Good morning, dear members. I'm Deepak C. S., Company Secretary at APL Apollo Tubes Limited. We welcome you all to the 38th annual general meeting of APL Apollo Tubes Limited. Along with us, we have our Vice Chairman, Mr. Ashok Kumar Gupta, other board members, Mr. Deepak Goyal, who is the Director of Operations and CFO, and other panelists who have joined either physically or through VC. In accordance with the relaxations provided by Ministry of Corporate Affairs and Securities and Exchange Board of India, the company is conducting this AGM through the WebEx facility provided by CDSL, without the physical presence of members at a common venue.
All members who have joined the AGM through VC are by default placed on mute by the host to avoid any disturbance arising from the background noise and for ensuring smooth and seamless conduct of the AGM. The remote e-voting facility for this AGM was provided from September sixth, 10:00, up to September eighth, 5:00 P.M., Friday. The company is also providing e-voting facility during the AGM to enable the members who are not voted during the remote e-voting to vote. During the proceedings of the AGM, members may raise queries through the chat box facility provided by CDSL. Depending on the nature of the query, they will be answered either immediately or through the registered email of the shareholder later.
If any member faces any technical issue, kindly contact helpline numbers of CDSL as provided in the notice of the AGM. Since our chairman, Mr. Sanjay Gupta, is could not be present due to certain unavoidable engagements, it is proposed that Mr. Ashok Kumar Gupta, the Vice Chairman and Director, be elected as a chairman of the meeting. Therefore, now I propose. Now, I request the host to initiate a polling on the scene so that members present may express their assent to the proposal. Host, can you start that poll for election of the chairman?
Yes, sir. Yes, sir, we are starting, sir. Poll started, you may cast your vote now. Last 30 seconds remaining to cast your vote now. Vote, poll completed, sir. Result has been displayed on your screen.
The members have consented to the proposal for election of Mr. Ashok Gupta as the chairman. Sir, welcome to the meeting.
Thank you.
So the quorum is complete. 30 members are required to be present, and the adequate quorum is there. So I request you to kindly chair the proceedings of the meeting.
Thank you, Deepak. Very good morning to all our directors, to all the shareholders, and all the ladies and gentlemen who are present in the meeting. A very warm welcome to you all... Before we formally proceed with the meeting, may I request the Company Secretary, Mr. Deepak, to conduct a roll call of the panelists who have joined through VC?
Yes, sir. We have with us, Mr. Anil Kumar Bansal, who is an Independent Director and also the Chairperson of the Audit Committee, as well as the Stakeholders Relationship Committee. Anil, sir, can you please conduct the roll call? Sir, you are on mute.
Yeah, sorry. I'm Anil Kumar Bansal, attending this AGM from my residence in GK-2, and I'm able to hear and see everybody.
Thank you, sir. Welcome to the meeting. Next, we have Mr. V. S. Jain, who is an Independent Director.
I'm V.S. Jain, attending the meeting from my residence, and voice is clear. I can see all of you.
Thank you, sir. Welcome to the meeting. Then we have Ma'am Neeru Abrol, who is an Independent Director.
Namaste, everyone. I'm Neeru Abrol, Non-Executive Independent Director of APL Apollo Tubes Limited. I'm attending the meeting from my residence in New Delhi. I can see and hear everyone, and no one else has access to this meeting apart from me. Thank you
Thank you, Ma'am. Welcome to the meeting. Then we have Mr. Abhilash Lal, who is an Independent Director.
Morning, everyone. This is Abhilash Lal, Independent Director, attending this AGM from my residence in Gurgaon. I confirm that reception is clear. All video and audio is clear and legible. Thank you.
Thank you, sir. Welcome to the meeting. And then we have Mr. Jitendra Agarwal, who is the partner in Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP, with the statutory auditors. Jitendra, sir, can you do the roll call process?
This is Jitendra Agarwal here. I'm the Statutory Auditor of the company, and I'm attending this meeting from Delhi.
Thank you, sir. Thank you for joining the meeting. Welcome. Then we have Mr. Abhishek Lakhotia, who is from Deloitte Haskins & Sells statutory auditors. Abhishek, can you please do the roll call? Abhishek, can you hear us?
Yeah, I can hear you. Hi, good morning, everyone. Abhishek Lakhotia this side, statutory auditors, representing Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP. I'm attending this meeting from my home in Nehru Place, New Delhi, and I can hear and see the proceedings very clearly. Thank you.
Thank you, Abhishek. Welcome to the meeting. Then we have Ms. Sarvari Shah, who is the representative of the secretarial auditors, Parikh & Associates. Sarvari, can you please do the roll call?
This is Sarvari Shah, secretarial auditor, attending this meeting from Mumbai.
Thank you, Sarvari. Welcome to the meeting. We have Mr. Jatin Gupta, who is the scrutinizer for this meeting. Mr. Jatin, can you please do the roll call process?
Good morning, I'm Jatin Gupta, acting as scrutinizer for this meeting. I am also attending this meeting from my residence in Delhi, and I am able to witness the proceedings very clearly.
Thank you, Mr. Jatin. Welcome to the meeting, sir.
Thank you, Deepak. Now, I would like to introduce the distinguished panelists we have. We have with me, Mr. Deepak Goyal, who is the Director of Operations as well as CFO, who's sitting with me here on my left.
Good morning, everyone.
I'd also like to introduce our Chairman of the Audit Committee, Mr. Anil Kumar Bansal. He's also the Stakeholders Relationship Committee Chairman. I'll also like to introduce Madam Niru Agrawal, who is the Chairperson of Nomination and Remuneration Committee. Mr. V.S. Jain and Mr. Abhilash Lal, both are Independent Directors. They have joined us through VC. We have our auditors, Mr. Jitendra Agarwal and Mr. Abhishek Lakhotia, who are again joining us through VC. Then we have our Madam Sarvari Shah, who is our secretarial auditor, and Mr. Jatin Gupta, who is the scrutinizer for this call. So I welcome all of you to this meeting once again. Sitting on my right is Mr. Deepak, who is our Company Secretary. I once again welcome all the panelists, those who are present physically here, as well as those who have joined through VC.
Some of our directors of the company are not able to be present here, both due to their preoccupation as well as because of G20. So there have been some travel restrictions here and there, so everybody was not able to come. However, as you would have noted, the statutory auditors, the independent auditors, the scrutinizers, the secretarial auditors, and independent directors all are here. So I see that the quorum is present, and the statutory participants are also there. With this, I call the meeting to order. Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me immense pleasure to bring before you a very successful year we had. It was one of the best years in the history of our company, or your company. Now, we had two years of uncertainty, pandemic, war, a lot of recessionary trends, global headwinds.
We are very fortunate that we are in India, and, despite such headwinds, India has been able to establish a firm footing on the economic resurgence and has been growing steadily. India has been growing at around 7%-9% year after year. Even this year, I think we are growing at around 8% now. And this increase, if you observe, and if you, as you all know, is not only led by infrastructure push, which of course, is there in all sectors, is not only led by the service sector, which has been growing, but I think a lot, lot of it has been growing through the private consumption. This is the uniqueness of the country. The growth in the country is not only because of the government expenditure, it's significantly also because of the individual household consumption.
Having said that, while the domestic demand is good, we are facing headwinds, so far as exports are concerned, the international market is concerned. As you know, significant part of our output is sold in the international market, so we were trying to go in a very big way in the international market. We have a good presence as well. But the kind of growth which we are observing in the domestic market, we are not seeing in the international demand. That is kind of creating a headwind for us in the international arena. Despite these difficulties, you would have observed that we have achieved over 30% growth in this year. I think this was a remarkable growth, and this has enabled us not only to keep our market share, but also improve it marginally.
As a result of this, our revenue has increased by about 24% over the previous year, and EBITDA has grown to almost the highest ever of INR 1,070 crore, from around nine hundred and ninety crores in the last year. Net profit has increased by around 4% to INR 640 crore. These are all almost the highest ever that we have done. As a result of this, the operating cash flow has increased to around INR 970 crore, registering a very robust growth of 50%. EBITDA also is significantly good at around INR 4,500 per ton, even though it's marginally lower than what we used to have earlier at around 5,000, and but this is because of the difference in the prices, which is happening every now and then.
As you know, international prices have been changing time to time, because at some point of time, the prices used to be as high as INR 65,000 per ton, and then the steel prices in India fell to around INR 55,000 per ton. So despite this loss we have taken, you are seeing we are registering a wonderful growth, both in terms of revenue and in terms of net profits. Talking of our returns, our ROCE, return on capital employed, is almost 29%, which is almost one of the best in the industry. Not only last year, but in the current year also, your company has been doing very well. As you know, the growth has been significant. But apart from financial results, as you know, we focus a lot on the sustainability part of it.
See, today we are having the G20 Summit in the country, in the capital. So the whole focus of the summit has been on sustainability and, as you know, the motto, One Earth, One Family. And, so keeping that in mind, the company also has been working in the same direction. We have been focusing on innovation, creation of market in the new sectors and on ESG. So while talking of innovation, let me tell you that at a point of time, we used to make sections of 40, 40, 50, 50, 100, 100. And perhaps not only in the country, but perhaps in the world, we are one of the few companies, when I say few, not more than 2 or 3 companies, who are making square tubes of 1,000 by 1,000. You can understand the dimension of it, 1 meter by 1 meter tube.
I don't think many people would have seen such a tube. We have already set up a line where we are continuously making steel sections of 500 by 500. So you see the kind of innovation, the kind of growth, the kind of new products, the kind of differentiated things which your company does. I'm happy to share with you that on the ESG front, we have got another big achievement. The company stood at 80th percentile. You know, it's only a couple of years back that we started exercise of ESG measurement, and within such a short time, we have reached 80th percentile. That means we are better than 80% companies in the country so far as ESG is concerned, and our score has reached a high of 29 points against the industry average of 22.
So this shows how much importance we give to sustainability, to growth, to environment. While we are focusing on sustainability of the environment, of the country, of the universe, we are also looking at our own sustainability, and that's why our working capital cycle has come down significantly. As it is, it was quite low at 7 days, now it has come down to 5 days. I think I must give appreciation to all our, my colleagues in the company, who have done such a remarkable job, which basically means you are working on a very low inventory, and you are working on a very low debt, and you are working on a very low debtors.
As I mentioned to you on innovation, we are now coming up with new products, which are basically apart from sections, we have also entered into Color-Coated Sheets. As you know, Color-Coated Sheets are the new generation material, which lasts longer, good to see, good for environment, and has a very, very long life. We are also now embarking upon Aluminum Zinc Galvanized Sheets, which is one of the first in the country, and then Value-Added hollow Sections, whereby we could be making hollow sections, which are not simply steel hollow sections, but something more than that. We are also reducing our carbon footprint.
We are reducing both Scope 1 as well as Scope 2 emissions per metric tons of steel produced by around 25% by the year 2030, which is in line with the goal of the country to reduce emissions, to reduce the carbon footprint. We are also, as you know, already having facilities for renewable energy, for solar energy. We are one of the very few companies in the country where the energy mix has gone up to around 47% renewable. There are not many companies who are having for more than 47% renewable. And, so this has helped us. So it's not only energy wise. If you see, we are taking deliberate attempt to change the construction from concrete-based to steel-based. This is, itself will improve environment drastically.
I'm happy to share with you a number of buildings in the capital are coming, which have been shifted through our company's efforts of your company, from concrete to steel, and I am sure all the shareholders will be proud of this achievement. I can assure you, this, this journey towards renewable, towards recyclables, towards prefabricated, will continue. It won't only continue, it will be further strengthened. Because as you have all seen, the Union Budget, which came out in February 2023, the year ahead seems to be very promising one for us, particularly in the steel industry, particularly in the sections. The government is spending so much on infrastructure, so much on airports. We see all the airports have been modernized, on the railways. So all this is giving a high quantum of demand for your company.
In line with that, we are also increasing our footprints so far as production facility is concerned. Already, as you know, our Raipur facility is one of the best in the world. We are further taking steps to further increase the facilities there. We are also going international now, as you know, we have facilities in Middle East. So all these facilities will further augment to make sure that the country, not only the country, the whole world, slowly shifts to recyclable, slowly shifts to reduce carbon emissions. So with this kind of effort, I am sure your country will, your company will have the rightful contribution towards sustainability and environmental protection. We will be able to face the challenges of the future very well.
All this has been possible because of the excellent guidance that your company gets from the board of directors, and we just introduced you to some of the board members. I must really appreciate them and thank them for giving us continued guidance in all spheres, right from our operations, to sustainability, to compliance, to all aspects of business. I will be falling short of my duty if I don't talk of my colleagues, my employees. I must tell you, today, we have the best team, not one of the best teams, the best team in the country, if I can talk of only steel industry or if I can talk of only pipe industry. Then, all this would not have been possible if we didn't have the faith of our customers.
So we have more than 3,000 loyal customers, direct customers, who talk to us day in, day out. Now, these are the customers who have been with us for 20, 30, 40 years, and consistently without break. So this is, this is our real strength, real pillars. And of course, the shareholders, the kind of faith you have given. Again, my colleague told me just now that we have shareholders who are with us since perhaps 1990, 1995, more than 20, 25 years. This is the kind of strength that we have. And all other stakeholders, I would like to thank, including our banks and our associates. And I want to thank once again to all of you, for listening to me so patiently, and for the continued support which you have been giving to, to us from time to time. Thank you so much.
Thank you, Chairman, sir. Dear members, the register of directors and key managerial personnel and their shareholding, maintained as per Section 170 of Companies Act, and the register of contracts as per Section 118A, are made available for inspection on the website of the company. There is a link available on the login where you have joined from to access these documents. By clicking those links, you can go to and get access to these documents. Now coming to the notice of the 38th Annual General Meeting. May I, with the permission of the members, take the notice dated 5 August 2023, convening this 38th Annual General Meeting of the company, along with the board's report and its annexure as read.
Annual report and the notice is available on the website of the company, www.aplapolotubes.com, and also that of CDSL. The auditor's report issued by Messrs. Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP, chartered accountants, the statutory auditors of the company for the financial year that ended on March 31, 2023, does not contain any qualifications or remarks. And therefore, with the permission of the members, I'll take that also as read. Now coming to the second audit report, there are again no qualifications, observations, or comments of the auditors on this report for the financial year 2020 to 2023, issued by Parekh and Associates, the company secretaries in practice, and with the permission, so this is also taken as read.
Now, with the permission of the chairman, I'll take up the agenda items, sir.
Please.
So the agenda items for transaction in this annual general meeting are: item number 1 is to receive, consider, and adopt the audited financial statements, both standalone and consolidated for the financial year end that ended on March 31, 2023, and also the report of the auditors and the directors thereon. This is proposed as an ordinary resolution. The second agenda item is to declare a dividend at the rate of ₹5 per share, which is 250% on the face value of ₹2, as recommended by the board of directors to declare the same for the financial year that ended on March 31, 2023. This resolution again is proposed as an ordinary resolution. The third agenda item relates to appointment of Mr.
Rahul Gupta, DIN 07151792, who is liable to retire by rotation at this AGM, and being eligible, offers himself for re-appointment. This resolution is also proposed as ordinary resolution. The next is a special business, which is about a ratification of the remuneration to be paid to the cost auditors, which is about INR 6 lakh for the financial year 2022-23. R.J Goel & Co. Cost Accountants. That is all about the resolutions that are in the agenda of sir.
Thank you, Deepak. Thank you for taking care of the agenda item, and I'm sure the voting must have been happened by now. Now, members, the forum is open for you. It's your forum now. Whatever we had to share, we have shared with you all the information on the company's performance on the agenda item. So now I request, all the members to please raise their questions, if any, queries, if any, and complaints, if any, and we will try to address them to the best of our ability. Members, any queries?
Host, the first speaker who had registered is Mr. Manjit Singh. If he's available, please unmute him and allow him to speak, and also-
Mr. Manjit Singh is not available in the meeting.
He's not there. Okay. The next is Mr. Kaushik Shahukar. Is he available? Mr. Kaushik, you are unmuted. Please ask your query.
Am I audible?
Yes, you're audible. Please go ahead.
Thank you. Good morning to all. I am honored to have the opportunity to address you all today, and would like to express my gratitude to the board of directors for allowing me a chance to express my view. Thank you, sir. Thank you so much. First off, I salute the board of directors for out-of-the-box thinking and keeping meeting on Saturday, and considering VC mode of meeting, thereby allowing better participation. So I request you to continue this trend. I am a satisfied shareholder of our company, and I must commend the management for the remarkable efforts in creating wealth of the shareholders. However, I'd like to raise a couple of concerns. My primary concern pertains to utilization of savings on account of VC mode of meeting.
I believe it would be prudent and fair to allocate a portion of these funds to the welfare of the shareholders, more particularly amongst speaker shareholders, who actually participate in AGM as speakers. Considering their valuable contribution and active involvement, it would be a gesture of recognition to distribute a small memento on the occasion of festivals. So here, can you provide the breakup of expenses on account of VC mode of meeting and on account of physical mode of meeting, if possible? I humbly request the board to consider my proposal and explore the possibility of implementing the gesture of gratitude and appreciation. By doing so, I firmly believe that it will reinforce the positive rapport between our company and shareholders, and contribute to overall wellbeing of the corporate family. It will serve both purpose. Yeah.
My next concern is: What is the company's strategic plan for future growth and expansion? What are the new... are there any new product launches or market expansion on the horizon? How does the company plan to stay competitive in the industry? My final concern is, the company has been hesitant in supporting individual in need, including myself. I have shared my credentials in the past and follow up consistently with the company, but my, but it, my request has not been considered. So not aiding differently able person be part of CSR activity, I appeal for a support in certification work, including Form 15 CB. Your assistance would mean a lot to me. If I can't get help from reputable company like APL Apollo, then whom can I turn to?
I have resigned my credential after over AGM, through ID, through ID given, the hopes of receiving justice and put up to consideration for desired help and support. I want to clarify that I'm not seeking handout of free money nor sympathy. I value my independence and self-reliance as an accountant.... And I hope you can understand and respect my desire to maintain the independence. Thank you for considering my request. I firmly believe that, I firmly believe that with your support, I can make significant contribution to our organization and have a positive impact on our society. I eagerly await your response and sincerely appreciate your time and attention you have given me today. Additionally, I request your assistance in introducing me to your esteemed auditor. As a fellow professional, I believe that expertise and guidance would be instrumental, instrumental in realizing our mutual goals. Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Thank. In the interest of time, may I request all the members to please be brief in their queries? Thank you, Mr. Kaushik. We can have the next query, please.
Mr. Vinod Agarwal, is there? Our host.
Sir, Mr. Vinod is not available in the meeting right now.
Okay, then. Mr. Gagan Kumar.
Sir, Mr. Gagan is also not available.
The next speaker is Surinder Kumar Arora. Mr. Arora, you are unmuted. Please ask your queries.
Hello, sir, मैं Surinder Kumar Arora, Noida [Foreign Language] से इस मीटिंग को attend कर रहा हूं। Chairman sir, सबसे पहले तो मैं यह जानना चाहता था sir, कि अगले दो साल का roadmap क्या है हमारा? बाकी आपने अपनी speech में काफी कुछ clear कर दिया है। इसके बारे में बताएं। क्या company कोई bonus देने के बारे में विचार कर रही है, उसके बारे में बताएं। बाकी meeting में जोड़ने के लिए अगर आप link भेज देते, तो ज्यादा अच्छा था। लेकिन फिर भी secretary department जिस तरीके से meeting में जोड़ने के लिए किया, उसके लिए धन्यवाद। Thank you very much.
Thank you, Surinder Ji. Next, the chairperson will try to answer all the queries, whichever are possible to be answered during the meeting, at the end of the queries by all the shareholders, and the remaining would be replied to their individual emails. Next is Shripal Singh Mohnot, Monot.
Host.
Host, Mr. Shripal Singh Mohnot.
Mr. Monot is not available in the meeting right now, sir.
Rishabh Jain. Mr. Rishabh Jain, I think, is there in the meeting, Mr. Rishabh Jain. Mr. Jain, you are unmuted. Please ask your queries.
Hello, am I audible, sir?
Yes.
Yeah. Good morning, Chairman Sir, Board of Directors and the members attending this e-meeting. Excellent speech has already been given by the Chairman Sir, wherein all the most of the queries has already been covered. But I would like to know that in this time of competition, where our profit marginally increased as compared to year 2021, how would you reward the shareholders during this financial year? And shall we expect a good dividend during this financial year? And the second point is that the share price is trading at around INR 1700+ at presently. Is the management thinking about the split of the share during this financial year? And thank you very much to the company secretary and the secretarial team for allowing me and express my views in front of the chairman, sir. Thank you, sir.
Thank you, Rishabh ji. Next is Ankur Chanda. Mr. Ankur Chanda. Mr. Ankur, you are unmuted. Please ask your queries.
I am audible?
Yes, you are audible.
Okay, good morning to everyone. Sir, [Foreign Language] ठीक है, मतलब प्रॉफिट भी हमारा ठीक आया है पिछले साल से और पिछले तीन चार साल में प्रॉफिट भी बढ़िया आया है। लेकिन सर, एक थोड़ी सी यह है कि भाई आप, हम कंपनी के कांटेक्ट में कैसे रहेंगे, शेयरहोल्डर? क्योंकि हम अगर दीपक जी से या किसी से कांटेक्ट करना चाहें, तो हम कांटेक्ट नहीं कर सकते। कंपनी की तरफ से तो कोई रिस्पांस आता ही नहीं है। ठीक है, हमने भी स्पीकर की मेल भेजी है, लेकिन किसी को भी कोई कम्युनिकेशन नहीं आया कि भैया, आप स्पीकर हैं, नहीं हैं, आपका नंबर क्या है?
[Foreign Language] मतलब कोई कम्युनिकेशन नहीं आया। तो सर, इस चीज में सुधार की जरूरत है। CS टीम को आप यह कहिए कि थोड़ा सा जो है, शेयरहोल्डर के कांटेक्ट में रहिए, क्योंकि शेयरहोल्डर तो कंपनी के पिलर है। सर, आप उन्हीं के साथ कांटेक्ट में नहीं रहेंगे, तो कैसे बात बनेगी? बाकी सर, आप मेरे ख्याल से फिजिकल भी कर सकते हैं, क्योंकि देखिए, आप लोग वैसे जो अपने बोर्ड रूम में भी सारे इकट्ठे ही बैठे हैं। ठीक है, तो फिजिकल करने में भी कोई दिक्कत नहीं है, मुझे तो लगता sir. बाकी आपकी मर्जी है, जैसे आप करें, तो यह ध्यान, ध्यान दीजिएगा सर, थोड़ा सा। धन्यवाद।
Thank you, Mr. Ankur. Next is Mr. Raju Verma. Mr. Raju is there? He is there. Sir Raju, you are unmuted. Please ask your queries.
[Foreign Language]आवाज आ रही है, sir? मेरी आपको?
हां जी, go ahead, please.
I am Raju Verma, shareholder, from Noida speaking and I thank all of you and the secretarial department who have given me the opportunity to speak in this EGM. Sir, we have full trust in our management team that whatever proposals it brings in the future, they will be in the interest of the company and we understand that the coming time will be quite good for the company. I support all resolutions.
And your Chairman speech is so transparent that your questions are automatically cleared. In the future, hold the AGM, EGM in BC mode, so that any person can join from anywhere. Sir, the era is moving toward digital, and we demand physical. This is not right. I wish the company a bright future. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Raju. Next is Mr. Vinod Motilal Agarwal.
Sir, Mr. Vinod is not available in the meeting right now.
Next speaker who is registered is Mr. Sarabjit Singh, Sarabjit Singh.
Mr. Singh is also not available, sir.
Mr. Praveen Kumar?
Mr. Praveen, you are unmuted. Please ask your queries.
Hello, I'm audible, sir?
Yes, sir.
Good morning to my respected chairperson for this meeting, well-decorated esteemed board of director, and my co-fellow shareholder who joined this meeting online. Myself, Praveen Kumar, joining this meeting from New Delhi. I have few observation, which I love to share with the entire house. First of all, thank you, respected chairperson, for your very, very in-depth address to the shareholder. Sir, I think you covered almost everything, and it is very, very informative from a retail investor perspective also. So I'm very, very thankful for your hard work for preparing this speech. Sir, I am part of our company, and the company name is Bihar Tubes. Over the period, I am very, very thankful to our founder, respected Sanjay Gupta, the chairperson of our company, for taking so many proactive step.
And, last big event is the merger of, you know, Apollo Tricoat with our company. That's truly, you know, cut the administration cost, leverages our, you know, benefit and leveraging the strength of, both the company into one. So that's hats off to him. And the product we have in the market, and I'm very, very thankful to, you know, signing, this Sadi ke jo mahanayak hai Amitabh Bachchan for our, ambassador, so that it will promptly see by the market, by everyone in India. So we will be recognized as a true brand which arrive in a big way. So I'm very, very thankful for the management initiative, and the share price is, you know, quoting all-time high.
Yes, a split is due, bonus is due, because company is very, very on a fast track to growth path, and I salute the dedication, the devotion our respected chairperson have to bring sustainable growth for the company. I supported all the resolution which you set out for the notice today, and my question to the management is, for the next year, what will be the growth driver, for our company? And I love to thank our company secretary and his entire team for bringing higher standard of corporate governance in the company. If you have any queries, it will be promptly replied by our respected CS and his entire team. So I am very, very grateful to him and his entire team.
I'm very, very thankful for your marketing team and our respected CFO for designing our annual report, because I requested our CS, Mr. Deepak, for a hard copy of our annual report. He. I'm very, very thankful to him. He sent me annual report along with our company's diaries and few pen. So I'm very, very thankful to him for his very, very investor-friendly approach. And, sir, it's not the annual report, it's a catalog also. That's the rare combination I see in this entirety. It is very, very transparent. I'm very, very thankful to our CFO for designing in such a way so that each and every retail investor who has not, might be not have financial, you know, knowledge in that aspect, he can understand it. So that truly shows that our management is very, very transparent.
So I'm very, very thankful to be part of such a legacy. And I, I just pray to the Lord that he will bless our respected chairperson, Sanjay Gupta ji, entire team, so that you will take our company to the newer height in the future. And I'm very, very thankful for this opportunity to share my views and express my feeling for more than two decades. Thank you, sir. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Praveenji. The last speaker, speaker number 13, Yashwi Kothari. Mr. Yashwi, you are unmuted. Please ask your queries.
Hello. Yeah, am I audible?
Yes, sir, you are audible. Please go ahead.
Thank you for the opportunity, sir, and very good introductory brief that you gave. Sir, I will jump onto my questions. So sir, basically, firstly, if you can tell the normal, like, the steel growth is on approx GDP 6-7%. So what is the growth of structural steel, if you can tell us about that? Secondly, on the baby coil or semi-coil, we see that the concept is emerging. So how do you see that, from this coil, the steel pipes are being made? So how do you see that market growing? And what is our, sir, market size of the structural steel and sector-wise revenue contribution, if you can tell on that side?
And lastly, on the patra market size, and how do you see that patra and versus the HR coil, what is the price differential and how is that market gaining share over HR or how is it, sir? Thank you, sir. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Yashwi.
Any other member wants to speak?
Apart from those who are registered, if any other member wants to speak, they can also speak, or they can put their question on the chat box.
Is there any other member who wishes to speak?
Sir, we can see few questions in the Q&A box.
Okay. I'm unable to see the chat box, host.
Any member want to speak?
What are the questions? We are unable to see it, actually, host.
Blue Ocean. Yeah.
I'm sending the question and answer, sir.
The Q&A ones.
Huh, yes, yes, yes, yes, sir. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, so nice of you to have given your thoughts, your views, your queries. We are really indeed fortunate, the company is fortunate that we have so such enlightened shareholders, and the best part is shareholders are taking interest in the company. They're studying the results, they are studying the annual report. Well, I think we are very lucky to have such a good shareholders, and that is part of the reason why company is so, so doing so well. So I will try to get all the answers for you in a summary form. So one of the first question which was put up by members was whether we should have a physical meeting or a VC mode meeting.
I think there are contrary views on both sides by the shareholders, and depending on the situation, we will take a decision on year-to-year basis. So and depending on the government guidelines. So as you know, we have to do the AGM as per the government guidelines. The government allows us or doesn't allow us, and depending on situation, the decision will be taken from time to time. There are views on both sides. The second query you had asked about was about the, you know, how do we reward our shareholders? Typically, shareholders are rewarded both by way of, a dividend and by way of, you know, your split or bonuses. The split and bonuses are decided from time to time as the opportunity arises, and as and when it is decided, we'll obviously come back to you for your approval.
But before that, let me again, again inform you that the dividend, as you see, has already been announced, and it's a pretty healthy dividend, which is around 250%. So that way, the company has been traditionally rewarding its shareholders from time to time adequately. You also inquired about the roadmap of the company and, the growth drivers and how do we expect to continue our growth. My colleague, who is the Director of Operations, Mr. Deepak Goyal, he is here, who is a master of the subject, and he will definitely elucidate you about the company growth. Deepak?
Yeah. Good morning, everyone. So we are primarily focusing on the three things. We are expanding regularly, regionally, and we are focusing on the structural tubing sectors. So in the recent past, we have increased our capacity from 2.6 million ton to 3.6 million tons, and we are come up with the some new product. The structural tubing sides, we are capable now to making the sections by 500 by 500 diameter, and we introduce new galvanized sheets, galvanized pipes, color-coated sheets. So we are approaching the structured tubings here in the various government projects. The new airports are coming up, renovations of the new railway stations, and for the regional connectivities, the few new airports are coming up.
So demand detection is very good in the country and especially government focused on the infrastructure activity in these years. So we are seeing very good demands in the coming years. We are expecting this year, again, we achieve more than 20% growth and the same targets we are taking for the next years.
Thank you. Thank you, Deepak, so much. Another query some people were asked talking about, you know, communication of the company. I'm sure all of you are getting regular communication from our side, from our company secretary, and I must thank Deepak for that, for being so prompt. And if there is anything more needed, we will do that as well. Couple of questions that come on the, on the Q&A in the chat box. So some members are asking about the amount of water towers that we have. So no, we go on getting orders for all kind of applications, whether it is water towers and it is structural. In addition to that, our dealers also get a lot of orders for these facilities.
And we do not compile this kind of information at any point because there are different areas through which the orders flow through to distributors directly or even through retailers. There was a query about distributors. How many dealers, distributors do you have? Well, we have, as mentioned, around 700-800 distributors and large number of people or retailers who are supplied from distributors. So these numbers goes on varying from day-to-day basis. What will be the figure on 31 March may not be figures in April, may not be the figure in September. It goes on varying, it goes on varying depending on demand, and goes on varying whether some distributor has been added or somebody is taking this month or not. So these are the data which goes on changing. And what is this Blue Ocean project?
Blue Oceans is a over 100% subsidiary in which we are building our corporate office in the Noida Sector 132, and it's not an investment, it's an in-house project for construction of our new corporate office.
There have been some queries about regarding purchase and sale of shares. Purchase and sale of shares are individual matters, and company doesn't go into the details of those things. So with this, I think all the queries which were asked for have been responded by us. And, in case there's any other further query, I shall request the members to please be active, be proactive, as I should say. Check up from our Deepak, who is our Company Secretary, and I'm sure he will give the response quickly. With this, I'll hand it over again to Deepak to take it further. So, I just would like to inform you that the e-voting is perhaps going on now?
It is, it is already started, sir.
It already started. So e-voting is going on. Members may please complete the e-voting process. In the meantime, we have, we are very fortunate that our independent directors are with us. May I request the independent directors to kindly give some views of their own also with regard to the company and whatever they would like to inform to the shareholders. The directors, please. Sir, would you like to say something? Madam, you'd like to say something?
I think you have both covered everything. You know, what additional we'll be able to say? But the company is doing very well, and we are seeing the growth over a period of time. And the compliance issue, like some people were commenting, yes, over a period of time, it's considerably improved, and I think it's a perfect mix of everything. Thank you.
Thank you, madam. Thank you so much for your views. Yes, please.
Yeah, good morning, everyone. This is Abhilash Lal here. First of all, I would like to thank all members who have taken the time to attend this AGM today. Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to it as we move ahead. I think we have covered a lot of areas. I think it's important to understand that operational performance is important, but so is all the regulatory compliance. Thanks to your support, your company has made great jumps, I would say, in the last five, six years. It is now certainly regarded as one of the fastest rising stars, and we look forward to your continued support to make sure that we continue to reward all stakeholders and society as we go ahead. Thank you all so much.
Thank you, Abhilash Lalji. Sir?
Yeah. As an independent director, I would like to tell to the shareholders that the company's focus on the welfare of all stakeholder is the prime motive of the company. The growth plan has been very good in the past, and expected plan are also very promising. Market is very good. And being independent director, I want to assure the stakeholders that we want to keep a very distinct view and take very independent view on all the proposals. And I am sure with your support, the company will move very fast, grow very fast, and will not leave opportunities untapped in coming years.
Sir, we must thank you, not only for your wonderful words, but more than that, for your continuous guidance in each meeting and in between meetings. Sir, thank you so much for your words, sir. V.S. sir, like to say something? Sir, you are on mute, is it?
No, no, it's fine. I think, respected Chairman of the AGM and, Company Secretary, CFO, my fellow panelists and, respected shareholders, has been a wonderful year, as Ashok Ji has already said in his AGM speech. I think nothing more than that is required to be said, but as, independent director on the board of this company for more than eight years now, I fully can say, endorse, that this company will, grow by leaps and bounds. And, they are following good corporate governance, have put the best audit, team, which is possible. Inside also, I must say that Mr. Ashok Gupta Saab has elaborated in detail, but Deepak, both, CFO and company secretary, are also not leaving any stone unturned to ensure that company remains, in full corporate governance.
My best wishes, and I'm sure the company will keep growing to its best. Thank you so much for inviting me to speak. Thank you, sir.
Thank you, V. S. sir, for your beautiful, kind words. As usual, you have been very supportive, supportive of us, not only here, but also in all the meetings and all the deliberations. We have our auditor as well with us, Mr. Jitendra Agarwal. Mr. Jitendra Agarwal, if you are there, I would like to say a few words. He's not there, I see. Then Mr. Abhishek Lakhotia, who is there, also our statutory auditor. Abhishek, you would like to say anything?
Uh, hello?
Yeah.
Can you hear me?
We can hear you.
Yeah. Good afternoon, everyone, or rather good morning, everyone. So I've been auditing Apollo for a fairly long time now, and it has been a pleasure auditing this company, the regulatory environment, the compliances, the strictness with which the board and the audit committee looks at it. It has always been a great learning experience, and I think everyone is very mindful of the regulatory environment. That's what we always look at, and I just wish my best wishes for the future growth and the plans of the company.
Thank you, Abhishek.
Thank you, Abhishek. May I request, Deepak to take it further?
Thank you, sir. On the e-voting, members who have not cast their electronic e-voting or remote e-voting, sorry, e-voting during the AGM, are requested to kindly vote on the proposed resolutions. Once the proceedings conclude, the voting window will still remain open for another 15 minutes to enable the members to cast their vote. Onto the scrutinizer, once the voting is over, Mr. Jatin Gupta, the scrutinizer, will present his report to the chairman, and the results on voting within 2 working days from the conclusion of this meeting, as per SEBI regulations and the Companies Act. The results shall be posted on the website of the company, and they shall also be disseminated with the stock exchanges. Now I request Mr.
Deepak Goyal, Director of Operations and CFO, to propose a vote of thanks to the chairman.
Yeah, I propose vote of thanks to the Chairman for and on behalf of all the members and other panelists presenting the meetings. Thank you, sir.
Thank you. Thank you, Deepakji. I hope that uninterrupted video and audio was available during the meeting to all the members, all the panelists, all the participants. Now I request Chairman Sir to formally conclude the meeting.
So once again, my privilege to thank our esteemed board, distinguished board, one of the best boards you can think of. Our shareholders, very loyal shareholders, being with us for a long time, as well as the new ones, and my colleagues here for conducting the meeting so successfully. Also, to the auditors and the scrutinizer for attending this meeting, and CDSL for providing the platform. With this, I declare the meeting as officially concluded. Thank you.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you.