Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the earnings conference call of Cera Sanitaryware Limited. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star and zero on your touch-tone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Mayank Vaswani of CDR India. Thank you, and over to you.
Thank you, Yashasvi. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us on the earnings conference call for Cera Sanitaryware Limited, which is being hosted for the second quarter and first half of financial year 2025, the earnings of which were announced yesterday. We have with us today the management team comprising Mr. Vikas Kothari, CFO, and Mr. Deepak Chaudhary, VP, Finance and Investor Relations. We will start with brief opening remarks from the management, following which we will open the call for Q&A. A quick disclaimer before we begin: some of the statements made in today's conference call may be forward-looking in nature, and a detailed note in this regard is contained in the results documents that have been shared with all of you earlier. I will now turn the call over to the management for their opening remarks. Thank you.
Thank you, Mayank. Good morning, everyone. On behalf of the management team of Cera Sanitaryware Limited, I would like to welcome you to our earnings conference call. I will begin by sharing some updates on the operations and strategy, following which our CFO, Mr. Vikas Kothari, will run you through the key financial highlights. Building on the challenges of the first quarter, Q2 FY25 continued to face market pressures. It was further intensified by an extended monsoon season. Despite these headwinds, Cera recorded revenues from operations of INR 490 crores and profits after tax of INR 68 crores for Q2 FY25, achieving a year-on-year growth of 6.3% and 19.7%, respectively. EBITDA for the quarter was 88 crores, marking a marginal increase of 0.8%. These results underscore the resilience of our core business segments and our ability to adapt and perform in a complex environment.
Compared to Q1 FY25, with gradual demand uptrend, strengthens our optimism for a steady recovery as we progress into the second half of FY25. In terms of segment contributions, sanitaryware and faucetware accounted for 46% and 41% of the total revenues, respectively. We are optimistic about the continued recovery in demand in the second half of FY25 and our ability to effectively leverage this momentum to drive growth. New product development across all segments accounted for 34% of total sales in this quarter. To address the impact of rising input costs, mainly brass prices, brass prices increased by 18% between March and June. We implemented a strategic price adjustment in September 2024, applying a 6% increase for faucets and 1% increase for sanitaryware. These pricing adjustments are expected to help cushion our margins in the upcoming quarters, supporting our ability to maintain profitability in a challenging cost environment.
We remain focused on gradually expanding our footprint in the luxury segment. The ongoing expansion of SKUs across our premium brands, Senator and Luxe, will enrich our presence in this market, catering to the increasing demand for high-value, design-centric bathroom solutions. As consumer preferences revolve towards luxury properties and sophisticated fittings, we are enhancing our product range offerings, including innovations such as electronic toilets, touch-free flushing with wipe slips, tankless sensor closets, etc., to meet these expectations. While it may take some time for significant results to materialize, our strategic efforts have established a robust foundation for future growth, and we are confident of the long-term potential of our high-end offerings. Having said this, our flagship brand, Cera, continues to perform well across key markets. The expanded faucetware capacity, which now stands at 4 lakh units per month, is yielding positive results, with utilization rates steadily improving.
There remains a noteworthy opportunity in the growing faucetware segment, with demand further driven by a shorter replacement cycle compared to other categories. We have seen subdued traction in the sanitaryware segment in the recent months, but are confident that a pickup is around the corner, which will allow us to capitalize on the strong growth potential of this segment. As a result, we are well placed across both sanitaryware and faucetware segments to capture growth opportunities. Land acquisition for the Sanitaryware Greenfield project has been completed. The construction of the new facility will be completed in 18 months from the zero date. It is not expected that expansion shall start in the current financial year, looking at the current market situation. The start date shall be revisited at the end of the current financial year.
With adequate inventory levels, we have optimized our production strategy to balance production and inventory, achieving faucetware capacity utilization of 93% and sanitaryware capacity utilization at 89% in Q2 FY25. These initiatives will strengthen our ability to effectively meet anticipated demand, and we expect enhanced performance as the market continues to stabilize and grow. Our planned CapEx for FY25 stands at INR 25 crores, of which we have already deployed with these INR 11 crores by the H1 of FY25. These investments are directed towards key operational enhancements, including upgrades to our sanitaryware and faucetware facilities, improvement to customer touchpoints, and advancements in IT infrastructure. This CapEx aligns with our strategy to drive operational efficiency and consistently deliver high-quality products. In terms of marketing, Cera continues to maintain strong visibility in the market.
Our advertising spends are on track, with INR 15 crores allocated in Q2 FY25 compared to INR 15 crores in Q2 of FY24. This level of investment reinforces our brand's presence and supports our premiumization efforts, particularly in Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns, where we see growing demand. Since the launch of the retailer loyalty program, we have enrolled over 21,700 retailers, with more than 3.6 lakh invoices recorded. This program has been instrumental in driving loyalty and supporting retail sales. Of the total retail sales amounting to INR 97 crores, 39% are eligible for loyalty rewards. We continue to see strong engagement with our loyalty program, which underpins our market position and fosters stronger partnerships within the retail network. As part of our strategic initiatives, we are also strengthening our B2B sales approach.
B2B sales contributed 37% of Q2 revenue, demonstrating our selective focus on project sales that align with our profitability and margin goals. We believe that balancing our B2C and B2B sales channels while optimizing inventory levels enables us to effectively capture growth opportunities across various market segments. During the quarter, we successfully concluded the buyback of shares amounting to INR 130 crores. The buyback involved purchase of 108,333 fully paid-up equity shares at INR 12,000 per share, effectively returning part of the surplus cash to shareholders. This initiative, along with our consistent and steadily increasing dividend payments over the years, reinforces our commitment to delivering value to our shareholders while upholding a robust financial foundation. Our business fundamentals remain strong, supported by five key pillars. First, our operational excellence with advanced automated processes in our sanitaryware and faucetware facilities. Second, our disciplined capital management, which has strengthened our financial position.
Third, our efficient operations, including just-in-time vendor arrangements, streamlined inventory management, and a focus on reliability. Fourth, our strong distribution network built over many years, which ensures the availability and accessibility of Cera products, enhancing our market reach and customer satisfaction. Finally, our commitment to innovation drives continuous improvement in our product offerings, ensuring we meet evolving customer needs and maintain a competitive edge in the market. To summarize, Q2 FY25 marked an encouraging period as we observed early signs of recovery within a relatively challenging macro-led environment, and we anticipate improved performance in the second half of this financial year. As we expect an uptick in the demand, Cera is poised to capitalize on the growth momentum. The company remains committed to its strategic initiatives aimed at sustaining growth, enhancing brand visibility, and strengthening its market presence.
We are confident that our focus on innovation, advancement, and financial prudence, coupled with our inherent strengths, positions us to effectively navigate any macroeconomic uncertainties and drive value for our stakeholders. With this, I would like to hand over to Mr. Vikas Kothari, our CFO, who will present the operational and financial highlights for the quarter ended 30 September 2024. Thank you, and over to you,
Mr. Vikas Kothari. Thank you, Vikas. A very good morning to everyone. I will now provide a brief overview of the company's financial performance for the quarter and half-year ended 30 September 2024. In Q2 FY25, revenue from operations stood at INR 490 crores as against INR 461 crores in Q2 FY24, registering an increase of 6.3%. EBITDA in Q2 FY25 stood at INR 88 crores as against INR 87 crores in Q2 FY24.
EBITDA margins for the current quarter stood at 17.3% as against 18.4% in Q2 FY24, registering a decrease of 110 basis points. This decline in margin was mainly on account of an increase in OPEX costs, which is partially offset by favorable absorption. Gas prices remained favorable during the quarter. The average gas price from GAIL was INR 28.46 per cubic meter in Q2 FY25, as opposed to INR 28.72 per cubic meter in Q2 FY24. The average gas price from Sabarmati, which rose to INR 53.89 per cubic meter in Q2 FY25, was INR 44.53 per cubic meter in Q2 FY24. The positive trend is further supported by an increased drawal of gas from GAIL, reaching 78% in Q2 FY25 compared to 70% in Q2 FY24. The weighted average cost of gas in Q2 FY25 was INR 33.95 per cubic meter, which is notably below the industry average.
Gas cost constitutes 1.55% of the total revenue. For the quarter-end review, revenue contributions were as follows: sanitaryware at 46%, faucetware at 41%, tiles at 10%, and wellness at 3%. On a YOY basis, faucetware revenue increased by 20%, wellness by 38%, while sanitaryware revenue decreased by 6% and tiles by 11%. The sanitaryware and faucetware segments remain the cornerstone of our business, contributing 87% of the total revenue. In Q2 FY25, 41% of our sales were in premium category, 34% in mid category, and 25% in entry-level category. Profit after tax was INR 68 crores in Q2 FY25 as compared to INR 67 crores in Q2 FY24, registering an increase of 19.3%. EPS for the quarter issued at INR 52.44 versus INR 43.74 in Q2 FY24.
In terms of the working capital management, inventory days increased from 73 days to 80 days, receivable days increased from 29 days to 33 days, and payable days decreased from 42 days to 41 days. Consequently, the net working capital days increased from 60 days to 72 days in Q2 FY25. Regarding the sales distribution, Tier 1 cities accounted for 34% of the total sales, Tier 2 cities 21%, and Tier 3 cities led with 45% of total sales. For H1 FY25, the company reported net revenues INR 888 crores, consistent with H1 FY24. EBITDA INR 160 crores, a decrease from INR 171 crores in H1 FY24. Profit after tax INR 115 crores, a slight increase from INR 113 crores in H1 FY24. Overall, the company maintained stable revenues and profit on YOY basis.
As of September 30, 2024, our cash and cash equivalents stood at ₹659 crores, marking a decrease of ₹92 crores or 12.3% compared to the previous corresponding quarter. This reduction was mainly on account of buyback offering during the quarter. In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that Cera remains dedicated to upholding strong financial discipline and effectively managing our resources to drive profitability. Our focus on operational efficiency and strategic initiatives will ensure as we continue to strengthen our financial performance. With this, I would now request the moderators to open the line for Q&A. Thank you so much.
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 the touch-tone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. We'll take a first question from the line of Jenish Karia from Antique Stock Broking. Please go ahead.
Thank you for the opportunity. So firstly, while your commentary on premiumization is very encouraging, however, we cannot see that in your premium mix, which has fallen down to 41% during the quarter and also in your gross margin. So considering the faucetware segment mix has improved to 41% compared to 36% in the last year, the gross margins do not reflect the similar performance. So any highlight on that, why the gross margin is not reflecting the premiumization?
Yeah, Janish. In respect of the gross margin, one thing which we want to highlight is that the premium offerings, as well as the entry levels, both have been kind of stressed because of the market conditions. And in the last few quarters, if you see the amount of discounts that we have been offering, that has gone up. Now, the encouraging trend which has been happening in this particular quarter is that the discounts have started, we can say, kind of pulling back. We have reduced our discounts as opposed to the previous few quarters. We are at levels which were there in the previous year. So that is one positive trend which has happened, that the discounts have come down. But simultaneously, especially in the faucetware segment, the costs have gone up compared to the previous year.
The impact on the gross margins is not visible. The premiumization rate which we are talking about, that is something which will result over a period of time, but on a quarter-on-quarter basis, if you see, the larger impact comes in on account of the discounts and the cost impact, so we have been able to maintain margins in the kind of, you can say, the stressed environment which is prevailing right now, and that has been primarily because of the kind of discounts which we have been able to pull back, which has been slightly hampered by the extra cost increase which has happened from the last quarter, from the last year's corresponding quarter.
Sure. So, has the quantity by the discount and reason for increasing other expenses on sequential and YOY basis?
Discounts have come back to the previous level. If I compare on the immediate preceding quarters, discounts have come down by something like, you can say, 1.25%-1.5%. And the cost increase is happening across all segments, especially in faucetware. Glass prices have increased significantly. There have been increases on account of the inflationary impact also. Salary costs, they go up on a regular basis, on a yearly basis. They will be increasing on an average by roughly 10.5%-11%. So the gas costs have kind of remained stable. So we have been benefited by to that extent in respect of the gas cost. So the.
I was asking about other expenses.
Other expenses, it's mostly some expenses. Most of the expenses are unique in nature. Most of them have happened in this particular quarter. And just give you a breakup of the major expenses which have led to the increase. One would be we have carried out a buyback during this particular quarter. So there were buyback expenses. That was to the region of INR 1.8 crores. The power generation costs have gone up. They've gone up by something like INR 4 crores. That has been mostly on account of reduced generation from our wind farm. Normally, what happens is when the wind farm which we have that generates power, so we get a credit for that, and our own power bill goes down. So in this particular quarter, the power generation was down because of the fuel and power costs went up by INR 4 crores.
There were some showrooms that we had closed. There was kind of we had to write off some assets in that respect. So loss in respect of that came to something like INR 1.15 crore. And rental increases were in the region of INR 1 crore. So that will kind of explain the uptick, I think, INR 7-8 crore of increase in the other expenses.
Yeah. Perfect. So that's very helpful. So next on the balance sheet, we did an INR 130 crore buyback. But if I look at the cash flow statement, it shows around INR 160 crores. So am I missing something or am I reading it wrong to be helping that?
130 crores was the amount of buyback. And we have to also pay tax on that separately. As of now, till October, if you're conducting a buyback till the period of October, before October, then the buyback tax liability was on the company itself. Now, when we do a buyback next time, that tax liability will not be on the company. It will be on the person who's receiving the buyback money, on the shareholder. That balance which you are seeing is on account of the taxation.
Perfect, and last one thing. Do you want to revise your long-term guidance that you have given of 2,900 crores revenue? And the recovery that you mentioned in second half that you are seeing, is it majorly from the project business because our B2B mix also has been improving, the B2B sales mix, so that would be the last two questions from my end.
Regarding your first question, whether we are wanting to revise our guideline of 2,900 by March 2027, when we were making the projections, we had already factored in that the first two quarters of the current financial year would not be going as strong. And we foresee that with the kind of upswing which should happen in H2, we should be ending the current year with kind of high single-digit growth kind of a situation. And we foresee 30% plus kind of growth in the next two years. And that guidance which we have given for 2,900, as of now, we are going to continue with that. There's no change in respect of the 2,900 by March 2027. Your second question was in respect of?
The recovery that we are seeing, is it majorly from the project side of the business, Tier 1 cities and like that, because our B2B sales mix has been increasing?
Correct. If you look at the total project business in the last six months from March to September, it has gone up by around about 15%. And we anticipate a strong project demand in the coming half year also. But we are anticipating that the pickup in the retail segment should also happen in H2 because most of the factors which were there were specific factors which were operating this first half year. There were elections, there were extended monsoons, there was kind of extreme heat wave. So we don't foresee that the same thing should be happening in H2. And we anticipate that along with the projects, the retail business should also pick up.
So project mix is increasing. Should our margin for this year be around 14%-15% only, or should we get back to 16%-18% rates?
No. We should be having a margin of in the range of 16%-17%. We have done something like 14.3% in the current quarter. So with the price increase implemented in faucetware, we anticipate that 6% increase happened in faucetware, 1% in sanitaryware. So the total impact in that respect in the second quarter, rather in the second half, should be to the extent of 1.5%. And the increase in volume etc. will enable us to better lead to better absorption of fixed costs. So we should be back in that range of 15%-17% in the coming H2.
Perfect. And just one last thing. When you say we expect 20% growth in the next two years, why don't we prepone our sanitaryware capacity expansion and why wait till the end of the year?
The reason is that if you look at the current capacity utilization, we are something at 88-89% for sanitaryware. We have adequate. We can take it up to something like 120%, which we have been doing in the recent past. If you go back, let's say the one and a half years, we were something like 115% to 120% capacity utilization while we were working on the sanitaryware plant. So we have quite some legroom over there to increase capacity. Second, what has happened is with the reduction in the demand in the sanitaryware segment, the mix has also changed within the sanitaryware plant. Earlier, there were quite a few items which we were outsourcing, which have now, with the kind of reduction in optics and increase in the inventory, we have changed from outsource to in-house.
So once the demand starts picking up, we have even scope for, again, changing all these products which we have started manufacturing in-house to back to outsource. So we have two kind of ways to increase our production. One is that we can increase our production by, we can say, from 89% to 115%-116% we were doing earlier. And second is that we can again change the mix. The items that we have bought in-house can again be outsourced. Plus, we also have a kind of inventory which we have built up over this period, which can also take care of any interim demand spikes which can happen in between the time that we start and complete our sanitaryware, new sanitaryware project. So in view of all these situations, we are holding up till the end of the year to take a view again and then start the project.
Sure. So thank you very much for your time. And that was very helpful. All the best.
Thank you.
Thank you. Before we take the next question, I would like to remind participants to press star and one to ask a question. Next question is from the line of Praveen Sahai from PL Capital. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Thank you for the opportunity. Sir, in your opening remarks, you had said about the expansion of product in the luxury and the premium segment. And whereas on the number side, if I look at for a quarter, at least your other side of the business growing, or the contribution has increased. So whatever the launch or the strategy change you are doing, is it going to impact or reflect in the coming quarters? So the first thing is that.
Yeah. I'll just try to answer that in the kind of demarcation that we do in our business. The luxury segment which we talk about is something that we are trying to explore. We have mostly been in the entry-level, mid-level, and the premium segment. And the entry-level is more where the multinationals are operating. So we have now started up a program where we want to, let's say, within the next three years to five years, we want to have a total turnover of 10% at least coming from this luxury segment. But this program is going to take some time. As of now, we are in the process of building and kind of revamping our total luxury portfolio. So as of now, we are in the process of revamping of the products.
This we anticipate should be completed by the end of the current financial year, wherein we'll be having a total revamped portfolio, and the formal launch of that should be coming by the end of the current year. Next stage would be the kind of, you can say, placement of that particular product for which we'll be having kind of 50 brand stores which will be kind of dealing exclusively with these products, only the luxury products, not kind of displaying high-end products, not mixing it with the regular products, so this we intend that by March, we should be having roughly 25 stores ready, and the balance 25 should be coming in within the next financial year, so the luxury segment is a kind of long-term program, which will take some time.
And it will be more or less a target of three to five years, as I said before, by which we are targeting 10% of our revenues should come from this segment. And the balance, the effort is always there to try to introduce new products in the premium segment. And that movement is again a gradual affair. You find that currently more of our offerings, even within the entry range, are more moving towards the higher price level. So that is something which is happening on a continuous basis. And we find that it is start reflecting in our results in a more straight manner, much sooner than as we expect for the luxury segment.
Thank you for this, sir. The next question is related to the faucet. And faucet has given some 23% of growth on the YOY side. Also, you had said 6% increase in the prices. So in the 23%, 6% is the prices. Rest is the volume growth you had done?
No, no, no. This 6% which has happened, that will be happening more in the future. This kind of price hike was announced by the middle of September, so the effect would be coming in the future period in H2, but the impact again would not be 6% because what happens is the project business is something where the price increase takes some time to materialize because most of the businesses where the orders are already locked in, and the effect of price increase would take some time to come in, so in the H2, on the basis of your price increase, it will be to the effect you can expect an increase more to the effect of 6% into, you can say, 60%, up to 3.5% in faucetware.
So for the.
Praveen, sorry to interrupt. May I request you to join back the queue, please, as we have participants waiting in the queue?
Sure, sure.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, as there is a long queue, we request you to restrict to two questions at a time, please. You may join back the queue for follow-up questions. We'll take our next question from the line of Udit Gajiwala from YES Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Thank you for taking up my question, sir. So on the faucet that we have displayed, the growth, I believe you have mentioned that project is one part. But otherwise, the retail was soft. So have the discounting been more to gain market share and we have pushed volumes? Was that a strategy for the quarter?
If you can repeat your question, please. Discounts?
So for the faucet, we have seen huge growth, which has apparently definitely underperformed as per their numbers. So have we given the discounts and initiatives that as per your remarks, you have rolled back. But during the quarter, was there a discounting thing or higher incentives given to push the volumes?
No, no, no. There has been no increase in discount in faucetware. In fact, as I mentioned earlier, vis-à-vis the immediate previous quarter, the discounts have come down. So in faucetware, we are seeing an actual increase in volume, both in the project as well as in the retail market. That is primarily on account of the fact that what we believe that the project, sorry, the retail business in faucetware is benefiting because of the fact that it has a shorter replacement cycle as opposed to your sanitaryware. Also, because the total average cost of a faucetware is slightly much lower as opposed to that of a sanitaryware, whenever the discretionary spending kind of goes down, you'll find that the higher spending items is held back. And we feel that on account of that, the sanitaryware market is not doing as well as faucetware.
So faucetware, because of its shorter replacement cycle, as well as, you can say, lower kind of pricing as compared to sanitaryware and other categories, they have been kind of having an upswing in the current quarter, both in the retail as well as projects. We anticipate that even going forward, sanitaryware which had been muted in the retail segment should also start looking up. And in coming in H2 or maybe in the next year, we should start seeing that be reflecting in the sanitaryware segment also. To again summarize and answer your question, there was no discounting in faucetware. It was upswing in both the retail as well as the project B2B segment, upswing in the volumes.
Got it. Thank you for that, sir. And just secondly, when you look at your remarks stating that a 20% kind of a growth is possible for coming two years, so does that mean that we are in a cycle where with the pickup and handover of real estate, we may see sanitaryware faucet demand picking up? Or it's more to do with the new construction, if you can just throw some light there?
Regarding this point, for the growth which is coming in the coming next few years, when we prepared our guidance for reaching 2,900 by March 2027, we have taken a detailed input on the market trends as well as from our internal team. We found that considering this up to H1, there is going to be slowness, which is evident also and is seen in the competitors also. We see that from H2, the things will get improved. We will see upswing in the retail segment also. Projects, like Deepak told, already if we compare the previous six months' data, there is an upswing already there because post-COVID, whatever the projects which have started are going to be reaching to their completion stage.
This will enable us to achieve our estimated growth, which is going to be 20% roughly in financial year 2026 and 2027, to reach out to our guidance, what we have given.
Understood, sir. Thank you, sir. And all the best.
Thank you. We'll take our next question from the line of Mithun Aswath from Kivah Advisors. Please go ahead.
Yeah. So you mentioned that the second half is looking better. So I just wanted to get your thoughts in terms of do you think the sanitaryware, which has declined in this quarter, do you see a pickup happening there in the second half? And obviously, faucetware is growing. So the full year, what sort of kind of overall growth would we end up with? Also, with this price hike you've taken in faucetware, do you see margins improving quarter on quarter? You've taken some hike also on the sanitaryware side. So just wanted your sense on, would there be improvements in margins as well in the next two quarters? That was my first question. The second question is.
I'll take your first question, sir. So the way you should ask any questions, I'll take the second.
No, sir.
Sure. Regarding your overall growth, like faucetware as well as the sanitaryware, for the entire year, we are anticipating that we should be ending with kind of high single-digit kind of growth. As I mentioned in my just previous question, when we were answering the previous question, that the retail segment as of now in sanitaryware has been not doing well. The project segment has already started showing some signs of improvement in the sanitaryware segment. So we anticipate that the H2 going forward, once the retail market also picks up, we should be ending up with stronger volumes in sanitaryware. Faucetware we have already started showing good growth numbers. We expect that this should continue in H2 also. So with the retail segment picking up, we should expect to end the entire year with higher single-digit kind of a growth.
In respect of margins, we anticipate that we should be reaching back to that level for the company as a whole, 15%-17%, because price increase will be giving us some leeway in terms of improvement of the margins. But the cost pressures have also been there. Costs have also increased. So on an overall basis, we anticipate that with the price increase, we should be having a benefit of 1.5%. So we should be ending up in that same range of 15%-17% for the second half.
16 to 17, right?
Correct. Yeah.
Yeah, and just wanted a better sense. There is no capacity expansion happening in sanitaryware in the next couple of years. It's going to take 18 months to set up, so your INR 2,900 crore revenue target is not with this expansion, right?
That is correct because, as I explained earlier, we have a lot of leeway within our current facility to increase capacity, as well as the kind of inventory that we are having right now. Plus, the kind of outsourcing arrangement that we have with our partners, all these factors taken together, we feel we are comfortable with the kind of volume increases which will happen over the next two years. So within the next two years for reaching the 2,900, we don't anticipate any capacity challenges with the current plan.
Okay. So this new capacity of sanitaryware would give you growth FY 28 onward, right?
Correct. Correct.
Got it, and what is that CapEx and what sort of revenues can we achieve from that?
The CapEx we are planning within two phases. In the first phase, the capacity increase would be something like 1.2 million pieces per annum, so for that, the capital expenditure would be in the region of INR 130 crores, and this is including the expenditure that we have already done for acquisition of land. That would be in the region of INR 25-30 crores, and the expected revenues from this expansion in phase one should be in the region of INR 300 crores per annum.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. We'll take our next question from the line of Prakash Kapadia from Spark PMS. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Just one question from my end. Earlier, there were some supply disruptions from China. One of our large competitors was hinting at. Currently, what's the scene? Have supply disruptions been okay? Is it easy or difficult to import from China? Are costs going up? If you could give us some sense.
I can speak in the case of Cera. For Cera, we will find that we have reduced our China imports to a great extent. Most of the items that we were importing earlier from China, we have been able to internalize, and we have been started manufacturing those items within our own plant. The total Chinese import now constitutes only 3% of our total revenue. It is in the region of INR 13 crores only right now. So for us, it is not making any difference as to what is happening in China. We are mostly doing from our plant or outsourcing from Morbi.
Okay. Okay, but in general, costs have gone up. Are they same? Is it easy or difficult to import from China? Any trade sense you are getting?
Earlier, the main problem which had happened was the container rates had gone up to very high levels. They have now normalized. In between, there have been a few spikes because of the Red Sea and other disruptions which are happening across the world. But more or less, those problems which had occurred in between at that time have now been resolved.
Right. Right. Understood, and you mentioned about real estate delivery being the driver in the medium term. So typically, post-COVID, all of these projects were launched, and even now, we are seeing real estate buoyancy in terms of sales happening. So how does one get the trajectory in terms of your sales and the delivery sales or registration data? Because we've primarily focused on Tier 2, Tier 3 cities, and that's been a large part of our sales, and whatever we are reading, sensing about real estate sales has been pretty buoyant, but it's been very metro-specific also. So how do we try and relate the two in terms of our visibility? If you could give us some sense, that would be very helpful.
Most of the sales which have been happening in the metro cities have been pre-sales. Because our products are installed at the last phase, the impact of that sales which have been happening in the growth, the growth which we have been seeing in the real estate, will start reflecting when the projects start getting completed at the completion stages. So typically, a real estate project would take five years to six years to reach the completion stage. So we can now anticipate that with post-COVID, the projects which have started sometime in 2021 should be getting completed by more or less next financial year, 2025, 2026, or 2026, 2027. So the impact should start coming over there. You can see the kind of the break which you are saying, most of the figures have been reported in respect of metro cities.
That is mostly because the figures reported are more in respect of larger builders. But the same growth which is there in metros are also there in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, but they are not reported as much. So the same cycle which we are seeing in metros is happening over there also. And over there also, we expect that coming years, next two years, the delivery should start happening.
And that would add and lead to the confidence to our sales trajectory growth because.
Correct. Correct. Correct.
It's a large part of our business here, right? That's the right way to look at it, right?
Correct. Correct.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. We'll take our next question from the line of Nysar Parikh from Native Capital. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi. Am I audible?
Yes.
Yes. Please go ahead.
Hi. So, my question is that you spoke about sanitaryware, faucetware, and why the demands are slightly different. Can you just talk also about, in similar lines, on rural and urban? Earlier, there was slowdown in rural, but recent FMCG commentary suggests that we could be seeing some uptick in rural, slowdown in urban, and things like that. What are you seeing at your end?
For us, we have still not started seeing that upswing in the retail in the rural segment. So our sense would be it has started happening slightly in the faucetware, but it has not happened in the sanitary. But going forward, we are hopeful that even the retail segment in the rural should start picking up. But your question, as you said, it has started happening in the FMCG. Do we see it in case of sanitaryware and faucets? Faucets slightly, yes, but sanitaryware is still not visible. It should happen in the next H1 and the coming years.
Okay. Understood. And you mentioned that H2 is slightly looking better. So just can you, again, just based on the outlook based on the sales that real estate sector is seeing and the kind of because real estate obviously is doing very well. There is a lag for us, which is understandable. But still, the lag seems to be rather long because on one side, real estate companies are showing stellar numbers, but we are struggling. So is it raw materials? Is it competition? Or is it actually just end demand that is not there?
So as you mentioned earlier, there's a long gestation period for real estate. So most of the growth which we are seeing right now is in respect of pre-sales. So we should be seeing that translating into our numbers once we start reaching completion in the next, let's say, two to three years. So we have to wait for the data to come out. We can't rush it.
Okay. Understood. And what about competition? Because especially these kind of where you're seeing the demand is low, but a lot of players who are in tiles and pipes, they are obviously setting up plants for sanitaryware, faucetware, etc. So the number of players in a small market relatively is obviously increasing drastically. And on the other side, some of the Italian players are also being more aggressive. So how do you look at competition now in this environment?
We are not concerned about the competition because, as you mentioned, most of the other pipe companies, paint companies in the sector have also started with the sanitaryware and faucetware business. But you'll find that most of them are mostly outsourcing from Morbi and trying to sell within a very basic kind of product. So they are more in line with the unorganized market. And those are not the markets that we are present or we want to enter. So we are not, as of now, too concerned with the new players which have started coming up. They are, again, why the question would be why they are coming in? Because they are, as of now, looking at the same real estate growth which has been happening. And that is where they want to be present when the sales transactions actually start happening.
So we are already present with a very strong distribution network, with a very strong brand, and a very strong promotional kind of spend which we do. So we do not anticipate that there would be too much of a challenge. Once the upswing happens, we are well positioned to capture the market.
Okay. And you think the upswing is still one or two years away, right?
Correct. Correct.
Okay. Thank you so much.
Thank you. We'll take our next question from the line of Vinamra Hirawat from JM Financial. Please go ahead.
Hi. Can I know audible?
Yes. Please go ahead.
Yes. This is my question was on faucetware and sanitaryware. Firstly, you mentioned of course faucetware is getting stronger orders from the B2B side. But any one-time sale in faucetware that pushed up the numbers of sanitaryware this quarter? And could I also know the differences in margins between sanitaryware and faucetware?
There is no one-time kind of a thing which can push up the sales to such an extent. It is more, as I mentioned earlier also, that the project demand has been going strong, and in faucetware, in this particular quarter, the retail demand had also picked up, so it is not on account of a single large bulk order which we have received. In respect of the margin, you'll find that there is a difference at the gross margin levels between the sanitaryware and faucetware, mainly on account of the high input cost in case of faucetware, which is brass. But this margin is kind of made up in terms of the distribution logistic costs. Sanitaryware being kind of bulky item, the distribution cost is much higher. The logistic costs are much higher.
In case of faucetware, that is lower, which kind of offsets the difference in the gross margins. So that at the EBITDA level, we are able to get the same margins more or less for both sanitaryware as well as faucetware.
Got it. Got it, sir. And secondly, your interest cost as a percentage of debt has been increasing substantially for the past couple of years. Any color on this as to why the percentage is going up?
The interest cost has not really gone up. The interest cost in the sense that the interest on our borrowing has not gone up.
Interest? Yeah, yeah. Interest is a percentage of your debt.
I got your question. I'm just coming to that. It has not gone up. Why that interest finance cost has gone up, what we are looking at with profit and loss account is on account of the fact that we make our accounts based on Ind AS, and as per Ind AS, whenever we do a long-term arrangement in respect of rentals, which we have been doing for our various showrooms that we have opened, and also mostly for our new warehouse that we have taken up, which became operational in Q2, so once it became operational, it's a long-term arrangement of nine to 10 years wherein the future rental payments are capitalized, and then you need to provide for depreciation and interest on that, so what happens is the rentals don't come into the profit and loss account.
Instead of that, the rentals go away, and you have depreciation and interest coming in instead of the rentals. So that is why, because of this reason, you'll find both depreciation as well as the interest has gone up by roughly INR 60, 60 lakhs on account of this reason alone.
It's a notional impact as per Ind AS.
It is kind of notional. It would have been coming as a rental under normal accounting, but instead of rental, it is coming as interest and your depreciation. Our total joint CC limit is something like INR 100 crores, whereas we normally draw only to the extent of INR 15-INR 20 crores. But that has remained static in the last few quarters. That has not changed.
Okay. And this has also been the case two, three years ago. Whenever you opened showrooms, warehouses, it was capitalized and was recorded in the finance cost. That is what you guys used to do two, three years ago as well?
See, we are a cash-rich company. We are having a huge amount of cash balance in our balance sheet. So there is no reason why we would be taking up debt. So interest, if it goes up, can only be on account of actual debt which has been taken, which has not happened in our case. Only interest cost which you are seeing which is going up is on account of this Ind AS effect only.
Got it, sir. Thank you.
Thank you. We'll take our next question from the line of Utkarsh Nopany from BOB Caps. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi. Good morning, sir. So my first question is regarding your revenue growth guidance which you have given earlier. So if we see our revenue growth has been flat in the first half of FY 25. So are we looking to grow our revenue in mid-teens in the second half of FY 25 to clock high single-digit growth for this fiscal year?
That is correct. As I mentioned earlier, we should be ending the current year with higher single-digit growth.
Okay. Sir, on the APM gas, so I just wanted to know, will there be any impact to us due to the change in APM gas allocation policy by the government?
I think as far as our arrangement is concerned, since we are having a mix of both GAIL and Sabarmati, so the impact Sabarmati is having the gas prices which are more market-driven, whereas from GAIL we are getting at the subsidized rate. So in our case, specifically in the case of Cera, we do not see any sort of major impact. And secondly, the important thing is the draw which we are making from the subsidized source that is GAIL, that has also increased. It is ranging between 75% to 78% we draw from GAIL. So that is making us more favorable in terms of gas prices.
Okay. So this 75 to 78%.
Gas from GAIL is from localized wells. So that is an exclusive arrangement that GAIL is having with a few companies within the particular Naroda area. So any other change which is happening will not affect our gas from GAIL. That can only be applied to the localized companies which are already having that supply.
Okay. So just wanted to know, sir, the share of GAIL gas is likely to remain stable at around, say, 75%-78% going forward for us?
This is more of a stable pattern because what we see over the last, I would say, one and a half years, we are drawing the similar quantum of gas from GAIL. So we do not see any major challenge in terms of reaching out to the maximization of gas from GAIL.
Okay. And sir, lastly, sir, if you can just give some sense, what is your ad spend budget for the second half of FY 25? And if you can also provide your sales breakup by region-wise into north, south, east, west, and center?
So as far as spends are concerned, so despite all these challenging headwinds which are there in terms of market conditions and all, considering the publicity spends being the long-term measure, what we want to continue and what we want to showcase in terms of our different products, and especially now working on the luxury segment also, so we have not compromised with respect to our publicity spends. So publicity spends for the quarter ended 30th September 2024, it was around INR 15.5 crores versus previous corresponding quarter around INR 14.9 crores. So that is there. And what's your second question?
Sir, sales breakup by region-wise into north, south, east, west, and central?
As far as the breakdown is concerned, for the Q2, north, it was around 33%. Then west, it was 21%. South, leading by 36%. And east, 9%.
Okay. Thanks a lot, sir.
Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we'll take that as the last question for today. I now hand the conference over to management team for closing comments. Over to you, sir.
Thank you, everyone, for attending this call and for showing interest in Cera Sanitaryware Limited. Should you need any further clarification or would like to know more about the company, please feel free to reach out to me or CDR India. Thank you once again for taking time to join the call. Thank you and bye.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you.
On behalf of Cera Sanitaryware Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your line.