Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to the Q4 and FY25 earnings conference call of Mahanagar Gas Limited, hosted by Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities Private Limited. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star then zero on your touch-tone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. S. Ramesh from Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities, I am here today inviting all of you to join the fourth quarter FY25 earnings conference call with the management of Mahanagar Gas. Representing the management, we have Mr. Ashu Shinghal, Managing Director, Mr. Sanjay Shende, Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Rajesh Patel, Chief Financial Officer, and Mr. Rajesh Wagle, Senior Vice President, Marketing. So before we begin, I would like to mention that some of the statements made in today's discussion may be forward-looking in nature, and I believe that expectations contained in the statements are reasonable. However, these statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that may lead to different results. We urge you to consider that quarterly numbers are not a reflection of long-term trends or indication of full-year results. With that said, let me hand over the call to the management.
Over to you, Mr. Shinghal.
Thank you, Ramesh. On behalf of MGL, a very good afternoon to you, and welcome to the earnings call of Mahanagar Gas Limited for the fourth quarter of the financial year 2024-25. I would like to thank all of you for attending the call today. MGL continues to create CGD infrastructure across its business segments in the licensed area. During this quarter, 142 domestic households were connected, and thus we have established connectivity for nearly 2.83 million households. We have laid 236.07 kilometers of steel and PE pipelines, taking the total length to over 7,459 kilometers. We also added 24 stations during this quarter, and with this, we have overall 385 stations as of 31st March 2025. We have also added 164 I&C, industrial and commercial customers, during this quarter, and therefore, as of 31st March 2025, we have 5,105 industrial and commercial customers.
During the year, 40 CNG stations were added, taking total 2,385 numbers as of 31st March. We added 343,000 domestic households, and therefore have established connectivity for nearly 2.83 million households. Steel and PE pipeline laid during the year is in excess of 491 kilometers, taking the total length to 7,459 kilometers. The business addition of 98,215 CNG vehicles, which is the highest numbers of CNG vehicle addition in our areas of operation since inception. And now we have more than 11 million CNG vehicles running in our geographies as of 31st March. In respect of our geographical area, Raigad, up to March 25, we have connected 95,714 domestic households and 65 CNG stations, which are currently under operation. During the quarter, we have laid 21.27 kilometers of pipeline in Raigad, therefore taking the total length to 466.94 kilometers.
Coming to MGL overall operation, quarter-on-quarter comparison, average sales volume for Q4. There was some disturbance. Coming back to the average sales volume of Q425 is 4.194 MMSCMD, as compared to the previous quarter of 4.116. Such average sales volume of 4.194 consists of CNG of 2.934, domestic PNG of 0.59, and industrial and commercial volume of 0.67 MMSCMD. Average sales volume for the year ending 31st March 2025 is 4.0452 MMSCMD, whereas it was 3.609 in the corresponding period last year. Thus, there is an increase of 12.27% in the overall sales volume compared to the previous year. Average sales volume for the year ending 31st 2025 is 4.052 MMSCMD, consisting of CNG volume of 2.878 MMSCMD, domestic PNG of 0.554, and industrial and commercial volume of 0.621.
Compared to the previous year, sales volume in the case of CNG has increased from 2.591 to 2.878, which is an increase of 11.08%. Domestic PNG has increased to 0.554 MMSCMD, which is an increase of 6.53%, and the INC sales have gone up to 0.621, which is an increase of 24.46%. EBITDA from operations for the quarter is INR 378 crore, as compared to the previous year quarter EBITDA of INR 314 crore, which is an increase of 20%. Net profit after tax for the quarter is INR 252 crore, as compared to the previous year of INR 225 crore, which is an increase of 12%. EBITDA from operations for the financial year is INR 1,510 crore, previous financial year EBITDA of INR 1,843 crore, which is a reduction. The reduction is mainly due to reduction in APM allocation and increase in gas cost, impacting margins adversely.
Net profit after tax for the whole financial year is 1045 crore, compared to net profit for the previous year of 1289 crore. Now, coming to the Unison Enviro Private Limited operations, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary, the company has added during the quarter 15 CNG stations, connected 4997 domestic households, and added three industrial and commercial customers, and has laid 61.34 km of steel and PE pipeline. UEPL has added 26 stations during this year, which has taken total number to 82. The company has also added 12,002 domestic households and established connectivity for nearly 39,000 households, and added nine industrial and commercial customers during the whole financial year. UEPL has laid 95.63 km of steel and PE pipeline, taking the total length to over 361 km.
There was addition of 13,678 vehicles in the MGL area, and also now MGL has total 54,000 CNG vehicles in the geographical area as of 31st March 2025. During this quarter, MGL has achieved an overall average sale of 0.208 MMSCMD, as against 0.192 in the previous quarter, which is an increase of 8%. Current quarter volume consists of CNG volume of 0.189 and PNG volume of 0.0186 MMSCMD. During this year, MGL has achieved an overall average sale volume of 0.182, against a 0.129 MMSCMD in the previous year, which is an increase of 41%. In the year ending this financial year, 31st March 2025, MGL, as a consolidated entity, has achieved total sales volume of 4.235 MMSCMD. I'm happy to announce that the Board of Directors has approved the total financial dividend of ₹18 per equity share for this financial year.
The total dividend for the year, including interim dividend already paid, is INR 30 per share. That is 300% of the face value of INR 10 per equity share. With this, I conclude and would now like to open the floor for the questions. Thank you very much for your patience in this hearing.
Thank you very much. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touch-tone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question is from the line of Yash Nandwani from IIFL. Please go ahead. Hello, Yash. You're unmuted. Can you hear me okay?
Hello.
Hello. Am I audible?
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Can you hear me?
Yeah. Thanks for the opportunity. Sir, firstly, on the sharp increase in OPEX per SCM this quarter, I understand there was some marketing scheme for CNG in fourth quarter, and also CSR expenditure typically gets booked in the last quarter. So could you please share the amount spent on marketing and CSR in fourth quarter?
In the fourth quarter, marketing is around INR 11 crores spent. And as far as CSR is concerned, roughly INR 10 crore is the expenditure on CSR in the last quarter. Apart from that, I think the increase is mainly attributable to generally maintenance activities are taken up higher in the fourth quarter compared to all other quarters. So balance is attributable to that, somewhat attributable to consultancy, and maybe one or two pipeline rents we have added in the last quarter.
Okay. And secondly, sir, could you please provide the volume growth separately for each of the geographies, Mumbai, Thane, and Raigad?
Okay.
All right.
We can separately share it with you because there are some details involved in it.
Sir. And sir, the last question was, fixed breakdown of 4.2 MMSCMD, how much came from APM, NWG, RLNG, and SPOT, if any?
Out of 4.2, roughly 2 million is APM. That is, I'm talking about average because there was some increase in January, February, and it kept on changing. So on an average, for the quarter, it is 2 million. Around 500,000 is HPHT. Around 1.35-1.4 is term contracts, which includes Brent linked as well as Henry Hub. And balance is through IGX. Majority of IGX is HPHT available on a short-term basis and some small amount of spot. That is the breakup for the quarter. Roughly 4.2 million.
Sure, sir. And how do you expect this mix to evolve in the upcoming quarters?
So right now, I think the allocation of APM has come down to around 1.67 MMSCMD. But correspondingly, there is an increase in the NWG available, which is around 0.65. Okay. So replacement of APM with NWG, more or less, things should remain same. And whatever is the incremental volumes, that should be initially sourced through IGX on a short-term basis. And once it stabilizes, we will enter into further term contracts, which could be either HS, Brent, or available HPHT in the market as and when it comes up.
Okay, sir. Thanks a lot, sir.
Thank you.
Thank you, sir. We will take our next question from the line of Nirmal Gore from Aditya Birla Sun Life. Please go ahead.
Thank you for the opportunity, sir. I just wanted to ask if you can share the latest on the Bombay H That committee on the transition.
Yeah, I think discussions are going on. There were four, five meetings already held, and we can't disclose much of it, but yes, positive discussions are happening about the directions given by the High Court, which is that how to curb the pollution primarily and also to promote CNG and EV adoption in the whole area, so the committee was formed two months back. Several meetings have held, and we will submit our report maybe in a month's time to the High Court, and then it will be further disclosed to the public.
Okay, sir. Thank you, sir.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Yogesh Patil from Dolat Capital. Please go ahead.
Thanks for an opportunity, sir. Sir, as you just mentioned, 1.3 MMSCMD is LNG gas sourcing. Can you break it down in how much is GreenLine and Henry Hub, if possible?
Around 1.27 is Henry Hub Link, and 0.1 is Brent Link.
Okay. Sir, my second question is related to the current environment. Considering the crude prices at $62 per barrel and majority of your gas basket is linked to the crude, then the question is, can you guide us on the revised EBITDA margins for the FY26?
No, we are not directly linked to crude, as Rajesh just mentioned. Our majority of term contracts are linked to Henry Hub. HPHT is an index which is based on three baskets of three indices, and the lower of the three is taken. So we can't say that our majority of term contracts are linked to crude basket. Coming to the other part, that the crude has come down, but Henry Hub has remained stable, more or less. So maybe you are referring to IBC also linked to, in a way, indirectly to the crude. Yes, if that comes down, but.
Indian crude.
Indian crude basket, yeah, yeah. That may give us a saving because almost.
Yeah, New Well Gas is linked to the Indian crude basket, which is at 12%.
Also APM.
APM also. So if $62 is the current rate and every month average is taken. So again, the ceiling is there. So currently, the ceiling is $6.75 per MMBtu. So if the crude remains below $67.5 per barrel, then the APM prices will come down. And similarly, the 12% to IBC will also be on the lower side because earlier, the crude was trading in the range of $75 or $80. So this benefit will lower the procurement cost on the average procurement basis for the total portfolio. And that will be reflected into our better EBITDA margins. Coming to your EBITDA margins, this quarter, we have earned around ₹10, and on the whole for the year is again ₹10. So it depends what is the procurement cost and how much of it we can sustain and how much we can pass on.
Depending on that, we can have a guidance of around ₹9-₹11 as EBITDA margin for the whole year coming 2025-26. But you will appreciate that the things are very dynamic in nature. Also, there are geopolitical things which, again, may result into wide fluctuation in either crude or gas prices. So let us see how the things roll out, and then we'll take a call on the EBITDA margins because EBITDA margins depend on the alternate fuel price, the procurement cost, our margins, and how much we can absorb, how much we can pass on to bring more stability into CNG prices.
Let me quickly add on the same side, sir. Henry Hub gas prices, which is the major portion of your LNG-linked gas sourcing, that has also come down. I will not say sharply, but that has also declined by 25%-30% in the last one and a half, two months period kind of a time. So will it help you to improve your EBITDA margin guidance for FY26?
Yogesh, I think if you look at Henry Hub, whatever $3 plus or $3.5 nearly was in the last few months, four to five months of last year. But if you take the average, it was still lower. So we'll have to watch out for the full year because we will be comparing the average which prevailed in 2024-25 with the average which will prevail in 2025-26. So I think we'll have to wait and watch and then have a.
EBITDA margins, I see we are better performing than our competitor tier companies. So I think 9-11 is a very healthy margin. Previously, we were having a margin of around INR 7, INR 8. So it's not very unhealthy, I would say.
Okay. And then lastly, sir, industrial and commercial PNG is growing at 20% on volume side, year-on-year basis. So the same pace of growth can be expected from this segment in the coming quarters. And if you could elaborate on the major growth areas of this segment?
The largest chunk of that growth has come from large industries. We have managed to reach a few new areas and connect a few very large industries who have not been taking gas for a long time. I mean, this rate of growth of 20-plus% has been unprecedented, and sustaining it at this rate may not be possible for too long. However, our current INC sale, which is about between 0.6 to 0.7 MMSCMD, we can foresee that going up to about 0.9 or 1 MMSCMD in the next couple of years or so. Beyond that, as things stand today, we will have to find some ways to break into the solid fuel market because the addressable potential which we see in the FO and other addressable liquid fuel industries is about 1.1 million.
Thanks a lot, sir. I'll come back and take any questions.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Kirtan Mehta from Baroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund. Please go ahead.
Thank you, sir, for the opportunity. In terms of the CNG promotion scheme that we have run through FY25, how was the sort of taken by the consumers? How much we spent and how much vehicles get added under different categories during the FY25?
In the current year, in the scheme which we ran from October 2024 to March 2025, a total of 624 vehicles were added through the scheme, which were primarily medium and large commercial vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of more than 3.5 tons and about 30-odd buses. And the spend which was there was about INR 2 to INR 3 lakh per vehicle. And overall, in this, we have spent around 32 to 34 crores on the promotional schemes for vehicles. And for the quarter, it was 11 crores.
Sure.
In fact, these are the per capita CNG consumption of these vehicle classes are slightly on the higher side. We get a pretty good payback. And since the method of incentive is through a CNG sales card, which can only be used at our CNG stations, we are ensuring that we get all the associated volume out also from these vehicles at our stations.
If you see overall conversion for the year, this is highest in the history of MGL. That is 98,215 number of conversions happened during the year, against around 77,000 last year. This is a result of all these things, the scheme, the consistency in the CNG prices, and the infrastructure improvement which is happening in our geographical area.
Do you plan to continue this in FY26 as well?
We are keeping a close eye on the market and also on constant discussion with the OEMs. Look, we ran this last year. We ran this this year. Again, we need to make sure that it is a marketing scheme which gives a push to the volumes and not something which customers anyway will wait and say, "Okay, every year this is going to come or something." So we will watch the market and time our schemes accordingly. And especially in the schemes where the paybacks are relatively high, like for these large commercial vehicles, we will incentivize them. Similarly, we are also looking at incentivizing any customer or anybody who comes as a bulk customer to us.
First fleet operator.
First fleet operator or a very large transporter. Then we can do one-on-one MOUs with them also to incentivize them to nudge them towards CNG.
Right. Could you also give us a break-up of the 98,000 vehicles that have been added during the year?
Near around 55,000 is private cars, 7,000 is taxis, 25,000 is three-wheelers. Small commercial and other commercial vehicles is around 7,000, and balance is 3,000 is two-wheeler also, and around 350 is the buses. 450 is around the buses for both MSRTC and some NMMT buses are there.
Thank you. Just last question from my side. We have been entered into two, basically we invested into two companies, 3EV and IBC. Could you give us the progress on them?
Yeah. 3EV, we have already committed for 32% equity and with a capital of around INR 96 crore. So that was linked with certain progress to be made. So we have paid three tranches, and around INR 23 crore is balance. So they have started making progress. It is a startup company, so it takes some time for the company to pick up. But the signs are good. The market is now getting established. They have produced around 850 vehicles during this financial year. With respect to the International Battery Company, IBC, we have committed for 1 gigawatt in the first two phases and following it up to scale up to maximum 5 gigawatts. Currently, the company has been formed. We have got the land, and the site work has started. So maybe within 12 to 14, 15 months, the plant should be in place.
We have already given them the initial equity, and 40% commitment of equity is there from our side. 60% will be contributed from IBC USA.
In terms of their marketing efforts, IBC has already started seeding the market by importing the battery cells and making battery packs in India from South Korea. Okay. So we have a line of customers which is getting built up, and the response is quite good in terms of vehicle performance using the battery packs manufactured by IBC.
Right, and in terms of 3EV, what would be sort of the milestone that we'll be looking for in FY26?
Currently, they are producing around 200 vehicles a month. Okay. So on an average, 2,400 vehicles. Maybe that will be ramped up by a few hundred more vehicles. There is another plot which has been taken to add the capacity. So once that starts, we will be in a better position to tell you their annual capacity on vehicle production.
Thank you, sir. I will get back in touch with you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Maulik Patel from Equirus Securities. Please go ahead.
Hi. Thanks for the opportunity. Just one question. You mentioned that you have almost 1.27 MMSCMD of Henry Hub-linked volume. I mean, that number has gone up over the last two quarters, and if you look at from your basket of close to 4 MMSCMD, that's more than almost 30% of the volume which comes from Henry Hub. And so do you have any strategy that you want to have a good mix of Henry Hub and oil-linked, given that oil-linked or the spot is very low in the current supply mix? Or are you comfortable with this kind of ratio? And as the volume increases, you will keep increasing your Henry Hub volume?
I think you're right in terms of proportion of Henry Hub currently in our total portfolio of term contracts is higher. I think in the future needs, we will evaluate, and definitely we will be inducting Brent-linked if it is available at good pricing for next five to six years term contract. And we are open to that. Certainly, it's not that only we will be and we will balance out in next term contract whenever we expire. But overall portfolio, if you see, there is, I mean, Henry Hub is there, but we have HPHT of around 0.6 MMSCMD, which primarily indirectly is linked to crude. And NWG is again crude, Indian crude basket. And even APM is Indian crude basket. So it is not that we are overtly, I mean, our portfolio is inclined to Henry Hub. It is a balanced portfolio, I would say.
Okay. And how much of NWG you have? You got in Q4, and currently you are getting?
How much is?
How much NWG volume you got in Q4?
In the Q4, roughly 0.1 of NWG was available, and currently, we have around 0.65 of NWG in the month of April, I'm referring to.
Got it. Got it. And just another question. The industrial growth has been very strong. I think in the last couple of quarters, you have been reporting almost 20% kind of volume growth on the industrial side. And what's driving this growth? And in your assessment, will this kind of growth profile continue in this new FY26, or what shall we do on that side?
You partially answered this question some time back. However, just to repeat, there are two main drivers to this growth. One is a call which we took that we will guarantee a customer a 3% or 10% discount on his alternate fuel without any floor. That has helped many customers to get onboarded. Second is we have managed to physically reach out to quite a lot of large customers and lay our pipeline right up to their premises, which has also led to this increase in volume. So we made our terms and conditions more favorable, and we backed that up by physical connectivity, which has led to this growth in volume. We're expecting a similar growth to continue for some time, but not very long.
Of course, I mean, last point is if there is any environmental-related upside in terms of air quality and something happening to solid fuels, etc., then this can grow exponentially.
Got it. Yeah, and the last question on the regulatory side, there's a high-powered committee has been set up by PNGRB to look at open access in the CGD network open access. What's your view on that side, and let's say it's come that the network is getting open for third party to access. Where do you see MGL in terms of either benefiting from that particular policy or going to see some competition in your key areas?
The committee is still to give their recommendation. It's an internal committee constituted by PNGRB. Further, you must appreciate that the matter is sub judice under Delhi High Court, and the discussions are going on. So PNGRB, when they constituted this committee, and when they mentioned about infrastructure exclusivity, they have categorically mentioned that this all is consultation is being done, and this will be subject to the final decision taken by the Delhi High Court. Now, having said that, if the exclusivity has to end, there are two parts to it: infrastructure exclusivity and marketing exclusivity. The infrastructure exclusivity, there is a provision in the regulation itself to increase by 10 years in the bracket of 10 years after completion of 25 years. So in two of our areas, we have already applied, and it can get, I mean, PNGRB is considering for extension of that.
Moreover, what we have found is that infrastructure exclusivity is generally available to the entity which is working in that area. Coming to the marketing exclusivity, it has a mixed thing because we will be getting paid for the utilization of our assets as and when the areas get opened up. We can also go to other geographies and other entities to trade our volumes. So it's a mixed thing. We will be getting returns on our investment, and we will have an opportunity to work in other places also, and others will also have an opportunity to work in our area. But all that is subject to the Delhi High Court decision, the high-powered committee, as you mentioned, and the way PNGRB opens up the sector and the way the whole thing rolls up.
Because there are a lot of final details about how the things will be rolled out, the regulations, the mechanism, and who will be allowed to come in different areas, and so on and so forth. So we have to watch because it will be a mixed bag for us. It will be an opportunity for us also to go in other geographies and at the same time other people to come in other geographies. So it's either win-win or lost-lost for both the parties, but we think it is a step in the right direction as far as the marketing exclusivity is concerned. But let us wait for the Delhi High Court decision before coming to any conclusion on this.
Great. Thanks for such an elevated answer. Thank you.
Thank you. We'll take our next question from the line of Mayank Maheshwari from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Thank you for doing the call. My question was related to LNG and how has LNG trucking kind of picked up in the GAs for you? And what are you seeing in terms of trends or any incentives that you're kind of giving around the entire LNG market for trucking? Thank you.
Mayank, we already, in case of MGL, we have a running station at Savroli, which presently is selling around four tons of LNG every day. Our JV company, UEPL, has already started one station in Aurangabad, and the second station at Chhindwara in MP near Nagpur was commissioned this year mechanically, which will start selling the LNG by the end of the quarter one. Two more stations, one in Amravati has already started construction, and JNPT station will also be completed in this financial year, probably by Q3 of this year. We see a very good potential. As we keep on adding the stations, we are getting the customers. Presently, we have three main customers: one is Concor and GreenLine, as well as some other companies.
Going forward, we see that at least another 10-12 stations in Maharashtra itself will be required to cater to the demand from trucking. On the supply side, not only Ashok Leyland, but Volvo Eicher is also very committed on providing the various models of LNG, and we see the demand coming from that side also.
Great. Thank you.
Thank you, sir. The next question is from the line of Hardik Solanki from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Yes, sir. As you mentioned the allocation, I just want to check what was the allocation, the APM allocation and new gas allocation for the Q4, and what is in April so far. Can you break down that?
APM allocation for Q4 is after.
New gas as well.
New gas, yes. As I said, APM was roughly Q4 was 2 million and very small quantity of NWG around 0.1.
What is for the average so far? APM and new gas?
Right now, we are getting APM of around 1.67 and 0.65 of new gas.
Okay. So whatever the additional growth we come upon, whatever the additional requirement would be for the CNG segment, that would be fulfilled by the new gas well, right? Is that understanding correct?
Yeah. So APM after using for domestic whatever is remaining, then NWG, then we have HPHT contracts. And if there is any shortfall, that gets catered through Henry Hub, or we buy it from IGX on a spot basis also, HPHT.
Sorry, just getting confused. The new gas well of 0.65 MMSCMD, that would be a constant for a certain time frame, or it will get increased as the volume will get increased?
No, let me clarify. The APM quantity is not getting reduced. What is happening is the APM overall quantity is same. Some of the APM which is getting reduced is reclassified as new well gas. In fact, the APM reduction was lower, and the new well gas addition was more in April. But overall, if we see the quantity of gas remains the same, except that the reclassification of APM, which is at the ceiling of 6.75, will be sold at a higher price, but the quantity of gas remains the same. So as Rajesh was mentioning, that if we have to increase CNG volume 10% growth, so maybe we have to source gas from other sources also, like Henry Hub or HPHT, depending on because the overall CGD consumption in the country is growing, whereas APM is stagnant or may increase slightly.
Whatever the growth is happening, the shortfall needs to be met through other sources, be it HPHT or term contract. The same will be the situation for MGL also, that APM quantity, either NWG and APM put together, if the requirement is more for the industry, then we have to source it through other sources.
Okay. Okay. That's really helpful. Thank you.
Thank you, sir. The next question is from the line of Nitin Tiwari from PhillipCapital. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Good evening. Thanks for the opportunity. Just a bookkeeping one from my end. So what was the CNG sales in KG in this quarter? And also, if you can break the industrial and commercial volumes down.
Q4. I think one second.
Sure.
In terms of kgs, it was 2.934 million kgs per day.
2.934 per day.
That is SCMD.
MMSCMD.
MMSCMD and 2.16 million kgs per day in terms of kgs. 2.161.
Understood, sir. And the breakup of industrial-commercial volumes in respective industrial and commercial segments?
Out of total INC volume, around 0.14 is the commercial volume.
0.14 per day.
Yeah. 0.14 MMSCMD. And rest is industry.
Thank you, sir. That is all from me.
Thank you. We'll take our next question from the line of Karthik from CLSA. Please go ahead.
Hello, sir. Thank you for taking my question. I just wanted to ask about the OPEX. OPEX, so I can see that OPEX on a year-on-year basis has gone up 22% to INR 8.1 billion, which is roughly INR 1,818 crores, and gross profit has been down 6%. So just wanted to get a sense on how we should be thinking about OPEX from here on.
Yeah. As far as OPEX linked to volume is concerned, mainly CNG volume, certainly it will go up because most of the expenses, even gas is linked, then power and fuel, the dispensing charges, the LCV transportation in case of transportation of gas to non-online station or daughter booster station from mother station. So all those expenses are volume linked, and certainly they have gone up. Okay. And apart from that, some of the one-time expenses like sales promotion, we have taken up in this Q4 mainly the drive to do a lot of maintenance of the old pipeline, old equipment, etc. And as I earlier said, in Q4, this year, CSR expenditure on yearly basis also more because average profit of last three years was up. So what we were spending around 16-17 crore has gone up to around 22-23 crore. Okay.
Sales promotion is another addition which is added in the OPEX to push the CNG volume or CNG vehicle adoption.
Could you please give a breakdown? INR 22 crores is the CSR expense. INR 32 crores is the marketing expense. Beyond that, everything else is CNG volume linked expenses, or is there anything else in that mix?
No. Other than that, mostly volume linked things are there. As I said, some part of it's mainly Q4 numbers you referred to. There is some increase in maintenance of around INR 15-17 crores in the quarter four mainly.
So how do you think of this as in terms of guidance for FY 26 and 27?
On an annual basis, I think the expenses will remain except one-time expenses like sales promotion, depending on how much we roll out next year, maybe in the similar quarter or something. It should remain. Some amount of variable expenses like transportation of gas from mother station to daughter booster going forward will reduce in a way because today we have only one CGS in our Raigad GA. We are already in the process of setting up other GAs. So once you have a CGS there, the transportation which is happening from little far will reduce, and that will reduce the cost. Okay. And even in GA2, I have a lot of daughter booster stations. So if those stations get slowly connected through pipeline, that will also save on the transportation cost, etc.
One last thing. Do you still have the similar guidance on volume and margin for FY 26, 27, which is like 10% volume growth and INR 10-12 of unit EBITDA here?
Yeah. I think volume growth will be in the range of 10% plus minus 1. Maybe it can be more than 10% also because you see the momentum has come on CNG part as well as industrial-commercial this year. Also, we have some scope to increase. DPNG, we have been steadily growing. And again, 7-8% DPNG growth can come up. So volume side, similar numbers are expected this financial year also. With respect to the margins, we have just discussed maybe INR 9-11 is the right guidance for the next financial year. This year, we have got INR 10, but one correction is there. So we may come down to INR 9.5 if that correction is taken into place. Otherwise, INR 9.5 to INR 10, INR 10.5, INR 11, that range would be our expectations.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Phalguni Datta from Mansarovar Financials. Please go ahead.
Good evening, sir. Thank you. My question has been answered.
Sorry to interrupt, ma'am. Your voice is low, so can you hello? Hello, ma'am?
Hello?
Yes. Now it's perfect.
I heard you good?
Yes, ma'am. Yes.
Yeah. My question has been answered. Thank you so much.
Thank you, ma'am.
All right, ma'am. Thank you. The next question is from the line of Kirtan Mehta from Baroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund. Please go ahead.
Thank you for one more opportunity. In terms of the CapEx, what are guidance for FY 2026, and what will be the broad breakthrough?
We are expecting around INR 1,300 crore CapEx for FY 26. And again, around INR 150 crore will be in UEPL. And we are also in the process of merging UEPL back to MGL. So collectively putting together, INR 1,300 crore will be the number expected this financial year.
Broad breakup will be CNG and pipeline. Is it possible to share?
CNG should be in the range of INR 200 crore odd in Mumbai, I mean, sorry, MGL, and maybe INR 50 crore to INR 75 crore, depending on how many stations and sites you get in case of UEPL as well. Balance is both a mix of LNG, steel pipeline, PE pipeline, and operational CapEx. So as Rajesh mentioned, around INR 300 crore will be for CNG. Around INR 500 crore will be for PNG, including pipelines. The pipelines will be around INR 200 crore, and OpEx will be around INR 100 crore. Replacement CapEx will be around that number broadly.
Thank you, sir. And in terms of, there has been a sort of clarity on that we will have two-quarter cut clarity on the allocation of APM. So has it already been implemented, or when is it likely to be implemented?
Issue?
No, the allocation of APM happens from time to time, but typically based on certain triggers because this gas is being produced locally by ONGC, mainly by ONGC, and GAIL does the balancing act. So there are certain minor adjustments, but some trigger points do happen, like year-on-year reduction of APM and reclassification NWG as per Kirit Parikh committee and DGH recommendation is done by ministry and implemented by GAIL. So those things happen on regular interval basis.
But also to just reply to what you asked, that committee the government recommendation that we will get a guidance two quarters ahead, that is not yet formulated.
Okay. Yeah. We get some notice, but not two-quarter notice. If that was your question.
Sure, sir. Thank you.
Thank you.
There was a question earlier on GA-wise volume breakup. 1.93 MMSCMD was sales for GA1. 1.88 is volume for GA2, and balance around 0.25 or 250,000 SCMD is for GA3.
Okay. Thank you, sir. Before we take the next question, we would like to remind the participants that you may press star and one to ask a question. The next question is from the line of Hardik Solanki from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Sir, as you said, the CapEx guidance would be around INR 1,300 crore. So can you just break down these GA-wise how much would be to the new GA and basically in GA3, and how much would be in the GA1 and GA2?
See, very, very strict breakdown cannot be given because depending on availability of site, the CapEx will be done. But broadly, around 30% could go to GA3. Rest, I think almost 60%-65% will be in GA1 and GA2.
1,300 also include around 15%-20% in UEPL.
That helps, sir. Thank you.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Karthik, who is an investor. Please go ahead.
Sir, with respect to the reduction in the APM yes already, is there any discussion on a CGD basis, industry basis for either reduction of excise or inclusion of MGL in the GST regime with government? Because I seem to understand that at present the volume of APM is at 40%, and gradually it may be phased down to zero. So considering the parameter, whether any discussion is there as a CGD industry as a whole to include either reduction in excise or maybe inclusion of MGL in GST, wherein it will promote more usage of MGL and will align with the government vision also for increasing the gas volumes from 6% to 15%. Is there any discussion going on? I just wanted to know on that.
A lot of discussion is going on. In fact, our regulator PNGRB has also been following it up with ministry for one elimination of excise duty on the CNG and PNG as well as LCNG also, and second is the inclusion of gas in the GST, so we were hoping that something positive should come out at least in next GST council meeting as well as in the next budget, but the discussions are going on for both these items, one is GST as well as excise duty.
Discussions always happen within the industry also. As an industry association, also the things are getting discussed. And they have been put up in right perspective to both MoPNG and regulator and other ministry because final decision will either come from GST council or from the finance ministry regarding excise duty. So everything is not in control of the association or the CGD industry. But yes, we keep on pressing our views to the right forums.
Sir, and my second question is related to the INC volumes. So if we see in Q4 FY 2025, the volumes from INC are at 0.59 MMSCMD. So with wherever areas where MDP and steel network is charged, with connection of further prospective INC customers, what is the outlook for the INC volumes over the next three years, maybe medium term we can consider?
I think we answered this question some time back. Currently, our INC volume is between 0.6 and 0.7 MMSCMD, and we are looking to take it up to about 1.1 MMSCMD in a couple of years.
Okay, sir. Thank you.
Thank you. We will take our last question from the line of Mr. S. Ramesh from Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities. Please go ahead.
Hello. So before we close the call, I just had a couple of thoughts. One is, if you look at the slowdown in the auto sector, they are growing in that 2-3%. What is the kind of run rate one can expect in terms of CNG wave transitions? What are you seeing this month? And secondly, if you look at the price increases you have taken between December and April and the kind of stabilization in the input gas cost, are we now there in terms of having passed on most of the gas cost changes? And eventually, would we see the volume growth and the price increase helping you improve the top-line growth and margins? How do you read that situation over the next one to two years?
There are multiple questions based on this. But going one by one, see, the procurement cost has gone up as APM has come down substantially for CNG. As far as DPNG is concerned, we are getting 100% APM allocation. So there, there's no problem. Coming to CNG, yes, it is a very dynamic situation. Currently, we are getting around 36% APM, and balance is towards to multiple places: HPHT, New Well Gas, Henry Hub, and a mix of some balancing spot gas also. So since the crude has come down substantially in the last few months, we think that we will be able to manage with the current prices. But again, it is a very dynamic situation depending on the alternative prices and our cost of procurement, how it looks like in the next few months. We will take a call on final whether to increase or decrease the prices.
With respect to margins, yes, we are comfortable, as has already been answered. The volume growth, again, has been addressed that around 10% volume growth is expected. With respect to CNG vehicle additions, we are adding around 98,000 this year, which is a huge number as far as year-on-year growth is also concerned. The auto sector, I mean, again, all the fuels are working closely. There cannot be said that CNG volumes over the country are going up. If you see some of the reports, CNG was the highest sale in terms of percentage growth, around 46% year-on-year, whereas EV has come down slightly. So it's, again, keeps on changing year-on-year and also pushes there for promoting EV and CNG vehicles even in Mumbai and Delhi, given that Mumbai High Court Committee has been constituted.
We see that as an upside if pollution is taken into consideration. We may get some upside from the High Court Committee recommendations and acceptance by the High Court. Overall, we see it as a mixed bag where we have some positives and some adverse things to deal with, some challenges to deal with.
Thank you very much. With that, we shall close the call. We should thank all the investors and analysts for joining the call with some insightful questions, and we thank the MGL management for giving us the opportunity to host the call and for answering all the questions patiently. Thank you very much, sir. Have a good day. Thanks a lot.
Thank you, everyone, for joining for today's investor call.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. On behalf of Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities Private Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your line.