Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to Alicon Castalloy Limited's Earnings 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 Mr. Mayank Vaswani. Thank you, and over to you.
Thank you, Yasashwi. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us on Alicon Castalloy Limited's Q4 FY24 Earnings Conference Call. We have with us on the call today Mr. Vimal Gupta, Group CFO, and Mr. Rajiv Gupta, Head of Domestic Business of Alicon Castalloy Limited. Mr. Vimal Gupta will cover the operating highlights and financial performance for the quarter, following which Mr. Rajiv Gupta will provide insights on the domestic business as well as developments in the global markets. Thereafter, we shall open the call for the Q&A session. Before we begin, I would like to point out that some of the statements made in today's call may be forward-looking in nature, and a disclaimer to this effect has been included in the earnings documents that have been shared with all of you earlier. I would now like to hand over the call to Mr.
Vimal Gupta for his opening remarks. Over to you, sir.
Good morning to all our investors. Thank you for taking the time out to join our earnings call on a Saturday. I trust that all of you have had a chance to review our earnings documents, which were shared earlier. We are delighted to report the highest ever quarterly revenue for Alicon in quarter four. Firstly, with revenues of INR 421 crore in quarter four, we have surpassed the milestone of INR 400 crore in quarterly revenues for the second successive quarter. This has been driven by efforts to develop capabilities for and some new technology platforms in the auto industry. Expansion into new geographies, renewed focus on value engineering and capability augmentation, and has been supported by positive trends in our established business lines.
In prior earnings calls, we have conveyed to investors to closely track the following three themes that underscore Alicon's business transformation for insights into our progress and evolving business model. We continue to increase the share of passenger vehicle PV and commercial vehicle CV in our product mix. This has reached 52% of sales in FY 2024 compared to 49% in FY 2023. Secondly, our customer profile is evolving with the addition of prestigious global names, including leading global OEMs and Tier One companies, highlighting Alicon's growth stature in the industry. Thirdly, our business composition is shifting towards expertise in design, research and development, and value engineering. Alicon now distinguishes itself by winning business based on innovation, technology, and design, positioning us as a solution provider rather than just a source of low-cost components.
As we continue to adapt and innovate, these themes serve as a key indicator for investors to assess our ongoing transformation and strategic direction. Now, turning to the financial performance for Quarter 4 of financial year 2024, total income reached to INR 421 crores, that is a 31% increase compared to INR 321 crores in Quarter 4 of FY 2023. When compared with total income of INR 406 crores in Quarter 3, this indicates sequential quarter growth of 4%. Revenue growth has been driven by scaling, scaling up of production for new parts and new logos added recently, including many critical parts being supplied to multi customers.
The gross margin for the quarter was 54.1% in Quarter Four financial year 2024, compared to 51.6% in Quarter Four 2023, higher by 250 basis points on year-on-year basis. This is primarily due to the improving product mix and supported by positive impact from the stabilizing of alloy prices at lower levels. There has been a sharp rise in employee costs, which are higher in Quarter Four by 33% on year-on-year basis. About one part of this increase is due to the increment, increase in minimum wage and new hires in line with operational growth and incremental production. The last part, larger part of the increase is due to the impact of the ESOP cost of around INR 3.6 crores for the quarter and INR 14.4 crores for the full year period, which is a non-cash charge.
Shifting our focus on profitability, EBITDA for the quarter four was INR 59 crore, as increased of 78% from INR 33 crore in the same quarter of the last year. The EBITDA margin for the quarter four FY 2024 has improved to 14% in comparison to 10.3% in quarter four of FY 2023. After absorbing the sharp rise in employee cost and increase in other expenses, I'm pleased to share that we have reported an improvement in the EBITDA margin by 370 basis points on year-on-year basis and by nearly 100 basis points on quarter-on-quarter basis. Finance cost was higher by 27% on year-on-year basis from INR 8.6 crore to INR 10.8 crore, in line with the increased borrowing and higher interest rates.
We also witnessed an increase in the depreciation, which was higher by 25% on year-on-year basis, from INR 6.7 crore in Quarter Four last year to INR 20.9 crore in Quarter Four of FY 2024. The increase in depreciation has been driven by addition of new assets, as well as leasing some machines which have been adjusted over a period of maximum usable life of years as per prevailing accounting standard. Thirdly, we re-evaluated and shortened the useful life of some other assets, which has also contributed to increase in the depreciation. Despite higher finance cost and depreciation, PBT has increased by 2.5 x from INR 8 crore in Quarter Four last year, to INR 27.4 crore in the Quarter Four of FY 2024.
Profit after tax for Quarter 4, FY 2024, was INR 20.5 crore, as compared to 9.7 crore as in Quarter 4 of FY 2023, higher by 112% on year-on-year basis. On a sequential quarter, profit after tax was higher by 23% from INR 16.7 crore to INR 20.5 crore. For the financial year 2023-2024, total income was INR 1,563 crore, as against INR 1,405 crore in the corresponding period last year, growing by 11% year-on-year basis. The gross margin for the full year was 51.5% as compared to 49.2% in FY 2023. EBITDA for the financial year 2024 stood at INR 199 crore, against INR 157 crore in FY 2023, higher by 27% year-on-year basis.
Some of you would recall our prior earnings call, where we had indicated that we will increase the EBITDA margin by 100 basis points in FY 2024. I am pleased to share that we have improved the full year EBITDA margin by over 150 basis points to 12.7 in FY 2024, from 11.2% in FY 2023, based on our reported numbers. We continue to remain confident about the upward direction in margin given the improving product mix. There was a sharp increase in the PBT, which increased by 31% year-on-year basis, from INR 62 crore in FY 2023 to INR 81 crore in FY 2024.
Due to the tax adjustment in the prior period, caused by the shift from the old regime, tax regime, to the new tax regime, the increase in profit after tax for the financial 2024 was 19% year-on-year basis, as it is increased to INR 61 crore against or INR 51 crore in the last year. In terms of CapEx, we have spent around INR 30 crore during the Quarter Four, and aggregate of INR 114 crore during the financial year. This is largely due to machinery for production, as well as the investment into new product development and for our maintenance CapEx. Given the heightened level of activity at present, this is slightly ahead of our target CapEx deployment of around INR 90 crores indicated in the start of FY 2024. Coming to the outlook.
Looking ahead, we anticipate revenue growth of around 15% in FY 2024-2025, which results into total income moving from INR 1,560 crore in FY 2024 to around INR 1,800 crore in FY 2025. This is predicated on the healthy pipeline of SOP from the new products and the new customers. For the deferment of volumes during FY 2024, which now contribute to the revenue in FY 2025. Thereafter, we are poised to take the business to newer heights, as we aim to deliver a revenue of over INR 2,200 crore by 2025-2026. This equates to a CAGR of over 15% over a period of three years. Our confidence stems from the new orders which we have received and discussions with the customers on new technologies and solutions.
We believe we have a strong runway to, for growth, as passenger vehicles penetration India is still very low, at 32 units per thousand people, whereas China has reached a level of 223 units per thousand people, or 7 x of India. Countries like Germany, Japan, and U.S. are at penetration level of, that is 20 x than that of India. Thus, India will remain a strong growth market for a while, and other countries will offer opportunities that are combination of growth and replacement. In addition to the above growth of the vehicle market in India, it is estimated that by 2030, 2031, the fleet of passenger vehicles will be 60% of ICE, 25% hybrid, and 15% battery electric. This indicates that the ICE remains relevant and will continue to grow.
Hybrid also provides a compelling opportunities, as does the EV or carbon neutral opportunity. Alicon is in sweet spot, as it is well positioned, positioned with high content per vehicle in all three technology verticals.... Even as indications remain that 4W growth will be substantial, we are also excited by the opportunity ahead for commercial vehicles, given the projected spend on infrastructure and the trend in, urbanization. To give you a glimpse of how we are already capitalizing on these opportunities, I would like to share that we are witnessing a significant traction EV volumes and are engaged in crucial projects to boost our production capability. For example, the E-Axle prototype we developed for JLR, we will enter mass production this quarter from our plant in India. This product has enhanced our technological capability and enriched our know-how in offering thermal solutions.
The market is also shifting towards hybrid technology, and I'm pleased to report that we are leading this transition. Our cylinder heads for Toyota are designed specifically for their hybrid models, reflecting our advanced position in the, in this technology. As hybrid technology gains broader acceptance, we anticipate further volume increase. OEMs like Maruti are also embracing this trend. Our strategic focus on future-ready technology and innovation has positioned us ahead of the curve in EV space, and we are now applying the same approach to hybrids. Additionally, our concentration on critical components, particularly in the EV sector, has allowed us to secure significant contracts, setting us apart from competitors in this segment. We also anticipate further traction from global customers such as Dana, Mahle, and Tenneco, even as domestic two-wheeler customers are showing initial sign of revival in demand.
In addition to the growth from the increased volume and therefore revenue, we are, we also expect to deliver an improved margin profile. We have already mentioned our aspiration to take EBITDA margin to around 14%, we, which we have already delivered up in quarter four of financial year 2024 itself. Lastly, we are looking to drive efficiencies across our balance sheet and in working capital, which will contribute towards enhanced return ratios, too. On that note, I would now like to hand over to Mr. Rajiv Gupta, who will talk about developments in the domestic business and share highlights for the global business.
Thank you, Vimal ji. Greetings to all of you. In quarter four, FY 2024, auto dispatches for the domestic industry showed an improved performance, especially the two-wheeler segment, which witnessed healthy double-digit YoY growth. This includes 10% growth in the passenger vehicle segment in quarter four on year-on-year basis, 26% growth in the two-wheeler segment on year-on-year basis, and 1% decline in the commercial vehicle on year-on-year basis. Within the passenger vehicle segment, there is clearly dominance of EVs, with both customer interest and market share steadily rising. Importantly, we are witnessing a trend where customers who were on the fence with regard to purchasing of EV now consistently shifting to hybrid or ICE vehicles. This is starting to positively impact demand for traditional products. In quarter four, FY 2024, 2024, the retail volume of commercial vehicles saw a marginal decline.
We believe this is largely due to a shift towards higher tonnage trucks, resulting in increased payload capacity, but impacting the volume of LCV and MCVs. Further, two-wheeler trend to witness a pickup in volumes ahead of the election, given the on-ground activities required to be undertaken across the country. The outlook for two-wheelers is expected to be positive in FY 2025, too, as traction is shifting from EVs to ICE products. Coming to some of the key business programs this quarter, for Maruti, as indicated in the prior quarter, we witnessed ramp-up in the volumes during the quarter as one of the cylinder heads we supplied moved into start of production. Further cylinder head for another model completed a validation stage and is set to go in SOP in quarter 1. The volume for both cylinder heads combined will provide significant volumes increase in FY 2025 from Maruti Suzuki.
Further, we will also be supplying to their Gujarat plant next year. With respect to the supply of cylinder heads to Stellantis, which commenced in quarter three, it has now moved into mass production in quarter four. As we had indicated, these will be for domestic market and will also be assembled and exported to Europe. Stellantis is seeking to create an engine manufacturing hub in Hosur, in India, and Alicon is a single source supplier of the cylinder heads for those engines. As anticipated, volumes have shown an initial pick up in quarter four and we are set for a complete ramp-up in FY 2025. The outlook for two-wheeler volumes is also increasing, and with the election expenditure combined with outlook for a normal monsoon, indicates that the rural demand may sustain. In that light, we anticipate that our key two-wheeler customers will increase their requirements.
While we have indicated a focus on four-wheeler business and higher value-add products, we still remain steadfast in enhancing volumes in the two-wheeler in order to sweat our assets and operate our installed capacities at optimum levels. We also see some revival in month-over-month momentum of the non-auto, with the increasing spend of the government, infrastructure and defense, and the renewed vigor of Make in India campaign. As you may be aware, over the last several years, we have been supplying aluminum wheels to enable lightweighting of the battle tanks. With a healthy level of demand witnessed for our products catering to the defense sector, we have added two parts for the wheel to be supplied over the next three years. These pertain T-72 size tanks as well as for the larger tanks, as we have indicated in last quarters.
In the global business, we have shared that the prototype of a E-Axle Jaguar Land Rover was approved and supplies were ramped up in quarter four, which has contributed towards the upward momentum during the quarter. The production of the battery housing of Jaguar Land Rover is also progressing well, and the production at the Illichmann facility was at a peak volume during the quarter. For Daimler, we have a significant long-term package under development, which was added in quarter three, for which we expect approvals in quarter one and quarter two this year. Supplies are set to commence from 2026, continuing until 2035. Thereafter, we have added further orders in quarter four, FY 2024, comprising of six parts from Daimler.
With these developments, the global business contribution to 28% of the total revenue during the quarter four, which is significant improvement compared to 21% of quarter four last year. For the full year, global business was 25% during FY 2024, compared to 22% in the prior financial year. The share of international business is set to improve further, as during the quarter four, we added 12 new parts from four existing customers in the quarter. This includes two parts from the carbon, carbon neutral or EV, two parts from the non-auto, and eight parts from the ICE. Of these twelve parts added, two parts pertain to the domestic business and ten parts is for the global business. The new business added is in line to our strategy of a higher value add, as 94% of the business added in quarter four pertains to four-wheelers.
On the geographical basis, 94% of the new business added during the quarter is for the global market. For the full year, we have added 50 new parts from 17 customers. Here, too, in keeping with our strategy, 95% of the business added in quarter FY 2024, for the full year 2024, pertains to four-wheeler. On the geographical basis, 85% of the new business added during the full year is for the global markets. Globally, prominent customers such as Dana, Danfoss, Taco, MAHLE, are set to scale up the volumes. Further, we have noticed an increase in number of inquiries from global customers, and we see buyers from U.S., Europe, indicating interest to source larger quantities of products from Alicon.
There is a clear shift in the minds of global customers, and we see increasing recognition of Alicon as a partner and customer of choice for critical parts in their upcoming projects. Our recent successes with one of the global OEM, where we were able to produce a key part for them with a unique solution in a reliable and cost-effective manner, enabling them to avoid large investments required under the traditional approach. This solution will aid them in enhancing the performance of the vehicle. These successes enable creation of the partnership beyond that of simple supplier relationship, which creates the opportunities to participate in the future projects. In terms of operating landscape, we see normalcy returning in Europe. Electricity and gas prices are stable, and availability has also improved. In terms of raw material, aluminum prices have been less volatile than in past.
During quarter four 2024, Alicon have booked new orders aggregating INR 150 crore. With this, our total new order booking has touched to INR 9,150 crore, which is executable over a period of six years, from 2023-2024 up to 2028-2029. On this note, we can open the floor for questions.
Thank you very much. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touchtone telephone.... If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. We'll take our first question from the line of Raghunandan NL, from Nuvama Institutional Equities. Please go ahead.
Thank you so much for taking my question. Congratulations to the team for a wonderful set of numbers. Vimal Ji, Rajiv Ji, thanks so much for the opportunity, and congratulations. Sir, firstly, to Rajiv, sir, if you can share the segmental mix for FY 2024, two-wheeler, PV, CV.
Yeah. So coming to quarter 2024, I mean, for the full year, for last year, the total sales, if you talk about contribution, around one second. Yeah. So, two-wheeler was 40% of the total pie, passenger vehicles were 33%, commercial were 19%, and non-auto were 6%.
Got it, sir. And sir, when we look at exports, roughly would CV, PV be 50/50 in exports? What could be the broad mix?
Somewhere, same figures, but we'll review and get back to you on this.
Thank you. What would be the EV share, sir, in FY 2024?
EV was 12%.
Wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing that. And, in terms of, the revenue outlook, if I heard it correctly, INR 1,850 crore for FY 2025 and 2,200 crore for FY 2026. Would that be right, sir?
It for 2025, it is INR 1,800 crore.
Okay. And, the new orders to be executed as highlighted, so Maruti, JLR, Toyota, TSA, Dana, MAHLE, these would be the main OEM, sir, driving the new order execution?
Then Danfoss.
Danfoss as well. In short, sir, for FY-
The growth of the Two-Wheeler also, that is going to support.
Got it. In two-wheeler, any major OEM, sir, from whom order inflows have been strong?
Mainly that the drivers, you'll see that the this Honda motorcycle, so they are doing very well, and you must have seen that they have surpassed the numbers of Hero.
Got it, sir.
So, yeah, we are the almost single source. Approximately, we are supplying 88%-90%. Our share of business is there. So there it will grow, and, Hero is also growing because in the, maybe in the pie, not, but overall numbers are growing. So they are approaching, and we are seeing the good inflow of the orders, means the numbers, the order will be increasing month-on-month basis. There is increase in the volume from Hero also.
Particularly from Honda, the content per vehicle is larger than other OEMs, and that's a good sign where the Honda volumes are increasing. This year also, they're talking about more than a double-digit growth, so that's a positive sign where we are working to materialize in this financial year.
Would this also include the new EV of Honda? Because there again, content will increase for you.
In this financial year, that's only marginal numbers at the last quarter, but as mentioned, we, you know, don't intend to enter in that segment. Opportunity with the two-wheelers is very less, which I've explained in previous calls. The content per vehicle for aluminum in a two-wheeler is less, and that, where we have mentioned that we would like to shift to passenger and commercial.
Got it, sir.
Sir, for ESOPs, it was INR 14.4 crore in FY 2024. What is the expectation for FY 2025?
It is around INR 4 crore.
Got it. And, given that for margin outlook, if I take for FY 2025, there is some increase in freight cost because of, Red Sea issues. There is some aluminum price increase. Would you expect all these to be passed through, and we should be able to, say, sustain 14% or increase from here?
Yes, these are like the freight. Freight is always a pass-through cost. So maybe like you have seen, for 2023-2024, our overall full year margin is around 12.7%. So that I was explaining, because now our target is to reach 14%. Actually, we were targeting to reach cross 14% by 2025-2026, but now we are expecting that maybe in this year full year, we will hit this 14%.
That's wonderful to hear, sir. CapEx, what would be the expectation for FY 2025, and what would be the areas of spend?
So mainly that now this year we will have a bigger CapEx. So approximately, at this moment, the estimation is around INR 150 crores. So the main reason is that now we have to build up the capacities for the new order, especially for the E-Axle. The major part will go to the JLR E-Axle capacity building up, because only the common machines are very less. So these are the bigger parts, bigger machines, then their quality requirements, their processes. So, and then we have to build up the capacity for the PSA, because it's almost robotic lines we have to put. And then, these are the mainly for the new projects as well as then maintenance CapEx is there. Then we are more focused because you—if you have seen our P&L, I have also explained the manpower cost.
Because major hit is coming, especially in the Maharashtra part, on the minimum wage side. So there is a huge increase that we have seen in the last year also. Again, we have seen some increase in this year already started. So, the focus is coming to for the automation. So now, some part of the CapEx we have kept for the automation of the processes to control our, to bring, the cost of this manpower under control.
Understood, sir. Thanks so much for giving that explanation. And what would be our capacity in tonnage terms, sir?
Capacity, utilization you're talking about or the total capacity?
Utilization is around 70%, as you mentioned in the presentation. But would it be right to look at capacity in tonnage terms, or that would not be meaningful?
Around 50,000 +, we can say like that capacity.
Got it, sir. Last question to Rajiv, sir. Rajiv, sir, would you have the machining mix for FY 24?
Yes. So machining, 2020, 2023, which year?
24, sir. FY 2023, 2024, sir.
61%.
61%. This should only increase, right, going ahead?
Yes, very much, because, you know, the as cast only we are doing the two-wheeler cylinder heads. All other products, maybe some parts for the four-wheeler cylinder, we are doing half machining, but the all, whatever the business we are adding, that is only machine parts.
Wonderful, sir. Thank you so much. Best wishes, and I'll come back and thank you.
Thank you, Raghu.
Thank you. We'll take our next question from the line of Jyoti Singh from Arihant Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
Yeah, thank you for the opportunity. And, Vimal sir and Rajiv sir, congratulations on the good set of numbers and, also executing order in a different way. So just wanted an update on the order book side. What are targets, going ahead? How we are, you know, targeting to execute till 2029. And also, how big is the opportunity in Maruti? Only we are supplying cylinder head or any other part also, if you can update. Thank you.
So similar time, Rajiv gives the explanation about the order book. So for the Maruti, first, we have started the cylinder heads, right? And that is a very big opportunity, I say, because, you know, that at this moment, this is only a start. So one model we are supplying to them, and second is almost now we have done the validation. So that will be a ramp-up, we will see in this year. And new model, they are coming up. So maybe, I think for they are developing for the hybrid. So that is going to be a really, what we say, that major breakthrough for the Maruti. So they will announce shortly. So we are also, hopefully, we will have the, that cylinder head with Alicon. So that is a big opportunity on the this side.
For other parts, maximum part, they are doing the high pressure. Some parts they have approached us, so we are in assessment, that what parts we can do. Like, already we are doing some engine mounting brackets and maybe some manifolds or some other parts, the structural parts they have approached us. So at this moment, we are assessing that how we have to deal with it. Maybe in the next quarter, we will come out with the what finally we are going to do with them. And now, Rajiv is going to explain about the order book.
Yeah. Further to add on the Maruti, we see a good opportunity with the hybrid acceptance by the customers. Like you are aware that we are supplying and we are single source for the Toyota two models, 1.7, 2 liter. So this same platform will go to the Maruti Grand Vitara and Innova. So there we see a good volume generation, and together they are working on lot of hybrid models. So we see an incremental volumes for the existing volumes going forward. So that is again, a good addition for Alicon. Now, talking about the order booking, yes, it is going quite well. In last year also, we have achieved sales of around 97, 98% of what we have planned. So roughly around seven-...
770 crore we are booked with the order bookings what we have planned, and this year, we are aiming to do a sale of around 1,200 crore from the new business. The momentum is going good, as, as I've stated in the past also, like, whatever additions we have done till date. So, around 83% of business is from the four-wheelers, and around 56% is from the global customers. And in this total chart, around 22% is also from the non-auto. And even if it's. If I split the hybrid, that's more than 8% in a hybrid on the order booking, what we have done by date. So this means we are touching all the avenues so that we can take leverage of all the segments going forward.
And the order booking, we have now clear booking of around INR 9,150 crore for from 2023, 2024 to next six years till 2028, 2029. So there also we are strong on execution and utilizing the orders what we have and, and converting to sale.
Thank you. Thank you so much, sir.
Thank you. We'll take the next question from the line of Yash Dalal from Sushil Financial Services. Please go ahead.
Yes. Hi. Firstly, congratulations to the management for reporting your highest ever quarterly revenues for second successive quarter. My first question is, what is the volume growth in Q4? Because revenues have slightly increased this quarter, where EBITDA margins have risen to 14% from 13% last quarter, if we don't account for ESOPs and one-time expenses. So what is the fall in realization this quarter due to, raw material price fall?
So raw material price is actually that, the improvement in the margins is due to, that I explained that two reason. One is the change of base mix, and, another is the settlement of the alloy price, because in the quarter four, those were on the lower side. So that is the reason we can see that, improvement in the margins. So major driver is that, the base mix, what we say. And, we have started, some new parts, like, JLR prototype we have started, so those supplies were there.
Okay. Okay, okay. So also you mentioned that, INR 1,200 crore for FY 2025 is coming from the new business, so the old will come down to INR 600 crore. Is this mainly because we've dropped the noise parts?
Ideally, all the products have a life cycle, depending upon how the model is accepted by the industry or by the consumers. But yes, some is end of SOP, some is, the customers are booking every time with new technologies, upgrading their models. So that also is contributing. Second is, yes, with the direction where we shifted our focus and leverage to passenger and commercial.
Okay, thank you. Just a couple of more questions. So also there is an INR 8 crore written off. What exactly is that, and is it one time?
So these are the some receivables, old receivables, so maybe we already provided earlier, so but only written off in this part. And these... Because we, we are running a big business of maybe now we are talking about INR 1,800 crore sales. So it is not going to happen that only there will be zero write-off or anything. Maybe some small amount will come continue, but it is a business, so, I mean, I cannot commit, "Okay, it will be zero," but I cannot say that it will be INR 8 crore. Maybe it can be INR 2 crore, INR 3 crore, so it is a part of the business.
Okay, thank you. And just the last question, what about your technology of Friction Stir Welding? By when should we start seeing the benefits of this new technology?
This will happen in the quarter three of this year. So ideally, yes, we are a little aggressive, even our customers are aggressive with this model, but some changes in the model, they have executed. So with that, we are expecting this to justify our quarter. But yes, we'll start supplying some samples in quarter three and thereafter ramp up in the next year.
Okay. Okay, thank you so much.
Thank you. We'll take the next question from the line of Aditya Chheda from InCred Asset Management. Please go ahead.
Hi, thank you for the opportunity, and congratulations on great numbers. My first question is on the subsidiary business we've seen as a significant improvement. If you can talk about how the business has been in subsidiary business, and how do you see that moving forward as we have a healthy growth rate? If you can share some outlook on the subsidiary business, that's my first question.
So for the subsidiary business, that maybe in this year we have seen a good growth, and maybe, in the, current year, also, 2023 or 2024, 2025, definitely, we will have a good numbers. But, one... There are two reasons for this growth. One is that, okay, for the, their, existing business, so that is growing, because especially like, battery housing for the Samsung, that go to JLR or some volumes from the two-wheeler, like KTM and BMW. So all these, volumes have gone up. On the other side, that's the development of our JLR product is also happening in Europe.
... so in Illichmann. So that sales has also booked in 2023, 2024, and maybe because some this year also we have supplies of the prototype starting to success their customer. So in this year also, we see this the good numbers for our company Illichmann in Europe. But in the coming years, so we should not expect a big growth because we just want to use that place for our as a development center, as an engineering center. So because, like, for this product, we have hired technical people from Germany, designers, tooling, all these things. So we are more focused how to use the technology from the European supplier. Those engineering are available from Germany or some other countries, so that is the base.
So when we talk about the numbers, to converting the numbers, so I don't think there will be a big jump in the coming year in Europe. So that's because this, definitely this business will shift to India, and, the mass portion will happen in Alicon, India.
Yeah. So basically, the intention is, if any new technologies are in the market, they hit first Europe, U.S., and China, and we see a lag after two, three years, it comes to India. So the idea is to be early in that market, so we use Illichmann model that way. And that also supports to our customer when we are very close, when I talk about global regions. So we... And second is, we see there are a lot of development experts, good technologies across Europe, so we also, it's easy for us to get those know-how.
So not only learning, we have added with this development, and yes, we have noticed, we have got a benefit of sales in quarter three, and even, I mean, in quarter four, and some will definitely add in quarter one. But going forward, our intention is any, large volume or mass production better keep in India, so that even can, customers get the benefit of the cost.
Right. Thank you. My next question is on the machining capability. How much are we outsourcing as of today? And whether incremental volumes would require more outsourcing, and whether that impacts the margin overall, if you can comment something on the machining capacity, outsourcing, et cetera. Thanks.
For the machining, approximately 60% is in-house, and 40%, we have outsourced.
In-house.
And now we are building more in-house the capacities, like, because some customers those are coming with the new new parts, so they look for the in-house machining. So generally so on due to the their quality requirements and the control on the product. So in-house build capacity building will be more in the coming years. So that is the reason, one of the reason for increasing our CapEx in this year.
Right. So we are expecting this mix to remain at 60/40 or because, because we see a very high growth
In-house will increase.
Okay.
But we will try to, because whatever we are doing in-house, if something we can outsource, because we need the conformance, the content from the customers also.
Right. Great. These are the questions.
To de-risk the capacities. Otherwise, maybe some volumes are down, so, our all in-house capacities utilization will go down.
Right. Right. Thank you. That's it from my end.
Thank you. We'll take our next question from the line of Chirag from White Pine. Please go ahead.
Yeah, thank you very much. Just one question. Your gross margin has been sequentially has seen a significant jump and the single largest reason of EBITDA margin expansion. So if you can just elaborate a bit more on this, it would be helpful. Because suddenly what happened in Q4, that the value-added happened, so, is it a normalized gross margin for, this should be, this should be the base for at 25, or how should we look at it?
Generally, gross margins are driven by many variables. First is that the sales mix, how it is moving, that, which parts, then the processes on this product, like machine parts or raw castings. Second is the important factor is the aluminum prices also. Like, if, the, what we are seeing that upward trend in the aluminum prices, maybe in the last, 2-3 months, we have seen up 8%-10% increase in the prices. So then it will definitely increase the material cost percentage to sales. And on the other side, if we see that, there is an increase in the volume of the raw casting, especially the two-wheelers, because, we are seeing a good jump in this, year of 2024-2025 in the two-wheeler also.
So that is also going to drive this, our gross margin. But what you are saying that this year it is a good where we have seen the very, there's an improvement in the gross margin, but maybe I think that will establish between 48-50+, means the margin between 52%-50%, that range. That will move.
Okay. You're saying on annualized basis, it should be in the range of 50%-52%?
Yes, yes.
Sir, what happened in Q4 specifically? Because year-over-year, I understand, even quarter-over-quarter, there is a sharp jump in gross margin.
...As I explained that the sales mix, so some big volumes we have supplied where our gross margins are higher, that we have supplied to the customers. And another is that I'm saying that in this quarter, the aluminum prices were at the lowest.
Okay. Or is this the impact of any year-end negotiation or conclusion with respect to your customers from OEM? Because generally, we have seen your Q4 margins tend to be significantly better, gross margin. So is there any, like, whatever, hike you are expecting from your OEMs get settled in Q4, and hence, this is a general phenomenon?
No, no, no. Very small impact, very big, because it is there, but not so big, because, generally, you know, for the aluminum, what we have seen that 60% aluminum buy is already settled by the customers. So they finalize the price with the suppliers, they allocate the suppliers, so, and the settlements are on month-on-month basis. And for other customers also, they do on quarter-on-quarter basis. So, this happens, what you are saying, that when the settlements are on yearly basis or they delayed the quarterly basis, maybe it is decided on quarterly basis, but they're not doing, they are delayed for two or three quarters. So in that case, this happens, but generally, I have not seen such kind of impact.
Okay. And one last question, you indicated that you are putting in a huge INR 150 crore CapEx this time to add new machining capacities for different type of products. Of the, in the order book that you have today and future order book that you are anticipating, would you be needing any similar huge CapExes, given that different type of products would come in and, or this is now for next two, three years, it will be again normalized CapEx?
So this year is the biggest CapEx we are going to have because we have to build up the infrastructure. You know that, when it's, we are going for the high volume, for, this, JLR, and PSA. So one is that only increasing the machines, the capacities, and another is the complete, installation of the infrastructure, the, the technology. So this year we are doing that, like when JLR or, for PSA, infrastructure installation is there. But after that, when volume will grow, so we have to just add the machine, the machine, discussing the capacities or maybe just increase our... Because, in this, like, take example, for a year, they talk about 100,000 pieces. So I cannot put up the capacity for each process of 100,000.
Maybe 100,000 capacity, I have to put maybe 200,000, because it's not possible to do that. So later on, when we increase the capacity from 100,000 to 150,000 or 200,000, so I have not to put the complete infrastructure. So only just balancing, I have to balance the capacities for each process.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much and all the best.
Right. Thank you.
Thank you. We'll take the next question from the line of Anirudh Shetty from Solidarity Investment Managers. Please go ahead.
Hi. Thank you for the opportunity. I had three questions. So my first question is, you know, we are seeing a lot of traction in the global markets, and you know, we're growing at a pace at much faster than the end industries. So wanted a sense of who, which are the large competitors that we have, or the large, who are the biggest competitors in the aluminum casting business? Which countries really dominate this industry? And if you can talk about some of the plus one tailwinds that we're seeing, whether it's from China or from Europe or more outsourcing, just want to understand what is driving this strong traction, if I think.
Okay. Talking about the global competition, there are competitors, but those are segment-wise. Like, in the, there are specific firms who are into four-wheeler cylinder manufacturing, like Jay Hind is there, then Nemak is there, then, Magna Powertrain is there. So many more are there in that segment. But with Alicon, what is—I mean, what is one of the USP with Alicon is we have a variety of parts, and that differentiates us with other competition, where, you know, today OEMs are working into multiple technologies, be it ICE, hybrid or be EV, or look for a structural part. So they look for, to... They are also aiming to reduce the supplier base. Yeah, because that's the cost. Adding a supplier is a cost for them.
So that's the reason for long term, they are looking for partners who can give solutions into various verticals. And also they see the strength of that supplier, how much is the capacity, how much is their experience in this industry, how early they are with technologies, and how much is their presence globally. So these are, again, the plus factors which support us. Yes, yeah, we also noticed some customers are shifting from China, and they are opting to India. Even recently, we're noticing customers are shifting from Thailand to India, so that also is a new thing which we are noticing. So we are ready for that, and for customers also to approach is very easy because we have seen a customer base, big, large of customers, we have. We have already delivered few parts in the past.
For them also to add or to interact is very easy. So we are ready for that, and we are looking to materialize the opportunities which we are getting recently. So in this, mainly that, like, Alicon is the largest foundry in India, as the independent foundry, because all other major foundries, those are under the law of the OEM. And the, also the observation, like Rajiv has shared, that we are seeing recently that the,
... the sourcing of casting, because casting is shifting from China, from Europe, from the U.S. and to India. And their first choice, what we are seeing that the Alicon first, because maybe, and we are the not so big company as per the requirement globally. So that is a big opportunity what we are seeing opening up for Alicon in the coming future, as well as when we are talking about what you have asked about the competition. So in India, so, as an independent foundry, we are the largest one, so, competition is less because all other captive umbrella of OEMs, and they're supplying to their parent company. And at the global level, we, our share is very less. So there is no meaning at this moment saying the competition.
You know, when we become a large company and then the big good supplier at global level, then the question of the competition comes. So whatever we are getting the businesses and the OEMs, so then they are shifting the sourcing. So these are the big, big opportunities what we are seeing here.
Got it. And just a follow-up question on this, you know, right now, globally, there's, you know, everyone—there's cost pressures that were, you know, there. You know, everyone would want to work with a good quality but also a low cost player. So when we benchmark ourselves to a Chinese player or a player from Europe, US, what is the cost difference for us versus them?
There is a cost difference. One is the little risky on the aluminum, as they are the largest producers of aluminum. Second is, yes, they are also operating to large scale. But with Alicon, we are within the industry since long, and we work with customers since inception of the design. So during the design, we see if we can reduce the weight of the part, so that we can give, pass on some benefit to our customers. That is one way we play. And also, as we are into multiple process, like we are into gravity and low pressure. So we evaluate during design stage, which process will give a better result in terms of productivity or better result in terms of yield. With that, we submit the proposal, customer is accepting.
And third is our partner, Enkei Corporation, who is also having clients across 19 countries, and they're also in this industry since long with the same process. So continuously, we get upgraded with the support. Even our team members frequently go to their location, they come down to our location and continuously we are upgrading our operations so that we support to our customers. So with that, even customers are now preferring us over Chinese. It's the combination and more is about the volume game, what we can support to our customers.
This is one part that, one is the China, maybe, can't say that we are very much competitive against China, but, there's some political reasons they are shifting to India. On the other side, when we talk about the Europe and the U.S., so not- this is not only the cost side, the only cost benefit they are having and shifting to India, that is the one of the factors of the cost. But they are also seeing the challenges of the supply from their, local suppliers, like the quality, the volume, because, the existing suppliers, they are not ready to increase their, increase their capacities, maybe due to financial, whatever the challenges they are having.
So, these are the main factors for shifting that we Alicon is able to supply the volume, we are able to supply the quality, and we are able to maintain the required stock and maintain the just-in-time supplies to all their requirements. So these are the major benefits they are having when they look for the supply from India as well as from the Alicon.
Got it. Just one final question is, you know, we want to, over time, increase our return on capital employed to 20%. You've already explained your EBITDA margin trajectory. I just want to understand the balance sheet size, the balance sheet metrics a little better. How do you see the asset turns, or at what asset turns and at what net working capital days do we kind of hit this 20% mark?
So mainly that asset turn, definitely now, because, you know, one is the existing capacities, because immediately for the existing, so we cannot change. Maybe some improvements in the productivity that can happen. But for the new product, like we are explaining, key where we have the high value, means the high, weight of the casting, high value addition. So that is giving a good, asset turnover ratio in the coming business, whatever we are adding. So it, this, asset, turnover give us slow growth. It, it cannot jump from maybe I am, I'm at 1.8 or 2, so suddenly next year I will be a 3. This is not going to happen, but slowly it will improve year on year basis. We'll see that growth.
Because when we are talking about the ROC, so ROC major driver is that how we are controlling. One is that definitely from this side, because controlling the investment. Second is more focused on the our this part of the margins. And the working capital, maybe or you must have seen that year-on-year we are reducing our number of days working capital. And hopefully this year also you will see the further improvement, because we are more focused how to reduce our inventories and now because we are seeing the growth in the exports, so how to reduce our debtor days, receivable days. So definitely this year we see a further improvement in the working capital.
... Is there any number that we have in mind in terms of target ratio that we want to target on the working capital?
So maybe 8-10 days, because I think we are near to about 78 days in the net. I'm not having the data correctly, but I'm just the idea that based on we are pursuing this. So maybe I am, I think 7-8 days, so at least we are targeting further reduction in this year.
Got it. Got it. Great. No, thank you so much for answering my questions. I appreciate it.
Thank you. We'll take the next question from the line of Pritesh Chheda from Lucky Investment Managers. Please go ahead.
Yeah, sir. Thank you for the opportunity. My question is with respect to this, PV clients, which is Maruti, Kia, Toyota, Stellantis. What kind of incremental business is expected based on the, the schedules that you have for FY 2025 and FY 2026? And what was it in FY 2024? Just to, for me to understand and corroborate with the 15% top line growth, number that you have said.
So, yes, for this financial year, 2024-2025, we see an opportunity to grow with the passenger vehicle segment. So around, like, PSA will give us INR 50 crore.
You can give combined, it's okay. I don't want customer-wise. I want a combined number, if you have that. That's also okay.
Roughly around INR 180 crores-INR 200 crores, we will get with Maruti, PSA, Toyota, and also global customers, plus what we added recently, like Mahle and Marco.
Okay. That is incremental?
Yeah, this is incremental. And-
In FY 2026?
FY 2026, further to this, Jaguar will be added. Like this year also, Jaguar, the E-Axle, what we developed and another part, a Battery Tray again for the Range Rover EV. That will go into, sample submission and queue for validation. But major ramp up will come in next year, and that would, be adding around INR 150 crore addition with this. And further, we are expecting another indirect from Maruti to add an, ongoing ramp up in next financial, followed by, some additions with existing customers like Danfoss.
So you are saying INR 180 crores in FY 2025 incremental, and then another incremental of INR 150 crores in FY 2026. That's how it is, right?
So in 2025, 2026, further to this will be a domestic customer, PSA, which will go into ramp up at the peak.
Mm-hmm. So actually, I tell you that, we, going to make comparison with the 2023-2024, so approximately, the incremental at this moment, because from the billing numbers we know, because of some existing, existing customers will also grow. So INR 200 crore, we are seeing that incremental from there, and approximately INR 500-550 crore, in the 2025-2026. From, the base of 2023-2024.
So what is the 2023-2024 number for PV? In the INR 1,500 crore top line, how much is PV?
PV. PV.
PV would be, PV would be around 44%.
Sorry. Yeah, it's 44%.
44%. So to this number, incremental 500 will get added. Now, I don't understand, sir, what you want to highlight, actually.
Actually, we have also not understood.
No, sir, sir, sir, you mentioned about a lot of increment, a lot of these, these programs from different customers. So I wanted to know incrementally or let's say point to point, now if 44% of your business today is PV, so in INR 1,500 crores, 44% is 660, which is, let's say, closer to about, 600-700 crores business. The 700 crores business will be added by another 500 crores over the next 2 years? By virtue of whatever clients will be left.
So I'll tell you, this year, our PV was 39% of the contribution, and two-wheeler was 32. Next year, PV will grow to forty-four percent. I mean, this year, 2024, 2025, PV will grow to 44%. So a big jump it will see with the additions of the parts like, Maruti, PSA, Toyota, and even Jaguar, we are talking. And thereafter, in 2025, 2026, PV will touch to 46. Another two percent will add with ramp up of the Jaguar Land Rover and other customers.
So, what you are talking about is a 5% jump as a contribution from the PV. So that translates to approximately INR 100 crore. And in 2026, 2027, that's jumping 7%. So 7%, that translates into approximately,
... under INR 50 crores.
Okay, okay. Sir, one second question on the margin side. When your mix changes, is it neutral to your margin? Is it detrimental? Is it superior? How does it play out, both in gross margin and EBITDA?
No, that's the same big change, because, you know, mainly we are more focused to bring the, whatever the new businesses we are adding up. Those are mainly from the four-wheeler side.
Mm.
So we are definitely the margins are on the higher side. So that is happening, and that is the reason that is giving a improvement in the bottom. What else we have seen that the improvement in the margins.
Okay. And on your capacity utilization side, you mentioned that you are utilizing 75%, yeah?
Around that, yeah.
What is your maximum that you can use your asset? Is it 85, is it-
If we do that maximum utilization, that can go up to 55%-90%, because, you know, the 10%, 15% you have to keep for the volume fluctuation.
Mm-hmm.
But this never happens because this will move in the range between 70-75%. Because, you know, some in one quarter, maybe one customer goes down, another customer goes up. So it is not like that in all we are running on the same line. So we have different lines. So one line, utilization is more. When we are talking about 70, maybe one line is having 90% utilization, maybe another-
Mm
... line having 60% utilization. So totally depends on the customer, how they are behaving.
So when you add your revenue from whatever growth rate that you have mentioned at about 15%, so basically, you will end up in the next three years adding another INR 700-INR 800 crore of business, INR 700 crore. So for this INR 700 crore of incremental business, what is the CapEx that you will do?
INR 700 crore, the additional maybe approximately, I think, INR 250-INR 300 crore in that range we go.
This will include both maintenance and growth CapEx?
Yes, yes.
Okay. Thank you very much, sir, and have a great day, sir. Thank you.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. We'll take our next question from the line of Rohit Suresh from Samatwa Investments. Please go ahead.
Good afternoon, sir. Thank you for the opportunity. So my first question is, so recently there was an interview by the CEO of Jaguar, so they, they're planning to scale down their EV volumes, and focusing more on the, you know, hybrid part. So, so do you see any, how will that impact our overall, you know, Jaguar orders? Because if I'm not wrong, you're supplying E-Axle as well as some battery housing to the EV part. So what will be the impact, and, are you also supplying any parts to their hybrid vehicles as well?
Yes, even we see this traction coming up in the EV vehicle, the pure EV, which they have launched, not just Jaguar, but from other global and domestic customers, we're noticing this shift, and this is also a point which we are taking up with them aggressively, because this, these parts are having huge investment. And that's the reason, first thing we got the support is to do investments phase wise. Traditionally, investment was to be put 100%, and then we need to show, make it ready. But for this scenario, they have understood, and they also agreed to do investment phase wise. And second thing is, at Alicon, we can produce, I mean, in one machine, we can produce variety of parts, be IC, be IC, I mean, be a EV or be a hybrid.
Our machines are universal. So that de-risking also we do, and we map very clearly. If volumes are fluctuating, definitely we have the ease to shift the capacity to other products.
Sir, but the difference, so what my understanding is for the EV part, we are doing e-axle, we are doing batteries into the critical critical components, right? So for the hybrid, what, apart from cylinder heads, are we doing anything else, or is it purely cylinder heads right now?
Purely cylinder heads are the engine part, and more is a structural part where we have opportunity. Like for Jaguar, it's a subframe, very critical part, really. The subframe are very critical part of high weight to support a bit portion in the vehicle. So there also we supply a lot of chunk. For Jaguar, all the models we supply the subframe. So there also we see the opportunity to grow with this customer. But yes, hybrid also we see that we have good traction. And second is even customers knows our strength in this area, and they also are easing to leverage the opportunity.
Got it. Sir, on your order book, I had a couple of questions. So, if I'm not wrong, of the INR 9,000 crore on order book, around 30% is in the EV segment, right? So how much of that will be, if you could give me customers, so how much will be Jaguar and our top 50 customers mix? Hello.
I need to just speak up otherwise... I don't have the data handy. I'll tell you.
... Okay, but I'll tell you, the major one is Jaguar. Yes, that would be compromising to around 10%-15%. Then it's Toyota, then it's PSA, then it's Maruti, the big ones when we see among the list.
So what I propose that, okay, maybe you can be in touch with us directly, because so much granular information detail at this moment is not available with us. So we can talk about that. You can either approach to CDR or directly to us.
Got it. Sir, and on the non-EV part, so what is our focus? I guess, so there are a lot of parts that we are doing in the non-EV part. So what will be our key focus areas in the non-EV part? So will it be non-auto? Will it be structural parts? I some understanding on that.
Yeah. On the non-EV, one is the A-Class Part will be focused. One is the Cylinder Head, which is a good opportunity, and one is Cylinder Head for domestic as well as the global market. Second is similar, which is going to the hybrid variant Cylinder Heads. Then a lot of engine parts also we supply for the global market, where we aim we get good volumes. So that is also an area where they focus. Then is the structural parts, which we have just mentioned in the last page. And then there's for the commercial, we supply good chunk. Right now, is also around 20% of our sales from commercial. So major is from the global market, where we see good volumes.
One is the engine, second is also the radiators of a truck, which have the requirement is of a CAC tank, which is made in our process. So there also we have a good volume. So there are ideally four players in this market, making those CAC tanks, and we are associated with all four customers in that segment. So there also we see a good volume. And second is a big customer, Daimler, which you have noted in our previous calls also. So, the new development, they, we are participating actively with them. And the recent engine what they have just developed, which is from 26 to 35. So we got this opportunity to develop all major parts of the engine in aluminum with them, so that also we added recently.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we'll take that as the last question for today. I now hand the conference over to the management team for closing comments. Over to you, sir.
Thank you. I hope we have been able to answer all the questions that in the stream. Should you need any further clarifications or would like to know more about the company, please feel free to contact our team or CDR India. Thank you once again for taking the time to join us on this call, and we look forward to interacting next quarter. Thank you very much.
Thank you. On behalf of Alicon Castalloy, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines.