Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Century Plyboards India Ltd's Q1 FY 2026 Earnings Conference Call. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during this conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star then zero on your touchtone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Naresh Vachesia from SKP Securities. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thank you. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'm pleased to welcome you to this Q1 FY 2026 Financial Results Conference call on behalf of Century Plyboards India Ltd and SKP Securities. We have with us Mr. Sanjay Agarwal, Managing Director and CEO, along with Mr. Keshav Bhajanka, Executive Director; Ms. Nikita Bansal, Executive Director; Mr. Arun Julasaria, Chief Financial Officer; Mr. Sumanth Wattas, CEO, MDF and Particle Board division; and Mr. Vishu Goel, CEO, Laminates division. We will have the opening remarks from Mr. Sanjay Agarwal, followed by a Q&A session. Thank you, and over to you, Mr. Agarwal.
Thank you, Weber. Thank you. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the FY [2026] Q2 earnings call for Century Plyboards India Ltd. Before we begin, I would like to provide the standard disclaimer. This discussion will focus on the company's historical performance and future prospects and is not intended as an invitation to invest in the company. The results and analytical presentations have been shared with you and are available on the stock exchange website. Revenue performance. I'm pleased to share that our Q1 FY 2025 performance is in line with the guidance we shared during our previous investor call. On a year-on-year basis, we delivered a healthy revenue growth of 6.8% on a standalone level and 16.3% on a consolidated basis. This performance underscores the resilience and agility of our strong business model. EBITDA performance. Now moving to profitability.
On a standalone basis, our EBITDA, excluding forex impact, came at 12.7%, slightly lower than last year Q1's 13.5%. This marginal decline is largely due to higher advertising and promotional spend we undertook during the quarter to support our growth initiative. On a consolidated basis, EBITDA, excluding forex impact, improved significantly to 12.5% compared to 11.2% in Q1 FY 2025. This uptick is primarily driven by the positive contribution from our Badvel plant, which was in an early ramp-up phase during the same period last year. Now, to business segment highlights. Plywood. The segment continues to lead our portfolio with 15.3% year-over-year growth in top line, supported by strong volume growth. The EBITDA margin in this segment stood at an impressive 13.8%, placing us amongst the best.
The plywood industry in India is poised for steady growth over the medium to long term, supported by structural tailwinds such as urbanization, rising disposable incomes, government focus on affordable housing, and the shift towards branded and organized products. As consumer awareness around quality, sustainability, and aesthetics increases, demand is expected to shift further in favor of premium and eco-friendly plywood solutions. The ongoing formalization of the sector, aided by BIS implementation and stricter environmental regulations, is anticipated to benefit organized players, leading to consolidation in the market. Despite near-term challenges from input cost volatility and subdued real estate cycles in certain regions, the long-term outlook remains optimistic. With continued infrastructure development, a revival in private CapEx, and robust demand from the furniture and interior decor segments, the plywood sector is expected to witness good growth over the next 3-5 years.
I am happy to share that July 25 marked the historic milestone for us as we recorded our highest ever sales volume in plywood. Now, to laminates, I am happy to report that this segment is showing early signs of a turnaround. We recorded a 12.8% year-over-year and 1.9% quarter-on-quarter growth in consolidated revenue. The EBITDA margin came in at 5.9%, and we are optimistic about continued gradual recovery in the quarters ahead. To support margin expansion, we are focusing on strategic cost-saving interventions across operations. MDF. Our MDF business has performed very well, with a 23.7% year-on-year revenue growth on a consolidated basis and an EBITDA margin of 14.3%, among the highest in the industry. The improved results are a reflection of better capacity utilization, especially at our Badvel facility, and cost optimization at both the plants. Particle Board.
The segment continues to be in the recovery phase, although revenue has declined year-on-year compared to Q1 of last year. There has been a sequential improvement over Q4. Margins remain under pressure, primarily due to elevated timber costs and ongoing pricing challenges. However, with the launch of our new facility, which offers a cost advantage, we anticipate an improvement in margins going forward. Capacity expansion update. I am also pleased to share that commercial production at our new particle board plant in Tamil Nadu commenced towards the end of Q1. We believe this addition will not only support our growth trajectory but also help improve our cost structure over the medium term. Working capital cycle.
The working capital cycle, which had increased in the previous quarter due to higher inventory levels, has improved this quarter, coming down from 76 days to 71 days, primarily driven by better management of raw material inventory. To conclude, we remain confident in our long-term strategy, and we are focused on execution efficiency and innovation across all segments. We thank you for your continued trust and look forward to updating you again next quarter. Now, I open the forum for questions and answers.
Thank you very much. We'll now begin with the question -and- answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touchstone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Our submitters are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question is from the line of Rahul Agarwal from Ikigai Asset. Please go ahead.
Hi, hello. Good afternoon.
Hi, Rahul.
Good afternoon. Yeah, yeah. Quick questions, four of them. Firstly, on plywood, obviously, we are running ahead of our guidance. I also see that last year, rest of the nine months, you know, from July to March, we have seen a very strong revenue growth. Going forward, you know, guidance remains the same at 10% sales growth. Does that mean we are basically looking at normalization in growth going forward? July looks like the highest ever. Who does some sense on plywood top line, please? That's the first question.
In plywood, we've always believed to give a 10% +. Now, 10%+ can vary. Market dynamics can change, etc. We would like to continue giving that guidance. Obviously, we will not have a degrowth, and these are things that, you know, investors understand. They see the trend. They've seen the trend last year. If we're to give a guidance from the company, we will continue to say that we will deliver 10%+ growth this year.
Okay. Got it. Essentially, we are looking at normalization, right? Because last year, nine months, the growth was very high. Is that fair to understand? Like we said, the objective is always we deliver better. Guidance is at 10%. Our company will always try to deliver a best in case in terms of value and volume growth. I hope that clarified.
Sorry, Keshav. Similar question on MDF. I think we've achieved 15% consolidated. It looks like things are getting better. I'm assuming this. Can you just comment on, you know, what's really happening with the supply side of MDF right now? I know exports are much lower. Sorry, imports are much lower, but domestic supply and the pricing trends look better. Going forward, you know, console margins at 15%. Is it fair enough or is there some upside potential here?
Rahul, you're right on both accounts. Imports are much lower, and exports are also much lower. You're correct there. Having said that, I think that, yes, there is still some oversupply in the market. A lot of capacity will come up, and three multi-deployed lines have started also last year with them. Going forward, I think we are reaching a stage where capacity utilization has begun to improve right across the industry. In the next few quarters, we are seeing this continuing. The reason for 15% achievement—I'm continuing 15%—is that right now our focus is going to be on market share yield. We are going to definitely try and meet the EBITDA number. At the same time, this is a time period with BIS coming in, with the imports being curbed, where we can expand substantially, and we are trying to gain a foothold as the market leader.
I think that for the current foreseeable future, let's say nine months, next three quarters, the guidance holds.
Got it. Currently, our inventory, I think Sanjay mentioned, we have obviously reduced raw material inventory. When I look at the balance sheet reported as of March, it was over [INR 9,86 0]. I think that's a function of raw material, finished goods, and WIP. In the presentation, we have raw material and finished goods. Just wanted to know, is it possible to share the overall inventory total as of June end? Is it possible to share that?
I'll take it up. Sorry, just give me a second. I think our team will get back to you on that. The CFO will get back to you with details on the same. I don't have it in front of me right now.
Okay. Lastly, on pricing trends for timber on MDF and plywood, if you just discuss a bit on qualitatively what's really happening because we've heard there is some bit of timber deflation. If you could just help us understand it better over the balance of the year, that would help. That's all from my side.
You're absolutely right. In MDF and particle board, the timber prices seem to be rebounding slightly. There seems to be a little bit of easing out, but I think it's still wait and watch. Currently, in this month itself, prices have jumped up because of monsoons, but that's a trend that takes place every year, seasonally. I do hope that the peak of timber prices are behind us, and we should see some slight respite in the course of the current year. As far as plywood is concerned, I think timber prices are pretty much at similar levels. That also does mean that the increase that we have seen over the course of the past couple of years, there's no steep jump as of now. Prices are more or less at similar levels. MDF and particle board should benefit from slightly lower raw material costs.
In plywood, it will more or less remain in line with what it has been.
Especially the plywood timber to grow takes longer time. The price reduction will happen, still, I don't think, before next year or the year end of next year. I think it could be a little bit of a help because it takes longer time to mature the tree required for plywood.
Got it, sir. Completely understand. Thank you so much, and you know, best wishes for the rest of the year.
Thank you, Rahul. Thank you.
Thank you. Next question is from the line of Sneha Talreja from Nuvama Wealth. Please go ahead.
Hi. Good afternoon, team, and thanks so much for the opportunity. Congratulations on the report of numbers. Hello, sir. I see a couple of questions from my end. Just wanted to understand, we've seen a good amount of improvement with your gross margins in the plywood segment. That's not translated into EBITDA margins. We've seen some amount of fall. Is it some increase in ad spend or something that we've seen, particularly this particular quarter?
This quarter, we were in ICL. That is a massive spend which happens in Q1, because of which you are not seeing it translated into EBITDA. Going forward, obviously, we will continue to spend, and we are also investing a lot more in our brand. We won't have the ICL cost for the rest of the year.
What would be the percentage of ad spend this particular quarter?
Sorry, can you repeat that question?
What would be the percentage of ad spend for only plywood division this particular quarter?
Oh, we usually keep it. [Foreign language] We keep it forward what was in Q1.
Yes, I do.
Okay. We'll get back. Usually, throughout the year, we keep it as 4%, but we don't know what it was in. Obviously, it was higher in Q1, but the exact percentage will come back. It was 5.5%.
Thanks. Thanks, Nikita. That was helpful. Secondly, what I wanted to ask is your scale-up in MDF segment has been pretty great. We've seen that over the years. My similar question was on the particle board segment. How are we planning things? Because when I look at your current business at this point of time, we are still seeing some drop in terms of volumes, whereas our new capacity has just come up there. Margins, of course, on the falling trend, of course, that can be given, because the sector itself is probably not doing that well in terms of particle board. How are we seeing scenario improving? Because our new capacity has already come on board. Do we have visibility already starting up from OEMs? I think just a couple of these things would be helpful.
Sneha, you know, I think you're absolutely correct. The only point of difference that I have is that the new line is a continuous line. The quality of product, that is very, very different as compared to the earlier product. Whereas in the market, pricing is similar. The multi-ply line was competing against continuous lines that have been brought in by two large-scale players in the industry. As a result of that, the traction that we had because the quality parameters have changed. I'm very happy to tell you that the quality that we are talking from the new line, once you see the board, it looks more like an MDF and a particle board. We are very happy with the product quality that has been established. The product has started selling in the market. The response from OEMs and the market in general has been superb.
I think, with this quality of product, you shall see a rapid scale-up in the volumes. Maybe this quarter, we will take a little time to stabilize the new plant because, like I said, it's just commissioned. From next quarter onwards, you will see a huge spike as far as particle board in the consult.
[Foreign language] What are we estimating for particle board in the whole second? Are you able to tell me?
Yes, I can help you. The MD just reminded me of one more point. We have not currently been in the 8x4 market in particle board. As you remember, our earlier line was a 9x6 multi-deployed press where we could manufacture 9x6 and 8x6. A huge chunk of the market which sells us for 8x4 size was not available to us. However, now, because we have an 8 ft pipeline, we can manufacture 8x4 as well. This, again, will help us to increase volumes.
This was, again, helpful. I'm just asking on the particle board segment because this is a new segment. Just wanted to get some numbers here. What would be the revenue looking like in the first, second, third year of operation? Eventually, how does the scale-up happen in terms of margins? Romwood ties have been easing out, but other players, what I'm seeing, are still doing losses who have recently commissioned. Just some sense from you would be helpful here.
Particle board, right? Again, for particle board.
Yes.
Yes. Yes. For particle board, you will see our total turnover potential will be in excess of [INR 5,000 ] from the existing line. Of course, the objective will be to push it higher. As you know, we always attempt to reach 100% capacity utilization, 90%+ by the third year. Having said that, EBITDA margin is steady, still below 15%. During the ramp-up phase, it's very difficult for me to give you guidance. I'm assuming that from next year, we will be at double-digit EBITDA+. Going forward, by year three, we should definitely be at 15%+.
This was really, really helpful. Thanks. Thanks. Thanks a lot, Keshav, and all the very best to me.
Thank you. Participants, you may press star and one to ask a question. Next question is from the line of Ritesh Shah from Investec India. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi. I appreciate the opportunity. Sir, hi, sir. No mistakes.
Yeah.
Sir, two basic questions. Sir, one is I wanted to understand, how do we look at commercial MDF? Is it a part of our product portfolio, or is it absolutely a no-go zone for us? That's a first question.
Hi Sumanth. Good afternoon. We offer products to different segments, you know, be it OEMs, be it trade, etc. We can offer the full gamut. There are no red zones or no-go zones. As a company, we want to offer products that are the highest quality. We'll never compromise on quality. Of course, individual specific requirements we cater to. No red zones, but at the Century-certified quality.
Okay. Would it be possible for us to indicate what percent of volumes would that be? A follow-up over here, you do indicate like Century level of quality, which is great. If I had to just push you a little further, would it qualify under the BIS norms?
Let me answer the first question first. We won't be able to share any details on our product mix percentages. That we don't usually share. Of course, we shy from BIS and much more. BIS and hygiene.
Okay. That's helpful. My second question is on the ply side. Are we looking to the way in which we position Sainik 710 and 303 in the marketplace, are we looking to rejig our strategy specifically post, I wouldn't say dilution, probably dilution of BIS norms? Has our strategy around the product positioning 710 versus 303 changed?
What do you mean by policy change?
Sir, are we continuing with Sainik 710 in the marketplace after the new norms from BIS came in?
Sinek 710 is just a brand. We will be clearly writing down on this thing whether what BIS norm it is; it will be written on every piece of plywood. Even earlier, it was there. Even in future, it will be there. There is no policy change. Sinek 710 is a brand, so the brand stays.
Correct. Correct. Okay. Sir, I will call you offline for this. I'll take it offline.
Yeah, yeah.
Thank you. Thank you so much for the.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. Participants, you may press star and one to ask a question. Next question is from the line of Sucrit Patil from Eyesight Fintrade. Please go ahead.
Good afternoon to the Century Ply team. My question is to Mr. Sanjay Agarwal, sir. Are you there on this?
Yes, yes, I am here.
Yes, sir. Good afternoon. My question is, given Century Plyboards' strong year-on-year growth and stable margins despite inflationary pressures, I want to understand how are you thinking about deploying AI-driven demand forecasting or automated stockkeeping units rationalization across your dealer networks by the next two years? Do you think by doing this, it could unlock working capital efficiencies and improve product-market fit in the tier 2, tier 3 clusters? As Managing Director, what is your vision on this? I want to understand that, sir. Thank you very much.
See, Century Plyboards has been trying to make plywood as an SMCG good. We have been doing many other things as far as credit control is concerned, distribution is concerned. The plywood market does not accept the DMS. Until unless we can install a software which is known as DMS, Distribution Management System, till then, we do not have visibility of what happens after the wholesaler or the dealer. Of course, we have started other streams through which we are now having some data about the retailers and all that. We get data how much material is being bought by the 4,000 retailers or 5,000 retailers across the country from our dealers. That data now we have, and we pay some incentive on that. We are working on a very, very recently, we have decided to actually implement DMS in a very small area and try a new effort.
It is going to be a Herculean task. I cannot put any timeline. As far as Century Plyboards is concerned, we are very strongly pushing AI in every department in our company. We believe that we will be in line with everybody else in every other industry as far as AI is concerned. I think Nikita wants to say something. Yeah.
Yeah. I would just like to add that, see, as a company, I mean, you've also read in our annual report that we've taken a three-year digitization plan. No digitization plan can be complete without AI being there. We are taking up AI in a big way. We are also training our people in AI because today, AI is something that not many people understand. It is not just as going and Gen AI has become the most in words right now. We are training our people about AI and then encouraging everyone to use. As far as dealer segment goes, see, we have so many lines of business. In the laminate business, we are using AI. We are using, we are going to use AI. If it is acceptable there, we will use it in other divisions.
If you really look at the next five-year roadmap, I think if a company does not adopt AI and does not utilize AI to its holistic end, it will be at a loss. Century Ply has always been ahead of the curve. We'll continue to be ahead of the curve.
Great. Thank you. That pretty much answers my question. On the ending note, would I be right to assume that, in the next 2-3 years, you will start implementing all those things which you have just mentioned right now?
Oh, probably earlier.
Okay. Great. Thank you very much. Have a nice day.
Thank you. Participants, you may press star and one to ask a question. Next question is from the line of Sagnik Sarkar from SKP Securities. Please go ahead.
Hi, Mr. Sarkar.
Sagnik, may I request that you unmute your line and proceed with your question? We do not respond. We move on to the next participant. Next question is from the line of Ashutosh Khetan from Asian Market Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hi. I have a question on the plywood segment.
Yes, sir.
Yeah. Hi, sir. Basically, what's the update on the new CapEx for the plywood Hoshiarpur plant, sir?
The update is we are progressing. We're going to soon start work, and we should have something by, it should go live by next year Q2 this time.
Sorry, it's Q2 of FY 2027.
Yes.
Okay. Next is on the price hikes. Have you taken any price hikes for this quarter in plywood or any other division?
In plywood, we did take a price hike at the end of April. We took a 2% price hike as far as MDF and laminate. As far as other segments go, we did not take any price hike. In laminate, sorry.
Yes, we've also taken a price increase in laminate to 2% or 2.5%, which has been implemented on one particular portfolio within the domestic segment, which is the [audio distortion] .
Okay. Okay.
Yeah, that's just from my side. Thank you.
Thank you. Next question is from the line of Shivk umar from Ambit Capital. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi. Good afternoon, and thanks for giving me the opportunity. First of all, congratulations on a great set of numbers. My first question is on the industry front, like wood panel as a whole. I just want to understand, what was the organized, I mean, just want to understand the organized versus unorganized share across all segments, as of, suppose, FY 2025, and what was the share, like two, three years before, and the demand versus the capacity across all segments that we operate. This is my first part.
Basically, there's no authenticated data aligned with. It is all on the basis of estimate. What I can tell you briefly is that the industry has not been growing at a fast pace, which is obvious from results that you will see right across. Whereas we have been growing at quite a fast pace, whether it be plywood or MDF.
In plywood and MDF, we have definitely increased our market share, but there is no authenticated source of data. For plywood, the total market size has been, we have been saying INR 250,000-INR 300,000 based on various publications for the past so many years. Unfortunately, we cannot give you a much closer representation. In terms of market share, you're absolutely right. We would have gained market share over the course of the last 5-6 years.
Okay. Sir, is there any sign of industry consolidation in any of the segments that we operate?
Yes, definitely. You see, if the industry is not growing and some of the ordinate are doing well, that shows that there is a certain amount of consolidation that is taking place. I think there is some amount of consolidation taking place in plywood and some amount of consolidation taking place in MDF. They should get accelerated by BIS. BIS on SME industries will only become effective from this month onwards. Let's wait and watch how it plays out.
All right, sir. Thank you. That's it from my end.
Thank you. Next question is from the line of Yash Sonthaliya from Edelweiss Public Alternates. Please go ahead.
Hi, team. Thank you for taking my question. My first question is, like you already alluded, we haven't taken any price hike in MDF while there was some correction in prices of timber. Can you help me with what's margin guidance if this price is sustained going ahead? Are there any plans or chances of we taking price cuts or price hike, volume discounts, or taking back the volume discounts?
Again, you know, markets are dynamic. As and when the market scenario unfolds, we will definitely have to look at pricing, discounts, and so on and so forth. In terms of guidance, like I've already mentioned, 20% revenue growth with 15% EBITDA guidance. This is what we are looking at, and we will attempt our best to deliver the same for you.
Got it. Thank you. That's all from my side.
Thank you. Next question is from the line of Nandita from Hostless Investment Managers. Please go ahead.
Thank you so much. Congratulations to the Century Plyboards team for exceeding set of numbers. I had a couple of questions, the first of which is related to the real estate cycle. We keep seeing data from Anarock and other research organizations that come out with the data on real estate saying that sales have actually gone down now, that the industry, the whole cycle is sort of turning in real estate. The growth that we saw in FY 2023-FY 2024 is now coming off. I wanted to understand how does the plywood market work out? When will most of the orders for plywood be coming in, given where we are in the cycle? How does that play out? My second question is on your laminates division. What is the game plan going forward?
I think this was one of those first quarters where both volume and realization growth was pretty solid after multiple quarters of regrowth. I wanted to understand where do you see the division going forward in the next one to two years?
Thank you, Pascal. With respect to the first question, on the real estate cycle, for a very long time, in the plywood division, we need to guide ourselves based on the real estate cycle. What we're realizing slowly, even though we don't have authenticated market share data, is the fact remains that because organized is such a small part of the entire industry, we need to stop looking at cycles, and we need to start concentrating more towards capturing the unorganized to organized. If that is going to be the focus, the growth is going to be there irrespective of the real estate cycle. That has been our goal. I don't deny the years we succeed, the years we don't succeed.
I would like to not follow these real estate cycles because there is a substantial base that is going to remain even if there is a growth or a growth in the industry.
Fair enough. I just had one follow-up on this. I completely understand where you're coming from. The follow-up that I have over here is from a particle board and MDF division perspective, especially going forward from this real estate cycle because we see that commercial real estate is actually going really strong. Because MDF and particle board basically, you know, it doesn't have this entire dynamic of a very large unorganized market. It's mostly organized or imported, and imports have really stopped now because of the BIS norms. Do you have any clarity on how your demand and how your volumes will go, especially in the context of the commercial real estate cycle in the next one to two years?
I think on the MDF and particle board, the industry is still very nascent, right? Like, you know, if you look at the entire industry, the MDF has barely penetrated 20%, 25% of the industry. I think at this early stage of the category in the industry, we are actually immune to real estate cycles. Therefore, we see robust demand, you know, going forward. I think right now for us, the game is to create the categories.
Okay. Got it. My second question with the laminates division is surrounding. My question was basically, given that the last quarter, the Q1 FY 2026, we saw really good volume and realization growth in the laminate section after a very long time, I wanted to understand what's the game plan, what's the strategy surrounding volumes, and what is your guidance or realization in volumes going forward in the next 1-2 years?
Like I said, our target is to do 20% + in terms of revenue growth. This together with a high single-digit or a mid to high single-digit EBITDA for the current year, that is what we are targeting. I think we have just started on the journey towards correction. There were of course mistakes that have been made, but with new leadership in place and with a lot of good ministers that we have put into execution, I think both on domestic and export fronts, we have been doing better. Hopefully, this will persist. I think this year, 20% revenue plus mid to high single-digit EBITDA should be realistic for laminate.
All right. That answers all my questions. Thank you so much.
Thank you. Next question is from the line of Rahul Agarwal from Ikigai Asset Managers. Please go ahead.
Thank you so much for the follow-up. I think you talked about new product development and launches for particle board, the sizes which were not present earlier, now you have. Similarly, could you share some color on laminates and MDF in terms of overall Century Plyboards, the entire company, and the thought process over the next 12 months in terms of filling wide spaces across whatever product segments we are talking about? Now we also have a lot of new plants which are running. If you could help us on laminates and MDF, it would really help.
Sure. As far as MDF is concerned, over the course of the past year, we have done 10 board s+, which is our highest density, highest waterproof MDF product to date. In particle board, like you rightly mentioned, we have already launched a new product, which has been very well accepted in the market, which is a superior version of the earlier Earth 12 particle board that we are manufacturing. Alongside that, we've launched a whole new range as far as particle board and MDF are concerned in terms of PLAM and our shade selection and our shade cards. This will be on display within the next few exhibitions, which starts off with MATECIA, which takes place this month in Delhi itself. In PVC boards, we have launched a new category called Louvers, which is gaining good traction from the market.
It is another product launch that will be displayed at the upcoming event. In laminates, we have launched CenturyLaminates . CenturyL aminates is a product category that in India has been selling well for quite some time, but nobody has been able to give a guarantee or a warranty because the product quality is normally considered to be quite inferior. We have finally been able to develop a superior quality product, and we'll be launching it in the current month. There are so many gaps or so many new opportunities that keep arising. As of now, these are three of the launches that we are focusing on. Going forward, we will update you as and when new product categories are coming up.
Anything on the ply side as well?
There is a lot of work that is going on on the plywood side, but I think it is too early to share details on the same. We can update as and when further progress is made.
Fair point. Anything on the furniture fittings? Things have moved forward from there on?
Sorry, could you just repeat on? Your voice cracked.
For the furniture fittings, have things moved forward on that?
Yes, we have definitely moved forward. We have already created a senior team, and we are at a very advanced stage of understanding the segment. However, you know, with Century , we are very prudent when it comes to new product categories and to cash injection in particular. We will be studying the segment. I think maybe over the course of the next 6-9 months, we'll be able to take a call of whether we are committed to going into the segment or not. It is not something that we'll be able to tell you in a month or so.
Perfect. Got it. Lastly, bookkeeping on the debt side, I think consolidated debt was about INR 14,000 as of March. How does this number look like end of March 2026, 2027, based on the cash flow planning?
I think we should be looking more towards the long-term debt because the short-term debt will be a part of it, considering the scale at which the company is growing. As your turnover increases, working capital requirements do tend to increase. Having said that, long-term debt, within the course of the next two years, I think we'll be able to repay the majority of the long-term debt. Unless or until we come up with another large GPAC or something of that sort, we'll be coming close to zero long-term debt on the books.
Which is INR 4,000 repayment, right? About approximately INR 4,000 , fair numbers?
Yes, more than INR 4,000 repayment. We will be looking to bring long-term debt as close to zero as possible. Cash flow generation has been strong over the course of the next few quarters. Most of the cash flow is going to be towards debt repayment.
Thank you so much for answering my questions. Thank you.
All the best.
Thank you.
Thank you. Next question is from the line of Varun Singh from AAA PMS. Please go ahead.
Thanks for the opportunity. Sir, would you like to call out timber pricing for us in north and south, and maybe how much it would have declined in the quarter?
Yeah. Timber prices did decline marginally. For Q1, our north pricing was close to about INR 6.3 per kg, and south was about 10% lower. Over the quarter, they would have declined by about 8%- 10% Q1 over Q4. As [Edi] mentioned a while back, this quarter, there might be a slight increase on account of monsoons. On the long term, we hope that the timber prices stabilize.
Okay. Understood. Secondly, I'm not sure if you have already answered this question, so please pardon. I joined the call a little bit late. In MDF, when you talk about competitive intensity, etc., or that the industry is consolidating, can we safely assume that now maybe there is no more kind of a price war situation and we are able to, or everyone is able to comfortably sell their product at some equilibrium rate? I mean, how should we judge the competition as of now?
I think if we can safely assume that there are three plants that we are putting in place, which are located at strategic locations within India. Considering that we are a brand which has tremendous plants with high premium in terms of pricing, alongside which we are perhaps the lowest cost of production in the country, on the margin fronts, we should be able to do okay despite whatever happens in the market. There is no trend for a price war, there's also no trend for a price increase. We will have to see how the market plays out. I think in terms of EBITDA margins, we will be doing better than the industry, so to speak, so to say.
Understood. Understood. Sir, that is from my side. Thank you, and wish you all the best.
Thank you very much. A reminder to all the participants, you may press star and one to ask a question. Next question is from the line of Udit Gakiwala from YES SECURITIES . Please go ahead.
Good afternoon, team. Thank you for taking my question. Congratulations on a great set of numbers.
Thank you.
With the major questions answered, sir, just one thing. In your plywood, what was the imported timber quotient for this quarter?
We have pretty much moved to imported timber now. I would say that we don't share such details, but I would say the majority is imported.
Okay. What would be the, you know, the kind of difference between the domestic and the imports now? Going ahead, if the domestic price is expected to come down, could you shift back? I mean, what's the thought process there?
Currently, we are looking at it as that quality is the most important thing for us at Century . We believe that the quality of the imported timber is far superior to the domestic quality currently available in the country. I think in the foreseeable future, we will continue to import.
All right. Thank you, Nikita.
Thank you. Next question is from the line of Bhavin Rupani from Investec India. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi, sir. Thank you so much for the question.
Hi, sir.
Sir, my first question is related to plywood. What is our current capacity and what is the utilization in that capacity? If you can spell out what is the proportion of in-house versus outsourcing right now versus what it was last year?
Okay. Our current capacity is 366,000 cu m, and we have a utilization of 91%. We are going to be increasing our capacity in H2 by another 30,000 cu m.
All right. What is the proportion of in-house versus outsourcing?
We do not share that number. Unfortunately, we don't share these numbers.
All right. As far as MDF is concerned, if I'm not wrong, we have some export obligations over there, right? When do we start exports from this new plant, and what is the export obligation in absolute terms, if you can spell out that?
Can you repeat your voice? I'm sorry. I think some of my voice is here.
Hello, is it clear enough?
Yes.
For the MDF plant, we have some export obligations, right? When do we start with the exports from this new plant, and what is the export obligation in absolute terms?
We have already started with regards to exports. The value of the export obligation, I don't have any with me offhand, but our CFO can share the same with you. Currently, the potential to export from this plant is very limited because timber prices are still elevated. They are not as high as INR 70, which had gone. The viability in exports isn't essential. We are working on it, and once viability comes back, then I think the export quantum will move up. We have started exports, but they're very limited quantity, predominantly to Middle East.
Okay. What would be the proportion right now?
Very negligible. I think less than 5%.
Okay. Anything on particle boards? Do we have similar obligations in the particle board plant as well?
No. We would have some small obligations. I don't have the numbers offhand, but we can share the same.
With the question of outsource, I will just like to mention one more thing in plywood that all our main brands are completely manufactured in our plants. It's a very small percentage of Sainik MR that we outsource. All our main brands, which are Sainik, Seven Sands, and obviously, all brands of Century Ply are manufactured in-house.
All right. The next question is on laminates. It was encouraging to see our revenue and EBITDA grow in this segment. I wanted to understand, was it due to increase in exports or due to domestic market?
I think we have done well on both sides, serving both in domestic as well as in exports. The execution on the ground, the execution results, which perhaps wasn't as great for the past few quarters, now that has started to kick in, some of them, and we will see results improving quarter on quarter.
All right. Last question, on particle board and MDF, given the competitive intensity and the oversupply in this category we are seeing right now, do we have plans to launch anything similar to Sainik plywood in these categories?
No, we have no such plans.
Perfect. All right. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you very much. A reminder to all the participants, you may press star and one to ask a question. If there are no further questions, I would now like to end the conference. Over to Mr. Sanjay Agarwal for closing comments.
Thank you. Thank you, everyone, for their support. We look forward to meeting you again for a briefing on the Q2. Thank you.
Thank you very much. On behalf of Century Plyboards Ltd, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines. Thank you.