actually answer your question on a larger level so that if there are any other questions, which will, I'm preempting it so that it can be replied in one go. See, overall, for example, in terms of ACC, there has been an outgo of almost INR 1,100 crore in terms of the cash balance from INR 4,660 crore to INR 3,590 crore. Now, on top of it, we also had this EBITDA and other income.
If I add to that, then the overall investment is around INR 4,500 crore in case of ACC, out of which INR 2,300 crore is towards the overall investments in the figure set and some of them in CWIP. This is like a broader number, then I will come to specific items. Also, there has been a working capital deployment of INR 1,300 crore, and this is absolutely to the third-party companies, wherein, for example, an early payment to the MSME vendors. Also, in terms of the OpEx vendors, which we have also taken a treasury arbitrage. There has been this lease liability payment of INR 750 crore, and this is one area which I will highlight. On top of it, it's a dividend payout and tax outgo. Almost like closer to, for example, INR 4,500 crore in terms of deployment.
To your question about this land and particular, say, investments, which is closer to about INR 690 crore, these have been invested, especially for the land in the western side of the country, where we have plans to set up the grinding units and also acquire the we have acquired the coal mines. This is, as a business, overall, is going to benefit. This is closer to Chanda, and as I said, the plans are there in terms of the overall coal and plus the grinding unit. This is like one point. Second is, in terms of the BCFC wagons for Ametha, Kymore, Wadi, ACC has also invested around INR 750 crore. For my Salai Banwa and Salai Banwa and the Sindri, which is like a work in progress, some of you would know that ACC is in fairly advanced stages of commissioning them.
Close to INR 500 crore has gone towards the investments around that. We have also put in WHRS investments for Chanda and Wadi II, and we have also put into investments with respect to the overall coal mines and the BCFC and so on and so forth. From a land perspective, this has gone purely from grinding units to the perspective of the coal mines for which the land is required. Now, as a business, sometimes you cannot segment out between Ambuja and ACC because, as I said, these are like a single composite business. Sometimes Ambuja will invest, and sometimes ACC will invest. When Ambuja invests, ACC gets the benefit of MSA. When ACC invests, Ambuja gets the benefit of MSA. This has to be looked upon instead of completely clinically segmenting it.
This is, for example, which will also help you to understand the perspective. What was your next question, Amit?
Yeah, this is helpful. The land purchase is for coal mines largely, is what I understand then.
Some coal mines and the grinding units both, actually.
Okay. Both clinker plants in this?
Blocks are around Chanda, so three of them. Limestone blocks, the grinding units, and the coal blocks.
Sure, sure. Okay. There is some impairment of cement plants in Wadi.
I'm sorry to interrupt, Amit. I would request you to fall back into the queue if you have any more questions so that the management can answer as many participants as possible.
Just this last one, if I can, it's related to the earlier question. There is some impairment also of the cement plants.
I also wanted to understand that what was this impairment for?
Amit, we have also, I think, highlighted that some of the old assets, which are clinker units, but we find now unfeasible, are like Bargarh, Chaibasa, and the Wadi line number one, which we have decided right now to put them off. Therefore, proactively, we are providing for those assets. If I'm not wrong, it is around close to INR 200-odd crores, which is what we have provided. This is purely like a proactive, prudent accounting so that down the line, we will decide not to actually discontinue these assets from a clinkering perspective. So far as grinding is concerned, Bargarh is right now working from a grinding perspective.
Okay. Thank you. I'll come back in a second.
Wadi one line, for reference, we already have started the process of dismantling.
Got it. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Indrajit Agarwal from CLSA India. Please go ahead. Indrajit, please go ahead with your question and unmute yourself in case if you're on mute.
Hi. Can you hear me?
Yes, please go ahead.
Yeah, Indrajit, we can hear you.
Hi. Thank you for the opportunity, sir. I have two questions. First, on other financial assets on console, there is about INR 1,700 crore increase from March last year to this year. One, what is this related to? Second, on the land acquisition that you have done in ACC, the grinding unit that you talked about, is it part of the plan to 140, or would it be beyond that?
Okay. Let me address you the first question. In terms of your other financial assets, let me just figure out. Other financial assets, this is closer.
The numbers which I have right now with me, which is 18, this is 1,000 what they're referring to. Just a sec, Indrajit.
Yeah. I'm looking at the non-current part.
Have details with me. There is an increase in terms of the government grant, which is close to overall increase of INR 109 crore. There is a basically, it's more about the fixed deposits, which are getting reclassified between current and non-current. There are two components here. One is the fixed deposits. From an accounting perspective, if it is with remaining maturity of more than 12 months, then it gets classified as non-current. This purely is like an accounting reclassification. Otherwise, from a government grant receivers perspective, which is also lying here, which is close to about INR 109 crore. That's how it is.
Okay. This is clear.
On the ACC pipeline of capacity expansion?
Some of these accounting reclassification queries, what I have proposed to the team, between four to six, two hours also, Deepak and team will be available for any specific questions on accounts and some details. They will be available. The team will be available to give you the answers. Okay? Deepak's number is available to all of you.
Sir, on ACC grinding expansion, is it part of 140 or beyond that?
No, no. Very much is very much part of the 140. Right now, my entire CapEx program is adhering to 140.
Thank you. That's all from my side.
Thank you. Participants, please restrict yourselves to two questions. If you have any more questions, kindly rejoin the queue. The next question comes from the line of Navin Sahadeo from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Good afternoon, sir.
Am I audible?
Yeah, Navin. Hi. Good afternoon.
Yeah, yeah. Great commentary. Indeed, very assuring. Two questions. One is that of the total promoter fund infusion, which was done of INR 20,000 crore, post, I think, the Orient deal, Penna, and of course, Sanghi, the entire cash deployment is largely done. I think a couple of months back, in one of your maybe media interviews, you did mention that Ambuja will focus more on organic expansions now. From that perspective, having deployed the cash and the recent, I mean, the interview which I'm maybe mentioning, but in general, your view, can we say that the competitive intensity in the industry can be expected to get softened a little bit from here on and overall industry profitability could improve, or you think that, no, there is still room for more M&As, and hence it can remain volatile?
Navin, very interesting. Thanks. In fact, the promoters' infusion of INR 20,000 crore, and as you know, sum total of all our acquisitions so far, after Ambuja and ACC, the enterprise value is almost INR 25,000 + crore. Therefore, in fact, we have also used the existing cash and cash equivalent for the overall acquisitions, and we are also sitting on a good level of, say, further for the growth prospects. Now, so far as the prospects for the industry is concerned, I would say more than the action of the M&A, I think overall demand levers are better in terms of the government spending. The overall cost initiatives for the mature companies whose balance sheets basically have the strength to invest will be better. They will have an arbitrage. Therefore, the prospects of the industry definitely looks better. To me, FY 2026 should be far, far better than FY 2025.
In fact, if FY 2025 is sliced, the first nine months and the last, say, three months, you will find a key differentiation already, and that March 2025 quarter is also spilling over to now, say, June as well. Therefore, I think the prospects are better, with the discipline of the overall cost and also the uptick in the demand. As I said in my commentary, the premium cement, the overall aspirational demand coming for the good brands, it is there. When I look at my brands and my team's strength, they are focusing a lot in terms of the ground network and overall leading technology and digitization. We will differentiate, and they will actually augur me very well in terms of the growth versus the industry. These are like the trends which I am going to look at.
Yes, my focus will be more in terms of the organic growth to achieve this 20 million ton additional, which we are expecting in 2026, but not that we are averse to any M&A if it is coming at a right opportunity.
Understood. Understood. My second question was then about the ramp-up of the required units of both Penna and Sanghi. And Sanghi, if I understand, its utilization is still under 60% in the peak quarter like March, having acquired, I think it's almost the fifth quarter for that entity. If you can just throw some light as to how we can see the ramp-up for Sanghi going ahead, and of course, how is Penna doing so far in the ramp-up there? Thanks.
Penna, I would say we are so happy with the assets of Penna.
In terms of my clinker utilization, it is almost 75-80%. So far as cement is concerned, you know the south markets have been sluggish. Therefore, in terms of cement capacity, it may be a little lower than what the clinker capacity has been, utilization has been. But clinker is doing great from Penna perspective. So far as Sanghi is concerned, you are right that compared to our own target, we may be a few months behind because more so that it's an island plant, and therefore we will have to take care of some of the requirements in terms of the power and in terms of the dredging. And these plants have been not so well maintained, so it has gone into refractory linings and so on and so forth, I think.
As of now, both the kilns are up and running, and you will see a significant, already I'm seeing it in the month of April. Sanghi, for me, is one of the best assets in terms of the cost. It will be my jewel, I tell you, in terms of the overall clinker cost. It will be my hub of clinker. Sanghi, for example, it takes time because these are the assets which are sitting on 1,000 million tons of limestone. They have their own typical issues which are getting addressed. As a strategy, Sanghi, for me, is going to be very important. This year, you will see significant capacity for Sanghi in terms of utilization.
Great. That's helpful. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Prateek Kumar from Jefferies . Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi.
Good afternoon, sir, from Exposure Results. My first question is on your CapEx and cash flow position. Your year-ending cash flow was INR 10,000 crore. After Orient Cement's paydown, what will be the cash position in April? Is there an open offer? What is the timing of that? Overall cash out related to Orient Cement, what is the expectation?
Thank you, Prateek. In terms of open offer, we have already deposited the entire amount under open offer, closer to around INR 2,000 crore, into SEBI escrow, and we are expecting SEBI's clearance of the DLOF, Detailed Letter of Offer, so that it will move faster. That is one on the open offer. In terms of the investment, it is already put into the SEBI escrow.
As far as the overall cash flow is concerned post-Orient, and as you know, that Orient, we have acquired 46% at closer to overall outflow of around INR 5,500 crore-INR 5,600 crore. After that, I'm sitting almost now on, say, INR 5,000 crore of cash, and this is getting added with improved operating performances every passing month. On top of it, we also have some of the areas of incentives and some of the taxes which have already got in our favor. We are sitting on a good level of projection for the cash flows, and therefore my entire CapEx for growth will be self-funded on top of it. I will be sitting on a decent level of closing cash and cash equivalent. From a cash perspective, we are fairly in a decent position as of now.
Including open offer payment expectations, the current cash position will be INR 5,500 crore, and your annual CapEx expectation is around INR 10,000 crore outside of that, right?
No. I could not hear it properly, but your point is whether your open offer amount is outside INR 10,000 or within INR 10,000. It is part of this overall, say, INR 10,000 crore. In April, we have already put into SEBI escrow. It is part of this INR 10,100 crore.
Hello. I meant, organic CapEx is over and above this INR 5,000 crore which is paid towards Orient Cement, right?
Yeah, yeah. Of course. My organic CapEx is over and above that, of course.
Right. Just one last question.
Your organic CapEx will be met by the existing cash and cash equivalent, then recovery of the working capital block, and on top of it, my monthly improved operating cash flows coming from the business.
Just one question on your cost. You said when you—
Pratik, those were your two questions. I would request you to fall back into the—
I'm not able to hear properly. Yeah. Sorry. Yeah. Over to HDFC because I'm not able to hear his voice properly. There is some disturbance.
Pratik, could you go to a quieter area, please? Sure. I'll get back to the queue.
Thank you. Okay. Thank you.
Participants, please restrict yourselves to one question. If you have any further questions, please rejoin the queue. The next question comes from the line of Parvez Qazi from Nuvama. Please go ahead.
Hi. Good afternoon. Questions and congratulations for a good set of numbers. Just one question. What would have been the contribution from Penna and Sanghi in terms of volumes in Q4?
In terms of volumes of Penna and Sanghi, so far as Penna is concerned, Penna's volume together, I would say, both together is around 1.6 million tons for the quarter of March 2025. There is a mobile—there is a disturbance again. Can someone switch off the mobile also, please? Yeah. Around, say, 1.6 for the quarter. As I said, now this will ramp up substantially with Sanghi coming into its fullest avatar.
Parvez, there is a disturbance at your end. Could you please move to a quieter area? Parvez, are you there? I hope that answers your question.
The 1.6 is for Penna or Sanghi? I'm sorry.
It is both together. I will not give you specific details, but it is for both together. It is there. I can come back to you with specific, but on an overall basis, it is 1.6.
Perfect. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Sumangal Nevatia from Kotak Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Good afternoon, sir. Thank you for the chance. First question is on the CapEx. Can you just share for FY 2026 and 2027 for our existing ongoing, what would be our organic CapEx? Broadly, if one could split between projects, not projects, but on expansions on WHRS, on overall renewable, some breakup.
Yeah. Sumangal, hi. In terms of CapEx, let us say the growth CapEx is closer to around INR 6,000 crore, and so far as my efficiency CapEx are concerned, let us say between INR 2,500-INR 3,000 crore. We are looking at closer to, say, INR 9,000 crore. Some of them are discrete, and some of them are ongoing.
As you know that, and I mentioned to you, around 18 million tons of cement which will be coming. One component of this CapEx out of this INR 6,000 crore CapEx will be that part. In terms of my efficiency CapEx, it will be primarily with respect to the WHRS, the BCFC rakes. In terms of my growth CapEx, I mentioned to you about the GUs which we are looking at to achieve closing or commissioning this year, and some of the clinker units. The clinker units will be Bhatapara, Maratha, and Marwar Mundwa, and also Mundra. The Mundra petcham also is now progressing very well. These are the four lines of clinker. In terms of grinding, Warisaliganj, Naultha, Salai Banwa, Bhatinda, Raigarh, these are all part of the 140 million tons of capacity. A couple of more will also come.
This is the progress which we achieve in terms of the land acquisitions and all. This is, in substance, about the CapEx for FY 2026 expected.
Okay. Maintenance will be around INR 1,000-2,000.
Sumangal, that was your question. I would request you to fall back in the queue for more questions. Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Ashish Jain from Macquarie India. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi, sir. Good afternoon. Sir, on the capacity for ACC, which is the clinker capacity which you think will be dismantled, what is the total capacity for the three plants put together? The second part of the same question is then versus the 89 million ton clinker capacity that we are indicating in the presentation, does it include any further expansion which is currently not listed there?
The real number will be lower than 89 once you scrap the three plants?
No. In terms of, let us first address, in terms of the capacity for, let us say, Wadi I, it is around, say, 1 million tons. So far as Bargarh is concerned, also like 1 million. And so far as Chaibasa is concerned, around, say, 0.6. All together, say, 2.5 million. When we say 89 for FY 2028, this is already after factoring in this basically reduction of these capacities. This is part of the whole plan of 140 million tons journey. Ashish, does it answer you, your question?
Yeah. Yeah. It does. It does. Yeah. Yeah. Sorry, it does. All right. Thank you. Yeah.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Shravan Shah from Dolat Capital. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Sir, two, three things.
First, the 3,650 cost reduction that we are talking, what's the number for fourth quarter for that or maybe for FY 2025?
So far as the fourth quarter number is concerned, we are actually at closer to INR 4,250 a ton, right? In a way, we should be higher of, say, around INR 500 as of now. This is like a variable which keeps moving. This INR 4,200 is what will be moving to 3,650 with all the investment what we are planning to.
Okay. Got it. Second, on the incentive part.
That question. I would request you to fall back into the queue for more questions. Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Ritesh Shah from Investec. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi, sir. Thanks for the opportunity. Quick question. Sir, what is the industrial-level supply that we are looking at for next two fiscals?
The average number would also do fine. Thank you.
Hritesh, I will actually stretch myself to, let us say, up to 2030. To me, industry supply will be at, say, 6% CAGR, while demand will be at 7-7.5% CAGR. Therefore, I am at least bullish in terms of demand outpacing supplies. Therefore, we should have a good level of capacity utilization and holding off of the prices with a positive uptake. These are like we should be targeting to, let us say, hit around, say, 950 million tons of cement capacity by 2030. Versus that, while demand overall in absolute terms will be lesser, the overall growth will be bridging closer to the industry.
If I do a math, so far 65% is what, say, industry capacity versus demand, but this will inch towards getting closer to 67-68% at the industry-wide level. This is like my reading for the next four, five years.
Sure. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Satyadeep Jain from Ambit Capital. Please go ahead.
Hi. Just want to check on follow-up on the question around entertainment. How long have these plants been non-operational? What has been the main reason? When you look at some of the other assets ACC has, are you confident that Lakheri, Kymore, and all will also not have some impairments in the next couple of years?
Thank you, Satyadeep. I think Kymore is one of the best assets. I just was there recently, two days back.
There is no per se any thoughts of anything on that. It's like a 100+ years of plant. As you know, we already have invested into overall upgradation of this plant. Generally, when you have the limestones, Kymore, Ametha are like neighboring plants and with sizable limestone reserves. That is, for example, you should allay any kind of concerns over there. So far as these three assets which I have mentioned, they have been basically, they're always an opportunistic asset depending on at what price of coal, and therefore, what is the clinker cost which you are able to get. Generally, now that we are putting up almost 10,000-12,000 TPD of clinkering units, the cost arbitrage will be much higher for these new assets compared to some of these old assets.
We have been using them for some of the quarters because of the opportunity. In the long run, we had always thought that we will have to redefine our strategy around it. Therefore, now we have taken a holistic call to do a proactive provisioning for these assets. The assets can still be operated if the coal prices come down heavily, for example. These are all opportunities which are available. As a long-term strategy, we think that the new assets which we are putting are substantially competitive as compared to these old assets. Therefore, we will have to upgrade ourselves on that.
Thank you.
On the Lakheri part, for example, Lakheri is, as of now, for example, doing very well, although it is one of the oldest assets in the ACC setup. It is doing, again, very well given the market and all.
Per se, this will also continue to operate till the time we find it is adding value. For right now, it is adding very good value.
What's the strategy for North East, sir, given the limestone you've acquired there?
As you know, we have acquired the limestone. Therefore, of course, we will evaluate in due course in terms of the strategy. We already are serving the market through our plants from Bengal, Farakka, and Sankrail. There is a very huge good popularity and demand for ACC and Ambuja. That is a very positive thing for us and a natural choice for us to move into looking up for a unit. Right now, we have just taken the limestone reserves, but we'll come to specific plans in due course.
Thank you. Wish you the best.
Thank you, Satyadeep.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The next question comes from the line of Pulkit Patni from Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.
Sir, thank you for taking my question. Sir, if you could just talk about exit capacity utilization for Sanghi, Penna, and Orient, that would be helpful.
Exit for FY 2026? I have the number.
FY 2025.
Okay. FY 2025. So far as FY 2025 is concerned, Sanghi is around 40-45%. So far as Penna is concerned, as I said, clinker is at a very good level of 75-80%. And so far as cement is concerned, it is also hovering around, say, 45-50%. And so far as Orient is concerned, it's a listed company you would know, but it is hovering between 60-75%.
Sure, sir. That's it. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Hiten Boricha from Sequent Investments. Please go ahead.
Hiten, please go ahead with your question, please.
Hello. Yes, please. Hello. Yeah. My question is on the profitability. Last couple of days, our peers have been reporting the numbers, and I have been looking at their profitability. Especially the question was on the EBITDA per ton. Our recent peer has reported our EBITDA per ton in around four-digit numbers. We are looking at mostly our capacity is pan-India. Our peers currently, I can name Dalmia Bharat, which has mostly capacity in the south, where there has been more pricing issue. The EBITDA per ton of this company is around INR 1,000 per ton. If you can comment on that, how are we looking to increase? I know you have given sort of like a roadmap for like two, three years, but if you can give some color on that.
Bulk is good. In terms of Dalmia, if you've seen, since you have specifically highlighted this name, you will know that Dalmia's overall ratio on the AFR and WHRS, especially on the AFR, they have a very healthy ratio. The cost of fuel, therefore, for them is an advantage, which is a matter of time for us also now that we are already having a pipeline of all the AFR assets. I told you, we are targeting around 25% at the overall business level. Therefore, for example, during wholesale days, what they have not done the investment, and the other players did the investment. It is a matter of time, timing gap, actually, which we will also achieve it. So far as so that does it answer your question in terms of, therefore, the cost part?
You look at the cost part, and you will find this answer. As far as price is concerned, matter of time. So far, prices of south was there. It was beaten till December. If you see the March quarter, the delta performance improvement of Ambuja Consult, which is almost like INR 400 EBITDA, you have not seen this in any other leading companies' improvement. You look at the quarter-on-quarter, December quarter versus March quarter, you will see that the delta improvement of Ambuja is far, far better and larger compared to any other larger company.
Correct. Okay. Okay. And sir, you also mentioned something like.
Hiten, that was your question. I would request you to fall back in the queue. The next question comes from the line of Pankaj Tibrewal from IKIGAI Asset Manager. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Good evening. And congratulations to Mr. Bahety on the elevation
And congrats on good numbers. Just can you give us a flavor on the pricing across pan India? And what's your view in overall pricing terms, whether it be south or north? How do you see the scenario going forward?
Good question, Pankaj. Price is the biggest value driver in our industry. If you look at from December to March, different companies have already given the numbers. The prices have improved price per bag between INR 7-10, for example. As we move into, say, this financial year, again, you are seeing a healthy trend on the price, which is better than what people have achieved in March.
Prices in the last four months, I will say that there's a good momentum backed by a buoyancy in the demand in the government capex spending and overall, say, consumption markets of the cement. So far as the pockets are concerned, pockets, for example, overall, it is healthy, but you will see a good improvement in, say, south market. You have seen some good improvement in, say, central to western market. Eastern are a little, say, subdued, or for that matter, even north is a little subdued. When I say subdued, maybe not as good as south because south had seen a substantial fall. Therefore, the delta will be a little higher and better in terms of percentage. Overall, at the country level, if you take a weighted average, we are seeing a good healthy traction on the prices.
Okay. Great.
The second question is that you have done a few acquisitions in the last 12 to 18 months. Do you think from a company perspective, you will digest those acquisitions, consolidate, and then move forward? The traits of a great leader is that. Now the capacities are there. From a cultural perspective, from plant efficiency perspective, do you think this year will be a year, FY 2026, more of consolidation rather than being aggressive on acquisition?
Pulkit, we highlighted that for FY 2026, I think our key focus is and remains on the organic growth. Of course, you are right that in terms of consolidation, in terms of the overall integration, we are in a very strong now ground in terms of integration. I mentioned to you Sanghi. I highlighted about Penna. Orient is one of the best, for example, assets which you have seen.
Therefore, integration of these companies is natural because we are an acquired business. We have actually tested the success of integration right from Ambuja and ACC. They were the giants who were operating as an independent company. You see how well it has been now achieved in terms of integration. Therefore, these smaller companies are going to be much easier and much better. Those employees are looking forward now that they are part of a 100-million-tons cement capacity platform from where they were like 4-5 million or 8 million tons. I think now they're in a much, much larger platform. In fact, I will get a lot of advantage on cost, on logistics, and the motivation levels are very high.
Okay. That's great. Just last question.
Hello. Ladies and gentlemen, that was the last question for today.
I would now like to hand the conference over to the management for the closing comments. Closing comments.
Thank you. I hope most of the questions have been answered. We are available to discuss separately between 4:00 P.M.-6:00 P.M. You have my number. Please call me separately for unanswered queries.
Thank you, friends. Again, it is my pleasure that on this quarter, which is special, achieving 100-million capacity milestone is always special. Thank you that we are part of this journey. Look forward to achieving many, many more such successful milestones. Thank you again.
Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of HDFC Securities Limited, that concludes this conference. You may now disconnect your lines. Yeah. Thank you.