Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to SRF Limited Q4 and FY25 earnings conference call. 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 this 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. Ankur Periwal. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thank you, Amshad. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today for this call. We at Axis Capital Limited are pleased to host SRF Limited Q4 and FY25 post-result conference call. We have with us today Mr. Ashish Bharat Ram, Chairman and Managing Director, and Mr. Rahul Jain, President and CFO of SRF Limited. I would now like to invite Ms. Nitika Dhawan, Head of Corporate Communication at SRF, to initiate the proceedings for the results conference. Over to you, Nitika.
Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to SRF Limited Q4 and FY25 results conference call. We are pleased to have you join us today. On the call, we have our Chairman and Managing Director, Mr. Ashish Bharatram, along with our President and CFO, Mr. Rahul Jain. To begin, our CMD will share insights into the company's performance during the financial year 2024, followed by an overview of our strategy, business outlook, and growth plan. After these remarks, we will open the floor for a Q&A session with our CFO. Please be reminded that any statements made regarding our outlook are forward-looking and are covered by the schema included in the shared with you earlier. Without further ado, I invite our CMD, Mr. Ashish Bharatram, to deliver the opening remarks. Thank you.
Good afternoon to all of you. I extend a warm welcome to all of you, and thank you for joining us today for SRF's financial year 2025 earnings conference call. I trust all of you have had the opportunity to go through our results and the presentation shared with you earlier. The fiscal year 2025 has been a journey of overcoming challenges and achieving significant milestones. The year began on a difficult note, primarily due to the ongoing environment in the chemicals business, which impacted sales in both our specialty and fluorochemical segments. Despite these initial hurdles, we remain confident of a revival in the second half of the fiscal year. As projected, we have done very well in half two, especially in the fourth quarter. Having said that, we are still navigating through uncertain times.
Geopolitical tensions are rising, the uncertainty around tariffs from the U.S. remains, and there is a chance that we could see global growth slowing down. Let me now share with you my thoughts on the business performance in the fiscal year gone by and the growth opportunities that lie ahead. Fiscal year 2025 brought distinct challenges, offering significant opportunities for growth and resilience. During this period, SRF's revenue increased by 12% to INR 14,700 crore compared to the corresponding period last year. The company's EBIT rose by 6% to INR 2,336 crore over the current period last year. However, the company's PAT decreased 6% to INR 1,250 crore over the last year. Moving to my viewpoint on the performance and outlook of each of our three market-leading businesses now, I will begin with the chemicals business. The performance of the chemicals business can be categorized by two distinct periods.
In the first half, margins were adversely affected by challenging market conditions. However, revenues increased in the second half, with a particularly strong performance in the fourth quarter. Regarding capital expenditure and financial year 2025, the chemicals business invested approximately INR 700 crore on various de-bottlenecking and expansion projects. Going forward, we will return to a higher level of capital expenditure intensity, consistent with our future aspirations. Overall, during the fiscal year 2025, the chemicals business received a 6% increase in revenue, amounting to INR 6,691 crore. More specifically, in the specialty chemicals business, in half-month financial year 2025, we witnessed tough market conditions. The prolonged inventory restocking cycle from our customers resulted in pricing pressures for some of our products. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, we have done significantly better in the fourth quarter of financial year 2025 when compared to the third quarter.
While the broader industry continues to witness challenges emanating from the agrochemical market, our performance was strong, driven by positive traction in recently launched products and a gradual pickup in demand for some key agrochemical intermediates, which was deferred earlier. Our tough competitive pricing strategies and robust export market performance further supported revenue growth. While we may encounter short-term challenges from China in our specialty chemicals business, we will continue to implement effective countermeasures. SCB has prioritized advancing customers' new products and their developmental projects. Aligned with our objectives, we launched five new products in the agrochemical segment and three in the pharmaceutical segment during the fiscal year 2025. Efforts have been made to optimally utilize production capacities for existing products and to optimize cost structures for greater product efficiency.
Both the Bhiwadi and the Dahej sites have continued to improve operational efficiency while managing an expanded portfolio of innovative products. SCB's expertise in novel chemistries has grown, and progress in the pharmaceutical sector has been encouraging. One key area which has redefined this business has been our implementation of de-bottlenecking projects. I can say with confidence that with all the minor capexes that we've incurred over the past 18 months, our overall capacity of this business has increased by close to 30%. SRF Chemical Technology Group exemplifies leadership by continuously driving innovation, developing advanced chemistries, and building cost-effective routes for existing and next-generation products in the specialty chemicals and fluorochemicals businesses. SRF continues to invest in R&D to create enhanced capability, and on that count, over INR 150 crores was spent during financial year 2025.
In financial year 2025, our Chemical Technology Group worked on over 50 molecules, successfully scaled up many products, filed 38 patents, and had two patents granted, bringing the total to 151 patents granted. Moving forward, with the strong pipeline and strong relationship we have with our agrochemical customers, we anticipate a better performance in the upcoming fiscal year. We have received registration of some of our future active ingredients and are hopeful of ramping up sales for some of these products during financial year 2026 as customer demand for these pick up. We have a fundamentally positive outlook on this business. We believe that regardless of the situation in China, we will be able to maintain or increase our market share and move up the value chain.
Having said that, we continue to operate in a VUCA environment, and while we acknowledge that the most challenging times may now be behind us, we're still not in calm waters. Pricing pressures in China continue, and we will have to wade through these waters. Coming to our fluorochemicals business, financial year 2025 presented mixed results for this business. The year began with a strong pull in the domestic market, but with margin pressure due to excess inventory coming out of China. However, as the year progressed, more so towards the end of calendar year 2024, we observed an increase in prices for efficient gases in China, which is a positive development for our business. Additionally, inventory levels in the U.S. have decreased following the implementation of the quota regime.
Domestic demand for refrigerants, particularly for room air conditioners, remained strong, leading to record high domestic sales in refrigerant gases in the half to financial year 2025. The fluoromethane segment achieved stable results during the year. PTFE is witnessing healthy growth in the domestic market, with ongoing trials of refluor and fine-cut blades progressing at plan. We're also preparing for commercial sales of fine-cut products targeted at high-end application processes and export markets, with expected positive results beginning in financial year 2026. A major milestone was accomplished in the fourth quarter of financial year 2025 with the commissioning of the third AHF plant at the HAGE. This development will facilitate the maximization of refrigerant gases production and sales, allowing us to leverage the quota regime effectively.
During the year, the board approved a project to develop fourth-generation refrigerants, which are distinguished by their significantly lower global warming potential and reduced carbon footprint. This CapEx, with an estimated investment of INR 1,100 crore, is slated for completion in around 30 months from the date of approval. The project highlights SRF leadership as one of the pioneering technology developers in the global refrigerant space. As an Indian company, we take immense pride in this advanced and eco-friendly technology with a significantly lower carbon footprint and global warming potential, which has been developed in-house. Our robust in-house R&D capabilities, which have been integral to our success for over two decades, will enable us to leverage our proprietary processes and technologies to innovate and drive the development of these next-generation refrigeration refrigerants under our own brand.
The same is initially looking to target the global markets that are transitioned to these low GWP alternatives and post-2032 the Indian market as well. In the future, our focus will be to optimize raw material sourcing, cost-saving initiatives, strengthening capabilities, and new product portfolio with sustainability as our priority. Overall, the business performance is anticipated to improve over last year with maximum utilization of existing capacities and the commissioning of specialty fluoropolymer plants. Broadly, I estimate that the chemicals business as a whole will grow at 20% or so in financial year 2026 and build a strong momentum for the years ahead. Over to the performance films and coil business now. After a detailed strategic planning process, the business has been renamed Performance Films and Coil Business. This new name reflects the business diversification and expansion beyond packaging films.
It now includes aluminum coil, ventures into capacitor-grade BOPP films, and actively explores growth opportunities in both existing and new areas within the films and coil sector. This name gains a resonant commitment to innovation, growth, and excellence. During fiscal year 2025, the performance films and coil business reported revenue of INR 5,554 crores, registering a growth of 24% over the previous year. Financial year 2025 has been a recovery for the performance films and coil business. Although market conditions remain challenging, margins improved in both BOPET and BOPP as capacity utilization increased with growing demand and limited supply addition during the year. Overall, the business achieved its highest-ever PAC production. With a focus on enhancing profitability, the business commercialized new VAPs in both BOPET and BOPP and significantly increased the sales of high-impact VAPs. Our overseas operations improved this year, driven by better performance from our Hungary unit.
On the CapEx front, the board approved the establishment of a new manufacturing facility for the VOPP PE film line in Indore during the year. This project enables us to expand our existing VOPP substrate and VAP offerings and explore the innovative polyolefin VOPE substrate. Furthermore, it aligns seamlessly with our sustainability goals as polyolefin substrates like VOPP and VOPE are recognized for their eco-friendliness attributed to their monofamily advantage and recyclability. The estimated cost for this venture is INR 445 crores, with operations expected to commence in approximately 25 months from the date of approval. Work on all upcoming projects, namely the capacitor-grade VOPP film and PPP line in India, is progressing as per schedule. The business adheres to its philosophy of easy-to-do business with focus on serving customers effectively every day. Sustainability remains a top priority and is integrated into all our operations.
The business is strengthening its portfolio of sustainable product offerings, including products for monofamily structures, byline structures, and PCR-based films. SRF has completed its registration process for SEZ and DT units under relevant categories to comply with the plastic waste management rules. Efforts to reduce the carbon footprint, including increasing the use of solar power and adopting various energy-efficient initiatives in local manufacturing companies. Going forward, SRF's primary objective will focus on significantly increasing sales of high-impact products within VOPP and VOPED through the commissioning of new downstream assets, including offline coating machines in India and metalizers in Thailand and India. Maximizing profitability of the aluminum coil business will be a key area of concentration for the upcoming financial year. With anti-dumping duty being levied on cheap Chinese imports, we are better placed to increase domestic pressure going forward.
Besides that, we will also leverage our overseas relationships to enhance sales of aluminum coil. We will maintain our commitment to various sustainability initiatives guided by the 3R approach: reduce, reuse, and recycle. The vertical ramp-up of the newly acquired CTC line during the year will enhance our sustainable product offerings to customers, leveraging the advantages of monofamily production. Additionally, ensuring the smooth commissioning and scaling up of the capacitor-grade VOPP film line will be a priority through the year. Moving to our technical textiles business. In financial year 2025, the technical textiles business recorded revenue of INR 2,029 crores. However, the performance was adversely impacted due to weakness in belting fabrics. During the year, technical textiles business expanded sales in nylon fixtures and PTCR products and consolidated its customer base in belting fabrics.
Despite facing margin pressure due to low-cost imports and laxum price fluctuations, SRF maintained its share in the flat and fixed TCF market. Demand for belting fabrics was lower compared to the previous year due to delays in government spending and lower conveyor belt exports. Cheap imports from China affected the segment margins during the year. During quarterly financial year 2025, we successfully commissioned the full BF capacity expansion. Throughout the year, PFIA demand remained strong, with geotextile and seatbelts being key drivers, and the segment performed well compared to the previous year with full capacity uselesses. In terms of sustainability, the business increased its share of renewable power. In financial year 2026, markets are expected to remain moderate, and margins will likely be under pressure due to cheap imports from China.
Overall, the technical textile business is expected to deliver a similar performance to financial year 2025 with a focus on fully utilizing capacities, implementing cost optimization measures, and offering premium and value-added products in belting fabrics. In other businesses, the coated and laminated fabrics business reported revenues of INR 428 crores. SRF retained its market leadership in coated fabrics, overcoming weak demand for food-grade liners with increased sales of other value-added products. The business is expanding textile capacity with new looms and a warper set to boost profitability next year. Laminated fabrics ramped up its new hot lamination machine but faced challenges due to the minimum import price of Chinese knitted fabrics. To address this, the business has produced its own knitted fabric, with new knitting machines expected to be operational in the first quarter of the new financial year.
Going forward, we anticipate strong demand for both coated and laminated fabrics. Coated fabrics will focus on ramping up new looms and the warper, expanding its VAPs portfolio, and commercializing high-tensile strength coated fabrics. Laminated fabrics will aim to fully utilize its fabric knitting machines and lamination machines. As far as ESG is concerned, corporate citizenship and sustainability are integral components of our business strategy. This focus ensures effective resource optimization and meaningful contributions to the circular economy. At SRF, we uphold a high level of sustainability disclosure, enabling us to identify and measure ESG risks accurately and develop a comprehensive long-term plan for continual improvement in this area. Our dedication to sustainability has received international recognition. The SRF facilities located in Gummidipundi and Viralamalai in Tamil Nadu were awarded a bronze medal for financial year 2025 by EcoVadis, one of the most esteemed global business sustainability rating agencies.
Further information on our ESG journey will be available in our annual report. On the SRF Foundation, we believe in the transformative power of education and are deeply committed to making a meaningful impact on the lives of last-mile learners. Our corporate social responsibility initiative is designed to enhance educational access and quality, ensuring that every child can thrive. In financial year 2025, we witnessed remarkable growth in our education programs, driven by unwavering dedication to transforming government schools into model schools. These efforts encompass improvements in infrastructure, digital integration, academic enrichment, and school leadership, creating an environment where students can flourish. We're proud to share that our initiative currently touches the lives of 190,000 students across 490 government schools in 34 regions, spanning 13 states and one union territory.
Our rural education programs have empowered over 2,700 teachers and 490 headmasters, who have the skills and resources they need to inspire and educate the next generation. In addition, financial year 2025 marked a significant milestone with the laying of the foundation stone for the SRF Schools Haruj. This new institution will address the educational needs of the community near the SRF Dahej facility, further extending our commitment to nurturing young minds. Together, we're building a brighter future, one where every child has a chance to learn, grow, and succeed. Concluding my speech, our balance sheet remains strong, and with global interest rates trending downward, we expect the benefit of reduced borrowing costs in financial year 2026. We are committed to strategic investments for long-term growth. Reflecting on financial year 2025, I'm extremely proud of our team's resilience and dedication.
Despite uncertainties surrounding tariffs and the VUCA environment, we believe financial year 2026 will surpass financial year 2025 for the chemicals business and the company overall. We are dedicated to driving growth and enhancing stakeholder value in the next fiscal year. While we have done exceptionally well in the fourth quarter, I would like to remind our participants that we are a seasonal business. In general, our second-half performance is substantially better than our first half, and I expect that trend to continue this year as well. Thank you for your support and confidence in SRF. We look forward to your continued support.
Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touchstone phone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two.
Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question is from the line of Arjun Khanna from Kotak Mutual Fund. Please go ahead.
Thank you for taking my question, and congratulations on a great set of numbers. Sir, the first question is on the CapEx. While we did indicate in the opening remarks that we have done de-bottlenecking, but if I look at CapEx this year, it's been roughly INR 1,230 crores. And if I look at 2023, almost INR 2,800 crores and INR 2,200 crores in FY2024. Just wanted to understand, given that the CapEx is lower for 2025, are we going to see substantially higher CapEx in FY2026? We have a number of projects such as fluoropolymers, etc., coming online. Just wanted a sense on that front.
Thank you, Arjun, for your question. You are absolutely right. We had said this earlier as well, that the CapEx for FY2025 is going to be slightly lower. That is something that has stood out. Although there have been a lot of de-bottlenecking projects, as we said in the initial positioning of this, that there were a lot of de-bottlenecking projects that we have done this year. To that extent, there is a lot of new capacity that has got created and added here. From an FY2026 perspective, in our current estimate, we believe CapEx for FY2026 will probably be in the range of INR 2,200 crore-INR 2,300 crore. That is our current estimate of it. We have been judicious about CapEx going forward, but to a certain extent, yes, the intensity of the CapEx will increase for FY2026. I hope that answers it, Arjun.
Sure. Thank you.
Very helpful, sir. Secondly, sir, if one looks at the specialty chemical side, while we did mention we are looking at overall chemical growth of 20%, if you could, now that we are at the end of the year, give us a sense how did specialty chemicals do for FY25, and what would be the mix between pharma and agrochemical at this point in time? The second part of that question is we have talked about intermediate prices improving. At the same time, we have talked about pricing pressure from China. If you could clarify these points, sir. Thank you.
Just to get on the annual thing, last year, the sales for our chemicals business overall were roughly about INR 6,300 crores. On that side, roughly about INR 3,700 crores was specialty chemicals business, and INR 2,600 crores was fluorochemicals business.
This year, roughly the sales are in the range of INR 6,700 crores, out of which roughly about INR 3,850 crores are specialty chemicals business, and INR 2,850 crores being the fluorochemicals business. Share between them has remained in the range of, let's say, 57%-58% for the specialty chemicals business and 40%-43% for the fluorochemicals business. That is the kind of breakup. Now, to answer your second part of the question in terms of saying that pricing pressure through China and various other things, this is essentially also something that we saw in the first year of, let's say, in the earlier part of the year, H1. To a certain extent, that pricing pressure has come down a bit. We have seen both lower pricing pressure as well as better volume of tech coming through.
Again, FY26 also, we believe that there will be a positive traction that we are seeing from agrochemical customers, while in some pockets, there are probably slightly lower positions that are playing out. We are fairly hopeful that 20%+ growth in the overall chemicals business should be achievable going forward. Share of pharma? Share of pharma, roughly about 6%-7% from a specialty chemical business perspective.
Sure. Thank you. Just a clarification on the opening remarks. We mentioned we have done de-bottlenecking and possibly a 30% increased capacity. That is for the specialty side of it, fluorochemicals, or should we read that INR 6,700 crores of revenue potentially can have INR 2,000 more crores of revenue if demand permits over a period of time?
Do not do the math on it, Arjun. What it referred to was specialty chemicals business only rather than fluorochemicals.
It was being talked about in the same vein when we were talking about the specialty chemicals business.
Perfect. Thank you and wishing you all the best, sir.
Got it. Thank you, Arjun.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Naushad Chaudhary from Aditya Birla. Please go ahead.
Hi. Thanks for the opportunity and congrats on a good set of numbers. One question on fluoropolymers business. I just wanted you to touch upon this in terms of how this business is doing, acceptance of our specialty polymer, and how much capital so far we have deployed here, and how do you see this in the next two, three years, how this business should look like.
Two, three questions going together, Naushad. Let me try and answer each one of them. How is this business doing?
I think we have improved on the domestic side in the fluoropolymers business. There has been better intensity that we've seen on the fluoropolymers business on fine cut and, let's say, the free flow grades of it. Export seeding of the fluoropolymers business has also started, and we are starting to see some traction on that side as well. Like we said in the opening remarks, I think we will see a positive on the fluoropolymers business during FY2026 coming through. Also, from a futuristic perspective, we've already announced CapEx of roughly, I don't remember, INR 550 crore or so in that range for three new fluoropolymers, PVDF, FEP, and SCM. Some of those will get commercialized and completed out during FY2026. From FY2027 onward, we should see more fluoropolymers here coming through. I think those were the questions. If I missed out anything, please do repeat.
No, no.
That's it. Thank you. That's helpful.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Nitesh Dhoot from Anand Rathi. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Thank you for taking my question, and congratulations on a good set of numbers, sir. My first question is on the India-U.K. FTA. If you could please throw some light.
One moment. One moment. I'm not able to hear you clearly.
One second. Sir, I hope it is better now.
Sure. Thank you.
Yeah. My question was on the India-U.K. FTA. If you could please throw some light on what kind of benefits could accrue to us business-wise.
Nitish, to be frank about it, when we look at our European sales, sales to U.K. are very low. I don't think there is a large positive or a negative impact in that sense from the India-U.K. FTA.
Sure.
Just one question on the mix of domestic and exports for the chemical segment.
Let me do that separately for the fluorochemicals and the specialty chemicals business. Specialty chemicals business, I would say roughly in the range of about 70%-71% is exports, and the rest is domestic. For fluorochemicals, 60%, 60% is domestic, right? So 60%-40% is the domestic versus export.
Great. Great. Thank you so much for answering the questions. All the best.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Sanjesh Jain from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Good afternoon, sir. Thanks for taking my question. Sir, can you say your name, please? अभी आ रही है, sir? अब आ रही है. Hello. Huh. Thanks. Thanks for the opportunity. First question on the refrigerant gas. What was the utilization last year now that we have started our HF plan?
We should be using 100% in FY26. Will that be a fair assumption?
The simple answer to that is yes. From an FY26 perspective, right?
Correct. Correct.
From an overall FY25 perspective, we will probably roughly in the range of about 70% because 32 capacity utilization was slightly lower than what we had initially planned because of the HFC.
Got it. From the pricing perspective, now that we see the inventory level in the U.S. coming down, which adds to the demand, how should we see pricing for the HFC in FY26? Should we hold on to the pricing of FY25 exit?
Look, each gas will play out differently, to be very frank. Between 32, 134A, and 125, I think to a certain extent, for 32, our pricing has to still play out freely.
Whatever we've seen as exit pricing in FY25, I think that should be, we should be able to sustain that and maybe slightly better on it going forward from a 32 perspective. On 134A, I think it should remain flat to slight positive only. And 125, I think again should remain flat from where we have seen it exiting in FY25.
Very clear. Very clear. How should we see at R22 now that there is a 50% cut starting from first plan 2025? We should be using that remaining R32 in our PTFE plant. Have we started that?
No, no. R22 is always being used for the PTFE thing, Sanjesh. There is no, as PTFE capacities grow out, as we see full utilization of PTFE capacities, R22's usage for PTFE is going to increase only. So there is no doubt on that.
Today, I think pricing is pretty decent from a refrigerant market perspective. We have seen a slight increase in pricing on the 22 side as well. On 22's utilization, we will see obviously positive in terms of R22's utilization, not just for PTFE, for other fluoropolymers that will come through over a period of time, and for the specialty chemicals business also.
Very clear. One last question on the specialty side. When we speak of 20%, I assume that we are looking at 20% growth in specialty as well. Are we seeing this kind of order book growth coming in? Because the ASF first results showed a quite muted volume growth, what they reported a couple of weeks back. How does our order book look like?
Look, to a certain extent, when we are giving you a 20% guidance, we have a fairly good confidence in terms of where the order book is. Now, if you ask me that, do I have 100% visibility of the order book, I would probably say that the visibility is probably in a 70%-80% range. There will be countermeasures that we will implement, but we have a fairly good sense of how that 20% number is going to be achieved going forward, Sanjesh.
Very clear, sir. Thanks for answering all those questions and best of luck for the coming quarters.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Madhav from Fidelity. Please go ahead.
Hi. Good afternoon. Thank you so much for your time.
First question on the REFCAS business, I think, sir, like you said, we've not seen the full benefit of R32 play out yet. Is it fair understanding that in both the export and the domestic markets for us, the R32 benefits will show up more in FY 2026, especially exports where it seems like, I don't know, if we have certain contracts which we've set over a few months or a few quarters, so the full benefit, especially on the export side, reflects more in FY 2026? Is that the right way to think?
The way we would look at it, Madhav, is that we will have a better volume utilization from an FY 2026 perspective, given the fact that we should be able to produce more of 32, given HF has now the issues with HF have now kind of got sorted out. So that's a positive.
From a pricing perspective, we believe current pricing should sustain and probably slightly higher going forward. Exact numbers is very difficult to be able to say. What I can only tell you is, let's say, the exit rates for March 2025 were probably higher than what we saw as averages for the entire year. Yeah. Definitely. Are export prices for R32 playing catch-up to our current domestic prices? Is that moving with the lag, the increase that we have seen? Again, there is a different seasonality between export volumes as well as domestic volumes. Yes, they will hopefully catch up with the lag, is what I believe firmly.
Yes. Understood. Understood.
The second question on the specialty chemical side, from our 670i launches which we were speaking about, could you just give us an update in terms of how many of them maybe are already launched or will be launched in FY 2026, and how we could see ramp-up in the next one or two years from these newer AIs? Thank you.
Look, I do not think that position has changed very much, Madhav. We have always said that FY 2026, we will see at least two to three more towards the H2 is when they will come through. We will give you an update on some of these as we start to see a pickup on volumes. When we look at it from an FY 2025 perspective, the key AI still remains as T32 only, right? We have seen some new AIs come through over the financial year.
There have been some positive developments that have come through. The ramp-up will continuously depend on the customer requirement going forward. Some of these are patented products, and as they launch in various geographies, we will start to see a pickup in volume of these. Exact timing of this is very difficult to be able to judge, but we are fairly confident that in H2, there will be some positive traction going forward.
Just on the key packs of 22.02, could you just split it into the different segments and within chemicals, how much would go into spectrum versus fluoropolymers, etc.?
Madhav, I'll have to come back to you separately on this. I will probably see the way it is happening, Madhav, is today what we are also implementing is specialty chemicals, is fluorochemicals on the 4GN gases. We are also implementing the fluoropolymers project on the chemical side.
Those are the larger projects that are being implemented. From a packaging film perspective, DOPPPE as well as the capacitor grade line and the CPP line are being implemented. My sense is that from an FY 2026 perspective, this will probably be 65%-70% on the chemical side, and the balance will probably be the packaging film and technical pack side. That is how the split should be, but I will read out that number and come back to you.
Got it. Got it. Perfect, sir. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Pankaj from IKIGAI Asset Manager. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Thank you for the opportunity and congratulations on great set of results. Rather than quarterly, just wanted to get a sense on how will the shape look like of the chemical business in the next three years?
This year, we entered at about INR 6,700 crores of revenue. If you can just help us from a size and scale perspective, one on chemical and overall company, what is the medium-term thought process, Ashish and Rahul Jain? Thank you.
Pankaj, Ashish has left. I am the only one answering questions, so I am to take all the brunt that you guys can throw at me. Thank you for that. In terms of the three-year shape, from a chemical business perspective, again, I think 20% plus growth going forward should be a key positioning from a chemical business perspective. Let's say we ended up with INR 6,700 crores of revenue. We will probably be, let's say, INR 11,000 crores of revenues plus in three years. Again, I think the split of that probably remains similar in the nature of specialty chemicals versus fluorochemicals.
Fluorochemicals is also implementing large projects given fluoropolymers positioning as well as on the new GN gas side. In three years, I think some of these should have come up and become revenue-building. Mix remaining the same, I think at 20%-25% growth, we should probably be hitting an INR 12,000 crore number going forward.
Okay. That's great. On the DOPPP side and the technical textile, how will the shape of the business look like in the next couple of years?
Pankaj, again, from a packaging film or, sorry, performance film, I will also have to get my act right here, performance film and file business. The way we will look at it, Pankaj, is that there are new capacities, I think, between PPP as well as the CPP.
I know aggregate capacity expansion of 3,000, 5,000, so roughly about 50,000 tons or 50,000-55,000 tons of new capacity expansions happening. Given a similar run rate in terms of their, let's say, asset turn, that is the addition that we are looking to get in the packaging film business. Obviously, when we are thinking about it, more value-added products, better realization, high-end products, all of that will keep on taking better shape from a packaging film business perspective. Maybe I can come back to you separately in terms of a three-year positioning of where this is likely to end up at.
Great. Thank you and wish you all the best.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Rohit Nagraj from B & K Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Thanks for the opportunity and congrats on strong Q4 and FY2025.
First question is in terms of the EBIT margins that we have done for FY25, given that you have explicitly said that there was pricing pressure on the specialty chemicals front, is it safe to assume that the margin expansion is predominantly from REFCAS volume growth as well as the pricing increase that has happened during the course of the year? Thank you.
Rohit, no doubt on that. I would say from a Q4 versus Q4 perspective, we have seen margin expansion happen in the specialty chemicals business also. We have seen significant margin expansion happening in the fluorochemical side and the REFCAS side also. Those are two positives. When you think about it from an overall perspective, I think we had said between 25%-26%, plus minus 2% should be the range that we will continue to look at.
I think that story remains pretty much intact, Rohit.
Sure. That's helpful. Second, just a minor question, that the margins that we have reported for the chemical business, about 25% EBIT margins for FY2025, is it safe to assume that we will be able to at least maintain and better it in FY2026 given that conditions probably will further improve from the industry perspective? Thank you.
Rohit, again, like I said, I think the story remains intact between that 25%-26%, plus minus 2%, even from an FY2026 perspective with larger volumes will be the story that will play out. Therefore, both from a revenue perspective and an overall volume perspective, we will start to see bigger positives going forward in the chemical business.
When we think about overall margins, I think even a 25%-26% margin, EBIT margin with a large depreciation is a pretty decent number going forward, Rohit. I think the targeting on that side remains in that range only, Rohit.
Very much. Thanks a lot, and all the best, sir.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Meet Vora from Emkay Global. Please go ahead.
Hi. Thanks for taking my question. We are mentioning in the PPT that India and Middle East will drive future growth for refrigerant gases. Is it because there is a baseline period in both these geographies and we will be pushing, say, more volumes in these markets to gain more quota? I do not think we are strategically moving away from the U.S. as a market. Just wanted to get your sense.
Okay.
The way we look at it, Meet, and I think you are right in terms of understanding this. Yes, there will be the quota position that plays out in calendar 2024, 2025, 2026 in all of these two geographies, India and Middle East as well. The position that we are saying is that we have the capability, the capacity for supplying to these markets, and that is what will play out here. We are not strategically moving away from the U.S. market. That is also the right comment. The only point is that overall U.S. market, while inventories are low today, we will probably see some inventory filling that will happen going forward. The other position also is that U.S., by law or by monetary protocol, will have a lower HFC need.
Therefore, we will have to kind of balance it out in terms of how we are thinking about that market. Given where our capacity is, I think we are fairly open to either export or sell in the domestic market, given where price positions are today, Meet.
Understood, sir. Perfect. Just one more question. I just wanted to get your sense on H1 on a year-over-year basis. Will it be better given that now REFGAS volumes will grow because of our EHF plant, which is there now in place? Also, do we expect Specchem to grow year-over-year in H1?
We are talking about H1 FY2026.
Yes, on a year-over-year basis.
Too early to comment on that, Meet, but thematically, we believe that volume will be better, both for specialty chemicals and for the fluorochemicals business.
But I think thematically is what we can talk about rather than pure and exact numbers around it.
Got it, sir. Thanks. That's all from my side. And best of luck.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Vivek Rajamani from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Thank you for the presentation and congratulations on a very strong set of results. The question was on specialty chemicals. The improvement that you are going to see in fiscal 2026, would it be said, say, it's going to be driven largely by increased volumes and cost efficiencies, or do you think that could also be a positive mix change, either from new products or some pricing improvement? Just wanted to get your thoughts on what's driving the what will be the biggest driver of the improvement in fiscal 2026?
I think it is a combination of both rather than one or the other. We will probably see better volumes for some of the legacy products. Newer products that have started to ramp up in FY 2025 should also see better volumes. So there is a volume positive that will come in in the specialty chemical business. Here, during H1, we are also seeing a lot of pricing pressure, while some of that we saw being lower in, let's say, Q4 FY 2026, FY 2025, sorry. We will probably start to see some of that positive coming through as well. Again, like I said in an answer to a previous question, I think the AI positions will also start to play out during FY 2026, more towards H2.
Sure, sir.
Just one clarification with respect to the improvement that you're foreseeing in fiscal 2026, that already assumes the two, three new AIs, not from your perspective, but from the customer registration perspective, correct? Or do you think that would be a significant upside risk if some of those things fall into place?
Again, we are assuming some volumes on the AI side here. I can't tell you exact numbers on it, but yes, there are some volumes that we are assuming. Some of these products have already been registered. It's now a question of when the customer starts to launch them and provide more volumes into the market, which will depend on his own business plan. Based on this, we will start to see volumes on that side.
Sure, sir. Very clear.
At least for fiscal 2026, you'll be able to meet them with the existing capacities that you have in place. That would be a fair statement, correct?
I don't think capacity today is too much of a challenge, Vivek.
Sure. Thank you, sir. Thank you so much and all the very best. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Keyur Pandya from ICICI Prudential Life Insurance. Please go ahead.
Thank you. Congratulations to the team for strong results. Sir, question on the REFCAS side, so the new R32 capacity, what is the utilization for full FY2025? That is first question. And second is either because of sorry?
Capacity utilization of HSCs is what you talked about for FY2026.
Yes, yes. The new R32 capacity or overall HSC also. So that is first question.
Second, on the pricing side, either because of the, say, news of upcoming newer supplies for R32 or a relatively weaker, say, summer season in India, or for any other reason, are you seeing any signs of, say, prices coming down or any moderation? That is the second question on the pricing. That is it.
From a capacity utilization perspective, I think given where AHF positions were during FY25, I think some of that has got better significantly. Therefore, we believe that during FY26, capacity utilization should go up very, very significantly, maybe from a current 70% utilization on average to about 85-90-95% utilization is where we should end up being from an HSC perspective.
Again, on the pricing front of HSCs, even with new capacities that have been talked about, I think they do not come in in early part of the FY26, probably towards December is some people that talked about. And those plants will also have to get stabilized. Also, from an overall pricing perspective, I do not see a big challenge or saying that there is a likely reduction, significant reduction in the pricing of HSCs and more specifically 32Fs. That does not look likely, Vivek.
Noted, sir. Thanks a lot and all the best.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Abhijit Akella from Kotak Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Good afternoon. Thank you so much. So just on the comment regarding the fact that maybe 1H is expected to be a little bit softer than 2H, if I understood it correctly.
Just was hoping to get your perspective on what are the factors that sort of lead us to believe that this might be the trend?
Again, Abhijit, you have to look at the historical trends on this. Go back to FY 2020, 2021, even probably other than FY 2023, where it was kind of flattish. Seasonality does play out a factor from our overall chemical business and an overall business perspective also. What we were tending to say here is that that seasonality still remains. That seasonality has not gone away. We've always seen much higher sales in the fluorochemicals business happening towards Q4 and Q1, right? That seasonality remains. Even when we think about the specialty chemicals business, from procurement trends, when we think about it from the past, we've seen always Q3 and Q4 to be higher than Q1 and Q2.
I think the reference point here is more towards the seasonalities that we've seen in the business rather than anything else, Abhijit.
Okay, okay. Just to clarify, in fiscal 2025, we saw a mix of about 42-50A between 1H and 2H. We can broadly go with a similar kind of trend for next year as well.
What I can tell you, Abhijit, when you compare it with CPLY for a funding period last year, you will see certain positive trends, but the H1, H2 positioning between, let's say, 60-40, or 65-35, probably 55-45 remains overall.
Got it. Thank you so much. Just one last thing, if possible, is it possible to give us some rough sense of how much was revenue from the new projects of PTFE and aluminum foil for the full year?
I don't have that number readily available with me. I'll check and come back to you.
Okay. Sure. Thank you so much, sir. All the best.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Krishan Parwani from JM Financial. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hi Raounjit. Thank you for the opportunity and congrats on strong set of numbers. Firstly, just a clarification. So this INR 2,850 crores of fluorochemicals revenue, does that include the industrial chemicals? And what would be the number?
No, I didn't get the question. Could you repeat that, please?
So this INR 2,850 crores of fluorochemicals revenue in FY2025, does that include the industrial chemicals revenue also?
Yeah, yeah. FCB includes all industrial chemicals, all of REFGASes, 22 HSCs and H2SCs, and TMS as well, and fluoropolymer to a certain extent as well.
Just wanted to understand what was the industrial chemical revenue for the full year.
I do not give out breakups of each of those revenue positions because they are subset and they are interlinked with each other. This is all that you will get, Krishan.
No problem. I think in your annual report, you do give out, so I thought you might have it handy. No problem. We will wait for the annual report.
In a sense, we have to give out in the annual report as well. The reason for that also is because there is a certain requirement by law to be able to give those out, right? Those are also to a certain extent, I would say, combined up in large numbers. We do not give out exact numbers here, Krishan.
No problem. No problem, sir.
Secondly, from a two to three-year outlook, how much have we spent on new AI capacities, and when do you expect these capacities to be fully ramped up? Just a three to four-year outlook, if you could.
Look, as of now, from an AI capacity perspective, what we are doing today is doing it from our multi-purpose plants. Various blocks have been created within those multi-purpose plants to be able to manage those AI requirements. We have a fair sense in terms of how those AI requirements will pan out, and we should be able to meet them from our own existing multi-purpose plants from the agrochemical or the AI intermediate plants that we have kind of put up.
As we see larger demands, as we see higher volumes, as we see consistent, we will look to put up newer capacities on that side, and obviously, those will get announced.
Understood, sir. Thank you for answering my question. Wish you all the best, sir.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Dhruv Muchhal from HDFC AMC. Please go ahead.
Yeah, sir. Thank you so much. Sir, just on this U.S.-China tariff issue, are you seeing any change in customer engagement for this reason? Both positive.
Yeah, we are seeing lots of changes in customer engagement, Dhruv, right? And that customer engagement changes on a daily basis. Tonight, there is 150% tariff. Next night, there is 30% tariff. Actually, to be very frank about it, Dhruv, there is no clarity in terms of how these tariffs will pan out.
I think by end of June, early or mid of July is when all of these positions will kind of play out in terms of what tariffs have been imposed on what entities. Our belief today still remains that the tariffs that will come through on India versus China, there will be a differential tariff. As long as there is a differential tariff, we should be in good shape. That's how we would probably budget ourselves out in respect to these tariffs going forward.
Right. No, I'm wondering, are customers also thinking similarly and thinking of supply chain changes in favor of India and you also? About it. Some of it is going on on a fixed basis. Yeah.
There is a 90-day window. They will end up saying that, "Supply me as much as you can," right?
So that 90-day window will also expire at a certain point in time. We have not seen, due to tariffs, a large change happening in, let's say, customer behavior.
Got it. Perfect, sir. Thank you. That's helpful. Thanks.
Thank you. Next question is from the line of Archit Joshi from Nuvama Institutional Equities. Please go ahead.
Hi Rahul Jain. Thanks a lot for the opportunity. So just had one question, rather a clarification from a comment that I'm reading from the PPD saying that innovators are expected to introduce more complex and downstream active ingredients. I was just wondering how one should read this. Is this the global R&D spend of innovators going up, or are these opportunities by any chance presented to us in the form of any contract development opportunities? Thank you, sir.
Look, the thematic here is outsourcing as a key thematic from global measures, right?
Now, what is going to end up, what will end up happening is some of their existing products, some of their future products, they are saying manufacturing in Europe is becoming more difficult. And because of this, they are looking at outsourcing opportunities, which is a clear trend that we are seeing. Whether they are, let's say, from a, whether their overall R&D spend is going up or not, I really am unable to comment on that. That's it.
Sure, sir. Got it. Thanks. All the best.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Jason Soans from IDBI Capital. Please go ahead.
Yeah, Raounjit, thank you so much for taking my question. My first question, Raounjit, just pertains to when we look at it from a subsidies perspective, of course, we have the packaging films there.
Now, we have clocked in a loss of around INR 173 million there for 2025. Just wanted to know from an overall perspective for going 2026 and 2027, is there a possibility that we can be profitable in the subsidiaries business if I just take subsidiaries or the packaging films business?
What we are doing here, Jason, is we are calculating it on a PAT-PAT basis or PBT and PBT basis?
Yes, sir. So basically, it is a console minus standalone.
Right. Profit after.
Yeah. That's right. That's right.
Let's understand the reason for it. I think the way we look at it is largely it is packaging films business. When we think about it from an overall basis, I think Hungary, because of the fact that they were going through a tough time, has ended up being probably at a PAT loss.
I think as Hungary improves, we should start to see positive contribution on an overall basis within, let's say, FY 2026 itself. The other one, obviously, is Altech, which is the aluminum foil. Two of these, once they start to show a positive positioning, I think we will start to see a positive patch between FY 2025 and FY 2026 when you compare standalone versus consolidated also. On the additive side, largely positive going forward as well. I would say for FY 2025 also, additive was a large positive when we aggregate up all of the subsidiary entities also.
Okay. Sure, sir. Thanks for that. Sir, just next question is, to what I understand, obviously, there is a consensus that probably ACCEM is still on an improving trajectory or overall, it's a kind of subdued environment there, but on an improving trajectory.
Now, you have mentioned in your PPD that you have seen good traction for your new products as well as certain key agrochemical intermediates. Now, I just wanted to know from a directional sense, I mean, of course, there are so many intermediates in the market, I mean, which on your product offering. Just wanted to understand from vis-à-vis the competition, are we better as intermediates? Do you think we can buck this trend and we can have better growth as compared to competition, especially for the spectrum business here?
Look, I think two positives and one negative probably, right? Given our R&D, given our relationships with global customers, given our current product profile, given the number of products that we are currently in the stage of developing, I think the first element should pan out positively in our favor.
The negative element of it also is that we are at, let's say, almost a INR 4,000 crore turnover, right? And 20% on INR 4,000 crore also means the INR 800 crores of additional revenue that we have to generate. There are positives around it and negatives. We will have to go through and understand how we make more positives than negatives.
Sure, sir. Just finally, just wanted to ask, sir, I mean, let's get spoken about Dymel, which is the pharma propellant. Just wanted to understand, sir, not asking you for an absolute value or something, I understand, but how was the prospect for that looking? I'm sure it's an integral part of your fluorochemical business. Just wanted to know how was the prospect for this pharma propellant or Dymel looking for it?
Two things that you have to understand.
134A pharma is a high-stability product relative to 32, right? There is no timeline with respect to Dymel or the propellant or, let's say, the 134A pharma piece. Overall, I think from a Dymel perspective, we are roughly at an 80% market share domestically for the Dymel as a product and propellant. Going forward, we believe that so two positives. One, there is no timeline in terms of this coming down on an overall utilization perspective. The product in itself is also seeing growth going forward. I think it should do well, but remain probably a smaller number for our overall fluorochemical space. No new expansions can happen, but yes, capacity utilization of 100%, probably at 80% today, to be achieved going forward is certainly possible.
Certain de-bottleneckings might happen over a period of time as we see more traction on that side, but it is still a product that is doing phenomenally well from our overall perspective.
Okay. And so just one thing.
Sorry, Mr. Victor, I'm sorry for the time
I requested you to re-examine it.
Yeah, sure. Thanks. Thanks for asking. I think
we will have to wind this up, but one last question, please.
The next question is from the line of Anirudh Shetty from Solidarity Advisors Private Limited. Please go ahead.
Thanks, but my question was answered earlier. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, we'll take that as the last question. I would now like to hand the conference over to the management for closing comments.
Thank you very much for being on the call.
We hope we have answered some of your questions, if not all. We are happy to connect for any additional questions that you have. Thank you and best of luck.
On behalf of SRF Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines.