Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to The Q3 FY26 Earnings Conference Call of Neogen Chemicals 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 touchtone phone. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Nishit Solanki from CDR India. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to Neogen Chemicals Q3 FY26 Earnings Conference Call for Analysts and Investors. Today, we are joined by senior members of the management team, including Mr. Anurag Surana, Non-Executive Chairman, Dr. Harin Kanani, Managing Director, and Mr. Gopi Krishnan Sarathy, Chief Financial Officer. We will commence the call with opening thoughts from the management team, after which we'll open the floor for your questions. Before we begin, a standard disclaimer: Certain statements made or discussed on today's conference call may be forward-looking. Actual results could vary from these forward-looking statements, and a detailed disclaimer is available in Q3 FY26 earnings presentation, which has been uploaded on stock exchange websites. With that, I would like to invite Dr. Harin Kanani to share his perspectives. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thank you, Nishit. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us to discuss our Third Quarter Fiscal 2026 Financial Results. I trust you had the opportunity to review our investor presentation. I will provide a summary of our operational performance and an update on our key strategic growth initiatives. Q3 served as a period of steady recovery and a decisive pivot towards a future-ready portfolio for Neogen. Despite global market volatility, our core business remains robust, underpinned by demand resilience in pharma, flavors and fragrance, and other specialty applications. With our product optimization initiatives at the, initiative and the Dahej replacement plant nearing completion, we are firmly on track to achieve our growth ambitions. Before our CFO provides a detailed financial overview, here is a quick summary on a consolidated basis.
We delivered 9% revenue growth in Q3, with a gross profit up 13%, with around 150 basis points margin expansion. While top-line growth was strong, EBITDA and PAT were pressured by transient costs related to Neogen Ionics ramp-up, elevated operational expenses due to fire incidents and interim toll manufacturing setup, and higher finance costs from Dahej plant reconstruction and other investments. These are short-term impacts as we pivot to a future ready portfolio. Furthermore, eligible costs will be recovered. At least part of the eligible costs will be recovered through loss of profit insurance claims in the coming quarters, mostly in the next financial year. Regarding the fire incident, we received INR 83.48 crores in insurance claims till nine months FY 2026. Accordingly, net claim receivable stands at INR 251.12 crores.
We are maintaining a close dialogue with insurance to expedite the final settlement of the remaining balance. Concurrently, construction of and replacement plant of Dahej is progressing rapidly, with commissioning on track for Q1 FY 2027. We are confident this new facility will be fully compliant and optimized for enhanced operational efficiency. Moving to update strategic expansion initiatives on battery materials. Strategic Indo-Japan Alliance for electrolyte salt production. We have successfully concluded a joint venture with Japan's Morita Investment Limited to produce and sell LiPF6 salt globally. Neogen will hold an 80% majority stake in the new entity, Neogen Morita New Materials Limited, supported by an INR 20 million investment from our partner for the rest of the stake. The JV integrates 30 years of proven Japanese technology to accelerate international customer approvals and production efficiency.
Notably, this establishment is India's only non-FEOC compliant electrolyte salt plant, with proven established technology, offering a strategic alternative to Chinese supply chain while advancing Atmanirbhar Bharat through significant import substitution. To give you an update on our Pakhajan greenfield project. Our Pakhajan greenfield project is progressing on schedule, with commercial production for electrolyte targeted for H1 FY 2027 and electrolyte salts for H2 FY 2027. This timeline is strategically synchronized with India's ACC Battery rollout and the surging global demand for non-FEOC compliant supply chains. At the facility, plant equipment has arrived, assembly is currently underway, and trial production is expected to commence shortly. We have already achieved a major milestone by securing long-term commercial supply approval from a prominent giga-scale Indian manufacturer following successful PPAP completion.
On the international front, we have received provisional approval of our lithium electrolyte salts from multiple global clients now, while final site audits are expected to be concluded in Q1 FY27. Upon commissioning, Neogen will emerge as highly cost competitive global source for lithium salts and electrolytes, backed by proven Japanese technology. We are currently seeing significant tailwinds from the U.S. 45X tax credits, non-FEOC requirements, and recent price volatility in China, both of which enhance our appeal as a strategic global partner. We expect several large-scale international customers to finalize their approval process shortly, paving the way for bulk consignments and regular commercial productions in H1 FY27. Looking ahead, we are at a pivotal inflection point as we transition from project execution to the commencement of regular long-term supply agreements.
We are confident that Neogen Ionics will become the cornerstone of our future growth, diversifying our revenue streams and enhancing our margin profile. By integrating world-class Japanese technology with our indigenous manufacturing excellence, we are enforcing Neogen's position as a technology-led leader within the global battery chemicals value chain. As the electric vehicle and energy storage ecosystems evolve, our readiness to supply material at scale position us to capture substantial market share, delivering long-term sustainable value to our stakeholders. That concludes my opening remarks. I will now turn the call over to our CFO, Mr. Gopi Krishnan Sarathy, to provide a review of our financial performance for the period. Over to you.
Thank you, Dr. Kanani. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to Neogen Chemicals' Q3 FY 2026 earnings call. I will share the financial highlights. Please note all the numbers are on consolidated basis. Our revenue for Q3 reached INR 220 crore, representing 9% year-on-year growth. This was led by higher volume across both organic and inorganic chemical segments, reflecting a steady market demand. Notably, we maintained resilient operating volumes despite temporary capacity bottleneck at our Dahej facility. These were effectively mitigated through strategic toll manufacturing arrangements. Additionally, Neogen Ionics contributed INR 12 crore to the quarter's revenue as we continue to scale our battery chemicals vertical. Breaking down our performance by segment, organic chemical revenue reached INR 187 crore, a steady 86% increase year-on-year.
Our inorganic chemical segment showed even stronger momentum, delivering INR 33 crore in revenue, a 35% growth compared to the same period last year. EBITDA for this quarter stood at INR 32 crore, demonstrating sequential resilience despite several transitory headwinds. On a year-on-year basis, our performance was impacted by temporary cost factors, specifically the operational overheads as we scale up at Neogen Ionics, and following the Dahej fire incident, the additional interim toll manufacturing expenses. This was incurred mainly to keep the customer supply on during the plant reconstruction. We view these short-term costs essential to protecting our market share and preparing our future growth. As highlighted by Dr. Kanani, the near-term pressure from these transitory costs will be balanced by insurance claim recoveries under the loss of profit policy. We reported a profit after tax of INR 4 crore for the quarter.
Year-on-year variance is primarily attributable to the increased interest expenses related to our capital expenditure at Dahej, alongside the front-loaded expenditure at Neogen Ionics as it prepares for the large-scale commercial production. Turning to the corporate update, reflecting their deep confidence in the long-term growth trajectory, Board has granted in-principle approval to raise up to INR 150 crores via preferential issue of equity shares to the promoter. This infusion underscores their unwavering commitment to Neogen's expansion and provides financial flexibility to accelerate our growth initiative. This preferential issue is subject to the necessary regulatory approval. That concludes my remarks. I will now request the moderator to open the forum for Q&A. Thank you.
Thank you very much. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on the 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 Abhijit Akella from KIE. Please go ahead.
Yeah, good afternoon. Thank you so much for taking my questions. Could we please just start with the update on the gross and net debt balance at December? And also maybe some color on the working capital trends. It does seem like the inventory DSOs and receivable DSOs have increased during the quarter based on the, you know, numbers given at the back in the tables. So just what exactly were the reasons for these and what our outlook is for, you know, improvement on that front?
Hi, Abhijit. Thanks for your question. Yes, there's an increase a bit in the inventory as well as for, in terms of receivables. I think the receivables is basically in line with the increase in the business. And overall, what we expect, as you said, that, you know, this year, I mean, the debtors and the creditors, as you said, will be more or less matching each other. And in terms of inventory, there will be little bit of increase this year because Like, you know, right now we are working in multiple, like, multiple external vendors. And we also want to build in a little bit of inventory, because we want to stop the external vendors, you know, by end of the year. And we want to start internal production in Dahej in the first quarter.
So when we start internal production, you know, in the beginning, the plant is just ramping up. So, that is the time where we want to ensure that, like, you know, even if there's a slight delay in production or ramp up, our customer needs are taken care of. So we're building up a little bit of the inventory by end of this year, so that we can take care of the next quarters. I think as you know, our Dahej plant starts and streamlines in the second half of the year, inventory should come online. We maintain our target that, you know, once we have a full utilization in the next financial year, by end of next financial year, our inventories would be at around 140-160 days, is what we are targeting on the inventory side.
As you said, debtors, creditors, usually, you know, depending on whether more international or more domestic sales, the debtors are usually between 60-90 days kind of a range, by end of the year, and that's what we would like to target. Generally, debtor and creditor levels, we will try to keep at a similar kind of level.
Yeah. Thanks, Harin. So just gross and debt, net debt numbers, if you could share at December end?
Maybe, Gopi, do you have those numbers directly with you? Okay,
Hello. Which numbers you're saying, sir?
Just, the debt numbers.
Yeah, I got the number here. So, on the total debt, the gross debt, that is. Sorry. So debt that we have today is around INR 680 crore on standalone basis, and around INR 1,150 crore, around INR 1,175 crore on a consolidated.
Got it. Yeah. Thank, thank you. Thank you for that. Second thing, just on the, you know, receipt of the money from Morita towards the, their 20% stake in the JV. So by when do we expect to get that? And also this, INR 150 crore preferential allotment to the promoters, by when would that money be expected to come in?
So there are four non-business flows, which are like, you know, non-operational flows, which are significant, which are coming. Let me share with you that. So on the insurance front, we are very close to getting another INR 60 crore against our, like, you know, the rebuilding as a second interim payment against the rebuilding, against the CapEx loss. So that is expected within this week. It was actually supposed to happen, but there was just some last time procedural issues at, between the insurance companies, which slightly delayed. So we are expecting around INR 60 crore within this week, and the main stock claim between INR 150 crore-INR 170 crore is expected before end of March. So that's around INR 210 crore, which is going to be expected here.
In reference to the INR 20 million, which we are expecting, so we have to basically request our bankers because the entire project was part of one. So now we are taking the bank's permission to separate it out as two different entities. So that is in progress. As soon as that is received, we can complete the rest of the formalities, transfer the asset to the subsidiary, Neogen Morita, and then we can receive the equity from our partner. So that will be towards the end of current quarter, and depending on the final timing, maybe either this year, before March or little bit in April. So by, but basically by Q1, we should receive money from there. And finally, the INR 150 crore by the promoter. So our intention is to basically put the money before end of March.
However, like, you know, there's some regulatory approval which is needed because there were some transfers, like, during trust formation from my father and mother to the respective trust. So we are just seeking a clarification. So depending on the regulatory approval, either it will happen before March or it will happen in Q1. But in the worst case, like, you know, by Q1 next year, we would have INR 150 crore from the promoter. We would have around INR 200 crore from the partner, as well as we'd have at least INR 200-odd crore from insurance. So we expect around INR 550 crore to come either in this year or in Q1 next year.
Understood. No, that's a very helpful color. Thank you for that. Just last couple of ones if I may, if it's not too much. One is on the salt order receipts. So obviously, I think in the presentation and your remarks, you've mentioned that things are, you know, moving well, and we are somewhat close to receiving the order. So if you could please just put some more color around it, you know, exactly what the status of things is, and yeah, by when we expect to see some meaningful shipments happening there.
So as we said in our opening remarks that, you know, a lot of people have shown very strong interest, right? Where both, like, you know, in the regulated larger customers as well as non-regulated, like, you know, the, who, guys who will buy just one time or two times or something like that. So those sales have already increased, and that's why you can see the, like, smaller, but like, you know, in terms of value-wise, significant increase in terms of our, year-on, quarter-on-quarter kind of sales increase on the salt business. However, like, you know, for me, the biggest important point is that while we have one customer with whom now, you know, we have completed majority of the requirements. So they have now started working on the final timelines for the approval.
As we had said, you know, we'll expect that by Q1 that to happen. But in parallel, 3-4 other customers who, as we had said, discussed earlier, have already started taking samples, or some of them have started approving our samples. And because of what is happening in lithium, even our intermediate, like, you know, the simple lithium salt, also, we have received very strong inquiries. So we feel unfortunately, you know, just the approval cycle is such that some of these have already approved our samples. They plan to do audits, let's say, in the month of March, April, May, and then maybe if we have something to basically do some corrective actions based on that. So we expect by June our Dahej site should get audited and approved.
By that time, as you can see, you know, majority of our capacity also will be coming online. So that like, you know, once these capacities come online from Q2, Q3, Q4, we can see good salt related revenues coming from Dahej. In case of Pakhajan also, we are trying to speed up the salt so that, like, you know, by Q2 financial year, by September, is when we said—like, we've said second half, but we want at least trial production to start in first half, so that we can start the validation process. Maximum by December, we try to get the Pakhajan site also approved so that we can take the maximum benefit of the 2027 requirement.
I would say Dahej site should be fully qualified through several customers by June, that is Q1, by end of Q1, and sales should start in Q2. Pakhajan, we are targeting in the second half, but our target would be to complete it by Q3 so that it starts contributing in the sales from Q4 in the next financial year.
Just on the capacity addition slide, you know, the 1,100 tons to be commissioned at Dahej. The timeline is now mentioned as March 2026. I believe last quarter it was December 2025. So, any particular reason for, for maybe, you know, slip of three months?
So basically, you know, our team had a training session with Morita team. So our team actually went to Morita's plant team and had a hands-on training session. And during that, you know, they picked up some of the improvements which we could further do. So we are basically implementing that. So majority of it is almost ready, but we just wanted. And we also had some one of the other plants, we also had some slight design change, which we carried out in the additive production part of that. So I think just that some changes in that design for further improvements that we were implementing, so it went March. Anyway, still we have not received the approval, so we felt it is good to get them done now rather than, you know, start and then again stop.
That's the reason why we decided to complete them now and complete the expansion by March.
Thanks a lot. Just one last thing from my side, like, one is, you know, there were some news articles recently regarding the fact that one of the largest, potential customers of yours who could set up, battery capacities in India, have kind of put their plans on the back burner because of lack of Chinese, know-how or technology that they could source. So any thoughts on that? And the other thing, just to add in quickly, bromine prices have been very strong in recent times. Has that had any impact on our business in terms of realizations? And is it possible to just break out the volume versus price for this, quarter for organic and inorganic? Thank you so much.
Sure. So, first, you know, about like maybe customers, like specific customer, which you mentioned. See, we have not received any such communication from the customer, and we basically continue to discuss with the customer how we can meet their, their demands, and those discussions continue. On the second side, on the second point about bromine being strong, so majority of this has been. See, again, it's not a very big difference. But I know, for example, in case of lithium, in case of organolithium, we have a volume, slight volume increase, you know, and in case of organic derivatives, it's very difficult to give you volume because the product mix changes quite a bit.
So overall, there is a volume growth, yes, but it's like, you know, because of the product mix, really, that volume growth doesn't tell you too much. But specifically with regards to bromine prices remaining, it's not changed too much of our business, because usually majority of our bromine is contracted, for a longer period of time. And with our customers also, we have contracts. So, you know, basically from one contract to another, it kind of, gets material. So unless you have like a 2x, 3x increase in bromine, we really don't see a big impact related to that.
Thank you. Thanks a lot. All the best.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The next, next question is from the line of Arun Prasad, from Avendus Capital. Please go ahead.
Good afternoon, Dr. Harin. Thanks for the opportunity. My first question is, you know, I'm just reflecting back to our commentary in the previous call, that we said that some of the last stage of approvals for the salts, the—your customers will be visiting your facility in February, this, I mean, January, February or online, and then approve, and then give final approval. Now, once again, talking about the time means three to four months down the line. So, may we just understand why this repeated delay in the approvals? I understand they have bit more time to comply with the regulatory requirements, but what is actually causing this continuous deferment of the approval timeline? That's my first question.
So, Arun, sure, sure. Yeah. So, Arun, basically, you know, already, so we had said by January, February, we will be ready with all the modifications which they need, post which, you know, they will do the online or visit. So basically, that is today the status. So we are today in the middle of February, and we are right now completing, and we have basically intimated that, yes, we have carried out more of all the changes. So we keep discussing with them, like, you know, every alternate week. So they said, "Okay, we will let you know, like, what is going to be our action plan going forward." So whether they will come within one, two weeks, whether they will come in three weeks, I don't know.
But we, we were supposed to be ready by January and February, which is what we are ready, and now, you know, they can come anytime. And what I told by June is not only the existing customer, but even the other customers also who are, like now approved, even they are likely to complete their. So some of them started late, right? And even these guys now are saying, "Okay, I will come for an audit in April or March or something." So by June, what we are expecting is all the, even the new customers also should come.
And then for these new customers also, this is a final leg of the audit, or it is just a beginning?
Yes.
F irst?
No, no, final, final leg. Of course, they can come and say, "Hey, I want a plant which is similar to your Pakhajan plant." So that's a call which they will take when they finally come and do. I can't predict that, right? But yeah, I think that would be the audit. If they come, they are satisfied, then, you know, we can start. And then some of them say, "Oh, you know, Pakhajan is going to be a much better, much bigger plant because it's designed from scratch. Maybe we'll just wait six months and take it from Pakhajan." So that can happen, but many of them right now are showing urgency to buy now. So we hope that they will start buying from Dahej and then move over to Pakhajan afterwards.
So after three or four, maybe one or two will go this way, the other may say, "Okay, I'll wait for Pakhajan and then start." Because anyway, the capacity that we have in Dahej also is relatively limited.
Right. Right. And sorry, we also.
Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Arun. May we request you to if you can mute yourself when management is answering? Because there is a disturbance which we can hear from your line, sir.
Sure, sure. We'll do that.
Please go ahead.
Yeah. So, Dr. Harin, we also heard that a few of your U.S. customers are going through some restructuring, where the OEMs earlier had entered into the JV and later on they are backing out. Does it concern you that at this stage, this kind of a restructuring is happening, which may potentially again delay the approvals or something like that?
I think maybe you are talking of GM and Ford, you know, doing some JV changes, et cetera. We are not affected by any of those. Yeah.
Okay. And, does it mean that the OEM are going forward? So you will have two layers of approval, one from the. Sorry, sir. Hello?
Yeah, can you go ahead? Yeah, sorry.
So does it also reduce your potential clients from, say, earlier you might have a mix of clients between OEMs and battery manufacturers, and now potentially OEMs are backing away from directly being a stakeholder in the manufacturing. So we will be having a reduced pool of such customers. Is this the right way to look at it?
No. So, Arun, basically, you know, you have to think that majority of the OEMs or the JVs are basically OEM and cell producers. So basically, what happens is when you're thinking of electrolyte intermediate, which is LiPF6, the two main vendors are cell producer and the electrolyte maker. So these are the two people who have to approve you, okay? And the cell and of course, in some cases, you know, the cell producer also will be an OEM. And as I explained that, you know, as compared to before, where we had, okay, maybe one company, right, who had contracted with Neogen. In the future now with—I mean, not in the future, with the Morita JV that we have done, there are several more who are interested.
Actually, our market, in a way, with the JV, has expanded, and more customers are available to us as compared to earlier.
Okay. Understood. Understood, sir. Second, you spoke about various fundraisers, which is going to be happen across in the next six months, roughly INR 500-600 crores. This will be largely utilized for the working capital requirements as we scale up the business, because most of your CapEx is anyway you have already tied up. So, so is it the case, or we'll be again going for the separate working capital loan? How should we look at this?
So whatever money we are raising, right? So part of it will, so some of it would, of course, be like, for example, the JV money, which is going to come, that will be partly used for completing the capital projects, right? Because there also there's some contribution still needed. Like, you know, as you see, our total debt, as I explained earlier, is not, we've not utilized all the, term loans fully. So there's some contribution required from us. So partly it will be for that contribution, partly will be for, of course, working capital reduction. And it's all about fundraise. That's the money which is going to come in, whether it is from infusion, the second is from the JV, and the third is from what we currently propose, promoter infusion.
And then our first interest payment that is a moratorium, that still we are few quarters away, right? And for the principal repayment.
Yes, yes. So, yeah, so for whatever loans we have in Dahej, like, you know, let's say, if we are completing in Q1, so then the first principal repayment will be Q1 of FY 2028. And like, you know, in case of Pakhajan, right, it will be like we have right now said H1. So for example, if we are saying H1 FY 2027 is when it start, when we, H1 FY 2027 when we start, then H1 2028 would be the equivalent first repayment after that. So basically one year from the start of the plant, from the SCOD.
Okay. All right, sir. Thank you very much for this.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Rohit Nagraj from 360 ONE Asset. Please go ahead.
Thanks for the opportunity. So first question is in terms of our guidance for FY 2027 and beyond. So we had indicated that, we'll be, having about INR 400-500 crore from the battery chemical part of the business. However, there has been slight delay in terms of commissioning of the project, in terms of approvals. So do we stand with the same guidance, or we would like to revise it for FY 2027, and maybe that will fall back even on FY 2028? Thank you.
No, our guidance remains the same because, you know, the guidance, the expectation was that our Dahej site will be fully be ready by June. And our expectation that, you know, we will start having sales of this from basically Q1 and majorly from Q2 onwards. So that remains same. So therefore, like, you know, our guidance doesn't change. We have right now not considered the Q4 sales from Pakhajan. So that we have basically kept as a backup. Like in case if, you know, there's some further delay or so that, that would be like an additional sales which will happen. Just our Dahej sales and whatever expected electrolyte demand should be able to allow us to reach the original target.
Whatever we do Q4, either in case if there is any slip up from Dahej, that will be the Q4 salt sales will be contributor of that, or that will be then an additional one, which will be up over and above what we have planned.
Sure, that's helpful. And on the Neogen Ionics, the Morita JV, so how this entire deal has been structured, so effectively valuing the JV at $100 million. So what is the current infusion by Neogen in terms of equity as well as debt? And there'll be another $20 million, which will come from Morita. Given that we have INR 1,500 crore of total investment planned for this, how the equity participation and the debt will look like at when the entire investment has been made?
So basically, you know, we are still discussing with the banks on. So one thing which is very clear is 80% is going to be Neogen's portion, 20% is going to be Morita's portion. We are still discussing with the banks on, like, you know, exactly the debt equity ratio which we have once we do the separation. We are hoping it, they will maintain at the same 70/30 level. So depending on that, like, you know, we will basically whatever is the balance, which is not contributed by the bank, will be in the form of the equity. Some of this has already been contributed in the form of equity.
So I think it's better that, you know, I'll be able to give a better clarity on this once we have the final clarification from the banks. Once, you know, the loans are separated and we are able to take it separately.
Right. Right. Just one clarification. So effectively next year, when Dahej starts generating the revenues, there will be a 20% minority interest, for the stake, equity stake of Morita. Is that right understanding?
No, not in Dahej. No, Dahej there is no, Dahej is 100% Neogen. Only the Pakhajan site is going to be through, Pakhajan site is going to be through Morita.
Okay. And, can you just split up in terms of Pakhajan site, what could be the potential revenues in FY 2027 and maybe on a longer term in FY 2029?
So in, so again, in Pakhajan, the salt business will be, if the question is from that point of view, so the Pakhajan site is going to be for Morita. The only the salt part will be Morita, and Dahej, and the electrolyte will continue to remain with NIL. So in FY 2027, as I explained earlier, that currently we have not considered a significant sales because it will be in Q4, we have kept it as a bonus. So majority of what guidance we have given will be largely nil sales. Maybe, you know, some of that would be routed through NML, because, you know, ultimately the, for example, the salt in the international business is only sold by the JV.
But, like, you know, that from a revenue point of view, I think majority of this would be NIL for FY 2027. If you talk of FY 2029, see, FY 2029 is a bit tricky because it depends on how much of the salt we are consuming internally and how much of the salt we are selling in the international market. Now, that depends on how the international market develops beyond the initial years and, like, you know, the desire to have a China-free supply chain, et cetera. And the second is how the Indian customers choose whether they want local supply of LiPF6 or they want, like, lower cost or like, you know, so it depends on that.
So actually, if you see, if we have to take care of our existing international customer demand as well as, you know, in Neogen's own internal consumption, then basically we would need more capacity for the salt, because the current capacity of the salt is not going to be enough. We'll have to add capacity. But I think that those clarity, and that's a decision we'll take somewhere towards end of FY 2027 or FY 2028 to take care of, you know, the FY 2029 demand. So because India electrolyte demand is still developing in FY 2027 and 2028, the existing salt, the capacity will be sufficient to take care of both. But by FY 2029, if we have to take care of both international as well as local consumption, then we need to add more capacity.
I think it's a little bit difficult for me to tell you in FY 2029 how the breakup will be.
Sure. This is helpful. Thanks a lot for answering all the questions, and all the best. Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Meet Kataria from Niveshaay. Please go ahead.
Yeah, good afternoon, Harin. Thank you so much for the opportunity. So one question on the U.S. side: If Chinese origin salts get restricted from, let's say, 2027, so is it possible that U.S. customers think about pre-buying and storing inventory in 2026 and then start using it in 2027?
So, Meet, there are two things, right? I mean, see, the batteries which are made in 2027 cannot be using Chinese. So it's not about buying, it's about making batteries which are not containing, you know, the material. So it doesn't help them to store and use that. It's not like a customs duty which is going to come up, right? So it's a different.
Got it.
So it's on the usage. So therefore, that is not happen. The second thing is the way things stand today, right now, you know, with Chinese prices, sometimes China is even more expensive. Third point is, even if you wanted to store and use, usually the shelf life is not more than six months, even at the electrolyte salt stage. So I don't think.
Okay.
They can store too much of it.
Got it, got it. And sir, also, when customer talk about reducing China dependence, so how does it actually play out, in practice? Let's say, do they typically start a phase, dual sourcing ramp up or, ahead of the time, let's say, they will start from Q3, Q2, Q3 of FY27 onwards, or, when we can see the major ramp, ramp up from U.S. customers? Got an idea.
So there are two types of customers, right? There are some customers who are cautious, who started working with us two years before and, like, you know, preparing for it.
Right.
There are few customers who are basically saying that, yes, they would like to have a ramp up, so they will have Q2, some quantity coming from Neogen, then Q3, then Q4, and then maybe next year, you know, further quantity. So there are some customers like that. There are some which are very price sensitive. So of course, now, last two months, you know, the things changed, but till that time. They said, "Till Q4, we will audit you, we will validate you, everything we will keep ready, and Q4 is when we make the switch." Right?
Okay.
Because that is what is regulatory-driven. So it's completely. So there was one customer who was more regulatory-driven. There were some customers who wanted to be cautious, wanted to gradually scale up. Other customer says approval is very complicated, so first do Dahej, then again do Pakhajan. So I will start only directly from Pakhajan. So it's kind of like a mix of those, and some of these also keep changing because they had some different response when the Chinese prices were very low three months ago. Now they have another response where they said, "Okay, before I said I will buy only from Pakhajan, but now, okay, maybe I can consider Dahej also. So let me start approving Dahej." So all this is like, you know, changing customer to customer and again, depending on the market situation.
Got it, got it. So very helpful. And the last one, based on the latest ongoing negotiation with customers and ecosystem players in India, any rough indication actual, what into the actual cell capacity operational by, let's say, end of 2026, and, and how that number, look up to you, in 2027?
You mean calendar year 26 and 27?
Yeah, right.
Sorry, what was the question again? I thought you said something India.
Yeah.
The voice was not very clear.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I asked that based on the maybe negotiation with customers and the ecosystem player in India for the battery cell manufacturing. So any rough indication how much actual cell capacity can come online by, let's say, end of calendar in 2026, and how does that number look in 2027?
You're saying cell manufacturing capacity, right?
Right, right, right, right. Battery cell, right.
Okay. Battery cell manufacturing. So battery cell, you know, if you see right now, what we have to go by, whatever is public information available, so Ola has announced to go from 1.5 to 5 GWh. Then you have a 3 GWh, which is starting off, Exide, and, four GWh, which is starting from, four GWh, which is starting from Waaree Energies. This, if you look at that, so between them, technically, you should be having around 12 GWh of production, which will be coming online in the current year, right?
Okay.
By end of this year, you should have 12 GWh. Let's say, if we say 12 GWh, and if the ramp-up happens okay, every month, for example, 1 GWh kind of a consumption should be reached by, let's say, end of December 2026, right? So the actual consumption may be somewhere between actual production may be like 3 GWh, or 5 GWh, or 6 GWh, depending on how it ramps up. But when you enter 2027, you enter with a 12 GWh of already installed capacity. And, sorry, and to this, you may have to add, like, you know, then, whatever Reliance has announced, and Amara Raja has announced, and Tata has announced.
So if you think of their original starting capacities also, what they wanted to do. So Reliance intention was to reach up to 40 GWh in one year from start. If you look at Amara Raja, I think the starting capacity was, I think, around, two point five or five GWh, and Tata's, Tata has not announced the starting capacity. So if you add all of that, you know, you should be, let's say, at least about 25-30 GWh by end of 2027, as we enter 2028.
Got it.
Of course, by that time, you know, you might and sorry, you also need to add that by the time if Ola further increases the capacity, or Waaree's intention to increase capacity from 4 to 20, or Amara Raja or Exide's plan to increase from 3 GWh and beyond. So, sorry, I think by end of 2027, we should be—if everything goes well, by end of 2027, we should be 40-50 GWh plus entering into 2028, based on whatever customers have shared till now.
Got it. And, sir, one question on, let's say. I was talking with many players. So everyone is in a view that everyone will prefer to have two suppliers, right? One primary and another maybe secondary also. Let's say if in India, let's say Waaree wants to have a two suppliers. So what is the, maybe, let's say, moat or maybe the USP of Neogen, that it can be a primary supplier as compared to the competitor? So just want to understand what are the qualitative terms that Neogen pitch to Waaree or maybe other guys also, that they prefer to have Neogen as a primary supplier.
So I think one is, you know, we are already ready. So we already have three-four years experience to make it in the lab and supply successfully, and last one-two years, even from a commercial plant in Dahej. Second is.
We have Mitsubishi collaboration. So, like, you know, these are some of the—Mitsubishi is known to be the best electrolyte producer in terms of quality, so then you can be 100% sure about the quality of the supply. And the third is, you know, we have the backward integration. So I think—and the fourth is we have actually capacity, because one of the thing is, you know, we—you need to have the capacity. Right now, we have a 30 GWh worth of capacity, which will be ready, let's say, so that nobody has to worry about, oh, whether Neogen can supply enough quantity or not. So I think these three, four things make Neogen in a positive moat. And just for your reference, you know, not everybody in electrolyte has always two suppliers.
I know historically many companies where one single supplier, if they feel the risk, they will ask the same supplier to keep multiple plants, but sometimes they can have one single supplier exclusively. So two suppliers is not always a necessity in case of electrolyte.
Sorry to interrupt. May we request Mr. Amit to please rejoin the queue? We have participants waiting for their turn. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will request you to please limit your questions to two per participant. If you have a follow-up question, you may rejoin the queue. The next question is from the line of Nilesh Ghuge from HDFC Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi, good afternoon, Harin. So Harin, my question is on our CDMO and advanced intermediate business. So how much was the contribution from these two business verticals in nine months, FY 2026? And how is the progress and the inquiries in CDMO and advanced intermediate business? Any guidance on that for FY 2027?
So, Nilesh, thank you so much for asking me also question other than battery. So, appreciate that. No, so I think CDMO and advanced intermediate, we are slightly better as compared to last year. And like, you know, actually, for the first six months, nine months, we were actually ahead as compared to last year. But whatever POs which we had with our customers, we completed. And like, you know, now some of the new revised repeat POs, people are waiting, especially on the CDMO side, for the new site to come online.
So already customers, we have shared our progress with the customers, and maybe by end of this month or from March onwards, customers will start visiting, and we expect, so we expect again, some, you know, repeat orders or like, new projects which are kind of on hold, we can start achieving orders against that. But overall, I think, you know, we will expect that as we go, let's say this year, if you look at the run rate, you know, we are at INR 800+ kind of a revenue. And as we go from INR 800+ to INR 950 or so, we feel CDMO will be one of the significant areas. Contract manufacturing, sorry, CDMO and advanced intermediate will be a significant area where we'll have growth.
If I were to just look at nine-month numbers, they are basically it has been same, as compared to the previous nine months, as against at a CDMO and contract manufa- advanced intermediate and CDMO level.
But despite our Dahej facility is not there, right?
Yeah, despite. So some of like, there was one semiconductor customer that required a specialized equipment, so they had enough inventory, so we had to skip. We couldn't do this year. So despite Dahej not being there, you know, we were able to maintain the same levels. But most of these products we were able to do from Mahape and Karakhadi. Some we couldn't do, so we couldn't register the growth there, but we were able to maintain.
Just, secondly, on this toll manufacturing arrangement that we made because of non-availability of our Dahej facility. What percentage of revenue i s currently coming from that? And when we are ready with our Dahej facility, so do you expect some margin expansion because you are shifting from tolling model to in-house production?
Yeah. So, you know, currently some of the high, higher costs that you are seeing will reduce, right? As we move from. So like your other expenses will change a bit, where whatever is the tolling related expenses there will kind of go away. Of course, some of it will come in the form of additional power and fuel kind of expense at our Dahej plant. But net of what we feel is, you should have improvement in our cost structure.
Just, how much business currently we are doing through our tolling model that we can shift to our in-house production?
So basically, Nilesh, it's very difficult for me to say, because, you know, in some cases I'm just doing one stage there. In some cases, so it's, it's not that, okay, completely it has been done, right?
Yeah.
Basically, we are using it on a need basis, right? You can basically say that we are able to maintain our current revenues because of several sites. We are not using just one site, there are several sites which we are using in different ways. So like, you know, just like most of it, whatever we want to use, it will be done by March, and April onwards, you know, our Dahej plant will start getting available partially. Maybe by end of June, we feel it will be fully available. So with the inventories that will build up and the first quarter, the way, once the production starts, I think we should be okay. And then, let's say, Q2 onwards, you should not see. We'll have a stable production.
So one, you know, as we try to get, like, let's say, INR 950 crore, our quarterly run rate also improves to like INR 225 crore-INR 250 crore kind of range in the next financial year, as well as some of the tolling-related expenses will go down. And also our insurance premium also it's, you know, the first year is the toughest. So that is from July to July. So once that July gets over, so from next year, like maybe Q2 or Q3 onwards, you have Dahej, which is fully stabilized. You have both, like, at least the worst of the insurance is over, right? The tolling arrangement cost is also gone. Hopefully, by that time, you know, Dahej also will be contributing from Q2, Q3 onwards significantly on the battery material side. That's when, you know, you'll have good improvement in our performance.
Okay. Thanks. Thanks, Harin. Thanks a lot, and all the best.
Thank you, Nilesh.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Pratham Kankaria from Quantum Asset Management. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi, sir, am I audible? Hello.
Yes.
Yeah. So just,
Yes, I can hear.
Yeah, I had one question on the inorganic segment. So if I just exclude the Neogen Ionics revenue, the trend has been on the downward side for the inorganic chemical segment. So if you can just present your views, what is the cause for this? Is this solely attributed to the downward lithium prices? But now that also has spiked up. So just wanted to get your view.
Yeah, so it's solely attributed to the downward lithium side, and the spike impact will see maybe a little bit in Q4, but more in the next year if the spike is maintained. So because like, you know, the lithium prices started increasing by November, December, and almost towards December and in January, you saw majority of the increase to happen. So the material from there will hit me by March or April, right? So before that, you'll not see a big spike.
Okay, sure. But, sir, still, revenue has come on the lower side. It's solely attributed to the price, right?
Yeah. Yeah.
Okay, sure. Sure, sure. Thank you. That's it.
Okay.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Jason Soans from IDBI Capital. Please go ahead.
Yeah, sir, thanks for, for taking my question. Sir, now, probably it's a given that Pakhajan will ramp up only H2 FY 27, as you have mentioned. Now, just accounting for that, sir, would we able to, you know, clock in INR 400-INR 500 crore from battery chemicals in 27? You know, accounting for that and any approximate, revenue estimations for 28 as well?
See, basically, you know, we have considered very limited from the salt sales of Pakhajan, right? Because we said it's in H2. So electrolyte will be stable in H1. And as, you know, I answered earlier that increase in capacity of Ola, Exide, like, getting stable. Then, you know, we said even, Waaree starting. So, m aybe we can expect some electrolyte, like, you know, revenues coming in the second half from, you know, these people ramping their operations up. So like So that is what something which we have considered. And as I explained that, you know, we said, okay, the salt in Pakhajan will come in H2. So technically.
We have not considered any sales although we are on track, that at least in Q4 we can get some sales. But I've right now kept it as a backup that in case if. Because this year, you know, from the time we got listed first time, like, you know, whatever revenue projections we had go, given, we had to make a significant correction. So I'm little bit more careful. So what we have done is that Q4, whatever Pakhajan salt sales, we've not considered. So in case, you know, if Dahej is slightly delayed or electrolyte is not delayed. The Q4 salt sales will allow me to basically make up for that, so that we don't go wrong on our guidance in the next financial year. So that's kind of on that. And I think FY28, it's too early for me to give a number.
But one thing which looks very strong to me is that our salt capacity should be utilized at 80% or more. You know, because that is something which is, which will be in a very strong demand. And of course, if I sell it in the form of electrolyte, there, it will be higher. So if I look at today's market price and, you know, if you think of 5,500 tons of total salt capacity, and if you think of 80% utilization even on that, right? So that's around 4,400 at $20+ kind of a dollar price, right? Salt and additive is even higher.
From an average price above $20, it's very like, you know, if this assumption is valid, then you would have INR 1,000 crore+ kind of revenue. And of course, whatever I sell in the form of electrolyte, there's further value addition. So therefore, it should ideally be beyond INR 1,000 crore, like, you know, it should be something, but how much beyond is little bit before, little bit difficult for me to tell you now.
Sure, sure. But at least for the initial estimate, you said INR 400 crore-INR 500 crore, we are sticking to that for 2027, for battery chemicals.
Yeah, yeah, there's no change in it.
Yeah.
There's no change.
Yeah, yeah, because you said you are right, because electrolyte at least will be stable, and at least we'll be able to garner some volumes from the electrolyte sales.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know, obviously, electrolyte sales, unfortunately, I'm dependent upon how my customers start their plant. You know.
Nice
there's not something which I can do beyond. So that's why I've kept the Pakhajan Q4 as a backup, where anything we do over-performance there can be a backup in case, you know, India electrolyte demand doesn't shape up as much, or in the beginning, approvals in Dahej are delayed, so we can kind of make up for that.
Sure, sure, sure, sir. And sir, just if you could tell me when 30,000 is what you are clocking in at Pakhajan, which will come on stream in. I'm only talking in terms of electrolytes. So by H1, how much will be online, sir, from the 30,000 MP?
So by end of H1, the way the plant is, because, you know, we are doing a joint trial with Mitsubishi. So our idea is that the entire 30,000, there are three lines, and all the three lines will be tested, and we will be ready for the 30,000 ton kind of annual capacity, which is monthly, like, you know, around 2,500 ton. But of course, you know, we will take care of the operational side that, you know, if we don't see. And we don't see in the first year business visibility. So in terms of manning our people or some other expenses, we will kind of do it gradually, but the plant will be ready for the entire 30,000 ton.
Okay. Sure, sure, sure, sir. And sir, just in terms of revenue growth from the base business, which gets talked about less right now, nowadays. So just to understand, in 27 and 28, you know, 26 was subdued. I understand the fire thing and everything is there. But with 27, you know, would, can we expect double-digit revenue growth, especially with the Dahej plant coming on track post the fire? So just wanted to know, for organic, in organic, how do you expect the base business to. Can we expect a double-digit revenue growth there?
Yes.
Okay, sure. And just lastly, sir, I just wanted to understand, in terms of this QIP, just INR 150 crores, as you mentioned, just a little bit unclear on this. So the INR 150 crores is basically, you know, is it, is it the promoter group is going to increase the stake, or is it just a regular QIP which is done? Just wanted some clarity on that.
No, so this is a pref allotment.
Okay.
So basically, we felt that, you know, that okay, you know, Neogen could help with the equity. We know the insurance money is also coming. The e quity is also coming. But as I said, you know, there's a good salt demand also.
Okay.
So we felt that, you know, in case, suppose if we have to do little bit more on the salt or additive or as well as in the interim, you know, if we had that equity, then that would really help Neogen to seamlessly continue and like, you know, make sure that all our execution in 2026 happens seamlessly. And that was the whole idea. So we as a promoter group decided to invest INR 150 crore. But as I said, you know, there's just one clarification we need to take because my father and mother had formed a trust which was a family trust. And you know, SEBI already gave us the permission that this is like, you know, it's like a promoter and promoter group. But just because of that, there has to be some cooling-off period.
So whether that is needed or not. So we are just taking some regulatory guidance on that. But otherwise, the idea was to bring in INR 150 crore in the company before March. So that will also like, you know, reduce the interest burden and also give us a lot of flexibility on things that we want to do.
But that comes in from the promoter group. Is that right? So our stake, which is right now at 51.22%, that increases basically in the company.
That's right. Yes, that's right.
That's right. Okay, that's great. That's great. And just one last thing, this insurance claim money, I understand you said Morita is fine. That will take some time, INR 150 crore from the promoter. It is in Q1 FY 2027. So this insurance claim, sir, this INR 200 crore for the stock claim, tell by when can we get this?
INR 60 crore is expected maybe today or tomorrow, like, you know, within a week.
Okay, okay.
Because the insurance company had already taken all the documents from us for release of the INR 60 crore. We had the agreement. This is the second interim against rebuilding the plant, right? So we have two, stock and, rebuilding the plant. So against rebuilding the plant, they are ready to issue INR 60 crore at any given point of time. There are 5 insurance companies, so they all have to pool into the lead insurer, and the lead insurer transfers the money to us.
Right.
So that process is ongoing, but that should happen anytime. Then, you know, the stock claim was also like in the case of the stock claim, the insurance company had appointed like a third party before kind of auditor, right? So their process is almost complete. They should finalize the report. Based on that, surveyor should finalize the report. And like, you know, based on that, the money should ideally be released before March.
Okay.
But like, maybe it can slip up. So that's why I said March or April.
Okay.
But we are working very strongly now with the insurance that, look, we have built the whole plant. In fact, if everything happens, we can even ask for the third interim again, because, you know, this should still be INR 140 crores. So we can still ask for one more interim release before March, but at least these are the two which I am currently taking. And then, of course, in the next year, as I explained earlier, that the rebuilding cost is going to be more than the loss, right? So the balance material, which is left against the rebuilding plant, as well as the higher rebuilding costs, so that has to be assessed and that has to be released, and the loss on profit has to be assessed.
So that is something, in my view, you know, the first part, the balance on the stock, I'm sorry, the balance on the capital rebuild should happen before September, and maybe the loss on profit should happen somewhere between September to December. So in a way, everything from the insurance ultimately, hopefully, should be achieved by December—September to December next year.
Okay, thanks. Thanks for answering my question, sir. Thank you.
Yeah.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this will be the last question for today, which is from the line of Pratham Kankaria from Quantum Asset Management. Please go ahead.
Just a small thing. What would be the ceiling on capacity utilization in terms of salts and electrolytes once you're fully ramped up?
You mean utilization-wise? So, yeah.
Yeah.
So normally, salt would be at 80%. It's like a chemical plant. In case of electrolyte, it is a formulation plant, so you can go up to 100%.
Okay. Sure, sure. Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, as that was the last question for today, I would now like to hand the conference over to management for closing comments.
Thank you all for your time and participation today. We trust we have addressed your queries. Should you have any further questions or require additional clarification, please reach out to our investor relation team. We appreciate your continued support and look forward to updating you on our progress again next quarter. Thank you once again. Have a great day ahead.
Thank you. On behalf of Neogen Chemicals Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines.