Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the Q3 FY25 Earnings Conference Call of E.I.D. Parry India, hosted by DAM Capital Advisors. 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 Mr. Sanjay Manyal from DAM Capital Advisors. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Hello everyone, and a warm welcome on behalf of DAM Capital to the Q3 FY25 earnings call of E.I.D. Parry Limited. We thank E.I.D. Parry's management for giving us this opportunity to host this call. On the call today, we have with us Mr. Muthu Murugappan, a full-time director, and other senior management team of E.I.D. Parry. I hand over the call to the management for the opening remarks, followed by the question-and-answer session. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thank you, Sanjay, and good evening to everyone. It gives me great pleasure to be here on our Q3 FY25 earnings conference call. Let's start with an update on the global results, and then we will hand over to my colleague Venkat, who will take you through the operating and financial performance. You will also note that our quarterly investor presentation has been uploaded online as of yesterday. In terms of the global scenario, the global sugar supply and demand deficit for the 2024-25 season has widened to about two million metric tons, primarily driven by production cuts in Asia and Mexico, which contributed approximately 1.4 million metric tons to the shortfall. As of December, Mexico's sugar production for the 2024-25 season has reached its lowest recorded level, largely due to delayed harvesting caused by wet weather in November.
In Brazil, sugar production stood at about 39.78 million metric tons as of mid-December, reflecting a 4.75% decline compared to the previous year. Russia also reported lower production, with total output now estimated at 6.17 million metric tons due to reduced heating. Meanwhile, Guatemala's production for the 2024-25 season is estimated at 2.7 million metric tons, representing a 2% decline from initial projections, primarily due to a delayed harvest start and excessive rainfall. Global trade flow surplus for the 2024-25 season has increased to 1.5 million metric tons, while the projected deficit for the 2025-26 season has expanded to 1.55 million metric tons. In the first quarter of 2025, the raw sugar market remains balanced, whereas growing surplus in white sugar may exert downward pressure on prices.
For the 25-26 season, trade flow deficit has widened as lower exports from Pakistan have offset production gains in Brazil and Ukraine, coupled with reduced imports from Iran. The white sugar premium closed January 2025 at 92.91 per metric ton, $92.91 per metric ton, marking its highest level since August 2024, ahead of the March contract expiry. In the Indian scenario, ISMA, Indian Sugar Mills Association, has revised its sugar production estimate for the 24-25 season to 30.25 million metric tons, a decline from 34 million metric tons in the previous season. A further reduction in sugar production is anticipated due to lower sugarcane yields in key sugarcane-growing states such as UP, Maharashtra, and Karnataka, attributing to factors such as red rot infestation, varietal changes, and early flowering. The estimated diversion for ethanol remains at 3.75 million metric tons.
Domestic consumption is projected at 28 million tons, while exports are expected to reach about 1 million tons as per the recent export permissions given by the government. With closing stocks now being expected at about, or estimated at about, 6.4 million metric tons. As of January 31, sugar production stood at about 16.5 million metric tons compared to 18.72 million metric tons during the same period in the previous year. Despite the lower production, the government has given us 1 million metric tons of export. Under the ethanol blended, I mean, under the EBP, ethanol blending has increased to over 670 crore liters in ethanol supply year 2023-24, achieving an approximate blending percentage of 14.6%. Additionally, there has been a marginal increase in ethanol prices derived from C- molasses. We don't have any clarity or visibility on increase in ethanol prices from any other feedstocks.
I'll now hand over to Venkat to take you through the operating and financial parameters of the business for the last quarter.
Yeah, thank you, Muthu, and good morning to all participants. It's a great pleasure to be part of the analyst call and to share the key information of the operational and financial performance of the company. I'd like to share with the key operating parameters of each of these segments. As far as the sugar is concerned, the.
I'm sorry to interrupt, sir. There seems to be a lot of background noise. If you could come a little closer to the microphone, that would help.
Yeah, is it fine, Sanjay?
Yes, it's perfect.
Yeah, yeah, okay. So as far as the sugar operations concerned, the crushing operations in Karnataka in full pace as per the plan, as per the permission given by the government. And the AP also, as per the plan which we are crushing it, crushed. And about 50-55 days, we operated in Karnataka and AP together. So as far as the crushing is concerned, we crushed about 12.7 lakh metric tons during the quarter, against the 17.8 lakh metric tons of the corresponding quarter of the previous year. These main operations, the similar operations have been shifted to the Q3 to the Q4. So as far as the recovery is concerned, the recovery is 10.78 for the current quarter, against the 10.14 of the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
As far as the sugar production is concerned, we produced about 1.08 lakh metric tons during the quarter, against the 1.5 lakh metric tons of the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The overall cane landed cost is at INR 3,899 per metric ton, as against the INR 3,543 per metric ton of the corresponding previous quarter, previous quarter of the previous year. The main increase is only due to FRP impact, which is from 3,150 to 3,400 for the current sugar season. As far as the sale volume is concerned, we sold about 111,000 metric tons during the current quarter, corresponding to the previous quarter as well, almost like we sold about 110,000 metric tons.
As far as the average selling realization is concerned, for the current quarter, it's at INR 38.31 per kg, as against the INR 38.70 per kg of the previous year, previous quarter of the previous year. Closing stock, we have carried about 1.3 lakh metric tons of the closing stock, valued at around INR 37. Revenue from sugar is about INR 392 crores, as against the previous period of INR 435 crores. The main reduction is mainly on account of release quota and main focus on the retail segment. All FRPs were paid as per the timelines. As far as the consumer product CPG division is concerned, we have achieved about INR 236 crores as of now.
This includes INR 87 crores of the branded staple business during the quarter, as against INR 137 crores of the previous corresponding year, representing a growth of 76% overall growth in the CPG segment. As far as the cogen is concerned, we generated about 954 lakh units, as against 1,366 lakh units in the corresponding period of the previous year. We have exported about 503 lakh units, as against 677 lakh units in the corresponding period of the previous year. As far as the power tariff is concerned, the current quarter is at INR 3.98 per unit, as against INR 4.91 per unit in the corresponding period of the previous year. As far as the revenue is concerned, the current quarter is about INR 41 crores, as against INR 61 crores in the corresponding period of the previous year.
The distillery segment is concerned. We sold about 422 lakh liters, as against the previous period of 273 lakh units, of which ENA we sold about 118 lakh liters, against 114 lakh liters in the corresponding period. As far as ethanol is concerned, we sold 304 lakh liters. Previously, for the same period, previous year was at about 159 lakh liters. Price realization is good because the current quarter we average price realization is at INR 65.83 per liter, as against previous year realization INR 62.82. As far as the revenue is concerned, the current quarter we achieved about INR 290 crore, as against INR 177 crore during the corresponding period of the previous year. As far as the Nutra division is concerned, Indian operations achieved about INR 12 crore turnover as against INR 8 crore in the previous year.
At the consolidated level, the nutraceuticals business was INR 43 crores against corresponding previous period, which was about INR 47 crores. As far as the refinery operations concerned, operational revenue for the current Q3 was about INR 915 crores. The same previous corresponding period was about INR 1,597 crores. The loss for the quarter is about INR 18 crores. The same Q3 2023-24 profit was about INR 17 crores. Refined sugar production for the current quarter is 2.05 lakh metric tons, as against the previous period is 1.96 lakh metric tons. Refined sugar sales quantity is about 1.87 lakh metric tons, as against Q3 of 2.7 lakh metric tons in the previous period. ICD from E.I.D. remains at the same previous year level. External borrowing is at INR 532 crores as against INR 9 crores. As far as the operational performance is concerned, the quarter-end quarter sales is 1.87 lakhs, 2.26. Revenue INR 915 crores as against INR 1,597.
EBITDA, we are at INR 6 crores positive as against INR 37 crores. As far as the EBIT is concerned, INR 5 crores negative as against INR 26 crores is positive. EBIT is INR 18 crores negative as against INR 17 crores. This is all the performance of financial performance, operating performance of the E.I.D. - Parry. The floor is open for the questions.
Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin with the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touchtone phones. 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 comes from the line of Manish Beria, an individual investor. Please go ahead.
Yes, so good morning, sir. So I wanted to ask about the capital allocation policy of E.I.D. - Parry. So Coromandel stake provides the most economic value for the E.I.D. - Parry. So in that sense, if I look at your last 10 years, so whatever dividend we have received from the Coromandel stake, that has not been fully passed on. I mean, I understand that some money was needed to support the sugar business. So my question is, from when do you think that the sugar business will become independent enough that it can fund its own need and become cash-flow positive and things like that? And can we reach a point sometime in the medium term where we can be able to pass on fully whatever dividend we receive from the Coromandel stake? So just on the capital allocation policy here. Thank you.
Manish, this is Muthu here. Thank you for your question. You're right. There's been perhaps very little pass-through of the dividend over the last 10 years. We have obviously passed on in recent years, as we've reported better profits in the recent past. We have passed on some of those tranches of dividends. I guess when the standalone business is loss-making, it was difficult to pass on that dividend. The aspiration, of course, remains to strengthen the standalone business and pass the dividends on. The current phase is a tough phase, as you have seen from the results. Our presence in three states in the standalone business is a bit of a drag, especially from AP and TN, wherein we've seen challenges on seed stock availability. If you look at the broader capital allocation policy, I'll take you back five or six years when we started restructuring in TN.
We sort of came down from. We closed three units down, moved some of that capacity to Karnataka, wherein the crush could take place on higher recovery and better cost position in TN. We also allocated capital toward the ethanol blending program by adding distillation capacity, which we have seen now materialize. We also continue to invest in the consumer products group business. We are working on how we can position the refinery business better. These are really the focus areas going forward. We were hopeful of a better and a more sustainable policy framework, especially around the linkage of MSP prices to sugar prices, as well as ethanol blending program in terms of off-peak prices of ethanol. We sort of modeled our capital allocation in Karnataka in terms of adding milling capacity and in terms of expanding distillation capacity on this basis.
That hasn't completely played out. Margins have dipped in the distillery segment. So we again remain hopeful that policymakers will take a view which is more long-term and sustainable from a policy framework. And I think that should help steady things on the standalone business. And I think once we see those days, obviously in terms of the dividend which you were alluding to, we would be in a position to start passing through again.
So the second point is just to add on there. I mean, so last time, I mean, you had like 59% stake. So I mean, also not only the dividend, but you have sold some stake to bring it down to 56. But does this stay here? There is no chance we will not go down more, let's say? I understand it will be always 51%, but let's say there is no chance to cut down more, let's say, to need something in the sugar business.
So in the past, that stake was sold down to address some of the issues at the refinery. That was a group-level call which was taken. In terms of the future, I can't really comment. These are broader discussions, and we don't have anything to comment on at this point in time.
Okay. Thank you. Best of luck.
Thank you.
Thank you. A reminder to all participants, you may press star and one to ask a question. The next question comes from the line of Sanjay Manyal from DAM Capital Advisors. Please go ahead.
Hi sir. So I have just a few questions on the recovery side. It seems that the current season recovery is slightly better. Just want to understand from the structural point of view, is there any possibility that Tamil Nadu and the Karnataka area where the possibility of structurally the gross recoveries can improve to a level the way UP has seen in the past?
I think you want to take that. I can even come in after.
Thank you for the question. Thank you for your question. The recovery is a factor of a few things, starting from variety to the climate and the agricultural practices. What we have been consistently working on the agricultural practices over the past few years. We are also focusing on things like getting the right time harvesting in place, which is one of the reasons we are going to make sure in Tamil Nadu. Because if you harvest the cane at the mature age, your recovery will improve. The varietal program within E.I.D. is a very robust program. We have a couple of decades of experience in developing new varieties. About two varieties are hitting the bulk planting as we speak now. And in the next few years, we will probably have about four to five varieties that will come.
All these will aid in improving the yield and recovery in Tamil Nadu, basically. Will it move up to the levels of UP, etc.? I think that's something that will take some time because the northern parts of the country have had benefits of a particular variety which failed. Now it's going through its life. The south part of the country will continue to be less in terms of recovery as compared to the northern part, especially in the coastal belts, etc. But we are fairly confident that we'll see improved recovery from the recent trends in the coming couple of years. I hope I answered your question.
Right. Right. My second question is on your view about the current ethanol scenario. We haven't really got the price hike in B-heavy and juice, and the industry has sort of significantly moved to a B-heavy molasses-based ethanol and sugarcane juice-based ethanol. What is your view on that? How do you see the profitability will be impacted in the ethanol part of the business? Also, if you can also sort of give your view on the sugar prices. We have seen off-take sugar prices have been in an upmove at least in the last one month. What is your view over the next two, three quarters of how the sugar prices you think will be behaving?
On the ethanol blending program, I think both the industry through representative bodies like ISMA is fully seized of the matter, and we continue to make very active representation to the government. We also believe, I think the government understands the sector well and is very responsive. But as a very responsible government, they take their time to take the decision, and I'm sure they will do it right for the industry. In the last two quarters, at least in the last quarter, I think both the pricing on C-heavy and the export quota from the government are positive indicators that the government is seized of the challenges that the industry faces. We are really positive as we speak that the government will be responsive on pricing on B-heavy and syrup also. And we hope for that as we go forward.
As an industry participant, we will continue to work with the government on improving the sector profitability. In terms of sugar pricing, I think the export quota has been a welcome development. It's really taken quite a bit of effort from both sides for the government to come up with that. As you can see, there is a shortfall in production in India, and I think the government has been responsive in terms of stepping into help the industry. This export quota, in a sense, will help us pay our farmers on time. EID Parry is continuing to be in the forefront of that. I think as an industry, this will help in that, and that's good for the economy.
Sugar pricing per se would be robust for some time, but I think we'll have to wait for the crushing season to end to get a good indication of the sugar available in the country. Broadly, I do have a positive view for the coming few quarters, if not longer. Thank you.
Right. So my last question on your branded business. So what kind of non-sugar branded business would be part of the sales? And how do you see this business, say, in the next three, four years from the margin perspective, from the size of the business and from the margin perspective? What kind of EBITDA margin you can generate in this business?
Thanks, Sanjay. This is Balaji here. I head the consumer business. So as of now, for quarter three, the non-sweetener sale is about 37% of the total branded sales, and it is expected to be at around that level as we go forward. This is the first year of operation. We've just been in operation for about nine months. There are several aspects of margins and contribution value creation that still need to be done. I think as of now, the margins are in the single-digit numbers, very close to the double-digit numbers. I think as we go forward, we'll unearth more value chain opportunities and grow the margins as we go forward.
Right. Right. Thank you. Thank you very much, sir. I'll come back and queue.
Thank you. Participants, please press star and one to ask a question. The next question comes from the line of Rajesh Majumdar from BNK Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Yeah. Good morning, sir. So I think part of my question was answered, but could you give us the nine-month kind of profitability of the FMCG business as against last year's nine-month period? Is that figure available?
Rajesh, the segmental results are already available in our results, so from there, you can track.
I wanted the FMCG separately from the sugar alcohol, actually.
No, there is the segmental results. If you look at it, there is a separate line item called the CPG business. So there you can see the profitability.
Okay. Fine. I'll see that. And my next question was that, sir, we have been contemplating some kind of reallocation of capital on refinery/nutraceuticals for some time, as has been enunciated in the earlier calls as well. So is there any development on that front?
Very sorry. Muthu here. Nice to hear from you again. So I think we've done those strategic reviews. I think on NUTRA, we perhaps realized that we'll have to do some more work to discover the right value. And I think we are focused on doing that right now. So that's the sort of strategy on the NUTRA front. We did do some work on that over the last few quarters, and we realized that we have to do a bit more to discover better value. On the refinery front, yes, we do realize that we need to strengthen the business model perhaps by way of partnerships. It is complex. The business model is complex, and the finances, of course, of the refinery are also complex. So hence, these conversations, they're certainly on, but they are taking a fair amount of time.
That's all I can report at this point in time, but it's obviously top of mind for us to put this on a better track and position the refinery business appropriately. So as and when we have something to report on refinery, we'll come back to you. NUTRA will be business as usual because of the fact that we need to do a bit more to discover the right value.
Also, this quarter, the refinery loss is reflective of the spread, right? Nothing, no extraordinary event is there in terms of the refinery loss that we see this quarter. It's just a reflection of the global spreads, is it?
Yeah. Good morning, Suresh S. here. Yeah. As far as the current quarter is concerned, we also had a little bit of the deferment of volumes of shipment from the month of December to January. And of course, spreads are lower than what they were last year, but despite that, we were able to post a 5% EBITDA loss on a 15% lower turnover. On a YTD basis, we remained a bit positive. Of course, the spreads and the external environment remain challenging, but I believe the other refineries also are moderating their operating rates. So going forward, we look at the spreads recovering over a period of time.
If I could add, will we use the export quota for our refined sugar this time? Is that possible?
The export quota has just been announced, so we're looking at all options. Currently, because of the increase in domestic prices, the mills are more interested in selling the sugar externally. So we are actively looking into that.
Okay. Sanjay Manyal, if I could sneak in one more question. You have mentioned the sale of 6 lakh odd shares of Indian Potash. Now, that is an unlisted company. So what is the approximate value of this transaction?
This transaction will be around about INR 180 crores and something, Rajesh. But as of now, we are in the process of selling it, but no major stake is sold out.
Okay. Thank you very much. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Ajit Darda from Nirzar Enterprises. Please go ahead.
Hi sir. Good morning and thanks for the opportunity. Sir, I have two, three questions. The first one is on our branded sugar and branded staple business. Sir, when do we expect this business to be a bit positive? And what is our growth strategy going forward for this particular business? And one more question relating to this is, in which states are we present in both of these businesses and what is our market share there? And what is our plan to expand in those states as well as new states?
Okay. Ajit, I'll answer your questions in the reverse order. I'll start with the third question. We are present in the four southern states in the non-sweetener business and the sweetener business. We have some presence in western e-commerce and modern trade, and in the east as well for modern trade alone we are present. We intend to stay in the south and consolidate our position for some time before we decide to move into the rest of the country. With regard to your second question, the growth plans for this business will be based on our distribution expansion plans. We are aggressively looking at increasing our presence in the number of outlets across the south of India. And as we increase the outlets, the business also will grow in a corresponding manner. And that is our strategy for growth.
On your first question, the branded business, currently the profitability is being something that we are working on, and we will be, as we unlock the value opportunities along the value chain at different levels, and as we build the brand and move into more premium packs, I think this profitability will be in sight as we go along.
Okay, and sir, my next question is on ethanol. After a recent price hike in ethanol by the government, so what can be the impact on ethanol business margins?
Ajit, the price increase which has happened is on the C-heavy ethanol. Okay. Basically, if you look at it, most of the distilleries, most of the alcohol distilleries are not producing either, not supplying the C-heavy ethanol. So the benefit, whatever the government has given, may not have much impact on the profitability.
Okay. And your outlook on refinery margins, sir?
Yeah. The current quarter, yeah, it is Suresh Samay here. Refining will be challenging as far as the fourth quarter of the financial year is concerned. We are seeing some light at the end of the tunnel going into the treatment process.
Sorry, I missed your line, sir. Sorry.
So I'll repeat. The fourth quarter margin field has been challenging because of the external situation. But subsequent to that, we are seeing recovery in the premiums globally. So going forward, things should get normalized in subsequent quarters in the next financial year.
Okay. Okay. Understood, sir. Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Thank you. Participants, please press star and one to ask a question. The next question comes from the line of Rajkumar Vaidyanathan from RK Investments. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Good morning. Thanks for the opportunity. So the first question: recovery. Few mills have started reporting better recovery from January onwards. So do you see similar trends in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka?
Rajesh here. Karnataka is looking robust, and we believe we are getting benefits there, and that will continue. Crushing will continue for some more time. I think that will come through this year. Our early indications are we will be better than last year, but we are still in the early stages of crushing, so I will reserve a comment to observe and then come back on that.
Okay. And sir, for the outlook for Tamil Nadu, given that it had good rains and the reservoirs were full, so I just want to know, can we expect a better sugar yield and performance for TN mills in the upcoming year?
Tamil Nadu, as we did mention, I think on the last call, was affected last year by pest and adverse weather. There has been a turnaround of both the scenarios, as we speak, in the current year, but as you know, cane is a one-year crop, so the playout will happen in the coming year. We would be positive about a yield improvement anywhere between one and a half to two tons on an average in Tamil Nadu. Recovery is something we'll have to see and make a comment on. One concern, obviously, is that planting acreage in Tamil Nadu, which is in a downward trend for all players because of competitive crop scenario, so that would continue to be a concern in Tamil Nadu.
Okay. Yeah. So the next question is on the export front, given that many mills in UP are looking at selling the quotas, so will we be looking at consolidating that and looking at any export opportunity?
Yeah. One of the comments here, regarding this question, came up earlier on. We have done this in Q1. We have exported. Maybe the entire export we can cover has been captured to the refinery. We have actually received a certain quota, a range of 15,000 tons. We have exported and closed this, and we have done it physically to the refinery, which is in Nellikuppam. We have taken up the export quota and executed.
Okay. Great. Sir, and lastly, given that there is an uptrend in sugar prices, so can we expect a better performance in the current quarter?
Okay. Mr. Vaidyanathan and Mr. Muthu, let me just address. I think Rajesh had covered quite promptly and as to your question on TN. I will say that TN has been challenging in recent quarters. We are seeing planting dip, and this is a challenge because of competitive crops. I think we're obviously doing a lot of work to improve yields and improve recovery. But I think the planting and the distillery dip is a challenge. I think this is a challenge which we will have to be faced with in the coming quarters as well. In terms of pricing, I think you were asking, yeah, we are seeing an uptick in pricing just given demand-supply dynamics. We hope that this will hold, and this will certainly help the sector at large.
Okay, sir. Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, you may press star and one to ask a question. The next question comes from the line of Ritwik Sheth from OneUp Financial Consultants Private Limited. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi. Good morning, sir. I have a couple of questions from my end. Firstly, sir, you mentioned that crushings will be higher than last season. That was for Tamil Nadu or for the entire crushing area for us at a consolidated level?
I did not mention the crushing will be higher. Recovery will be higher.
Okay. Recovery will be higher. Okay. Yeah. And so, what kind of crushing are we expecting then this season?
Muthu, please.
We don't give guidance, but crushing will be lower than last year. This is on account of challenges in AP and TN largely. As Rajesh said, while we've reported better recovery than Karnataka, it is likely that the mills will close a tad bit earlier than last year, so this would be the crush. We will crush lower. I think these lower crushes are perhaps in line with the lower deltas that industry at large is seeing in all of the states.
Right. And so, what is the key reason for the lower crushing? Is it the crop, or is it any specific reason? Because this seems to be a significant drop for the entire industry, not only for us, but just trying to understand that.
I think north has been essentially affected by pests this year. That's come as a surprise for the industry. South has, as we already discussed, at least the states of T.N., A.P. has had competitive pressure from other crops and weather and pesticide issues. In general, the El Niño effect and the other conditions probably has pulled down the yield compared to what the industry should have expected across the country. I think that's having a significant impact on the crush numbers.
Okay. Got it. And sir, earlier in the call, you also mentioned that looking at some repricing for ethanol for B-heavy syrup and grain-based as well. So would it be a fair understanding that it would happen only before the start of the next ethanol season? That would be November end of 2025?
As with the government policy, I think it may not be right to guess the timeline. What we would want to say is that we continue to make representations to the government. And we really cannot comment on when they will take the decision, if at all they want to take the decision. So I think it's a question of wait and watch for the industry with all good intentions.
Okay. Okay. So that's it from my side. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Akshay Ajmera from Nirzar Securities LLP. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Thank you so much for the opportunity, sir. Am I audible?
Yeah, Akshay.
Yeah. Thank you. Sir, first of all, I would like to thank you for a detailed presentation. It explained the various key metrics very well to us. So I hope that it will continue in the future as well. And you have also explained, sir, on this Consumer Product Group business, that our broad strategy, how we want to grow in southern states as well as expand in rest of the states. Any broad timeline or a roadmap for the profitability? What is the internal thinking around it, if you could just guide us on it? That would be very helpful.
It's Muthu here. And I think we've given commentary in the past that we aspire to exit this decade with a much larger business than where we are today, with a high digit percentage EBITDA given it's a food SMB business. So I think that aspiration and objective seems, and I think all the work that we have seen is in that business.
Okay. Okay. Sir, secondly, as a company, we have multiple businesses now. We have an aspiration to grow and expand this business as well. And we have a sugar business, which is seasonal in nature, Cogen Distillery. Then we have Nutraceuticals. We are a holding company of Coromandel as well. So is there any strategy or a thought process to value unlock in these businesses to increase shareholders' value as well as to increase focus on respective businesses? Because refinery is one of them. And we have seen in the past that we were very good in taking calls when to stop capital allocation to certain areas which were not very profitable. So your views and your thoughts on it.
So actually, excellent question. And I think that there's some commentary on this earlier in this call as well. In terms of the standalone business, and I think that's really what we're finally discussing today, I think our focus remains. We've done CapEx on the ethanol side, and our focus remains in running the mills and the distilleries very efficiently. The scale-up of the consumer business has been discussed. From a Nutra perspective, I think we have to do a bit more to discover the right value. And again, on the refinery, position it appropriately in terms of what's best for the business. So I think this is where the focus is largely. From a capital perspective, I think unless we really see a sustainable policy change work, it would be hard to fix the capital allocation back into the distillery segment.
The aspiration from a capital allocation perspective would be more towards the consumer side going forward, and I think really efficiently run the mills and distillery segment so that we get back into profitability. Of course, I think climate and regulation will also have to support us in this regard. I think doing four or five of these things on the standalone E.I.D. side is critical so that the group, as you know, has always addressed strategic issues at the right time and place, and I think a sound set of standalone businesses will enable us to progress things on these lines, so I think that's where things will stand right now.
Very happy to know that. So lastly, can you also share with us the share of sales value in terms of sales value, the value-added product in the sugar business, if you could just answer to that?
Broadly, our business today is around 55% is institutional sales. And almost all of that is a value-added product. So that's the split that will be there in the sugar sales.
No, no. I think you referred to the MSP side, right? So I don't know if we missed putting it on the presentation. It was there last year. I think it was there last quarter. Right.
I don't know. Thanks. But I think we're at 15%?
Yeah. It's about 15% as of now.
Yeah.
15%.
Okay. Thank you so much, and I'll get back in the queue and wish you all the best.
Thank you. A reminder to all participants, you may press star and one to ask a question. The next question comes from the line of Rajkumar Vaidyanathan from RK Investments. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Sir, thanks for the follow-up. Sir, two questions. So first one, MSP increase, we are requesting the government. So anything? Third.
Mr. Vaidyanathan, can you repeat the question?
Question is on the MSP increase with the industry requesting the government for many.
Rajkumar, you're not quite audible. Can you please come a little closer to the mic?
Yeah. Can you hear me now?
Yes. Please go ahead.
Yeah. So the question is on the MSP increase for the sugar, which the industry has been requesting for many years. So I just want to know, is there any update? Do you hear anything coming up in the near annual?
MSP is something that we continue to make representations to the government because, as you can see, one of the stresses the industry faces is a year-on-year increase in FRP, but that's not commensurate with the MSP increase. I am sure the government will see to the matter, and they are working on the various industry representations on how we would want to address that. In terms of timeline, as I said, that's in the realm of the government's decision-making. I think we should hope for the best someday.
Okay. Okay. And sir, in terms of the ethanol part, I am not sure whether you have already covered it. My apologies if it was done earlier. So the question is, so given that there is no price increase other than the C heavy ethanol, so are we looking at diverting any of the ethanol to sugar given the remunerative prices? And then extending the same question, are we also looking at producing any ethanol through other grain mode like maize or rice?
Okay. In terms of feedstock between B, C, and ethanol, we continuously keep evaluating on a very live basis as a system. And we choose to produce what would be margin accretive to the business. In terms of diversion to sugar, that's part of the matrix. If sugar is profitable, yes, we would look at it. But we do have commitments to the OMCs, which are locked in terms of our supplies. And I think that's a good assured business that we have on the ethanol side. I hope I have answered your question.
Yeah. Sir, and how about producing ethanol through the grain mode? Are we looking at?
Out of the units we have, our Sangli unit has a grain capacity. Grain, as we have outlined in the past, our intent is to make our distillery business multi-field, multi-product. So we would be looking at a grain-based option in one of our other facilities also. So we'll be flexible in terms of our approach.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, you may press star and one to ask a question. The next question comes from the line of Somnath Saha from BNK Securities India Private Limited. Please go ahead.
Hello, sir. Thanks for the question, Ajit. So you have just mentioned about the multi-feed. Can you give me the numbers out of the total capacity you have for distillery? What portion is multi-feed?
Somnath, today, if you look at that as a second quarter, we were having a total 580 KLPD is the total alcohol capacity.
I can hear you, sir.
The total alcohol capacity is 582 KLPD. Out of that, 120 KLPD is basically the multi-field right now. 120 KLPD. Yeah, 120 KLPD, which can produce either grain, grain means like either rice or maize. But when it comes to the ethanol, either it is a B-heavy molasses or C-heavy.
Okay. Any more further plan for expansion or conversion of the existing juice-based or sugar-free or feedstock-based plant to multi-feed?
We have a plan, Somnath. Maybe that's the right time. We will maybe that is closing it. We have a plan because looking at the challenges in the molasses availability in SC and Karnataka. So we may be looking at the conversion of the existing plant with the grain. Again, it's like a multi-feed kind of thing. It's not like an exclusive as a grain.
Okay. Thanks. That's helpful.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that was the last question for today. I would now like to hand the conference over to the management for the closing comments.
Thank you, Sanjay, and thanks to everyone for logging into our great call. These are challenging times for us as well. We'll continue to work on this.
Sorry to interrupt, sir. You're not quite audible.
Yeah. Thanks. Thanks for logging into the call. These are, of course, challenging times, perhaps for the industry as well as for us. I think we continue to work towards the various targets, which we have given commentary on. We look forward to connecting with you in the next quarter. Thank you and have a good day.
Thank you.
Thanks and goodbye.
Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of DAM Capital Advisors, that concludes this conference. You may now disconnect your lines.