Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the Lloyds Metals Earnings Call, hosted by Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers Limited. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star, then zero on your touch-tone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Parthiv Jhonsa from Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thanks, Rebec. Good evening, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. We at Anand Rathi are pleased to host Lloyds Metals and Energy Q4 and FY2025 Earnings Conference Call. We have with us today from the management, Mr. Rajesh Gupta, Managing Director, Mr. Riyaz Shaikh, CFO, and Mr. Chintan Mehta, CIO. Without further ado, I would now like to invite Mr. Rajesh Gupta to initiate the proceedings for the call. Thanks, and over to you, sir.
Thank you, Parthiv. Good afternoon, everyone. A warm welcome to all our investors joining us today. A special thanks to the team at Anand Rathi for hosting this call. FY2025 has been a remarkable year for Lloyds Metals and Energy. We have achieved the highest-ever profit before tax. We have achieved the highest-ever sponge iron production for a financial year and maintained the annual run rate for iron ore as well. For the second year, we've completed 100% of our capacity of 10 million tons. We are in the consolidation phase, and we have also strengthened our CSR commitments in the likes of education initiatives like two schools, Lloyds Raj with the underprivileged, and GD Goenka Lloyds Public School in the two towns of Gadchiroli and Hedri.
Health and water initiatives, including 130 bed in hospital and various checkups, have been also, medical checkups, eye camps, etc., have been carried out also. And also sports initiatives like the Gadchiroli Premier League for fostering youth empowerment have been done in that area. I'd like to give an update on the Triveni MDO business acquisition. NCLT approval is in process, is underway, and is expected to be done by Q1, FY2026. The two entities have started integrating culturally, how teams are bonding well, and aligned with companies' growth objectives.
We believe this is a major milestone which will unleash a huge opportunity going ahead. Moving forward on our CAPEX progress, the slurry pipeline is commissioned and complete, and right now, today only, the material started moving from Hedri to Konsari. Other projects like the 4 million tonne pellet plant, the 350,000 tonne DRI plant, and the 60 megawatt power plant are nearing completion.
These projects are progressing at a breathtaking speed and are significantly ahead of typical industry timelines. We received EC for the pellet plant in November 2023 and sent the pre-commissioning. This is close to around 18 months. This is for a greenfield plant which includes getting water and power infrastructure to two greenfield locations in difficult areas in Gadchiroli. Similarly, for DRI 360,000 tonne plant and the 60 megawatt power plant, we received the EC only in February 2024, and one plant should be commissioned in June 2025, and the other by July 2025 as well, within a gap of one month of each other. This affirms our commitment towards timely execution of our projects. Coming specifically to Q4 FY2025, our iron ore volumes were subdued in Q4. It is within 10 million tons for the year.
The reduction in volume partially was because we front-ended the production anticipating the EC clearance for the expansion a little earlier. That did not happen, but we had dispatched in the first quarter, first three quarters, more quantities, and therefore only lesser quantities were left for the quarter ended. Lower volumes in this quarter naturally led to lower absorption of fixed costs, and therefore margins seemed subdued. Regarding the mining EC update, which many would like to hear on, this is one of the largest mines in the country. This will become one of the largest mines in the country. It is the richest of any mineral except coal. The time taken to approve is therefore a bit longer than our expectations. We appreciate the authority's cooperation in this regard. All major formalities have been completed, and we await the final outcome from MoEF very shortly.
Given the scenario, we foresee some minor loss of iron ore volumes from 25 million to maybe one million or lesser. Industry outlook: the Indian iron ore market continues to be buoyant, defying the international market. The prices are very steady, and the demand on steel is running consistently at 8% year on year, and therefore also on iron ore. The government's focus on steel capacity expansion has remained strong, and multiple government initiatives have initiated the urgent need of scaling up of greenfield iron ore mining as well as beneficiation. Most importantly, the saga of high-priced auction continues, with an average of 20 million tons now further scheduled every year for the next five years to exit the allotted route and go into auction route. We once again reaffirm our commitment to creating long-term value for all our stakeholders.
Thank you for your continued support and for being part of our exciting growth journey. And now I'll hand over the call to Riyaz, who is our CFO, to walk you through the detailed financial performance.
Thank you, Rajesh, for the detailed insights and setting the context for today's discussion. Good afternoon, everyone. Let me take you through the key financial highlights for FY2025 and Q4 FY2025. FY2025 revenue grew by 3% year- on- year. Growth was primarily led by better realizations for iron ore and record sponge iron production. Iron ore volumes remained flat year- on- year at 10 million tons. Iron ore sales volume for Q4 FY2025 stood at 1.66 million tons. In regards to EBITDA performance, FY2025 EBITDA grew by 13% year- on- year to INR 2005 crores. Growth was driven by higher realizations in iron ore. However, realization for sponge iron and power remained muted, which slightly moderated overall EBITDA growth despite record volumes. Speaking about realizations and per ton, iron ore realization for Q4 FY2025 stood at INR 5,994 per ton, down 6% year- on- year.
FY2025 realization was INR 5,766 per ton, up 6% year- on- year. Iron ore EBITDA per ton for FY2025 was INR 1,801, up 5% year on year. DRI and power segment: DRI volumes for FY2025 stood at 308,000 tons per annum. Power volumes grew 5% year- on- year for FY2025. However, realizations for sponge iron and power were muted, impacting segment margins. Few additional points to be taken note of: ESOP cost for the quarter was around INR 13 crores, which is non-cash. There were some community development expenses of around 17-18 crores in this quarter. As of the CAPEX, the company incurred a CAPEX of INR 690 crores in FY2024, which increased to INR 3,695 crores in FY2025. We are guiding a CAPEX of INR 6,000-6,500 crores for FY2026, focused on mining, pellet, and steel capacities.
With this, we would like to open the floor for question and answers. Thank you.
Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touch-tone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question comes from the line of Siddharth Mehrotra from Kotak Securities. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Thank you for the opportunity. I just had a small query on the volumes which we plan to do. So, sir, now we are almost on the verge of monsoons, and while we have guided that we will get our EC soon, that will perhaps significantly impact our volume ramp-up. So, I mean, can you just lay out the steps you have taken to ensure that the materiality of lower volumes is not there when the final volumes for this year come out?
Last year, also, the volumes in the monsoon were not as bad compared to the average, number one. Number two, this year, our pipeline is commissioned, and that will help in moving the volumes out of the mine. The mine itself is not majorly affected by the monsoons. Last year, we did around two million tons in the monsoon, which is equal to an average of the year. I mean, and we assume that the similar percentage would be achieved during the year. We have already started producing in a larger quantity, and the first quarter itself will give better results, better quantity than earlier.
Okay, sir, and this 20, so, approximately 20% of full year volumes in monsoons, right? That is the base case assumption.
Yeah. Yeah.
Okay. And when we're considering monsoons, approximately, that is four months of the year, three months of the year, five months of the year?
That's the general assumption within these quarters.
Okay, sir. Thanks for the opportunity, sir. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Amit Dixit from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi. Good evening, everyone, and thanks for the opportunity. Just a couple of questions from my side. The first one is again on iron ore volume. So, you mentioned in your prepared remarks that the EC is still pending, and we may fall short by 1 million ton or something thereabout. So, what would be your guidance at this point in time for FY2026? And the related question is that where we see this EC approval getting stuck because one month has already passed in Q1 FY2026. So, just wanted to give a little bit more color on this aspect.
Okay. As far as the EC is concerned, the person on the committee had, in fact, made a visit to the mine, which is normally not a requirement because it's such a big mine. We welcomed them to our mine, and post that, the processes are over, and we hope to be getting it very, very shortly. We are given timing earlier also, but at this moment, I think May end should be the date that we anticipate is the worst case. Yeah. And in terms of the volume guidance, like I said, around one million, 1.2 million tonne maximum would be reduced based on 25 million tonne this.
Okay, so that means the second half could be a bit more heavy in terms of volume compared to the first half of the year.
Yes. Yes.
Okay. Great. The second question is on the CAPEX. So, in the prepared remarks, it was mentioned that INR 6,000-6,500 crores CAPEX in FY2026. First of all, does it include maintenance CAPEX as well? And if you could divide it into broad buckets where it would be invested in what all equipment?
See, the year when we take the INR 6,500 crore is including the mining assets. That is for the beneficiation plant, the steel plant that is 1.2 million tonnes pyro plant, the pellet plants. These are all included in this, plus some normal CapEx. Normal CapEx is not too large a term, but it should be around INR 50 or so rupees for a particular year. Going with the average is what we have been doing it.
Okay. The third one, if I can, is an update on BHQ. So, in the presentation, you did mention that there has been, I mean, there has been some progress, etc. I just wanted to understand where we are on that and if the commissioning timeline that we have anticipated is on track.
On BHQ, the pilot plant is performing extremely well. We have updated our technology inputs to reduce processing costs a little bit on that and fine-tuning that. That's number one. In the meantime, the engineering of the overall project is going on at large pace in China with our partners there. Number two. Number three, on the permission level, we are anticipating to get the permissions to start the ground progress by around Diwali 2025. With that, the case, and then so by Diwali 20, I said June, July 27, we should be in a position to start the beneficiation plant of the first train and six months thereon for every train. There'll be three trains of 15 million tonne input and five million tonne output. July 27, March 28, and July 28.
July 28, March we'll finish off.
Yeah. March 28, we will finish off. Sorry.
Okay. Got it, sir. Got it. Thank you so much, and all the best.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Vikash Singh from Phillip Capital. Please go ahead.
Thank you for the opportunity. Sir, my first question is regarding the annual dispatch. While we still have the EC of 10 million tonnes, so any specific reason we fell short by 500,000 tonnes in terms of dispatches?
There is some captive consumption that is not iron ore sold. So, that comes in the captive consumption side. The production of the mine will put 10 million tonnes.
Understood, sir. Sir, my second question pertains to the iron ore realization seems to be slightly up on a sequential basis, but if you look at the EBITDA per tonne, it went down sharply. Any specific reason for the same?
If you see for the overall full financial year, we are almost, in fact, better than what we did, what we have been achieving over the previous years. Yes. In this quarter, yes, that has been. There were some lumpy expenses for community development that was incurred. There were some ESOP expenses, as I had mentioned in my call also. Plus, what we have done is we have done some front-loading of expenses in this quarter to ramp up our capacities to achieve the 25 million tonnes. So, that is some major cost what has been taken into account in this quarter. And that's the reason why the cost is on the higher side.
So, effectively, the other operating expenses, which are higher.
Yeah. Exactly.
Updating us for the higher productions.
Understood, sir. Sir, in terms of the iron ore market, on one hand, you say that the Triveni might get a huge business with the iron ore mines they would need to commission in India, and at the same time, if more mines get commissioned, our existing business will get a little bit impacted, so just wanted to understand your views on the incremental iron ore availability and how do you see the prices in the domestic market in light of that?
Question that you raised about Triveni, but on the additional market, let me just throw some light. The steel market is growing at the rate of around 8% production and similar on demand. So, that is a very positive sign. The iron ore market is growing a little lesser than that, around 5-6%. Therefore, the exports are reducing, and the international market is still very, very high compared to any Indian pricing. So, that is still not a threat at all. I don't see that happening any threat in the near future on the pricing front. In terms of we did a detailed research through Steel Mint for our potential market, and we feel that around 70-75% of our material would be sold within 400-600 km range of the mine or the pellet plant. So, that is the status.
We are seeing a lot of our customers are increasing their requirements, are increasing their capacities, and all that is helping us to look at a very much better picture in terms of realizations going forward.
Understood, sir.
Could you repeat your question about Triveni, or does my answer?
It's largely the answer, sir. Sir, just one last question, if I may. What is the spot iron ore prices versus [inaudible] averages?
What is the?
Spot iron ore realization versus [inaudible] average?
Versus forecue?
4Q average.
We've received INR 6,000 average. What is the spot price?
Would be around, this is including transport. Yeah. So, again, this INR 6,000 that we have achieved last year.
The last quarter.
In the last quarter, it will be around INR 6,200, INR 6,100. I mean, depending on the commodity and the location, it's going to be very similar. There's been no major movement. We have kept the prices constant. OMC has inched up the prices. NMDC has not. These are the two major merchant competitors, and we are keeping the prices in the right track. The steel market is not at its best. With the 12% safeguard duty, I think it will become better, but we have taken care not to increase the prices, even though there was some scope, we have not done that.
Understood, sir. Thank you. That answers my question, and all the best for future.
Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you.
The next question comes from the line of Jatin Damania from Svan Investments. Please go ahead.
Thank you, sir, for the opportunity. Sir, just on the follow-up questions, in terms of the beneficiation plan where a pilot plant is already ready. So, as you indicated, there definitely will be moving ahead with the CAPEX. So, what sorts of CAPEX are we envisaging on that pilot plant?
We have started giving equipment order for these equipment, and for all the three trains, we anticipate around INR 5,000 crore as the total beneficiation project.
By when do we expect the plant to be ready?
So, the first train would be ready, like I said, by June 2, 2027.
By 28 March.
Sir, in terms of the cost-saving initiatives, now once the Slurry Pipeline is ready, and we're probably likely to be ready in the second half, and Pellet Plant One will be ready. Overall cost-saving initiatives, what would the cost-saving initiative that we'll be getting in the second half based on the Slurry Pipeline?
The Slurry Pipeline is going to be actually being commissioned today on a trial-run basis, and the pellet plant will be commissioned by the end of June. The Slurry Pipeline initiates a cost saving of around INR 500-INR 600 per tonne of pellet. The pipeline is for 10 million tonnes. We are commissioning the first phase by 5 million tonnes right now. The grinding will be commissioned for the second 5 million tonnes along with the second pellet plant.
Last question on the pellet plant. Now, we are doing a pellet in three phases: phase I, phase II, and phase III. So, how comfortable and confident we are in terms of scaling our pellet capacity to almost eight million tonnes that we'll be able to sell it or consume it?
In terms of selling pellet, I think the market is very vibrant. There's a very, I wouldn't say a shortage, but a huge demand for lumpy ore or pellets. Given our costing, we are confident of achieving a good marketing of that. Like I said earlier, we identified the markets with the help of SteelMint, and one of that has been that we have, in our seed marketing campaign, we have been able to be successful in a tender which happened day before yesterday with RINL, which is the first time that RINL actually bought pellets in the open market like this by auction. We have been successful in that. Yeah, we are confident of achieving profitable EBITDA adequate and adequate margins in our pellet plant.
Sure, sir. That's all from my side. Thank you, and all the best.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Siddharth Gadekar from Equirus. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Good evening. Sir, just first thing on the iron ore volumes. So, for FY2026, we are guiding for 23-24 million tonnes of volume. Have we started engaging with customers in terms of off-take and their demands? And how should we look at pricing going ahead, given that in the second half, there'll be a significant surplus that will be coming from us in the open market?
We are aware of the fact that 15 million tonnes increase, including a pellet, including a part of the quantity would be fed into the pellet plant. Out of the 15 million tonnes extra, 4 million tonnes will be consumed in the pellet plant. Right? Around 10 million tonnes goes in the iron ore market. Out of that 10 million tonnes, around 500,000 tonnes is consumed extra in our DRI plant. We're talking about 9.5 million tonnes extra marketing to be done. We feel that our quality and the markets are such that it can easily be absorbed without any impact on the pricing. That's why I did mention in my opening remarks that around 100 million tonnes of material will be going out of the allotment route into the auction route over the next five years.
As an average of 20 million tonnes every year goes away from a low-cost regime to a higher-cost regime. The auctions in the last three rounds have not been less than 125%, with a peak of 200%. These indicate that the demand is very, very strong going forward as well. Stalwarts in the industry are paying those premiums. International stalwarts are paying 125% -135% premium. The last mine, one of the very small mines, went at a premium of 200% of the sales value. So, obviously, those people who are buying that are perceiving a shortage going forward, and we are there to service them during that period with our enhanced capacity.
But we have started negotiations with our customers for that volume.
Yes, sir.
Sir, secondly, on the pellet volume, how should we think about the production for this year?
Around 2.5 million tonnes.
Okay, sir. That's it. Thank you so much.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Prakhar Kanjani from Anand Rathi Financial Services. Please go ahead.
Good afternoon, sir. My first question is, on last call, you were guided for cost saving on consolidated basis once MDO merger is completed. Will this start from day one itself, or it will take time to flow?
As soon as we are just waiting for the NCLT order in this merger. So, once the NCLT order is received, the consolidation will start happening because the date has been the latest 1st April 2025. So, it will start from 1st April 2025 immediately.
Okay, sir. My question is, when will be the second pellet plant commissioned?
Second pellet plant will be a year after the BINV first pellet plant. Construction for that has also started. So, we are confident of that.
Next year.
Yeah.
Okay. Thank you, sir. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Div Agarwal from FICOM Family Office. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Thanks for the opportunity. So, I just wanted to know about the rationale behind raising the INR 5,000 crore that you have announced. And also, I just wanted to know about the CAPEX that you have announced of around INR 6,500 crore. So, how much is it? How much from it would be internal approvals?
Can you repeat your question?
I just wanted to know the rationale behind the INR 5,000 crore CAPEX . And secondly, I wanted to know the funding of the INR 5,000 crore and the INR 6,000-INR 6,500 crore CAPEX that you have announced, how much will it be from internal accruals?
See, the INR 5,000 crore resolution, what we have taken, it's an enabling resolution. There is no concrete thing on it. What we are going to be going forward for any fundraise or any such thing to the equity route or any other route is not yet decided on. As of today, the INR 6,000 crore what we are anticipating on the project for this next financial year is all through internal approvals and the balance of the preferential warrants, what is pending to be called for.
Right, right. Got it. Secondly, on the IPS benefits, sir, how much did you receive in FY2025 versus how much were you expecting to be receiving in FY2025? And how much can we expect in FY2026 as well?
We have not received any IPS for the new projects. Only for the old project, we had received some INR 72 crore of IPS in the last year. This year, we will be getting any around. This year, the accrual of the IPS starts as soon as we start the operations.
So, how much can you quantify?
It will be on accrual basis. We'll be getting that funds will be coming only in the next year, next financial year.
In FY2026, you do not expect anything?
As a cash flow, no.
As a cash flow, the past inflows, the past use would start coming in, will come in majorly around INR 35-INR 40 crores.
In FY2026, right?
Yes.
Okay, sir. Got it. And just wanted to know about the INR 40,000 crore revenue that you had guided in some of the previous communications by FY2028-2029. So, how much would the IPS benefit be the contribution in that?
That's a difficult question. I don't think we have the answer to that ready.
That is too long of a question.
In principle, let me explain to you that the IPS is capped by 150% of the investment that we do.
In Gadchiroli?
In Gadchiroli and 110%.
115%.
115% of whatever investment we do in Chandrapur. In Gadchiroli, the investment in both the places, this cap would be reimbursed with a maximum of 12 years, as well as a minimum of 12 years. Basically, it will be divided by 12. And every year, it will be accruing towards local sales GST, that is the SGST of that year, as well as the royalty as far as Gadchiroli is concerned.
For the captive?
For the captive consumption that we do of iron ore, so based on that, we feel that every year, any project that we invest in, we will be getting the IPS over the next 12 years, 150 or 150% as the case may be. This is accrual plus one to one and a half years for disbursement by the Government of Maharashtra.
Okay. It takes around one to one and a half years for disbursement, right, after the commissioning of the project?
No, no, no. After it is accrued.
Okay.
After it is accrued, yeah.
Okay. Okay, sir. Thanks. Thanks a lot.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Kartik Khandelwal from Hem Securities Limited. Please go ahead.
Good evening, sir. My question was regarding the EBITDA for Q4 FY2025 margins. Earlier, Q2 and Q3, we were able to achieve a margin for product before finance cost and taxes. The margins were around 27% in Q2 and 18% in Q3. But it has drastically brought down to 0.84% in Q4. So, any reason for that?
On iron, yes, we have in this quarter. As I had mentioned earlier also, we have done some large expenses on community development, which were required. And that's the reason why it is on a higher side of those expenses. These are one-time expenses, which have occurred. It was a lumpy expense, and that has taken off most of the profitability, but the dispatch of the quantity in the last quarter is lesser. I mean, the volume for the year is very high. The dispatch of the last quarter is similar.
Similar.
Similar.
Exactly.
Lesser in the next last quarter.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Rahul Agarwal from Adventis Capital. Please go ahead.
Hello.
Hi.
Yes, please, sir.
Yeah. Thank you for the opportunity, sir. So, I had a couple of questions. So, the first one was related to the cost savings questions that a couple of people have asked you previously. Would be that you mentioned in the presentations that there will be a high amount of cost savings through Triveni, the business, the slurry pipeline, etc. But I was having some trouble with the per ton cost savings that were related to mining and trade. Given the numbers in the presentations, it seemed as if the per ton costs are already quite low. And what we are expecting further, is it because of volumes, like the 500-600 per ton for one pipeline and 800-1,000 per ton for the other pipeline? Will that be incorporated in terms of volumes?
Maybe one of the major volume savings would be because of the consolidation of Triveni into the company. Yeah.
And the slurry pipeline.
And number two, the slurry pipeline. So, these two reduce our costs of sales to some extent, to large extent. I think [inaudible] the other figures, I suggest that Chintan could get in touch with you and resolve that matter. But basically, those are the two big ticket items on a per ton basis.
Okay. Sure, sir. Thanks. Actually, I tried to reach out to Chintan for the last quarter. I was unable to do that, but I'll try to reach out to him again. So, sir, the next question was about BHQ realizations and volumes. So, I know that obviously the project is still some ways away from getting into full flow, but could you just give me an idea of what the realization might be like and what the volumes will be like once you start the plant?
BHQ is a byproduct of the mine. We have reserves of around 700 million tons, which is normally thrown aside by most mines. The Fe content is only 35%-38%. BHQ is banded hematite quartzite. We will be beneficiating this material into a 66% iron ore, which is one of the highest grade iron ores available in the country. So, as such, BHQ itself is not sellable. And neither we plan to sell. We will sell some of the concentrate that we produce out of this, which will be comparable to the iron ore market on that day adjusted for the Fe content.
Okay, sir. So, similar to the hematite that we already sell, right?
Yeah. The yield of BHQ is around 35%. I mean, for three tons of BHQ, we get one ton of concentrate.
Of concentrate. Correct. Okay. Then, sir, just you spoke about the reserves, and I just wanted to know, given that we have a total reserve of about 850 million tons, now that we are expanding into iron ore into 25 and we'll be doing BHQ, do we have enough reserves for the next decade or so? Because the math was a bit weird. So, do we have enough reserves to continue, or are we going to say maybe move towards BHQ completely in the next few years?
We are going to BHQ completely in 2034, 2033, something like that as per the mining plan. At that time, we have reserves for direct shipping ore as well. Over a period, once the BHQ plants are fully commissioned, the DSO will come down gradually. And ultimately, it will be after 34, 33, 34, something like that, it becomes 100% BHQ.
Okay, sir. Understood. And just one last thing. What are the pellet realizations? I just wanted to know the number if that's possible.
We are not selling pellets right now other than through our seed marketing program. The pellet realizations internationally are very poor. We are able to get a better realization in India. In Goa, we are selling our pellets for around INR 11,000, INR 10,500. That's not us, but the manufacturer of the pellets with our iron ore. We are exporting some pellets. I think in this year, we should get around $130, $128.
$130 to 200. Okay.
$120, $130.
Okay. Okay, sir. Thanks a lot, and all the best for the future.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Vinit Thakur from Plus91. Please go ahead.
Hi, good afternoon, sir. I saw the presentation, and there was a question I wanted to get an answer on. What are the future CAPEX timeline we're looking at? When are they coming on stream?
The next year, what we have, as I've been already telling you, this is around INR 6,000-6,500 crores is what we have to do. Till date, as we had announced, around INR 32,000 crores, INR 32,000-33,000 crores of CAPEX over the next five to seven years. Of that, INR 5,000 crores has been done up till 31st March 2025. Next year is what we do, INR 6,000 crores, INR 6,000-6,500 crores. A similar thing should be done in the next to next year and a higher figure of around INR 8,000-9,000 crores in the next years. So, by that, we should be completing it over the next five years.
When are the projects going to be live, like the pellet plant two and the 1.2 million tonnes plant, the BHQ throughput? When are they going to be live? Is there a timeline of each of these plants?
Sequentially, I think you were there in the presentation, but let me repeat it. The first DRI plant would be live in June 2025. The first pellet plant and pipeline would be live in June 2025. The second pellet plant would be live approximately June 2026. The steel plant would be live. The steel plant of 1.2 million tons would be live September.
Yeah. Yes, sir.
September 26th. The first BHQ plant would be live June 27th.
March 28th.
The rest of the BHQ would be live March 28th, and the final steel plant of 3 million tons would be live in March 29 to September 29.
Okay. Okay, sir. Thank you so much.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Manu Kumar, an individual investor. Please go ahead. Manu, please go ahead with your question and unmute yourself in case if you're on mute. Manu, are you there?
No.
Since there's no response, we'll move on to the next participant. The next question comes from the line of Abhishek Kamdar from Value Plus Advisors LLP. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Thank you for the opportunity. Given the scale of investment planned in the steel vertical and the long-term value creation potential, is it a possibility to eventually list the steel business through an IPO or demerger once the operation stabilize?
No, Abhishek. There are no such plans or thought processes at the moment. We believe integration may be the best way forward, but that's too forward a thinking for us right now.
All right. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Vivek Patel from Lellux. Please go ahead. Vivek, please go ahead with your question.
Yeah. Hi. Audible?
Yes.
Thanks, sir. I just wanted to know regarding the bookkeeping questions. I just wanted to know the non-current assets have increased from INR 159 crores to INR 795 crores. So can you help me with that? What would be the breakup of that?
This is more on the advance tax position, the non-current assets, and mostly that is with the government authorities.
Okay. And even on the other current liabilities, so it has increased from INR 308 crores to INR 1,335 crores in assets.
That is the advances from customers.
That is from advances from customers. Okay.
Yes.
Thanks. Thanks.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Siddharth Gadekar from Equirus Securities. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Just one thing on the pellet plant. Given that there will be an annual maintenance, at peak, we would be operating the plant at 90%, or we can go up to 100% also for the full year beyond FY20 26?
I think the capacity would be 100%, not in 2027, but we will be able to achieve 4 million tons in each of these plants by 2028 or so.
Even adjusted for the annual maintenance that we'll take a shutdown?
Yeah. The plants are designed for a higher capacity. So this would be what we can achieve for the whole year, including the annual shutdowns.
Okay. And secondly, in terms of when we spoke about that 100 million tons of iron ore moving from allocation to the auctioned route, so given that the market will likely become tighter, is there scope for us to increase prices further from these levels going ahead?
Steel is a commodity. Iron ore is a bigger part of the same commodity, and I would not even think of predicting the future pricing of any commodity.
Okay.
Thank you.
Sir, answer your question, Siddharth?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Kartik Khandelwal from Hem Securities Limited. Please go ahead.
Sir, thank you for having me again.
We lost you.
The participant seemed to have dropped. Ladies and gentlemen, that brings us to the end of the question and answer session. I would now like to hand the conference over to the management for the closing comments.
Thank you, everybody, for an engaging question and answer session. I hope we have replied to all your queries. If anything is pending, you can always get in touch with any one of us so that we'll be happy to give you all the replies in that case. Thank you very much. And thank you, Anand Rathi team, for hosting this call.
Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers Limited, that concludes this conference. You may now disconnect your lines.