Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to the Lloyds Metals and Energy Limited Q4 FY 2026 earnings conference call. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in a listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during this conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star then zero on your touchtone phone. Please note that this conference has been recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Shivang Singh. Thank you, over to you, sir.
Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. We at Acuitus are pleased to host Lloyds Metals and Energy 4Q in FY 2026 earnings call. We have with us today Mr. Rajesh Gupta, Managing Director, Mr. Riyaz Shaikh, Chief Financial Officer, and Mr. S. K. Naredi, Director of Finance from Thriveni. We would like to begin the call with brief opening remarks from the management, following which we will have the forum open for an interactive Q&A session. Before we start, I would like to point out that some statements made in today's call may be forward-looking in nature, and a disclaimer to this effect has been included in the earnings presentation shared with you earlier. Now, I would like to invite Mr. Rajesh Gupta to initiate the proceedings for the results call. Over to you, sir.
Good afternoon, everyone. A very warm welcome to all the participants joining us on this call today. Thank you, Shivang, and the entire Acuitus team. We deeply value your continued support and engagement. It fills with me with immense pride to share that Lloyds Metals And Energy had crossed the consolidated market cap of 1 lakh crore, a milestone that would have seemed distant not long ago. This milestone belongs first and foremost to every single investor, each and every one of you who backed us through our 50-year journey, through our early days of uncertainty, and up to this milestone. This I'm saying as a guy who 4 years thought that IR meant industrial relations only. Your patience is a reflection of trust you place in us, and we take that responsibility very seriously.
Our sincere gratitude to all our investors and stakeholders joining us on this call and on this journey. Before I speak about this, our performance, I want to take a moment to acknowledge our team at the mine, at the plants, and all the offices all over the world. What has been achieved by us in the FY 2026 is quite extraordinary. It did not happen by accident. It happened because of a team that showed up every day with clarity of purpose and relentless focus on execution. In the last five years, sorry. In the last five years, our CAGR has, on revenue, is up by 109%. On PAT, the CAGR is a whopping 139%, which shows that we are a 50-year-old startup.
This year, our standalone profit crossed INR 3,100 crores on a standalone basis and INR 3,829 crores on a consolidated basis. Consolidated revenue crossed INR 17,000 crores, fast approaching the $2 billion mark. On operations front, our iron ore scaled from 10 million to 22 million tons, which is a 120% growth in a single year. The pellet plant commissioned at the back end of Q2 reached 100% capacity utilization within just four months, three months, 3 million tons in nine months, a ramp-up that very few plants anywhere in the country have achieved. DRI volume scaled 56% year-on-year, with the new kiln ramping up as steadily as the pellet plant.
Going on to the projects, we have invested heavily for the future, INR 13,500 crores in the last four years, and this will continue. In Konsari and Gadchiroli, we have completed the two pellet plants reaching capacity of 8 million tons, making us the largest merchant pellet player by far. We also commissioned, along with this, the 85-kilometer slurry pipeline, which is delivering now cost savings and operational stability. In the mine at Hedri, we have completed our mine capacity increase from 3 million to 55 million tons, with a sellable output of 26 million tons over the last four years. The BHQ beneficiation project is progressing. Pilot plant results have delivered excellent yields, major engineering contracts are completed. Construction machinery is mobilized.
All major machinery are ordered on a key European supplier. We are well in target of first phase readiness by December 2027. This plant, the BSU beneficiation, is a trailblazer in India and will lead to greening of our co-company in the steel cycle in very dramatic ways. Meanwhile, in Chandrapur, the DRI capacity is doubled. Power capacity is tripled to 100 million tons, 100 megawatts, sorry, it is stabilized. The steel plant, that is the blast furnace, arc furnace, coke oven, and the rolling mill of 1.2 million ton wire rod, is well underway for commissioning for last quarter this year. The engineering of this third pellet plant is also nearing complete in Chandrapur, along with the 195-kilometer pipeline from Hedri to Ghugus via Chandrapur stockyard.
This pipeline will reduce logistics cost for most of the iron ore output by us, by more than INR 500 a ton, and it's in advanced planning stage. Few milestones for us on the efficiency front. The EBITDA margin has held steady at approximately 34% across both the last two quarters. Demonstrating structural cost efficiency and not one-off gains. Return on capital employed stood at 56%, ex-CWIP for FY 2026, and return on equity at 37%. These are world-class metrics. Pricing parity with competition is maintained, along with a volume increase of 120% and new product like pellet being started. Triveni is ranked number one among 383 open cast mines in India by the Ministry of Coal, a reflection of operational excellence across the group.
Other than Surjagarh, the growth in Thriveni operations in Odisha and Jharkhand continue with 3 new mining operations starting. A few key updates on our copper. Copper, which is the new gold, Congo, which is our new Surjagarh, is led by Surya. I want to congratulate his team and him for successful commissioning of the Surya copper plant in 6 months. We are the first Indian integrated player in the copper business. Copper is the backbone of energy transition, electrification, renewables. It is the perfect foil to our 1 mine portfolio also our international entry into critical minerals. We have a defined pathway to expand capacity to 30,000 tons per annum at Surya Mines. In addition, we have acquired 49% in KMF Group.
This is the first deal after the U.S. and Congo signed the critical minerals agreement in December 2025, and we are proud to be at the forefront of the strategic realignment in global critical minerals. KMF is a large operating copper cobalt platform in the Katanga copper belt with 50-plus permits. Cobalt capacity is expected to scale to approximately 20,000 tons in the 2 operating plants. Along with this, we will be achieving 100,000 tons of copper over the next 3 to 5 years from both KMF and Surya. Let me give you our FY 2027 outlook briefly. The steel markets, and therefore iron ore, are as strong as ever, especially in Indian market. Our FY 2027 guidance reflects the next change in our scale.
Iron ore production at 26 million tons, dispatches of 27 million tons, pellet of 7.75 million-8 million tons, DRI at 125,000 tons.
8:20.
At 825,000 tons, and a formal entry into steelmaking with wire rod mill production at around 150,000 tons. We expect annual cost savings to surpass INR 2,000 crores per annum as our logistics and sustainability initiatives are maturing by March 2028. FY 2026 has been a year of extraordinary achievement. Our financials have never been stronger. Our operational foundation has never been robust, and our strategic pipeline in pellets, in steel, and now in copper has never been more exciting. We remain deeply grateful to all our investors, partners, and every member of our team. Without taking more of your time, I hand over the call to Riyaz. Mr. Naredi and Mr. Hemankur will take you through the retail financial operations of the Thriveni and the Congo operations as well. Thank you once again, everybody.
Thank you, Rajeshji. Good evening, everyone. I want to open with a line from Aristotle that I believe captures exactly what FY 2026 means for us. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit. That is precisely the story of our FY 2026 numbers. The margins you will see today are not a one-time event. They are the outcome of systems we have built, disciplines we have embedded, and habits of execution that run deep across every function of this organization. With the context, I will take you through the standalone financials and operating performance for Q4 and the full year FY 2026, focusing on the numbers, margins, and CapEx. For the financial highlights for Quarter four, FY 2026 standalone, this has been the strongest quarter we have ever reported on a standalone basis.
The total income came in at INR 4,977 crores, registering a remarkable 310% year-on-year growth. EBITDA was INR 1,679 crores, up 498% year-on-year, a near six-fold jump in absolute profitability. PAT stood at INR 1,066 crores, up 368% year-on-year. EBITDA margin expanded to 33.73% in Quarter four, an improvement of more than 1,000 basis point year-on-year. For the financial highlights of the full year FY 2026. FY 2026, without doubt, the best year Lloyds Metals has ever had across every single metric. Total income for FY 2026 stood at approximately INR 13,838 crores, up 104% year-on-year. We more than doubled our revenues in a single year.
EBITDA came in at INR 4,673 crores, growing 133% year-on-year. PAT was INR 3,194 crores, up 120% year-on-year. EBITDA margin for the full year stood at 33.77%, up 418 basis points year-on-year. The margin improvement is not one-off. It is structural and is coming from higher share of value-added products, especially pellets in the revenue mix. Benefits of the slurry pipeline, which has started flowing meaningfully into the P&L. Better utilization across mining, pellets and DRI. Operating leverage as volumes scale significantly. Coming to the operational highlights for iron ore. Iron ore production for quarter 4 FY 2026 was 9.09 million tonnes, up 529% year-on-year.
For the full year, production stood at 21.96 million tonnes, up 120% year-on-year. Iron ore sales volume for quarter 4 FY 2026 was 6.16 million tonnes, up 271% year-on-year. For FY 2026, total sales were 16.18 million tonnes, up 71% year-on-year. Realization per tonne stood at INR 5,848 in quarter 4, and INR 5,806 for the full year. EBITDA per tonne was INR 1,894 in quarter 4, and INR 1,930 for FY 2026, reflecting strong unit economics. Our monthly run rate in April 2026 is already at approximately 2 million tonnes, underpinning a strong start for FY 2027. Now, for the operational highlights for pellets.
Pellet production for quarter four FY 2026 was 1.08 million tonnes, and for the full year was 3.03 million tonnes. The pellet plant commenced commercial production at the back end of quarter two FY 2026. Within 4 months of commissioning, it has already reached 100% capacity utilization, which is an exceptional execution outcome. Realization per tonne for quarter four FY 2026 stood at INR 9,590, supported by strong product quality and strategic geographic positioning. EBITDA per tonne for pellets stood at INR 4,040 in quarter four. Robust margin driven by captive iron ore slurry pipeline-based evacuation and strong demand, domestic demand. I'm also pleased to share that the second pellet plant was commissioned in May 2026. This takes our total pellet capacity to 8 million tonnes per annum, and positions us strongly for FY 2027 volume growth.
For the operational highlights of DRI and power. DRI sales volume for quarter four FY 2026 was 188,000 tonnes, up 171% year-on-year. For the full year, DRI volumes were 480,000 tonnes, up 56% year-on-year. DRI realization stood at INR 27,306 per tonne in quarter four, with EBITDA per tonne of INR 7,999. Strong unit economics. Power volumes were up 48% year-on-year in quarter four FY 2026. The value-added mix. Value-added products now account to for 32% of FY 2026 standalone revenues, up from 20% in FY 2025. In terms of EBIT contribution, the share is 30%, up from 11% in FY 2025.
This mix shift is central to improving margin stability, reducing volatility, and enhancing overall return metrics. With pellet plant 2 now commissioned and the wire rod mill on track, this VAP share is expected to improve further in FY 2027. Coming for the CapEx update. The company has incurred CapEx of approximately INR 13,500 crores during FY 2024 to FY 2026. FY 2026 standalone CapEx alone was close to INR 8,100 crores, reflecting the significant investment phase we are currently in. Key projects funded include 2 pellet plants, DRI expansion, slurry pipeline investments, and the ongoing CapEx of the steel plant. Importantly, CapEx execution is on track and within approved budgets.
To give further color on CapEx of INR 13,500 crore, we have capitalized INR 5,100 crore of assets comprising mainly of pellet plant 1, slurry pipeline, and the DRI plants. INR 1,850 crore is capital advances. Remaining is CWIP, which you can see is in our published numbers. The balance sheet and the net debt. Standalone net debt as on 31st March 2026 stands at INR 3,901 crore, a manageable level given our EBITDA generation. Despite an intensive CapEx cycle, the balance sheet remains comfortable. Strong EBITDA has supported internal approval-led funding and controlled leverage. Working capital continues to be well managed, helped by faster dispatch cycles and healthy demand conditions. To summarize, FY 2026 standalone performance has been extraordinary across every metric.
Margins are structurally strong, CapEx execution remains disciplined, and the pipeline into FY 2024 is the strongest it has ever been. With that, I will hand over to Naredi Ji for Thriveni's performance.
Thank you, Rajeshji and Riyaz Ji. Good evening, everyone. For us at Lloyds Metals, growth has always been about disciplined execution, consistency, and doing the fundamentals right day in and day out. Let me take you through Lloyds Metals' performance in Q4 and the full year FY 2026. Financial overview, LMEL FY 2026. From a financial perspective, FY 2026 has been a transformational year for Lloyds Metals. The total income for the full year stood at approximately INR 8,000 crore. To be precise, INR 7,997 crore, with an EBITDA of INR 1,990 crore and EBITDA margin of approximately 25%. This compares to the EBITDA of INR 1,062 crore and margins of approximately 16% in FY 2025, a nearly doubling of EBITDA in a single year. In Q4 FY 2026 specifically, EBITDA was INR 910 crore with margins of 36%, reflecting exceptional operating leverage as volumes scaled.
Cash PAT for the full year stood at INR 1,196 crore with cash PAT margins of approximately 15%. The improvement in margins reflects better operating leverage, higher equipment utilization, and continued focus on cost discipline across all project sites. I'll come to the operations at Gadchiroli. The environmental capacity at Surjagarh Mine has been increased from 10 million tons per annum to 55 million tons per annum, a massive regulatory win that unlocks significant volume headroom. FY 2027 volume growth is expected to be more than 75%, including BHQ, underpinned by full-scale operations at Central Hills and completion of FY 2027 equipment mobilization as per schedule. We have now deployed 88 electric equipment units at the mine and 20 electrical units at the railway sidings that firmly establishes our green mining credentials. BHQ beneficiation plant excavation has commenced with 22 large-scale equipment mobilized.
14 mobile crushers and 26 heavy earth-moving machines are also deployed for BHQ crushing at the mine. We have also established a full EV and LNG ecosystem at Surjagarh Mine. 100 ton diesel dumper has been successfully converted to LNG hybrid operation, which is a significant sustainability milestone. Odisha operations. Our Odisha operations also continue to scale meaningfully. One of the mine, MGM mine, has been awarded the prestigious 5-star rating by Indian Bureau of Mines, which reflects our operational quality. Gwalior iron ore mine production has also been enhanced from 7.4 million ton per annum to 9 million ton per annum. Sarojini Pradhan Mine has scaled up from 0.57 million tons to 4.99 million tons per annum. These are significant capacity additions.
Dalpahar Iron Ore Mine is a new mine, and the operations are expected to commence in Q1 of FY 2027, with a FY 2027 production target of 3 million tons. Lasarda-Pacheri Mines, again, a new mine. The MDPA has been signed, and operations are to commence in Q1 FY 2027, with a FY 2027 production target of 1.5 million tons per annum. Sree Metaliks Mine capacity has been increased from 1.5 million tons to 1.8 million tons. Overall, the Odisha operation volumes are expected to increase by 39% year-over-year to 34 million-35 million tons in FY 2027. One of the mining lease, Sagasai Mine, was selected for the 11th FICCI Excellence Award, an acknowledgment of our operational and sustainability standards. Now coming to coal. Triveni Sainik Mining, our subsidiary, PB West and PB Northwest.
PB West has achieved the highest distinction of a 5-star rating from the Ministry of Coal, ranking number 1 among 383 opencast mines across India, which is an extraordinary distinction. PB Mine was also awarded the overall winner at the 68th Annual Mine Safety Week, receiving the Suraksha Shikhar Gold Award. Iron Ore set a national record in FY 2026, completing over 1,400 houses, which is 143% of the previous year's target, and acquiring over 420 acres of land, which is 103% of the target. A record for yearly performance at PB West that OB removal has been at 72.8 million BCM. Coal production was 17.5 million tons. Coal crushing and dispatch, 17.4 million tons.
IPCC commissioned on 11th August 2025, handling 2.89 million tons. Electrical loading 21.8 million BCM, that is up by 80% year-on-year. Electric drill 1.5 lakh meters, that is up 45% year-on-year. Wireless communication system implemented across all HEMM and mid-scale equipment. Coming to international and new ventures. International on Indonesia, we are rationalizing lower margin operations and plan to redeploy equipment to higher return opportunities in Congo and PNG. On Geo Mesos Gold Mining, our MDO and exploration contract commenced in January 2026. We have a targeted EBITDA contribution of approximately INR 60 crores in FY 2027, a meaningful new revenue stream with further upside as exploration progresses. Outlook. Thriveni's focus remains clear. Scale responsibly, execute efficiently, and protect margins through productivity and cost optimization.
The pipeline for FY 2027 looks strong across Gadchiroli, Odisha, and coal operations. We are confident of sustaining both growth and profitability. With that, I hand over the mic to Hemankur Upadhyaya. Thank you.
We have opened the questions.
Yeah. Hello.
We'll open up for the questions. Shivang.
Thank you. We'll now begin the question and answer session. The first question is from the line of Amit Dixit from GS. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi. Good evening, everyone, and congratulations for good performance. Couple of questions from my side. The first one is on slide number 25, where you have the arrangement with Tata Steel on the BRTN project. Just wanted to understand the economics of this because you had mentioned that the free cash and the profit accruing to us, I mean, is quite substantial. Just wanted to understand the CapEx part of it and how we are, you know, looking at operations to ensure that these kind of numbers in terms of free cash accrue to us.
Thanks, Amit, for the question. As you rightly said, I mean, this is a business which is already in place, for generating this kind of free cash flow, the amount of sustaining CapEx is not much. That's why the free cash flows are high, because this is a take-or-pay contract that we have with Tata Steel as a captive consumer. This is of great strategic benefit to Tata Steel because this operates a pipeline which is near about the mine mouth of their existing mines, it opens up near the Kalinganagar plant within the 5 km radius. Because of which the entire capacity is dedicated to them. As a part of our shareholder agreement, this was agreed as a margin for the existing assets.
That's why this is a large amount of free cash flow. You would also recall that we had signed MoU with Tata Steel for evaluating multiple projects, which involved some of the projects that we'll be taking up with them. It involved working on slurry pipelines for their projects. It involved steel plant facility in Gadchiroli, and it also involved new MDO projects that we'll be doing with them. Given all of that, we are progressing on some of those projects. As of now, those projects CapEx is still being finalized because they are still in the discussion and finalization stage. Some of these free cash flow will go towards generation of and development of those projects.
We intend to maintain high return on capital for such projects, so that it is deployed and suitable for maintaining the high return on capital that we have.
Just a related question to this, you know, because our expertise in laying slurry pipeline in record time is quite well documented. Is there some exclusivity that you have with Tata Steel or you can approach any other steel player? A lot of them are looking for the slurry pipeline.
Oh, there's no exclusivity.
Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. The second question I have is on the Congo operations and congratulations for starting the copper operations over there. I mean, just wondering what kind of incremental CapEx you expect to incur in both copper and cobalt project to reach the capacity that you have mentioned. On the related note, this geography is not the easiest one to work. What specific steps you are taking to ensure that, you know, because, I mean, you have started operations and I would say I don't recall any other company that has done that in such a small time?
Thanks again, Amit. Yes, definitely it's a new territory, and that's where the new opportunities are coming out of it. That's why we see that this was a very unique case which presented us an asset which was near operational. To answer the first question, how much capital expenditure will be required? This plant is near about 85%-90% complete. We are already engaging with the EPC players. These are world-class EPC players. The plants are designed and built by people like Outotec and Beijing Rim from China. We are getting them back on the ground. I think, within this month we are getting them up and running.
In terms of completion of the plant, the total plant CapEx initially was near about, $1.1 billion, out of which, $800+ million has already been spent. Based on our current, evaluation, including the initial working capital and the mine development which will be feeding these plants, it would require near about, $200 million-$260 million. We are still working on the exact numbers, but this is a fairly broad estimate which can be taken at the moment. In terms of, players who are operating and, working in the mines in Congo, it's a fairly established mining destination.
It had its challenges earlier, but given the rising demand of copper and cobalt as a strategic material for defense products, particularly apart from the batteries, this is something which is of great importance to U.S. U.S., because, I mean, U.S. has also started realizing that a lot of supply chain of critical minerals is basically residing with China. Whenever these tariff barriers and different problems happened, they saw that the supply chain can be choked. That was one of the key things which kind of drove us to this. Because having this kind of an asset at such a large scale, yes, you are right, it is a high risk if we were doing it alone.
But that risk is mitigated by the fact that we are partnering with the U.S., and U.S. has a strategic and critical minerals deal which was signed in 2025. In fact, we have very strong support from U.S. and, given the kind of support that U.S. is building with DRC, there is a strong cooperation, and this is the first project under this, so a flagship project, so it becomes de-risked by the same amount. It's something what you can probably see with Surjagarh, like it was one of the first projects that we opened up here. Of course, risk was there, but this was the first project in Maharashtra. For Maharashtra, iron ore was new. Now Maharashtra is looking at opening up many more mines and coming up additional iron ore.
This gives us a good entry and also helps us build a very strong partnership with U.S. because they see us as reliable, credible operators. In difficult terrains, wherever the U.S. companies are not able to operate or not able to scale as fast as they would want the supply chains to be built, we would be a partner of choice. This is an alternate to China on the global scale, and that's why we see this partnership is something which will be quite important and also de-risked in the entire process because of the presence of U.S.
Quite clear, sir. Thank you so much, and all the best.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Vikas Singh from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Good afternoon, sir. Thank you for the opportunity, and congratulations on very good set of numbers. My first question pertains to Triveni. If I look at our iron ore ramp-up has been largely been done, while the coal has not been ramping up. Are we going to expect volume growth in this segment? Because if I remember correctly, couple of quarters back, we have given a pretty good numbers in terms of revenue guidance on the Triveni side. What has caused this margin expansion on the year-on-year basis from EBITDA margin of 16%-26%?
In iron ore, we are starting two new mining leases, and for the other mining leases where we are already doing, we have got the environmental clearances enhancement. Due to that, the iron ore production is going to be higher as compared to the earlier year. In respect of coal, as we stated, Indonesian operations, we are slightly slowing down due to lower margins. Char 干 operations, the contract volumes and all these things we are achieving. Yes, we'll be increasing our revenues, quantity in iron ore more as compared to coal. Surjagarh also, we have got a large expansion, so there also we are going to increase it. This is the reason that iron ore expansion will be much more as compared to coal.
Okay. Sir, just a follow-up question on this. We in the remarks, somebody said that 37%, 39% higher iron ore production could be there. Would our revenue follow the similar model or the rates are different and, revenue growth would be lower than that?
No, no. Revenue growth will be there, and we'll be getting the benefit of economies of scale. Our revenues will be much, much better.
No. Would that go in tandem with the volume at assuming the same kind of rates we are getting across the board or the intensity of would be lower than the volume growth? That's what I was asking effectively.
No, more or less it will be the same.
Top line would be more or less the same. Bottom line would be faster because of economies of scale.
Noted, sir. Sir, my second question pertains to our realization this quarter. If I see iron ore and pellet, there was a deviation. One has gone up on sequential basis while the pellet realization gone down, which is a little bit surprising. Could you explain what has happened there and what is the spot realization? Have you also taken price hike today?
Sir, what has gone down?
Pellet.
Sir, pellet realization was.
Iron ore realization has gone up.
Sequentially was down, as per our own presentation, while the iron ore have been up sharply. Just wanted to understand.
As volumes have gone up in pellet, we have had to search new markets. That is why the pellet realizations are a little lower because the newer markets are at a distance. Some tenders were there earlier, which we have not been able to reestablish again. We have been doing a little bit more export. On the pricing of iron ore, it's more or less driven by the market. We are in line with the rest of the market and the steel market.
Very good.
Noted, sir. Sir, lastly, if you could give us some update on your BHQ project, because next year, if I remember correctly, we wanted to do more of a low-grade beneficiation versus the high-grade sales.
So, so our, uh-
Where are we?
Our in my opening remarks, I mentioned that by December 2027, the BHQ first phase of 30 million tons input and around 12 million tons output would be commissioned. The land is with us. The equipment has been mobilized. The construction equipment has been mobilized. The crushing of the material has started, and we'll be placing the material onto the site and getting it evacuated from the site in this year. Over next 2 years, that material will be accumulated there. As far as the project itself is concerned, we are going ahead with the total engineering is more or more complete. The main ordering of 85-90% has been ordered on very 5-star parties.
The pellet plant has helped us a lot in establishing the final engineering, and that is the status.
This is since we are beneficiating and the mining ratio to output is lower, do we expect that once the BHQ picks up our overall blended EBITDA pattern on the iron ore side, at last would settle on a lower scale?
We think it's on a higher scale because BHQ beneficiated ore will be 66%, 67%. The cost upside is around INR 200-INR 300, which I think we explained in the last con call, particularly with the revised notification of the government on reduced royalties. With the upside on the cost will be around INR 200-INR 300. The upside on the selling price or on the usage level, even if we do it internally, will be at least INR 700-INR 800. We think that the EBITDA will go up once the BHQ is commissioned.
Sir, wouldn't the mining cost per ton of the final material would be three times higher, two and a half times higher? That should get added in the cost-
No, because we are doing the mining.
Not only on the beneficiation.
The much bigger scale volumes. We would have, like I said, the total cost would be in that range that Rajesh mentioned, and the royalty are much less.
This is adjusted for the mining ratio you are talking about.
Absolutely. Absolutely. I'm talking about net visible ore.
Noted, sir. Thank you, sir, and all the best for you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Jashandeep Singh from Nomura. Please go ahead.
Hi. Thank you for the opportunity and congratulations for a great set of results. My first question is regarding CapEx. You know, you were highlighting how much CapEx will be required for the second copper stream that you have entered. I just wanted to understand, you know, with that in mind, what will be our FY 2027, 2028 CapEx guidance for consolidated now? In line with that, you know, with CapEx increasing and the earnings are also increasing significantly, what will be a sustainable net debt to EBITDA or leverage numbers for the company? Is the company looking for any deleveraging in the, you know, FY 2027, 2028? That will be my first question.
Thanks, Jasandeep. The total CapEx excluding the ISP for the Konsari unit is around INR 28,000 crores. That is what we have. Of which we have already spent, as I have mentioned earlier, is INR 13,500 odd crores. That remains with the INR 14,500 crores to be spent over the next two years. Next year our plan does around between INR 10,000-INR 11,000 crores is what we are planning to expend because that will include a lot of portion from the BHQ plant and the ISP at Chandrapur.
It should be around INR 10,500, the next year it should be INR 12,500 plus, yes, in 2027, 2028, by that time we would be clear on the larger steel plant at Konsari. Also the copper. All those expenditures will be further included in this and should be a larger number next year.
Is that largely copper, CapEx will start from FY 2028? You know, is that right? Also on deleveraging or your sustainable net debt to EBITDA?
FY 2027 also there will be copper investments.
Actually majority of the copper investments will get done in FY 2027. We should have the revenues and profitability from copper coming in from FY 2028. As I said, the plants are near about 85%-90% complete. We want to get them running ASAP, and that's why, large part of the CapEx which actually will be done this year.
And-
sir,
To this we would have to add the Triveni CapEx. Although since you asked for consolidated, Triveni CapEx would be around INR 1,000 crores in this coming year, in this current year.
The INR 10,000 crore-INR 11,000 crore also includes Triveni and copper. Is my understanding right, sir?
No. That's on standalone basis.
That's on standalone.
Yeah.
Sir, how much will be consol?
In terms of CapEx, you are asking?
Yeah.
Okay.
Yes, sir.
So basically on a consol basis, copper will be, as I mentioned earlier, near about $200 million-$260 million. We can add near about INR 2,000 crores.
So around twen-
Some of it.
INR 15,000 crores roughly. Our number would be INR 1,000 crores for CapEx in this 2026-2027.
Right, sir. Any plan of, you know, de-leveraging Triveni because most of the debt on the console book is from Triveni. Any plan for the next 2 years to reduce the debt on Triveni? What is your target net debt to EBITDA that the management is internally working with?
Triveni debt, yes, we are looking at it. We have plans of the RPS is as it is reducing because just paid around INR 700 odd crore rupees in the month of April for that RPS. That INR 2,100 crores in the debt in, is RPS. Of which INR 700 crores is happening. Over the next 3 years, the INR 2,000 crore rupees reduces, so the debt automatically comes down. The regular payments are also-
Understood. Sir, my last question again, because, you know, Lloyds is expanding and growing at such a rapid pace, will all of the CapEx will be company be able to manage all the CapEx for internal accruals or is there a plan or is management looking towards raising some more capital either through debt or equity in near future? How is management looking towards it?
Yes, debt we would be raising. As we have mentioned, we should be able to have a proper mix of the debt. The EBITDA should be around 1.5 times of the EBITDA, not more than that. That is what our numbers would be. Equity as of now, we've not planned of anything, and we don't in near future. We don't intend on that.
Any equity would be, if ever, would be in the books of Triveni.
Triveni
if we go for an IPO in that company at a later stage, not in this year.
Understood, sir. Sir, my last question will be largely towards the new government regulation which came, which is now, you know, is fixing ASP for, I don't know, grade below 45% with, you know, close to two third of your reserves being up in that category. While I understand beneficiation will be there and you will be selling the output will be higher grade. Just wanted to understand how does that regulation or how does the management look at that regulation, whether there will be benefits in terms of royalty or, whether there will be benefits in more offtakes happening of the lower grade. Just wanted to understand that, sir.
The royalty is paid on material going out of the mine and the lower grade of less than 45 or less than 35 would be going out of the mine, entailing a royalty at the rate of 50% or 75% respectively. That would reduce our BHQ output cost to the BHQ plant. It helps us in terms of reduction of cost.
Understood, sir. Just one last question. sir mentioned that INR 2,000 per ton saving coming from largely from transport. Can we have a breakdown of that and, you know, how much?
I will-
Will be coming from which particular?
Per ton. I mentioned INR 2,000 crores over the next, once the second pipeline is commissioned, from Hedri to Ghugus via the Chandrapur stockyard, all our 16 million tons of material, which is now being transported to the railway sidings or to various customers by truck, that INR 600 a ton, INR 500 a ton would be saved. That itself is INR 1,000 crores. Plus whatever pipeline we're already doing right now, plus our solar projects and other green initiatives, plus, you know, various initiatives during all the sites. We have calculated a total of INR 2,000 crores per year going forward from 2028 onwards.
Understood, sir. Thank you so much for this, and I'll join back with you.
Thank you. The next question is on the line of Ritesh Bhagwati from Alpha Plus Capital. Please go ahead.
Thanks for taking my question. First of all, congrats on great set of numbers. Firstly, it's in regards to our DRC assets. We saw our commercial production of 12,000 tons per annum copper cathode plant at Surya Mines got commissioned in March 2026. We have done an acquisition of another 49% stake in Chemaf. What I want to first of all understand is how are we seeing this ramp up of 10,000 tons per annum to 30,000 tons per annum happening? What is the timeline for that? Secondly, what I also want to understand is how are we seeing this integration of DRC assets happening and what sort of revenue and EBITDA contribution can we see in this financial year?
Thank you. I'll explain on both the assets. The first asset actually was commissioned and started producing copper cathodes in March 2026. We have produced near about 700 to 750 tons of copper as of date. The plant, as per budget, is able to produce near about 40 to 45 tons per day. We are having certain supply shortages on the sulfuric acid because it's an inland country, so because of it, there is a slightly lower volume than expected. Good thing is that with the plant that we acquired, the other company, we have a sulfuric acid plant, so we are now continuing to supply sulfuric acid from that. There is synergy between the two companies.
With that, I think we are looking at producing a total of around 9,000-10,000 tons of copper for the financial year ending this year.
Chemaf will not produce anything this year. It is expected to start production meaningfully by July of 2027, when the plants are expected to be commissioned. A big uplift will come when those plants are completed and they start operating fully. They are fully integrated plants in terms of mine, next door to the plants. We'll have near about 90,000 tons of copper production, but starting from July 2027. Until then, we will have around 800-900 tons of copper that we expect once we solve the sulfuric acid problems, which should be sorted in the next 3 months. That's broadly the production profile for the Congo assets.
Okay. Basically I also want to understand our stake acquisition that we have done for Lloyds Panguna, which we will engage with Bougainville Copper Limited. If you can just provide some clarity on the strategic roadmap, anticipated timeline for securing mining rights.
No asset has been taken over. It's, we have created a company for future actions in that country. It is a very active, was a very active mine 40 years back, with port built, roads built and the mine commissioned and well established, et cetera, with very rich copper and gold deposit. It's still in the discussion stage. We have got the rights only, and nothing has been acquired, and we're only, like I say, setting our foot into the area.
Okay. Just lastly, on our pellet plant. Like, we have recently commissioned our second pellet plant as well. What I want to understand is, like, when do we expect, you know, both pellet plants together to reach the expanded capacity of 10 million tons per annum from our original 8 million tons per annum?
It's 8 million tons. Four, 2 into 4, 8 million tons. The first plant in the first nine months of operation has achieved 3 million tons, which is within the capacity. We hope to repeat that in the second plant as well. Therefore, we hope to achieve 7.5 to 8 million tons in this complete year.
Okay. Thanks a lot. That's it from my end.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Stuti Agarwal from Chhattisgarh Investment. Please go ahead.
Hello, am I audible?
Yes, ma'am.
Yes.
Yeah. Firstly, congratulations to the team for great set of numbers. My first question is, does receivables increase from INR 171 crores to INR 1,480 crores on a consolidated number? That is 3.24 times. Is this from the Triveni or on standalone?
Last year it was not a consolidated because Triveni is just acquired in this year, so only 9 months has been consolidated. If you're looking at a consolidated numbers, then it is not comparable if you compare it with the last year numbers.
Okay. Okay. Got it. Thank you.
Thank you. A reminder to all participants that you may restrict yourself to one question. The next question is from the line of Parth Kotak from Plus91 Asset Management. Please go ahead.
Hi. Thanks for taking my time. Congratulations for a good set of numbers. Actually I have a couple of questions. The first one is an extension to the previous participant's question. I understand that now since MDO is integrated, you know, with our operations, if you could just give a bit of color on our receivable days and inventory days and payable days for the consolidated entity going ahead. Second, sir, if you could just on an accounting side provide the number for IPS benefit this year, it would be really helpful.
On the IPS benefits, basically it is right now around one year in accrual, one year post the claim to be made. The claim will be made in June, for the last year, so we would get the monies in June 2027 for currently. We're trying to see how that can be expedited. For the consolidated receivables data, I think this question is a very interesting question. We don't have the clear-cut answer on why exactly that movement is there. We'll come back very shortly on that.
In Triveni, the receivables is your 15-30 days.
In Triveni, the receivables are 15 to 30 days. In Metals.
Mine orders, private mine orders, but in coal it is 15 days. Lloyds it is 15 days.
So we'll have to run-- And, and so it, uh, it is similar in, uh-
Lloyds Metals
Lloyds Metals. We'll figure out exactly the reasoning behind it and come back.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Amay Sharda from Purnartha Investment Advisers. Please go ahead. Amay Sharda, could you please go ahead?
He's not there.
Since there's no reply from the line of Mr. Amay Sharda, I will forward the next question, which is from Harsh Shah from Seven Rivers Holding. Please go ahead.
yeah. Hi, good afternoon, sir. sir, in your slide, you have given a guidance of 26 million tons for FY 2027.
Production of iron ore. Can you give us a split how much of this will be consumed internally for the downstream products, and what will be sold outside?
Around 8 million tons, 8.85 million tons. 8.8 million tons will be consumed internally for the pellet plant. The DRI plant maybe another 200,000 tons. Around 9 million tons will be consumed this year internally. Pellet.
And, and-
Pellet plus DRI. Yeah.
Pellet.
Part of the DRI
And-
Part of the would also be consumed internally in the DRI plant.
Yeah.
Okay.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Siddharth Gadekar from Equirus Securities Private Limited. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. First on the Chemaf acquisition, can you just speak on the debt that we have acquired with that entity, and how should one think about that debt?
Yeah, thank you. I mean, yes, I think that needs a little bit of clarity because otherwise it may look that we have acquired a lot of debt. We have become owners of the company. Of course, the company was under stress, there's a lot of debt which has accrued, built up, and they have spent that on the plant. As a part of the overall negotiation process, we have also made settlement agreements with the key creditors. Actually the total debt which is there on the books of Chemaf is around $800 million. Large creditors, mostly we have negotiated. Effectively, once we pay out those creditors, this debt will be reduced by $475 million. That's the amount of negotiation that has been done.
The balance of the debt which will be remaining on the books, which is near about $330 million, that is fully non-recourse, and it will stay at the company level at Chemaf. We are negotiating on that with some of the smaller parties which are there. We'll go through that process, and possibly we can also receive some benefits from there. That's broadly the current debt. For completing the plants, possibly we'll borrow additional $200 million, which will also be non-recourse to LMEL and borrowed at the asset level because the asset itself is near about $1 billion, which is already put on the ground.
Secondly, in terms of the ramp-up on Chemaf, how should one think about the ramp-up in this asset?
As I answered earlier, I mean July 2027, we should see reasonably full commercial scale production. We should be producing near about 8,000 tons of copper, including the Surya Mines. Only Chemaf itself will be near about 6,000-5,500 tons per month.
The entire debt will get consolidated into our consolidated balance sheet, or how should one think about that?
Yes, that's right. Although we own 49%, but because we are having the operational control on the ground, and we are the ones who are running the operations, which is typically for us as something which we like and control because effectively we need the operational controls to make the assets work. That's why, because of that reason, even though we are 49%, we have operational control, and thus it gets consolidated into our books.
Okay, good. Largely on the standalone operations on the pellet, we had spoken about some debottlenecking that we were doing on the standalone operation. When should we start seeing the benefits of that debottlenecking coming in?
We are studying and applying to the government for relevant permissions. We should get that by the year end, by 2026, 2027. Next year we will see an increased production in that.
That will be for both the pellet plants or only the first pellet plant?
Yeah, yeah, both the pellet plants.
effectively, we can go to 10 million ton of pellet capacity with these two plants?
No guidance on that, but yes, that is the target.
Okay. Got it, sir. Thank you so much.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Netra Deshpande from Mirae Asset Sharekhan. Please go ahead.
Good evening, sir. Congratulations to you all for remarkable set of numbers and metallic numbers for FY 2026. To start with the first question, just would like to know, as have already said the estimated phase for the second cost and for the extending costs, and what would be the timeline for that as the slurry pipeline for the project, the phase 1, the cost and already it got cleared in the earlier session. Can you please tell more?
We not, we're not able to understand the. Can you please, repeat your-
What would be the phase 2 cost and the timeline for the overall total project for the slurry pipeline capacity of utilization and overall volumes? It will take up and ramping up.
The phase 2 slurry pipeline is for the 16 million tons, what we are planning.
Yes.
This is the plans for the entire CapEx to be completed is within two years, as we mentioned earlier also.
Okay. My next question it is about, what would be the revenue growth in terms of volume of iron ore and value-added product for FY 2027 and FY 2028? What would you say?
There'll be no increase in volume. This is the maximized volume that we have. FY 2027 we just discussed. FY 2028 our steel plant would be operational fully, we'll be having a production of say 1 million tons, which is 75%-80% of the capacity. The pellet plant will be producing that 8-9 million tons. That will be the value-added product range. Relevantly DRI and pig iron et cetera would also be produced according to that.
Okay. Okay. Thank you. Sir, one more, which is what would be the inter-segment revenue in terms of captive iron ore that is using? Because after the acquisition, as we can see that inter-segment revenue have ramp up like it is somewhere around INR 4,013 this year, so FY 2026. What would be for Thriveni MDO inter, intra-group billing or something for FY 2027, if you can put some light? Because captive transfer of INR 907 crore which we can see the reflection in this.
I don't think we are ready with that exact figure that you're looking for. We'll come back shortly on that.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Vedant Sarda from Nirmal Bang Securities Private Limited. Please go ahead. Mr. Vedant, sir, could you please unmute your line and go ahead?
Sir-
There's no reply. Yes, sir, you.
Thank you for the opportunity and congratulations on the great results. Sir, we have guided 26 million tons of iron ore production and double it down on our pellet production and DRI production for FY 2027. Can you broadly tell us the revenue growth and EBITDA growth for FY 2027 on the current realization of iron ore?
I think the figures are all with you. We leave it to the analyst to analyze and confirm the figures.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Tanmay Choudhary from Dolat Capital. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Thank you for the opportunity. My first question is on the logistics side. Like what are our evacuation plan through the pipeline and the trucks and railway siding and specifically for feeding our recently commenced pellet plant?
Your question is not very clear, sir. Can you repeat it?
Yes, sir. I'm asking on the evacuation plan through the pipeline and on the transport side, like for feeding our recently commenced pellet plant.
The recently commissioned pellet plant is being fed by the pipeline which was commissioned around a year back. That same pipeline is now feeding both the pellet plants that are commissioned. This product is being evacuated either by truck or by a from a railway siding, which is around 80 kilometers, 70 kilometers away. That's for the evacuation of the current pellet plant and material into the pellet plant is concerned. Does that answer the question? Hello?
Sir, the line has dropped. Ladies and gentlemen, we take this as the last question. I now hand the conference over to the management for closing comments.
Thank you, everybody. I guess we were able to re-reply to all your questions and queries. Once again, thanks everybody. If you have any further questions, you can get in touch with Mr. Chintan Mehta or myself, so that we can give you all the further reply. Thank you once again for participating and thank you Equirus team for hosting us.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you. On behalf of Equirus Securities Private Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us. You may now disconnect your lines.