Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to the GE T&D India Limited Earnings Q3 and FY 2024 conference call. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star then zero on your touchtone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Ms. Megha Gupta from GE T&D India Limited. Thank you, and over to you, ma'am.
Thanks, Gorakh. Good evening, everyone, and a very Happy New Year. We welcome you all to the GE T&D India Limited earnings call for the third quarter and nine months of the financial year ending 2023-2024. I am Megha Gupta from GE T&D India Finance and Investor Relations team. We're delighted to have you all here on the call. During this call, we will discuss company's financial performance, including operational highlights. We'll share key updates and will address any questions that you may have. Before we begin, I would like to highlight few important notes for today's call. Firstly, we have just declared results for the third quarter and nine months of the financial year ending 2023-2024. The said results are now available on our company's website. Further, we have also prepared an analyst presentation for the quarter, which will be discussed during the call.
The said presentation have been emailed to you and is also available on our company's website. Also, I would like to take a moment to remind everyone that today's discussion may contain few forward-looking statements which are subject to risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on our current expectations, and actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied. We encourage you to refer to our public filings and disclosures for comprehensive understanding of the factors that could impact our future performance. With this now, let me introduce GE T&D India management team available on the call. During this call, we will be joined by Mr. Sandeep Zanzaria, CEO and MD of the company. Along with him, we are also joined by Mr. Sushil Kumar, Whole-Time Director and CFO of the company, Mr. Abhishek Srivastava, Head, Business Operations, Ms. Kanika Arora, Communications Leader. Ms. Anupriya Garg, Company Secretary of the company.
We will be having a dedicated question and answer session towards the end of the presentation, where you can ask your questions and seek clarification on any topic of your interest. Thank you once again for joining us today. We appreciate your continued support and trust in GE T&D India Limited. Now, I'll hand over the call to Sandeep for his opening remarks. Over to you, Sandeep.
Thanks, Megha, and good evening, everyone. Appreciate you taking the time to join us today and for your continued interest in GE T&D India Limited. I'll begin by providing a brief overview of our third quarter of the financial year FY 2023-2024. After that, I will pass on to my colleagues to share further operational and financial highlights. Globally, there is an increasing focus on energy transition, and that is leading to expansion of power markets, including India, and that presents a great opportunity for a company like ours. With priorities on grid expansion, modernization, and digitization, along with the commitment to market-driven solutions, the sector is poised for a significant growth.
Driven by this rising demand in global and Indian market, we are excited to share a continued surge in our order book in Q3, which saw a booking of INR 23.7 billion, up by 204% year-on-year. Customer trust in our reliable and high-quality transformers has fueled order growth, cementing our leading position in this segment. A few of the key orders that we have received include grid solutions with GE Grid Solutions for supply of AC/DC transformers and from Power Grid Corporation of India for supply of 765 kV power transformers and shunt reactors for their various transmission projects in India. Apart from transformers, we have also secured an order from BHEL for supply of 420 kV GIS for the NTPC Talcher Stage 3 project, among many other wins which have been highlighted in the presentation.
Our Q3 revenues stood at INR 8.4 billion versus INR 7.8 billion in Q3 FY 2022-2023, up by 8% year-on-year, with a notable increase in our profits. On a nine-month basis, our FY 2023-2024 revenues stood at INR 22.5 billion versus INR 20.7 billion in 2022-2023, up by 8.9% year-on-year. Our profit before tax for the quarter was at INR 750 million, compared to INR 124 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. From a nine-month perspective, the profit before tax stood at INR 1,619 million, versus INR 269 million in the nine-month period of FY 2022-2023.
This improvement in profitability and balance sheet paved the way for the company becoming debt free in Q3, with a positive cash flow and cash equivalent of INR 1,573 million. Cash generation was at INR 1,687 million during the third quarter of FY 2023-2024, and INR 3,303 million during nine months of FY 2023-2024. This achievement can be attributed to global energy landscape that is seeing expedited pace of energy transition across sectors, including power. Export orders were up during the quarter, driven by transformers and high voltage product, reaffirming our Make in India for India and the world approach. Lastly, our continuous focus on adopting a lean mindset and implementing operational efficiency has allowed us to streamline our processes, reduce waste, and optimize resource allocation.
The accomplishments of this quarter not only highlight our expertise, but also showcase our ability to provide innovative solutions that meet the evolving demands of India's energy landscape. CEA has issued a draft energy plan, National Electricity Plan, which covers the assets created in 2017 to 2020, detailing the plans for the period of 2027, and the prospective plan for the period of 2027 to 2032. This plan gives us strong confidence on the future of transmission. We are seeing technology domains like HVDC, both LCC and VSC, STATCOM, digital substations, forming the backbone of the future growth. We are dedicated to concreting a sustainable and resilient energy future for India, and eagerly anticipate the exciting opportunities that lie ahead. I would like to sincerely express our thanks to all the stakeholders of GE T&D India Limited. Thank you, and now I invite Abhishek for the insights.
Thanks, Sandeep. Continuing with our endeavor to create the grid for future, we commissioned four more key substations for our customers in the last quarter. The first one was for Power Grid at Kopili, which is in the state of Assam. The substation is a 132 kV GIS substation, where we commissioned the GIS base plus a 150 MVA transformer. This is going to improve the reliability of power available in the state of Assam. This serves as a power evacuation substation for a 200-MW NEEPCO hydropower plant. The second key achievement for us in the last quarter was to commission the first inter-state transmission project for ReNew. This was the first renewable energy evacuation transmission system that they have set up.
So it is a 1,500 MW power evacuation system, improving the reliability for the state of Karnataka. And the scope was predominantly 400 kV AIS. We commissioned 125 MVAR reactors, which were our own supply, and 500 MVA ICT. The third substation was the biggest interstate transmission project for Adani, which is at WKTL Warora, which was the last substation that we commissioned in the month of October. This is a big 765 kV AIS scope, and in that also, we commissioned 80 MVAR single phase reactors, in addition to the AIS bay that we had. The fourth key addition for us was at the BPC Chumdo, and this is in Bhutan, wherein we commissioned 80 MVA transformer, along with 220 kV GIS bay. This substation again, it is noticeable to say that it's going to strengthen the transmission network of the country of Bhutan. So with this, I hand over to Sushil for further updates.
Thanks, Abhishek. Good evening, everyone. Talking about orders on page six, Sandeep already mentioned the numbers. So basically, for the quarter, we achieved INR 23.6 billion of orders, which was almost three times the order that we booked in the quarter three of last year. Similarly, on a nine-month basis, we had INR 44.5 billion of orders compared to INR 18.6 billion of order in the last nine months of the last financial year, representing 2.4x increase. Key orders Sandeep already spoke about . Talking about our financial performance on page 7, our revenue increased by about 8% in the quarter, and we achieved about 8.3%, 3 billion of revenue in the quarter.
However, a remarkable improvement in the performance happened in terms of profitability, whether in terms of EBITDA or profit before tax or profit after tax. We generated an EBITDA of INR 923 million, and this was 11% of revenue and represented a six-point increase versus the quarter four- quarter three of the last financial year. Similar improvement in the profitability happened throughout the other key parameters, like profit before tax and profit after tax. Similarly, on a nine-month basis, we had a revenue of INR 22.5 billion, representing 8.9% increase. However, the EBITDA also did, well, it performed well, wherein we generated EBITDA of INR 2.2 billion, which was five percentage points higher than the last year, nine months. Our EBITDA for the nine months stand at around 10%.
As Sandeep mentioned, we became debt free, and now we have cash and cash equivalent of about INR 1.5 billion with us. I would also like to highlight the change in the directorship that happened in this quarter. Mr. Rathindra Nath Basu is appointed as the chairman and board of director. He's appointed in, under the category of, independent director. And in addition, we had two non-independent non-executive directors, Frédéric Armand and G. William Darley. Their detailed profile are also given in the presentation. Now, talking bit more about the financial numbers, on page 8, we have given the split of order booking, revenue and orders in hand. In terms of orders, that could be INR 3.4 billion.
54% of the orders were received from the domestic market, and about 46% orders were from the export market. This will really highlight the shift that is gradually happening between domestic and export market. We have basically increased our share of order booking more from the export market. Revenue, 39% of the revenue for the quarter was in the export market, and 61% revenues from the domestic market. In terms of order in hand, 22% of order in hand was from the private segment customer, about 20% orders from the country utility, and about 8% of orders from the state utility. On page 9, we have given some of the financial plans, how we are making progress in terms of our financial performance quarter-on-quarter.
Every quarter from the last five quarters, we have been improving on almost all important KPIs. I will take a couple of minutes on page 10. In today's Audit Committee and Board Meeting, the board of directors approved certain additional related party transactions. Since these are material related party transactions, these will require the shareholder approval. In the due course of time, we will send the postal ballot notice for the consideration of the shareholder. I will talk about these three related party transactions now. The first one is LM Wind Power Blades India Private Limited. So we have already sought approval of the shareholders to the extent of borrowing from the cash pool, the cash pool from this entity for INR 5 billion, and an inter-corporate deposit that we can place with this entity to INR 1.5 billion.
As we mentioned, we already have about INR 1.5 billion cash, and our effort is to generate and to use more cash for the company in the coming quarters to come. So we're seeking additional approval of INR 3.5 billion for the inter-corporate deposit and lending to the cash pool, taking the total lending limit to INR 5 billion. So that's the one resolution in the postal ballot that will happen. The second and third are related to the increased volume that we expect from the export market through our group companies, mostly for our high voltage product business. So for Grid Solutions SAS and Grid Solutions Middle East, we expect, and we are in discussion with these companies for additional volume of about INR 10 billion. The expected timeline is going to be most likely Q1 of the next financial year.
That's our aim. But, let's say, next six months, before the next AGM, we will have this INR 10 billion of order booking that we are negotiating, and hence we'll seek shareholder approval for the same as well. In case the shareholders have any questions about these transactions, you are welcome to ask any question. With that, we'll now open up for the question. Thank you.
Thank you very much. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touchtone phone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use handsets only while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question is from the line of Parikshit Kandpal from HDFC Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi, Sandeep. Congratulations on a great quarter, sir. I think this is the third quarter of the continued turnaround for the company, and we have become net cash as well. My first question is on, we have been positively surprised by the related party transaction. Order booking is going up, and we had earlier with Grid Solutions U.K. and other entities. So how do you see this related party transaction, and do you think there is still a little bit scope for next year for order bookings from the group companies?
So thanks, Parikshit. So I think, you know, as you are aware, that energy transition is not only an Indian phenomenon, but it's a global phenomenon. So I think, one of the aspects that we are seeing, there is a surge of demand which is coming from a lot of geographies. So I think, this is where we are also supporting our group companies in acquiring the orders and, being a part of the energy transition globally. So...
Yeah, but my question was, are you looking at more such kind of opportunities? Do you think the volume of business increasing even from here on, I mean, for the next year?
Yeah, definitely. That's the target, to increase the volume of the business as well.
Okay.
We are also. This is something like the approval what we are taking. The deliveries are not going to be like in a 12-month timeframe, but it's going to be a bit extended timeframe.
Yeah. Okay. So that was my second question. I mean, generally the companies or peers are talking about underinvestment in capacity building globally and as well as in India. So for your order book, we have been winning new orders, but, I think INR 1,000 crore we've been winning in this quarter, INR 2,400 crore, but we have been lagging behind in terms of execution ramp up. So has the lead time of deliveries increased only potentially because of the shortage in, in the capacity? So if you can help us quantify what is the current capacity utilization, and what is have been the elongation in the delivery lead time for the new products?
So Parikshit, I'll just say here that, okay, for example, today, when we are looking, and when we are looking at about INR 1,000 crore for the quarter, you'll see there's a substantial part which has been associated with transformers and reactors, and transformers and reactors have a slightly higher delivery in the market. Like, the deliveries are starting from, like, 12-15 months to 18-24 months. And when we look at, for example, the HVDC transformers what we have booked, the delivery is at two years plus. So, and we expect that maybe after a quarter or so, the ramp up of execution will also start, and the revenues will also start growing up. That is the expectation.
Okay. And just a last question on capacity expansion, sir. It's, I mean, we've seen both export demand as well as demand from domestic market. So what will be the current capacity utilization, and any plans for further expansion and capacity, and what could be the CapEx outlay for that?
So, you know, capacities, of course, for example, with our lean, we have ensured that the factories have, like, the bays which were earlier used for kind of one voltage level are now used for multiple voltage levels. So capacity-wise, we have made our factories more flexible, depending upon the load which is coming. And, for many of the factories, we are—I would still not say that we have reached a kind of 100% capacity limit for looking for an expansion. So first thing would be that, to reach that limit, and then also there would be other, like, lean projects, et cetera, that how to debottleneck capacities.
And then CapEx also can be done, like, for example, if there is a debottleneck in one process, you just debottleneck that process and then increase the capacity. So capacity expansion doesn't mean that you have to put up a new factory only. So based on the requirement and based on this thing, we are constantly evaluating, and whenever there is something like that, definitely, we will be taking the calls.
Okay. Okay, sir. Thank you, and wish you the best.
Thanks, Parikshit.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Mohit Kumar from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Good evening, sir, and thanks for taking my question. My first question is, sir, you have taken a substantial order flow, inflow from U.K., subsidiary U.K. company. Does it impact any way our ability to participate in upcoming domestic HVDC opportunities?
So this is something which is like, kind of, but I don't think that it is going to impact our participation in the domestic HVDC.
Understood. So my second question is that, of course, the domestic pending activities have picked up sharply, but I think it is, it is not translated into order inflow in the third quarter. But does it mean that, the pickup which are happening especially in the Q3, will materialize into a much, much larger order inflow for next, two, three years?
Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Kumar. Your line is breaking, so we are not able to catch your words. Can you please check the line and repeat your question?
Sure. Is it better now?
Yeah, now it is better.
Yes, sir. Yes, so my question was that on the domestic pickup, given the fact that a large amount of pending has happened in Q3 of 2024, and there is a healthy pipeline of TBCB opportunities in the next 12-15 months, does it mean that our order inflow should see a substantial increase in especially in next 12 months? How are you seeing the inquiry from the domestic side?
Yeah, I think, you are right, Mohit, that one, the kind of traction that we are seeing on TBCB market, definitely we'll get the advantage of, booking or the increased market, as the pipeline, the time will be much better. I think the, there will be an impact on the order book situation as well. But we have to also understand the fact that this number contains a large order from GE Grid Solutions, which is like close to about INR 800 crore or INR 8 billion. So that also we, we need to take into factor while, recognizing the number for this quarter of order intake.
Understood. Last question, so why other income was negative during the quarter?
In the first six months, there was a Forex gain, and hence it was recognized as other income in the Quarter One and Quarter Two. But on a YTD nine-month basis, there is a Forex loss, and hence, to the extent of income recognized in the first six months, it has been reversed in the quarter, making YTD nine-month number as nil. And the net loss, Forex loss in the nine months is recognized as other expense. So it's more an accounting of Forex than it is quarter-on-quarter.
Understood. Thank you, and all the best. Thank you.
Thank you, Mohit.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Abhijeet from YES Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah, good evening, sir, and congratulations on a very strong all-round performance. So my question is on the domestic execution front. What we have seen in the last four to five quarters is that the order inflow from domestic side has been strong relatively, but the revenue has declined. Especially if you talk about Q3, we have seen a 10% revenue decline in the domestic business. So can you comment on the execution in the domestic business? What is impacting this kind of slowdown?
So, Abhijeet, I think about the schedule of the project, the timeline when the customer gave us to execute the project, and whatever project, timeline was there, we are executing on time. So as Sandeep mentioned, it is strong order booking in the quarter and nine-month basis. Hopefully, in the coming quarters to come, both domestic and as well as export revenue should pick up.
Right. And, so talking a little bit more on the capacity addition front. So right now, there is no plan of any brownfield or greenfield addition capacity. Is that, is that a right assumption?
Yes.
All right. Because, I mean, in the event of, I mean, we have this idea that, you know, the parent entity has a lot of HVDC orders. And going forward, you know, would there be a capacity constraint in terms of order booking, even if, you know, in terms of the cost structure, in terms of the profitability of the project, the entities agree that we are the one to deliver the project? But if there is a capacity constraint, will that be a concern for us in terms of order booking, you know, particularly large orders like, you know, what we booked recently?
No, I don't think that as of today, capacity concern - capacity constraint has emerged in any way for us to book the new orders. So when the time will come, probably we'll take a decision at that point of time. But, like for example, lot of geographies, the order booking conditions, they come with their own respective conditions as well. So for example, maybe in the Western world, if the orders come with a rider that you need to create local capacity, then probably capacity get created according to the customer demand as well. So I am just saying that, basically we'll have to see the capacity creation depending upon the need. And, also, we are open to it, but today we have no concrete plans of doing it.
Understood, sir. So just one last one. So what is that criteria that, you know, the parent will decide to give a particular order to any entity out of the, number of entities it has globally? So what would be the, those, those variables that, you know, go into this kind of decision-making?
So there are multiple variables, Abhijeet. For example, one, the first one which comes is which all factories or which all geographies are accepted with the customer. That is the first one. Second thing, is also the capacity which is available, which matches the timeframe of the project execution as well. So these are the main considerations. Then, and third, at some times when it is, what is the technical experience of the required, and the product portfolio which is available with an individual factory. So these are the factors which decide from where to buy, globally, these decisions are taken.
Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir. Thanks a lot for answering the questions.
Thank you, Abhijeet.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Umesh Raut from Nomura, India. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Good evening. Congratulations for the good set of numbers. So my first question pertains to ordering from the power sector. Now that you have started material order inflow from power sector, especially from thermal power, and Government of India is planning to add capacity close at about 80 gigawatts over the course of next few years. So what kind of addressable ordering opportunity for a player like GE T&D has from this particular sector?
So Umesh, basically, we are a company which is dedicated to the transmission side. And, you know, the transmission is generation agnostic. Means if it is a renewable generation and requires a transmission, we are there. If it is a thermal generation, requires a transmission, we are there. If it is wind, if it is hydro, so we are the common factor between the various generations which are there. So for us, for example, we are manufacturing the products. The source of generation doesn't matter so much for the hardware products what we have. So for us, if it comes from thermal generation also, we have absolutely no problem in entering that market.
Okay. But specifically talking about these, GIS orders from BHEL, so, how much of total, say, capital outlay this could be in terms of percentage of, say, total cost for the, power plant? How much of opportunity that, you can cater in terms of addressable market?
So if I really look at, for example, it would not be so big. Probably, the requirement of transmission in a thermal power plant will be, like, close to about 10%. So whatever is the CapEx, about 10% is going to form a part of the transmission, which is associated with that power plant. So that means that a power plant is being put up, there's a substation associated with that, so that is there. But what happens is that in order to evacuate that power, then there are multiple substations which are built. If you include those substations as well, then it depends upon the transmission planning and the voltage and number of substations, so that is difficult to predict just offhand. But dedicated as a part of the project, it's close to about 10% of the thermal cost.
Got it, sir. Sir, my second question is more of, in the power sector ordering. So how much market share you have across the sector, especially from private sector? And how is your positioning as per the other competitors?
So, you know, when we look at our competition and all, it is very difficult. As you said, of course, we have a prediction mechanism or the tracking mechanism. But when we really look at competition, it is very difficult to find players who are identical to us in the domain. For example, there are people who are, they're into transmission products, but they don't manufacture. The people who are into manufacturing, but they are not into products. So, so in some sectors, for example, or in some product lines, we have, like, the best market share, the highest or the second highest market share.
But in some where we have a conscious decision not to grow too much of a business because of the risk associated, we have taken a position which is like to do business only with very selected clients and to do a very nominal amount of business. So I would not track it through my market share, but I would be more interested in tracking my profitability and also my profitability and cash. That would be the two metrics which I would like to be tracked rather than market share.
Got it, sir. My third question is related to these related party transactions, which are kind of under approval from the shareholders. So I think, if I'm correct, now, that is a kind of increase to closer to about INR 3,000 crore for FY 2024. And, if I look at export ordering, so how much of that could have been realized in first nine months of FY 2024?
So, Umesh, your question is not very clear. If you can probably elaborate a bit, it'll be helpful.
Yeah. So basically earlier we were kind of under process for getting approval from shareholders for about closer to INR 1,800 crore of related party transactions. But now that there is one new fresh entity which is from Middle East, and there is also additional approval from existing entity which is worth about INR 600 crore more. So basically, total related party transaction approval has now kind of increased to about close to INR 3,000 crore. And as a part of that, you must have received some of the orders as well in first nine months. So basically, in third quarter, you have received closer to INR 800 crore of large orders from GE Grid Solutions. So basically, on this particular line, how much of total orderings you have received out of, say, closer to INR 3,000 crore, which is kind of under approval for FY 2024?
No. So the approval that we have further seeking is for about INR 10 billion for the orders from the co- from the related party customers.
Okay.
That is $6.5 billion from Grid Solutions SAS, and-
Yeah.
INR 3.5 billion from Middle East entity. Now, these INR 10 billion are expected to come, as I mentioned, the timeline is from March to August, before the AGM. And most likely, that we anticipate, if we are able to win this deal, it will be the quarter one or quarter two of the next financial year. It will not fall in the current financial year. In the current financial year, we have booked export order, total orders of INR 44.5 billion. And let me just reflect how much is the export percentage there. Just give me a sec. Maybe we park this question, and I come back to you in a minute about the total export order and how much of those are related to the group company.
Sure, sir. Sir, my last question is pertaining to localization. So, can you please throw some light on key products like GIS substation or, maybe, switchgear, have the switchgear, what kind of localization we have currently? And as compared to other, group companies of GE located across the globe, how Indian arm is kind of, comparatively placed as compared to... on the, on the lines of the localization?
I think, Umesh, that basically, you know, localization is a process. So it's not something that, like, you reach at one point and then you stop it. So, for example, when for the products which we offer, for example, I'm looking at circuit breakers and instrument transformers, there the localization will be in excess of like 80-85%. So that is the thing. Other thing, for example, GIS and all, we have a pretty high, pretty high, because GIS, also what happens is, it depends upon the different voltages, the different, localization factors come into play. But because we were the first to put in the GIS factory, we are kind of leading the localization, in India. And it's a constant effort to keep on developing sources. But I can say that, for GIS also, various ratings, it would be in the north of like 60%-65%, something like that.
Okay. And, to answer to your question on the order booking side, the total nine months, we have booked about, INR 44.5 billion of orders. About 32% of these orders are from the export segment, which takes the, the total order booking from the export, market to around INR 16 billion, roughly. And out of that INR 16 billion, INR 12 billion orders are from the group companies, including the INR 8 billion of, the, the U.K. HVDC transformer order. So these are the numbers for nine months. For the financial, if you want to see the financial year, we'll have further order bookings from the related parties, as well as third parties in terms of export segment for the quarter four.
Got it, sir. Thank you so much. All the very best.
Thank you, Umesh.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Subhadip Mitra from Nuvama. Please go ahead.
Good evening, and thank you for the opportunity. So my question is on the export front. If I have to kind of break down the market sizing of both, let's say the export market that you're looking at, let's say over the next one to two years, and the domestic market, would it be possible for you to give us some color on that?
No, Subhadip, it is very difficult to give a number for the export market and all, because, you know, it's a very large, just like global market we are talking about.
I understand. So let me ask this in another fashion. So if I, you know, were to gain some color from you in terms of how much of export order inflow or sales would you be targeting, let's say, over the next two to three years?
I, I think, let's look at it differently. For us, whether order is from the domestic market or from the export market, we choose the one which is giving us a better profitability and a faster cash generation. We have been talking about selectivity in last couple of years, and that strategy has played off. We've seen improvement in the financial numbers. We have seen improvement in the order booking numbers, both from the domestic as well as export segment. So wherever we get the right opportunity to increase our profitability and cash, we'll choose that offer.
Understood. Understood. So on your current capacity base, you know, your current capacity can support how high a turnover? Would that be another way of looking at it?
So Subhadip, it is, you know, it will also depend upon product mix, voltage mix, business line mix. So this is not a kind of a direct answer to it, that, okay, this is the kind of turnover that we can submit or I can...
I'll give you different explanation on this one. See, the peak revenue that we generated, I think the year 2018-2019, 2017-2018 and 2018-2019, was to the range of INR 42 billion-INR 44 billion. At present, we are running at a rate of, say, INR 30 billion. So capacity is the, or the volume is coming not only from factories, but the turnkey business. Suppose we win an HVDC tender, that does need to add more people, more engineers to generate revenue and profitability. It's difficult to give one-word answer, but yes, we have the past experience and ability to grow our revenue significantly from here.
Understood. Secondly, sir, on the margins, clearly this has been a spectacular quarter in terms of margins. Do you see these kind of margin levels sustainable, or were there any one-offs in this particular quarter, whether with regard to inventory or otherwise?
There is no specific one-off. I think we have a higher confidence in terms of margin as compared to past, and our endeavor is to maintain or improve these numbers.
So similar numbers in the double-digit range is something that you feel is sustainable?
That's our endeavor. Yes, for sure. It depends a lot on the mix of projects in a particular quarter and so on, but over a, let's say, long term, in terms of few quarters, that's where the company is working with.
Perfect. Perfect. Lastly, if you could also tell us what is the nine-month Forex loss number that you have put?
If you can just give me... Yeah. Just a minute. It's about, I think, INR 105 million.
INR 105 million. Okay, understood. I think there was also an earlier question with regard to how much of, your current order inflow in the nine months is export. I don't know if you already answered that.
I answered in the last question that out of INR 34.5 billion, 22% of the INR 16 billion, or about INR 16 billion are from the export segment.
Perfect, sir. That answers all my questions. Thank you so much.
Thank you, Subhadip.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of, Renu Baid from IIFL Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hello?
Hi.
Yeah, hi, sir. Congratulations for strong results, and good to see Basu sir back as the chairperson of the company now. So just I have two small basic questions. One, while you started seeing large, I mean, depending on my export perspective, we had various—we were also exporting earlier, solutions and projects also. But in terms of large product exports, apart from HVDC transformers, there's been large orders coming from the parent. Do you think there could be some scope for switchgears, AIS, GIS also, along with some large system projects? Or probably the global capacities or the local capacities for such projects are sufficient to take care of the requirements.
So Renu, we are looking at an uptick there as well in AIS, GIS. For example, this year we have got an order from Senegal for a GIS project, which is like about more than INR 100 crore. So we are looking at a good traction there as well on AIS, GIS also.
Right, and because traditionally, if you see, as in compared to the other T&D players, GE has been a project company. So it was only during the down cycle where because the orders were not there, it hit us on the negative side. And now when the growth is back, both products and projects should help drive that extra delta in terms of growth rate for us.
Yes.
The second question is just from an academic understanding perspective on the transformer part of the business. If you can just help us understand two small things. Currently, what is the rated transformer capacity that we have? And, are we operating on two shifts, three shifts basis? And YTD at the end of December for 12 months on a TTM basis, et cetera, what is the approximate utilization level based on the two shift or three shift that we're running a transformer capacity?
I will not put it as a, as a MVA capacity kind of thing for transformer, Renu. Primarily because if you, for example, if you manufacture, I'm just saying, HVDC transformer. So HVDC transformer of 300 MVA might be more complex and would be equivalent for maybe like the 700 MVA type of a normal transformer. So it's very difficult to actually put, because a lot of things play in there that whether it's a 755 KV single phase, 400 KV three phase, and there are multiple factors which play into it.
Actually, totally appreciate, because the volume and the mix will anyway bring in 20% kind of volume differential from same capacity, depends on the.
So it's pretty difficult, and then reactor capacity different, and then transformer capacity different. So that's why it's, you know, it's very difficult to predict, kind of a capacity for a transformer plant. That is one thing. Second thing is, we are operating, kind of 2+ shifts today for transformer. And what was the third question?
The same only. Are we working on two shift or three shift basis? And I was just trying to look at some industry, just trying to compare or prepare some industry data points, which is where I was asking for rated installed capacity. So actual production would be 20% higher than that based on the mix. So that doesn't matter. Just looking at, because after many consolidation, it would be close to 28,000 MVA or, would be 32 types.
I will not put a number there, Renu, that whether it's 28,000, 32,000.
Okay, taken. No problem, sir. I think that's understandable. That's it. No other questions from my end. I think strong performance and best wishes going ahead as well.
Thank you, Renu. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Amit Anwani from PL Capital. Please go ahead.
Hi, so thanks for taking my question. My first question pertains to, again, the related party transactions, which you mentioned, INR 10 billion under approval. This one, you said, these orders are... Hello, am I audible?
You are audible, Amit.
You said these orders are extended with extended timelines. So just wanted to understand the timeline for these orders, and are the margins for these orders similar to the base business margins?
The timeline, we are negotiating with the group entities, and in fact, they are also further participating in the bid with the third party customers within these orders. The timeline for entering these will be decided. It's from, most likely, from March to August of this year. Getting these orders in March is less likely, so I'll say like the quarter and quarter from next calendar year, then we expect to have a final outcome of these deals. So these are in favor of GE T&D , and then whenever we get it in.
Actually, sir, in order to understand the duration of the delivery of these orders.
Duration of delivery is about 12-18 months.
Okay.
And so again, it differs different product lines. In some cases, 12-18 months, in some cases, 18-24 months.
Right. And next question on you mentioned that lead time has gone up, and we are seeing a huge surge in the exports, power products market, and domestically also we are looking for, you know, the surge in the ordering from HVDC. So what is your thought? Will the lead time further increase, or this is the scenario you're looking that this will stabilize at the current demand level? Just what is your perspective for next one to two years on the overall market scenario?
Look, Amit, I think the lead times are normally... Of course, there are other factors also for the lead time, like, for example, the availability of the raw material and all as well. Because with today's growth happening globally, even there is some stretch of capacities on the raw material side as well. But I think that the lead times what we have today should be maintainable. That's what we feel, but it will also depend upon how the market and the projects evolve in the short term as well. Like, in a year, what kind of orders get divided, that will also have impact on lead times as well.
Sure, sir. Lastly, wanted to understand from you the status on, you know, the HVDC ordering and domestic market, which we used to highlight, like, for example, so just wanted to understand what is the near-term pipeline and domestic market from HVDC side and overall addressable market here?
So there are three projects which are there, which are being floated by the for TBCB as a developer. So one is in Bhadla, and two projects are from Khavda. So, yeah, the company is actively working with customers on the projects.
Are we expecting in FY 2025?
2035 ?
2025 .
I think, yes, it should get better in maybe next year. Next time, sure, yeah.
Sure, sir. Thanks for taking my question.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Dhruv Agarwal from Niveshaay Investment Advisors. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi, sir. Good afternoon. Good evening, sir. So congratulations on the set of numbers, sir. Sir, basically, what had led to, like, you jump up in order intake of around 119% on quarter-on-quarter basis, sir? Like, from which sector are these major orders coming from, and, like, going ahead, going ahead, from where do you see the major traction coming from, sir?
So the orders are mainly coming because of the growth which is happening in the energy transition, like the renewable projects which are coming up and the transmission capacities which are getting built. So going forward also, that will remain as the main domain from where the orders will come up. And of course, now the Government of India has come up with another plan of 80 GW for thermal and all. So it's basically the increase of generation capacity associated transmission network is the orders what we are getting.
Okay. Like, sir, one more question related to that only. As the government has increased the investment outlay plan of, like, to INR 342,000 crore to INR 475,000 crore for installation of over 500 GW renewable capacity. So what kind of demand we can expect the transformer will contribute, and out of the state transformer demand, what share would company be able to create this, sir?
You know, it is, it is a bit difficult to quantify the numbers in that value, because that's a complete transmission plan that requires right of way, transmission line cost, substation cost, transformer cost, voltages, HVDC. There are a lot of combinations which are there. It's difficult to predict a transformer market out of that.
Sir, market share, can you please quantify, like, if you can give some color?
No, market share we will not quantify, Dhruv.
Okay. Okay, like, sir. And sir, like, what kind of EBITDA margins we can expect in coming year, say, like in 2024, 2025, and the revenue guidance, sir, as well?
So generally, we don't give revenue guidance or margin guidance as a specific number. But as I mentioned in the call, we have a significant uptick in the order backlog. Now, the order backlog is about 58 billion plus INR. So this should give us increase in revenue in the quarters to come. And in terms of EBITDA margin, as I mentioned in the earlier question, that on a nine-month basis, we have been getting an EBITDA of 10%, and our delivery is to maintain and try to improve this further.
Okay. Fair enough, sir. Like, like, last one question, sir. Like, if you compare the sales growth on year-on-year basis, it has increased by 8%, and, and the EBITDA numbers, if you compare on year-on-year basis, it has increased by 110%. But sir, why it is so, sir? Like, is there any increase in fixed prices or reduction in the raw material prices? Can you please specify that, sir?
It's a combination of many factors. The first and foremost, we have taken many, many internal actions to spend on our business. The first theme that we talked in the last two years was the selectivity, that we have been very selective in choosing the deals with less risk, better profitability and faster cash generation. The second is internal productivity in the lean that we talked about. Third factor is the control over cost. The fourth is the mix of the business. We, we are doing less of the turnkey business, which has let's say, higher risk and low margin, and we are higher on the product business and also on the export side. The export business gives better profitability. So all these different combinations have worked well for us to improve profits significantly.
Okay. Like, okay, sir. Fair enough. All the best, sir, for the future. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Jonas Bhutta from Birla Mutual Funds. Please go ahead.
Thank you, sir, for the opportunity, and congratulations on a good set of numbers. Two questions, sir. Firstly, on the gross margin. So if I go back in time, you know, around FY 2020 and right through FY 2024, our, our commentary on gross margins was that, you know, we are operating at sub 30% gross margins, and our target was to take it at a steady state level of 32%, which was, which was always been our long-term average. Now, for the past two quarters, we've sort of clocked about 36-odd%, and which you, you know, sort of alluded to, you know, is, is, is a factor of mix, et cetera.
However, you know, you know, given the current order backlog of INR 58 billion, do you believe that the mix is such that these levels of margins, so this, these are the new normal margins, at least in the current backlog? Because most of these orders, ever since we've changed our strategy, these orders would have come in the last four, five quarters, and, you know, they are all reflective of a substantially higher gross margin than our long-term average.
Yes. So as I mentioned earlier as well, and we have been communicating for a couple of years about focus on profitability and cash generation. So you are right, that we are booking orders of sub-13%, and we have to take it to the range of 30%-32%, which is improvement in execution over the order booking value. But along that side, the action in pricing, finding which areas to target, which customers to target more, we have been able to improve our cycle and, improve our mix of the project, which has helped us to generate about 35% of gross margin on a nine-month basis. As I said, our endeavor is going to continue to focus on this direction. We have better pro-profitability and focus, profitability and as well as the cash generation. So if you also see the cash number, we have generated INR 3.3 billion of cash in the nine months, which is again a result of all the action that we have been undertaking in the last two years or so.
Sure. Could you highlight what is the broad mix between projects and products in our backlog? And what was it maybe start, you know, two years ago?
Jonas, I don't have that much information as of now. Maybe we can have it in the next call. Also, we'll keep a note of that and try to present it in the next call.
Sure, that will be helpful. My second question was on the HVDC orders, particularly that from the group. Is it so that, as in, you know, if the same sort of orders were executed for a domestic client, and the kind of imports that were required, you know, has there been a material change? So, you know, point being just an example, so even if you were executing a domestic HVDC order, at least previously, thyristor valves, etc., were imported. Is that going to be the case even in this export order from the group entity or we've internally developed manufacturing capabilities therein?
Just one clarification here. This is basically the order only for supplier transformers for the HVDC.
Not the terminal bit.
Not the terminal.
Okay.
We are just supplying-
100 kV transformer.
We are just supplying part of transformers for a HVDC project, which is being executed by GE Grid Solutions.
Understood. Understood. The last big question that I had, and I want to squeeze in, is that the pace of growth in our other expenses, if I see in the last three years, has outpaced sales growth. Even in this quarter, while we've done a phenomenal job on gross margins, a lot of what flew through or could have flown through the, to EBITDA was taken away from the higher growth in other expenses. You know, your sales grew at 8%, other expenses grew by almost 14%. Likewise was the case in Q2 FY 2024. What seems to be leading to this kind of growth in other expenses?
So, as I mentioned, for the quarter, we are about INR 100 million of forex effects in forex effects loss, mark to market on the hedge contracts for the quarter, which is more non-cash in nature and more in accounting, the way we have to book profits in the forward contract. If we exclude that, then the increase is more in line with the revenue, in terms of the, the expenses that grow with the revenue. For example, travel or freight and, basically the, the raw materials, etc. So-
So what is active in the negative other income numbers? Sorry, the INR 10 crore FX loss.
So for the quarter, we had about INR 15 crore of Forex loss, but for the first six months, we have recognized INR 5 crore of income in the other income. The way accounting treatment or the representation happened in the financial statement, that this quarter loss of INR 15 crore is first INR 5 crore is offset against the other income, because it was taken INR 5 crore was the gain taken in the first six months. On a nine-month basis, there is no other income, and the balance INR 10 crore is took as a Forex loss in the other expenses. So on a nine-month basis, there is INR 10 crore loss represented in the other expense, and then there... Sorry for the quarter. Yeah, so nine months there is a INR 10 crore loss in the other expense, and for the quarter there is a INR 15 crore loss, INR 5 crore offset it against other income in system and INR 10 crore represented in the other expense.
Got it. Thank you, and all the very best.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Nikhil Abhyankar from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Thank you, sir. Most of the questions are answered. So basically, I want to understand, do we qualify for all the tenders as far as indigenous value addition is concerned for HVDC and STATCOMs?
Just one, I'd like to answer that way, that even in Champa-Kurukshetra , a large part of the HVDC, which included thyristor valves and transformers, were delivered by our local factories. So we are qualified actually for these bids.
Okay. And so is there any addressable market for RDSS scheme opportunities?
Yes, so we have an addressable market for RDSS scheme, and in fact, in this nine months, we have booked few projects which are not of a big value, because RDSS scheme have multiple scopes in it. So normally, our digital business is supporting. So in our RDSS project, our digital offering is close to about somewhere in the range of close to about between 10%-15% of the overall project cost. So those orders have been booked by us during the first nine months.
Okay, those are orders. And what is usually, what is the execution time of these orders?
I think because we are doing the software piece of it, so I think it should be somewhere between 12-15 months.
Okay, understood. And sir, sequentially, earlier in the call, you mentioned margin is a function of mix and operating leverage. So sequentially, our EBITDA margin has improved a little bit. So will you attribute it to better product mix or higher utilization?
Both, actually. Mix as well as mix of projects, mix of different product lines, and as well as execution of projects with better margin.
Okay, sir. Understood. That's all from my side. Thank you.
Thank you, Nikhil.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Inderjeet Singh Bhatia from HDFC Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hello, gentlemen. Thanks for the opportunity. Just a couple of questions. First is, couple of quarters, it was mentioned that we are still working through some of the legacy contracts which were lower margin. Are we done with those contracts? Was there any contribution of those projects in quarter three? That's one. Second is, based on existing order book, would you give us a number as to what could be the blended timeline of execution? 15 months, 18 months, whatever you can share.
So in terms of the projects with lower margin, or let's say the project where we had taken some cost over in the past, the quantum has reduced, but still we may have some of those projects in the backlog. Over a period of next two to three quarters, we expect those projects to be fully executed.
Would you want to hazard and, kind of, give us a number as to 10%, 20%? Is it meaningful contribution?
I think that's very specific information we would not like to share at this moment.
Got it. And on the second question...
Yeah. So, so timeline of execution, again, it depends on the product line. As Sandeep mentioned, some of the projects have timeline of 12-18 months. Some of the projects have-
Blended number for the existing order book?
Difficult to say the blended timeline for the entire backlog.
Yeah.
As we said, that, our revenue is like INR 3,000 crore of revenue, roughly INR 800 crore per quarter. We should have, we should see an uptick in the revenue in the next financial year.
Got it. Got it. Okay. Last question is, in terms of pricing, say some of the larger projects, products like transformers, has there been any serious uptick in pricing, or what you are seeing from the competition, given that, capacity is limited and you're seeing a lot of orders being given out?
So, yeah, I would say that, yes, the pricing has increased. That's what I will say.
Got it. Thank you.
Thank you, Inderjeet.
Thank you. As there are no further questions from the participants, I now hand the conference over to Ms. Megha Gupta for closing comments.
Thank you all for joining us today for GE T&D India Limited earnings call. We hope the insights provided by our speakers have been informative and valuable to you. We value the trust and support of our investors and analysts, and ensure to remain committed to maintaining transparent communication and fostering strong relationships. If you have any further question or require additional information, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or our communications leader, Ms. Kanika Arora. Once again, thank you so much for your participation. We look forward for your continued support as we embark on an exciting journey ahead. Thank you.
Thank you. On behalf of GE T&D India Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us. You may now disconnect your lines.