Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to Borosil Q3 FY26 earnings conference call, hosted by ICICI Securities. 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. Manan Goyal from ICICI Securities. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thank you. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of ICICI Securities, we welcome you all to Q3 and 9 months FY26 results conference call of Borosil Limited. Today, we have with us senior management represented by Mr. Shreevar Kheruka, Managing Director and CEO, Mr. Rajesh Kumar Chaudhary, Whole-Time Director, Mr. Anand Sultania, CFO, Mr. Rituraj Sharma, President, and Mr. Dhaval Patel, Head, Investor Relations. Now, I hand over the call to management for initial comments on the quarterly performance. Then we will open the floor for Q&A session. Thank you, and over to you, Shreevar, sir.
Well, thank you, Mr. Goel and ICICI Securities for arranging this call. I wish all of you a good, good afternoon. The Borosil team is delighted to be communicating with you once again. I'm pleased to inform you that Borosil Limited's board has approved the financial results for quarter three and nine-month year ended financial year ended 2026 during our meeting on 5 February 2026. We have submitted our results and an updated presentation to the stock exchanges, and they're also available on our company's website for your review. I'm pleased to share that Borosil Limited delivered a steady performance in the nine-month financial year 2026, with consolidated revenues from operations at approximately INR 912 crores, compared to INR 838 crores in the ... This translates to about 9% year-over-year growth.
Despite a challenging year, and we'll come to the reasons for the challenge shortly, the nine months growth highlights the resilience of our business model, strong execution capabilities, and the continued trust of our customers, keeping us well positioned. We also have a fantastic team that ensures, in spite of the odds, driven by BIS, we are able to continue ahead. We shall focus on the year-to-date performance, rather than quarterly. The reason for that, the Diwali this year was quite early as compared to the last year, and hence the quarter three numbers are not comparable. This point was also noted in the last conference call, in the last quarter.
So coming to the nine-month financial year 2026 numbers at the consolidated level, the company recorded an operating EBITDA before investment income and one-time items of INR 145 crores, compared to INR 140 crores in the same period last year, marking a 3.4% year-over-year increase. The operating EBITDA margin was slightly lower at 16.2%, compared to 17% in the previous year. We'll come to the reasons for that in a short period of time. Other operating income for the nine-month financial year 2026 includes INR 18.1 crores from shared service support income, compared to INR 12.6 crores in the same period last year, with the related expenses reflected under total expenses.
Profit before tax for the period was INR 86.2 crores, compared to roughly the same INR 86.3 crores in the previous year. This year includes a one-time stamp duty expense provision reversal related to demerger of INR 7.2 crores, which is shown under the head Other Income, and also includes one-time expenses of INR 1.8 crores towards professional fees for a strategic assignment. The income from investments, on the other side, is INR 2.6 crores, and royalty income is INR 7.6 crores in nine-month FY 2026. Last year, during the same period, the company had recognized a one-time income on account of transfer of tenancy rights of one of its properties of INR 13.5 crores, with income from investments of around INR 4.0 crores.
Coming to depreciation, the depreciation increased by INR 5 crores, while finance costs declined by INR 6 crores, primarily due to debt repayment in nine-month FY26 as compared to last year. The gratuity and leave provision on account of the new labor code is approximately INR 4 crores in the nine months FY26, which is shown as an exceptional item. As a result, PAT rose marginally from INR 63.1 crores in last year's nine months versus INR 64.1 crores in nine-month FY26, reflecting a typical growth of approximately 2% year-over-year.
Another point on the balance sheet is the company generated robust cash flows of approximately INR 130 crores in the first nine months of this year. Therefore, as a result of all of this, at a consolidated level, Borosil Limited maintains a strong balance sheet with investments, cash and bank balance of approximately INR 104 crores, and a total debt, including working capital of INR 91 crores, resulting in a net cash position of roughly INR 13 crores. So coming to the operating performance, I want to start with a big trend that we have seen and we've been a part of, is a shift from plastic to glass. So as we see in the results, India is shifting from plastic storage and plastic lunchboxes to glass storage and lunchboxes.... It's not just a material shift, but also a change in usage behavior.
India's food storage and lunch habits are undergoing a quiet but decisive transformation. For decades, plastic lunchboxes and storage containers dominated Indian kitchens and office bags. This was driven by affordability and convenience. Today, that dominance is being challenged by health awareness, hygiene expectations, and lifestyle evolution. This marks a fundamental behavior change. Glass lunchboxes are becoming the preferred choice for office lunch, college meals, travel, and long commutes, and a fitness-led routine. Due to exposure to informative media and medical content, Indian consumers are far more aware of chemical leaching from plastics, stains, odors, and long-term health impact of various plastic lunchboxes available in the market. Glass, especially borosilicate glass, answers these questions with no chemical leaching, no reaction with organic food, and safe reheating. Glass also offers visible hygiene. What you see is what you eat. This transparency builds confidence, especially when food is consumed outside the home.
Borosil's credibility of being the glass experts and scientific precision, along with the brand trust, makes it the favorable deciding factor for customers. Borosil has customized the glass lunchbox and the storage range for daily Indian usage. This is reflected in the numbers that we will see on the growth in the glassware business. India's INR 4,000 crore lunchbox market is seeing growing demand for safe, microwave-friendly, and sustainable products. Borosil stands out with its mass premium glass lunchboxes, offering durability, leak-proof designs, and microwave compatibility, making them a hero product in our portfolio and a clear beneficiary of this structural trend.
Coming to numbers, as far as the category is concerned, Borosil has the glassware range has grown by an impressive 21%, in nine months FY26, compared to the same period last year, with a revenue of INR 231 crores, compared to INR 191 crores, in nine-month FY25. This reflects growing demand for glassware, as well as trends which I've just spoken of. Coming to Larah. Larah opalware segment recorded sales of INR 314 crores in this year, nine months, compared to INR 292 crores, in the same period last year, which is a growth of 7%. Non-glassware segment, which encompasses a wide range of small home appliances, insulated bottles and flasks, cookware, and other kitchen essentials, posted a very tepid 2% increase in revenue.
Turnover for this segment reached INR 349 crores in nine-month FY26, compared to INR 341 crores in the same period last year. The main cause for this was the BIS compliance requirements, which have dramatically affected our Hydra bottle sales, as some of the channels or many of the channels are only accepting BIS-certified steel products. As we have already communicated in the quarters past, our team has recognized these headwinds, and we have... Now, the board has approved the project for our upcoming manufacturing facility in Rajasthan for these bottles through our wholly owned subsidiary, Stainless India Limited . This project includes three double wall production lines for vacuum-insulated steel flasks, bottles, and containers, with an estimated capacity of close to 4 million units per year, with an estimated CapEx of approximately INR 65 crores.
Estimated commercial production from two of these lines is expected by the end of quarter four of this year, that is in March, in the next month, and from the third line, by the end of quarter one of financial year 2027, subject to receipt of necessary approvals. This investment of INR 65 crore will be financed through a mix of equity, debt, and internal accruals. The expansion reinforces our commitment to Make in India, will enhance cost efficiency and ensure BIS compliance, and of course, strengthen our supply chain resilience by reducing dependence on import, especially the rupee depreciation, which we have all seen. During this 9-month period, the company has also strengthened its focus on cost discipline to improve operating efficiency.
Expenditure on advertising and sales promotion remained well controlled, declining from INR 62 crores to INR 60 crores in this nine months FY 2026. Again, the main reason for this was the lack of availability of the bottles, which therefore were not. There were no reason to advertise, but we switched some of the advertising to glassware. Power and fuel costs also saw a, you know, a very good reduction, falling from INR 64 crores to INR 56 crores over the same period, underscoring the effectiveness of our ongoing cost optimization initiatives and margin-focused approach.
The company is further investing INR 75 crore towards setting up a 20-megawatt ground-mounted solar plant with a battery energy storage system that will further reduce overall power cost, and this project is expected to be commissioned in this month itself. That is Q4 of FY26. This phase three of solar shall take care about 65% of the overall power requirement of the company, which means that, as a large power consumer, approximately 65% of our total power will come from renewable energy sources, which is also fantastic from an ESG perspective. The company's Jaipur manufacturing facility was also awarded the Gold Medal at the prestigious India Green Manufacturing Challenge 2025 by the International Research Institute for Manufacturing (IRIM) . This recognition underscores our continued commitment to sustainable manufacturing practices, energy efficiency, and environmentally responsible operations.
The award reflects the strength of our process optimization initiatives and reinforces our focus on integrating sustainability with long-term operational and cost efficiency. At the cornerstone of Borosil's long-term strategy is its Make in India commitment. In addition to the CapEx already outlined before, we also, as we all are aware, we operate one of the country's largest opalware facilities at 84 tons per day, which will soon be expanded to 90 tons per day, alongside a 25 ton per day borosilicate glassware plant that was commissioned in early 2024. Building on this foundation, we are expanding our footprint with manufacturing facilities in some of the other areas that we have, that are in our product range.
Between FY18 and FY25, the company has delivered strong and consistent growth, with revenues recording a CAGR of 23.5% over 7 years, and EBITDA expanding at a faster 34.3% CAGR, reflecting operating leverage and thereby improved profitability. Since the acquisition of Larah, which is the opalware brand, in 2016, revenue increased from INR 48 crores in that year to INR 384 crores in FY25, reflecting a 26% CAGR. Also, the non-glassware portfolio scaled from INR 23 crores in FY17 to INR 453 crores in FY25, achieving an exceptional 45% CAGR, underscoring the company's ability to successfully grow into new target categories as well as create long-term value.
In keeping with this, another point to note is that in May 2025, the government of India notified the safety of household, commercial, and similar electrical appliances. That is a Quality Control Order 2025, marking a significant step towards enhancing consumer safety, quality assurance, and market regulation. Effective March 19, 2026, that is in the next month, the order mandates BIS certification for a broad range of electrical appliances, including coffee makers and cooking ranges, hobs, ovens, and similar appliances. Accordingly, the company is building up not only a domestic supply chain, but also advancing inventory to mitigate potential sales disruptions, as non-certified products will not be permitted for sale in India beyond the prescribed timelines.
I'm happy to note that having the experience of the issues we have faced in our Hydra bottle category, we have been aware of this for quite some time now, and thereby have already moved a large part of our sourcing from international sourcing to local sourcing, and thereby do not expect any material impact of this QCO on our appliances range. Borosil is leading India's shift towards healthier, eco-friendly kitchens by replacing plastic with microwave-safe glass and stainless steel products. Rising incomes and growing health awareness are driving adoption, while aspirational design, educational marketing, and a focus on hygiene and elegance are helping Borosil convert plastic users into glass and setting new standards for the modern kitchen. Borosil's strong omni-channel presence, spanning general trade, large format stores, leading e-commerce and quick commerce platforms, and growing B2B and export networks, have driven deeper market penetration.
With availability in over 24,000 retail outlets, we have built a well-diversified revenue base, serving both urban consumers as well as rural ones. Borosil's strong brand equity, diversified portfolio, and expanding manufacturing footprint have geared the company for long-term sustainable growth, both on the revenue as well as the profitability side. With that, I would now like to open the floor to any questions that you may have. Thank you.
Thank you very much. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on the touchtone 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. Our first question comes from the line of Bhavin Rupani from Investec. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi, sir. Thanks for the opportunity. First question related to Hydra. So I understand we have 3.6 million or 4 million pieces of expansion coming in in couple of quarters. Now, how should one understand ramp-up of this category? That is first, and second is, what is our EBITDA margins that we are targeting from this category at full utilization?
So as far as ramp-up is concerned, I mean, like any manufacturing facility, it may take three to six months to come to, you know, at which, which need... Which is, let's say, at 100% capacity utilization. We hope to do it in three months, but with experience, it normally takes about six months to get there. So that's... In the meantime, we also built the last year good domestic sourcing-
Sorry to interrupt you, sir, but your voice is breaking.
Okay. Okay, let's try that again. Is it better now? Can you hear me?
... Yeah, comparatively better.
Okay. So as I was saying, that I, I think, that it may take between three and six months to ramp up the facility to 100% capacity utilization. But in the meantime, the team's been working very hard to develop a structure, to develop a domestic sourcing ecosystem, and that's also delivered good results. So, I do believe that between our, our own production as well as, the, the domestic sourcing, we have a very good chance of, of going back to at least last year's level of Hydra in the coming year.
Okay. And any sense on pre-CAPEX or ROCE that we plan to clock on this plant?
So quite frankly, I think this is a question I'd not like to take at the moment. The reason is that a lot of it depends on the achievement of, you know, the productivity as well as the material efficiency or the scrap rates, as is generally known. So obviously, our target would be that we should generate our ROCE of 24%. That's our target for across our business, and therefore this business is no different. So that would definitely be a target for us to achieve. You know, but again, the first few months, there's likely to be higher scrap rates and lower, you know, manpower productivity as a team learns the process. And obviously, we can never compromise quality while delivering the product to the customer.
So keeping that in mind, I think I would stay away from that, except giving you a target. What is to be expected in the coming, you know, six months? I don't know. But long term, we definitely will achieve this target of 24% return on capital on the investments we have made, which includes the possible working capital as well. Yeah.
Right. And this 24% is, pre-tax?
Yes, pre-tax.
Okay. I understand we don't disclose subcategory-wide details on Hydra, but would it be possible to specify what growth or degrowth we have seen in this category as compared to last year? This is just-
Yeah.
to help us more appreciate it.
30%. 30% degrowth.
30% degrowth. Okay. Yeah. So next question on,
And that's subject to material availability only, not demand. Demand's been strong-
Yeah.
But we've not been able to supply. Yeah. Yeah.
Okay. Sir, next question is on small kitchen appliances. We earlier in our calls indicated 50% of our supply chain is now in India.
Yes.
How should one understand the progress, of the same in this quarter?
Yeah, I think we are now inching towards 60, and I think by the end of the coming year, we'll be at 85%.
Okay. You had mentioned about incremental CapEx in this category as well from FY27 onwards, any firm timeline for any timelines which you have done during the quarter?
Sorry, I didn't quite get the question.
We had indicated that we'll be manufacturing. We plan to manufacture this in-house, and the CapEx for this will be done from FY 2027 or 2028 on.
No, I said we are considering it. We've never announced any manufacturing in this yet. We have only indicated that we are considering it, but at the moment, I have nothing to disclose in terms of CapEx or if we're gonna do it or when we're gonna do it. But yes, given the fact that BIS has been implemented on this, there is always, we will - we are evaluating whether we should, you know, what, how this should - what products we should do, because there's a big range of products. We can't do everything. So we have to understand whether to do it, if we are doing it, what to do, what will the cost be compared to already local supply available and so on. So, I don't have any update on that at the moment.
Got it. Next question is on opalware. So opalware expansion, any timelines you spoke about 60% expansion, and what would be the incremental CapEx for this expansion?
No, they. That's a small, that's just a debottlenecking. So there's no, there's no material CapEx for this, so nothing to discuss here. But that, but that will happen at the time of the next furnace reconstruction, which will happen next year, yeah, next year.
Okay. And how much time-
There's no material.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And when we do, reconstruction or-
If you have a follow-up question.
Yeah, I think... Yes.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Akshat Mehta from Seven Rivers Holding . Please go ahead.
Hello, am I audible?
Yes, sir, you are.
So just again, we want to understand what is the kind of current demand environment that you're seeing for each one in glassware, opalware, you know, non-glassware, and how has it evolved in quarter three, and what's going on in quarter four now?
So actually, demand, I think, which was a bit depressed in the first half of the year, has definitely picked up in the second half of the year. Okay? And this is across product categories. Of course, as you can see, our glassware is doing the best among all the, you know, three ranges that we have. And that is because of a shift in behavior, as already highlighted earlier. So quite, quite happy to see growth of glassware. The team's done a wonderful job, and we have some tailwinds, you know, in our favor from a over a structural perspective. As far as demand for appliances has been fantastic.
You know, our stainless steel, again, the same trend on health and, you know, better products, upgrading kitchens, all of those trends are leading to very strong demand in appliances and steel. There's also great demand, by the way, for the double wall bottles, but because of our inability to supply, we've not been able to satisfy that, and that's a setback for us for this year. The opalware have been good, and the growth has not been great, and that's something I think we need to, as an industry, we have to look into this and, you know, get some excitement back into opalware. The category's been there in the market for quite some time, and I think customers need, it needs a bit of a refresh.
We are also thinking about how, what to do and, you know, evaluating what needs to be done to push the demand here.
Okay. Following up on that, sir, in the specifically in the Hydra segment or the stainless steel glass segment, so last quarter, you said that there was a lot of stress on the channel in terms of, you know, procuring domestically, people are not able to supply the demand that was there from the players, right? How has this been in this quarter? And in Q3, and then probably now a couple of months in Q4, because we've seen some margin improvement quarter-over-quarter as well. So what's happening there?
You know, as far as the demand—like I said, we have actually taken a big hit because we are not available in many of the shops and many of the, you know, large format stores and so on. So we've taken a hit, that shelf space has been taken by others in this period, those who had local manufacturing. So, it's been unfortunate, and I guess it's a miss on our side, and we are paying the consequences, we're bearing the consequences for that miss. But, going forward, I think once our plant is up and running, then I think that's certainly something that will, you know, we'll be able to get back that shelf space because the brand remains very strong in this segment.
We've never compromised on quality. Even today, you know, we could technically fill this space with lower quality products, which we've chosen not to do, so.
Sorry, sir. Just last quarter, you said that even not just you, but everyone else in the industry is also seeing a crunch from, because domestic suppliers are unable to supply the amount of demand from you, players like you, Cello, Milton, and all of that, you know. And there has been a, you know, lack in terms of supply. I was asking specifically on that, has that situation improved in three or four months?
Yeah, definitely. Like I said, there's definitely a growth in the last, in the... So last quarter, in that sense, has been better than the quarter before, and I believe Q4 will be better than Q3. Because even the manufacturers in India, as I already mentioned, we found that some people have been able to start ramping up more capacity, and therefore... and also supplying quality products. So, I think we are over the worst of it, and I hope that this Q4 and ongoing quarters will be better from a supply perspective, from domestic.
Okay. Also, can you share the utilization levels of both the furnaces for opal and for glass?
Opal is close to 100%. I would say 95%, and glass would be about 90% now.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Samir, an individual investor. Please go ahead.
Hi. I have two small questions. Number one, our revenue growth has been very lukewarm over the last few quarters. Can I basically attribute almost the entire part of this due to the Hydra reason, that we are not really selling that piece? Is that the main or majority-
Not-
for the revenue?
That's literally the only reason.
That's okay. Wonderful. Secondly, just a comment. Your shareholding pattern, if one goes over a long time, has been, from an FII perspective, foreign institutional investors, sub 1%. And I know we are a small cap company, but from a brand perspective, we are literally top of the heap. Everybody knows across India, Borosil is a brand. But our market cap is, like, INR 3,000 crore small. FII holdings are sub 1%. How do we get the news out to the investment community that we are a force to reckon with? Isn't that a missed opportunity as we go forward?
I mean, look, from a management's perspective, A, we don't look. I mean, we don't control our stock price, except we control performance. And, the performance hopefully drives the stock price, right? So, there's very little I can say about stock price. And B, on the FIIs, we do have quarterly calls such as this one, and once in a while, we participate in various shows, you know, your road shows. Not road shows as much as the conferences that many of the larger players, such as ICICI, for example, organize. Beyond that, our focus is definitely to, you know, grow our business. As you already mentioned, we are a small company, you know, only INR 1,200 crores of, or INR 1,100, INR 1,200 crores of top line.
And I think, we'd need to hit closer to the INR 2,000 crore mark, to start getting more interest from, you know, more FIIs, and I think, that will happen. So we are focused on performance, and I'm sure eventually the word will automatically get out and, you know, coverage as well as holding of FIIs should increase if we do the right things, we expand revenue and margins.
Okay. Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Thank you. Participants who wish to ask a question may press star and one on the touchtone telephone. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on the touchtone telephone. Our next question comes from the line of Bhavin Rupani from Investec. Please go ahead.
Yeah, thanks for the opportunity again, sir. Wanted to ask on opalware. So as you said, we plan to do realignment of furnace. So it was shut for how many days, and what is the CapEx that we plan over here?
... So this is something we do every 2 years and a half, okay? So it's not something new. Normally, we get shut for 30 days, 30 to 40 days, that's the range, of shutdown. But we always plan for the inventory so that we don't lose any sales at that period of time. So, this will happen not in this financial year, in the next financial year, I believe.
Right.
And the CapEx, it's roughly per furnace, about INR 15-16 crores, roughly. So we have two furnaces-
And six
So this is the part of maintenance CapEx. You could assume that, you know, let's call it INR 15 crore per year from which is because I'm saying there's two furnaces. So that INR 15 crore per year is our maintenance CapEx over there. Because every two and a half years, you spend about INR 32-33 crore in this rebuilding.
All right. And so on glassware, we are hitting almost 90% utilization, contributions in that.
Yeah.
So any-
Yes.
plans for further expansion?
Yes. Yeah, so this is already planned in the planning phase. Probably in the next quarter or so, we'll be able to make some announcements here in terms of expansion.
It will be greenfield, brownfield?
No, brownfield. We have space in the existing facility to expand by 50%.
Okay. And, sir, any guidance on CapEx for FY 27?
FY27 CapEx has not been approved yet by the board, so I would not like to take a stab at it. But, it's, you know, we see many growth opportunities, so there will be reasonable CapEx in FY27, I think. Let's see.
Okay. Couple of questions for Anand, sir. Sir, what is our absolute inventory receivables and payables number as on December 25?
Anand, you there? Anyone from the finance team, anyone there?
The management line has been reconnected.
Hello.
Okay. Yeah, Anand, did you hear the question?
Sorry, I dropped off from the call by mistake. Yeah. Bhavin, can you please repeat the question?
Yeah, sir, what is our absolute inventory, receivable, and payable numbers as on December 25?
Inventory as of 31st December 2025 is roughly INR 324 crore, which is about 99 days of inventory. This includes the inventory that we are trying to build up for the appliances in terms of the quality control order, which is going to be implemented. Receivables is about 35-36 days.
Absolute number of receivables as well as payables.
Receivables is about INR 120 crore.
Okay, and payables?
Roughly INR 83 crore.
Okay. And also, sir, we get some royalty income from-
If you have a follow-up question, please rejoin the queue. Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Keval Ashar from IO Research . Please go ahead.
Hi, thanks for taking my question. I've got one question. So, sure, we've taken initiatives on backward integration as well as cost control. So these are ongoing. So once these initiatives are executed, how do you see the margins panning out, on the EBITDA level from current levels of 16%?
So I've mentioned this in the past, that we believe that we should be in the low 20s... In fact, in this year, had we had Hydra supply, we would be closer to EBITDA, most likely more than, in fact, than 18% EBITDA. So with coming back, you know, with the supply rather coming back and with other further cost, so project between another-
... But your voice is breaking.
Sorry. Okay. I'll— So yeah, like I said before, we are planning to go to the low 20s in the very short, you know, foreseeable future. This year itself, while we reported, you know, 18%, we would have been closer to 18 or slightly more than 8, we had supply of Hydra. And, with the further cost control measures and further utilization of our furnaces, I think we'll see a clear roadmap to low 20s. And then, you know, we'll try and add up even further. But, low 20s is what I see on the horizon.
Got it. Sure. Thanks and all the best for the coming years. Thanks.
Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Resham Jain from VVD Asset Managers . Please go ahead.
Yeah, hi, Shreevar. Good evening. I have this question on glassware, the 90% utilization. Are we optimized in terms of margin? And I think initially we were of the view that glassware margin would be very similar to metalware. So just any comments on this?
Yeah. So I'll answer this in a few senses. As far as our production is concerned, having now run this production for a couple of years, we've identified areas where we can further cut costs and reduce you know mainly fuel costs, and that's something we are working on. And I believe that we should be able to further bump up margins by reducing those costs. Over and above that, the solar project that we have now doing will definitely improve glassware margins because of that feeding. The cost of energy we are paying is still very high for our glassware production line, and that will reduce reasonably substantially. Over and above that, as we achieve...
So our focus in the first two years of this glassware furnace was to sell the entire capacity across various segments, which I believe that the team's done a fantastic job to achieve. Having achieved that, there is scope for cutting off maybe, you know, some areas, and adding more profitable products. So that is some scope there. But that probably will happen not next year, the year after. I think that's more of a scope to happen the year after. But the glassware margins are very attractive. And while they're not at opalware margins yet, I, I still stand by my statement that in the next two years, we probably will achieve or surpass the opalware margins. I'm, I'm quite confident about that.
So, just on the three divisions, if you look at independently, you don't get margins, but given that glassware, you will have with greenfield and the product mix improving-
Yeah.
margin should improve. opalware also with not much of capacity, the premiumization journey should-
Yes
keep happening there, so there also margin should improve. And in non-glassware, with Hydra coming in, which is a significant portion of non-glassware, there also-
Yes
... margin should improve. So, basically, there should be like, as Kewal asked in the previous question, this should happen in the next two years, is how one should think about?
Yeah. So as far as opalware and glassware is concerned, I'm very confident of, you know, it happening immediately, like in the, you know, very foreseeable future. Hydra, I would still say we would need to... The first time we're producing it, and, we would need to see how quickly we can ramp up the production output as well as the efficiency. So being very honest, rather than just give a rosy picture and say margins will improve, we need to be realistic. So, our eye will be very closely on that ball over there. But, yes, logically, having manufactured the product, that-- it should give you manufacturing margin versus, quote, unquote, "trading margin." So therefore, definitely there should be a structural improvement in margin.
I don't want to comment on that till I see, you know, proof of pudding has to be in the eating, so I want to see it.
Understood. And the last one is with respect to the non-glassware business. If I look at Hydra degrowing by 30%, which is a good portion of the business-
Yeah
... the other part, the appliances and the cookware, seems to have grown at maybe 3x faster than the industry. So what has led to this growth, and will you be able to sustain this growth in coming year as well?
Yeah, I already said that, you know, our stainless steel range and our appliances have done phenomenally well before, and they have been growing, you know, at really good rates. And we are still scratching the surface of this industry, both for appliances as well as for the serving, the serveware, cookware, you know, stainless steel products. So I don't see that other players or their growth, because those players are much bigger than us, and therefore, you know, the overall market growth has a bearing on their growth. Whereas we are too small, and therefore, we still can grow even if the overall market is not growing that rapidly, you know, with innovation and with things we're doing at the margins.
So, I don't see that, at least for the next 2-3 years, being a challenge, and we should be able to grow independently of the overall growth rate of the market. Obviously, as we hit bigger and bigger size, then the overall growth rate doesn't matter. But at this moment, I don't think, at least in the short run, it's going to impact us much.
Okay. Perfect. Thank you so much, and all the best.
Thank you.
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Okay, if we're done, then I think I just want to wrap up by saying thank you all for, you know, your questions and your active participation. We remain very confident about the future at Borosil Limited. We remain extremely bullish on India and the, you know, trends we are seeing in the market, moving towards glass, moving towards healthier options, moving towards, you know, stainless steel. And we also are very committed to Make in India. We believe that India is a great place to manufacture. And the change in policies for solar have been, you know, an absolute game changer from a production cost perspective, because the cost of energy is reducing in the country, and plus the costs of transportation and, you know, other overhead expenses are also reducing.
So I think, it's going to be a great, next five years, and, you know, we look forward to be a part of that journey. So thank you very much, and, see you after one quarter.
Thank you. On behalf of ICICI Securities Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines.