Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the Afcons Infrastructure 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 the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing Star then zero on your touch-tone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Bhoomika Nair from DAM Capital. Thank you, and over to you.
Good evening everyone. A warm welcome to the Q1 FY 2026 earnings call of Afcons Infrastructure Limited. We have management today being represented by Mr. Subramaniam Krishnamurthy, Executive Vice Chairman, Mr. Srinivasan Paramasivan , Managing Director, Mr. Ramesh Jha, Chief Financial Officer, and Mr. Hitesh Singh, Head of Corporate Strategy. At this point, I'll hand over the floor to the management for their initial remarks, after which we'll open up the floor for Q&A. Thank you and over to you, sir.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for joining us on Q1 FY 2026 earnings conference call of Afcons Infrastructure Limited. I am Subramaniam. It's always a pleasure to connect with our investors, analysts, and stakeholders as we begin the new financial year. Our financial results and investor presentation have been uploaded on the stock exchanges, and I trust you had the opportunity to review them. Joining me today are Paramasivan Srinivasan , Managing Director; Ramesh Jha, Chief Financial Officer; and Hitesh Singh, Head Corporate Strategy. Let me begin by providing a brief overview of our financial performance for the quarter. Afcons reported a total income of INR 3,419 crore in Q1 FY 2026, compared to INR 3,213 crore in Q1 FY 2025, representing a growth of 6.4%. Turning to our profitability, EBITDA for Q1 put at INR 445 crore, compared to INR 372 crore in Q1 FY 2025.
The EBITDA margin for the quarter improved by 140 basis points, reaching 13%, compared to 11.6% last year. Profit after tax for Q1 FY 2026 was INR 137 crore, compared to INR 92 crore in the same quarter last year. This translated to a PAT margin of 4%, up from 2.9% in Q1 FY 2025, reflecting improved cost management and higher profitability. This is an encouraging sign and reinforces our confidence in meeting the guidance set for the year. Coming to the industry outlook, the geopolitical developments ongoing, as you are aware, are likely to impact global economic growth prospects and infrastructure investments, while also contributing to broader geopolitical realignments. However, our target markets are not significantly affected by these developments, and we expect the pipeline of infrastructure projects in these geographies to remain robust.
India continues to be one of the few resilient and promising markets, with the central government's sustained interest in infrastructure development. Capital expenditure by state governments is also anticipated to remain healthy. Together, these trends provide strong revenue visibility for the company in its core markets over the coming years. The operational trend, as you are aware, we entered the water supply segments last year through a 3.25 km l ong tunnel in Raigarh district in Maharashtra. I'm pleased to share that Afcons has set a national record by achieving 714 m of monthly tunneling progress in this project using a 3.2-m diameter tunnel boring machine, and this is the highest ever recorded progress in the TBM category in India. This achievement is a testament to Afcons' engineering depth and execution capabilities.
It is also worth highlighting that the final stretch of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link was inaugurated this quarter by the Honorable Prime Minister. Afcons has made a significant contribution to the transformative project through the construction of the Chenab Railway Bridge, the world's highest single-arch railway bridge, which has been widely talked about. Seventeen critical railway bridges in addition to the Chenab Bridge in the same stretch, thirteen complex tunnels in the Katra Valley section with a total length of 36.3 km constructed in extremely challenging geological conditions. This includes India's longest transportation tunnel at 12.75 km, of which Afcons has built 8.2 km. It's a matter of immense pride for all Afconians that these projects, delivered amongst significant technological and logistic challenges, are now serving their purpose of advancing connectivity and catalyzing national growth.
Similarly, the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Mahamarg package, that is package 14, which is done by Afcons, another project of strategic importance for the State of Maharashtra, was inaugurated this quarter. This project includes India's widest and Maharashtra's longest road tunnels. Our current portfolio includes several such projects of national importance, both in India and abroad, and we expect a few more to reach completion within this financial year. In terms of workplace recognition, Afcons was honored as a top-rated construction company in the mid-sized companies category by the Ambition Box Employee Choice Awards 2025. This distinction, based entirely on voluntary employee ratings and reviews, is a meaningful reflection on the trust, engagement, and satisfaction of our engineers and workforce. On the safety front, two of the ongoing projects, Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail and Delhi-Meerut RRTS, have received prestigious British Safety Council awards this quarter.
Several other projects are currently under evaluation by the British Safety Council and National Safety Council of India. We view these recognitions not as endpoints, but as ongoing responsibility to maintain and elevate health, safety, and environmental standards across all our projects. These achievements across execution, safety, engineering, and people practices reflect the strength of our institutional foundation and the resilience of our team. They also reaffirm our long-term belief that operational excellence backed by technical capability and human capital is the most reliable path to sustainable value creation. In conclusion, Afcons Infrastructure remains firmly committed to engineering excellence and long-term stakeholder value creation. We will continue to deliver on our promises while building infrastructure that meaningfully contributes to India's growth story. Thank you once again for your continued support and confidence in Afcons. I hand over the call to our Managing Director, Mr. Paramasivan Srinivasan, for further insights into our performance and outlook. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr. Subramaniam. Good evening, everyone. I would like to extend a warm welcome to all participants on this Q1 FY 2026 earnings conference call of Afcons. We value your continued interest in our journey and appreciate your engagement with us. Let me share some key updates on our performance, market outlook, and project pipeline. Q1 FY 2026 has commenced on a positive note. We recorded a year-on-year revenue growth of 6.4% while maintaining healthy, profitable margins. Based on the current trajectory and execution momentum, we are confident of achieving our annual turnover growth of 20%-2 5% in this financial year. As Mr. Subramaniam already explained, the global geopolitical landscape continues to remain uncertain, with evolving conflicts in various regions and the impact of recent U.S. tariff measures on select economies.
While we remain cautious and mindful of these developments, we take comfort from the fact that our target markets are largely unaffected. As such, we remain confident of meeting our order procurement guidance for the year. As on 30th June, our unexecuted order book stands at INR 35,311 crore. During the quarter, we secured new orders worth about INR 1,100 crore. In addition, we hold L1 position as on date to the extent of about INR 21,556 crore, which includes the existing L1 position of four Maharashtra jobs and three new Croatia jobs. We are pleased to inform that we are entering European territory after being declared L1 for three projects in road and railway segment in Croatia. We expect firm orders for these projects to be awarded in the next few months.
The conversion of these orders, along with procurement of a few more orders, will take the worthy share of our pending order book to 30% by the end of this financial year, in line with our stated objective of internationalization. Looking ahead, our addressable project pipeline for the next two years is valued at approximately INR 3.35 lakh crore, spanning various infrastructure segments, including marine, surface transport, urban infrastructure, hydro, underground, and water. Around 2/3 of this pipeline pertains to domestic opportunities. While the pace of project awards in India has been slower than anticipated, we expect this to improve in the coming months, driven by sustained capital expenditure from both central and state governments. In parallel, we continue to evaluate opportunities in international markets, including select new geographies.
These efforts are guided by our established risk management framework, ensuring that all expansion decisions are aligned with our operational capabilities and financial discipline. To conclude, Afcons i s well-positioned to capitalize on emerging infrastructure opportunities, both in India and abroad. With a healthy order book, a focused business development approach, and a strong execution record, we are confident of delivering consistent growth and long-term value for all our stakeholders. With this, I conclude my remarks and invite our CFO, Mr. Ramesh Jha, to take you through the financial performance in greater detail. Thank you all.
Thank you, sir. Good evening, everyone. Before I get into the specifics of the Q1 result, I would like to just clarify that the company is into the business of construction. The margin in a quarter varies based on the nature, type, and quantum of work we execute. Quarterly results may vary in different quarters and may not be indicative of the annual results or the trend. Now, coming to the specific number for the quarter, during Q1 FY 2026, total income we have achieved is INR 3,419 crore. This is 6.4% higher than the previous year, first quarter number of INR 3,213 crore. We are very happy that we have got back to the positive trajectory of growth.
Generally, Q1 remains a little bit slow in terms of collection because most of the customers, being a government entity, disburse the annual budget by March and then they devote Q1 in planning and budgeting for the next financial year. If we talk from the specific experience of FY 2026 Q1, then we would feel the liquidity across the market needs improvement. Payment-related issues in the UP Jal Jeevan Mission are continuing. However, it stands sorted in MP projects. Also, projects in Bangladesh have started moving into a positive direction. If we talk about specific to the margins, EBITDA margin, we have done INR 445 crore, which translates into 13% of the top line we have achieved. This is 140 basis points higher than what we had achieved last year, where we had achieved INR 372 crore absolute number and 11.6% EBITDA margin.
On a YoY basis, the number has improved 19.6%. In EBITDA margin, in EBITDA calculation, we consider BG commission as part of our operating expenditure. EBITDA that we are talking about is after removal of BG commission as expenditure. This also includes other income, which is part of our revenue. Here, we have in the past also explained that our other income needs to be understood in the perspective of the business we are doing. Arbitration interest, foreign currency exchange gain, and miscellaneous incomes are recurring in nature and very integral to the business. Hence, this needs to be considered as part of other operating income. For the Q1 period, also, around INR 49 crore is forming part of the operating income. In that, around INR 23 crore is the arbitration interest and the other interest we have accrued, and miscellaneous income is around INR 10 crore.
The significant portion of the other income, I'm just pointing it out. Our guidance for EBITDA will remain around 11%. Construction, as we have told, that is full of contingencies. Our endeavor will be to save on those contingencies and optimize the margin. Many times, we may not be able to save on those contingencies. Hence, our guidance for EBITDA will remain around 11%. Other margins, the profit before tax, we have done INR 183 crores, which is 5.4% of the top line. This, we have improved around 35% from the previous year, wherein we had done INR 135 crores, and the margin was 4.2%. PAT margin, we have done INR 137 crores in absolute number, which is 4% of the top line, and this has improved by 50% from the previous year, wherein we had done INR 92 crores absolute number, and it was 2.9%.
On profitability, we have improved on all the metrics like EBITDA, PBT, profit after tax, because we had some upside in the Kolkata Metro project where we have got an arbitration award, and also because of margin improvement in a few projects. We could save on some of the projects on the material cost and some of the other operational aspects, and because of that, the margin has improved. Specific to some of the other aspects, finance cost in Q1, we have seen higher average borrowing during the quarter. As compared to last year, we are seeing around INR 366 crores of average borrowing has gone up in the Q1. Because of this, interest cost has gone up marginally. Currently, our international order booking is low, where the advances are higher, and all the advances are interest-free in the overseas market.
Coupled with this, new interest-bearing advances we have received have also elevated the interest cost on client advances, taking the overall interest cost high. Generally, we have seen over the last so many years, the composition of the total material advance we have, 75% is interest-free and 25% is around the interest-bearing. That composition has changed because of the recent advances we have received are all interest-bearing, and the composition has become 63% is interest-free, whereas 37% is interest-bearing. Now, on the depreciation front, we are continuing with the accounting for accelerated depreciation on our TBMs. Of the total INR 139 crores of depreciation, which is 4.07% of the turnover, around 1.52% is on account of accelerated depreciation.
In terms of tax, you might see that the tax rate has come back to around 25%, and we could achieve this normal applicable range, and we expect this to maintain at the similar range going forward as well. As far as the ROC is concerned, we have in Q1, we have done 15.62%, and as explained, the capital infusion has increased the capital base, but operations are yet to reach a level where we are desiring this year. This should reflect the proper standing on an annual basis only. Of course, the ROE, what we have reported is after accounting for the accelerated depreciation. During the quarter, net working capital has gone up. We are witnessing delay in certification of the work done and release of payments in some projects. This has led to an increase in uncertified work done, leading to a jump in working capital requirement.
Generally, this remains the trend in Q1, but improvement, what we were expecting in UP Jal Jeevan Mission specifically, has not happened. On the debt front, in Q1, payments remained relatively lower, and operations had to be funded, and this generally is a trend. Whatever borrowing number has gone up for the Q1, we have closed the gross borrowing was INR 3,221 crore, and the net borrowing was sub INR 2,500 crore. On gross borrowing, the debt-to-equity was around 0.6, and on net debt, it was around 0.46. The incremental borrowing increase in the Q1 is in line with what we had done in the last three years as well. It is not that this year it is significantly different. On behalf of Afcons Infrastructure Limited, I thank everyone for attending this call. I request the moderator to open the floor for Q&A.
Thank you very much. We will now begin the question- and- answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press Star and one on their touchstone 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. The first question is from the line of Umesh Raut from Nomura. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Good evening. I hope I am audible.
Yeah, you are audible.
Yeah. Hi, sir. My first question is on the ordering side. If I look at our order inflow during the first quarter, including L1, that is currently at about INR 21,000 crore+ , while what we have guided in the last call was order inflow of closer to INR 20,000- INR 25,000 crore for FY 2026. I think if I look at the prospect pipeline as well, that is closer to INR 3 trillion, INR 1.35 trillion for us. Essentially, if there is any upside in terms of order inflow guidance, the region from INR 25,000 crore in FY 2025. If there is no upside, are we assuming that there is still no visibility in terms of conversion of Maharashtra state-related projects in actual filing?
No, we had guided that we will have about INR 20,000 crore of order book on the current year plus L1 orders that effectively tracked in about INR 30,000 crore for our clients. As things stand now, we are at, if you take all the L1 jobs plus others put together, in excess of INR 22,000 crore. We have no doubts as of now in our mind on any of these orders. We believe we will continue to be guarded in our guidance, and we are confident of our guided numbers and beyond.
Got it. Similarly, if I look at execution for the quarter, it was slower to start for FY 2026. What we are guiding for is 20%- 25% of growth. Assuming the lower end of the band, it implies closer to about 25% of growth in the rest of nine months. Are we kind of seeing a ramp-up in existing backlog for execution? Do you think visibility around Jal Jeevan Mission collections would be improving so that the execution on water projects would be also improving? In a way, there is no concern at all in terms of 20% growth on the top line side for FY 2026?
We have earlier call itself, we had guided that substantial pickup will happen in the third and fourth quarter. Primarily because some of the cross-track orders we are receiving in the quarter, which we have received, which while the reported numbers it is, there are significant increases in these orders are expected. All these are to be executed in short duration. Therefore, we do expect to maintain our guidance as stated earlier. Therefore, we don't expect any execution concern as of now.
Got it. On the HSR project, where are we currently in terms of receiving TBM machines, and are we assuming major uptake in execution from HSR in the second half?
No. On TBM, as of now, there is uncertainty prevailing. Matters are handled at every level, at MEA, TBM, railway ministry, at every level. For considering that, even if TBM starts coming, after that, it has a setting of time and other things. While the project progress is quite decent, we have already done roughly 1/5 of the project already. Our NATM portion of the tunneling, on the heading part of it, almost 80% is already completed. In fact, closer to 90% is complete. In October 2025, NATM portion will get completed. The uncertainty in TBM should find its resolution, hopefully, in a month's time, but we are keeping our fingers crossed.
Just to add here, IC Rail project, TBM-related tunneling is one aspect. Other than that, there are ten blast tunneling, then we have WhatsApp. All other works are going fine. Only this TBM-related tunneling is not happening. As explained by MD, we are quite hopeful that things should materialize very shortly, and we will be able to commence that work as well. In our guidance of 20%- 25% of execution growth, are we assuming material uptake from HSR? I mean, if suppose TBM machines get delayed, is there any concern around guidance for execution?
That we have already factored in. We are not looking at any concern as such. There will be all endeavor from our side to keep whatever guidance we have given. What happens is that we have a number of projects. It is quite obvious that in some projects, something may not go as planned. At the same time, we'll try to cover it up from some other projects.
Okay, got it. Thank you so much. I'll get back to the queue. All the very best.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Mohit Kumar from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hi. Good evening, sir. Thanks for the opportunity. My first question is, sir, have you worked in Croatia earlier? What are the challenges in executing the orders and building a team to execute in your new geographies?
We have expressed very clearly in our earlier earnings call that we are looking at the markets on a continuous basis, and sooner than later, we could enter into Europe. This is the result of our sustained research and ground-level work over a period of time. Whatever risks we have evaluated, we have priced it also. Therefore, we don't foresee any major risk. As you may be aware, we have already worked in more than 25 countries abroad, quite successfully, and probably the only Indian contractor in the infrastructure space to be doing the infrastructure work in various parts of different countries. We do believe that, and we are confident that we will be in a position to execute these projects successfully.
When do you expect to see the LOA and NTP for this particular project?
Normally, from the time they declare L1, within 120 days, they are supposed to give the order.
Understood. My second question is, the way that Dubai Teller prospect, which we are pursuing in the Middle East, is there any update that you can share?
No, I think the process is going on. It is proceeding in the right direction. Beyond that, at this point of time, I think it's inappropriate to give any update.
Understood, sir. My last question is, sir, what is the amount pending in UP for the Jal Jeevan Mission? Has it declined compared to March levels?
No, it has not decreased. It's roughly around INR 422 crore at the gross level. We, of course, hold some amount of advance of them. Therefore, we have already completed about 74% of the project. We are evaluating as to what is to be done. Efforts are on to realize the dues as well.
How much advance are you holding for? A broad number?
87 crore we are holding advance.
Understood, sir. Thank you for this, sir. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Bala Subramanian from Arihant Capital Markets Limited. Please go ahead.
Good evening, sir. Sir, we have a L1 pipeline of around INR 21,550 crore. I just want to understand, like, whether these bids are we did it aggressively. Is there any risk of margins? Could you please break down that segment-wise? Because in water projects, we are facing issues. Is there any changes in the mix?
No. Pending order, whatever L1 is there, it's a tough spun order. Two jobs at Pur Gondia.
I'm sorry to interrupt you, sir. Mr. Balasubramanian, I will request you to mute yourself as a manager this weekend.
Yes, yes. Yes. Nagpur Gondia two road jobs, which aggregate to INR 5,200 crore value, and Pune Ring Road two tunneling projects, which aggregate to around INR 4,800 crore. There are two road and tunnel mixed projects in Croatia, which aggregate to around INR 4,500 crore, and one railway job, which is around INR 6,800 crore. Everywhere, it is well bid, and therefore, there is no reason for any concern. Just to add, this Croatia job, we have been working for those projects for quite some time, more than one and a half years or so. Our people were working on these projects with great details and getting into the methodology, how to procure, how to execute for quite some time. That is where our bids are rightly priced, and the bids are far higher than the client's estimate.
These bids are very, very nicely priced, and we should see a very positive result in these projects.
Okay, sir. Sir, I thought I'm looking at FY 2025 numbers, like contract liabilities around INR 2,500 crore. The contractor says INR 5,500 crore, more than three times in the FY 2025. I believe it's almost 1.3x . I just want to understand, is it a reason of delayed billing or client payment issues? What is the status of the increment numbers for unbilled revenue and advance aside? Where can we expect to normalize these numbers?
No, so see, these contract assets and contract liabilities rightly state that these are a reflection of ongoing business activity. If you see for a large part of time, the contract liabilities are in the similar range. When we are getting new projects, we get advances, and that gets reflected in the contract liabilities. Some of the contract assets, of course, they are stuck, and the company is working with various customers. One of them is Jal Jeevan Mission. In many places, we are at a very advanced stage. Even in Jal Jeevan Mission, we have tried to reach out to senior ministers and bureaucrats in the government, and we are working on getting those amounts settled. At the moment, the arrangements in place are quite comfortable. Nevertheless, we'll realize these amounts, and we'll have a very comfortable situation maybe in another three, four months' time.
Okay, sir. Sir, it's a common issue in the industry, labor shortages. I think, like, various companies are facing around 42% or 30% kind of range. I just want to understand how much labor shortages we have, and is there any impact on the execution of the projects, especially on high-speed rail and metro projects and tram projects?
Labor shortage is a continuous issue in the Indian construction industry. We have our own ways and means of addressing it. Some projects still temporarily will have some labor shortage, but we have developed many mechanisms to see how the labor is retained and how the labor is sustained. Therefore, while there are problems, it is not a problem which is not insurmountable. It is managed.
Okay, sir. Thank you.
Thank you. A reminder to the participants, please press S tar and one to ask a question. The next question is from the line of Vineet from Kashini. Please go ahead.
Good evening, sir. My name is Vineet, and I'm an investor in your company. I just wanted to know the company's plans to bring down the debt and the interest burden. I mean, if you could share some insights on that.
Good evening, Vineet. If you see the debt of the company, the net debt is sub INR 2,500 crore. On a net debt-to-equity basis, it is around 0.46% or so, which is a quite comfortable situation. The company is a growing company, and we are investing a lot in strategic equipment. Going forward, also, the company will keep on investing in strategic equipment. In the immediate term, I am not foreseeing that the debt is significantly going to come down. At the same time, let me reassure you, the debt is in a very comfortable zone, and we'll be able to manage, you know, with the surpluses going forward from the projects we are generating to manage the working capital requirement of the company and maybe even the capital equipment, the equipment we are going to add. The debt in absolute terms is not going to go significantly up.
At the same time, it is not going to come down as well. As I said, debt is in a very, very comfortable zone.
Sir, as the interest rate environment is expected to turn benign going forward, are you looking at refinancing the existing debt at a lower coupon?
We are working on certain aspects of bringing down the interest cost. In that endeavor, we have done a number of commercial papers in the recent past. Those commercial papers have repaid some of the existing working capital lines. With these actions, we are getting the benefit of that interest arbitrage. We are working even on refinancing as well.
Thank you so much, sir. That's helpful.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Shirom Kapur from Jeffries. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Thanks for the opportunity. I just wanted to get a bit more color on your order flow. I mean, just to reiterate, your order flow guidance for the full year is INR 20,000 crore, or has there been any change to that so far?
Yes, it is INR 20,000 crore. That is what you have stated.
Okay. These projects that have been, I know you spoke a little bit about it, but I just want to get more color on the Maharashtra jobs that are in your L1. By when do you expect those orders to be converted? They've been sort of stuck in that L1 position since December. Just wondering when we might get that conversion.
It is quite a strange situation, which never happens normally. In Nagpur Gondia, for example, we have been L1 since September. In Pune Ring Road, we are L1 since January. Typically, these kinds of things, as per Maharashtra government guidelines, once 70% land acquisition is completed, it can be awarded. Pune Ring Road is practically 100% acquired. In Nagpur Gondia, land acquisition has not reached that stage as yet. Today, we have no clue as to why the award of job is getting delayed. That is a factual statement. Therefore, when it will come, anytime it can come, at least with respect to Pune Ring Road, anytime it can come. Nagpur Gondia depends on the land acquisition status. It could take some more time. That is our take. This is something we have stated in the last earnings call also. At that time, one package was around 90%+ .
Another package was a little less. Now it is one is 100%. Another is some 99.3% or so acquisition in Pune. Therefore, we are not in a position to say as to why it is getting delayed. We are hopeful that it will come very shortly.
In case, I mean, the delays continue, that would be a risk to achieving our order flow guidance for FY 2026, right? Because these are the factors in.
We are still confident of achieving our order book guidance. There are several other things in the pipeline.
Okay. Even if these particular projects, they're not necessarily part of that INR 20,000 crores factored into that INR 20,000 crores guidance. Is it upside to put in right to that INR 20,000 crores?
Absolutely right.
Okay. Understood. Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Thank you. A reminder to the participants, please press star and one to ask a question. The next question is from the line of Vasudev from Nuvama. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hi. Thank you for the opportunity. Sir, my question is on the Croatia orders that we've been. Can you give us some details, like, you know, what are the margins that we are expecting, the working capital days in those projects, the payment terms, and something like that?
I suffice to say that in one, in the road projects, we are 20% higher than estimate. In the rail project, we are 10% higher than the estimate. It is well funded by the European funding, and payment terms are decent. We have a proper interest-free mobilization advance. It is like any other project. We don't expect any challenge. It's a well-built job. It may not be, it will be too premature to divulge all the details, commercial details of the project.
Okay. Sure, sir. Sir, just can you give me what the CapsEx that we did in Q1 and what we are targeting for the full year?
For the full year, CapEx, we have planned around INR 1,100 crores. In Q1, we have done close to INR 50 crore of CapEx.
Okay. Sure, sir. That's it from my side. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Abhinav from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hi, sir. Thanks for the opportunity. My question is on the order book. I want two things. First, what percent of the order book is in the early stage of execution, like below 20%-25%? Secondly, what percent has not yet started?
Good evening. It's difficult to put a number of, you know, what percentage because there are a number of projects we are executing, around 64 projects or so. Putting a specific number because there are various projects which we have just commenced, like I think, you know, seven, eight projects we have just commenced, which are less than 10%. There are a number of projects which we are on the verge of completing, maybe around out of that 64 projects, maybe around 10, 12 projects will be there, which we are going to complete this year. That perecentage varies in different projects. Putting any specific number may not reflect the right, this thing.
100%.
All the projects, whatever we have got LOI, we have commenced the execution.
Understood, sir. Thank you. That was my question.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Srinarayan Mishra from Baroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund. Please go ahead.
Thank you for the opportunity. I hope you can hear me.
Yeah, we can hear you. Go ahead.
Yes, sir. My first question was, again, it's a clarification of which you highlighted earlier in your commentary. You said, sir, that interest-bearing advances, their proportion has now increased to 34%, up from earlier 25%. The new orders which you are receiving on that, 100% of the advances are interest-bearing. Is that correct?
What I said, generally, if we see the last four or five years, the bifurcation between interest-free and interest-bearing used to be 75% interest-free and 25% interest-bearing, whereas today, it is 37% interest-bearing and 63% interest-free. Some of the recent jobs we have bagged last year, where we have got mobilization advance, those were all having interest-bearing. That is why this percentage of interest-bearing has gone up. Now, the order we are looking at, like the projects we are talking about in Croatia, all are interest-free. Some of the other projects in the pipeline, there also, we are looking at a sizable chunk of projects in the interest-free zone. Hopefully, going forward, we can see a situation where we go back to the normal situation we were having for the last three or four years.
Okay. These orders are typically domestic orders where we are facing this problem, right? On the international side, things are normal.
Yeah, there are no problems in the domestic project also. It depends on what kind of project you are getting in the domestic market because in the domestic market also, a large part of the projects are interest-free only.
Okay, sir. Okay. Sir, what will be our cost of debt, average cost of debt, and on the interest-bearing advances, what average interest cost are we paying?
On our bank borrowing, the average borrowing is around 9%. Of course, I'm not giving you the specific number, but it is around 9%. Some of the interest-bearing advances vary from 7%- 10%.
Okay, sir. Last quarter, you were very optimistic on the Middle East ordering pipeline. Has there been any change on the outlook, or it's still positive in the Middle East?
No, we have, except the one big job, we have never stated about an optimistic position with respect to the Middle East. That one particular job, we continue to be optimistic, which is a very big job.
As that headache for uncertainty unfolds, how are you seeing the outlook there? Is it turning more negative exports market?
No. In our addressable markets or whichever markets they are looking at, there is no impact. As things stand, the situation in the Middle East has not changed. The project we have talked about in UAE, the project is going fine, and we are working towards that project. Our efforts in Saudi Arabia also are on.
Okay, sir. Okay. Just last question from us, what's the working capital days in Q1?
Working capital days, as I explained, generally in Q1, it goes up all the year. This time also from the March number, it has gone up, but that is not significantly different from what we have done in the last three years. It is in the similar line.
Sir, if you were to tell me which is the pain point in the working capital, otherwise, all of the components are well within the trend. Is that understanding correct?
Yeah. Recent times, as I said, based on our Q1 experience, I would feel that the liquidity in the entire system is not that great, and it needs improvement. That's where we are seeing that the customers are not very smooth in releasing their payment. It is taking time.
Okay. Thank you so much for answering my question.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Ankita Shah from Elara Capital. Please go ahead. Hello, Ankita. Your voice is not audible.
Yes, hello.
Sorry.
Am I audible?
You are audible. Yes.
Thank you. Firstly, congratulations on a very good set of numbers. My first question is on the top five projects. As we understand, nearly your top five projects contribute almost 30%- 40% to your total order book. Within that, High Speed Rail, you already mentioned, is going slightly slower. Could you help us with an update on the other top projects like Mall Weaves and Dam project in Uttarakhand and MT and Delhi MRTS project, or any other projects which would now comprise the top five projects? If you can track the execution on these top projects.
See, as we have said, we are not facing any, you know, this High Speed Rail is going slow is not the, you know, right, you know, picking the point. High Speed, we have said that the only problem we are facing is that the TBM delivery has got delayed. On all other aspects of High Speed Rail, where we are doing this NATM tunneling, the SAFs, and other stuff of the project is going fine. Even in this financial year, the turnover we have planned largely we'll be able to achieve, even if, say, hypothetically, if TBM doesn't come. As we say, in all the ministries in India, we have escalated the matter, and everybody is working towards, you know, getting this sorted out.
Even if it gets sorted out by, say, September, October, we should be able to clock whatever we have planned from the High Speed Rail project. Other projects, say, Malay or Delhi Metro project or some of the other big projects, we are not facing any challenges as such, and the execution is going fine.
Got it. Sir, what is the status of pending arbitration claims that are outstanding as on date?
These are something we'll not be able to give at this point in time. The information was there in the DRHP, and we are working towards settling all those claims, but different arbitration matters are at different stages. Outcome also, what time, what quantum will be difficult to give.
Okay. Okay. One last thing. On your prospect pipeline of almost INR 300,000 crore, could you highlight some of the large projects in domestic and in international that you are looking for that we can track in the near term?
I think in the interest of confidentiality, specific projects we would not like to mention. Practically, whichever big projects are in the horizon, in all the projects, we are there. Internationally, we are looking at traditional geographies. We are looking at a few other geographies as well.
You mean newer geographies?
Newer geographies, like the way we had got into.
Sir, all.
We are looking at other geographies as well.
Okay. Apart from geographies, are you also looking at newer segments, business segments?
Newer segments, as we have always conveyed as an extension of existing segments, we'll keep doing it. Like we entered into from the regular metro tunnel to water tunnel. As a part of the extension of this thing, we could get into green energy. Those things are an ongoing process. It is not specific that we are a completely unrelated business we move in. It's not. It's aligned to construction. We'll keep doing it in the infrastructure side.
Got it, sir. Got it. That's helpful. Thank you so much, and wish you all the best.
Thanks, Ankita. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Shirom Kapur from Jefferies. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Thanks for the follow-up. Circling back to the L1 position, as you mentioned, the Maharashtra projects are not factored into the guidance. Is the Croatia job factored into the guidance, the three Croatia jobs that we expect to book this year itself, right?
Yes, within 120 days, we expect the order to be awarded.
Got it. Sir, you usually give the breakup of the pipeline. You mentioned INR 3.35 trillion and 2/3 domestic. Across segments, would you like to share that breakup?
Sure, I'll give you the breakup. Out of that segment, as we have mentioned, normally our pipeline is well diversified, and we cover projects for almost two years. That's the horizon I'll give you. The largest chunk continues to be the urban infrastructure project. Around INR 1.4 lakh crores is from the urban infrastructure space, which includes metros, bridges, and elevated corridors as well. The second biggest chunk is from the hydro underground and water segment, which is around INR 80,000 crores . The surface transport, which is our road and rail business, is around INR 70,000 crores . The remaining marine is around INR 46,000 crores in the pipeline. That is the breakup. As the Managing Director mentioned, overseas and domestic, it's around 1/3 and 2/3 is the breakup in the pending pipeline.
Understood, sir. Thank you so much. Just lastly, I'm just wondering on the Middle East, because, you know, we are seeing a lot of CapEx building up there, you know, oil and gas and infrastructure. You mentioned that you're, you know, focusing on one particular large project. Any reason why we are not further putting in efforts in the Middle East? Is it because of the competitive landscape or maybe the nature of the projects don't align with what Afcons usually works on? Just to get some more color there.
We have, from time to time, explained on the various aspects in the Middle East. It's suffice to say that, barring some exceptions, profitable growth in the Middle East, in the infrastructure side, oil and gas is different. In the infrastructure side, there are limited opportunities. Wherever there are opportunities for a profitable growth in the Middle East, we'll be focused on. In other areas, we will not be focused on. As this particular project, being a large project, it received a lot of attention, I have specifically mentioned. Otherwise, a few other projects also we are focused on, but not in a large-scale Middle Eastern landscape.
Okay, thank you so much, sir.
Thanks, sir.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Vineet Gupta from Kashini Financial Services. Please go ahead.
Sir, good evening. Sir, if you could help us understand a bit on newer initiatives that you're taking apart from the existing sectors that you operate in. Second, what is specifically the DSO, the debtor outstanding number in terms of number of days? After completion, how much, after raising a bill, how much time does it typically take to realize the monies?
Yeah, regarding newer initiatives, as MD also mentioned sometime back, as a growing company, as a well-diversified company, we keep on looking for newer areas of growth. However, these growths are always in the related sector. For example, we were in hydro and underground, we moved to water. We were in elevated metro, we moved to underground metro. Those kinds of newer areas we are continuously looking for, but not in unrelated areas. That will continue. Answering to your data dates, see, data dates, if you see the trade receivable of the overall company, we are in the similar range. Now, in the receivables, we have got three categories. One, normal trade receivable, which is in the range of, say, around 40 days, which is quite normal. Then we have got retention money, which gets released as per the terms of the contract.
That also is in the similar range we have had for quite some time. Then we have got arbitration receivables. Even though that gets reported in the receivable, in, say, 50% of the amount we have already received by way of NEPIO guideline by giving bank guarantee. Still, that gets classified as receivables, and that is also in the similar range we have had for quite some time. It's not that those amounts are stuck, but something we realize, something we settle, and we get it closed, but something new comes up in the category.
Sure, sir. Thanks for answering.
Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, as there are no further questions, I now hand the conference over to the management for closing comments.
Thank you very much for all of you for joining and continuing to support us. We are very confident that our company will create a continued long-term value to all these stakeholders going forward. We stand by our commitment in terms of performance. Thank you all.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of DAM Capital and Afcons Infrastructure Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your line.