Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to Sterlite Technologies Limited earnings conference call. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in 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 *, then 0 on your touch-tone telephone.
Please note that this conference is being recorded. Before we start the call, let me remind you that the discussion may contain forward-looking statements that may involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties, or other factors. It must be viewed in conjunction with our business risk that could cause future result performance or achievement to differ significantly from what is expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements.
Please note that we have uploaded the results and earnings call presentation on STL's website, and the same is available on the exchange. To take us through the results and answer your question today, we have Senior Management of Sterlite Technologies Limited, presented by Mr. Ankit Agarwal, Managing Director, and Mr. Ajay Jhanjhari, Chief Financial Officer. We will start the call with a brief overview of quarter gone past and then conduct the Q&A session. With that said, I will now hand the call over to Mr. Ankit. Over to you, sir.
Thank you. Good day, everyone. Thank you for joining us for STL's quarter two FY2026 earnings conference call. STL is a global leader in digital connectivity infrastructure, enabling advanced networks for telecom operators, data centers, citizen networks, and large enterprises. We operate through two core business segments: optical networking, which includes our fiber, copper, and connectivity solutions; digital and technology solutions encompass cloud service security and AI-driven digital services.
With a legacy of over three decades of industry leadership, we are proud to be India's first and only end-to-end optical fiber and cable manufacturer, holding approximately 7% share of the global optical fiber cable market. Our commitment to innovation and sustainability is reflected in our portfolio of 750 patents and our 10-plus sustainable manufacturing facilities, all operating with zero waste to landfill. Through innovation, scale, and sustainability, STL continues to power the world's digital future.
At STL, we're one of the very few companies in the world who have mastered the journey from glass to gigabit. It starts with the purest-grade silicon, which we transform through advanced processes like silicon tetrachloride, chemical vapor deposition, and high-precision sintering to create ultra-pure glass preforms, which is the backbone of the optical fiber. From there, we draw the highest-grade fiber, design high-density cables, and develop reliable connectivity solutions that power data centers and telecom networks worldwide.
The full-stack integration, right from raw material to network deployment, gives STL a unique edge in quality, cost, efficiency, and innovation across the connectivity value chain. This deep integration enables us to engineer next-gen fiber cable and connectivity solutions that are redefining global connectivity. To highlight a few examples, Stellar is the world's first G.657A2 compatible. With legacy networks.
With ultra-low splice loss, superior band performance, and future-ready resilience, Stellar extends network life for operators while cutting total cost of ownership. Celesta ribbon cables are purpose-engineered for hyperscale networks. Celesta compact intermittent bonded ribbons deliver high-density packing, faster installations, and superior ducting utilization.
Multiverse, our multi-core fibers, are truly industry game changers. With Multiverse, multiply the fiber capacity by four times within the same footprint, unlocking exponential bandwidth for AI, cloud, and 5G/6G workloads. There is also Quantum Secure, enabling future-proof network integrity. Optoblaze, which is a compact pre-connectorized system, revolutionizes FTTH deployments with tool-free rapid installation, bringing scalability and simplicity to last-mile fiber rollout. With over three decades of expertise, STL continues to lead the global shift from glass to gigabit.
Our end-to-end innovation, from advanced material science to intelligent optical systems, empowers the world's largest network creators to build denser, faster, and more reliable digital highways for an AI-driven future. As we complete our first half of FY2026, directionally, our strategic priorities remain the same in the optical networking business. Our focus remains on driving growth by increasing market share in optical fiber cables and improving our connectivity attach rates.
We are also rapidly expanding our product portfolio for data centers, recognizing the rising demand for high-speed, scalable connectivity driven by the rise of AI-enabled data centers. Additionally, we will sustain our efforts to drive technology and cost leadership in the optical domain. On the other hand, our ambition is not just to grow, but also to build for the future through STL Digital.
We are consciously investing in building our technology and domain capabilities, laying a strong foundation for long-term differentiation. Most importantly, we're ensuring that all of this translates into profitable, sustained growth. Together, these priorities will guide our journey through FY2026, helping us not just respond to today's market needs, but actively shape tomorrow's digital future. Moving on, we will now speak about our performance in the optical networking business and our focused journey towards gaining market share.
What's truly exciting is that these three mega investment cycles—FTTX rollout, data center expansion, and 5G densification—are coinciding for the very first time. Together, they're creating a multi-year super cycle for optical communication demand and positioning STL right at the heart of the digital infrastructure buildup.
Starting with FTTX, over 100 million U.S. homes still await fiber to the home, with North America expected to see a 10% CAGR in fiber deployments between now and 2030. Globally, FTTX deployments are projected to go from 150 million fiber kilometers to 170 million fiber kilometers, underscoring a sustained fiber expansion opportunity. Next, data centers are fueling strong fiber demand, with global optical demand for AI data centers projected to grow at 28% CAGR between 2025 and 2030. In India, data center capacity is expected to grow almost 5X by 2030, supported by almost INR 30 billion in planned investments, while in North America, capacity is expected to expand from 21 gigawatts in Q2 2025 to almost 80 gigawatts by 2029, with markets surpassing $4 trillion by 2030.
On the 5G front, the momentum remains robust, with 6.3 billion global 5G subscriptions expected by 2030, representing 67% of all mobile users. With 80% of global mobile traffic, it will be carried over 5G networks, driving the fiberization of the mobile sites itself from 38% in 2024 to 63% by 2029. This surge is being supported by record big tech CapEx projected to exceed $600 billion by 2027, along with two major government programs such as India's INR 1.3 trillion BharatNet phase III and U.S. $97 billion broadband funding initiative, including the $42 billion program of BEAD, which we have spoken before. All of these points point to a multi-year network build cycle, and STL is strongly positioned to lead and enable this global digital transformation.
Next, we have highlighted how global telecom and tech leaders are unanimously betting on optical fiber as a foundation layer for the digital future, be it 5G, broadband, data centers, or AI infrastructure. The message is clear. As you can see on the quote from Unity, for example, they expect an entire new buildout of a national fiber infrastructure, both metro as well as long-haul. Next slide.
The world is in the midst of an AI-driven surge in data center capacity projected to grow by 3.5X by 2030, with AI workloads accounting for more than 70% of this demand. These GPU-intensive data centers require up to 36 times more fiber, creating a transformational opportunity for STL. Beyond hyperscalers and cloud companies, we're now seeing strong traction from telco and alternate players investing heavily in backbone and data center interconnect opportunities. This new wave of DCI buildout.
Is expanding the addressable market for STL as these players look for high-capacity, low-latency optical solutions. The hyperscale data center opportunity is scaling rapidly. The global hyperscale CapEx is expected to cross $600 billion by 2027, fueled by AI cloud edge deployments. Overall, data center IT CapEx is set to reach $2.8 trillion by 2029, underscoring the massive digital infrastructure buildout underway. This surge represents a multi-year growth runway for STL across a product portfolio of fiber cables and integrated network solutions that enable this world's data backbone.
We are at the forefront of this global shift with our AI-optimized, scalable optical solutions designed and manufactured entirely in India. Our enterprise and data center business continues to gain strong momentum, now contributing to 21% of revenue in H1 FY2026, and we expect this growth trajectory to accelerate further in the coming quarters.
According to CRU, the global optical fiber demand is witnessing a turnaround in 2025, with a 1.7% year-on-year growth after two years of declining, making it the start of a positive long-term cycle for the industry. Demand fundamentals remain strong, driven by FTTH rollouts, AI-led data center expansion, and rising connectivity needs worldwide.
North America and Europe are expected to lead this resurgence, with North America growing at 12% CAGR to 2030. We are also seeing encouraging trends in India, Southeast Asia, and parts of Europe, all closely aligned with STL's strategic priorities. As we enter a multi-year upcycling global fiber demand, STL is making the most from this momentum. Our order intake has grown over 2X year-on-year, reaching INR 1,340 crore in quarter two FY2026. The momentum is broad-based.
We have secured multi-year supply agreements with leading European operators and regained strong order inflows from top-tier US telecom players after the year's pause. With several large data center segment opportunities in the pipeline, we're entering the second half with strong momentum. Being at the forefront of technology leadership, STL delivered key innovations last quarter with the launch of our next-gen data center portfolio and India's first multi-core fiber, Multiverse, for high-capacity AI-ready networks.
Extending this innovation wave into the current quarter, first, we expanded our US connectivity portfolio with ConCat, a plug-and-play solution that simplifies broadband rollouts. Secondly, we made our FTTH solutions more efficient for Net Omnium, enabling faster and more cost-effective deployments. The third and most critical, we launched the world's slimmest 864 fiber IBR cable, specially designed for hyperscalers. Together, these innovations reinforce STL's position at the forefront of next-generation optical infrastructure.
Our innovation engine remains strong with 26 new patents filed in Q2 FY26, taking us to the 750-plus patents in total. The current pipeline includes building future-ready capabilities like hollow-core fiber and AI-powered fiber sensing, which is also leading in sustainability with our green hydrogen pilot. STL's new data center portfolio is engineered to meet the performance, speed, and scalability demands of the AI era.
The comprehensive suite includes fiber and copper cabling solutions, pre-terminated multi-fiber systems, and a high-density Celesta IBR technology, enabling low-latency, high-capacity deployments across data centers, campuses, and smart infrastructure. This quarter, we further strengthened our data center portfolio with the launch of one of our most critical innovations, the world's slimmest intermittent bonded ribbon cable.
The newly launched Celesta IBR cable packs 864 fibers in a very compact 11.7 diameter, optimized for jetting in a 14 inner duct, and demonstrated the fastest time on record for installation performance, achieving a whopping 4,700 feet of jetting in just under 20 minutes. This breakthrough marks STL's entry into the elite league of companies capable of delivering ultra-high-density optical fiber solutions for hyperscalers.
Through our go-to-market partnership with Tech Data, we now reach 70 cities across India, ensuring strong market access through robust distribution and financing network. Building on our progress in next-generation optical technologies, last quarter, we introduced one of our most exciting innovations in optical networks, Multiverse, a multi-core fiber. Multiverse delivers four to seven times more capacity with the same fiber footprint, enabling operators to scale bandwidth rapidly while keeping deployment costs low.
The performance has already been proven through successful joint trials with CDOT and IIT Madras, validating secure high-speed transmissions across both aerial and underground networks, a milestone that marks STL as the first globally to deploy across both terrains. With this, STL is now playing the leading role in shaping global standards for multi-core fiber design and testing, placing us at the forefront of next-generation fiber innovation for AI data centers and 5G-ready networks.
This quarter, we showcased our Multiverse portfolio at Connected Britain, one of the most influential digital infrastructure events globally. The solution received a strong and strategic response from multiple partners, including our POC pilot with a major alternate operator. This marks the beginning of commercial adoption discussions in key hyperscaler-driven markets. As per CRU data, our market share has moved year-on-year in the global OFC market outside China, from 8% to 7% in H1 FY2025.
While the first half of FY2026 reflects normal seasonality, we continue to focus on expanding market share through deeper customer engagement, product differentiation, and stronger presence in international markets. In the optical connectivity attach rate, we maintain a healthy level of 20% in H1 FY2026 compared to 22% in FY2025, sustained traction in our high-value connectivity portfolio.
This reinforces our strategic emphasis on moving up the value chain from just fiber to integrated connectivity solutions, positioning STL as a trusted end-to-end optical solution partner. Now turning to the financial performance of our optical networking business. In line with our expectations, Q2 FY2026 revenues stood at INR 980 crore. On a half-year basis, revenues grew by 6% to INR 1,941 crore, supported by improved volumes and stable pricing.
EBITDA for Q2 FY2026 was INR 136 crore with a margin of 14.1% for H1 FY2026, up from 12% last year, a clear outcome of our ongoing focus on product exchange, cost efficiency, and operational excellence. With a strong foundation, healthy margins, and improving market dynamics, STL remains well-positioned to drive profitable growth and strengthen its leadership in the optical networking segment in the quarters ahead.
Now, let me take you through the continued growth momentum in STL Digital. STL Digital continues to build a strong growth momentum driven by its expanding global presence, its domain depth, and focus on customer-centric innovation. In Q2, we added three new logos, taking our customer base to 33, and secured multi-million, multi-year cloud-based connectivity contracts with a leading global information solutions company. Strong project deliveries across engineering, enterprise application, and support services reflect growing customer trust.
With a robust open order book of INR 286 crore, a team of more than 1,100 people, and deep capabilities in AI, cloud, cybersecurity, and SaaS, STL Digital is well-poised to scale further and drive innovative-led growth across key industries. STL Digital delivered a strong performance in Q2 FY2026. We posted INR 65 crore revenue. A sharp focus on profitable growth is yielding results with an EBITDA of INR 1 crore in quarter two FY2026.
We remain committed to sustaining this positive trajectory and confident in maintaining momentum in the coming quarters. Now, I will hand the call over to Ajay Jhanjhari, the CFO of STL, to take you through the financials.
Thank you, Ankit, and thanks to everyone for joining us today. I'll take you through the key financial highlights for Q2 and H1 FY2026. This quarter, we delivered a steady performance with Q2 FY2026 revenue of INR 1,034 crore, driven by consistent execution across all business segments. EBITDA stood at INR 141 crore with a margin of 13.6%, reflecting a strong year-on-year improvement driven by our continued focus on cost optimization and operational efficiency despite the prevailing tariff advance. On an H1 basis, our revenue has grown by 6%, and absolute EBITDA has increased by 46% year-over-year.
Our PAT has improved from losses of INR 62 crore last year to a profit of INR 14 crore this year, reflecting strong profitability and improving fundamentals. In summary, these results demonstrate stable growth, expanding margins, and disciplined execution, setting up well for the rest of the financial year 2026. Our operational performance continues to strengthen, demonstrating sustained margin expansion driven by a higher margin product mix and improved business contribution from the US market.
Operational EBITDA improved sequentially from 11.2% in Q2 of FY2025 to 14.4% in Q1 FY2026 and further to 16.7% in Q2 FY2026, underscoring the resilience of our core operations and the effectiveness of our strategic initiatives. However, during Q2 FY2026, a mid-quarter reset of US tariffs temporarily impacted reported margins by around 300 basis points, reflecting a headwind of 3.1% on EBITDA. Excluding this impact, our underlying operational profitability trajectory remains robust.
We continue to engage closely with relevant authorities on the ongoing US-India bilateral trade agreement discussions, which, once finalized, are expected to provide clarity and potentially alleviate some of these tariff-related pressures going forward. Overall, we remain confident in our ability to deliver sustainable margin improvement supported by operational efficiencies, favorable mix and disciplined execution across key markets.
In the first half of the financial year 2026, we continued to strengthen our global presence with notable order movements across key markets. If we look at our geographical mix, we continue to maintain a well-balanced global portfolio. Europe remains our largest market, contributing about 42% of revenue in H1 FY2026 and continues to be a strong base for us. What's encouraging is the steady progress we are making in the U.S. North America has increased to 33% this year compared to 25% last year.
This is exactly in line with our strategic priority of deepening our presence in the U.S. market. The rest of the world contributes the remaining 25%, which gives us a balanced global footprint and reduces concentration risk. Overall, the distribution reflects a healthy geographical spread, with Europe leading and the U.S. scaling up nicely as we execute our growth strategy.
Moving to the order book, we have seen continued momentum this quarter. Our open order book stood at INR 5,188 crore in Q2 FY2026, up from INR 4,888 crore in Q1 of this year, reflecting healthy order inflows and strong market confidence. Of this, INR 820 crore is selected for execution in quarter three of FY2026, while the remaining INR 4,368 crore is scheduled for execution over FY2026 and beyond. This robust order pipeline provides strong revenue visibility and reinforces our growth outlook for the year.
Here, we have shared an abridged snapshot of our reported numbers for your reference. Net debt stands at INR 1,313 crore with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64 and net debt-to-EBITDA at 2.33x. We are focused on bringing this below 2x going forward. With this, now I hand it over back to Ankit for updates on our social responsibility initiatives and closing remarks.
Thank you, Ajay. At STL. We lead with purpose. We are committed to building a more connected, inclusive, and sustainable world. Since FY 2019, our efforts in education, women empowerment, healthcare, and sustainability have touched millions of lives across India. Through our RoboEdge program, for example, we have touched over 10,000 students across 12 schools. Our Jeevan Jyoti program has empowered more than 6,000 women artisans with vocational skills.
Many of them showcased their work under the Ajay brand, building livelihood and confidence. On the sustainability front, we've installed 4,500 kilowatts of solar capacity, reducing emissions and promoting clean energy across our facilities. We are also partnering with 53 villages to support afforestation and water conservation, planting thousands of trees and rejuvenating local ecosystems. Through the Swasthya Suraksha, we have provided healthcare access to over 2.6 million underserved individuals in rural Maharashtra. At STL, sustainability is central to our purpose.
We're proud to hold MSCI ESG A rating and are committed to achieving net zero commission by 2030. Our strategy is built on three pillars. Environmental sustainability. Since FY 2019, we have diverted 274,000 metric tons of waste, recycled 10 million metric cubes of water, and reduced over 41,000 tons of carbon through energy efficiency. Over 36% of our procurement is local, and we partner with Ajay and Co. to advance green hydrogen.
Social responsibility. Aligned with the 16 UN SDGs, we are positively impacting 900,000-plus lives through education, women empowerment, and healthcare, alongside installing 4,500-plus kilowatts of solar capacity. Strong governance. With two Big Four auditors and robust governance committees, we've earned 100-plus ESG awards since FY 2019. Notably, Ajay is the world's first optical fiber manufacturing certified for zero liquid discharge and zero waste to landfill, setting a truly true industry benchmark.
As we move forward, our focus remains on strengthening both pillars of our business. In the optical segment, we are driving technology and cost leadership to position ourselves amongst the global top three while expanding in focus markets and enhancing our optical connectivity and data center offerings. At the same time, our digital business continues to build scale with a clear emphasis on profitable growth. Together, these strategic priorities position Sterlite Technologies as a key enabler of the world's digital infrastructure with a disciplined approach to value creation and sustainable profitability. Thank you.
Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press * and 1 on their touchstone phone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press * and two. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question is from the line of Debashish Mazumdar from Svan Investments. Please go ahead.
Hi, good evening to the management team, and thank you so much for the opportunity. Sir, two or three questions. One is, how much of the demand has got postponed because of this uncertainty related to tariffs? Because if I see the numbers correctly, our US growth is still strong in this quarter, and the majority of the impact has come from the EMEA region. Just wanted to get some sense that where exactly the impact is coming and how the Q3 and Q4 will be looking like.
Yeah, thank you, Devashish. Yes, I think broadly, we have called out that how the tariffs have impacted us in quarter two and would continue to impact us. As long as these tariffs are there. Principally, we continue to be excited across the geographies. We particularly do see an increasing demand cycle in North America, both from the telecom segment as well as the data center segment.
On top of this, we do expect the BEAD-related projects to start kicking off at some point next year. That will be an additional demand in the market. Overall, we do see disproportionate demand, positive signals coming from North America. At the same time, Europe continues to stay positive, both for our cable as well as connectivity. Sir, just to clarify, despite your impact uncertainty around tariffs, our US business has still grown by 50% in this quarter. Is my understanding correct? Not exactly 50%, but yes, it has increased substantially.
Devashish, to answer your question, the very fact that even after this tariff, the orders are coming in from the U.S. is a positive sign, which is also reflected in the kind of growth which is expected by others. We have already mentioned that the CAGR 12% growth is going to be there. Based on the current order book, what is the kind of growth you are seeing in the U.S. market over the next 6-12 months?
We will not be able to comment specifically on that. We will not be able to give a forecast specifically by market. As you said, overall, we do expect this momentum to continue. Certainly, if the tariffs were to be reduced or anywhere, that will definitely help us, both in terms of the market as well as our profitability.
Understood and because of this, currently, we are coming with a 50% tariff package. Is my understanding correct?
Yes.
What is the price differential that we have compared to, let's say, cables that are getting supplied from Mexico? With this 50% tariff, what is the kind of price differential that we have with the Mexico supplier?
Again, we won't be able to give a specific number, but basically, it varies a lot because there are different and unique designs that we provide. There are certainly high-density cables that we manufacture for certain customers, so the pricing varies quite a bit by the design. Again, there is certainly a lot of credibility we have built in the U.S. market by nature of our product portfolio and also the fact that we also have a facility locally. I think that's certainly to our advantage right now.
Is it fair to assume that despite this 50% tariff, our price differential is not that high? And even if it is high, clients are ready to bear that amount? Because you were saying that order book is still coming in.
Yeah, I mean, I would say that obviously everyone's watching it closely, including the customers. We're all hopeful of some solution coming to this. I would just leave it there to say that genuinely, it will help in terms of giving some clarity and remove some of the concerns of our customers, both current and potential new customers.
Okay. One last question on U.S. market again. At the beginning of the quarter.
Sorry, sir?
Yeah. Ma'am, this is my last question. This is my last question. Just a related question, so I want to complete it, please.
Y es, please, surely. Yeah.
Sir, at the beginning of the quarter, what was the kind of growth you were anticipating? At the end, what has actually come up? Just trying to get some sense, what is the surprise factor that has come because of this tariff-related uncertainty?
I would not say that there is any surprise as such, but see, a few things have changed. I would say, yes, there is still a decline in what we were expecting in the beginning of the quarter, but not basically because the demand is not there. Basically, there were challenges in terms of supplying that material on time to the U.S. That is hardly any impact. What we are trying to see is that we grow consistently, which is clearly demonstrated if you see the kind of growth we have shown in revenue in the U.S. market. That trajectory is going to continue for upcoming quarters.
Sure, sure. Thank you so much for answering my question.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, in order to ensure the management is able to address questions from all the participants in the conference, please limit yourself to one question per participant. Should you have any follow-up questions, you may rejoin the queue. The next question is from the line of Saket Kapoor from Kapoor & Co. Please go ahead.
Namaskar, sir, and thank you for this opportunity. Sir, hello? Yes. Yeah, thank you, sir. Sir, when we look at your presentation, you have mentioned about a 300 basis point reduction in our margin for the US business. So that means that the tariff part has been shared proportionately by us or in some proportion by us also? That is what signifies for this margin erosion?
Saket, see, how the business operates is that most of our key accounts operate with a six-month lead time for order execution. The contracts which were in mid-execution, where the prices were already agreed and fixed, that entire burden has to be borne by us because more than the current situation, there are customers on which we are seeing a long-term partnership. I would say majority of the impact for Q2 was taken by STL on all these sales which we have made.
Okay. Can you quantify the impact, sir, in terms of the hit we have taken on the bottom line?
We have already quantified it. If you see, we have clearly mentioned that there is an impact of 3% on our EBITDA.
The total sales, can you give the sales number then?
Sorry.
Sorry to interrupt, sir. But i f you have any follow-up questions, please.
No, ma'am, it is only what sir is answering. I'm only asking sir for further details. No new question it is.
Please allow me to answer. Saket, that's the extent of the information we can provide for competitive reasons.
Okay, okay, sir. Lastly, on the utilization levels, if you could give some color and join the queue, sir. How are our U.S. operations and U.S. plants which we have commissioned one year ago? How are the utilization levels being ramped up? That would suffice.
Again, I won't specify by each factory, but I would say overall, we are seeing our utilization improve. We do expect that to continue to improve between now and end of the year.
Any percentage, sir, you can give?
No, no. We won't be able to give at this point.
I'll join the queue, sir. All the best, sir.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Sunny Gosar from MK Ventures. Please go ahead.
Yeah, thanks for taking my question and congratulations on a stable set of numbers in a challenging environment. My first question is relating to the U.S. market. It would be helpful if you can give us some understanding of the nature of the U.S. market in terms of demand, like the telecom players, the data center demand, and also some color on how much of the overall fiber or cable in the U.S. market is imported versus kind of sourced locally. That will be really helpful.
Sure. Yeah, thanks. Thanks, Sunny. Thanks for the wishes. As we said, I think we covered some of it through our slides, but look, in essence, clearly the U.S. market continues to be strong and quite robust. The demand is coming, certainly from the telecom operators. There's also private equity money coming in to build out fiber networks. Fiber is really starting to become viewed as an essential utility, just like power and roads.
On top of this, data center companies are building both inside data centers, connecting data centers, as well as utilizing and leasing the fiber from telcos and others. As an example, just yesterday or the day before, Verizon also signed a deal with Amazon to build out fiber networks which will be utilized by Amazon. These are the kinds of things that are happening at a pretty aggressive pace in the U.S.
All of this is still before the BEAD rollout for rural America, where still, I think, between 70%-80% of the rollout will be fiber-based. This is why we think it is a multi-year build cycle in the U.S. I think the demand has probably been stronger or faster than what the suppliers expected. We are seeing lead times now by suppliers across the market increase.
Hence, this is an interesting opportunity for us to service the market, both from our facility in India as well as our local facility. In terms of how much is made locally versus imported, I will not be able to comment on that specifically, but a large majority of what is supplied in the U.S. market is manufactured locally.
Got it. Got it. Thanks.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Balasubramanian from Arihant Capital . Please go ahead.
Good evening, sir. Thank you so much for the opportunity. Sir, that U.S. quote where we talk of nearly $96.5 million, it seems a big number. We have filed for an appeal. What is the current status? Is there any impact on our financials as a parent company? Whether the U.S. subsidiary can be able to take care of itself, what is the net worth of that U.S. subsidiary, and how they are going to tackle in this redact?
Yeah, thank you, Bala. Look, I just, I'd leave it with just with you to say at a macro level, this is something we have already shared the details that this, we believe very, very strongly in the merits of our case. We have a very clear case which we are fighting. Currently. This is now gone to the appeal court, and it will follow its due process. Certainly, as there is any update in the appeals court, we will update you. We certainly continue to believe, and we have got legal advice that we have a strong case for ourselves, and we'll make sure that we are fighting it accordingly.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Nikhil Chaudhary from Nuvama. Please go ahead.
Okay, thanks for the opportunity. Decent performance in the quarter impacted by tariff uncertainty. Ankit, I mean, tariff had two implications, but the most important part is last quarter was impacted just for one month. While the overall order book remained very strong, how should we think about this implementation in near term? Is it fair to say that some of it will get delayed because of high tariff? Or do you think the demand is so strong that you will be able to pass on? The second, the impact of 300 basis points, which you have highlighted on margin, which you have called out because of some product which was getting shipped, and that's why you took the hit. How should we think about it in the coming quarter? Thank you.
Yeah, thank you, Nikhil. I would start with the macro strategy continues for us that given the demand that we see and expecting to see going forward, we will have this strategic balance between some customers and some designs manufactured locally and some customers and designs manufactured from India or other locations and supplied into the U.S. You're right that we had.
Probably a month or so of tariff that we had in this quarter. To that extent, we will have a larger time exposure in quarter three onwards. Our base assumption continues to be that at some point this quarter, hopefully the BTA, which is expected to be signed, concludes, and hopefully some amount of tariff relief is expected by STL for our products.
I would separate that out a little bit from the how much does STL bear versus how much do our customers bear of the tariff. The reason being that it really just varies from customer to customer. As you can appreciate, we're very focused on high-quality clients, and we want to make sure that we're able to service them for a long term. Hence, it is really an individual-to-individual conversation.
As I said, what we are seeing is the lead time starting to go up in North America. If we are able to cater to the customers well, both from India and US, that should enable us to continue to grow. You can appreciate that. You can see that in our order booking we have done in Q1, Q2, that principally customers are happy with our product portfolio, our quality, and our lead times. As their demand continues to grow, both directly and to serve the hyperscalers, I think that will be a good opportunity for us.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Aditya Jhawar from AK Investment. Please go ahead.
Thanks for the opportunity. Good set of numbers, Ankit. I have a question that I see a good strong order book that on quarter on quarter we are increasing. Where do you see, based on the demand, right, because everyone is putting a data center and there are requirements there, IBR cables are the requirement. Where do you see the order book shaping up in this year, by end of this year or next year? How do you see the order book shaping up for us? Are we waiting for any trade negotiations to happen to confirm the order? Because one of our competitors has said that they are not filling the orders because they want to wait for a better pricing. How are we going with this?
Yeah, I mean, I won't comment on competitors. I think each one has their own strategy. I think principally we're focused on really developing some next-generation products. We've talked about those, both on the cable side as well as connectivity.
We are seeing more and more interest from customers to look at the solution overall of the cable and connectivity. That is really a focus. I have talked in the past of increasing our solutions on the connectivity part of it, connectivity product portfolio. Again, packaging that along with our cable is something that we are focused on. In terms of order book, I cannot give a specific forecast, but clearly with the intent of continuing to scale up in the coming quarters and years ahead, our ambitions are to be world top three.
In that line, we do expect our order books to continue. I mean, clearly it can vary quarter by quarter, but principally we are looking to continue to sign long-term contracts with good quality clients. You will see that in the coming quarters.
Thank you. The next question is from Akshat Mehta from Seven Rivers Holding. Please go ahead.
Hello. Thank you for the opportunity, sir. I just have two questions. One is just some clarity on the interest cost, which has gone up by around 10% quarter on quarter. That is number one. And number two is with such huge demand in the U.S. and tariff situation being there, you've not been able to import from India, make in India, and then import. Is there any plan to improve the capacity in the U.S., especially for IBR, which is the hottest selling product?
Yeah, I'll take the second part, and then Ajay can comment on the interest. As I said, I mean, I don't want to comment on specific capacities. Again, the whole tariff situation is very fluid. I mean, things are in the media on a daily basis. Again, everything from media that we do expect that there should be some resolution of the tariff, at least partially within this current quarter. We are looking forward to seeing how that pans out.
Overall, we are, I would say, quite well placed with our capacities in the US and in India to serve the market. We do not currently intend to add any significant capacity. Of course, if we see even further demand or growing demand, depending on the market scenario, then we will evaluate that. Our intent always first is to fill our current capacities.
Sure. On the finance cost, yes, this quarter, the finance cost has increased by around INR 5 crore if compared to the previous quarter. At the same time, if you see, we have been in a trajectory wherein this has been reducing continuously. We are going to be in a range of INR 47 crore-INR 52 crore for the coming quarters of this financial year. With the commitment of reducing our debt further to bring down to a debt EBITDA of two, you will start seeing improvements after Q4.
Thank you. The next question is from the next follow-up question is from the line of Debashish Mazumdar . Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Thank you so much for the opportunity again. Just, first question is around, you have talked about the data center cable and copper cable, your expansion into the connectivity devices. Just wanted to get some sense beyond optical fiber. Can we get a breakup of these products in your overall order book? If that is not possible, what is the kind of traction that you are getting on those new products?
Yeah, as we said, the way the data center demand is panning out is both their own direct demand for supply within the data center, connecting the data centers. There is also an emerging trend of some of the copper that's required within data centers is moving to fiber. I think that is going to be a future trend going forward. As we speak, we are continuing to build our product portfolio as well.
I think over the next few quarters, we'll be able to share the developments. Certainly on the cable side that we have, the high-capacity cables, that continues to be of interest both to the telecom operators as well as to the data center players. I think that's positive. On the copper side and broadly the enterprise market, again, there we have built some new products.
Including for the Europe and U.S. market. That is something that we do continue to see demand for the enterprise solutions. As I said, more and more the intent is to sell cable and connectivity together, particularly on the fiber side. That we do expect to keep on improving, certainly as we build out our data center portfolio. We have also built a strong leadership team now. As we shared in our release, we have got Jimmy, who has come on board to head our data center. Also, we have got Amir, who has come in to head our enterprise and copper business.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Saket Kapoor from Kapoor & Co. Please go ahead.
Yes, sir. Thank you. Two quick questions. Sir, firstly, with respect to our digital business, what is the current outlook and how should H2 shape up? For the next year, what have we set out as a benchmark for achieving the same? Similarly, sir, for the optical connectivity business also, if we take our first half, including the entire top line, it has grown by 5%. What should we expect in H2 in terms of having a very strong visibility in the order books? My first question.
Yeah, sure. Saket, I think on the digital business, it really, as you can imagine, while the market has remained challenging, we've been focusing on having the right customers and building the right solutions internally. To that extent, we are broadly at this run rate of about INR 65 crore. We have got to EBITDA positive breakeven. The next target for this business is to get to cash profitability. That will require a jump in revenue and managing the current cost structure.
I cannot give you a clear timeframe for that, but that's clearly the next target is to get to cash profitability. We have a good team, good set of customers, so I think we should make that happen. On the optical business as well, as I said, look, we have always maintained that. The simple target is that we want to move towards 80% plus capacity utilization, at which point we comfortably go to 20% EBITDA margins. That's really where we want to move towards. I cannot guide how quickly that will happen, but I would say in the coming quarters, we should move towards that.
Thank you. The next follow-up question is from the line of Sunny Gosar from MK Ventures. Please go ahead.
Yeah, thanks for the follow-up. I have basically two questions. One is, what is the CapEx outflow for FY2026 and FY2027? I understand we have spent about INR 80 crore on CapEx in H1. What should be the estimate for 2026 and 2027? Second question is, do we have any intercompany outstanding in terms of loans, advances, or guarantees with STL Networks?
Okay. Taking on the question two first on STL Networks. STL Networks, the entire thought process of doing demerger is that there should not be any intercompany guarantees because that is a separate company. Having said so, this demerger process itself is a transition process. It takes almost a year down the line to actually transfer everything there.
That is still in process. Everything being done at a standalone level. No relationship between STL and STL Networks from that perspective. On the CapEx side, what we are seeing currently, and as you can see in our presentations, we have started investing on R&D. Therefore, for the current year, we are looking for a total CapEx outlay of around INR 115 crore. Next year, I cannot give any guidance at this point of time, Sunny.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Jalaj from Thavan. Please go ahead.
Thanks for the opportunity. Hope I am audible.
Yes.
Yeah. Just harping upon the US number, specifically the geography split. My calculation tells me that we have grown on a bi-year basis to the tune of 40%. Could you just quantify what was the revenue numbers in the U.S. geography last year, same time?
Sorry, we do not call that out by geography. It is for competitive reasons. We are not calling out specific numbers like that.
Anyway, you have started to give it for the full of the year. That is very— you are giving it even for this quarter. I just wanted to. What I'm just trying to understand is, because these numbers tell me that the demand is at least even on a sequential basis, I do not see the demand pressure, at least in the U.S. geography. Let's not even talk about the YoY. On a sequential basis also, I do not see a drop, and that's the number which you have given. I am just not able to understand that if the tariff is impacting us so much, it is not showing up in the U.S. geography as such. Where am I not adding up or what am I missing in this? Could you just help me understand that?
Okay. Just to answer briefly on your question, if you see, we have clearly in our investor presentation, if you see, the revenue proportion has grown by 8% if you compare from the previous financial year. There is clearly a jump in the revenues which we are doing in the U.S.
The math on tariff, which you are talking about, you can get it through these. The impact is not like you cannot just calculate from U.S. that if our revenue has increased this much, the tariff would be that much because fortunately, we are having one local manufacturing facility there. That would never be adding up on the entire tariff calculation purpose.
Thank you. That was the last question for today. Ladies and gentlemen, now I would like to hand the conference over to the management to Mr. Ankit Agarwal.
Thank you, everyone, for taking your time to hear us out. We remain very excited and motivated to drive this business forward and to unlock its full potential. Through our efforts, we see a tremendous opportunity to connect the unconnected across the world, and especially here in India. We truly believe STL is well positioned to play a pivotal role in building the digital infrastructure of the future.
We are happy to take any questions. Both Ajay and I are available. Once again, thank you for your time and continued support. Jai Hind.
Thank you. On behalf of Sterlite Technologies Limited, I would conclude this call. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your line.