Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to Godawari Power & Ispat Limited Q1 FY 2025 earnings conference call, hosted by Emkay Global Financial Services. 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 touchtone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Amit Lahoti from Emkay Global Financial Services. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thank you, Aditya. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to Q1 FY 2025 conference call of Godawari Power. From the management side, we have the first of them, Mr. Abhishek Agarwal, Executive Director, Mr. Dinesh Gandhi, Executive Director, and Mr. Sanjay Bothra, CFO. I will now hand over the call to the management for the opening remarks. Over to you, Mr. Gandhi.
Thank you, Amit. Good afternoon, everyone. I welcome you all to the earnings conference call of Godawari Power & Ispat Limited to discuss Q1 FY 2025 earnings results. Our financial results, press release, and earnings presentation is available on the website of the Stock Exchange, as well as the company. I believe you had a chance to review the same. I will take you through the results, post which we will have a question and answer session. I'm delighted to announce that GPL has delivered a strong performance in Q1 FY 2025, marking a great beginning to the new financial year, as we celebrate 25 years of our journey.
The profitability increased significantly, mainly due to cost reduction benefits on account of the debottlenecking CapEx done in earlier years and commissioning of sponge iron and steel billet capacities, etc. Commenting on the operational performance for Q1 FY 2025, I'm delighted to share that company on track to achieve the volume guidance given at the beginning of the year. The achievement of production volume is available in our presentation. Production volume across the regions are higher on year-over-year basis. Captive iron ore production was higher by 3% year-over-year, lower 9% quarter-on-quarter. Production volume of iron ore pellet was higher by 24% year-over-year, 3% quarter-on-quarter. The aggregate production volume of other iron and steel production was higher by 5%, decreased 4% quarter-on-quarter.
Captive power generation increased by 52% YoY, whereas the same increased 11% quarter-on-quarter. In view of the increased production volume, sales volume numbers were higher across the regions. Sale of pellets increased by 49% YoY, 9% lower quarter-on-quarter. Sale of iron, other iron and steel products was higher by 4%, 9% quarter-on-quarter. The realization of iron ore pellet increased by 3% and 4% respectively on YoY and quarter-on-quarter basis to INR 10,500 a ton. Realization for finished steel products decreased in the range of 5% to 6% on YoY, and increased 7% to 8% quarter-on-quarter basis.
Coming on the consolidated financial performance, revenue from operations net of trade, trade sales increased by 12% to INR 1,342 crore on YoY basis, due to increased production volume and sale, and realization of pellets. Quarter-on-quarter revenue declined due to reduced sales volume, resulting from plant maintenance shutdown on steel melting shop and billets and rounds. EBITDA increased by 33%, YoY, and 24% quarter-on-quarter basis to INR 408 crore. This has primarily been due to higher volumes as well as cost savings and operating leverage on account of the debottlenecking done by the company in last two years. EBITDA margin increased significantly to 30% as compared to 23% in Q1 FY 2024.
Trade increased 24% and 31% YoY on quarter-on-quarter basis to INR 487 crore. GPL has a, has a healthy balance sheet with net balance as of 30 June was INR 1,261 crore. Update on the CapEx plan and other strategic matters. As you are all aware, the company has taken ambitious growth plans, by yearly doubling the iron ore mining and pellet capacity and setting up an integrated steel plant with 4x current capacity. In this regard, I would like to update that increasing the mining capacity from 2.35 to 6 million tons, setting up the 6 million ton beneficiation plant, necessary approvals are expected to be in place by December 2024.
The project of increasing pellet capacity from 2.7 to 4.7 is running on schedule, and same is expected to be commissioned by June 2026. The company has received the permission to establish for additional pellet capacity along with associated facilities. As regards the integrated steel plant of 2 million ton capacity, the public hearing for the same has been completed, as reported earlier. Environmental impact assessment study is now finalized and being filed with MoEF for final presentation. The process is expected to be completed by December 2024. After receipt of environmental approval, consent to set up the steel state pollution authorities, the production, the implementation can start, you know, after the mining lease for the project land is executed with the state government authorities.
The project will take about 36 months from the you know, groundbreaking ceremony. I'm happy to announce that modification of rolling mill for manufacturing of structural steel has been completed, and production of structural steel has started. The structural steel will be partially used for captive manufacturing of galvanized fabricated products for supply to various agencies like Indian Railways, Power Grid, DISCOM, et cetera. For which company has applied to these agencies for approval as an approved vendor for the supply of galvanized product. You know, made by the captive iron rolling mill, as well as the steel billets from GPIL existing manufacturing facilities. But you know, this steel rolling mill unit is already registered with Indian Railways and other authorities for supply of galvanizing.
We were earlier procuring the structural steel from the market and supplying it. Now, with our captive, you know, steel billet, as well as, the rolled product, it will be supplied, which will be, you know, substantially, you know, cost and value accretive. The strip mill, we are also commissioning a strip mill along with this rolling mill with a separate line, and, that is expected to be commissioned by September. After that, our HRC, ERW pipe grade will source the strips from the captive unit. Coming on the update on solar projects, 30 MW captive solar power plant, for meeting the power requirement of the rolling mill and fabrication division has been completed and synchronized with grid.
Further, GPIL has planned to set up an additional 70 MW solar power project, you know, to meet the power requirement of the upcoming pellet plant, which we expect to commission by Q1 FY 2026, coinciding with the commissioning of pellet plant. For this project, the, you know, the company is in process of acquiring the land for the same. GPIL has been working towards the net zero carbon emission, has now laid down a clear target of becoming net zero emission by 2050. Last two years, company is focusing on increase power requirement through captive solar projects, which has resulted in carbon reduction from 2.75 ton CO2 per ton of the steel in FY 2022 to 2.40 ton in Q1 FY 2025.
Further, company is initiating various energy efficient key and decarbonization projects, like focus on energy efficient and RLD projects to cut down CO2 emission by 9%, by switching the fuel in the new pellet plant from coal gas to natural gas. And also, you know, utilizing the waste gases of pellet plant and other unit to generate additional power. The board has approved an investment of INR 75 crores for this project, energy efficiency project, which will generate an additional power of 11 megawatts without requiring any additional fuel. The project expected payback for this project is about two years, with a cost saving of INR 38 crores per annum. And this is expected to result in additional carbon reduction intensity by 259,415 tons.
As a part of the captive group structure, the company has further increased its stake in Alok Ferro Alloys from 78% to 88.34%. This is direct stake, and 97.62% along with the stake held through Hira Ferro Alloys Limited. GPIL has always attempted to reward its shareholder through consistent dividend payment, buyback, bonus issue of shares, et cetera. Following the same thought process, the company has recently completed buyback of 21.5 lakh shares at a price of INR 1,400 per share in July 2024. Board has further approved a special dividend of 25% on face value of INR 5 each on the occasion of 25th anniversary of GPIL, which falls on 21st of September 2024.
The board has further approved the issue of equity share from face value of INR 5 to INR 1 each. Coming on the market outlook on international front, global HRC prices have dropped to around $1,100 per ton, from high of $1,143 in January 2024. Property sector in China continues to weigh on the steel sector and sentiment. However, based on the industry reports, the global HRC market remains in deficit for FY 2025, and should help stabilize the prices around current level.
World Steel Association is forecasting steel demand to grow by 1.1% to 1,793 million tons in 2024, and another 1.2% to 1,815 million tons in 2025, despite China steel demand weakening. Iron ore supply is largely stable in 2024 2025. We have Rio Tinto project in India is expected to start in December 2025. Depending on that ramp up, some surplus can happen in 2026. On domestic front, iron ore prices, NMDC Fe 64, has seen a significant increase to INR 4,610 per ton, up from 3,660, January 2023. The NMDC has reduced the prices yesterday. The prices have recovered well from the lower Fe post imposition of export duty.
On other hand, pellet prices touched, you know, a high of INR 11,000 during the year. In 2004, has dropped currently to around INR 9,000 ton, mirroring the global prices.
India remains one of the brightest spots globally for steel demand. The U.S. has surpassed Indian steel demand to increase by 8.2% in 2024, and, and, and 2025, 144 million and 156 million tons respectively. WSA predicts India's steel industry will experience significant expansion, propelled by sustained growth across all sectors, reliant on the steel industry, particularly driven by robust infrastructure investment. The current falling domestic steel prices, in the recent past is mirroring the impact of increased imports from China and heavy monsoon impacting the construction activity. To conclude, I extend my heartfelt thanks to all employees, regulatory authorities, stakeholders for their unwavering support throughout, the journey of our company for 25 years.
I am also grateful to all the stakeholders and investors community for their continued support ever since listing of the company in 2006. We look forward to ongoing support from all our stakeholders, coupled with our experienced promoters, management team, and solid balance sheet, operational efficiency, advancement of captive, advantage of captive iron ore mines, and ambitious CapEx are we poised for significant growth in years to come. With this, I conclude my opening remarks. We can now open the floor for question answer. Thank you very much. Thank you all.
Thank you very much. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask the 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 is from the line of Amit Dixit from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hi. Good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for the opportunity and congratulations for a good set of numbers. I have two questions. The first one is essentially on the integrated steel plant and the proposed capacity expansion of 2 million tons. Now, in the past as well, at least, you know, if I recall correctly, four years back, we had a similar endeavor to expand. I think at that point in time it was 3 million tons capacity, and now this is integrated steel plant that we are talking about. So just wanted to understand the final product configuration of this. You know, what kind of products are you targeting, and for what sector?
Good afternoon. On the final product side, currently, we are very much looking at flat products, which is HR coil. Since we are already into long products, we have no intention of getting the long products, so we are focusing on the flat products for the new steel plant of 2 million.
So will these be narrow coils or your typical, you know?
No, this will be narrow coils. So what we're targeting is we should be able to produce, you know, right from 1 mm in thickness, and then the width should be 1,250 above, you know, so up to, say, 1,550 to 1,650. So the entire range from narrow as well as to, you know, the wider ones.
In this present configuration that you have thought about, you are stopping at narrow coil. There is no intent to go into.
No, there is no narrow coil thought. We are focusing on, you know, the wider strip, which is used for all applications, you know, automobile and, you know, piping, everything else.
Okay. Do we also want to go further downstream by putting Cold Rolled Coil, let us say, at some point in time or galvanized?
Yes, so of course. In the current environment, permission which we have applied, so we have included, you know, the downstream as well, which is the cold roll and, you know, the further processing. But at this stage, we will stop at, you know, making hot HRC, and going forward, we will start, you know, investing in downward technologies. That's all I get.
Typically Blast Furnace Route.
See, at the moment, you know, so, because of economics, you know, of the location and, you know, since natural gas is imported into India, so a gas with DRI, you know, commercially becomes quite challenging to, you know, achieve the desired numbers. So at the moment it's going to be Blast Furnace . But of course, we will be, you know, closely working with other industry to see how can we, you know, replace coke with other technologies going forward.
Okay, wonderful. The second question is on galvanized fabricated products. Pretty interesting product, if I look at it. But you know the
Yeah.
Sales volume, we had seen that it declined year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter as well. I mean, and then we also saw that among all your products, quarter-over-quarter realization for this product also declined, though it's a premium product. So just wanted to understand that whether it was only because of elections or there is some other thing that is also happening.
So there were two, three factors, you know, for the lower volume. One was, of course, you know, the state election and right next there was general election. So that was one part of it. But you know, apart from that, so there was also an, you know, a small mishappening. You know, there was a fire incident in one of the zinc plants, because of which, you know, entire one line was down. You know, luckily there was no harm, but still it took time to come back to online. So that is another reason, it was a small incident.
And third was, you know, since we are still buying billet from the market and, you know, actually more in the conversion margin, now with this commissioning of mill, the margins will go up substantially and that will also help to, you know, increase our volume. So that will be factors, you know, to, you know, for us volume to go down this quarter.
Okay. Okay, fair enough. Got it. Thanks. Thanks, a lot, and all the best.
Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Vikash Singh from PhillipCapital. Please go ahead.
Good afternoon, sir, and congratulations on good set of numbers. Sir, my first question pertains to the operating performance. While the volume and realization was down, our operating performance has improved largely on the other expenditures. So what are the diff items which are different from the previous on a quarterly basis?
Power.
Sure, in the power cost.
Yeah, mainly on power cost, because the commission, our power generation is higher by 52%. You know, and, you know, the solar capacity which is commissioned in the last year, new turbine, everything is leading to the operating efficiency.
No, but
There is one more thing which is adding to that difference in the operating costs is, so last quarter, you know, there was a decent amount of volume of export, you know, of pellets from out of India. So, the way accounting method is, you know, so for international exports, so the logistics, you know, comes at the selling price, but the entire cost to deliver to that port, you know, comes with operating costs. So that is why there is a difference also in the operating cost of this quarter compared to last quarter. So this quarter they will not export volumes of pellet.
Understood. So even, considering that, we should assume that the larger part of the operating cost decline would be sustainable because, it came, majority of came from the power side and only few from the,
Yes, definitely. So going forward, with the current, you know, core dynamics and, you know, with our completion of our, you know, backup projects in terms of power, we think we can maintain this operating cost going forward as well.
Understood, sir. Sir, my second question pertains to our growth CapEx. If I just look at the slide 9 of your presentation, our crushing and beneficiation plant was supposed to take 15 months from their environmental clearance, while our pellet and iron ore mining probably would come earlier. So is that we can assume that we would for the pellet, we would support pellet from the outside iron ore sales or alternatively look at it, our high-grade pellet sales would decline for 2 quarters significantly. How should we-
No, no, no. I think, no, no, I think there is, there is, probably, you know, probably, little confusion understanding. So my current mining, plus my expansion, and the beneficiation in the mine, and my pellet plant, all this will come into operations suddenly in sync with each other. So, because, the beneficiation plant we're putting up in the mine is mainly for beneficiating the BMQ, which is, you know, the low quality iron ore. But apart from that, we'll be able to raise the production, you know, of, of our, our iron ore grade, which is, you know, high grade. So that will, you know, keep supplying to my pellets plant. So everything goes well. We are confident we will not be in a position to buy iron ore from the market, next, which is for FY 2026.
Understood. Currently, we are buying.
We are currently, since we have shut our, you know, one of the mines last year, so we are currently buying about 20% to 25% of the requirement from the market.
Understood. And sir, my third question pertains to our JVs. If you look at that, we had three JVs, JVs, shareholding between 30% to 33%. So do we have the, does that JV have the option for us to buy out our stake in those JV in future point of time, or we would s omething similar to what we have done two years back in the consolidation of the group. So just wanted to understand, is there an option for us to buy out those JVs, and who are the partners there?
You know, because I think you're talking about Raipur Infrastructure and Chhattisgarh Captive Mining.
Yes.
Chhattisgarh is part mining. Now, Raipur Infrastructure, you know, there are three partners, Sarda Energy, Vedanta Power, and there is a company called Vandana Global. We are, you know, in the process of, winding up this company, or distributing whatever surplus funds are there. This, this JV is not operating. It's a non-operational company, and we are in process of winding it up. As regard Chhattisgarh Captive Mining, similar process is being adopted, except that in the anticipation of recovery of some money, we are holding on to this company. Otherwise, this is also non-operating company. And, Chhattisgarh Ispat Bhumi is a nonprofit organization. This is a JV between the industry, you know, operating in that industrial area, Siltara industrial area, and Government of Chhattisgarh, and it's a nonprofit organization. It is for the management of the industry area.
So all these companies are not contributing anything to the profitability or revenue, et cetera. Two will get one, one will continue to stay the way it is there.
Understood, sir. Sir, just one last question. I'm slightly surprised with the kind of the realization for basically which we have experienced, because couple of our peers have seen the realization gain on the sequential basis. So just wanted to understand that, is there any timing difference what we are experiencing right now? Because some of the quantity probably was pre-booked and we couldn't get enjoy the higher prices which had during upfront me though something else is there. And secondly, how should we look at the realization in Q2 and the cost of production in Q2?
Because you are talking about quarter-on-quarter realization or year-on-year?
Yes, sir. Q4 versus 1Q. So 1Q realization for sponge, everything was 5% down. But if I just look at the selling prices of the rebar or a couple of your peer groups who operate in the similar vicinity, they have shown QoQ realization improvement. So that was a surprise as to why it hasn't shown to us.
See, especially in steel billet and MS rounds, there is a production volume growth. And, maybe, you know, it was a falling trend, so there could be, you know, the differences would be because of the timing of the production fall and, you know, maintenance shutdown. It could be one, because sponge iron QoQ realization was higher by 15%. Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. Sponge iron realization, QoQ realization across the region is higher, except generated dedicated product. So, you know, iron ore pellet, it is QoQ 4%, sponge iron 7%, steel billet 7%, MS rounds 7%. So which company are, you know, year-on-year number you are referring to? The
No, no, I am referring to the quarter-on-quarter number, Q4 versus 1 Q. We had an average 4% to 5% fall in the realization.
This is year-on-year, not quarter-on-quarter.
Because year-over-year, exactly.
That is year-over-year, not quarter-over-quarter.
So my question
[crosstalk] Presentation again, and we can discuss offline also if required.
Okay. Fine, then I'll call you offline. That's large. How should we look at the realization, spot basis versus, and cost spot basis, versus what we had experienced in the 1Q FY 2025?
See, definitely, in the Q1 within the, the, from another few calls, and that, and continuing to do especially in down market. And still, you know, because of capacity of BRI in certain region, there will be a lot of, you know, iron ore coming forward. And so the compared to and can, we can expect, you know, a Q1 realization to continue to maintain.
Understood, sir. Thank you for answering my question, and I will come back on the queue if I have further questions.
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Aditya Welekar from Axis Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah, thanks for the opportunity, sir. So my question is on iron ore mining expansion side. So as you said that we are expecting an approval from December 2024. So how much ramp up we expect in Q4? And any color if you want to put on FY 2026, usually how much time it takes to ramp up that mine?
So the idea is, you know, we are given 3 million, but it is, you know, we are, you know, assumed there will be, you know, there will be some production of additional capacity in Q4 of this financial year, because the current mining capacity is 2.35, 2.4. So it's just, you know, we should be able to achieve 3 million, you know, if that was in place by end of Q3. And from FY 2026, we should be able to ramp up the capacity at a much faster scale and, you know, coincide with our requirement of the product.
Okay, understood. Just one follow-up on the cold rolling and further downstream assets for your steel plant of 2 million ton. Our current CapEx of INR 6,000 crore, does it include CRM or is it only approved?
No, no, no, no. It does. So as I mentioned earlier, hot coil, then we put downstream product in the first phase, and, but we will have towards, you know, the same permissions. So going forward, we will start looking downstream there. But first thing, we want to think of going downstream.
Okay, understood. And last question is, means if we are seeing the weakness in international iron ore prices, and currently they are hovering near $100 per ton. And there were reports that Simandou Iron Ore Mine is also expected to come in future, which will increase the supply of iron ore in global markets. So from that perspective, how do you see the pellet prices, which are for our pellet prices, especially the price trend for future?
See, when it comes to pellet per se, you know, so, you know, already, you know, last three months, there is a difference between, you know, the domestic price for pellet and export market for pellet. Because of the actual steel capacity on the BF capacity, which people are building in central zone, there will be no addition of, you know, backward integration in terms of pellet supply or additional iron ore, you know? The sources remain the same, which is NMDC, you know, OMC and the pellet makers. So it seems to be short of iron ore in this area, the pellet prices will be on the higher side, irrespective of the domestic, of the national market. For today's example, also, there's a benefit of $20 more by selling in domestic compared to the international market.
We are not in the export market at all for the last three months. Going forward, we don't think so we will be in a position to, you know, even think of export. Domestic is quite strong right now in terms of RNR.
Understood, sir. Thanks for that. Thank you.
Thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen, a reminder to all participants, you may ask two questions per participants. Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Jatin from Svan Investments. Please go ahead.
So, good afternoon everyone. Thank you for the opportunity. So just wanted to understand, now, since you are indicating your opening remarks regarding the debottlenecking that we have undertaken, but if you look on the volumes on the sequential, it is down. So is this just because of the bad incidents or the incidents that have happened during the last quarter, which has impacted the overall volume or something that
Voices, voice is not.
Your voice is not clear.
Hello, Jatin sir, I request you to use your handset while speaking.
It's audible now?
Yes.
Yeah. So, I mean, just wanted to understand the key reason behind the sequential decline in the overall production volume, because in the opening remarks, you indicated that because of the debottlenecking, the sponge and the billet, there was a benefit during the quarter. But if you look on the overall volume, we had seen a decline. So what is the reason behind that?
The reason was, you know, we annual shutdown for the entire year because, you know, monsoon and, you know, depending on, you know, the requirement of the, like, when you, we holidays, when you shut down a few years. So quarter one, for our, there is a last shutdown problem anyway. Anyway, the volume will run right, but everything is up and running, Q2 will see very volume.
Okay. And that's
Yeah. [audio distortion]
In terms of the operating efficiencies, the benefit of the power that we had in the last quarter, that will now continue for the remaining part of the year?
Yes, we are continuing. We continue.
Yeah. So last question. I mean, we have seen the delays in getting approval, and as per our latest update, we expect it to, we expect the mining approval and integrated plant approval to receive by December 2024. So, I mean, is there any further requirement by the center or the, by the state in terms of giving the approval that can be expected? Because for the approval. Yes, sir.
The process is so long, actually people who, and we get the EC from there, and then you have another state board. So the process is like, you know, with so many, you know, due to last month there was election, so, you know, things are getting slightly delayed, but which is, you know, we really can't. We are, we are trying our best to max, you know, to move as fast as possible. So we're confidently as committed by Q3, we should have the approvals in place, you know?
Yeah. Okay. That's all from my side. Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, please limit your question to two per participant. Should have a follow-up question, we request you to rejoin the queue. Our next question is from the line of Manav from Yes Securities Limited. Please go ahead.
Yes, good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for the opportunity. And also congratulations on the strong set of numbers. So, one question I wanted to know: Would you be able to quantify the average imported coal cost per ton for the quarter?
You mean Q1?
Yes, Q1.
You want the quarter of DRF cost or you want the landing cost of raw material?
From a landed point of view.
Okay, so landed point of view, our average cost in Q1 was about INR 12,000. Sorry, INR 11,000. INR 11,500.
11,500. And, how is it shaping up in Q2 right now?
Q2 is more or less same, because usually we do a lot of, you know, planning in terms of, you know, we maintain a minimum of two months. Q2 is, you know, looks on the similar levels. There might be a slight increase in Q3 with the current national market, but, you know, demand is weak, so we are confident the market should, you know, pull back. But Q1, Q2 are on the similar lines.
Okay. And so one question, you know, on the realization for me, and I don't know if I've missed this. What sort of corrections are we seeing, you know, in terms of billet pricing and long product pricing as of now, during the monsoon?
See, as of now, as on 8th of August, so prices are down by almost 10% compared to last quarter. So on, on our sales number, there is about 4,400. Today, billet is about INR 39,000 right now.
Okay.
There's a correction almost 10%.
Sure, sure. I, I'll join by the queue. Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Chirag from Neo Asset Management. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hi. So, wanted to understand that traditionally you have been a downstream producer, so what was the real incentive for you to, you know, diversify, to plants and how do you start to compete with the biggies in the, in the flat steel production? And what could be a cost of production for HR coils?
See, the reason for to diversify was we feel, you know, in the long market, you know, there is a huge supply from secondary market as well, right? People are into wire or into PNG. So secondary market is quite big in India. It's constantly almost 40% of the entire steel production, and that market is growing, you know. But a secondary steel market cannot, you know, venture into... cannot make a flat product quality material. So that is the reason to, you know, to diversify to flat product, you know, to move away from the competition. And, you know, given the demand because of the automobile and, you know, the infrastructure growth, we thought, getting to flat is much beneficial compared to long product and it was even 5, 10 in last four years since COVID.
So, flat is almost, you know, INR 4 to 5 higher in terms of realization compared to a long product of friendly players only. They are paying INR 50,000, so HR coil will go INR 55,000. So that's also one of the reason, you know, we venture into flat. We want to venture into flat product.
How much will be a cost of production for HR Coil?
See, the operating cost is about, you know, INR 20,000. Between INR 2,000 and INR 2,500. But of course, depending on other companies, so it's difficult to decide. But the operating costs are only about $30.
Okay. So, since you're setting up Blast Furnace, and, you know, going forward, there are lots of, you know, issues coming up with respect to the pollution coming from the Blast Furnace and also do you plan, have plans to go towards Electric Arc Furnace, or will you still stick with the Blast Furnace Route?
See, it's very, very difficult to comment. Right now, we want to, you know, have iron ore mining and pellets. We don't want to be only, you know, a pellet player. It's better to, you know, hedge your iron ore bet. So, you know, we want to, you know, use the iron ore premium, you know, the value we have, and make, you know, value add for us. So that is the reason, and because of import of natural gas, currently the Blast Furnace Route is viable, you know, commercially. Importing gas and making steel through DRI route, it's quite expensive at the moment because of import of natural gas into India. So we see Middle East for reason, Middle East has cheap gas, but they don't have iron ore.
So they import the iron ore, but they have their own gas. So it's all about location dynamic. So currently, we will proceed with the blast furnace only, and finally we'll explore, you know, with other industry, in terms of carbon capture and other technologies available, you know, across the world.
Okay, thanks. I will join back with you.
Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Chirag Singhal from First Water Fund. Please go ahead.
Yeah, thanks for taking my question. Congratulations on the numbers. Just a couple of questions. First, on the integrated steel. So what is the effect on your, that you're expecting, from this plant, based on the normalized CapEx?
So sorry, come again, please.
Yeah, am I audible?
Yeah. Can you please repeat the question?
Yeah. What is the effect on for the Integrated Steel Plant based on the normalized CapEx?
No, your voice is not clear.
I'll take off.
Yeah, please.
Like you're asking about the effect on our s o, you know, if you set up a 2 million ton capacity, and just for example, take a selling price of INR 50,000 a ton, it comes to about INR 10,000 crore, turnover. And, CapEx is INR 6,000 crore, based on our estimate. So, you know, it is more than 1.3, 1.4 times.
Okay, got it. Is it expected to come phase-wise, or you expect this entire capacity of 2 million ton will be online by, you know, end of FY 2028?
No, so it's gonna come, everything will come together because it's integrated steel capacity, so everything will be going up together.
Okay. Just one more thing on coal consumption cost. What was the coal consumption cost per ton in Q1, and what is the trend in the current quarter?
Coal consumption in terms of pricing or in terms of, actually consumption?
No, in terms of the consumption cost for your company.
So, yeah, so my coal cost, as I, as I mentioned earlier, the coal prices domestically have come back and reduced, you know, from second half of Q1 and continues to. So fuel, coal costs will be slightly lower compared to Q1, because our imported coal costs almost remain the same, flat. So we can see a slight reduction in the coal cost for Q2.
Okay, can you quantify, like, how much would that be? Maybe in
See, the monthly we consume about 100,000 tons monthly, about 90,000 to 100,000 tons on a monthly basis in different units. So about 60% is in imported coal, which will remain flat, and another 50% is domestic, there will be a reduction in that cost.
Understood. Okay, I'll join back in with you. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. Participants, please use your handsets while asking a question. Our next question is from the line of Chintan Patel from Abans Investment Managers. Please go ahead.
Congratulations on a good set of numbers. Thanks for taking my question. Sir, currently, we have a captive power plant around 236 megawatt, which can save up to INR 200 crore power cost. We are adding another 70 megawatt on the solar side, and 10 to 11 megawatt on waste gas side. So putting all together, what would be cost save on power side?
See, currently, there is a slight dependency in planning. Our current solar capacity stands at about 145 MW, which is already operational. And,
Now it is just 65. Now
Y eah, and another 70 will be in pipeline, so that will make it to 235 to 240. And on the captive side, so we have about 28 MW of biomass, then we have 40 MW of gas base, and the remaining is coal base. So if you want to know the average power cost till date, so today, average power cost, including everything, is about, about INR 3.5.
Mm-hmm. Okay.
Yeah. And once the addition of, you know, the, for this second of 10 MW and further solar, it will further come down going forward.
So, how much it will come down?
We expect to be about somewhere about, you know, INR 3.1 going forward, once everything is up and about.
Okay, okay. Yeah. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Rakesh Roy from Moore AMC's Omkara Capital. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Morning, sir. So my first question is regarding the realization profile. So our average realization increased year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter, 2% to 4%, correct? So this is due to higher grade pellet in this quarter or, let's say, any other reason, sir?
No. So see, our volume of, you know, the channels of high grade pellet and the normal pellet remain the same throughout the year. But in Q1 especially, since there was a, you know, increase in steel prices, plus, as I mentioned, due to a surplus of iron ore in the domestic market, especially in the central region, the prices were, you know, on the upside compared to last quarter. And Q2 also, you know, it remains on similar levels.
Okay, sir. And sir, my last question, sir, Reliance has yesterday announced a reduced iron ore prices. It will impact on our future realization in Q2 or Q3, sir, in terms of period of minutes?
It's very difficult to comment because, you know, usually we have an order book of, you know, anything between 30 to 45 days. Plus, you know, our higher pellets, you know, are themselves, you know, attract premium. So, I don't think anybody sees pricing, you know, really affect on our pellet pricing. So we have a few customers who really are, you know, demand our pellet because of the quality we make. I think we should be able to achieve the current realization, you know, in Q1.
Okay, sir. Okay, thank you, sir.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, a reminder to all participants, you may press star and one to ask question. Our next question is from the line of Pradeep Rawat from Yoga Capital. Please go ahead.
Yeah, good afternoon, and thank you for the opportunity. So we have two mines, and one of the mine, Boria Tibu Mine, is currently nonoperational. So when could we expect commercial production from this facility?
See, as we mentioned last time as well, so, you know, we are working on installing the beneficiation plant inside the mine, and, you know, and start the mine production. Because today, bringing mining and bringing the quality of ore we are getting, it's not commercially viable. So we are working on the beneficiation plant. We have started working on the desired approval. Hopefully, I think by, once the new steel plant, which we have commissioned in, say, FY 2028 or FY 2029, whatever, we are going, trying to coincide the production of the mine with that. So we can say that three years from now on, the mine should be operational with beneficiation.
We would be sending raw material from this mine to with our steel plant?
No, no. So, yeah, exactly. So we will be beneficiating. We'll be, you know, making a grade which is technically usable, and then we'll be transporting to our new steel plant. That's the whole plan. That's the whole idea.
Okay. Okay. Understood. And my other, I have one basic question: So, is there any extra amount of royalty that the miners have to pay if they sell the ore in open market without any value addition?
See, for miners, like companies like us, which have mines which were allotted, you know, as per the Mining Act, so the Mining Act policy says, a captive mine can sell 50% of their iron ore in the market, but then they have to pay additional royalty of 150%. Basically, it means royalty on royalty. It comes to about additional, you know, 150%. So for today's royalty structure, I will have to pay INR 1,000 more as a royalty to the government if I want to sell my iron ore in the market.
Okay. Okay. I have another basic question. So, I wanted to understand why like Tata Steel and JSW Steel are bidding 100% plus premium for captive mines. So, don't they get such kind of rates from open market by procuring iron ore from open market? So why are they bidding 100 plus, a 100% plus premium?
So see, to be very honest, you know, it's very difficult to really comment, you know, about my peer, you know, what strategy they have in mind, you know, what is the thought process. You know, it won't be right for me or my to pass any comment on that, because it's their operation, their strategy. So, you know, it's better if you can probably, you know, them best than only. I would not like to comment on that.
Yeah, understood. Okay, I'll join back the queue. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Vaibhav Dubey from BigMint. Please go ahead.
Hello, good afternoon, sir. Congratulations for the figures.
Thank you.
Sir, as you know, like, Godawari produces two grades currently, Fe 63 grade pellet and Fe 66 grade pellet. So may I know the ratio of the production of high grade and low grade, and is it viable for exports? Are we considering any chance for the exports?
So the ratio is 1/3, 2/3. So it produce about, you know, 30% 63 pellet, and the remaining is high grade pellet of 66.
Okay. Okay.
In terms of export, no, we are not exploring any export opportunity. As I've been mentioning again and again, the domestic market is quite strong, and we are happy to sell everything domestic, because the pricing is much better compared to export right now.
Sir, my one more question, another. As we have witnessed that capacity expansion of pellet plant is undergoing, but we have also witnessed in the report that production guidance has been lowered from 2.6 to 2.4. Sir, any reason behind this lowering the production guidance?
Yes. So, there is an annual shutdown planned, you know, for one of the two plants, which will take about, you know, 15 days of operation. That happens every, you know, four to five years in cycle. So that is why we have lowered the guidance in this financial year from 2.6 to 2.45. That is the reason.
Sir, when can we expect this shutdown?
Okay, the shutdown is already undergoing, you know, so it is planned for Q2. The shutdown is already going, and the plant will be in operation in the next couple of weeks. But the full year guidance remains the same, which is 2.45. Yeah, we will achieve that.
Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, sir.
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Aman from Augmenta Asset Managers LLP. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi, Abhishek. Thanks for the opportunity. Sorry for repeating that question. So, can you highlight your strategy on the structural steel? Like, how big it can be, and are we really testing the waters, or what is the outlook on the same going forward? Like, what can be the potential of the same, and given that we are coming up with the integrated steel plant, so just wanted a detailed thing on the strategy for the structural steel.
To be honest, with the kind of capacity which are coming up, you know, especially by the bigger players, you know, when they talk about 50 million, 40 million, you know, but we're on 30 to 35. So it is kind of scary, you know, to probably enter that market. But, the advantage we have is, you know, is our iron ore mine, which has zero premium. So the only rationale behind, you know, going into this investment is to hedge our iron ore bet, and we don't want to be some, you know, exposed to iron ore pellets, because a lot of capacities of pellets are also coming up in India. For example, Lloyds itself is, you know, about to, has declared about 12 million tons, you know, in the next 5 years.
To hedge our iron ore bets, we want to, you know, make value-added investment. You know, of course, there is competition in everything, and there'll be competition in everything going forward as well, whether we sell iron ore pellets or we sell, you know.
No, I think, Abhishek, structural is structural steel. Am I right?
You're talking about RS, you're talking about RS part or you're talking about the new, integrated steel plant, 2 million?
Yeah, yeah. I just wanted to know the strategy about the structural steel, the rolling which you have modified, so
Oh, sorry. Oh, sorry. My, my, my apologies. I didn't understand the question correctly. So on the structural steel side, you know, we were already into galvanizing. So currently we were buying the raw material from the market, galvanizing it and supplying to, you know, railways, transmission towers and all those projects. So now with the backward integration by modifying the rolling mill, EPS margins will go up. Our volumes will go up because now our dependency on the raw material side will drastically go down. Plus, the rolling is designed such, we will be able to produce the desired billets in Godawari itself. It's a complete backward to forward integration, where, you know, right from billets to finished steel, will be done in the same roof, and eventually the volume will go up and enhance our margins. As simple as that.
So, can I just add on that? Prior to this thing, prior to this modification of rolling mill, we were acquiring the billets from outside, right? The desired billets.
Yes. The desired billets, some were being produced from Godawari, but not the entire, you know, requirement. Rest were being procured from the market.
Okay. Okay. And also, Abhishek, can you throw some light on the ferroalloy market currently, given that the prices are down, the manganese ore prices are increased, and there were some disturbance on the Australian mining front, but this might have restored, I think. So what is your outlook on the ferroalloy market as a whole going forward, given that the prices have consolidated around the same level? So how are we looking at the ferroalloy thing currently?
Okay. So on the, so as you mentioned, that mining effect on, you know, in Australia which happened, you know, a few months back, about 30 days back, then that still continues, and the, the latest update is the mines will be out of production for the next another 6 months, you know? So we're looking at a, routine supply from end of Q3 or early Q4 of our financial year. So that impact is still ongoing. So the prices of high-grade manganese ore, which is, say, 44 Mn, is on a very higher side. The current index is about $9, which was $4.5 three months back. So that impact is still there. See, on the finishing side, definitely the domestic market is quite weak because the demand of steel is quite weak, so there is pressure on the ferroalloy.
But, you know, for us, you know, since we are always exposed to some kind of imports of manganese ore, we are in a healthy position because of the lower prices which we have in inventory right now. So as for, for a company, we are, we are in a decent position, not as bad as the market, but as a whole industry, the market is quite weak. Coal has also increased the prices by 40% in last auction. Hopefully, it should reduce going forward. So, but yes, market is quite challenging at the moment.
So even basically because the ferroalloy market is basically a largely an export market, so we are trying to say despite the domestic market is weak, the export markets also have consolidated. The prices have consolidated above INR 100,000/ton level, right? No, prices are much below than that. So, yeah, because we are in the premium silico manganese, which is quite a commercial grade, so the prices are, you know, in the export market is, you know, below that. Which so currently it's not viable to actually export, but the demand is also quite weak.
Okay. Okay. Got it, then. Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Manav from Yes Securities Limited. Please go ahead.
Yes. Good afternoon once again. Sir, one question on pellets. You know, we usually attract a premium of INR 1,000 to INR 1,500 per ton on the high-grade pellets. I wanted to know if can we expect this number to go up also in the near future if, you know, the demand starts coming in quite strongly for the high-grade pellets?
Sorry, can you come again, please? So sorry, I wasn't certain. Can you please come again?
Yes. So currently the premium, you know, on the high-grade pellets is between INR 1,000 to INR 1,500 a ton.
Right.
I wanted to know if this number can go up as well, you know, if you see strong demand for the high-grade pellets from the market?
Definitely. You know, I would say, you know, we have already achieved, you know, a band of, say, between INR 1,300 to INR 1,500, you know, slowly and slowly. And, I think the most important part in the pellets is the low cost, you know, which is very important element for making steel in secondary route. So that is, you know, gaining a lot of attraction in the domestic market. So people who are looking to make quality steel, you know, so they are, you know, eventually getting convinced that we have to pay a certain premium, you know, to buy this product. So slowly, slowly we are there, but yeah, the value of our product is going up day by day.
Okay, okay. So just to follow up on that only, once the beneficiation plant comes in, that would, you know, roughly be an additional cost of, can I assume, you know, INR 250 to INR 300 a ton for beneficiation of the ore?
See, so the additional plant which is coming up is for the capacity of pellet. So overall, at a volume of, say, 4.5 million of pellet going forward, the cost of beneficiation remains the same for the pellet. That won't increase.
Okay, okay.
Yeah.
Okay. So one, one question I had on the HRC plant, you know. So the HRC plant will be targeting the automotive industry, if I'm correct, right?
It's a wider application, automobile being one of them. So then there are pipe manufacturers. It's a very wide application. So with the kind of quality we are trying to produce, which, you know, we will not be confined to a single market. We want to keep our, you know, for every basket.
Sure, sure. And so, just post the pellet plant expansion, which is coming in Q1 of FY 2026, and, you know, up till the HRC plant comes online, I just wanted to know what sort of market will GPAL be catering its iron ore pellets to. Will it be within the state of Chhattisgarh, and what sort of, you know, capacities and consumers are coming up over the next year and a half where this market will be open to?
See, Chhattisgarh itself, there will be additional demand of close to, say, about 6, you know, 6 million of iron ore pellets because of the additional DRI capacity coming up in Chhattisgarh. Plus, you know, because we'll be producing high-grade pellets going forward as well in the new plant, so we will have a, you know, we'll be able to create a different market who, who are looking for, you know, quality steel. Exports will always be open, you know. After there is an opportunity, we will definitely start exporting again, because our pellets are, you know, very receptive in the outside market as well. So we are, these options are open right now. It's difficult to anticipate, you know, one year from now on, but the options are all open.
Okay, okay, sure. Thank you so much, sir, and all the very best.
Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Aditya Welekar from Axis Securities. Please go ahead.
Sir, thanks for the opportunity again. So just one color on the recent Supreme Court ruling that the states can levy tax on mineral rights. So from that perspective, what are your thought process means, are we can we expect some demands from the state government going forward, or how do you see this?
We, we should be, to be honest, something which we'd never like, you know, any industry would like to, but, you know, we, we really can't comment because it's a state matter. It's up to the state government. You know, Jharkhand just passed an, you know, in the assembly to impose INR 100 tax on the mineral, mined in that state. So we really can't comment. Hopefully, nothing imposed, but if there is any imposition, we, we have to, you know, comply.
Understood, sir. Thank you. That's it from my side.
Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that was the last question for the day. I now hand the conference over to the management for closing comments.
Thank you, all participants for joining to the conference call of Godawari Power & Ispat Limited. We believe that we have adequately addressed all your queries. Should you have any further questions or need additional information, please feel free to reach us out or Investor Relations at Godawari Power & Ispat Limited. Once again, we sincerely thank you for your active participation and unwavering support. Thank you. Thank you all. With this, we close this call.
Thank you.
Thank you.
On behalf of Emkay Global Financial Services, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your line.