Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to the Deepak Nitrite Q4 FY 2026 earnings conference call. At the outset, I would like to clarify that certain statements made or discussed on the conference call today may be forward-looking in nature, and a disclaimer to this effect has been included in the investor communication shared with you earlier. The result documents have been shared with you earlier and have also been posted on company's website. 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 and then zero on your touchtone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Ranjit Cirumalla from IIFL Capital.
Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thank you, Sagar. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us on Deepak Nitrite Q4 and FY 2026 earnings conference call. Today, we have with us Mr. Maulik Mehta, Deputy Managing Director of the company, Mr. Sanjay Upadhyay, Director of Finance and Group CFO, and Mr. Somsekhar Nanda, CFO of Deepak Nitrite Limited. We will begin the call with opening remarks from the management team, followed by an interactive Q&A session. To begin, Mr. Maulik Mehta will share views on the operating performance and the growth plans of the company, followed by Mr. Sanjay Upadhyay, who shall take us through the financial and segmental performance. I now invite Mr. Mehta to share his opening comments. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Good afternoon, everybody, and a warm welcome to all of you on Deepak Nitrite's Q4 and FY 2026 conference call. Our results documents were shared with you earlier, and I trust you've had the opportunity to review them. I will cover the key operational, strategic, and financial highlights for the quarter and year ended March 2026. Mr. Upadhyay will subsequently take you through the detailed financial review, following which we'll be happy to address your questions. The global chemical industry continued to operate in a challenging environment during 2026, characterized by persistent global challenges and uneven recovery in demand.
The environment further intensified in the Q4 during review due to the war in the Middle East, following which the industry witnessed unprecedented disruption in established supply chains, challenges to logistics and freight with the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, leading to volatility in prices of crude oil as well as related feedstock. Concurrently, as logistics disruptions persisted, both suppliers and buyers identified new opportunities by swiftly adapting and securing alternative channels. While global demand conditions remain mixed, domestic demand in India continued to witness relatively stable momentum across several end industries, including automotive, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, electronic polymers, and other downstream sectors. Consequently, integrated and reliable manufacturing companies such as Deepak, with a strong operational capability, were able to capitalize on emerging opportunities arising from the evolving global supply chain landscape.
In this demanding environment, Deepak Group has demonstrated a remarkable agility in the face of adversity, delivering strong operational and financial results for the Q4 of FY 2026. During quarter four, consolidated revenue stood at INR 2,127 crores compared to INR 2,202 crores in FY 2025 and INR 1,983 crores in Q3 of 2026. EBITDA for the quarter stood at INR 338 crores, reflecting strong sequential growth of 74% over Q3 and 13% on a year-on-year base. Profit before tax before exceptional items stood at INR 301 crores, while profit after tax stood at INR 120 crores, registering a growth of more than 120% quarter-on-quarter and 9% year-on-year.
EBITDA margins improved significantly to 18% during the quarter under review, compared to 11% in Q3. Our quarterly performance was underpinned by stable volumes and favorable pricing alongside enhanced plant fungibility as we pivoted towards high demand products, customers, and markets. Furthermore, continuous plant process refinement and cost optimization initiatives coupled with deeper supply chain integration have fortified our competitive positioning and sustained growth momentum across business segments. Our domestic to export revenue mix stood at 86-14, reflecting the resilience of our domestic franchise while continuing to maintain meaningful engagement across export markets. For FY 2026, consolidated revenue stood at INR 7,947 crores, while EBITDA and PAT stood at INR 1,041 crores and INR 551 crores respectively.
Coming to the segmental performance, Advanced Intermediates witnessed a healthy growth trend during Q4, boosted by stable domestic demand and a favorable pricing environment, neutralizing the impact of slower exports caused by global logistics disruption. Revenues for the quarter stood at INR 708 crores compared to INR 654 crores in Q4 2025 and INR 652 crores in Q3 2026. EBIT improved substantially on a sequential basis to INR 34 crores compared to INR 15 crores in Q3 FY 2026. Profitability drivers included an optimized product mix and superior realization relative to input costs. Our deepened integration continues to provide a competitive edge through an increased raw material self-sufficiency and reduced supply chain volatility. The Phenolics segment delivered strong performance during the quarter despite geopolitical disruptions impacting supply of critical feedstocks.
Revenue from operations for Q4 stood at INR 1,429 crores, while EBIT stood at INR 287 crores compared to INR 239 crores in Q4 last year and INR 145 crores in Q3. EBIT margins improved to 20% during Q4. Performance was supported by stable plant operations, improving spread across the portfolio, downstream demand recovery and a disciplined procurement strategy. Ongoing process optimization and debottlenecking initiatives continue, and they will improve operational flexibility while strengthening our domestic market leadership position. During 2026, we witnessed successful commissioning, stabilization, and ramp-up of Deepak Chem Tech's nitration and hydrogenation facilities at Dahej. These projects enhance raw material security, reduce external dependency, improve structural cost competitiveness, and strengthen our positioning as a deeply integrated chemical manufacturer. Our supply long-term growth remains anchored in value chain integration and specialty chemical expansion.
We witnessed a steady progress of our multipurpose agrochemical intermediates and MIBK/MIBC projects, which are scheduled for commissioning in Q2 FY 2027. Ours and India's first fully integrated polycarbonate facility execution is on track. For this project, Chemtech has entered into a strategic long-term agreement with Praxair India to establish a dedicated on-site HYCO plant at our Dahej facility. Under this build own operate model, Praxair India will manage the dedicated on-site infrastructure, allowing us to maintain a sharp focus on the polycarbonate resin project, significantly enhancing execution visibility and reduce upfront investment and supply chain resilience. Against the backdrop of heightened geopolitical tensions, we continue to strengthen our competitive position through disciplined execution and focused cost leadership initiatives.
During FY 2026, we undertook a comprehensive cost optimization program aimed at improving product yields, enhancing energy efficiency, as well as increasing manufacturing productivity through digital and technological initiatives. While geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties may continue creating near-term volatility across global markets, we believe the industry is gradually moving beyond the most disruptive phases of the cycle. I would now like to hand over the call to Mr. Sanjay Upadhyay, who will take you through the detailed financial performance and key operational updates for the quarter and full year under review.
Thank you, Maulik. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today on earnings call. I'll take you through the highlights of the financial results for the quarter and year ended March 31st, 2026. During Q4 FY 2026, domestic revenue stood at approximately INR 1,835 crore, while export revenue stood at INR 292 crore, resulting in domestic to export revenue mix of 86- 14. For the full year FY 2026, domestic revenue stood at INR 6,791 crore, while export revenue stood at INR 1,156 crore. For the quarter, company reported consolidated revenue of INR 2,127 crore compared to INR 2,202 crore in Q4 FY 2025 and INR 1,983 crore in Q3 FY 2026. Performance in the period was supported by stable domestic demand and improved realizations across established product categories.
EBITDA for Q4 stood at INR 383 crores compared to INR 339 crores in Q4 FY 2025 and INR 219 crores in Q3 FY 2026. EBITDA margin improved significantly to 18% during the quarter compared to 11% in Q3 FY 2026. This was underpinned by strategic combination of proactive fixed procurement, improved core product realization and structural margin benefits for backward integration and byproduct realization. PBT before exceptional items stood at INR 301 crores, while PAT for the quarter stood at INR 220 crores, reflecting growth of 9% year-on-year and 120% quarter-on-quarter. Earning per share for Q4 stood at 16.11. For the full year FY 2026, consolidated revenue stood at INR 7,947 crores, while EBITDA stood at INR 1,041 crore and PAT stood at INR 551 crores.
Please note that revenue and PBT excludes dividend income of INR 91 crores in FY 2026 and INR 98 crores in FY 2025, along with one time land transfer gain of INR 13 crores in FY 2025. The board has recommended a final dividend of 7.5 per equity share of FY 2026, reaffirming our commitment to delivering consistent shareholder value, continuing it to invest in strategic growth and long-term value creation. Coming to segmental performance, the Advanced Intermediates segment recorded healthy operational momentum during Q4 FY 2026. Revenue for the quarter increased to INR 708 crores compared to INR 654 crores in Q4 FY 2025 and INR 652 crores in Q3 FY 2026, reflecting growth of 8% year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter basis. EBIT improved to INR 34 crores compared to INR 15 crores in Q3 FY 2026.
The business recorded stable volume growth during the quarter, along with pricing gain for end products supported by improving demand across key end user applications. The company continues to focus on portfolio optimization, product expansion and cost efficiencies, and deeper customer engagement to strengthen long-term competitiveness within this segment. The Phenolics segment delivered a strong gains during the quarter despite continued volatility of feedstock and global supply chains. Revenue from operations for Q4 FY 2026 stood at INR 1,429 crores, while EBIT stood at INR 287 crores compared to INR 239 crores in Q4 FY 2025 and INR 145 crores in Q3 FY 2026. EBIT margins improved significantly to 20% during the quarter. Performance was supported by improved spread across the portfolio, stable downstream demand and integrated manufacturing benefits. Ongoing process optimization and debottlenecking initiatives continue to strengthen operational flexibility, cost competitiveness and market responsiveness.
On operational front, operational excellence and cost discipline remain key priorities during FY 2026. The company continued its focus to process optimization, energy efficiency initiatives, manufacturing productivity improvements, and digital transformation programs across manufacturing locations. Finance costs for Q4 FY 2026 stood at INR 19 crores, reflecting borrowings associated with ongoing growth investments and strategic expansion projects. Depreciation and amortization expense stood at INR 63 crores following capitalization of newly commissioned assets. The company's balance sheets remain healthy and resilient, supported by prudent capital allocation and disciplined financial management, providing adequate financial flexibility to support future growth initiatives. Consolidated net worth stood at INR 5,859 crores, providing adequate financial flexibility to support future growth initiatives. Coming to growth initiatives and outlook. Near-term industry conditions are expected to remain influenced by geopolitical developments, Chinese supply dynamics, U.S. tariff policies and feedstock volatility.
Against this backdrop, company remains focused on strengthening integration, expanding it into value added downstream chemistries and enhancing differentiated capabilities across high potential product segments. Strategic investments in polycarbonate project and downstream chemistry expansions continue progressing in line with the planned timelines and are expected to support product diversification, import substitution and margin improvement in long-term growth. Supported by a strong integrated manufacturing platform, diversified portfolio, disciplined execution and resilient balance sheet, Deepak Nitrite remains well positioned to navigate near-term volatility while creating sustainable long-term value for its stockholders. With that, I would now request the moderator to open the floor for question answer session, please.
Thank you very much. We will now begin with the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question, you may press star and then one on the touchstone phone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to uses handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue is assembled. Your first question comes from the line of Sanjesh Jain with ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Hi, good afternoon. Thanks for taking my questions. First on the nitric acid, can you just help us understand in this quarter, what was the utilization? Did we achieve the margin profile we were looking at? I know this is not a right quarter, but still, are we track on to get that INR 900 crores of EBITDA addition for the nitric acid which we planned earlier? That's my first question.
Sanjesh, thanks for the question. In Q4, while we did start the plant, we were unable to run it, you know, on a consistent basis because of some technical issues that took place during the quarter under review. We're working along with the technology supplier and the equipment supplier to address these. Once the plant is under stable operations, we do anticipate the kind of target that we're looking at. During this quarter under review, we were roughly at about 45% of utilization. Hence for the balance we had to secure nitric acid from the market in order to ensure that our products continue to be manufactured and sold.
Got it. Got it. That's, that's clear. My second question is on the Phenolics side. I know, very volatile and a difficult quarter, but just wanted to understand on the raw material availability that is propylene, how much of our capacity right now we are running and what's the scenario on the propylene availability? Are we able to run the plant at full or we are still running suboptimal because of the availability of raw material? On the spread, again, some of the listed player did highlight that there is a significant difference in the price of phenolic product in China market and India market. Should it sustain for a few more quarter before we converge, or you think that conversion will happen much sooner than what we think?
Color on that will be really helpful.
Sanjay, just a clarifying question. You're referring to Q1 or Q4?
I'm referring to Q1, and a little color on the Q1, Q2 will be really helpful.
Okay. Thanks. First of all, I'll just highlight that in Q1, in the first part of April, when there was a concern about feedstock availability, we also preponed the annual maintenance. Both of those were kind of addressed within that same period of time. I think it was about 10, 11 days. What we have done in any case in the meanwhile is we had enough of the intermediate product so that we were able to continue to supply to the market. Our plant efficiencies, which are a factor of feedstock as well as operational capabilities, continued relatively unhindered. We expect that Q1, our productivity and our efficiencies will continue to be in the same improving trend as they have been quarter-on-quarter. Q4 to Q1 will also have some marginal benefit.
And I want to highlight that, you know, because this is also a product where there is, you know, global availability, I don't want to comment on this principle of endogeneity, where we assume that the next month is going to be a factor of the last month. Given that, I want to share that our profitability will continue to remain healthy, will continue to be on an improving trend as compared to Q4, and we have enough feedstock as well as finished product to be able to cater to India's growing requirement. I don't anticipate a challenge on that front because of propylene or anything like that. Wherever possible, we have ensured that we have secured all our relevant raw material, and wherever relevant, we have ensured that we are able to pass through our cost increases.
We will see that during this quarter and the next quarter, we are remaining very close to our customers, engaging with them on a regular basis, so that wallet share and market share always remain something that we maintain.
Okay. That's quite clear, Maulik bhai. One last question from my side. Any comment on MIBK, MIBC commissioning? When can we expect or do you think this is not the right time to start a new plant and probably you would wait for another quarter to see how the industry or uncertainty settle and then we go for the new product?
We are already, you know Basically, we're finishing with the mechanical completion of the plant, we will soon be getting into the pre-commissioning cycle as it may be. At some point, maybe perhaps, at the tail end of Q1 or the early part of Q2 is when we will be looking at commissioning of the asset. Because the asset is commissioned along with a couple of other plant assets as well. We kind of remain on track with that.
Got it. Very clear. Thanks, Maulik bhai, for answering all those questions and best of luck for the coming quarters.
Thank you, Sanjay.
Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Nirav Jimudia with Anvil Wealth. Please go ahead.
Good afternoon, sir, and thanks for the opportunity. First of all, congratulations on an improved set of numbers this quarter. The first question is on the standalone business. Given the kind of CapEx what we have announced, like one for a fluorinated molecule of INR 220 crores which we have announced and which was supposed to start operations in January, plus some six, seven new products which we have told us that have already started production and they are at the various stages of customer approvals. How do we see FY 2027 specifically from the standalone business point of view, given these new products?
B, given the kind of raw materials, what we use for the standalone business like ortho-xylene, ammonia, sulfuric acid, AHF, how we are secured in terms of the availability of these key raw materials and demand for some of our products which are specifically custom-made for the export markets? If you can share your thoughts here, that would be very helpful.
Sure. Nirav, I'll answer both your questions. First question was with regards to new products. The six, seven new products as well as the fluorinated molecules, et cetera, we've already started the manufacturing for the things, the commercial scale validation batches. And those are already either supplied to customers and we've received positive feedback or in the process of being transported to customers. In all of these, we as we said earlier, we anticipate a commercial production on a regularized basis from Q3 onwards because this will reach our export customers towards the end of Q3 in time for their CY 2026 requirements. We remain broadly on track. We are constantly engaging with customers, updating them about the current possibility, and they are also appreciating this transparency.
So far I do not anticipate any concern on those, including the fluorinated molecule as well as the non-fluorinated molecules. Now, with regards to the volatility on the feedstock such as you mentioned, ortho-xylene or toluene or others. What happened was that in the beginning of Q4, I was tracking what was taking place in the Middle East and in the end of January, early February, what we noticed is that you are having multiple U.S. aircraft carriers kind of converging on a location, but in a pincer movement.
Generally, this is a rare occurrence, and generally this has in the past, whether it is the first Gulf War, second Gulf War, or in the case of, you know, 2008 or whatever, it has actually preceded a significant volatility in prices. From that perspective, we took the very unusual call of securing raw materials. We chose to buy it at every dip. You can appreciate that this was a risky move in the beginning of quarter four, which is a few months away from the end of a financial year. We targeted to buy in every dip.
We actually entered the end of Feb and Q1 with a much higher stock of critical feedstock, whether it was, you know, on high seas or whether it was with local suppliers, you know, products such as benzene, products such as xylenes and toluenes and all that. We ended up with a much larger inventory than we would traditionally have had in Q4. This was because we saw an unusual movement and we did not actually anticipate, you know, a hot war, but we did anticipate volatility. That position has held out quite well for us, whether it is in Q4 or in subsequent quarters. Going with this perspective, we anticipate that the company has a reasonable inventory of feedstock at enviable prices until we see rising, perhaps, at the end, maybe, Q2 or maybe halfway through Q2.
Perfect, sir. Perfect. Can we assume that with this kind of raw materials, what we have secured, in Q4, some benefit would have come in Q4, but most of this should come in Q1, impacting positively our standalone numbers?
I can say that our Q1 looks on track for numbers which are better than Q4, whether it is on standalone or on consolidated basis.
Perfect.
We anticipate Q1 be better than Q4, which was of course better than Q3.
Correct. Sir, in terms of the products, what we have in the domestic market, like DASDA, which was under pressure for I think we have also filed anti-dumping duties and on the sodium nitrite, which also you have updated last quarter regarding the U.S. tariffs, plus the anti-dumping duties, I think, which is also now looking better in terms of its application in the agrochemicals. In terms of, apart from the stuff what we have mentioned, is there any green shoots in any of the products, what I just mentioned on where we can see some improved performance also coming in FY 2027 for us?
There are some green shoots, I will resort to once again mentioning safe harbor here. What has happened also, which was actually announced, you know, in December 2025, is that China will administer significant constraints on certain key chemistries, including production, storage and transportation. There we find that there will be some uptick in the demand as well as the profitability for nitration products. Some of the products that you've mentioned are linked to the nitration chain, where Deepak continues to have a significant global market share. We anticipate that these will have a bit of a tailwind. Meanwhile, there is also some degree of a headwind, but it is a global headwind, not limited to India or Deepak, which is in the sulfur downstreams.
Whether it is the availability of sulfur, the cost, the price of sulfuric acid, SO2, oleum, et cetera, those are places where there will be a heightened cost. Like I said, the important thing is to check what the delta between international prices and Indian prices are. There, if we are able to buy, we anticipate no significant net impact to the company and the benefit as it comes from nitration chemistries, which Deepak has a considerable market position as well as a technological strength.
Perfect. Last question from my side. Sir, in terms of the Phenolics business, like, we have already alluded the confidence in terms of the input performance in Q1. Is it because our IPA business should do well in Q1 given the kind of the competitor who produces IPA through a propylene route and we through an acetone route, where propylene availability currently is a challenge for most of the players in India. If you can share your thoughts here with respect to IPA and also, if you can share the production numbers for phenol for FY 2026, that would be very helpful. Thank you so much.
Cool. Thanks, Nirav. I appreciate the questions, but I continue with my position of not going into details on production numbers.
Okay.
What I can say is that, whatever is the Indian requirement for IPA, isopropyl alcohol, and Deepak Phenolics in that continues to remain the largest capacity which is able to service the market for all the specifications, including pharmacological grade. From the perspective of our ability to supply, that remains unconstrained. From the perspective of saying, what are the margins, frankly, we look at it only on the perspective of an integrated margin approach because our assets are cost competitive. Our product quality is of the best nature. Finally, how much we make will be a balance of what the margins are in terms of the intermediate as the FGs. We will, as I also mentioned, we will also be looking in the next couple of months at producing MIBK and MIBC.
We expect to have a good, healthy mix of downstreams as well as upstream.
Got it, sir. Perfect. Thank you so much, and wish you all the best.
Thank you, Nirav.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Arun Prasath with Avendus Spark. Please go ahead.
Good evening. Thanks for the opportunity. My first question is on incident on phenol spreads. Sorry?
Sir, your voice-
Am I audible?
Background noise.
Sir, there is a lot of background noise coming from your line.
Yeah. Sure. Hopefully now this is better.
Yeah, please go ahead.
Yeah. I was asking about phenol spreads. Typically, phenol is a very well-traded commodity across the high seas. When we are seeing these preferred differential spread between, say, China and India, this could be either because of the local players in China stocking, restocking or, say, a phenol is not in to be transported because of the safe container issues. That is a reason we are seeing. Should we expect this to get back to the normalcy post the crisis? Or are you seeing this kind of triggering some kind of a chain reaction where, you know, this could put the phenol in the path of cyclical recovery?
Okay. Arun, it's not possible for me to comment on the spreads of other companies and other countries. What I can say is that Deepak continues to operate with a high degree of productivity efficiency and is able to ensure that it is able to create the margin that you all see. I've also already qualified that we anticipate that Q1 will be somewhat better than Q4, and also be better than last year's Q1. Keeping that in mind, let me put it this way. There's a lot of factors at play. Even though, you know, we're seeing that, you know, plant capacities all over the world are being constrained because of their own operating costs.
We are also at the same time seeing volatility in currency in freight times and freight costs and material movement from port to customer's plant. In all of these cases, all I can say is that having a domestic supplier of high quality products is a game changer for domestic consumers who don't need to be blocking in the kind of working capital that they would need to if they were importing with the kind of geopolitical risks that they are seeing. At this time, all I can confidently say that Deepak being a domestic supplier is something that our customers depend on to be able to aggressively work on their downstream expansion activities.
Understood. One follow-up to that question is that, do you see domestic buyers, especially in the phenol market, back to ordering at the regular intervals or they are still resorting to the need-based buying?
Answer to this question, to be clear, Arun, is mixed. In a lot of cases, it has kind of resorted back to a normalized buying pattern. In some cases, they have not, and by and large, this is because of other factors such as availability of products or availability of gas and other inputs. It is not just about the demand supply of their own, but it is their manufacturing environment. What is important for them is to know that Deepak is always there, always ready, and always able to supply at a moment's notice. This is one thing that they just never need to worry about. That gives them a lot of succor, and that allows them to park their working capital where needed most.
Understood. My second question is on the status of, you know, where we are in terms of nitration and the second hydrogenation plant. Is the plant ramping up well and running as per the level of utilization that we thought of initially? Second, on your answer to the nitric acid utilization of 45%, is this the average one or this is the exit utilization at which we are currently operating on?
On your first question on nitration and hydrogenation, those plants are already commissioned, and they are operating with the right productivity and efficiency as expected. With regards to nitric acid, what we had as a situation is when we were operating, we were operating at full utilization. As I mentioned, we did encounter technical challenges due to which the plant has been under repair and maintenance in line with our technology there and equipment. This is primarily our CNA plant. The concentrated nitric acid plant is operating normally.
Understood. On the nitration and hydrogenation, any way you can quantify where we are in terms of utilization?
No, those plants are fully operational. They've been commissioned, I think, at the end of Q2 or early Q3. Early Q3. Those are okay. There is a positive contribution. If there is a constraint, it has been with regards to the availability of nitric acid, where the prices have been substantially higher, where we've been constrained to buy from the market because of technical challenges. The plants are all in line and operational.
Understood. One question on polycarbonate. We have mentioned that, the commissioning target of 2028, this is only pertaining to PC resin or to the entire phenol and BPA production block as well?
What I've mentioned, which Mr. Upadhyay has also clarified, is that, look, the answer is at this moment the same for the integrated. However, we've clarified that the PC resin plant will happen independently. It may happen alongside, it may happen with a mismatch of a few months. The phenol expansion will happen in line with the commissioning of the propylene supply. Capex includes the ability to have this in a slightly disjointed manner. What we are anticipating is that perhaps they will all happen on track. Perhaps there will be maybe a quarter or so of mismatch. All of the assets that we put in place, as they are operationalized, they should be able to run at a high degree of plant productivity.
In line with that, we've already been working to see how we can start compounding and supplying our polycarbonate compounds to customers in India as well as outside of India. We anticipate that to also reach its capacity in line with our resin plant.
Maulik, on the compounding plant.
Sorry to interrupt, Arun, sir. May we request you return to the question queue for further follow-up questions, please?
Sure.
As there are several participants waiting for that. Thank you so much, sir. Your next question comes from the line of Tushar Raghatate with Omega Portfolio Advisors. Please go ahead.
Yeah. I just wanted to know the receivable days have increased. Any specific reason to that?
Sorry? Sorry, what did you say?
The receivable days has increased. Just wanted to know a specific reason to that. Secondly, sir, in the Advanced Intermediates business, like, do you see a major growth in that for, you know, FY 2027 going forward? Because the business seems to be very underutilized compared to the historical numbers.
What you are seeing as underutilized is actually the realization which had gone down, not the capacity had gone down. Capacity, we are running full, but it was the realization which was lower in as compared to earlier years.
As regards outstanding number of days, in some cases, we have changed the model because today we are passing through a very volatile situation, and we do not want to risk our outstanding. After we have gone into dealership and CSA model. That is helping us in at least in securing our outstanding. These are the reasons for this.
I'll also share the new products that we have, whether it is in Chem Tech or in Deepak Nitrite, the new downstream products which are in the Ag Chem space and outside of the Ag Chem space also. They are all significantly margin accretive. See in FY 2027, certainly an improved margin profile on even the standalone business as compared to FY 2026. We are working towards a return to what we considered normalcy a couple of years ago. FY 2027 will be this period where you will see an improving trend.
Fair enough. Sir, due to the anti-involution stand of China, do you see any realization improvement in standalone businesses?
Like I said, whether it is because of the anti-involution stand or critical hazardous chemistries, et cetera, or the global demand in improvement, whatever you want to call it, we do anticipate an improvement in the margins as well as the gross numbers as we progress into FY 2027. That is on the base of existing product portfolio as well as new products.
Fair enough. Sir, one of the player in India, providing intermediate to the global plant, they said that in the agrochemicals, the volumes are increasing, but the prices are not in the favor. Do you see the same happening in your agricultural part of the business?
This is again, very nuanced, and it depends on the chemicals, it depends on the feedstock availability, it depends on the margin profiles. Generally, what we are witnessing is that the benefit will be unevenly distributed between integrated players and non-integrated players. Players who have occupied a larger number of positions on the supply chain will be able to benefit from this improvement in the volumes and with a general degree of de-risking in the margin portfolio.
Fair enough, sir. That was really it. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Rohit Nagaraj with 360 ONE Capital. Please go ahead.
Thanks for the opportunity. The first question is on the Phenolics part of the business. After the maintenance over the last one month or so, are we operating at optimal utilization, the plant? Thank you.
Just to clarify, the maintenance was only in the beginning of April, maybe for about 10 days or so, not for the month of April. We are operating at this moment at high efficiency. We do not anticipate a constraint from plant or from feedstock availability.
Sure. The second question is in terms of, so we have said that, we have certain low-cost raw material. Have we passed on the entire pricing increase which has been witnessed in the market? Whether the prices have been adjusted to the current RM prices? A live question to that, given that the final product prices for our Advanced Intermediates as well as Phenolics business, both have increased, have we witnessed any demand side contraction in the domestic or export market? Thank you.
Okay. Thanks, Rohit. Just to clarify, we were able to secure feedstocks on dips, which we did very judiciously. Going into the end of Q4 and into Q1, we are in a good position. In terms of passing on the same price increases equivalent to the market conditions, that is an ongoing exercise. What we do is we balance out that as well as market participation and wallet share. What we are seeing is that by and large, that has been good work done by the business teams, keeping on constant engagement with customers as well as ensuring the plant productivity is at a high degree.
With regards to demand volume, as you can anticipate, demand volume for our products fluctuates based on availability of other co-products as well as their own production cycles. Keeping that in mind, what I can say is that we continue to have a significant wallet share across the board. I don't think that there has been any significant disruption in terms of wallet share. Ensuring that we are engaging with customers, what we're giving them as a good degree of certainty is that Deepak stands there. It is, you know, even if it is at market prices or whatever, they don't need to work hard to, you know, use up their foreign exchange to block import parcels because Deepak is there.
We got that, sir. Thanks a lot for answering all the questions, and all the best.
Thank you, Rohit.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Archit Joshi with Nuvama IE. Please go ahead.
Hi, good evening, Maulik. Thanks a lot for the opportunity. First question on the Phenolics bit, knowing that there's a lot of fluidity, the dynamics are evolving in the global trade. Have we assessed a scenario wherein some of the European capacities or maybe Taiwanese or South Korean capacities are, you know, overshooting their cost curves in a scenario where energy costs are rising, feedstock prices are rising, and let's say if the situation persists for a fairly bit longer, and knowing that we are in a cost competitive scenario, should we see a position wherein some of these capacities might be ousted from the system? That would be my first one, Maulik. Thank you.
Thanks, Archit. You know, you know, phenol is, you know, it's like an ocean, water just flows wherever it can. While there is a disruption, you will have some capacities going offline, some capacities being idle temporarily, some capacities being taken down for maintenance, sometimes in Europe, sometimes in the Far East. Some places like China, you will have commissioning of some capacities. Whatever it is, one thing is fact that India, in all of this, remains a positive dynamic in terms of growth, in terms of consumption. There ensuring that there is availability of products such as phenol is key for our customers.
Whether they, you know, import it and deal with the kind of volatility that they would face in terms of the amount of time that it takes, the exchange gain or loss and the working capital blockage. What we are focused on seeing right now is our ear to the ground and focusing on optimal plant utilization efficiencies there and ensuring that we are as close to JIT as possible, so our customers are able to focus on their own expansion activities. I see that there is, you know, consolidation also on one side, geopolitical volatility also on the other side. Our job is to be able to exude a sense of stability.
Sure. Just, Maulik, the second one is on the proposed overhauls in China on these nitration plants. I believe it was supposed to get triggered on April 1st.
May.
-in the region of May 1st, is it?
Okay. Okay, I misread that maybe.
But, I think this was more specific to the region of Shandong, where I think there is almost 30%, 35% of nitration capacities. And we had seen in the past that, you know, products like DASDA and thus by far our OBA portfolio had benefited back in 2019 when there was an explosion or ripple in the supply chain because of these issues. Are we referring to that when you made this comment about certain tailwinds that we might foresee in the nitration portfolio? And has such an action already taken place where some of these Chinese plants who are asked to automate using DCS and all have not done so, and the tailwind is already seen or it's prevailing? Thanks, Maulik.
Okay. Thanks, Archit. To clarify, my comment was not linked to one or the other province because this is a general CCP guideline with regards to the chemistries as well as the safe material movement, as well as the transport, which includes, of course, also product at ports and transport over oceans. It is an all-encompassing audit, and it is an all-encompassing compulsion, which is not also limited to only things like DCS. Now, like I said, this is something which can be considered as a tailwind, not specifically linked to A product or B product like DASDA.
This is. Again, it is not just nitration, but nitration has been a problem child in China again and again because, you know, a lot of plants operate without safety standards, whether it is at storage or production. Given that, this is a structural tailwind for companies like Deepak who do it in a responsible manner.
Maulik, my only point being is that have you started seeing these developments on ground in China, irrespective of which province is it? I just wanted to know, how are we backing our comment on this tailwind part? Has it already started happening, is what I wanted to know.
It has already started happening.
All right. All right. That's very helpful, Maulik. Thanks. Thanks and all the best.
Thank you.
Thank you. Before we take the next question, a reminder to all the participants. If you wish to register for a question, please press star and then one. The next question comes from the line of Vidhi Shah from C.R. Kothari & Sons. Please go ahead.
Hello, sir. Regarding the polycarbonate project, by when do we expect to commission this, and how will this be funded?
We've clarified earlier, and we are by and large remaining kind of, in line with that we're expecting it to commission by, June 28th.
Okay. What will be the funding source for this, worth INR 5,000 crore approximately?
No, no, funding is. The total project what we announced is around INR 11,000 crores. The funding is for the entire-
-whole the project together. We have tied up with the banks for debt. It will be in the ratio of 60:40. We have already started putting in equities here. Bank funding is already in line. Once we put in 25% of equity as per the bank condition, of 40% will start growing from the date. Funding is not an issue. We are generating enough cash and bank loans are also tied up. As and when required, if at all required, we'll approach the market.
Okay. That's it, sir. Thank you, sir.
Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, as there are no further questions from the participants, I now hand the conference over to the management for closing comments.
Thank you so much. Thank you all for joining us on this call. In case any further clarifications are required, you can get in touch with our investor call relationship, Mr. Somasekhar Nanda and Mr. Gopal Thakker. Thanks again.
Thank you. On behalf of Deepak Nitrite, that concludes this conference. Thank you everyone for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines. Thank you.