Ladies and gentlemen, good day and Welcome to the Q3 FY25 Results Conference Call of Borosil Renewables Limited, hosted by Axis Capital Limited. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star, then zero on your touch-tone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Rohan Gheewala from Axis Capital. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thank you. Good evening, everyone. On behalf of Axis Capital, I'm pleased to Welcome you all for the Q3 FY25 Earnings Conference Call of Borosil Renewables Limited. We have with us the management represented by Mr. P. K. Kheruka, Executive Chairman, Mr. Ashok Jain, Whole-time Director, Mr. Sunil Roongta, Whole-time Director and Chief Financial Officer, and Mr. Balesh Talapady, VP Investor Relations. We thank the management for giving us the opportunity to host the call. We will begin with the opening remarks from the management, followed by an interactive Q&A session. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Good afternoon, and welcome to the Borosil Renewables Quarter 3 Financial Year 24-25 Investor Call. This is Pradeep Kheruka, Chairman. On the 14th of February, the Board of Borosil Renewables approved the company's financial results for the third quarter of the current financial year. Our results and an updated presentation have been sent to the stock exchanges and have also been uploaded on the company's website. We will discuss the operations of the company on a standalone basis as well as on a consolidated basis.
The total sales during the third quarter of the current financial year grew by 14% in volume over the previous quarter, but could achieve only a growth of about 3.6% by value from INR 275.28 crores, up from INR 265.61 crores in the preceding quarter. The price pressure came from a steep decline in average export prices driven by increased Chinese dumping at ever lower prices.
These fell to about INR 105 per square meter, which would correspond to about INR 42,000 per ton, down from the preceding quarter's average selling price of INR 115 per millimeter per square meter, which would work out about INR 46,000 a ton. The EBITDA could be reduced at INR 20.89 crores, as against INR 52.88 crores in the preceding quarter. The imposition of a 10% basic customs duty on imports from 1st October last year failed to make any impact on the landed prices of the imported glass because the Chinese cut their export FOB prices by 18%.
Ocean freight during the quarter. Additionally, the company had to incur an expense of INR 4.59 crores on account of a non-routine repair. It also incurred a debit of expenses related to rights issue, which further impacted the EBITDA by another INR 2.01 crores. Export sales, including those to SEZ customers, amounting to INR 16.02 crores in the third quarter of the current financial year, accounted for 6% of the turnover, compared to INR 34.39 crores in the preceding quarter, when exports made up 13% of turnover.
All the major export markets are showing lower demand due to reduction of local manufacturing, as cheap Chinese modules dominate the installations. The decline in the EBITDA has led to the company posting a post-tax loss of INR 8.64 crores in the third quarter 24-25, compared to a profit after tax of INR 12.62 crores in the previous quarter, and a post-tax loss of INR 11.04 crores in the corresponding quarter in the last year. After a meteoric rise in September 2024, solar glass imports reverted to the previous still exceptionally high levels.
Despite our customers being highly stocked up with extremely large volumes of cheap imported glass, our sales team was able to induce them to buy even higher volumes as compared to the previous quarter, and was thus able to bring down the finished goods inventory during the quarter.
Now, coming to perhaps the most significant development in the last quarter, on the 4th of December last year, the Ministry of Finance notified a provisional anti-dumping duty on imports of solar glass from China and Vietnam by virtue of imposition of a reference price, based on the recommendation by the DGTR that the Director General of Trade Remedies, which I had shared with you during our previous investors' call.
This has brought great relief to the company. Sales contracts already entered for supply in December were executed at the old depressed prices, and hence these results do not reflect the greatly improved business prospects of the company.
Following up on the above, I'm pleased to inform that the investigation now stands concluded and the DGTR has issued its final findings about the imports having caused material injury to the domestic industry, recommending the imposition of a definitive anti-dumping duty on all the imports of solar glass originating in or exported from China and Vietnam, as well as anti-subsidy countervailing duty on imports from Vietnam for a period of five years from the date of issue of the preliminary duty notification issued by the central government by Notification No. 26/2024-Customs (ADD) dated 4th December 2024.
These findings have been published in the Gazette and forwarded to the Ministry of Finance for further action.
The company welcomes this decision and remains optimistic about the imposition of final anti-dumping and countervailing duties by the Ministry of Finance. This measure will restore fair competition and create a level playing field for domestic manufacturers, further strengthening India's solar glass industry. Landed prices of imported glass reflected the full value, reflected the full impact of the duties, immediately with effect from 4th December 2024. The impact of the improved prices will get reflected in the company's financial performance with effect from the beginning of January and are expected to move near the level of the reference price during the quarter.
Based on the prevailing rates of exchange, this would work out to about INR 140 per millimeter per square meter, which would correspond to about INR 56,000 per ton. Solar glass industry is capital intensive with a low asset to turnover ratio, which is about 100 to 80. That means for INR 100 crores invested, you get INR 80 crores of turnover. Moreover, the company must provision a complete rebuild of its glass melting furnace every five years.
As such, this level of selling price is essential for the domestic solar glass industry to be able to offer an IRR acceptable to long-term investors, ensuring the long-term sustainability which supports further expansion. The demand for solar glass remains buoyant. Manufacturing capacity for solar modules has already reached about 75 gigawatts, which is expected to double to 150 gigawatts in two to three years. The solar installations are also rising, as can be seen from the data for the year ended December 2025.
We believe this year we will see installations of 25 gigawatts, which means module consumption of about 35 gigawatts, as against 15 gigawatts last year. This rate of installation is expected to speed up in the coming years, and we may expect to see installations rising to 40 to 50 gigawatts annually going forward. Use of locally produced modules has risen sharply after the implementation of ALMM mechanism from April 2024, which has already led to increased demand for all the components, including solar glass. Similar support is also being extended by the government to solar cell manufacturing by bringing in an approved list of cell manufacturers, ALCM, with effect from the 1st of June 2026, and mandating use of locally produced cells. This will make the solar value chain stronger and more resilient.
Present solar glass capacity in the country is 2,300 tons per day, which is about 15 gigawatts. Another 15 gigawatts is getting commissioned by the end of the current calendar year 2025. With a phenomenal rise in demand in recent times, imports currently occupy about 55%-60% share in the consumption for domestic installations, leaving the scope for import substitution wide open. Immediately upon imposition of ADD, work on further 11.25 gigawatts has begun, including 3.25 gigawatts by your company, taking the total capacity to 41.25 gigawatts or 6,300 tons per day.
We believe this step ensures creation of a dependable supply chain in this critical aspect of solar power. Hello. Now I come to the consolidated results of the quarter, which include the operations of the subsidiaries. A, The overseas subsidiaries, including the step-down subsidiaries, have generated net standalone revenue of INR 86.2 crores and negative EBITDA of INR 14.38 crore for the third quarter financial year 2024-25.
The sales performance has declined over the preceding quarter, which had a net revenue of INR 107.4 crores, although the negative EBITDA was restricted to INR 16.85 crores. This was due to a slow demand and lower level of operations. The consolidated net revenue for the quarter under review stands at INR 361.49 crores and EBITDA of INR five crores, as compared to net revenue of INR 373 crores and EBITDA of INR 34.7 crores in the preceding quarter. The considerable decline in EBITDA has arisen from the lower profitability of Indian operations, mainly due to the low selling prices as discussed earlier.
While the German solar industry was waiting for the government to implement its promises to augment domestic manufacturing, the government itself went into crisis, leading to the call for fresh elections on 23rd February. Since no decision could be expected till the formation of a new government, we decided to cool down the furnace on 31st December 2024, thus temporarily pausing the hot-end operations. During this time, we are continuing the processing of available annealed glass in partial operations. After formation of a new government post the ensuing elections, we shall await the policies in respect of the domestic manufacturing of solar photovoltaic modules.
Until then, the bulk of the workforce has been put on short-time work, during which they are paid two-thirds of their wages by the government while they stay at home, thereby reducing the financial outgrowth from the company. Necessary cash flow support has been provided to the subsidiaries to meet the financial obligations. We shall observe the developments over the next three months and take next steps based on future possibilities. The EU Parliament has mandated that 25% of renewable energy generated must come from components and modules made in EU. We expect the new government to implement this policy.
Our standalone results are expected to show a marked improvement in profitability in the ensuing quarters on the back of better selling prices going forward. Meanwhile, the company is seeing improving yield in its Indian operations as the team is getting to understand the new furnace better. We are making efforts towards minimizing the losses of the German operations by taking all possible measures. We believe there are good prospects for the German operations. I would like to update you on the preferential issue.
The company received in-principle approvals from the BSE Limited on 4th February and NSE Limited on 3rd February 2025. Necessary documents were sent to all the applicants on 5th February to pay the application amounts by 13th February. The promoters subscribed to the shares for the entire committed amount of INR 100 crores. I'm pleased to inform you that despite prevailing market conditions, 91 applicants who have subscribed to 78,80,436 warrants and have paid the application money of 25%, totaling to INR 104.42 crores, towards the issue amount of INR 417.66 crores, while the balance chose not to pay despite their applications.
The allotment of shares warrants was done on Friday. The proceeds of INR 517.66 crores, including the promoters' applications, will be utilized in due course as per the object of the issue. We shall work on the proposed expansion. 500 tons per day has started, and we shall firm up the project cost and take steps to place orders for long lead items over the next few months. We expect to commission the new facility by September 2026.
We remain positive on the sector and see good prospects for the company over the next few years, looking at the strong growth in the installations of solar modules and support from the government to ensure a level playing field for components. We remain technologically competent to meet market demand for the most important products. With that, I would now like to open the floor to questions that you may have. Thank you.
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 touch-tone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles.
Meanwhile, the phone I am using, the battery is dying. Could you possibly call me on my mobile phone?
Yes, sir. Could you give me your mobile phone number? Just give me the number.
98210.
One moment, please. Yes, sir. Please go ahead.
98210.
Okay.
37435.
I'll call you up instantly.
Yeah. Thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen, I would request you to stay online while I get the management on the call. Thank you.
Hello. The tone. Please record your message. When you have finished recording, you may hang up.
Thank you for your patience. The first question comes from the line of Sunny from IFA. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Am I audible?
Yes.
Sir, I have a question regarding you have recently raised INR 570 crore from the including promoter and non-promoter. So what is the CapEx outlay for 510? That will mean how much amount it will take to fund the CapEx?
So the CapEx on the 510 furnace was initially estimated at INR 675 crores. And out of that, certain amount out of these proceeds will be used for funding that. And balance will be funded from accruals and bank loans.
Sir, I have a follow-up question. You have canceled the rights issue of INR 450 crore and raised around INR 517 crore. Out of which, INR 100 crore has been issued given that from promoter itself. Why not you raised INR 450 crore from the manufacturer holder and used all that amount for the CapEx, which was INR 675 crore?
Can you repeat your question, please?
Sir, actually, your original plan was to raise 450 crore.
Voice is very low. Can you be louder, please?
Sunny, could you?
Yes, sir. Am I louder?
You need to come on your handset, more Sunny. Just if you are on the speaker.
Am I audible, sir?
Yeah, please go better.
Sir, your original plan was to raise 450 crore through rights issue. However, you chose to raise the fund using preferential issue, in which 100 crore were given by promoter and the rest 417 crore were given by non-promoter. Why not raise the 450 crore from the existing rights issue to use the further CapEx of 375 crore?
See, the rights issue was going on, and in the meantime, we were approached by some investors that they can put in money by way of a preferential issue, and the amount could be larger. Around that time, this duty, anti-dumping duty announcement was also made by the government. We thought of combining the fund-raise requirement from, say, INR 450 crore to almost INR 700 crores. The thought process was that we meet all the objectives in one issue and don't go to market time and again. Finally, we got the less amount.
That is another story because of the market situation. While going for the preferential issue, the stock exchanges laid down the condition that you cannot concurrently run two issues of shares. They wanted us to withdraw the rights issue. The rights issue has already been withdrawn. There is nothing in the rights issue now. Whatever rights issue, INR 450 crore was there, it is gone now. It's withdrawn already.
I have another question, sir. Now that anti-dumping duty is on from 5 December.
I'm sorry, sir. I'm sorry, sir. Sunny, you're still not audible.
Sir, am I audible?
Yes. Yes. You need to adjust your handset a little bit because there's a lot of muffling that's happening.
Am I audible, sir?
Yes. Much better.
Sir, while I see that anti-dumping duty is effective with effect from 5 December 2024, in the past, we have seen that China used Malaysia as a forum for dumping the product via Malaysia to India. Are we seeing that in the current juncture also?
See, until the time the duty was imposed on China and Vietnam, the imports from Malaysia were barely anything. But as you rightly pointed out, when the situation changes, the duties get changed. The Chinese use their other territories to export to India. So there are exports which will come from Malaysia. But what we feel is that all the exports cannot come from Malaysia, first of all.
And all the customers are not in a position to get material from Malaysia. So there is a tremendous demand in India. And even if some customers want to import from Malaysia, that is possible that it will come at a low price. But on the other hand, this company is a listed company on the stock exchanges, the Malaysian company. And they are also, I mean, responsible for their profitability. They have been earning less income in the past. And they have certain plans to invest more money into the business.
So what we have seen is that Malaysia has already started quoting higher prices, although it is still lower than Chinese prices. But it will not be very cheap in terms of the dumping. So we expect certain pushback from the customers who would potentially be importing from Malaysia. But we have more customers to sell our goods to. So it should not be a problem.
Sir, on the next question, while on the approval from DGTR, Commerce Ministry has approved the anti-dumping duty, and how much it will take time for the Finance Ministry to recommend or approve or deny the anti-dumping duty?
So there is no fixed guidelines, I would think. But generally, the time which Finance Ministry takes in extreme cases is three months from the date of submission of final recommendation by the DGTR. So from that perspective, we should expect this decision to be in the beginning of May at the most, at the latest.
Sir, any timeline for upcoming CapEx going live?
That is already covered by Chairman in the speech. By September 26, we will be able to commission the plant.
Sir, it will be brownfield?
Well, it is on the same location. So to that extent, like land and other utilities are available there. But we already consumed a lot of advantages in the past expansion. So there will be certain benefit of the brownfield expansion, but it will not be significant.
Okay. Thank you, sir. That's it from my side.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Bajrang Bafna from Sunidhi Securities. Please go ahead.
Sir, really wish you all the very best for the anti-dumping duty that has been put up by the government, which will definitely change the fortunes of this industry. So just to get a sense, sir, we see there are multiple vendors or the multiple competition which is going on aggressively in India as far as modules are concerned or maybe the sales are concerned. We are getting figures of next two, three years will have the capacity to the tune of 150 gigawatts for the modules and close to 70-80 gigawatts for cells.
But when we see the similar thing for glass, where we are active, even you have covered in your opening speech that 6,300 tons per day capacity is something which is envisaged, and that will support close to 41 gigawatts of solar capacity. So still, there is a huge gap between the capacity which is getting built up on the cells side or maybe for the module side in India. So just your sense on that, that where from the additional demand of glass is going to be met when these capacities come on stream, maybe two or three years down the line.
Some sense on that and our competition, apart from you and Vishakha, which are the two major players. Any other competition that is coming up in that space will be really helpful, sir, to understand.
You are right. The capacities of module manufacturing are expected to rise to 150 gigawatt. But when we talk of that capacity, it is a nameplate capacity. Actual utilization, what we've seen is that it is close to 45%-50%. We can assume that the actual utilization is not likely to exceed 65-70 gigawatt in that sense. Similarly, the solar cell capacity, if it is at 70-80, it will match with the module production and the requirement of solar cells. But in the case of glass, actually, the industry is of heavy capital-intensive industry, and the time to commission the project is longer than like the module industry.
In module industry, one can commission probably in six months to one year, but glass industry takes 18 months to two years' time. So in the past, no fresh investments have been made by the players because of the absence of anti-dumping duty from 2022 till now, and now that the investments are starting, it's just the beginning that the capacities are rising from 15 gigawatt to 41 gigawatt, which itself is a very good number, but I would imagine that with the current reference price under the anti-dumping duty, you may see more investment coming into this sector, and the demand can be made by local production itself.
In any case, the imports are available for somebody who wants to import, and if there is a deficit in the domestic production.
I may add something here. I'm Pradeep K. Kheruka here.
The thing is that we are seeing about an expected 25 gigawatts of installations in India this year, and if the next year it goes up to even 45, that will be a very, very big jump, all right? And when we talk about capacity here, there's a lot of glass, there's a lot of modules going abroad for which nobody will use Indian glass, that they will buy imported glass under Advanced License at lower prices. So I do not see any mismatch arising, assuming even that 45 gigawatts of modules are manufactured. We should find the glass in India. As I mentioned, by the end of this year, the glass capacity is expected to rise above 40 gigawatts. Thank you.
Okay. Got it, sir.
Sir, if we assume that the ruling prices goes into a stream, let's say this INR 56 a kg sort of realization as compared to INR 42 now after the ADD, and the channel checks are indicating that already the prices are ruling up closer to INR 50 a kg right now, and very hopeful of going to, let's say, closer to this 55-56 numbers maybe two-three months down the line. So what sort of margins are possible once the realization becomes INR 55? Are the additional advantage will be directly boiled down to the bottom numbers, or can we also expect some sort of cost increase when the prices go towards this 55-56 rupees a kg number?
That would be a cost increase. Yeah. Yeah.
Broadly, it will add to the profit only because it's a selling price which is going up, and it does not have any bearing on the cost at all, I mean, in terms of additional cost. So it should all add up to the increment in the EBITDA margin. And we believe that the margin at this price, even if we realize at the full INR 56,000, could be near 30% or so.
Okay. So this 30% is something which is sustainable provided we get this INR 56 or INR 55 a kg realization?
Absolutely, yes.
Got it, sir. And just, sir, at these realizations, are you also anticipating or planning for further CapEx? Because as you pointed out, that this capacity might be sufficient for FY 26, this 40 gigawatt, and the current domestic requirement will be closer to that.
Maybe in 2027, 2028, again, the demand is going to be far higher. So the existing players, since there are huge entry barriers in this, the existing players need to ramp up the capacity further to take the challenge of 2027 and 2028. So can we expect from the company maybe six months or 12 months down the line to further augment the capacity to meet the rising demand of 2027 and 2028?
I would say yes, definitely. Because you see, when the anti-dumping duty came, there was only one gigawatt of production in the country. And within five years, within four years, we had 17 gigawatts. So I feel that there is a lot of enthusiasm among the manufacturers and the investors also. So people will join their resources, and they will definitely come up with the capacity. I personally don't see any reason why it will not come up.
Okay. And just, sir, the initial question was on the competition. Apart from you and Vishakha, who all are the other players who are also in the who can see the competition?
There is a company called Gold Plus, which is a very respectable player. They have four float lines running. They have set up one solar line for 300 tons per day. I think they'll come up with another one of 300 tons per day. There's Triveni Glass with 250 tons. There's Gobind Glass with 150 tons. There's Emerge Glass with 300 tons. So quite a few people. And then, of course, Vishakha and ourselves. So these are all respectable players who have been in the glass business for a long time. So this should be credible capacity, plus new people who have announced.
Okay. Got it. Thank you. And all the very best, sir. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Deepa from Nivesh Online Securities. Please go ahead.
Am I audible? Yes. So my question is, is there any fundraising the company is planning in the coming future?
Ashok?
No, currently we have just completed the fundraise. So currently, there is no plan. But in case there is some planning at a later stage, we will, of course, come back to the investors and shareholders. For the expansion which we are currently taking on hand, we don't think further funds may be raised from the equity. But it's all subject to board taking a call depending on the situation.
Okay. My last question is, how much budget the company has parked for R&D in coming FY 25?
We have a complete R&D center which is headed by very senior technical people and with a strong team. And they are all engaged in various developmental activities for future as well as for the current operations. So I would think the current expenditure would be nearly INR 6 crore per annum on that activity.
Okay, sir. Thank you so much. And all the very best for your coming quarter results.
Thank you.
The next question comes from the line of Rikin Shah from Boring AMC. Please go ahead.
Hi, Mr. Kheruka. So in anticipation of this ADD, is it possible that the module manufacturers might have slightly stocked up in the previous months?
Yes, sir. There is every possibility that they might have done it, except that you see the duty has already been applicable from the 5th of December.
So any imports that are being cleared, the imports might have been made earlier, but if they are cleared from customs after 5th December, they would have had to pay the additional duty. So therefore, under the circumstances, it is not likely that anybody would be spending money to just stock up for no good reason. So there will be no advantage.
Got it, sir. That's all from my side. Yeah.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Saket Kapoor from Kapoor & Company. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Namaskar, sir. And thank you for the opportunity. Pradeep sir, what are our utilization levels currently for this quarter and for the nine months?
We are running at a production rate of about 950 tons against a 1,000-ton capacity. And we are trying to ramp up production even more. So let us see what happens in the current quarter. We could be improving on the levels that we achieved in the last quarter.
And sir, what are the key components of the other income? And the caller on the screen? Ashok.
Sorry, can you repeat the question, please?
My question is, sir, what are the key components of the other income? Other income for this quarter was at 15 crore rupees.
So other income comprises of certain incentives which we get from the Government of Gujarat under the scheme of the industrial expansion. And these are in the form of various types of incentives. And then there is export-related income which comes as a part of the income in the standalone accounts.
And it's credit sales.
It's credit sales. Okay.
Sir, as you mentioned in the early opening remarks also and during the answer also that the prices have moved up from 104 to some 144 number metrics which you gave. So taking into account that metric, sir, what would have been the revenue from operations for the December quarter had these prevailing prices being implemented? Since for the coming quarter, you are anticipating the average realization to move up closer to the level jahaan par aap ki duty ka woh benefit aaye ga. So what should be pencilling in terms of the revenue moving up now with 95% of utilization levels?
It should go by another INR 60 crores or so per quarter.
Okay. Without any effect on the P&L expense side, as you told earlier that कोई भी आपका expense line item move नहीं करेंगे उस range से, that will go to the bottom. Production बढ़ाने की चेष्टा कर रहे हैं, so to that extent तो कुछ तो बढ़ेगा ही. Extremely slightly.
To that extent of additional cost for additional production.
नहीं, sir, मेरा प्रश्न यह था कि आपने जैसे बताया कि prices moved up हुई हैं जिस level पर because of the imposition of ADD. If that reflects in last quarter's hypothetical numbers, the revenue would have gone up by 60 crore, but there would have been no impact on the P&L side because P&L expenses are going to remain the same. So this would have directly translated to the bottom line. This understanding is correct, sir?
Yes, please. Your understanding is correct.
It will translate to the profitability, profit at EBITDA level, yes.
At EBITDA level? At EBITDA level or PBT level?
Yes. Both EBITDA, PBT.
Okay. And sir, now about the German subsidy outlook, sir. अभी, sir, हम quarterly क्या losses last quarter में हमने क्या loss इसके कारण incur किया है? And going ahead, जो हम cooling down कर रहे हैं furnace की, उससे जो incremental losses हैं, वो किस level तक reduce होते हुए दिख रहे हैं हर quarter के basis पे अगर आप बताना चाहें?
हमारे लिए यह पहली दफे इस तरह का कुछ हम कर रहे हैं क्योंकि यह system Germany में हमारे देश में तो है नहीं. So we don't have any experience with this. So we are still paying about 23%-24% of the salaries that we were paying to the workers. 63%-67% is being paid by the government.
Now, all the expenses associated with running the furnace, which means electricity, gas, oxygen, etc., these have all stopped. The expenses of the workers have also stopped. So it's difficult to say. I mean, I can't say that we made a very sharp calculation on that because these accounts are maintained by the German subsidiary directly. And we normally get the figures at the end for amalgamation into our accounts. So I wouldn't be able to give any very cogent answer at this point on that question.
Okay. But do you have the fixed cost expense of running this German subsidiary on a quarterly basis or on a yearly basis, the fixed cost that you incur?
Yeah, yeah. I'll answer your question. Please, please. The current losses which were happening in Germany at EBITDA level were close to 8 crores per month. Okay?
This way we propose to bring down to less than half. By virtue of this step what we have taken of short-time work and shutting down the furnace operation, we expect the EBITDA level loss to come down to almost INR four crores per month from INR eight crores.
Okay. Right. Lastly, sir, on the power and fuel line item, since you alluded to the fact of it is capital intensive, sorry, but power and fuel cost, kya rationalization steps हम ले रहे हैं जिससे इसका proportionate in terms of the cost line item can be reduced going ahead?
So currently mixed
क्या है, sir, हमारा? Ha, sir.
Currently, power and fuel we are already economizing by virtue of reducing the or controlling the expense at the consumption level. By increasing the productivity of the goods at the factory, this percentage is again going to come down.
It has already come down in the last quarter compared to the corresponding quarter, but we expect it to go down further. Moreover, we are taking steps to install another solar wind hybrid of 16.5 MW , which will be a captive megawatt, sorry, which will be under captive mechanism, which will again bring down the cost of power for us going forward from, say, July to September 2025.
Correct, sir. Right, sir. Thank you, sir. I'll join the queue and all the best to the team, sir. Dhanwar, sir. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you so much. The next question comes from the line of Vineet Gala from Xylem Investments. Please go ahead.
My questions have been answered. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Ravindra Nayak from Sunidhi Securities. Please go ahead.
Am I audible?
Yes. Yes. Yeah.
Sir, thank you for the opportunity. I may have a question regarding this. You mentioned that your turnover will grow up by around 60 crores if the current price is maintained and you improve the utilization. So, can we expect the entire, at least, say, 60%-70% will come to the bottom line in this fourth quarter?
See, we are trying to raise the prices towards the reference price, which is 140 rupees or say 56,000 rupees. But as of now, we have not still reached there. So it is difficult to say that how much percentage will come. But whatever number we are saying is about 60 crores or so. We are aiming to reach that level very soon. Maybe it will happen on a monthly basis from March. But on an average, January to March, it cannot reach the exact number.
Okay. But currently, in January, have we seen this development in our financials, or it is still early to say something on this?
No, it's already happening. As we speak, we are close to 90% or thereabout already in terms of the increase. So there is a tremendous amount of rise in the price of solar glass after this duty. And it is inching towards the target number.
Okay. And secondly, about this reason for the closing of, sorry, operation, the cool down operation in Europe. So first of all, what is the realization where the dumping is happening, and what is our cost, our price there in Europe, in Germany?
Actually, we already have an anti-dumping duty on imports of solar glass in Europe. So the selling price is not the issue at all. The issue is very different in Europe.
The issue is the people who are manufacturing modules, they have shut down their business. So there is no customer for us. The customer list has dropped dramatically. Very few people are there. So the quantum of glass which we are able to sell to those customers is so insignificant in quantity, it cannot service a furnace of the size that we have. So that is the reason for closure, not because of selling prices, because of the absence of demand.
Okay. You mentioned someday you were mentioning that these glasses were well acceptable in certain parts of Europe and some Italy, somewhere the region is still, it is not there, you mean to say?
Sorry?
Because this glass we are manufacturing in Germany has got some specialized character. So that is why it is well accepted in other parts of Europe. So still, you are facing demand from those reasons also.
Yes, because the glass is accepted, but the person who is accepting the glass is not able to sell the modules at a profitable price. So when he buys the glass, he manufactures a module. There is no market for the module at the cost of production. So therefore, he has to shut down the business. So the demand has dried up.
Okay. And regarding, you mentioned, yeah. Yeah. You mentioned that today four crores, you will try to reduce the cost from eight crores loss to around four crores. So what is the employee cost you have to bear in this four crores? Ashok?
Yeah. It will be close to two crores. Two crores. Two crores.
Another two crores will be the operation related issue.
Other fixed expenses, yeah.
Okay. And how long it will continue according to you?
Because you have an operation there in a bhatti plant, and how long this thing will continue according to your understanding?
So, Chairman, in his speech, has already clarified that we are expecting the German government to be formed. And once the new government is formed and they announce the policies, we will have to wait until then because currently, there is nothing possible which will turn the situation. So we'll have to have some patience for nearly three months now. And until then, we will just process the current glass available and try to see that the expenses are minimized.
Okay. Okay. So is there any plan? If nothing will materialize, what is the plan we are thinking in our mind for this plant in Germany?
You see, the thing is this that the European Union Parliament has already passed a resolution for the entire European Union that 25% of the solar energy which is used in Europe should come from equipment which has been manufactured in the European Union. Okay? Now, because the last coalition government in Germany was a lot of dispute between the partners of the coalition government, they could not come to a policy decision on this matter.
So frankly speaking, the reason that we are continuing with it and all that and have not completely shut down the plant is because we think there are very good prospects of the new government which is elected to come to some understanding and some agreement on this subject. And therefore, in our opinion, there's a good chance that something will happen. But frankly, until and unless it actually happens, everything is conjecture. Okay.
Okay. So regarding this anti-dumping duty in India, so we have the government has come out with anti-dumping duty for the particular Chinese manufacturers. So is there any way, according to you, is available for the Chinese manufacturer to bypass this anti-dumping duty and dump in India? Is there any? Because you mentioned about this Malaysian thing. Now, is there any other mechanism available for the Chinese manufacturer to bypass this anti-dumping duty, according to you?
It should not be easy because in Southeast Asia and Asian area, there are only Vietnam, China, and Malaysia currently manufacturing solar glass. So at this moment, it should be very difficult for them to bypass it. But we don't know. Everybody is very intelligent, and everybody tries all kinds of tricks. So we'll have to see that.
Okay. So do you think that there are some enough idle capacity of glass available in those regions, particularly in the ASEAN region, to have this bypass this anti-dumping duty? Is there availability? I'm just asking, according to you.
What's your think? What's?
Idle capacity. I'm just glass capacity.
Idle capacity of what? No, there is no idle capacity of glass. Only in China, I think there's idle capacity.
Okay, okay, okay. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Nikhil Gada from Abakkus AMC. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi. Thanks for the opportunity. Sir, my first question is, can you sort of highlight the current capacity that is there of Indian manufacturers in India? I think you sort of mentioned that we might see addition of 11-12 gigawatts.
I was under the assumption we were at around 15, 16 gigawatts currently. Then when you said that we go to 41 gigawatts, I just wanted to understand the math here.
Ashok, please.
Sorry. The current capacity is 15 gigawatts, and another 15 are getting added in this calendar year. After that, another 11.2 gigawatts is under implementation from Vishakha and overseas. So that will commission in 2026. So at the end of 2026, we expect this to be at least 41 gigawatts. That's the current status. If there is any other announcement which comes in between, that will also get added.
Understood. So this 15 gigawatts that you're saying, the first level, that is going to come in this particular year, right?
Yes. This calendar year.
Okay. Okay. And then you're saying the next one will be in the calendar year 2026, which will be Vietnam and Vishakha. Okay.
Got it, sir. And sir, in terms of, [crosstalk] ? Sir, in terms of this anti-dumping duty as well as CVD, while the Commerce Ministry has approved it, do we see any changes that might happen when it comes to the Finance Ministry or the government approving it? We might see some lower duty or something like that. How confident are we about getting this approved?
Normally, the Finance Ministry does not reduce it or anything like that. We have not seen that kind of action in the past, but you see, we cannot make any conjecture whatsoever on what the government might do. All right, so we just know that the Ministry of Commerce has done it. The final findings, they've given a very long order. They've given lots of reasons, so in the ordinary course, it should get approved.
But until it gets approved, it's in the gazette. Everything is open.
Got it, sir. And sir, just lastly, in terms of your overall debt and everything, so if we see currently, you mentioned that there's INR 375 crore capex. Some amount of it, you will put it from the money raised. And I think the remaining, you might take debt or something. So can you help us with how the overall capital.
capex is more like INR 800 crores, not 375.
No, no, sir.
375 is what we are going to be funding from the money that has just been raised.
Correct. And the remaining money, sir?
It will be internal accruals, loans, debt as required.
So in that case, what kind of a debt profile we might look at for 26, 27?
Thank you, Nikhil. We, as a corporate policy, would not go to more than 2.5 times of the debt limit.
Understood, sir. And sir, anything on the working capital side as well? Do we see the working capital cycle per se improving because of all these measures?
Working capital cycle will slightly improve with the expansion because you do not need the same amount of inventories for the purpose. But the credit to the customers is roughly the same, which is a large portion of the working capital. So there may not be a very steep reduction in the working capital number of days.
Got it, sir. And sir, just lastly, you mentioned about the 16.5 megawatt solar wind sort of plant that you are planning for captive. What kind of cost savings do we see from this?
So we will basically be saving almost the same amount of capex what we incur, which is about 17 crores per annum is what we'll save out of this.
Okay. Got it, sir. Thank you.
It's under group captive mechanism where the plant is owned by somebody else, and we are the off-taker. And we pay into the equity of the SPV, which in our case is going to be 17 crores. And our savings are roughly 17 crores per annum.
And this is realized generally at the moment of the capacity started, right?
Yeah. That's the way it is structured. And there is a minimum return off-take and guarantees are also there assigned with it. So we expect the realization of the entire proceeds, entire savings. Currently, we are already having 10 megawatts, which is also giving us the similar savings, whatever we had projected this time.
This time, even the PLF is going to be even higher.
Understood. Understood. Got it, sir. Thank you so much. All the best.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Lalit from Amrit Trading. Please go ahead.
Thank you for the opportunity, sir. Am I audible? Thank you. Sir, my question is, do you take the complete solar power project?
No. We just manufacture the glass, and we sell to the people who manufacture the modules. So I'm sorry, we are not engaged in solar power.
Nothing like in further this forward integration and?
At this moment, it's not there. But everything is open in business that right now, we are focusing on just expanding the production of glass.
Why I'm asking is there is an ample scope in solar project in India. The industry is also booming.
So it might be my question was we can think of that also. Thank you so much. Thank you for your suggestion. We'll definitely look into it.
So who are our major customers who are buying these glasses from us? The major customer who are buying glasses from us?
Ashok, please.
Yeah, yeah. So all the module manufacturers who are present in the country are our customers, actually. And we also have exports. Certain exports are there. So basically, all large and small players buy glass from us. Large players also have imports or they have other competitors, producers. But basically, we are present with generally all the customers.
Can you name a few?
Name you can take like say Premier Energies or Rayzon Solar or Tata Power or Goldi Solar or many others are there.
Thank you, sir.
Ladies and gentlemen, that brings us to the end of the question and answer session. I would now like to hand the conference over to the management for the closing comments.
Thank you. I thank all the participants for all the questions that they have asked. I'm very happy to see a reasonably good turnout in the number of people who have joined this conference. I just would like to close by saying that we have gone through a rather challenging period in the last couple of years. But there are fair winds ahead. And we can see already from the 1st of January, there's been an improvement in our performance.
And I'm sure that when we have our next earnings call in May, it will be with better results. And you'd all feel happy with your investments in our company. Thank you.
Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Axis Capital Limited, that concludes this conference. You may now disconnect your lines.