Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the Welspun Living Limited Q4 FY 2025 earnings conference call hosted by JM Financial Institutional Securities Limited. As a reminder, all participant lines will remain 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 the operator by pressing star, then zero on your touch-tone telephone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the call over to Mr. Ashutosh Somani from JM Financial Institutional Securities Limited for opening remarks. Thank you, and over to you.
Thanks, Operator, and welcome everyone to the call. I will first thank Welspun Living for giving JM Financial the opportunity to host today's call. Without much ado, I'll hand over the call to Mr. Salil Bawa, Head Investor Relations at Welspun Group, to introduce the management. Over to you, Salil.
Thank you, Ashutosh, and good evening to all of you. On behalf of Welspun Living Limited, I welcome all of you to the company's Q4 and FY 2025 earnings call. Along with me, we have with us today Ms. Deepali Goenka, Managing Director and CEO, Mr. Sanjay Gupta, Chief Financial Officer, and my colleague Bharti, who has joined as Head for Investor Relations for Welspun Living. We hope you have had a chance to review the investor presentation that we filed with the exchanges today. Apologies, it got a little late in getting uploaded because of some technical issue. It is also uploaded on our website. During today's discussion, we may be making references to the presentation. Hence, we request you to kindly review the Safe Harbor Statement in our presentation.
As usual, we will start the forum with the comments from the senior leadership team, and then we'll open the floor for questions. Once the call gets over, should you have any further queries that remain unanswered, please feel free to reach out to any one of us. With that, I would now like to hand over the floor to Ms. Deepali Goenka, Managing Director and CEO. Over to you, ma'am.
Thank you, Salil. Good evening, and thank you for joining us for the Q4 FY 2025 earnings call. We continue to operate in a Bani world, one that is brittle, anxious, non-linear, and incomprehensible, marked by shifting global trade dynamics, traffic uncertainties, tariff uncertainties, and fast-evolving consumer sentiment across key markets. In this complex and fragile environment, staying resilient and adaptable is no longer optional. It's essential. At Welspun Living, we stay true to our core strengths: resilience, agility, and forward-looking innovation. The recent developments around reciprocal tariffs, especially from the U.S., have introduced short-term unpredictability into trade flows. While the 90 day pause offers some relief, the U.S.-India bilateral trade agreement remains in progress. We remain cautious and expect near-term volatility to persist. We continue to prioritize agility, cost efficiency, and deeper customer engagement to strengthen our position in key markets. We have weathered disruption before. This time is not different.
Our supply chain resilience, serviceability, and product innovation are levers to not just manage risk but also unlock new opportunities. The announcement of the India-U.K. Free Trade Agreement is a pivotal moment for home textile industry in India. While the full contours and the timelines of the agreement are waited, we are optimistic about its potential to provide a strong impetus to India's textile trade. For the first time, India stands on equal footing with Pakistan and Bangladesh in the U.K. textile market. This levels the playing field, and India, with its scale competitiveness and political stability, is well positioned to lead. At Welspun Living, we see this as a catalytic opportunity. With resilient supply chains, strong distributor and customer partnerships, and a focused licensed brand strategy, we are well positioned to unlock value in this next wave of global trade realignment.
This moment reinforces both India's rising global relevance and Welspun Living's leadership as a trusted, future-ready partner in home textiles worldwide. Highlights of the year gone by: I'm proud to share that we surpassed a significant milestone this year by crossing the 10,000 crore revenue mark, delivering consolidated revenue of 10,693 crores, 8.8% year-on-year growth. Importantly, emerging businesses contribute approximately 30% to our total revenue, reinforcing the strength of our diversified portfolio. Welspun Living remains committed to redefining home solutions sustainably while establishing itself as the FMCG of textiles through strong product and brand play across global and Indian markets and a 360-degree customer-centric approach. At a strategic level, we have achieved a remarkable milestone in sustainability, securing a total ESG score of 83 in 2024, S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA).
This recognition solidifies WNL's ongoing leadership as the highest-ranked textile manufacturing company from India in the textile, apparel, and luxury goods category. The score also places WNL at the fourth position globally in the aforesaid category. We are equally proud to have been certified a Great Place to Work for the second consecutive year with a 96% participation rate, underscoring the trust and engagement of our people. Now coming to our performance, our consolidated revenue stood at INR 10,697 crores for the full year with EBITDA margin at 13.6%. As per the FY 2025 guidance laid out earlier, we have slightly departed from our revenue and margin targets due to the cautious order pattern from customers in Q4 ahead of tariff implementation, which impacted core as well as emerging businesses. However, we remain committed to maintaining market leadership and profitability in our core business by scaling up our emerging businesses.
Our home textile exports grew 11% in FY 2025, marking another steady year. As global trade realigns, India stands to gain, and with our integrated portfolio, play, and scalable manufacturing, we are optimistic about growth in emerging categories while reinforcing our core leadership. The pillow, utility, and fashion bedding remain high-potential segments. Our pillow plant in Ohio is ramping up well with 31% utilization in Q4. Our pillow businesses achieved revenue of about $15 million this year, which we expect to nearly double in the coming year. We continue to invest in these emerging categories to remain the preferred partner of choice in the sleep ecosystem. Our global brands continue to be robust with 12% share of total revenues in FY 2025. Christy has been synonymous with luxury and excellence, earning a distinguished reputation worldwide.
We have a focused approach to drive profitable growth in the U.K., U.S., and Middle East with premium positioning, product differentiation, pricing, architecture, and increased collaboration to drive brand visibility. Furthermore, we are actively working on diversifying into the digital realm to cater to the millennial demographic and expand accessibility. Our licensed brands, Martha Stewart for utility bedding, Cococozy, and Disney Europe, continue to witness robust growth momentum, growing by 38%, helping us expand shelf space with our key retailers. Next, moving on to our domestic retail business performance. Amidst subdued urban spending, higher food inflation, and overall economic pressure we have witnessed in the last more than a year in the retail segment, our domestic retail business clocked a modest growth of over 5% in FY 2025 to reach INR 605 crores for this year.
India's retail inflation slipped to more than five-year low of 3.34% in March as food prices continued to moderate, and hence consumption is expected to bounce back stronger in next quarter. Our focus on the India market is unwavering. Our domestic brands continue to gain growth, ground, and strengthen leadership positions in the Indian home solution space. Our global expertise has helped us build differentiated product offerings, specially curated for the consumer in our domestic markets to provide a superior brand experience. Welspun Brand continued to witness strong growth momentum with 10% growth in FY 2025, with presence across 500+ districts and 22,000 outlets. Welspun Brand continued to be the most distributed home textile brand in India. E-commerce segment has seen significant traction, grew 100% in FY 2025, backed by solid performance in quick commerce, which has scaled 16x.
Welspun Brand is riding the quick commerce wave and ranks top two in towels and top five in sheets. Spaces continues strong in its path to offer a complete elevated home experience with leading market share in specialty modern trade. On the domestic flooring in France, we witnessed 12% growth in FY 2025, reaching INR 162 crores on the back of all-round growth across hospitality, residential, and commercial segments, and focused engagements with A&ID. As the housing sector scales up, driven by rising GDP, urbanization, and the shift towards premiumization, demand for high-quality design-led flooring solutions is only set to grow. We remain focused on deepening extraction from existing markets through a wider product portfolio and a focused approach on brand building. We are expanding our product portfolio for domestic markets through acquisitions of Dave Story, a company operating in product home furnishings like curtains, clothing, or sofas, chairs, etc.
We are acquiring 84.3% equity in the company at an investment of INR 14.57 crores. Current ARR of the company is INR 20 crores, and it is expected to reach a revenue of INR 100+ crores in three years' time. This is again a substantial step by the company in strengthening its lead in home solutions space in India. Moving on to flooring, the challenges in the business continue to persist, with the business recording a revenue of INR 727 crores, regrowing by 7% in FY 2025. We see challenges till Q3, and lately, the uncertainty due to the U.S. tariffs and an overhang on the business throughout the year. Despite these challenges, we remain focused on deepening our presence in U.S. home improvements and OEM channels, supporting strategic partnerships across the Middle East, Australia, and New Zealand, and leveraging the U.K. FTA to drive regional diversification and long-term growth.
The advanced textile business clocked a revenue of INR 562 crore, growing by 7.8% in FY 2025. Spunlace and Needle Punch witnessed a strong growth momentum and good progress in business development activities. We remain optimistic on long-term prospects, leveraging our partnership with focus on offering value-added products for global markets in wet and dry wipes segments. Our ESG journey continues to be a strategic differentiator with focus goals on 100% renewable energy and 100% sustainable cotton by 2030. We continue embedding sustainability into every link of our value chain with industry-leading ESG practices. We have made significant progress towards our ESG goals, and we are well on track to achieve our targets by FY30. We are closely tracking tariff developments and strengthening our agility to navigate change.
With integrated operations, strong retail partnerships, and a diversified global presence, we are well equipped to manage short-term volatility and scale up as the clarity returns. With this, I would now like to hand over to Sanjay, who will take you through the financial highlights.
Thank you, Deepali, and greetings everyone. Let me take you through the financial performance for the fourth quarter and the full year of financial year 25. During quarter four 25, we reported consolidated quarterly revenue of INR 2,648 crore, up by 1.2% year-on-year. Our full year 25 revenue is at INR 10,697 crore, up by 8.9% versus last year. EBITDA margin for quarter four stood at INR 318 crore, that is 12%, which is down 20% year-on-year. Financial year 25 EBITDA stood at INR 1,451 crore, that is 13.6%. The margin compression in quarter four is primarily due to overall lower offtake than expected.
Profit after tax, after minority interest for the quarter, is at INR 132 crore, with a 146 crore year-on-year. Financial year 25 PAT stood at INR 639 crore, with a 681 crore year-on-year. Consequently, our consolidated EPS for quarter four stood at INR 1.40 per share as compared to INR 1.52 per share, down 7.9% year-on-year. Financial year 25 EPS stood at INR 6.70 per share as compared to INR 7.06 per share, down by 5%. On the forex front, our average exchange realization for the US dollar during quarter four was INR 85.21 compared to INR 83.58 in the corresponding quarter last year. For the full year financial year 25, it was INR 84.5 compared to INR 83.28 in financial year 24. Net debt stood at INR 1,603 crore versus INR 1,658 crore last quarter, down by 56 crore, and versus INR 1,354 crore last year, higher by 248 crore.
This increase as compared to last year has been largely due to investment in CapEx, which has already been informed. Coming to segmental results, quarter four 25 core business home textile revenue stood at INR 2,206 crore, up by 1.7% year-on-year. Financial year 25 core revenues stood at INR 8,804 crore, up by 10.8% year-on-year. Quarter four EBITDA of home textile stood at INR 278 crore, at 12.6% as compared to INR 362 crore, at 16.7% last year. Financial year 25 home textile EBITDA was at INR 1,297 crore, at 14.7% as compared to INR 1,346 crore, at 16.9% last year. Financial year 25 revenues for flooring was at INR 889 crore, down by 4.1% year-on-year, and EBITDA of INR 74 crore, that is 8.3%. In quarter four of financial year 25, we spent INR 106 crore towards CapEx, majorly towards TAL project at Anjar.
For the full year financial year 25, CapEx stood at INR 701 crore versus our guidance for total year CapEx, which was INR 860 crore. As per our board-approved distribution policy, we continue to distribute minimum 25% of our profits to our shareholders. The board, during its meeting held today on 29th May, has proposed 170% dividend distribution for financial year 25, amounting to a distribution of INR 163 crore, being 25% of that for financial year 25, subject to the approval in the annual general meeting. As had been informed earlier, the board had, in financial year 24 and in financial year 25, approved a total capital outlay of INR 997 crore in Anjar in two phases for various expansions through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Welspun Home Solutions Limited, to be spent over financial year 25 to financial year 27.
The project for additional Terry towel capacity of 6,400 metric tons at an outlay of INR 341 crore is already nearing its completion in Anjar. The board noted a further spend of INR 200 crore planned for financial year 2026 out of the total outlay already approved inter alia, increasing Terry towel loom capacity to produce additional 3,600 metric tons per annum, and the consequent increase in curtains capacity and creating additional storing capacity for bed sheets. This would increase our Terry towel capacity to 1,000,000 metric tons per annum. The internal capacity expansion would decrease the variability and in the cost of outsourcing, ensuring better customer service and profitability. In addition, a maintenance capex of about INR 100 crore would be spent in de-bottlenecking, modernizing, and for balancing equipment during the year financial year 2026, hence taking the total expected capex at INR 300 crore.
In view of the prevailing situation, as outlined by Deepali earlier, we are unable to provide a firm guidance for the current financial year at the moment. As the situation settles down to some extent, we will come back in the ensuing quarters. With this, I leave the floor open for question and answer. Thank you.
Thank you. 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 the touch-tone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use their handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. Once again, ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to ask a question, please press star and one.
The first question comes from the line of Vishal Mehta from IIFL Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hi. Thanks for taking my question. Am I audible?
Yes, yes, yes. Yeah.
So firstly, on the branded segment on home textiles, we've seen a sharp re-growth this quarter and resultantly also on full year basis, our revenues are near flat. So what happened here this quarter specifically and especially that this is a growth segment for the company, how do you look at the growth for this segment?
So in the branded in India, I can say that we have actually grown annually by 3% because of the challenges that we saw in the economy and the demand. But in the quarter four, we actually saw a 16% growth in the B2C. So that was very, very encouraging.
And we are poised towards our 30% growth this year in our domestic market. So that I'm very confident about. And Welspun, as you know, is our affordable brand that actually we are going to all the towns and cities and Spaces as our aspirational brand. So that is where we are. So we are poised towards a journey of a brand going to around INR 1,200 crores in the next two years. However, I must also add here that a branded segment totally, which includes our global brands like Christy and our licensed brands and including the Spaces, they have actually the brand they've grown to INR 1,700 crores this year. So that has been very heartening.
So overall, our branded business, it has remained, of course, as you said, it has remained at the same level because we had certain brand orders last year, which came into the quarter four and which has in this year moved to quarter one. But if you see quarter four, we have grown by 21% in the whole branded segment. And our entire branded segment has moved to about INR 1,280 crores. Yeah. So I was actually specifically asking on the global branded piece. That is showing us sharp de-growth. Thank you. So overall, global branded, as I said, it is at a break-even level uninstalled. So we hit about INR 1,158 crore last year. Similar is the same this year. This year, of course, we have done higher, but impact of it will come in quarter one because last year, quarter four, we had some higher orders.
And so otherwise, the branded business is continuing to grow. So we are poised towards the growth here. Let me just put it very, very categorically. It is just a matter of orders moving from one quarter to the other in terms of licensed brands, but Christy continues to grow. And our Spaces brand had a chance. Spaces and Welspun will continue to grow
at a growth of 30% this year. Okay. Got it. And on flooring, that continues to struggle despite our supply chain situation easing considerably compared to previous quarter and this quarter. So any color there?
Yeah. So flooring actually gets the impact at the very, very fast compared to the others because earlier it was the Red Sea challenges that we saw in the quarter three. And now with the Houthi challenges and the tariff, actually in quarter four, nobody picked up our goods.
They actually held it on till there was some clarity on the tariff situation. However, let me tell you that in our soft flooring, we saw an upside, and we'll continue to also see an upside in the hard flooring at the moment because of the China plus one opportunity that we are seeing here, so one more thing I must say that we are partnering with the home improvement national chains and the OEMs and hospitality, so that will actually see some upside here, so yes, flooring has been a little muted, but we are confident in the future that we'll be able to strive towards this, and domestic flooring actually has grown by 12% this year.
Okay. Last question on B2B exports. They have grown well this quarter, but they seem to have been coming at lower margins.
What has been a major driver of growth personally for this kind of a growth this quarter? And given the tariff situation, how do you see the growth and margins to play out in this segment?
So first of all, let me tell you, while home textiles exports grew by 2% in quarter four, but if I look at the entire FY 2025, it was at 11%. And that actually in these times is quite encouraging. And while the margins actually are sort of, it's a matter of one quarter or the other. But this quarter actually, because the offtake was a little slow, and hence that got impacted on our home textiles margins. So that's where we are. Otherwise, we are poised towards taking on the market leadership while one in we can say four towers is in America and also the same in U.K.
So that's the opportunity that we see now post the United Kingdom's FTA. That's again a great opportunity for us. I think your home textile export actually has grown well this quarter, right? You have said that they grew only 2%, but I think the slide 10 and 11 of your presentation probably shows a very good growth on your global B2B and home textile B2B. So look, the home textile actually quarter four grew by 2% only. Let me be, I think that's very, very clear. I think there might be a confusion. Annually, 11% growth we've had. And we are very bullish about this segment, which will continue to grow. And that is single upper digit number.
Okay. Sorry. Join back.
Yeah, please do. Yeah.
Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to ask a question, please press star and one.
The next question comes from the line of Prerna Jhunjhunwala from Elara Capital. Please go ahead.
Hello, ma'am. Ma'am, just wanted to understand the reason for margin pressure that is coming in this quarter and how is U.S. tariff going to impact our performance in the first half of this year versus the full year?
So the margins actually, as I spoke about it earlier as well, it is also the matter of we just grew by 2%. And we couldn't ship some inventory because it was held up because of the tariff uncertainty in the home textile. And that's where we could have that challenge. Now, when we talk about the tariff, Prerna, and we all know that there's an uncertainty here. And hello?
Hello. Yeah, ma'am. I'm there. Yeah.
So while the government, the U.S. government has put a pause for 90 days, that has been a little relief on this. But we are working very closely with our customers. And I think, Prerna, can I be very candid here? There have been challenges of COVID, and there will be challenges earlier as well. And this is another challenge of tariff. But the relationships that we have with our customers over two decades, they remain absolutely stable. There is opportunity here where we are working very closely with their supply chain team. So that has actually helped us to tide over this. And that's where we feel very confident. One more thing is that we are working with one of the Big Four firms to guide us on the effective measures to minimize the overall tariff impacts and risks. So again, the challenges are there of tariff.
This will tide over. Welspun is not built for today or tomorrow. It's built for 100 years and over a legacy that we're going to create. Let me be very clear on that as well. And shops are there. So that actually keeps our relationships very, very strong with the retailers here.
So there's undoubtedly that we're not really bothered on the continuity of the business. What we are just trying to understand the impact that tariffs could bring in, given your higher exposure to the U.S. in the near term. And we should be, I mean, we should not be caught off guard if there is a sharp dip or a sharp improvement in any of the years or quarters.
That's why I'm happy to share. Yeah. Yeah. I'm sorry.
I'm happy to share a few. I want to share something. We usually were 80% America. Now we can say that it has now diversified to 60%-65% United States. The rest is the rest of the world, actually. That has become a great opportunity. As we spoke earlier, now 10%-12% also is becoming a brand share of our top line. This is something pretty healthy, as we say, as we go forward.
Okay. The second question was FTA. You have a decent exposure in U.K. as well. How are you progressing on that geography and connecting with clients to increase exposure over there? That would be helpful.
U.K., actually, let me tell you, one in every four towels in the U.K. till today is, I mean, I can say positively, Welspun despite we had a disadvantage earlier. But now with the U.K. FTA, this has become a very big potential to expand our footprint, not only in towels but in sheets. And we are already seeing good, healthy conversations happening with a lot of retailers. So this has been very positive, Prerna. And any opportunity for flooring over there? Yes. Yes. Soft flooring, hard flooring, advanced textiles, both in U.K. and Europe. And as you already know that Europe, also there are a lot of conversations happening on the FTA. And by July, we'll see a visibility there as well. I hope that's also positive. But yes, the opportunities in textiles, soft flooring, hard flooring, then advanced textiles as well.
Okay.
The last question is on guidance. I missed your initial part. If you have mentioned the guidance for revenue growth this year and margin guidance, if you have given any if you're giving anything for this year.
Prerna, this is very, very. I mean, I'll say the headwinds, global headwinds, we can clearly see. We are in these dynamic times. I don't think so we'll be able to give any kind of a guidance. We will see how BTA comes along. However, I will reinstate that our relationships with our customers hold strong in the United States. We will definitely be around a kind of a decent kind of we are well positioned to have kind of a decent kind of a position, let me tell you. The U.K. and Europe and rest of the world will also see some upside here.
So I just want to tell you that too.
Thank you, ma'am. And all the best in this tough time. Thank you.
Thank you, Prerna.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Tanish Kinsara from Antique Stock Broking Limited. Please go ahead.
Thank you for the opportunity. Am I audible?
Yes.
So do we continue to maintain our guidance of INR 15,000 crore by FY27? Or there will be any deviation due to the current uncertainty?
So I'll tell you, our North Star is INR 15,000 crore. Maybe a little aberration of six months here and another year that side. And with a 15%-16% EBITDA. That we hold strong. It is just an aberration of just timing that might happen because of these kind of global dynamics. But we hold absolutely onto that number.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you.
The next question comes from the line of Nitin Shakdher from Green Capital Single Family Office. Please go ahead.
Hi. Good afternoon. This is Nitin Shakdher from the Green Capital Single Family Office. So obviously, my question is not on margins as a typical analyst would ask. I'm asking a question more from an investor's point of view. So the value and the management team at Welspun, I mean, obviously, we all know that U.S. revenue is 63%-65%. U.K. EU 16%-17%. And India is about 13%, and the rest of the world is about 7%-8%. So can I specifically just ask about some risk-hedging strategies that the management is doing to increase the revenue mix from U.K. or EU or India or newer markets like Scandinavia, Japan, Switzerland? Obviously, because U.K. and Switzerland have signed the FTA, I understand that there are strong relationships with U.S. customers.
But doesn't the opportunity seem larger in these other geographies than just some risk-hedging strategies what the management has as part of their strategy?
So hi. So as I actually spoke about it earlier. I mean, till five years ago, we were talking about 80% of the revenue came from United States of America. Now it has been diversified, and it stands at around 60%-65%. And we are de-risking our businesses. And I mean, we see our growth coming in U.K., EU, GCC, ANZ, and Japan. They are our focus markets. And actually, this quarter also, while U.S. slowed down for us, but we saw a growth in Europe and rest of the world over around 30%. So definitely, the de-risking is going on.
When we talk about the brand portfolio, which is our global brands, whether it is Christy or Creative Collabs and Martha Stewart and others, along with our domestic brand Spaces and Welspun, they are around 10%-12% of our top line now. So literally, I mean, we are working towards hedging our risks across our typical portfolio here. Along with this, when we talk about home textiles, we have other categories to talk about, the soft flooring, hard flooring, and advanced textiles as well. So yeah, that's where we are.
Okay. I will advance a bit. Yes. Thank you. Just to follow up to that, obviously, as we all run businesses, and I do understand that it takes time to create a revenue mix change from geographies, and it's a process.
But are you seeing any higher value and more margins in the, so to say, economically richer countries like U.K. or Switzerland or Scandinavia or Japan and any products which you think will do better there for the clients there?
So one thing, let me tell you, U.S. is a big market for sure, which has those kind of kind of richer margins. But now when I talk about U.K. and the kind of retailers like John Lewis and the others, the margins tend to get better comparatively. Japan, again, is another economy where you see better margins. And Scandinavia, again, gives you good volumes. And we have a license for Disney in U.K. and Europe. That actually has opened more doors towards East European countries where there are a lot of retailers who have a footprint of more than 2,000 stores.
So that, again, has given us a huge opportunity towards that penetration that side as well. So I think it's going to be a mix of everything. Whether it's going to be a mix of volume, it's going to be a mix of margins, it's going to be a mix of categories. And the advantage that Welspun has is that it has a complete home textile portfolio, whether it's towels, bath rugs, bedding, sheets, utility bedding across exports as well.
Yeah. Okay. Great point. Thanks a lot, Prana, to the management at Welspun. I always like to think that these are opportunities, and shifts will always increase more revenue for us. So all the best for that. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Jay Balan from ValueQuest. Please go ahead.
Hi. Good evening. Just had a question.
Are there any plans to increase capacity to cater to this new demand in the EU and UK with the FTA?
Hi. So as we had informed earlier and also today that we are putting up towel capacity of 6,400 metric tons, which is going to start very soon, and an additional 3,600 metric tons. So we are increasing our towel capacity by 10% internally. So we will utilize it for the growth that we are expecting from all our markets, including the UK.
Okay. And how long does this expansion take in terms of how many months?
The expansion?
Yes. Like to set up a new plan.
As I said, 6,400 metric tons in the next month or hardly two months. And the balance would come by third quarter to fourth quarter.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Raj S. Vyas.
Vyas from TM Investment Technologies Private Limited. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi. Thanks for the opportunity. I just wanted to understand. You have mentioned that the demand scenario was not that great in Q4 because of these direct implications, right? But we have also seen that we have got a 90-day pause. That itself speaks that 90 days reflect one quarter. So how are things panning right now at the moment? Is the demand improving, or it's a little bit the same that we have discussed, that it's not at the mark?
So in quarter one, we are seeing some decline in orders due to the cautious order patterns from customers because everybody is wary about what's going to happen next.
But we have also adopted a kind of a proper approach and planned shipments only based on the confirmed orders and written confirmations from customers to avoid any inventory risk. So there are ongoing discussions that are happening, and the clarity is emerging on the approach with different customers. And everything is very, very different. So every customer is reacting different and specifically. So that's where it is. However, let me just tell you, these are interim blips that come in, and they'll also pass off like COVID did.
Okay. And if in case as many as we are expecting that in the coming few days, we will see India-U.S. Free Trade Deal also happening, right? So if it happens, then where do we see the numbers going ahead? Because you've already mentioned, I guess, INR 15,000 crore in the north and 15%-16% of EBITDA, right?
So this was for which period that you spoke about? So this is for a period of 2027-2028. That's what we spoke about. And I clearly said that this could have a kind of a little blip because of the aberrations that are there in the kind of global environment. So that's what it is. But we hold this as a North Star, and we are working towards that only. So the challenges will be there, but our focus and our strategy is working towards this.
Okay. But any ballpark number that you have set internally for this year, this financial year? I know you have a big year.
No, we cannot give any yeah. No. See, I'll tell you one thing. Even if I give you any number today, it'll not hold tomorrow because these are such dynamic times.
And I think we all understand that because today there's something on social media, and you'll understand there's something tomorrow. So we'll wait, and we'll wait, and we are waiting to see how this pans out, and we'll take a call. But quarter one, as I said, is going to be a little slow because everybody is very cautious about how are they going to take off goods, right?
Understood. Yeah. Yeah. That's it from my side. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Monish Ghodki from HDFC Mutual Fund. Please go ahead.
Hello. Thank you for the opportunity. So as U.S. has put 10% baseline tariff on all imports, are customers asking us to bear some part of it? Are renegotiations happening in terms of pricing?
So, this is a conversation that I think we all are having closely in terms of, and every retailer we are working very through this. And somewhere, there are opportunities here where we are working with one of the Big Four to see how we can mitigate these tariffs as well. So that is something that we are doing. Certain retailers, we are looking at different things, different opportunities. So yeah, every retailer has a very different way of looking at this. But let me just tell you that Welspun has a very strong relationship with all the key retailers. It is a strategic relationship running over two decades. And so it's a very, very kind of a partnership conversation that is going on right now.
Okay. And second question, you said that U.S. share is 65% and non-U.S. is 35%.
Could you give a granular breakup as to which regions or countries these 35% constitute?
They are U.K., Europe, GCC, Japan, Australia, New Zealand. These are the countries. And also, I want to say in this, we also have a brand, global brands that are like Christy, Spaces, Welspun, and Creative Collabs and our licensed brands that contribute around 10% to 12% of our top line.
Okay. So how much growth has happened in non-U.S. exports, and what kind of growth are you expecting in this over, let's say, next maybe two, three years?
So in this quarter, I think I'll give you a perspective of this quarter. Quarter four itself, we had a growth of around 30%-35% in the non-U.S. And that's what we have seen that very encouraging.
And now with the FTAs happening, with the U.K. FTA that has just happened, that again will become a great opportunity for opening more doors and more competitive with Pakistan and Bangladesh, and secondly, also with Europe. So I think I actually see it as a very positive way forward for Welspun and for India towards taking on the market share in the rest of the world.
Okay. Okay. Thank you, ma'am.
Thank you. Thank you so much.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Viren Deshpande from AlphaPeak Investment. Please go ahead.
Hello. Hello. Am I audible?
Yes, you are.
Regarding the margins, we have been facing pressure, but what is the raw material cost scenario that is cotton and raw material?
So the raw material cost yesterday was around INR 55,000-56,000.
Now with the MSP that the government has imposed, I mean, it is looking like around 7%-8% increase on cotton, which will actually go to around INR 62,000 per candy. So that's where we see the raw material cost right now. But we have a coverage till September, so we actually always take on a forward cover on this. So that's where we are.
So in this quarter, what was the average cost for us?
About INR 55,000-INR 56,000.
Okay. So we hope to maintain the price at the same the cost at the similar level for the first half.
Correct.
Yeah.
Okay. In the second half, the prices may go up. Yeah.
That is for us to see how that pans out. Yeah.
Yeah. Actually, it will depend on the crop and monsoon and everything.
Yeah. Yeah.
As we said, we are covered till September already.
Okay. Overall, the tariff scenario, etc., has a lot of uncertainties prevail. But these export-linked incentives, which we used to get, what is the current status of those incentives?
So we have RoSCTL, which is being given.
Yeah.
So that is the no change in that.
No change in that. Actually, and PLI benefits, are we eligible?
No. We didn't go for PLI benefits. PLI is basically more for small-scale manufacturers. So we didn't go.
Currently, what is our exports to U.K.? Because the treaty which has been signed, maybe after one year, the benefits of that could come. So currently, out of the rest of the world, about 35%. How much is the export to U.K.?
9%. So of the 35%, 9% is our U.K. business.
As Deepali said earlier, UK FTA, as it gets effective, will definitely benefit the business because we are already present there through our own subsidiary. We are selling to all the big retailers there in the better and best category. So we will take more market share.
Okay. Okay. Thank you and all the best.
Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to ask a question, please press star and one. The next question comes from the line of Jayesh Gandhi from Harshad H. Gandhi Securities Private Limited. Please go ahead.
So my question is again relating to UK FTA. So in UK, I think we are mainly selling towels.
Suppose this U.K. FTA and possibly Europe is selling bedsheet and maybe other products, is going to be a fast ramp-up of sales since we will not have the 9% and 10% disadvantage that Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Turkey used to enjoy? Or is it going to be a tougher affair, and in continuation to that, if that is the case, then where do you see the geographical sales mix in the next three years? I mean, for U.K. and Europe, do we think we can cross 30% then?
We already actually have crossed that, actually. U.K., Europe, and rest of the world, actually, we are now like 30%-40%, 35% is this share that we have already have, and we can continue.
Now, this will become an added advantage with the UK FTA that is coming in, not only because we used to be actually we are number one from India in UK towel imports. So that's something that we have.
Sorry to cut you in between, madam. I was just talking about UK and Europe. I think we are some 16% or 17% of total sales. I'm just talking about Europe and UK. Can it be 30%?
Yes. So UK itself is 9% right now, and Europe will be around 12%. So this is where we are already there. And with the category mix that we can have and an opportunity because it's not just towels, now with sheets, that becomes a good market share to take on. Bath rugs is again an opportunity. Soft floorings, hard floorings, and advanced textile again will be a great opportunity for us.
Got it. This 9% or 10% disadvantage that we had against Pakistan and Bangladesh, can that flow into the bottom line easily, or how can we see it?
No, no. So our imports will become cheaper. We will have the same selling price, but imports in UK and EU will become cheaper. So we will have more saleability in UK. It will not impact any of the pricing or markets.
Because we are already competing with Pakistan and Bangladesh. So it's a good opportunity. It will actually become a level playing field for us. Got it. And one last question on our tax rates. What is the tax rate that we should work with? I think we are closer to like 30%. Is that the rate we should work?
Our ETR for financial year 2025 is 25%, and we should be able to maintain it in the future.
Okay.
That's all from my side, and good luck for the future.
Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to ask a question, please press star and one. As there are no further questions, I will now hand the conference over to the management for their closing comments.
So thank you for your time today. And as we look ahead to FY 2026 and beyond, we are mindful of the evolving macro and trade landscape. The recent tariff implementation is one such development we are watching closely. Whether the situation remains dynamic, it underscores the need for agility and foresight. This year is shaping up to be both challenging and dynamic, calling for a strategic repivoting of our products and go-to-market approach. Within the current uncertainty, we find a certain clarity, an opportunity to innovate, sharpen operational excellence, and double down on the India opportunity.
In many ways, the chaos around us also presents structure, revealing pathways for value creation and leadership. We see this as a pivotal moment for India in the global textile space, and Welspun is well-positioned to seize the opportunity ahead through our diversified global strategy, continued investments, and established leadership. At this stage, given the evolving external environment, it is difficult to provide definitive guidance for FY 2026. However, we are actively assessing developments and will share a clearer outlook once we have better visibility. We remain committed to creating sustainable value for all our stakeholders through responsible growth, ESG leadership, and a sharp focus on execution. Thank you.
Thank you. On behalf of JM Financial Institutional Securities Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your line.