Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to Sterlite Technologies Limited Q3 FY 2026 earnings conference call. Before we proceed with the call, let me remind you that the discussion may contain forward-looking statements that may involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors. It must be viewed in conjunction with our business risks that could cause future results' 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. In case you have not received the same, you can write to us, and we will be happy to send the same to you. To take us through the results and answer your questions today, we have the senior management of Sterlite Technologies Limited, represented by Mr.
Ankit Agarwal, the Managing Director, and Mr. Ajay Jhanjhari, Chief Financial Officer. We will start the call with a brief overview of the quarter gone past and then conduct the Q&A session. As a reminder, all participants' 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 this conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star, then zero on your touch-tone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I will now hand over the call to Mr. Ankit. Over to you, sir.
Thank you. Good day, everyone. Thank you for joining STL's Q3 FY 2026 Earnings Call. I begin by walking you through the key highlights from our investor presentation, after which Ajay, our CFO, will take you through the financials. STL is a global leader in digital connectivity infrastructure, serving telecom operators, data centers, citizen networks, as well as large enterprises. We operate through two business divisions: optical networking business, ONB, which gives us end-to-end play in optical fiber, fiber cables, specialty cables, as well as connectivity. Our digital and technology solutions add cloud, cybersecurity, enterprise SaaS, AI, and product engineering. We are number one in India as an end-to-end optical manufacturer, with almost 8% optical fiber cable market share outside of China. With 30+ years of leadership, more than 780 patents, and 10+ zero-waste manufacturing facilities worldwide, STL is leading the next wave of global digital infrastructure.
At STL, we are one amongst very few companies in the world who have mastered the journey from glass to gigabit. It starts with the purest grade of silicon, which we transform through advanced processes like silicon tetrachloride formation, chemical vapor deposition, and high-precision sintering to create ultra-pure glass preforms, which are the backbone of optical fiber. From there, we draw the highest-grade optical fiber, design high-density cables, and develop reliable connectivity products that power data centers and telecom networks around the world. This full-stack integration, right from raw material and 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-generation fiber cable and connectivity solutions that are redefining global connectivity.
Our end-to-end innovation from material science to smart optical systems helps global network builders create faster, denser, and more reliable networks in the AI era. As we complete nine months of FY 2026, our strategic direction in optical networking remains unchanged. We continue to focus on gaining market share in optical fiber cables, improving connectivity attach rates, and expanding our data center portfolio to meet the growing demand from AI-led infrastructure. At the same time, we are strengthening our technology and cost leadership in the optical domain. Beyond growth, our mission is to build for the future through STL Digital. We are investing in technology and domain capabilities to create long-term differentiation while ensuring all initiatives deliver profitable and sustainable growth. These priorities will guide us through the rest of FY 2026 and beyond, enabling us to not only meet today's needs but to shape the digital networks of tomorrow.
Moving on, we will now speak about our performance in the optical networking business and our focused journey towards gaining our market share. We are at the intersection of three powerful multi-year investment cycles: FTTX, data centers, and 5G, creating a strong structural tailwind of optical infrastructure. FTTX is accelerating globally, with deployments rising from 151 million fiber kilometers to 170 million fiber kilometers by 2030. In the U.S. alone, over 100 million homes will be served by fiber by 2030, supported by large government programs like BEAD and BharatNet in India. Data centers are the fastest-growing driver of fiber demand. CRU projects global DC-led demand to grow at 76% CAGR from 2025, with hyperscalers driving long-haul and inter-data center connectivity. Global DC CapEx is expected to approach almost $600 billion by 2027.
5G is also scaling rapidly, with 6.3 billion subscriptions expected by 2030, carrying 80% of all mobile data traffic. This requires a massive amount of fiber backhaul, fronthaul, and network densification. Together, these three cycles are creating a structural multi-year demand tailwind for fiber and connectivity, positioning STL at the center of the next global digital infrastructure build-out. Next, we show you how global telecom and technology leaders like AT&T, Uniti, BT, and many others are aligned in backing optical fiber as the base of the digital future across 5G broadband data centers and AI infrastructure. The takeaway is simple: fiber remains the backbone of all digital infrastructure. Moving on, slide 11 shows how the AI revolution and the rapid data expansion are creating once-in-a-generation opportunity for optical connectivity.
Data center capacity is expected to grow sharply over the decade, with a significant share of new demand coming from AI-led infrastructure. Hyperscalers are stepping up investments, pushing global data center IT spending towards multi-trillion-dollar levels. AI data centers are fundamentally different as they are far more fiber-intensive. GPU-dense racks need almost up to 36 times more fiber than traditional CPU setups, and overall fiber density is almost 70% higher. This is driving a strong surge in fiber demand within the data centers. At the same time, data centers are increasingly being connected to each other, which is accelerating growth in data centers' interconnect market. This segment is expected to more than double by 2030, adding another large source of fiber demand globally. We are well-positioned for this shift. Our end-to-end make-in-India-for-the-world AI DC portfolio is built for the GPU-dense, high-bandwidth, low-latency environment.
Our enterprise and data center business is gaining traction with 20% revenue contribution in year-to-date FY 2026, and we remain on track to scale this to 30% and expect it to be a key growth driver in the medium term. According to CRU, global optical cable demand growth for 2025 has been upgraded to about 4% year-on-year, reflecting strong visibility led by mainly North American data center build-out and improving execution in China. Importantly, demand is now consistently outpacing domestic supply in North America, keeping the lead times tight. Looking ahead, North America is set to be the main growth engine powered by AI-led data centers, DCI builds, and continued FTTX expansion. CRU expects it to deliver the strongest regional growth of 13.7% CAGR through 2030. APAC, excluding China, is the second major growth pillar, growing at almost 6% CAGR, led by India and Southeast Asia.
This is supported by projects like BharatNet, higher telco capex, and rising data center investments. Overall, this points to a sustained multi-year upcycle in fiber demand with North America and APAC ex-China, both core STL-focused markets going forward. We're also seeing positive momentum in India, Southeast Asia, and parts of Europe, which are also aligned with our strategy. Our order intake clearly shows how STL is capitalizing on the market recovery. Year-to-date FY 2026, we have recorded INR 4,263 crores in orders, a strong 40.3% growth over last year. This reflects both improved demand and our ability to win at scale. The momentum is driven by three main factors. First, large-scale data center connectivity wins aligned with global infrastructure build-outs. Second, a breakthrough into tier-one North American telecom customers, strengthening our presence in the critical market. And third, well-deserved diversified order book, balancing capex-led builds with long-term service contracts.
Overall, this performance reinforces our strategic positioning and gives us strong visibility and confidence as we move forward. Let me briefly highlight how STL is strengthening its innovation leadership. This quarter, we advance next-generation optical technologies. Our MoU with QNu Labs, a deep-tech cybersecurity firm, positioned us with quantum-secure communications, while successful multi-core trials with Colt, a premier digital infrastructure company in London and the United Kingdom, validated our readiness for real-world deployment. Our products, we continue to scale across fiber connectivity and copper. We expanded our IBR intermittent bonded ribbon portfolio to 1,728 fibers and 3,456 fibers for data centers, enhanced data center micro cables, launched a Nano DC portfolio, as well as Opto-Fit connectivity solutions. In addition, we also secured railway signaling approvals in copper for supporting our diversification.
Our innovation is backed by a strong IP engine with 780 patents, including 23 new filings in the last quarter. We're also building future capabilities through hollow core fiber for ultra-low latency and AI-enabled fiber sensing, which is seeing growing commercial adoption. STL won 4 major awards in 2025 across data center innovation, leadership, cabling, and social impact. We are delivering global firsts: India's first quantum-secured networks, green hydrogen projects, the world's slimmest 160-micron fiber, showing STL leadership in high-performance and sustainable solutions. Overall, this reflects our focused approach in deep-tech innovation, IP-led differentiation, and long-term value creation. Slide 15 of the presentation showcases our strengthened data center portfolio with the launch of the world's slimmest 864 fibers in a ribbon cable. We now offer full-stack DC connectivity suite, fiber and optical fiber and copper cabling, pre-terminated systems, and high-density IBR designed for faster deployment, low latency, and scalability.
The portfolio is AI and hyperscale-ready, meeting global standards and sustainability requirements. It is supported by in-house future-ready manufacturing and a strong go-to partnership. Slide 16 highlights STL's leadership in multi-core fiber, a key enabler in quantum-safe multi-terabit networks. Multi-core fibers allow four to seven times higher capacity with the same physical footprint, improving space efficiency while lowering deployment infrastructure costs, making it ideal for AI data centers, long-haul 5G, and high-performance interconnects. We have shown strong capability, enabling India's first quantum key distribution over multi-core fiber, completing live 100 km testing, and becoming the first globally to deploy multi-core fiber in both aerial and underground networks, further validating our successful trials with Colt in the UK. Overall, this positions STL at the forefront of quantum-safe next-generation optical networks with strong relevance for global hyperscalers and carriers.
Looking ahead to STL's next-generation fiber portfolio, we have two exciting launches coming up: G.654.E and hollow core fiber. To start with, G.654.E delivers around 30% lower signal loss along with a larger core. This makes it ideal for AI-led high-power, long-distance networks such as 400 gig, 800 gig data center links, national backbone, and subsea cables. At the same time, hollow core fiber is truly a game changer because the light travels through an air-filled core. It offers 30%-47% lower latency and supports extremely high bandwidth. As a result, it opens up major opportunities in data center interconnect, sensing, and quantum communications. Put together, these launches will place STL among a select group of very few global players ready for large-scale G.654.E deployment and early leadership in hollow core fiber, exactly where the future of fast, low-latency networks are headed.
Speaking of our market position and attach rate trends, our global ex-China OFC market share remains stable at 8% year-to-date FY 2026, reflecting disciplined execution in a competitive market with clear focus on gaining our share over time through our technologies. Our optical connectivity attach rates moderated to 17% in year-to-date FY 2026 from 22% in FY 2025. This was primarily driven by product mix and project timing, along with a sharp acceleration in OFC revenues leading to a higher base. We view this moderation as temporary, and importantly, the long-term opportunity of connectivity remains strong. Our portfolio is expanding, and we're increasingly focused on selling our integrated solutions of the cable and connectivity rather than standalone products. Taken together, this shows that our core OFC business is stable, while there is a clear runway to drive higher value through attach-led growth over the medium term.
Now turning on to the financial performance of optical networking business. In quarter three FY 2026, the revenues came at INR 1,174 crores, reflecting a strong volume recovery and growth Q on Q and by a Y basis. For a Y to date, FY 2026 revenues increased to INR 3,115 crores, indicating sustained momentum. On profitability, quarter three FY 2026 EBITDA margin was 11.2%, moderating versus earlier quarters due to tariff-related headwinds. However, EBITDA in absolute terms grew, with Y to date FY 2026 EBITDA at INR 404 crores, supporting margin recovery as volume scale and the cost normalized.
Overall, this reflects improving top-line traction, clear path to margin recovery as operating leverage kicks in. Let me now take you through a continued growth momentum in STL Digital. We have global delivery footprints across India, U.S., and U.K. with strong capabilities in data analytics, AI cloud cybersecurity, and enterprise SaaS, serving diversified industry verticals.
During Q3, we added one new major customer, taking our total base to 34 and secured $ multimillion SAP S/4HANA deal with US-based healthcare major, demonstrating execution capability in large complex programs. Our team now comprises 1,120 consultants, supporting growth, deal sizes, and multi-service engagements. Financially, we closed the quarter with an open order book of INR 276 crore, providing strong revenue visibility. Overall, STL Digital is well-positioned for scalable growth driven by customer centricity, innovation, and increased deal depth. Moving to the next slide, we showcase steady progress in digital business, both on scale and profitability. Q3 FY 2026 revenue was INR 86 crore with stable performance over the nine months at INR 215 crore, broadly in line with the last year despite a tough environment.
More importantly, quarter three FY 2026 EBITDA was INR 1 crore, marking another conservative EBITDA positive quarter. This reflects operating discipline and better project quality. While still in the scale-up phase, the business is clearly moving in the right direction while stabilizing revenues and improving profitability. Now I will hand over the call to Ajay 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 Q3 and YTD FY 2026. Our revenue for Q3 stood at INR 1,257 crores, reflecting strong growth momentum, with YTD FY 2026 revenue up 12% year-on-year at INR 3,311 crores. Growth was broad-based across business segments. EBITDA for Q3 was INR 129 crores with a margin of 10.3%. Margins moderated in the near term due to tariff headwinds. For YTD FY 2026, EBITDA grew 35% year-on-year to INR 410 crores, with margins improving to 12.4% year-on-year.
PAT before exceptional items stood at INR 9 crore in the current fiscal compared to a loss of INR 78 crore last year, a clear turnaround which highlights strengthening underlying profitability of the business. The exceptional item for the quarter includes a one-time impact of INR 15 crore related to the new labor code. Overall, the business continues to scale with improving earnings quality. Operational EBITDA has improved for five consecutive quarters, rising from 11.2% in Q2 of FY 2025 to 17.9% in Q3 of FY 2026, driven by a richer product mix and a higher contribution from the US market. However, the US tariff reset effective mid-quarter two of FY 2026 created a temporary headwind, reducing reported EBITDA by almost 760 basis points in Q3 of the current fiscal and bringing the reported margins to 10.3%.
While underlying margin momentum remains strong, we have proactively started implementing some mitigation measures, such as passing on some proportion of tariff costs to customers and aggressively ramping up local production in the U.S. facility. We still remain hopeful of early resolution of the India-U.S. bilateral trade agreement, which will provide a clear path for further margin expansion. From a geographic standpoint, our revenue mix continues to diversify. North America share increased from 25% in financial year 2025 to 36% in the current financial year, while Europe remains a significant contributor at 40%. This balanced regional footprint reduces concentration risk and positions us well to capture growth across key global markets. Moving to the order book, we have seen continued momentum this quarter. Our open order book stood at INR 5,325 crores, up from INR 5,188 crores in Q2 FY 2026, reflecting healthy order inflows and strong market confidence.
Of this, INR 988 crore is slated for execution in the next quarter, while the remaining INR 4,337 crore is scheduled for execution over FY 2027 and beyond. This robust order pipeline provides strong revenue visibility and reinforces our growth outlook for the year. On slide 30, we have shared an average snapshot of our reported numbers for your reference. Net debt stands at INR 1,331 crore, with debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87 and net debt-to-EBITDA at 2.58x. With this now, I hand it over back to Ankit for updates on our social responsibility initiatives and closing remarks.
Thank you, Ajay. STL's CSR initiatives continue to create a strong and measurable impact across healthcare and education. Our flagship healthcare program, Swasthya Suraksha, won the Best Rural Healthcare Initiative of the Year 2025 at the India Social Impact Awards, recognizing a sustained contribution to rural and tribal healthcare.
In education, the RoboEdge program received the Best Education Support Initiative of the Year 2025 at the Indian CSR Awards for advancing STEM learning and innovation. RoboEdge students also excelled globally in the Robotex International 2025, winning multiple podium positions. Nine students represented India, showcasing talent, teamwork, and innovation, reflecting STL's commitment to build a stronger future-ready society. At STL, sustainability is central to our focus. We are proud to hold an MSCI ESG A rating and are committed to achieving net zero emission by 2030. Our strategy is built on three pillars: environmental sustainability. Since FY 2019, we have diverted 276,000 metric tons of waste, recycled almost 11 million cubic meters of water, and reduced over 43,000 tons of carbon through energy efficiency. Over 36% of our procurement is local, and we partner with Hygenco to advance clean hydrogen.
Social responsibility: in addition, aligned with the 16 UN SDGs, we have positively impacted 920,000 lives through education, empowerment, and healthcare, alongside installing 4,500 kW of solar capacity. Strong governance: with two Big Four auditors and robust governance committees, we've earned 100+ ESG awards since FY 2019. Notably, STL is the world's first optical fiber manufacturer certified for zero liquid discharge and zero waste to landfill, setting a true industry benchmark. Let me close now with our focus areas. In optical, our goal is to be the world's top three, driving innovation and cost leadership, growing in focus markets, increasing connectivity attach rates, and rapidly scaling our data center portfolio. This strengthens STL's role as a key player in global digital infrastructure. In digital, our priority is simple: grow revenue with profitability through disciplined execution and scalable platforms. These priorities position STL for sustainable long-term growth.
With this, I'll close my opening remarks and hand over to the operator to open the floor for questions. Thank you.
Thank you very much. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touch-tone 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. Participants, you are requested to limit your questions to two per participant. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question is from the line of Mr. Jhanjhari from Swan Investments. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hope I'm audible. Yes. Yeah, thanks for the opportunity. Sir, my first question was around the tariffs and the impact on the margins. So, two parts of it.
Firstly, should we consider this is the maximum impact the tariffs would have had because since it was the full quarter impact we would have had this quarter? First part. And secondly, how are we looking to mitigate the impact, going forward? What sorts of discussions are we having with the clients? And secondly, what actions are we taking? One, you have mentioned specifically about opening up the plant in the U.S. Is there some other way of processing or a different location altogether, something on those lines? Yeah, thank you. So as we shared, we've, you know, this has been a full quarter of the tariff impact.
Definitely, you know, ultimately, the amount of tariff we pay is a function of the amount of business that we do, particularly the products that we manufacture from India and we sell into the U.S. market. As you also mentioned, we do have some options in terms of our manufacturing facility that we have in the U.S., and ensuring that that is, you know, utilized to the best possibility. We are evaluating various other options of how we can, you know, reduce our impact of the tariffs. But, principally, as we have shared, our focus markets and our growth markets continue to be the U.S. and Europe in particular. So we do see that these will be markets where we will continue to focus in terms of volume.
In terms of the tariff impact itself, definitely we will see what more we can do to reduce the percentage that is impactful to us. Beyond this, I won't be able to share for, you know, competitive reasons and confidentiality reasons. Got it, sir. And sir, one point, one more point was, so let's assume there's a tariff of 20% on the goods. So the realizations we are booking in our P&L right now would be if the item was worth 100, so we are booking it at, at 125 right now? So the tariff is actually a cost which is on us. It is now up to us whether we can pass it on to the end customers or not. So the realization will include everything, every cost which we are incurring in order to get the revenue.
Sir, just to get it right, let's assume the PO. Your, if the growth is 20%, it will be partially because of the fact that the tariffs have been built in.
Sorry to interrupt. Hello?
Yeah, I'm just closing up the question if you don't mind.
So, Jhanjhari, just in order to answer your question, what you have to see is the PO from end customer doesn't mention what is the tariff and what is the cost of the goods. So the PO comes for the entire amount. Now the question I can deal with it is whether the customer is absorbing the cost of tariff or not. Currently, we are in the process of negotiation because this is the time when we enter into new contracts that is going on.
So then the impact on customer because of the tariff will be clearly visible. Not right now. Got it.
Thanks a lot. Thanks, Mr.
Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Mr. Nikhil Chaudhary from Nuvama. Please go ahead.
Thanks for the opportunity and congratulations on very strong revenue growth. First question, Ankit, on AI opportunity. So, we have been talking about the portfolio we are creating, especially related to AI products. Where we are in that journey and the 13%-30% revenue comment which you gave earlier, any possible timeline when we can reach 30% revenue from AI and enterprise business?
Yeah, so thank you, Nikhil. So I think definitely as we've been speaking, this is pretty interesting market dynamics where, you know, you have the telecom operators looking to build out networks for themselves.
They're also building interconnects for the data center requirements. And then you've got the data centers themselves putting fiber within the data centers and in between data centers. So, you know, clearly, fiber is the preferred medium. What we're clearly seeing is that the density requirements are increasing where, you know, space is clearly a constraint. And a lot of our focus on our product development, our IP and our technology has been to solve for some of these challenges. Happy to share that we continue to make good progress quarter on quarter. If you would have seen the press release we shared, we had almost INR 500 crore of orders broadly from the enterprise and data center segment. So, this is where, you know, our portfolio is now getting converted into good order wins.
You know, as the demand continues, as our portfolio continues to improve both on cable and connectivity, we do, you know, we expect this ratio that we spoke about, 20%, to move towards 30% in the, you know, probably next 12 to 18 months.
Great, Ankit. It's very interesting. Second, just on the margin part, I think you partially addressed it that you are taking some mitigation measures to reduce the overall impact. But where could we see margins, let's say, going ahead? Any rough, even directional comment about where we are heading, if we include everything, the mitigation measures, internal efficiency, where the margin could settle, let's say in FY 2027?
We won't be able to give a specific number, but which is what we've discussed in our call, Nikhil, in our previous calls as well.
You know, directionally, this is a business where, you know, if we operate with the right utilizations of, you know, 70% plus, you know, we are confident that ultimately this is a business that should be 20% EBITDA margins. And actually you can see that in our results already that, you know, if you look exclude the tariff impact, then we would almost be at that 19%, 18%, 19%. So, you know, I think directionally, the volumes are increasing, our utilizations are improving. And now it's a function of how we can mitigate the impact of tariffs, look at other ways to, you know, reduce our costs. And that will, that should help us in our margins, going forward. But as you can appreciate, it's a very dynamic situation, in terms of tariffs.
There are live conversations going on between the governments in terms of where it settles. So, I think, you know, hopefully we get some input from the government in the next few months. Got it, Ankit. Last one, if I can. Expedited, but just wanted your thought on the possible impact of Europe with the EFTA, if you have any. That's it from my side. Thank you. No, nothing currently at the moment. Again, we are very well set up, you know, in terms of our operations in Italy. We've scaled that up quite well. We of course also have customers in the U.K., which, you know, would be outside of this FTA and already, we do not have any tariff to that effect in the U.K.
So, overall, I think it would be neutral to us in terms of the impact. No, so that can increase a beneficial position for us in future, but right now, because we are having a local manufacturing setup already there, we don't see much impact.
Yeah. Got it, guys. Thanks a lot and good luck.
Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. Participants are requested to limit your questions to two per participant. The next question is from the line of Saket Kapoor from Kapoor & Co. Please go ahead.
Yeah, namaskar, Ankit ji. Namaskar, sir. And thank you for the opportunity. Sir, firstly, just to clarify, the two factors that attributed to the lowering of margins are particularly labor law implementation affected in the P&L and the tariff impact. Are these two the key reasons why the margins are lower to 13% or 10.3% EBITDA margin?
So, labor code impact we have considered as an exceptional item. So that is not reflective in the EBITDA margin. So the only impact which is material enough is the tariff impact, which we have clearly demonstrated, if you see on the investor presentation.
Okay. And just taking that into for a, if you could just elaborate, just quantify for us how much have been the impact as Ankit ji was mentioning about the PO order from the customer that does not take into factor the tariff impact. So which line item does the tariff get displayed? Whether it is the other expenses or the cost of raw material, where do we factor in the tariff impact?
So generally, the tariff impact on the exports, what we do is, settled in the cost of raw material and component consumed. Then there are, because we are having a local manufacturing unit, part of it is also in the others.
Okay. And next question number 2 was, sir, regarding the utilization levels for the U.S. and how are the OF and the OFC prices currently trending, sir?
Yeah, Saket, so I think as we shared last time also, we're not disclosing utilization levels at, you know, unit level or company level, but broadly what we can share is that the utilizations have improved, you know, quarter-on-quarter. One thing that we are mindful of, particularly, you know, in our, in our glass operations, is availability of germanium.
As we have shared in the past as well, this is something that is tightly controlled, particularly by China. And so, the continued availability of germanium will be an important factor for our manufacturing of glass, and then ultimately fiber and cable. So that's something that, you know, we are mindful of, but we are taking all actions to mitigate that risk. From the pricing perspective, I think overall it has been stable. It has been, you know, steady, both in China as well as globally. So I do, I don't see any concern on that side. And as we said that ultimately for players like us who are supplying into Europe and U.S., we are focused on, you know, long-term contracts with our customers, whether it's on the telecom side, or the data center side.
Okay. So, your short answer is that prices have remained, the realizations have remained somewhat flattened or in the same vicinity that was for the Q2 . So there is no uptick, yeah.
Yeah, there's no decline for sure. I think the prices always vary a little bit by market, but as I said, for us, we don't really play in this spot market at all. We just focused on our solutions for, you know, long-term contracts with our customers.
Okay. And last point was about the BharatNet rolling out, sir, and our participation in the same. How are we seeing traction on ground with respect to how the rollout for BharatNet has been, sir, in the country?
I think it is currently going on. This is a phase III that is going on. As you know, our group company in Venya has secured a Jammu and Kashmir package, where we will be supplying the cable on arm's-length basis. So that is going on. We have also achieved what is called a MAF, you know, manufacturing authorization from a few other bidders. And I think it's still initial stages in terms of the execution. So probably, you know, through the course of this year and next two, three years, is where we expect the rollout of the optical fiber cable.
Okay, sir. Sir, okay, sir. Thank you.
Yeah, thank you, Saket.
The next question is from the line of Mr. Balasubramanian from Arihant Capital. Please go ahead.
Good evening, sir. Thank you so much for the opportunity. Sir, my first question, I think we are working on next generation fiber technologies, especially when we can expect the commercial rollout for hollow fiber, hollow core fiber, HCF, and G.654.E fiber. And, what is the projected adoption rates in long-haul networks and data center interconnects?
Yeah, so, I'll touch on hollow core first. I think that's a, it's a very exciting technology. It's in the public domain that particularly Microsoft and Amazon are, are really looking to deploy this at, you know, a good amount of scale. We're also seeing some deployments of this in, in China as well. So, so clearly it's, it's, it's moved from, say, the phase of, you know, concept to, being on the ground. I think practically over the next 2-3 years is when we see, you know, larger scale rollouts happening.
It's still, you know, there are, say, commercial challenges to deploy this fiber in terms of the cost of manufacturing is extremely high and the process speeds are very, very low for all the manufacturers globally. So this is where, you know, there will be certain time and effort to scale this up and make it viable, from a larger scale perspective. But the impact to the network and the impact to the hyperscalers is very real. So it's quite an exciting, you know, time to work with them. Just to be clear, there are no global standards still set on hollow core. So that also has to be done in terms of an industry standard, to create, to make sure that this can get rolled out at scale.
G.654 as well, in some similar ways is a little bit more advanced. There is a reasonable amount of demand that we're seeing, globally. But again, this is, you know, we do see the realizations to be, definitely better than standard fiber, and it can enable typically 70%-100% longer reach. So again, there is a, you know, a good amount of opportunity here, but I would say less than, you know, 5% of the world market, is with this fiber right now, but a good potential going forward.
Okay. So my second question, I think we have been in partnership with Colt Technology Services for multi-core fiber. I think the trial's also almost.
Mr. Balasubramanian, sorry to interrupt. Can you rejoin the queue for more questions?
Okay, madam. Thank you.
Thank you. To participants, in order to ensure that the management answers all the questions, you are requested to limit your question to one participant. The next question is from the line of Dhaval Jain from Sequent Investments. Please go ahead.
Hello, sir. So my couple of questions are, the first question is, as, the North America revenue, contribution has increased from 25% to 36%, versus the last year. So I just wanted to understand, like, we have a tariff impact of 7% on our margins, due to this. So, going forward, what I understand is if this revenue contribution keeps on increasing, will our, you know, the, tariff impact keep on increasing and the margins keep on dragging further down?
So yeah, hi Dhaval. So basically, see, as Ankit mentioned previously, we majorly act into the major long-term contracts. So, ideal way to deal with it is that we, yes, we are bullish on the U.S. market, but at the same time, the tariff impact can be passed on to customers only at the time of renewal of contracts. So that process is currently going on. So while the U.S. revenue is expected to increase with the mitigations measures we are already working on and a few of them are now in place, we don't expect any further increase.
Okay. And also one more question on the, yes?
You are requested to rejoin the queue, please.
Also one more question.
You can, yeah, you can go ahead. One more question.
Okay, go ahead.
Thank you. Yeah. So, the question I wanted to understand is, you know, on the growth that we had in the revenues, was it more of the volume growth or the realizations have also contributed in the growth, the 20% YY growth? Majorly, it's a mix of both. Yes, volume has played a significant part in it. But at the same time, the sale of high fiber count cables has also increased this top line. The AI one. Not so on the AI one. Overall value-added cables and, you know, more higher-end, higher-tech cables. Yeah, so the ballpark, I mean, could I get an understanding of what would be the split between the volume and the value? No, we won't be able to share that. Okay, sir.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Akshat Mehta from Seven Rivers Capital. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hello. Am I audible? Yes. Yeah, I am. So I just, I just wanted to ask you an update on, on the lawsuits, right? What is happening on the U.S. lawsuit and if you can share some light on, you know, this income tax order that has come in, you know, what is that and what is the impact? Can take the income tax first.
Okay. Yeah, so see this income tax matter is in the regular assessment. There are some transfer pricing adjustments for which they have issued this notice. We are quite confident that, with the merits we are having in the case, no material financial impact is going to be there. And we, we have already disclosed it in detail if you see with the press release. So are we going to make any provision or we have to deposit some amount or there's no impact as of now?
As of now, there is no impact, but as per, we will have to go by the rules only. So, there can be a chance of some deposits, but that doesn't exceed more than 15%-20%. Okay. And linked to the legal matter in the U.S., so in September 2025, our U.S. entity, against which the case is there, it has appealed the district court judgment and now it, the case has moved to the U.S. Court of Appeals. And whatever was required in terms of posting the bond, that has been done successfully and there is no financial payout obligation at this stage. So as we are confident of our appeal, we believe we have a very strong case. So as that progresses, we shall of course update it as a fiduciary duty. Okay. Thank you. Thank you.
The next question is from the line of Bajrang Bafna from Sunidhi Securities. Please go ahead.
Congratulations for good growth. So basically, sir, in our existing order book, which is closer to INR 5,000 crore, if you would like to understand, suppose the U.S. trade deal doesn't materialize in next couple of quarters. And since you are negotiating the new orders, when can we see the impact of past orders pinning, you know, getting went and the new ones will be visible in the margins itself? You know, that will be, you have indicated close to INR 1,000 crore will be executed in next quarter. So when the older contracts will expire and the new pricing will kick in, if you just try to understand from that perspective. Thank you.
Yeah, so, so see, there is going to be a gradual shift from it. So we'll keep on getting new orders, we'll keep on supplying against the long, long-term contracts which we are having in past. Good thing is that in U.S., generally, the contracts are currently in the range of 12-15 months. So we'll start seeing part of the impact from the next quarter onwards. And the full impact will take some time. It is going to be a matter of 2-3 quarters wherein old contracts will be fully settled in and all the new contracts will jump in.
Yeah. Okay, just try to understand the past contracts at which rate you have taken and the new rate which is going on currently. What is the difference in percentage terms if you could help that out to us?
Sorry that we can't disclose on the. Sorry. No, only in percentage terms. I'm not asking any absolute, $15 or $15 or something.
I mean, see, obviously the tariff rate is 50%. And logically you would want to share some part of that cost to the customers. But really it just varies from customer to customer, the product portfolio, you know, various other terms of the contract. So that's why we can't give you one number. It'll all be down to what we are able to negotiate and, you know, create that balance between the right, the best pricing as well as, you know, ensuring we get long-term partnerships.
Okay. Thank you. So next quarter onwards, your margins are going to improve.
Mr. Bafna.
Even with the 50% tariffs.
Mr. Bafna. Right.
Yeah. Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. The next question is from the line of Mr. Sunil Jain from Nirmal Bang Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Well, so my question again relates to the US and we had seen the impact of the currency, of the tariff, but on the currency side, are we going to benefit and how is the hedging policy for contracts to supply the US?
So we do have a robust risk management policy which makes sure that the fluctuations in forex does not impact us in the short run. But as you rightly said, in the long run, when we start getting new orders and against that we are going to supply, there is going to be a positive benefit because we are actually net exporter by far. Almost 80% of our revenue comes from outside India. And with the local manufacturing setup we are having in Italy and US.
So, you want to say that, whatever the order you are booking, you against that, you book the currency or?
Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So we have the robust hedging policy wherein we don't keep any exposure open. Okay. So the benefit of this will come gradually, not attached to it.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Okay, sir. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. The next question is from the line of Mr. Aditya from AK Investments. Please go ahead.
Yes. Thanks for the opportunity. But I wanted to understand one thing. We have facility in the U.S. and we have multiple facilities outside India. I know. I understand that India has 50% tariff. But in a single quarter, if I do the math, we are burning. I mean, the impact is INR 80 crore. That is very huge. And for a year, if I do, it is INR 300 crore that we are putting out. So what is the strategy? I know you don't want to get into specifics, but can you help them as an investor? I mean, we think Sterlite as a global player and they have the facility in the U.S. But this, but this impact is really very huge number. So how do you plan to, yeah, utilize the U.S. facility and how do we mitigate that?
Yeah. Yeah. So look, I mean, currently we have manufacturing, cable portfolio in, in the U.S. We have it in Italy and of course we have large-scale, mother plant kind of operations in India. And we are very, very mindful of, you know, three, four things.
We want to ensure that, you know, we produce a variety of portfolio products that are manufactured across our facility. So we always have to be mindful of where the demand can be met from an operating perspective because there's a large variety on what products get produced. The second part we have to be mindful of is, you know, which is a place most optimized from our customer demand perspective where customers require certain lead times and where do we operationalize. And then of course is the current, you know, impact of the tariff, which currently is at the full, you know, 50%. So we are very mindful of, you know, the impact and the quantity that it is affecting us on the quarterly basis.
As we shared earlier, multiple actions are on to see how we can minimize the tariff while at the same time we continue to see strong demand from the North America market. Currently we do also have options of manufacturing in Europe as well and supplying into US. So all those we continue to evaluate. We rest assured that we continue to take actions where the effective percentage rate will reduce. But certainly from an absolute amount, that's something we continue to watch, if and when our you know business to North America and to US continues. Sir, this is only the optical network we are doing 30% for North America. I mean 30%-35%.
In that, the whole impact—I mean, 80% share if I take it—it is only coming from that INR 300-odd crore of revenue. Is that the right math?
So you can try to do that math, but there are two, three things which is related to tariff. One is whatever the finished goods or the semi-finished goods we are selling from India. And then the import we are doing in U.S. from India, other than these, optical fiber cables. So that math will not properly fit in if you try to find a number out of the revenue. What we can tell you is that yes, as you rightly mentioned, we have been continuously increasing our U.S. production, which can mitigate this, these tariff impacts partly. Along with it, we are assessing all the other measures to mitigate the impact to the minimum possible.
But how much can the U.S. facility help us? I mean, if you can share in a, I mean, ballpark number or percentage of how much?
No, I look, I think, if you've seen the, the investments we've done, I think more than $50 million of investment to build a factory of a certain scale. And I think our intent has always been, strategic to serve the market both from the facility there as well as from India. As you can appreciate that, there is, you know, real intent from both governments to sign a, you know, at least an interim bilateral trade agreement, which, which, which has been imminent for some time now and continues to be imminent. So we are mindful that we, we need to maximize from our operations, you know, outside of India.
At the same time, we also need to look at other options of how do we reduce the tariff impact. So all the actions are ongoing. Of course, ultimately we do hope that some sort of trade agreement does come through, which will definitely impact and benefit STL.
Sure, sir. All the best. I hope that we will be able to navigate this one and we'll be able to ramp up and use the U.S. facility at utmost utilization so that we can minimize the impact that would be.
Sure. Yeah. Yeah.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Anshul Saigal from Saigal Capital Advisors LLP. Please go ahead.
Thanks for taking my question. You mentioned germanium as a prospective risk in case China stops supplying that as a raw material. What is the mitigant? Do we have alternate raw materials or alternate supplies of germanium?
Yeah. So, as I said, we've you know there are global global sources available in terms of there are global while China is the majority. There are other global you know geographies available for sourcing of germanium which we are both evaluating and pursuing. So that's really the primary option. Of course from China itself there is a procedure and a process to source the germanium which we are also pursuing including with all the government channels. And of course we also have a facility in China itself which we're also utilizing where you know we can use the germanium that's available locally. So multiple multiple avenues are all working in parallel and we're confident that we'll be able to solve any challenges we face.
Thanks. Secondly, nearly 30%-35% of our revenues come from North America. I'm assuming most of this will be from the US. From our US facility, are we able to, you know, kind of, cater to this entire revenue or only a part of this revenue, assuming that the US facility operates at full utilization?
So, currently it's only a part of revenue. So it is a lengthy process to qualify your manufacturing unit for all the standard products which we do. And if you see in the last two, three quarters, the entire requirement has changed to high fiber count, intermittent, ribbon cables, for which there is a standard process in order to get the qualification. So all that is currently going on, with the clear objective of utilizing US facility for full, and then using India for the trading of the other materials or other cables.
My question is that will it be sufficient to,
not sufficient.
Not sufficient. Yeah. So there will be incremental supplies always from other countries, particularly India.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Also in the same, same light, you know, can you, can you give the number of volumes, that we did, for this quarter? For the whole company, that is.
No, we actually don't disclose volumes or capacities for competitive reasons.
Okay. Not total capacities also. I mean, not for a plant, but okay. Okay. Okay. So in, you know, asking another question, I mean, we've, we've peaked out on revenues in March 2020, I think, where we did around INR 5,100 crore.
Mr. Saigal? Sorry to interrupt you.
Ma'am, this is just a, this is just a continuation of the question. Just hold on.
Okay.
We've done INR 5,100 crore revenues in 2020. Assuming we do full utilization of our capacity, will we be able to reach that number or exceed that number given current, current pricing?
Yes. Yes. That we're confident.
All right. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, due to time constraint, that was the last question. I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Ankit for closing comments.
Thank you, everyone, for taking your time to hear us out. We remain very excited and motivated, to drive this business forward and unlock its full potential. Through our efforts, we see a tremendous opportunity to connect the unconnected across the world and especially here in India at every village level. We truly believe STL is well positioned to play a pivotal role in building the digital, digital infrastructure around the world. We're happy to take any of your questions. Both Ajay and I are available through our IR team. Once again, thank you for your time and your continued support. Jail.
On behalf of Sterlite Technologies Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines.