...Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to Dhanuka Agritech Limited Q4 FY24 earnings conference call, hosted by Antique Stock Broking. As a reminder, all participants' line will be in the listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star then zero on your touch-tone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Manish Mahawar from Antique Stock Broking. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thank you, Manuja. On behalf of Antique Stock Broking, warm welcome to all the participants on the Q4 FY 2024 earnings call of Dhanuka Agritech. Today we have Mr. N. K. Dhanuka, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Mr. Harsh Dhanuka, Executive Director, Mr. V. K. Bansal, CFO on the call. Without further ado, I would like to hand over the call to Mr. N. K. Dhanuka for opening remarks, post which we will open the floor for Q&A. Thank you, and over to you, Mr. Dhanuka.
Thank you, Mr. Manish. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am K. Dhanuka, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Dhanuka Agritech Limited. I hope all of you are doing well and keeping safe. Thank you for joining us in the conference call for the results of Q4 FY 2023-24. I have with me Mr. Harsh Dhanuka, Executive Director, and Mr. V. K. Bansal, CFO of the company. First of all, I would like to give you a brief outlook on the industry scenario, and then talk about the organization's results for the financial year 2024 and plans for financial year 2025. Last year, the industry went through a lot of challenges, severely impacted by El Niño conditions that caused lower rainfall, resulting in a moderate year for farmer demand in India. The global demand for agrochemicals was also down due to continued destocking in the U.S. and Brazil.
This resulted in drastic reduction in prices of generic molecules. In both India and China, new plant capacities have come online in the last two years, resulting in overcapacity and oversupply, keeping the prices on the lower curve for more than a year now. Many of the products are at historic lows, resulting in low revenue growth in spite of increase in volumes. As you are aware, Dhanuka Agritech is a leading agrochemical company in India, focusing on brand sales in the market. The company's strength lies in manufacturing and marketing of formulated products. Also, in FY 2024, Dhanuka has commenced operations at our latest chemical synthesis plant, and we are working to create breakthroughs in chemical synthesis with our new R&D laboratory with 30 chemists for research and chemical processes. Dhanuka is working with the vision of transforming India through agriculture.
We have a pan-India presence to reach out to more than 10 million farmers with our products and services. Dhanuka have more than 1,000 techno commercial team, supported by a strong sales and marketing team, to promote and develop new products. Introduction of novel chemistries and extensive product development has been the key focus of the organization, distinguishing Dhanuka from the rest of the industry. Dhanuka has world-class NABL accredited laboratory, along with the recently established Dhanuka Agriculture Research and Technology Center at Palwal, along with an excellent team for new product registration and development. Dhanuka has international collaboration with 10 leading global agrochemical companies from Japan, U.S., and Europe, which helps us to introduce the latest technology in India. Now, moving on to the financial results for the year.
This year, due to continuous decline in prices of generic products ranging from 5%-40%, there is a significant gap in volume growth and value growth. While the volume has grown by 9.07%, the value has grown by only 3.43%, representing an overall value reduction of 5.64% on the entire portfolio. Our revenue from operations during Q4 of FY 2023-24 is INR 368.31 crores, with a reduction of 0.8% as compared to the corresponding quarter of previous year. For the financial year 2023-24, the revenue is INR 1,758.54 crores, which is 3.4% up over previous year.
EBITDA stood at INR 80.09 crores in Q4 of FY 2023-24, representing an increase of 2.9% as compared to the corresponding quarter of previous year. For the financial year 2023-24, it is INR 327.44 crores, which is higher by 17.5% on YOY basis. Profit after tax is INR 59.02 crores in Q4 of FY 2023-24, representing a reduction of 9.6% as compared to the corresponding previous year quarter. For the financial year 2023-24, it is INR 239.09 crores, which is an increase of 2.4%. The zone-wise percentage share of turnover was, for North India, for Q4 2023-24, it was 26%, and for the whole year, it was 25%.
For East Zone, for Q4, it was 14%, and for FY 2023-24, it was 12%. West Zone, for Q4, it was 20%, and for full year, it was 31%. For South Zone, for Q4, it was best quarter, 40%, and for FY 2023-24, total was 32%. Product category-wise share of turnover was: insecticides in Q4, 44%, and for the whole year, 38%. Fungicides, Q4, 16%, and for whole year, also 16%. Herbicides, for Q4, 28%, for the whole year, 34%. And others, both Q4, as well as for FY 2023-24, 12%. In last challenging year, where the industry was facing significant headwinds and pressure on both top line and bottom line, Dhanuka has been able to show significant resilience.
The company has already rewarded its members by paying an interim dividend at the rate of 400%, that is, INR 8 per equity share, having face value of INR 2 per share, which has absorbed INR 36.47 crores. The board of directors has further recommended 300% final dividend, that is INR 6 per equity share. The final dividend will be subject to the approval of the members in the 39th Annual General Meeting, scheduled to be held on 2nd August 2024. Now, let us talk about the projections for FY 25. This year, the weather conditions have shifted significantly, and already the effects of El Niño have subsided. The major weather forecasters have predicted above 100% rainfall this year on the back of developing La Niña conditions.
Therefore, this year the demand for all the products are expected to be very good. Further, the price reduction of previous year have bottomed out, and we are seeing an upwards movement in few products. Friends, this year we are expecting very strong growth, and to power this growth, I am very excited to announce the launches of some of the biggest products from Dhanuka in recent times. Firstly, Lanevo, a powerful, broad-spectrum insecticide that effectively controls both sucking and chewing pests. This product is launched in collaboration with Nissan Chemical Japan. As you would have seen in the slide deck shared by us, this product has a huge market potential of over INR 1,000 crore, which has developed only in last two years, with only three products competing for market share and growing rapidly.
I am confident that Lanevo will create new benchmarks in product scale-up in Dhanuka's history. I myself have attended the Lanevo launch program on Monday at Ahmedabad, on Tuesday at Indore, and on Wednesday at Aurangabad. Considering the potential of this product, we are conducting more than 20 launches all over India for Lanevo. Second product is Purge. It is a post-emergence herbicide to control both narrow-leaf and broad-leaf weeds in soybean and groundnut crop. It is very powerful herbicide, developed again in collaboration with Nissan Chemical Japan. This product also has one of the best results among the competition in this segment. With Dhanuka's strong channel in these crops, we are confident of driving the volumes for this product also. The third product is Mycore Super. It is a premium and advanced mycorrhiza fertilizer developed in-house at Dhanuka Agriculture Research Center.
This product is manufactured by Dhanuka, and already we have received excellent feedback on the product performance from the market. It has enhanced the yield of the farmers wherever the demonstration has been conducted. I'm also happy to share that we have established a new chemical R&D lab with 30 chemists to build speed in our product and process development capabilities at Sanand, helping us in developing new products for manufacturing in Dahej and capture contract manufacturing opportunities. We are committed to create breakthroughs in chemical synthesis and continue to invest in R&D. Thank you very much for your kind attention. We would now like to open the session for question and answer. Thank you.
Thank you very much. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touchtone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question is from the line of Himanshu Binani from Anand Rathi. Please go ahead.
Thank you, sir, for taking my questions. So sir, my first question is largely pertaining to the guidance side. So we have like, we have guided for an 18%+ sort of like revenue growth. So maybe if you can like elaborate further in terms of like what sort of growth one should assume from the traditional or the formulation business, and how much of incremental revenues are we targeting from the technical synthesis plant? And is this 18%+ , 18% sort of growth, is both the revenues included or it is solely from the formulation side?
Right. So, thanks for your question. The revenue forecast gain of 18%, around 16% is from the brand sales, and about 2% is from technical sales from Dahej. The number includes both the businesses.
So sir, if you can like quantify in terms of like how much of, incremental revenue or any revenue target from the technical synthesis side for this year?
It's around INR 40 crore incremental.
40 crore incremental?
Yes.
Okay. And so secondly, again, on this guidance side, so we have been guiding of an approximately 18% sort of like EBITDA margins. So we have like already done somewhere around an 18.5% sort of margins in FY 2024, while we have like now, starting the year, we have a low-cost inventory benefit, and now we have been like focusing more on the differentiated products. So why, why such a lower margin guidance, or are we trying to be conservative, or maybe you can, like, help us understand that?
You see, this year the gross margins were exceptionally high in the last five years. That was, you see, as compared to the previous, the improvement in the gross margin was more than 464 basis points. So you see, we are of the opinion 38% gross margin appears to be sustainable. And again, 39%, we are expecting 39% and 38% gross margin, because of which we are expecting EBITDA at around 18% this year.
Okay, 38% gross margin.
% is inclusive of the Dahej as well.
Okay. And sir, what was the revenue from Dahej for FY 2024?
It's around INR 7.5 crore.
Sorry, sir?
INR 7.5 crore.
INR 7.5 crore, okay. And so my last question was largely on the CapEx side. So how much of CapEx you have done in FY 2024 and the incremental CapEx guidance for FY 2025?
You see, as far as the incremental CapEx for 2024, 2025, normal CapEx could be around the range around INR 20 crore. This year, major CapEx was pertaining to the Dahej, and other than Dahej, again, it was around INR 20 crore.
Got it. Thank you, sir.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Prashant Biyani from Elara Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah, thanks for the opportunity. Sir, you plan to launch eight new 9(3) products in the next two years. So, sir, would these be... most of these would be in-license or there could be some in-house developed also?
The 9(3) products are the registrations by Dhanuka, and we have already launched 2 products in the first 45 days, and expecting to launch 1 more 93 product in this quarter itself.
No, my question is, would most of these be in-licensed or they might be in-house developed also?
No, they will be in-licensed only.
Okay. Mr. Bansal, these eight new molecules may require a good amount of marketing expenses or promotion expenses. Sir, how much was marketing and promotion this year, and what could be the trajectory for 25 and maybe year beyond that?
... you see, our marketing spend is in the range of around 6%-7%, and this year it will be around 1% higher than the previous year.
Okay. Sir, with just 1% higher marketing spend and again, 100 basis points of gross margin decline, would you still see only 18% EBITDA margin because you have a very decent operating leverage benefit that kicks in with good volume growth? So again, I'm repeating the last participant question: Would you be-- are you being very conservative in your margin guidance?
You see, when I'm saying our gross margin, we are expecting 13%. And you see, currently our expenses are, you know, employee benefit costs and other expenses are 20%. The EBITDA remains only 18%.
Okay, so you would be giving 20% employee growth, which we haven't seen in any year except maybe-
I'm not saying 21 employee growth. You see, when we are increasing disproportionate expenses in the case of marketing expenses, it has to be compensated by some other part. I'm just saying that all expenses plus employee costs remains to be in the same range in terms of percentages. It doesn't mean the employee benefit costs will increase like that. But yes, it will increase by around 15% still, because 10-11% is the normal increase, and 4-1% increase on account of the number of increase in the employee count.
Okay. Sir, how is the channel inventory right now for the industry?
The channel inventory for the industry in the month of March has again gone up to some extent. However, in the current quarter, we see a little slow uptake. And I think once the rains arrive from the month of June onwards, we should see faster movement. But currently, the channel inventories are normally at a higher level.
Okay. Sir, with a significant decline in raw material price last year, how much was of it passed on to the trade and farmers? And, going forward, do you expect any further price correction?
I think the price correction has already been arrested.
No, I mean, the price of, yeah, of the branded products. Do you expect further price correction in that?
I think not.
Has the entire price correction in technical was passed on to the trader or the trade channel?
If it would have been, then there could not be such a fantastic growth in GP margin. It is not?
Yeah, there is. And, sir, for this-
Mr. Prashant, I request you to rejoin the queue for your follow-up questions.
Sure.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Darshit from Antique Stock Broking. Please go ahead.
Thank you for the opportunity. If you could repeat the price volume mix for the fourth quarter, that would be best.
Fourth quarter?
Yeah, price and volume mix for the fourth quarter, for top line growth.
In terms of values, negative, less than 1%, and the volume is around 6.5%.
Volume is?
6.5% growth.
6.5%. Okay.
Yeah.
My second question was regarding the 18% top line growth. How did we derive on the 18% number in future? I mean, is it, is it, are we expecting some product-related revenue coming through? Is it largely volume growth, price growth? If any commentary on that as to how did we derive to that 18% growth % number?
So, Darshit, there are three factors behind that. One is, of course, the La Niña factor, which we are expecting very good rainfall last year. And with El Niño, in fact, in the previous year, we had 9% volume growth. And with La Niña, we are expecting the volume growth to be in the range of 15%. Plus, as we announced, we have three very powerful product launches already done and more product launches planned in the coming months. So these are the two. And the third is, of course, revenue increase from the age and also from exports.
Perfect. Okay. In the fourth quarter and for full year FY 2024, how much of the gross margin expansion that we saw was because of product mix, and how much was because of the low cost, RM, that we would have had in the... You know, with us?
So you see, I think around 100-150 basis points because of the low cost of inventory, and around 300 basis points because of product mix.
Right. This is for full year 2024?
Yes.
Okay, got it. Apart from that, yeah, I think yeah, that's about it. Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Bhavya Gandhi from Dalal & Broacha Stock Broking. Please go ahead.
Yeah, thank you for the opportunity. So if you can throw some light on the three products that you mentioned, three new products. So you've given the addressable market size, but what sort of revenue are we looking at? And does it include that 18% revenue growth? Is it included in that revenue growth as well, or is it over and above that?
...A new product, sales are included in the revenue growth target of 18%. The product which we have launched is Lanevo, which we are expecting around three percent growth in, in the total sales of that company. Overall, we are expecting around five percent growth from the new products.
Okay, 5% contribution, 5% from the overall revenue, 5% of the overall revenue, right?
Overall revenue from new products. That's right.
Okay. Also, if you can throw some light on their margins, are they better than the company level margins, or are they in line with the company level margins? If you can throw some light on that as well.
You see, of course, when we are launching any line feature, normally the margins are usually better than the average margins, so we are expecting the same case here as well.
Okay. What, I mean, if we are talking about the peak revenue, when can we expect the peak revenue for all these three products, and what could it be in terms of absolute number?
Absolute number, we don't share with the investors, please. We expect that after 3-5 years, basically it will be at peak.
Okay. And what sort of market share are we looking in each of the products, at least if you can share that?
Mr. Gandhi, I would just like to share. These three products are very promising. We have launched them right now. Already, the products will be in the market within this first quarter. So, in terms of market share, we are targeting at least a double-digit market share in these segments. But the time cycle for product development is quite long. The challenge is taking the message to the large number of farmers spread across India. So while we make efforts to do lot of product development activities, both the farmers, digital media, and connect with them, pass the technology to them, sometimes it takes time to build on the volumes. But we are confident because we have done good preparation work for the product launches.
Perfect. Just one last thing. If you can name the competitors who are there, you mentioned that there are three players in this product. So you can name the competitors, that would be great.
Okay. So, first is a technical named Broflanilide, second is a technical named Isocycloseram, and third is technical named Fluametamide.
Okay, fair enough. Yeah, thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Hussein Paruchwala from Carnelian Capital. Please go ahead.
I just wanted to understand, is there any further CapEx that we need in our technical plant?
Yes, Mr. Hussein, this FY 25, we are planning further CapEx for a new herbicide plant, and it will come in H2.
On the, on the technical side, are we looking for anything?
Yes, this is on the technical side that I shared.
Okay, so what will be the CapEx amount?
You see, it is still not finalized, the CapEx amount. We are working on it. Probably we'll share in the next con call.
Okay. And, also wanted to understand, is there any opportunity which has come to us so far in discussion for manufacturing? Because, we started with pyrethroids, and we were looking at certain opportunities from some Japanese players, customers. So is there any update on that front?
Yeah, there are discussions going on. We will come back to you when something matures.
Okay, got it. Got it. So that was the only question from me. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Bharat Gupta from Fair Value Capital. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Thanks for the opportunity. So a couple of questions. First, in your opening remarks, you mentioned about the capacity addition, which is second phase out there in China. So going by the current trends, how do you factor the pricing of the RM side as well as for the generics and the branded side to be, to behave over the, over FY25?
I think it is very unpredictable to comment on the prices. Right now, we already see that most of the generic products have bottomed out, and few products, the increase is already seen due to unavailability of raw materials or increase in the prices of raw materials. So we feel that this upward trend, you know, is started in few products and maybe in more products over the next one year. But as you highlighted that the capacities which are there in India and China are quite significant, and still we are seeing destocking in the US and Brazil markets. So once US and Brazil markets start in earnest, we feel that the supply and demand will balance out, and the prices will become more stable and moving upwards.
Right. So we haven't seen any sort of, you can say, softness across our branded products in terms of pricing?
Could you repeat your question, please?
Have you seen any kind of a pricing correction taking place across our branded products category?
... Wherever the technical prices have increased, we have also increased the prices of our branded products. We are passing on the increase as well as the decrease of raw material prices to the ultimate customers on monthly basis.
Right. Sir, you mentioned that generics, there has been a price erosion to the tune of 5%-40% odd. I was just referring to the branded products. So in that product category, have you seen any sort of a softness in the novelization?
You are talking about the specialty portfolio, Bharat?
Specialty, specialty, yeah.
Okay, understood. So, yeah, in specialty portfolio, most of products are products which are coming from our, exclusive partners, like Japanese companies and American companies. There is no, significant price increase and, no decrease, so they are very much stable. And, going forward also, we expect them to remain stable.
Right. And so secondly, coming on the, like you mentioned, that there has been a inventory restocking, which is there in the global markets and the commentaries of the innovator seems also on the, like there will be such situation till H1 FY25. So in regard to it, have there been any kind of aggression, because the Indian market continues to seem on a positive side. So has there been any kind of aggression which has been shown by the global MNCs or the global, you can say innovators who are dealing across both the specialty and the generic side?
I think, Bharat, all the multinational companies have had global challenges and faced some situation challenges in India also. Having said that, I feel that the domestic demand in India has been quite good in terms of volume and consumption at the farmer level. So that, I feel, will continue to drive the demand for both Indian companies and multinational companies, and that is why we are also quite confident of volume growth for Dhanuka in the current FY.
Right, sir. That's it from my side. Thank you so much, sir.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Rohan Gupta from Nuvama Wealth Management. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Good evening, and thanks for the opportunity. Sir, you mentioned that, definitely in China, there is excess supplies and raw material prices are quite low, and even in India, also some capacities have been added. Sir, we are in a formulation business, so actually this scenario pans out in our favor, right? And then we should be seeing, with the easy availability of raw material, if the pricing remains there, then we should be seeing the margin expansion. Just, please, want your comment on that, sir.
So, Rohan, regarding your first part of the question, you are asking about the situation of China and how it impacts availability. So of course, availability is smooth for us in most of the products, barring two or three products, which are facing temporary shortage. We are hearing some challenges around shipping because of the disruption in the shipping line, and that causing some increase in the cost of the shipping. But other than that, I don't see any challenge with respect to the availability of the products. The next point around the impact on gross margins, I think, when the prices are on an increasing curve, the gross margins go under some pressure. That's why we mentioned earlier, lower gross margin is expected in the current financial year.
Okay. So, but sir, still the cost or the raw material prices still remains on a lower side. So you are expecting that the prices will start going up. That's what you are expecting so far on the raw materials?
Yes, it is already started.
Most of the raw material prices have stopped declining, and many of them are increasing now.
Due to declining trend, Rohan, the companies have not made huge inventory of the technicals, and the traders who were importing raw materials, supplying in the Indian market to Indian formulators, they have also not built much inventory because every month the prices were going down. So that's why now the situation of demand and supply is a gap there, the demand is increasing and now the supply is a little short. So that's why the prices have started increasing for various molecules now.
Okay. So sir, on the contrary side, I mean, maybe the global situation is different because many of these chemicals manufacturers, they are talking about that the global inventories of chemicals and or intermediates are still on a higher side, and the prices are still likely to remain on a muted in near term. So maybe I think the domestic market scenario may be slightly different than what it is in the global market. So I was alluding from there that the global situation in agrochemical pricing scenario still remains quite muted.
Yes, Rohan, you are absolutely correct. And, the general understanding in the industry is globally, the demand remains muted. And, in my interactions with the companies in China also, there is no dearth of supply right now. I think the current trend that we are seeing in the price increase is due to the momentary factor, as Dhanuka said, around low inventory of technical and intermediates with Indian manufacturers. So I think this current phase of price increase is maybe slightly temporary. We'll see more after, I think in Q2, we'll get a better clarity on the price increase in Indian market.
Okay. So that's very helpful. The second is on the group guidance. So you are talking about roughly 15% kind of volume growth next year, given that 2%-3% extra growth coming from the new product. So can you give some sense on the current year industry growth in terms of volume? How was it this year, and how much was the volume growth for ours?
For Dhanuka, volume growth was 9%-10%. For the industry, it was the low single digits.
Okay. So next is on our manufacturing plant in Dahej. So we were definitely trying to get some contract manufacturing opportunity with some global players. So I just wanted to know and understand that in the current environment, when the capacity is, as you already mentioned, that in China also is surplus, and in Indian markets also many capacities are still on a higher side. So global players are interested right now in talking terms for manufacturing for them and under any client kind of model, and also the other products which we are making on our plant to fill the capacity, in the current weak pricing scenario, are we losing money or we are able to, I mean, able to recover the cost from our manufacturing plant? That's it from my side.
Yes, Rohan, I'll divide your question into two parts. First, around the current operations. So, on the current operations, gross margins are positive, but the EBITDA is negative for us, as the revenue was quite low. And, the second part of the question around contract manufacturing in the current scenario, there is definitely some challenge in the market, but I believe the contract manufacturing business for the multinational companies doesn't depend on the short-term price fluctuations. They are more long-term in nature, and there is interest by both Japanese companies and other international companies to look for increasing their sourcing from India, and there is definitely positive interest, which we are trying to capitalize.
That is from my side. Thank you so much.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Viraj from SIMPL. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hi. Thanks for the opportunity. First one is the clarification. For the B2B business, what will be the loss at the EBITDA FY 2024? And for FY 2025, when you say we're expecting around INR 40-45 crores of sales, would it be break even or it's still early for that?
So you see in the current financial year, which is 2023-2024, the EBITDA loss was around INR 15 crore. In the current financial 2024-2025, we are expecting a EBITDA loss of around INR 20 crore.
What explains the increase, sir?
Pardon?
What explains the increase in loss?
Sorry, could you repeat your question? Are you asking about the increase in loss?
Yes.
From 15 to-
So, for the EBITDA, yeah, I was asking, what explains the increase in loss in 25?
Actually, last year, the operation was started from the mid of the year, while this year it will be full year operation, so we will have to incur the operating expenses for the full year, while the last year it started from the month of August. So that's why four months expenses will increase in this year. That will add to the increase in the loss. And a lot of investment in R&D labor, you see, a lot of manpower has increased in the current financial year, which are working very hard on the, you see, new product development, because of which there is an enhancement in the EBITDA loss. But-
Okay
... next, next financial year, 2024-2025, we are expecting breakeven. 2025. 2025-2026. Sorry. 2025-2026, we are expecting it should be a year of breakeven for Dahej.
Okay. So one question I had was on the gross margin. You know, if you look at our inventory position, right, we have a sizable amount of inventory ending the year. We are expecting a very sizable increase in new product contribution, and typically these come at a very healthy contribution margins, you know. And, you know, the overall RM or the pricing environment is not too adverse for us. So one would possibly think that the contribution margins, even in, say, 25, would be, you know, would be at a similar level as 24, if not further expanding, you know? So what explains the moderation in contribution margin, you know, and given that you now expect prices to be either stable or temporarily increasing, why not take...
I mean, what is stopping us from taking an inventory call and maximizing the spread in the B2C business?
... So, Virajji, first aspect around your question about new product contributions. Yes, definitely new products have a good contribution, but in the initial few years to build up the volume, they require a lot of investment. In fact, huge investment is required on the product development on the farm. We have more than 1,000 technical commercial staff who are working with the farmers to develop the product. We are conducting thousands of farmer meetings and product demonstrations and online promotion, ATL promotion on television, radio. So all of this is significant investment, especially in the new product. So the additional contribution from new products is taken away by the increased marketing expense.
With respect to the low-cost inventory, yes, we try to build up inventory as we are seeing some increase in the prices. But will it result in the gross margin expansion? I don't see that happening.
No, actually, my question was on the gross margin on the corporate. You know, so if you look at the year ended 31 March 2024, we have a sizable inventory already on our books. You are seeing an increase in share from new products, and given the launches which you have made in the first quarter itself, the share of new products will further increase. And these new products typically come at the gross margin level. They come at a much more higher gross margin, especially the 93 molecule. And given the way the RM prices are, one would think that the gross margin would either expand further or at least be at a similar level as 2024, right?
But what you're saying in a commentary is that, you know, we're expecting a further moderation in gross margin, say by around 100 basis points. So I was just not able to connect the two.
Yes, you see, you are absolutely right, you know, please. When you see we are expansion in the gross margin on account of the new production, but at the same time, there are certain molecules, one, when there is a dip in the margin, for example, old molecule, Targa Super. So you see, in product like Targa Super, we are not maintaining the same margin. Every year, our margin is declining. The margin which we have in 2023, that was not there in the 2023-24, and the same cannot be maintained in the 2024-25. So there are a few brands where we are losing the margin as well because of the stiff competition. So keeping in mind all these things, we are expecting the, you see, 38% gross margin.
In terms of the lot of inventory, last year, which was 2023-2024, was a very exceptional year. We have never seen such a huge decline month-on-month basis in the technical prices, which is not passed on fully to your trade. This year, that is not possible. Already the declining trade is arrested. Now the price is stable, and you see that by the announcement of the La Niña year, once the, you see, the monsoon arrives on first of June in Kerala, I'm sure price increase will further happen. So therefore, you see, we are not expecting to maintain this last year level of gross margin, that is so difficult, but if it happens, it happens.
Okay. Just two more questions. Hello?
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. So one is, if you can just give some color on the scale of, say, Defend, Decide or Include. I think, you know, these are products which are launched in last 1 or 2 years or, you know, 1, last 2, 3 years. So would these now be above INR 50 crore or above INR 100 crore brand for us? And on LaNivo, right, you know, so it's a combination molecule and, the combination molecule which we are sourcing from Nissan, they're already selling that in Indian market through 2, 3 other players already. So there the question is, you know, what will be the market share of, say, Fluxametamide, in this INR 1,050 crores? And when we are looking to compete in the market, you know, what is our expectation from this brand, given the competition is already there?
So, first, talking about LaNivo, the combination that we have is much more effective than the competitive products, and we are expecting a very good performance. We have already registered the product in three crops, and one more crop is in line of registration within this financial year. In terms of capturing market share, I think in first year from this product, we can capture about 5% market share from LaNivo. Talking about the earlier product, which you were referring, they were actually not nine-three products.
So, between Defend, Decide and Include.
No, Decide was definitely a nine-three product, but Defend and Include were not nine-three products. They were, co-marketed in licensed products.
Yeah. So would this now be more than INR 50 crore brand or above INR 100 crore brand for us?
Yeah, yeah. Decide is coming in top five.
Okay. Just last question on the biological and the export division?
Siraj, I request you to join the queue.
Hello.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Prashant Biyani from Elara Securities. Please go ahead.
Sir, what would be the mix of your generic and specialty business revenue for this year and last year?
... This year, generic and, speciality, we are expecting around one third.
No, you were saying for FY 2024?
Twenty-five.
Sir, how much was it for 24?
2024, it was around INR 64 million.
23, would you have the data handy?
Not now, really.
Okay. Okay, that's it from my side.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Shubham Sehgal from Skill Ventures. Please go ahead.
Hello, sir. Could you just provide an update on your biological and exports division?
Biological was very insignificant, not worth sharing even. And insofar as exports are concerned, we are expecting good growth in the current, in current financial year in export.
Okay. So, the higher OpEx and employee cost for this year, like, what was it driven by? For this quarter, I would say.
Higher costs in terms of, because you see the significant growth in the lifeline category, so incentive of the sales team are significantly higher, number one. Two, the manpower count has increased. Because of these two years, the more increase was there in the Q4.
Okay, sir. Lastly, on your JV, could you give any update, like what has been going on, any activity you've done there?
Which JV you are talking?
Your joint venture with Kimitec.
So that is, Mr. Shubham, not a joint venture. It actually is, right now, only a letter of intent, and the idea is for research, development, marketing and manufacturing of the product. Right now, it is under work and it will take some time for it to commercialize.
So are we expecting any launches in this year, like, in collaboration with them?
As such, no significant developments over now.
Okay, okay. Got it. Just one last thing. So, Kimitec, so they already announced the marketing tie-up with another company. So, like, do you have any update on that?
Right now, we don't have any update on that.
Okay, sir. Got it. Yeah.
Thank you.
Thank you. As there are no further questions, I would now like to hand the conference over to the management for closing comments.
Good evening once again, friends. To summarize at last, Dhanuka continues to demonstrate aggressively roll out new formulations. Our stakeholder, that we are committed to the agriculture in India and will play an integral role in of a better and new India. Being an El Niño year and introduction of so many new molecules, I am confident that we will be able to deliver the envisaged growth of around 18% in the current financial year. We hope that the monsoon should remain good as forecasted by IMD and Skymet, around 106%, and we have a very good agriculture season. I wish you all the best. Thank you very much. Keep healthy and safe. Thank you very much.
Thank you. On behalf of Antique Stock Broking, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines. Thank you.