Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to LT Foods Q3 FY26 earnings conference call. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during this conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star then zero on your touchtone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Meet Jain from Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone, and a warm welcome to LT Foods Limited Q3 FY26 post-results earnings call, hosted by Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited. On the call today, we have the management team being represented by Mr. Ashwani Kumar Arora, MD and CEO; Mr. Sachin Gupta, CFO; Ms. Monika Chawla Jaggia, Chief Corporate Development Officer. We will begin the call with the key thoughts from the management team. Thereafter, we will open the floor for Q&A session. I would now like to request the management to share their perspective on the performance of the company. Thank you, and over to you, ma'am.
Thank you, Meet, for the introduction. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome you all to our nine-month Quarter Three Financial year 2026 earnings call of LT Foods Limited. Please note that any statement made or discussed during this call, which reflects our outlook for the future, or which could be construed as a forward-looking statement, must be reviewed in conjunction with the risks that the company faces. A detailed disclaimer in this regard has been included in the investor presentation that has been shared on both the stock exchanges, that is NSE and BSE. The result documents are available on our company's website as well as stock exchanges. A transcript of this call will also be made available on the investor section of the company's website.
I would like to share the key highlights of this period, that is, during nine months financial year 2026, LT Foods reported a record nine-month revenue of INR 8,085 crores. Year-on-year growth of 24%, normalized growth of 12% excluding U.S. tariff and Golden Star. The company reported an EBITDA of INR 936 crores, that is year-on-year growth of 20% as compared to nine months financial year 2025. During quarter 3 financial year 2026, LT Foods achieved its highest ever quarterly revenue of INR 2,812 crores, that is year-on-year growth of 23%, normalized growth of 8% excluding U.S. tariff and Golden Star. The company reported EBITDA of INR 317 crores, that is year-on-year growth of 20% as compared to Q3 financial year 2025.
The positive financial performance reflects the company's strong brand equity developed over time, disciplined brand investments, widening market penetration across segments and geographies. Including, increased consumer preferences for LT brands and ongoing improvements in our distribution efficiency. On the profitability front, the company reported an EBITDA margin of 11.6% in nine months, down 30 basis points from 11.9% in nine months Financial Year 2025, primarily due to increased brand investment, certain strategic initiatives, including digitalization initiatives. I would like to provide an update on the CVD duty concerning Ecopure Specialities Limited, a fellow subsidiary of LT Foods. A public hearing was conducted on September 16, 2025, where both the parties presented their argument before the U.S. Department of Commerce. The final determination was earlier expected by November 17, 2025.
However, due to U.S. government shutdown, the timelines have been further extended and is now expected by February 17, 2026. An update on our basmati paddy is that at the beginning of the season, crop 2025 was expected to follow a steady production trajectory, with early estimates indicating marginal growth over last year. However, based on harvesting progress and field assessments, farm yields have fallen short of earlier projections across several major production states. The impact of yield moderation has translated into overall basmati production being lower than the earlier estimate, despite stable acreage. The decline is primarily yield-driven rather than area-led, reflecting weather-related disruptions during the sensitive crop phases. As a result, the market environment for crop 2025 indicated higher price levels.
With regard to our acquisition of Hungary-based Global Green Group, Ministry of National Economy, Hungary, has not approved the proposed acquisition on grounds of identified national, economic, and sectoral risks. Now, let me share segment-wide updates with you. The basmati and other specialty rice business delivered a 26% year-on-year growth in nine months, normalized growth of 12%, excluding the impact of U.S. tariff and Golden Star. This segment, which contributes around 88% of the consolidated revenues, continues to deliver double-digit growth, supported by strong and deeply entrenched brand presence across geographies and sustained marketing investments, driving higher brand penetration among consumers globally. The organics segment delivered a 15% year-on-year growth in the nine months of Financial Year 2026, reflecting the rising global demand for sustainable food sources and our strong presence across key international markets.
The ready-to-heat and ready-to-cook segment delivered a 4% year-on-year degrowth in nine months Financial Year 2026. Now, let me share with you our geography-wise update. North America comprises 46% of LT Foods' revenue and remains to be a key growth driver, with normalized growth of 12%, excluding the impact of U.S. tariff and Golden Star. Our flagship brand, Royal, holds a dominant position with 60% share in the basmati rice segment. Golden Star has continued to be number one jasmine rice brand in the region. The company has undertaken sustained brand investments in the U.S., including higher media and digital spends. In-store activations, expanded shelf visibility, targeted promotions, and consumer engagement initiatives aimed at strengthening brand recall and driving conversion across core and emerging consumer cohorts. Looking ahead, we may see impact on consumer demand due to increased basmati rice prices and input costs.
India contributes approximately 29% of the company's revenue and delivered a 10% year-on-year growth, reflecting strong underlying performance in the domestic market. Our brands collectively hold a 23.5% market share. In India, the household reach of Daawat has grown significantly from 45.56 lakh homes in March 2023 to 58.11 lakh homes in September 2025. As per industry research, the Indian consumer demonstrates openness to experimentation while retaining strong habitual purchasing behavior. Although 57% indicate a willingness to try new brands, nearly 84% ultimately purchase familiar or previously used brands, underscoring the critical role of brand strength and point of purchase influence in driving final consumer choice. Europe, comprised of 60% of consolidated revenue, our progress in this region has been robust, achieving 35% year-on-year growth.
The Middle East and rest of the world constitute the remaining 9% of our revenue. Of this, INR 35 crore is a blended revenue from Saudi Arabia. We are strengthening our presence in the region through investments in infrastructure and by building a dedicated on-ground team, including the hiring of experienced professionals in this space. With this, I would now like to hand over the call to the moderator to open the floor for question and answer. Thank you.
Thank you very much. We'll now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their 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'll wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question is from the line of Pradyumna Choudhary from JM Financial. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi, team. Thank you for the opportunity. My first question is on the tariffs. Could you explain what really is happening on our front, how much of it we've been able to pass on to the end customer until now? And what would be our pricing strategy going forward? And what exactly is the situation in U.S., like, with the increased tariffs and rising Basmati prices, are you seeing that locals over there are shifting consumption from Basmati rice to locally grown rice due to the price increase? That's the first part of the question.
Hi. You know, so you have asked two question. One is on the any impact on the consumption, and the second is on the duty pass on. So as far as consumption is concerned, you know, January, we are seeing little bit slowdown in the mainstream. But that will be, you know, more clear in, you know, JFM, you know, because sometimes, you know, people buy before the price increase.
Yeah.
So, I think in this quarter, the things will be more clear, that how it is impacting the consumption. On the duty side, as you know, you have seen in the result also, majority part of the duty we have, passed on. Yeah. But, you know,
So-
Having said that, you know, this year, you know, the input cost has increased.
Yeah.
Normally, we pass on to the consumer. This year, we have, we have to see how it, you know, goes, how the duty things change in the next six months.
All right. So, most of the tariff, you're saying, like, the current tariffs are 50%, so most of this currently has been passed on, is what you're saying?
That, that's what I said, yeah.
All right. In terms of the consumption pattern, what are we really seeing are, like, customers accepting this higher price for our basmati rice? Or are we seeing more higher exports going from Pakistan to U.S.? Or are we seeing locals over there consuming more of locally grown rice and shifting away from basmati rice due to higher prices?
That's what I tried-
Pattern.
That, that's what I tried to answer, that, you know, in January month, we have seen little bit slowdown, but, you know, that is not the, you know, real picture. So January, February, March, this quarter's sales will give us a clear trend. You know, that- that's the answer.
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Amit Doshi from Care Portfolio Managers Private Limited. Please go ahead.
Hi. Sir, you mentioned that most of the tariff has been passed on, which is 50%. But if I look at the numbers, which is mentioned in the presentation where nine months data has been provided, and which indicates that there's a 26% revenue growth of Basmati and a 20% volume growth. So, presuming that, I mean, you know, 50% tariff, so the revenue growth should have been far higher. Or, am I missing something?
No, it is normalized.
So in the presentation itself, if you see now, the normalized growth, if you normalize the U.S. tariff, and yes, because we had acquired Golden Star this year, the whole of the revenue is getting consolidated. If you normalize that, that both things, our revenue growth in this nine months is 12%. And as regarding the tariff, the 50% tariff, this has been from the August that has been imposed. Previously, the tariff was 25% and 10%. It is in the phased manner the tariff has been increased in this nine months, from 10, then 25, then to the 50. Currently, it is 50%, and that is also on the, on the imports, the imported value of the goods, not on the sales value. You're getting me now, Amit?
Sachin, I'm just trying to understand. Even if I look at your H1 PPD,
Mm-hmm.
In that also the volume growth was 23%, and 24% was the revenue growth. Excluding the Golden Star and U.S. tariff, the normalized growth was 11%.
Correct.
So presuming, you know, this H1 and there's not much difference between the volume growth figures of H1 and nine months. So for this quarter, which is a full quarter where 50% tariff has been levied-
Mm-hmm.
So I mean, going by that, I thought if the 50% tariff has been passed on, the number could have been higher. Only thing that I could not get is you said the tariff is on the imports, but ultimately-
Correct.
We, as LT Foods, send it to our U.S. subsidiary, correct?
Correct. Correct. Correct.
So in the consolidated, ultimately, the numbers would, I mean, include tariff as well, right? Standalone, there is no, but, in consolidated, it would appear to be. I mean, just correct me if I'm going wrong anywhere.
No, no, you are right, Amit. But, but my answer to this is the tariff is on the import, imported value in the U.S., not on the sales value that we are making on the sales to the third party. You are right in that sense, the sales from India to the U.S., that gets eliminated, but the tariff is on the imported. So if you look at that, a 50% tariff comes out to be 25%-26% on the overall sales value, not the 50% increase.
Okay, okay. How much inventory do we keep at our U.S. level, U.S. company level?
Roughly, you know, two to three months inventory. That is in warehouses, the rest is in the transit.
Any changes that we have done? Because maybe we might have been anticipating this U.S. trade deal to be concluded.
Depends. So it depends on, you know... So the most important is to make sure that the customer service level is high. So accordingly, you know, we make sure that, you know, inventory is maintained. Service level is topmost important.
You mentioned that, you know, the crop is lower this year, so what would be the paddy prices compared to last year? Year- on- year, what have been the price rise in the paddy?
So Sachin will give you exact number, but it depends on variety to variety. Some varieties are, you know, at par.
Average will be fine, just to understand the ballpark, general, what will be our average.
7%-8% will be, I think, 8% will be, consolidated price rise.
Correct, correct. So the average increase in the prices, or if I take my stock levels as on December itself, the average increase in the stock levels of the paddy itself is 4.5%, 4% increase that is there. So there are-
Full year basis will be-
Will be, yes. So as Ashwani told, the full year basis, it will be on the same lines of 7%-8% on the controlled data.
But buying keeps, we keep buying till March.
March.
So, this quarter, the buying is also very heavy. So on an average,
Oh.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Okay, okay. Understood. Understood. Sir, on our organic business side-
... But, if you have a follow-up question, please join again.
Sure, sure. Okay.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Meet Jain from Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited. Please go ahead.
Hello. Hi, good day. My first question is regarding the organic segment. After a very good quarters of growth, we have seen a decline in this quarter, even after we have set up our capacity in Europe. So can you throw some light regarding what led to the decline in revenue this quarter?
This is about organic business, you're saying?
Yes. Yes, sir.
Rohan is on the line, who is the CEO of the organic business. So, Rohan, can you take this question, please? Rohan?
Hello? Hello.
Yes, Rohan.
Hello, can you hear me?
Yes, yes.
Yes, we can hear you.
Yeah. So, yes, I've heard the question. Thank you. So the capacities that we have built in Europe have been built in this year, and they would come into light in the coming years.
... so we'll make the right investments for the future. The resources have been deployed, but the sale that you are seeing is not, I think, overall, on an annual basis, if you look at, because there are some seasonalities that are always involved. The sale has been higher than the last year, which is a promising sign. So, I'm not too sure where you're seeing the dip.
So in 9 months, we did a revenue of INR 807 crores, and for past 9 months, it's around INR 710 crores. I agree if you say 9-month basis, we have seen a growth, but for Q2, if we look at the half yearly numbers, we have seen a decline in revenue for this quarter.
This is also because of the seasonality in the business. Since we have sometimes stocked the material here and switched from old crop to new crop, and that's the only situation. There is no decline as such in the, if you look at on an overall annual basis. We'll be back on the track when you look at the full year basis.
Okay, got it. The question is on this rice output, as you indicated, the yield was pretty lower than the last year expected, which you are expecting price increase. And also on the follow-up on the previous question, on the stock levels, we have seen an increase in price of 8%. So can we see these prices to move up further for the coming quarters?
Yeah.
And talking about the-
Sales price, or what is the question? So is it the-
So, uh-
Yeah.
As we have discussed at the stock level, we have seen an 8% increase in the price YoY basis, and you also indicated that production of this year has been a little short of what we are expecting earlier.
Yes.
Going ahead, as we also mentioned that we will see an increase in price of Basmati overall coming quarters, and/or our procurement, like we earlier guided, that we do major paddy procurement, almost 60%-70% or more than that in this quarter. So going ahead, any procurements, can we see it in the higher prices?
Yes. So, we are covering ourselves roughly 80% of... that's our policy. So this year also, we will cover 80%, and whatever the price in procurement has happened, the rise, that we will try to pass on to consumers. Some part of the world we will be, but some part of the world, we have to, you know, evaluate how this duty impact goes away. So by quarter end, we will be more clear on the margin side.
Understood. The last question is on the Europe part. We have seen a very strong quarter, this 50% growth in the Europe segment. So, can you attribute it? How much will be attributed to the U.K. business, and U.K. capacities and the Netherlands capacities? What can be the breakup of that?
So it means the major growth that has happened is basically because of the U.K. capacity itself. The U.K. capacity got operational in the later part of the last year. So our growth was majorly because of the U.K.. Otherwise, if you normalize the things, it is in the range of 11%-12%.
Oh, okay. Understood. Got it. Thank you. I'll come back to the queue.
Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Abhishek Maheshwari from SkyRidge Fund Managers LLP. Please go ahead.
Hi, thank you for the opportunity, and congratulations on good set of numbers. So I have two-
Thank you, Abhishek.
Sir, only two questions. Firstly, I think some time ago, the President of United States, he had posted on X regarding additional 25% tariffs on anyone doing business with Iran. Now, as LT Foods, we don't do business with Iran, but our country does do business with Iran. So was this ratified or was this more of an impulse to, you know, kind of a post from the president? Any clarity on this?
Abhishek, you know, there is no any action on that, but we every day we all hear, you know, you know, these things-
So right now it's 50% only, this additional 20%?
Yeah. Now, now is the 50/50%. Yeah.
Okay. Got it. So secondly, the Thailand tariffs are about 19%. So is Golden Star still doing pretty okay? And will it be able to compensate for slightly moderating demand for Basmati in U.S.?
So, jasmine rice, you know, the Golden Star is doing very well. That's growing, so no issue on the growth side. Only, you know, this year also, you know, the jasmine rice has gone up, so maybe a little impact on the margin side. But as far as consumption growth, that is very well placed.
Okay. Thank you. Lastly, do you expect that perhaps, the increase in procurement price that you are seeing, the impact of that could be slightly moderated by this dollar appreciation that we are seeing vis-à-vis rupee?
Partly. Partly, partly.
All right. All right. I'll get back to the queue. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Abhishek Mathur from Systematix. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi, sir. Thank you for the opportunity. My question was on the regional rice market, where you have made some recent launches and which is a significantly bigger market than our basmati rice. So I just wanted to check, you know, what is the update on our progress in terms of our foreign regional rice? And what is our way to win that you see, given that there are a number of entrenched regional players who are strong in their respective pockets?
... regional rice, you know, is doing very well, the Daawat regional rice and, you know, internationally also. As far as our strategy on the regional rice is that, you know, we will be only on the premium end of the market and not on the mass, because that's a very-- margins are very competitive. So, on that front, on that strategy, we are doing very well. We are well-placed in e-commerce, modern trade, and, you know, very, very key outlet. So we are optimistic, on whatever the business plan we have built, on the regional rice.
Would you be able to quantify-
Yeah, yeah.
Yes, go ahead.
No, no. You ask your question, please.
So would you be able to quantify what is currently in terms of tonnage, our sales in regional rice, right now? Is it material?
Yeah, I say I think in India we sell around INR 200 crore worth regional rice on an annual level basis.
In volume terms or tonnage terms?
Sachin, can you get the...?
We will
Roughly 50,000.
Roughly 50,000, and you can take the data from our IR team, and they will provide you quantitative. Roughly, it is 50,000 tons.
All right, sir. That's it from me. Thanks and all the best.
Thank you. Participants who wish to ask a question may press star and one on their touchtone telephone. Our next question is from the line of Rehan Syed from Trinetra Asset Managers. Please go ahead.
Yeah, good afternoon, everyone, and thanks for the opportunity. Like, most of my questions have been answered, so I have just left with one. Like, I want to better understand regarding your RTH, RTC business. So, we have seen, like, 2.5x growth from FY 2024-25, yet EBITDA margin remained negative at -10%. So what scale of revenue threshold is required for this segment to break even, and does management still feel this is a strategic growth engine? Like, what's your, what's your view on this?
Okay. So, you know, on the margin side, you know, where it will get break even, Sachin will give you a number. But, as far as our RTH business, the bigger business is in U.S.A. And as explained in the last call also, we have built up, you know, the next capacity, which is 15 million pouches, and that will be started, you know, in the next financial year. So that we have a good perspective. As far as India is concerned, ready to eat, ready to cook is a small market for us. But, our Daawat Biryani Kit is doing very well, and growing kind of month-on-month 20%. So on the numbers, I think Sachin can-
As regarding the break even, break even from a current level, once it crosses the INR 400 crore mark, there will be a break even in the EBITDA. So till that time, we will be in the investment phase, and there will be the investments that will be required.
Okay.
We are optimistic, optimistic to achieve in the next three years.
What's the next? Hello?
Yes.
What you said next? Next year, you have said next year.
He's saying the breakeven will happen by when?
So next three years. So next-
Not the next year.
No, no, no, next three years. So it will be doubling in next three years, what we are expecting.
Oh, okay. Okay. Okay, bye. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Pranav Bhootra from Anand Rathi. Please go ahead.
Hi, good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity. I had a question regarding the market share in India and Middle East, particularly in India-
Sorry to interrupt, Pranav, but can you be?
Yeah.
little more louder?
Yes. Can you hear me?
Yes, yes. Little louder will be better.
Yeah. So I wanted to ask regarding the Indian market share and the Middle East, particularly on Indian market, we have lost around 300 basis point on quarter-on-quarter basis, and last year we had around 30, 30% market share in Basmati rice. So, like, what... Can you just throw little light on that? Have we—like, is this because of the price hike or have we discontinued any product or something?
So as far as you know, the household reach, you know, we have increased our household reach from 45 lakh to 58 lakh, so that has increased. On the market share, you know, you know, we are, we are growing at a premium end of the market, you know, losing on the, on the lower price point, the market share. But overall, you know, on the premium end of the market, we are growing.
Okay.
Our household, you know, is also growing.
Okay. And regarding the Middle East market, can you just give a target or like exact market share, like last year we had around-
You know, that will be, you know, that's a big market and we have-
Okay.
You know, not in terms of market share, but I can tell you in UAE, we have around 10% market share in the premium end of the market. Saudi, we have started, we are getting very good response. The market is growing. So overall, Middle East, we are bullish, we are investing on that, and we wanted to grow, you know, 20% year-on-year from the base we have.
Okay, okay. That's-
That's it. The plan is well placed. Yeah, yeah.
Okay, okay. That's really helpful. I'll run that. Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Damodaran from Acutus Capital. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hello. Thank you for the opportunity. Just had two bookkeeping questions. One was on your interest costs seem to have gone up by 46% year-on-year. What explains that? That is one. And the second one is, can you give the nine-month numbers for growth numbers for Golden Star business for revenue and PBT?
So, Damodaran, as regarding the interest cost going up, so this has been basically because of the two factors that have played. Firstly, the average working capital utilization. Secondly, it is on the basis of the lease accounting. The lease accounting, which takes place. So last year itself, majorly in this part of this year, as the U.K. operations have started, the lease accounting, because the warehouse is on lease. So that has affected our overall interest cost and depreciation, the warehouse costing. And as regarding the Golden Star growth, the revenue growth in this nine months is almost a 2% growth, in the rupee terms that I'm talking about.
Okay. In PBT terms, if you can share?
The PBT, PBT terms, we have made a PBT margin of almost 8.87% PBT margin.
Okay, and you said there was some margin decline. So, I mean, can you give the same, same number for last year?
So, almost in this last year, it was almost 8.5% last year. It declined to almost 6%. So 2.5% decline. Yes.
This is attributable primarily to Jasmine rice price is increasing?
Correct, correct, correct. The input costs were going up, so that resulted as Ashwani-ji in the initial talk talked about the Jasmine input cost being increased.
Sure, sure. Okay, thanks. That's, that's all from my end. Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Vipul Kumar Shah from Sumangal Investments. Please go ahead.
Thanks for the opportunity. So what is our gross and net debt, right now?
So our net debt is almost, I'm excluding the FDR that we have kept for the insurance claim. Our net debt is almost INR 180 crores, INR 1,180 crores.
Has there been improvement year on a year, or it is same?
It has decreased a slight bit from the last year, so our debt positions have decreased.
Regarding the notes to the accounts, it is a little confusing. We have received this INR 26,000 crore from the insurance company, right? But the case is still going on.
No, no, no. It is too...
26, sorry, INR 260 crores, sorry.
Correct, correct. So that is INR 260 crores. Yes, we have received that amount, but against that, we have, we had to give a bank guarantee. So still it is, it cannot be utilized. So we have given a margin, against that, the amount received. So it is in the shape of FDR.
Vipulji, you know, we have won the case in the first court. Then they have gone to High Court, and High Court said, "You know, we will only hear you when you will give them the money." And, you know, then they went to Supreme Court. Supreme said, you know, "Give the bank guarantee and take the money." So we have taken the money. So but we have given the, you know, the bank guarantee against the FD, the same amount. Hopefully, you know, we will get the verdicts in the coming 2-3 months from the High Court, which is pending there.
So right now we are earning interest on it, but we cannot use that money?
That's right. So, still the interest hasn't been recognized. We are not recognizing that interest in our income. So we are accruing, the amount is being accrued, but we are not recognizing it in our income.
Okay. Regarding these tariffs in the U.S., so if I have understood you correctly, whatever you bill to your U.S. subsidiary, 50% on that value is charged, not at the price at which you sell to your customer. Is that the understanding correct?
Correct.
Okay, sir. Thank you, and all the best.
Thank you. Thank you, Vipulji.
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Rajesh Agarwal from Moneyore. Please go ahead.
Sir, my question is, was the tariff passed on smoothly, or there was resistance from the customer, or you see a slowdown?
No, there is always resistance from the customer, and that's what I said, you know.
Uh.
We have majority pass on, so there is a big resistance. But fortunately, you know, being basmati-
Okay.
mainly from India
Okay.
Uh...
... But still, we are able to pass on this to our product is good or we have an advantage, no?
Yeah, yeah. The Royal is a very strong brand, very high quality brand.
Okay. Okay. Sir, if there's a reduction in tariff, it's a hypothetical question, 25% or whatever, then we can easily pass on the input cost also, which has increased.
That's what our expectation is, yeah.
Okay. But you don't see any demand reduction, no?
In January, you know, there is a little bit slowdown as compared to last year, but,
Okay.
This till March, you know, the things will be more clear, yeah.
But we are billing to them now. We are still sending the goods at a higher tariff to them.
The business in touch, we're doing very regular business, so no.
Okay. So, any comments on the growth outlook for the next year or not? So...
The guidance we have given is, you know, the double-digit growth on the revenue side.
Okay.
That looks intact.
Okay.
On the margin side, as I said, you know, we will come to know, you know, in the next quarter.
Okay. So but the crop availability won't be a problem, going forward, if we can do a double-digit growth. Availability of crop won't be a problem, no?
It doesn't look like, you know.
It doesn't look like.
Yeah.
Though the input prices have gone up, but availability won't be a problem.
You know, we have identified our risk and we keep evaluating.
Okay.
You know, we have a big, our farmer extension team, which work with the farmers-
Okay.
that, you know, how they can improve their productivity, you know.
Okay
... how they can overall increase their income. So we are very well connected on the farm side also.
Okay.
So, we don't see at least, you know, in the-
Okay
The next 10, 15 year. So farmer is making better money with lesser, you know, the water and all these things, you know.
Okay.
The state government is also promoting because, you know, India is sitting in very heavy non-basmati stock.
Okay.
State and central is promoting the farmer to grow Basmati.
Okay.
Yeah.
Sir, are we supplying to Iran? We are not supplying to Iran, no?
No, no, we, we are not working. We are not working with Iran. Yeah.
So we won't be facing that another 25% tariff? Because if we are not supplying the...
I think, you know, we have not got any, yeah, indication.
Understood. Understood. Thank you, sir. Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Harsh Shah from Bandhan AMC. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi, sir. Thanks for taking my question. Sir, firstly, in terms of your guidance for Europe, you were mentioning that the five-year target is GBP 100 million. In that regard, I mean, I wanted to understand that we are already, our revenue is above that number, right? So does this statement mean that the incremental revenue will be GBP 100 million in five years?
So I don't know, Harsh, which one-
What is the number that you have mentioned, Harsh, for the revenue?
16, yeah. In slide number 16, where you've given 9-month FY 2026 segmental breakup of India, North America, Europe, and Middle East, right?
Yes.
Revenue mix and YoY growth. So in Europe, you've commented that the five-year target for revenue is GBP 100 million, right? But our current business itself is-
No, that is, that is U.K. no, no.
Uh...
The U.K. is at the moment, INR 45 million.
Ah.
Uh, yeah.
Because India is-
That is the projection for the U.K., not the complete Europe. So we have separated U.K. and the E.U., the continental Europe.
So, U.K., sir, only what? E.U.R 45 million, going to 100 million, billion GBP, sorry, doubling in five years.
Correct, correct, Harsh. That is the, that is-
That is what, that is what then five years. Second, second thing, sir, on the tariff thing, right? Now, you said that we already have two to three months of stock in U.S., right? Because service levels have to be very high. For the stock which we send there to U.S., we pay 3% tariffs, right? Already, which we have. Now, in an event, let's say, if the tariffs are reversed, right, so for the existing inventory which we have there, will it be a one-time knock for us?
You know, it depends, Harsh. You know, the time will tell. But, you know, as I said, you know, the consumer customer is most important. At that time, we will take call.
Sir, my question is not on the demand part. My question is basically, we have paid 30% tariff, right? Already.
Yeah. So that's, that's the risk, you know, if... that depends on the competitive landscape. That is the risk, you know, we are living with. Yeah.
Ah, okay, okay, okay, okay.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Sir, thirdly, interesting one thing in one of the slides, in your, you know, very kind of, you know, your brands, there is a new brand called Hadeel, right? And, right, is this- is this brand specific for Saudi Arabia market?
Yeah, this is a brand for Saudi, yeah. That's mainly to the food service.
Yeah?
Yeah.
Okay.
To the food service, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Food services, okay.
Yeah.
It's mainly for HoReCa segment.
That's called Daawat Hadeel. Yeah.
Correct. Yeah. So, so, okay. So it's mainly for HoReCa segment, right?
That's right, that's right.
Okay, okay, okay. Okay, thank you.
Thank you, Harsh.
Thank you. Participants who wish to ask a question may press star and one on their touchtone telephone. The next question is from the line of Chirag Singhal from First Water Capital. Please go ahead.
... Yeah, thanks for the opportunity. So my question is on your domestic sales. So there are some news articles which mentions about Basmati consignments which are stuck at Indian ports, and some rice millers have noted that the price drops have happened in India. And you know, Iran is a key export market. So have you seen any price declines in your Basmati sales during the quarter? And do you see the slowdown in Iran exports leading to any sort of oversupply in domestic markets?
On the price side, it is the other way around, you know. There is a hike in the commodity price. As far as Iran is concerned, the data we are seeing is, you know, it's growing 11%, from India to Iran. Historically, we have seen, you know, these kind of disruption in Iran, but, you know, we have not seen any impact on the demand side. Because, what we have seen historically, food is the last one to get impacted, on this, you know, geopolitical disruption side.
Which period are you referring to for this 11% growth in Iran?
It's a nine-month data.
Okay. All right. That would be it from me. Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Ankur Arora from Magma Ventures. Please go ahead.
Hi, and good afternoon, sir. Congratulations on a good set of numbers in a difficult environment.
Thank you.
A couple of questions. Just, a follow-up to one of the participant who has already asked this question. How many is the gross margin on, let's say, U.S. number? I know you have overall gross margin of say 35 odd %, but in, U.S.A. it will be more like 40%-45%, or it's roughly a similar range as rest of the business?
Similar range. Similar range.
Okay, so okay, just to understand it right, so you have INR 100 inventory going from India to U.S.A, and you sell it, say, INR 150. That's how the 33% gross margin comes in. 100 rupees you got a 50 rupees duty, right?
Mm-hmm.
So that's our input. So your cost basically goes to INR 150, right?
Mm-hmm.
You're selling it from now 200 rupees now, because you're passing on that 50 rupees out there.
Mm-hmm.
That means your margin has gone down to 25%. Am I understanding it right, or what is the gap in that?
I think you can get in touch with our, you know, IR. You know, they will explain you, you know, on how it works.
Okay. On the other side, how much is the end price for the customer gone up by in U.S.A in terms of rice? And you would be probably in touch with the customer. So how much is the end price increase for the customer?
Roughly, roughly 25%.
Roughly 25%.
Yes.
Okay.
Sure.
Third question on Golden Star. How much was the revenue this quarter? Last quarter, I think, was around INR 350 odd crore. So is there a similar bulk up this time also?
So it is, as I've stated, in this nine months, the sales in the Golden Star is INR 486 crore in rupee terms.
Okay.
It is more or less, monthly, equally.
Monthly around INR 100-odd crore. I'm sorry, not even, actually it's less than that.
Uh, correct.
The Golden Star price also has gone up by around 20%, right? Because it was 20% tariff from Thailand.
That's from the COG, so maybe lesser little bit.
Okay.
Yeah.
On the COG it will be lesser. Got it. Got it. Got it.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, that's pretty much it. I just wanted to understand that. I will get back to the IR team to get some clarification on the numbers. Thank you.
Sure. Sure. Sure. Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Amit Doshi from Care Portfolio Managers Private Limited. Please go ahead.
Yeah. You mentioned about the Hadil brand, which is the HoReCa for Saudi business. And our normal branded business, you mentioned is around INR 35 crore of sales, which means that, in this quarter, December quarter, the sale is of around INR 7 crore only. Is that correct?
For the-
Saudi, Saudi business, we said the branded business is around INR 35 crore. Mm-hmm.
Hadeel is our HoReCa brand.
Yeah.
Hadeel is our HoReCa brand, and from Saudi, we achieved a revenue sales of INR 35 crores. So this means, the sales is INR 7 crores from others. That's, that is not so, Amit, if you look at the overall sales in the Middle East as such, so Middle... What Ashwani ji told, Hadeel is a HoReCa brand in the overall Middle East region. So it is not,
Only-
Not specific to a Saudi, it's itself.
Okay.
It is for the whole region.
So, if you count only the branded revenue, H1 was INR 28 crore and nine months is INR 35 crore for branded revenue from Saudi.
So the branded revenue, so if you talk about, is it at INR 35 crores in this nine months, and it was INR 17 crores last year.
From last year, yes, it is good.
Last year-
has got doubled.
Currently it has doubled, as compared to the last year.
Okay.
Number two, Amit, you know, you get a clarification later, you know?
So maybe we
Perspective.
Uh.
You know, from, you know, we are, you know, investing time and on the strategy and everything for the last 1.5 year, two years. But now, you know, all the things are working, so we are positive on things. On the number clarification, we can-
Amit, Amit, yes.
Okay.
Right, right on the-
I understand.
... Yeah, so what I want to understand, Ashwani ji, is that INR 7 crore in a Saudi market would it be considered as a small number for a quarter?
I think on Saudi, you know, we started out with, you know, food service and wholesale. Now, you know, on the Daawat brand, the journey has started, the route to market and everything has been finalized. So in the coming time, you know, you will see a change in Daawat sales, yeah.
Okay. Okay, okay. And for regional wise, you have said that, you know, we have around INR 200 crore of sales. I think the new capacity is coming in February, a few days from now. What is the like, likely add of the total revenue at full potential? Obviously, it will take couple of years, probably, but just to review.
That facility is a packing unit, so we are building these all supply chain infrastructure to meet the future demand. But this, I think the capacity is only for, you know, will be sufficient for the next two year.
Okay. In terms of revenue, what it can contribute?
So roughly, I will say INR 200 crore more.
Okay. Okay.
Yeah.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Harsh Shah from Bandhan AMC. Please go ahead.
Yeah, yeah, thanks for the follow-up. Ashwani, you mentioned that the new RTH capacity in U.S.A, right? That number in terms of volume, it will be 1.5 or 15 million pieces a year?
Say, 15 million, Harsh, you know, pouches more. Yeah. So that means roughly, yeah.
Sir, roughly, that would mean how much of, let's say, if additional revenue at current, this realization?
I can give you a ballpark number is INR 20 million revenue will be more, yeah.
$20 million?
Yeah.
Okay, okay. And this, Sachin, INR 460 crore Golden Star revenue for nine months, right?
Correct, correct.
Sir, this is for the period of nine months, or this is for the period of our consolidation?
Yes, you are right. It is the period for the consolidation. So consolidation.
Consolidation.
Consolidation.
Okay, okay. Which is basically more than, I think, five months, right? Roughly five months.
So it is, so if you talk about the nine months number, it is INR 658 crore.
INR 658 crore. Okay, okay. I was confused in that. Last year, we closed FY 2025 at what revenue, sir, for Golden Star?
In the dollar terms, it is around $130 million. So we closed around that dollar numbers for the full year.
Okay. Okay, thanks a lot.
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Abhishek Jaiswal, an individual investor. Please go ahead. Hello, Mr. Abhishek?
Yes.
Yes, you are on the call.
Thank you. Am I audible?
Yes, yes, Abhishek. Yes.
So, you know, I was trying to work out the price that you have been able to sort of pass on to the U.S. consumers as a result of the tariffs. And so it seems like, based some information that was shared in the call, it seems that we have been able to pass around 18% increase in the price to the U.S. consumers. And, and, and the way I kind of came across that figure is by, you know, taking away the nine-month sales of, Golden Star, you know, from the nine-month, total sales. Is that, is that accurate, or, is that, is there a difference?
So, you know, we will give you, you know, be in touch with our investors. We will give you math. But overall, you know, the business is good. Till time, you know, the margins are intact and all these things.
Okay, sure. And my other question is, why? So I've seen that our sales in the Middle East has kind of dropped year-over-year by about 11%, nine-month figures. Any reason for that? Have we taken away any category there? Like, what's our strategy to get back the market, get back the revenue growth?
So, till time, you know, we are, the strategy is, very organic. We have roughly in Middle East, around 50,000 ton base, and, we will build it year- on- year by growing 20%.
Okay, but, but that doesn't explain, like, why the sales were down by 11%.
So our major reduction in the sales, that happened because of the private label business. Certain private label non-strategic business which we did last year, that, which we purposefully didn't did it for this year. Our branded revenue sales have increased during this nine months.
Got it. Got it.
Our margins overall has become better, and we continue to work on that only.
Correct. Correct.
Got it. All right. That is it from my side. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Aman Govil, from an individual investor. Please go ahead.
Hello?
Hi, Aman .
Thank you very much for the opportunity to allow me to ask question. First of all, congratulations to whole team for the good set number. My first question is regarding margin management. What is management strategy to improve the compressed net margin, which declined at most 5.6 from 6.39 YoY? Are the pressures transitory or structural?
Aman, the pressures are very, very, you know, we feel is temporary because of this, all this disruption geopolitically. The goal we have given what advice that, you know, on the ROCE terms, we are in the range of 20, and we wanted to move 23. And business is very well placed, on a structural level. Our gross margins are very good. You know, we are a very well diversified kind of, you know, global presence. Business is doing very well in India, growing, on the premium end of the market. So structurally, we are very well placed. So we say, it is the, it's a, it's a kind of geopolitical risk, which is happening for the last two, three years. But, fundamentals of the business are very strong.
Right, sir. Okay. So my next question, if you allow, looking to the-
Sure, sure.
Potential fluctuation in Basmati rice price, say, raw material price rise and rising input costs, will the company focus to hold the price to improve margin or pass the benefit to consumer to gain the market share?
So it depends, you know, geography to geography. You know, we take call accordingly where, you know, if, if strategy is helping us to grow better market share, then we don't pass on, and where, you know, we are a, a brand leader, there, you know, we pass on. So it depends. It's a very, very strategic geographically. So we use both the strategies. It depends on geography.
All right, sir. Right, sir. Okay, I understand.
Thank you.
If you comment, is FII company participation mutual fund has increased. Institutional investor FII comment from side of management.
Sure. So as I just said, okay, LT Foods is very well placed. You know, if you see in the consumer space, you know, LT Foods is growing better than, you know, the overall competitive FMCG space. So that's the fundamental, you know. So all fundamentals are very, very strong in terms of brands, in terms of the category growth. So we are very well placed. We are very confident that, you know, whatever the guidance has been given to the market, so we will be there.
Okay, sir. Helpful. Yeah, Fair enough.
Thank you, Ji. Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, in the interest of time, that was our last question. I would now like to hand the conference over to the management for closing comments.
Thank you, everyone. On behalf of the management of LT Foods Limited, we thank you all for joining us on our post-earnings call today. We hope we have been able to address the majority of your queries. You may reach out to me or our investor relation partner, Ernst & Young, for any further queries that you may have, and they would connect with you offline. Thank you. Thank you all.
Thank you.
Thank you. On behalf of Motilal Oswal Financial Services, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your line.