Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Jayant Dawar from Sandhar Technologies. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Yeah, good morning, and thank you to Dolat Capital for the opportunity this morning to talk about the major highlights of the results that we declared yesterday. So at the cost of reiteration, everybody probably knows, but for many who don't, the two-wheeler industry in the last year grew at a rate of about 9.83%, and you'd be happy to know that Sandhar, against this growth, grew by 26.14%. In the four-wheeler industry, the industry growth grew at a rate of 5.92%, whereas Sandhar grew at 15.41%. So we are very happy with the fact that our new capacities that have been set up in the last few years went into modes of closer to optimization, and that is what has reflected in the results.
We, at Sandhar, achieved a total income growth of 19% in quarter four, and 21% versus FY 2023 on an annualized basis. We expect to continue this growth momentum over the last year, and the current schedules of the customers, the demand in the market, and the geopolitical situation at this point shows that we should be very comfortable with achieving what the numbers that we are expecting to on a similar platform that we did in the last year. On a consolidated basis, EBITDA registered a growth of 140 basis points higher year-on-year basis, and the investors will be happy to know that-
The management line got disconnected. We'll connect them. You have connected with the management line. Yes, Jayant sir, go ahead, please.
Thank you. I don't know where I got disconnected. Can somebody remind me?
Sir, you were talking of consolidated EBITDA.
Consolidated EBITDA. Okay. So I was saying that consolidated EBITDA registered a growth of 140 basis points on a Y-O-Y basis, which is quarter four, and on an annual basis, we grew by about 100 basis points. I'm also happy to say that our joint ventures have significantly improved. All joint venture companies taken together, registered a revenue of INR 325 crore. Very happy to announce that, our helmet company, Sandhar Amkin, turned positive, contributed an EBITDA of 14.58% and a PAT of 4.71%, while Sandhar Han Sung, reached a level of EBITDA of 12.41%. Also, Sandhar Whetron turned around and registered an EBITDA of 19.19% and PAT of 11.6%.
Again, Winnercom Sandhar, Sandhar Hanshin too, are PAT positive, while Kwangsung Sandhar is EBITDA positive. So these are on the joint venture front. In terms of new projects that the company had invested in, the four sheet metal plants in Nalagarh, Halol, Attibele, and Mysore are in mass production. Romania plant also is in commercial production, and we expect to see major ramp-ups in 2024, 2025. The machining for casting plants at Hosur and Mysore are also now operating at full scale, and the future has a lot of potential, both in terms of volumes and the customer base in this business. To meet the increased demand for casting components, the company is expanding its capacity in Western India to cater to the demand in that region. We expect to commercialize this by August of 2024.
The major focus would be to tap passenger vehicles, OEMs, in addition to two-wheelers and commercial vehicles. Our EV projects, we now have a wholly-owned subsidiary called Sandhar Auto Electric Solutions Private Limited. We are happy to inform that the infrastructure development is almost complete, and we expect to go into commercial production from July 2024. We have two technical collaboration agreements here, and we are working closely with them for the development of progress. So going forward, the focus areas are going to be generation of more free cash flows. We want to deleverage the balance sheet. Improvement in return on capital employed, that's an agenda that we've had for the last few years, and you've seen the improvements. We want to continue that path and give you better results. Improving operational efficiency, reduction of cost, control on new CapEx.
Maximum utilization and optimization of this CapEx, integration of manufacturing plants continues, and of course, we are always in the market for diversification of our product portfolio, expanding the customer base and increasing content per vehicle. So those are largely the points that I wanted to mention in my opening remarks. I'm very happy to take questions. With me today, I have with me Mr. Yashpal Jain, who is the Chief Financial Officer, and he'll be very happy to answer question on any numbers, that you may have, in this regard. I'm happy to give you a market preview or any questions in that regard. Thank you all very much once again for being here.
Thank you very much. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask question may press star and one on their touchtone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking the question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. First question is from the line of Pranay Roop Chatterjee from Burman Capital. Please go ahead.
Good morning to all present. Am I audible?
Yeah.
Great. My first question is with respect to understanding that this is the current capacity that you are expanded over the last two years, which is the five sheet metal plants, then the Romania plant, domestic aluminum capacity expansion. You had started a new Pune plant in the fabrication and any expansion you would have done in locking and vision. How much can the revenue further expand, right? And, this by me-
Hello? Hello.
Yeah, the line got disconnected, so we'll move to the next. The next question is from the line of Aditya Sanjay Kondawar from Complete Circle Capital. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Very happy to see, you know, EBITDA margins move quarter on quarter, you know, to double-digit margins, so congrats on that. My first question was on the debt. You know, how much debt are we planning to repay this financial year? And, number two question is just some guidance on margin, if you can. Thank you. I have more questions, and then I'll come back on in the queue.
The management line got disconnected. I will connect the gentleman, sir.
Sure.
The management line is connected. I just request the participant to repeat your question, please.
Yeah, sure. So congrats. You know, very happy as a shareholder to see the margins move from, you know, 7% to almost 11% now. My first question was on the debt repayment. Any guidance on how much are we planning to prepay this financial year? And number two, if you could give any color on the margin guidance. I have more questions, but I'll come back in the queue later.
Yeah. Good morning, Aditya, this is Yashpal Jain.
Hi.
So I'll answer this question.
Yeah.
Regarding that repayment, like, we are having term loan facilities, as you know. They've been shown in the balance sheet also. So we'll be doing a term loan repayment as per the schedule, which can be around INR 100 crore from repayment is parked for this year, current financial year, 2024-2025. Yeah.
Sure, sir. Any guidance for margin, sir?
Yeah. Like, as we have given guidance for last two years, that we are on year-on-year basis, we are seeing a margin improvement of around 50 basis points. So last year also for 2023-2024, we kept that guidance. 50 basis points will be improving for again, the same guidance will be following for current year also.
Sure, sir. Thank you.
Yeah.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Krishna from Lucky Investment. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi, sir. Thank you for the opportunity. Am I audible?
Yes, please.
Yes, you are.
My question was on the CapEx that we've done, what kind of asset turnover are we seeing on this CapEx? And, when will we see the peak revenue potential coming in for this CapEx that we've done?
Normally, we keep an asset turn of 3x is the minimum asset turn, but that is over a period of time, because as we know in the auto component industry, it takes time to stabilize the plant. In a range of two-three years, the plant gets stabilized. So while planning for any new CapEx or projects, we take a timeline of two-three years to turn into asset turn of 3x . The four sheet metal plants that have been put up by us in last 2.5 years, part of them have started partially in last year. Some of them are into mass scale production in the last quarter of last financial year. So gradually, over a period of two-three years from today, you see that they will be working out there.
I would say crossing the asset turnover of more than 3x.
Right. Thank you so much. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Pranay Roop Chatterjee from Burman Capital. Please go ahead.
Hi, I think I was the first one to ask a question, and somehow it was presumed that the line had dropped, so I'll just continue. I just wanted to understand that you had added a lot of capacities, right? And this is linked to the last question. What would be the utilization levels in the older and newer plants in, like, sheet metal and aluminum die casting? So I'm just trying to understand, because Q4 FY 2024, your annualized revenue was INR 3,700 crore. Can this be substantially higher, 40%-50% higher with the existing capacity without doing any growth CapEx?
Well, let me answer this question a little differently, and then maybe Mr. Yashpal Jain will be able to give you solid numbers. Pranay, thank you for that question. Our business, as you're aware, constitutes diversified portfolio in terms of its product lines. So there are existing product lines, for example, whether it's locks or whether it's other proprietary parts, where you need only incremental CapEx to grow capacities. However, the businesses of whether it is sheet metal or whether it is casting or some of the other areas, require monumental changes in terms of new plants and new this, that, and the other. The way we stand today is we believe that a large part of the CapEx is already being done.
However, there are still three plants under at different stages of going into commercial production, where you will see the capacity. So on an overall basis, it is impossible for me to give you the capacity utilization. Suffice to say, that in many plants, we have capacities, especially in the newer ones, which range from zero percent which are going to go into commercial production to about 50% is what we have achieved in the new plants that have been set up in the last two years. To your question as to whether we can increase it by 50% on the same CapEx, yes, we can, but that doesn't mean the new CapEx will not be added, because we are also looking for the future.
But to your answer, whether we can grow it by 50%, my direct answer would be yes, close to 50% could be-
Jain sir, line got disconnected. I'm connecting him again.
Sure.
Am I audible?
Yeah, yes, clear.
We have connected the line of Jain sir. So go ahead, please.
Uh, uh-
I don't know where I was when I got disconnected.
Sir, you said 50%, close to 50% expansion is possible, is what you said last.
Yes. Yes, it is possible. It is possible. However, that doesn't mean, like I said, that new further-
Right
... CapEx will not happen, because our growth continues, and we also have to build a pipeline for the future.
Perfect, sir. That makes sense. So next question, I heard an earlier statement of yours, where you said that given the demand and order visibility, you're expecting a similar growth next year as past year. So should I extrapolate that to say that you can grow at a 20% growth if all things play out as you expect it to in FY 2025 as well?
Well, I won't put a number to it, but I don't see why not.
Got it, sir. I just wanted to understand, in terms of the growth CapEx that you mentioned, the casting plant in Western India, and also the EV businesses that are supposed to start from next couple of quarters. In these two segments, how much CapEx have you planned, for this year, and how much can they contribute to revenues this year and next year?
Well, largely... Yeah, I'll answer this question, sir. So largely, we are through the projects. The projects will be commissioned in the month of August. And like, as we said, in Western India, we are going with the die casting business. So we will be incurring a CapEx of close to INR 30 crore on an overall basis for that plant. A large portion has already been released in the market. We are just waiting for the final base to come up for the payments, sir.
Good. And on the EV part, sir?
EV front, we have, as we, if you remember our last investor call, last year we kept a target of crores of investment with a total outlay of INR 20 crore. So INR 10 crore we have already spent. Another INR 10 crore we will be spending this year.
Got it. Anything-
Keep in mind that we are using our existing infrastructure.... Right, to launch the EV. So while the numbers that Mr. Yashpal Jain are giving you-
Mm.
are actually direct equipment and a product line services, which are being added. The infrastructure is already in play, and we're using the existing infrastructure as of this moment for the Sandhar Auto Electric business.
Got it, sir. Sir, last question from me on the overseas front. After the new plant in Romania came in, in Q4 FY 2023, the revenue sort of increased from INR 100 crore quarterly range to INR 130 crore range. But since then, probably because of slowdown or reduction in schedules, it has gradually come down, and Q4 saw slight uptick, but still at INR 110 odd crore, which is down year-over-year. So just wanted to understand, are you seeing any signs of recovery there, and when do you expect a meaningful, you know, pickup starting?
Ranajay, so basically it was in the growth in the revenue-
Okay.
Did not come so much from Romania.
Mm.
That is still behind what we had budgeted, especially on account of the Ukraine war that was going on in close neighborhood.
Mm.
The drop in revenue in the last quarter or the quarter before that, a little bit, came because of the strikes in the United States. And because of the strikes in the United States labor strikes, in the car unions had strikes, so there, the revenue in Mexico and some portion of Barcelona dropped. In the case of Mexico, the pickup dropped by almost 50%, for a couple of months. It is, however, back again now that the strikes are over, and we are back into our normal, GP, and the growth in Romania will be an additional factor to whatever we are doing.
Understood, sir. I'll get back to you. Thanks a lot.
Thank you.
Thank you. A reminder to all participants, you may press star and one to ask question. The next question is from the line of Hemesh Desai from Dolat Capital. Please go ahead.
Hi, good morning. Am I audible?
Yes.
Yes.
Hi. So my first question was, now that the JVs have turned profitable, what would be your outlook on their future growth?
Well, my first reaction to this is that, you know, once they've turned around and they've come into the regular aspect of things, one would expect them to have a normalized growth in line with the growth of the company revenues.
Okay. So my next question was on the cabin and fabrication business. So what are the current utilization and margin levels of this business, and what kind of margin expansion are we looking at going forward?
Jayant, sir, line got disconnected. I'm connecting you again.
Yeah.
We have connected the line of Mr. Jayant. Hemesh, can you just repeat your question, please?
Hi, yeah. So my question was on the Cabin and Fabrication business. So what are the current utilization and margin levels for this business? And what kind of margin expansion are we looking going forward?
So, do you want to come in?
Yes, sir. So cabins and fabrication, we operate around a margin of 8%. It's, you know, I mean, there's not much change in the margin structure of cabins and fabrication, being heavy equipment items are very heavy, sheet metal-based. And we expect that there can be an improvement of 50-100 basis points in the coming year, once new unit facility starts contributing to it.
What will be the utilization levels?
As of now, space-wise, if you ask me, we are occupied with the complete space in cabins and fabrication. That was the reason. In Pune, we did an expansion from one of the existing plants has been expanded with a, I would say, an additional plant in [audio distortion], which we are expecting to operate by August.
... Okay. And my last question would be for the locking and vision system. What would your outlook be for the same? And are we expecting an increase in content per vehicle?
Locking and Vision-
Yes.
Sir, would you like to answer?
Yeah, yeah. So locking, and while we call it locking and mirrors, there are several elements that go into it. There are new product lines which have been added, but the largest part again, is smart locks. And we group today would be very happy to know that there are two major product lines, one for Suzuki and one for Honda, that move on to the smart lock program starting in October and November. And this, of course, is a major turnaround and a pivot for the company, which we've been expecting for the last few years. So that will take your orbit into a different scenario altogether. So that is, those are the most important forward-looking growth areas for us.
Okay. Thank you, sir. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Pranay Roop Chatterjee from Burman Capital. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir, again. My next question is on a data point you disclosed, the product-wide segment revenue, given the presentation. I was comparing the Q3 numbers versus the Q4 numbers, and seems like, it, it could be, correct me if I'm wrong, that some part of the other segment revenue has been moved to Sheet Metal, because Sheet Metal contribution has gone up and Others has almost half. Is this true, or, is this indeed the actual trend?
No, basically, utilization of the new facilities that were set up. We mentioned about the four plants that were set up for sheet metal.
Right.
This is basically utilization of those plants, which have obviously increased the element of sheet metal. So while the others remain the same and continue to grow, the growth in this particular segment has been the highest.
Sir, by others, I meant literally the others, segment that you disclosed, which used to be 14% of revenue in Q3, and it has become 7% of revenue in Q3. And sheet metal has gone from 12% of revenue to 19% of revenue.
Okay. Yashpal, do you want to take this and give them the details of this?
Yeah, exactly. So basically, the content of other remains the same, because other businesses includes our plastic business, the Tools and Dies, and our aftermarket business. But with the, if you see the total figures, like the revenue base of quarter four, we compare with quarter three, the element, as sir told, of Sheet Metal was literally lesser compared to the growth of, in quarter four of the Sheet Metal. So there has not been any shift on the product from others to the Sheet Metal line, right? Secondly, other-
We might, we might give them the increased bridge, the bridge here between last year and this year closings.
Yeah.
Where does that revenue come from? That might be useful to answer this question.
Right.
That bridge we have on an annual basis. Like if you ask me, out of the total revenue from INR 2,908, we have grown up to INR 3,521. INR 200 crores has been contributed by sheet metal and allied business. That has been the major contributor to the revenue. And die casting has been close to INR 180 crores. These two majors are the contributors in this part. Other has given us a total revenue on yearly basis, INR 66 crore. So on an average, it comes to INR 15, INR 16 crore a quarter. And that's our miscellaneous business, we cannot classify into any segment because the volumes are very low, like tools, dies. We have plastic business, we have aftermarket business, which are in the stage of being growing now.
Might be in the coming years, they may also find a position like other products.
Got it, sir. Is it possible to disclose, because this other segment is a significant part of the total business, double-digit percentage, at how much margins you clock here? I know it's difficult because, it's a model of multiple different things, but is it even possible to figure out if it's at the company level or dilutive or accretive, something on those lines?
Oh, on an overall basis, it is very difficult, as we told, because it's a cluster of many type of products. But yes, if you ask me, aftermarket business, one of the contributors, it contributes around 8% of margin for us, and it has been a larger contributor. Tools and Dies are there. Again, they are in a double-digit margin. They are the two major contributors in other segment.
Got it, sir. That is, that is clear. Thanks a lot, sir. I'll get back to you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Shubro, an individual investor. Please go ahead.
Thank you for the opportunity. So my first question is to start to one particular product that you are developing, which is the motor controller.
Please can you... Your sound is a little echo, sir.
Just a second. I'm on the handset mode. Is it better now?
Now it's better.
Yes, it's all right. Tell me.
Yes, sir. I just wanted to understand a little bit more about one particular product, which is the motor controller. So could you speak about the potential market size, which we'll have maybe in the next two to three years, the competitive landscape, and what kind of competition we face from the foreign players, and what are our aspirations in this product?
...to answer this question, in summary, we have a motor controller and our rated power is 250 Kilowatt, 250 Watt, 2 Kilowatt and 6 Kilowatt. The application of this is towards the two-wheeler and the three-wheeler. We expect that our product readiness in these three different configurations is June 2024, July 2024, and November 2024. Now, you are aware that the market size of India in the EV segment, especially in the two-wheeler space, is large.
The USP that we have is that most of our product is localized, and we as a company do a lot of sub-components, sub-component parts in-house, whether it is the aluminum body, whether it is the plastic body, whether it is the PCB, we have our own line, compared to many other competitors who are today importing these sub parts from China and other places. So the customers obviously want to have a localized product, and therefore we don't see an element of an issue of demand. We are now in the process of working in conjunction with our customers. Our ICAT approvals have already been done, and we see that once the supplies start, the volumes of course are dependent on the Indian market, and that is as much your guess as mine.
But we don't see too much of an issue in creating a demand for the product lines or motor controllers for us.
Sir, just to take this forward, what would be the total contribution of the total EV cost for a motor controller?
I understand that the value of this can range from INR 4,000-INR 9,000 per vehicle.
Okay. Okay. Thank you, sir. That's it from my end.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Shivam Dave, from Prodigy Investment Management. Please go ahead. Yes, Mr. Shivam, go with the question. Mr. Shivam, are you there? As there is no response from the participant, we'll move to the next. The next question is from the line of Rajat from InCred Asset Management. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hi. Am I audible?
Yes. Yes, you are.
Yeah. Hi, good morning, sir. So just one bookkeeping question. I was just going through your balance sheet, and I see that your receivables have somehow shot up significantly at the end of this year, which is up, like, 37% on a YOY basis. Could you give us some color why receivable days have gone up?
Receivables have gone up, you mean to say?
Yeah. It's currently at INR 402 crore versus INR 293 crore at the end of last year.
Yeah. So what happens is that, like, as we mentioned in our call, sir, the new plants, they have come into mass production, which were not there, last year, if you compare it to last year's figure. So obviously, that receivables of payment is not due, which we have received in the month of April now. That is one of the reasons. With the increase in the turnover, the size of the receivables has also increased. But if you see our effective receivables there, they have come down and they have improved. We are close to 35 days of receivable days now, overall.
Sure. Yeah, okay. That's, yeah, that's it from my side.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Jay, from Dolat Capital. Please go ahead.
Hello, sir. Am I audible?
Yes, please.
Yeah. Hi, hi, sir. So my first question is, like, was there any one-off during this quarter in terms of any one-time cost or any price appreciation?
Can you repeat the question please?
Was there any one-off in terms of price compensation or incentives for this quarter?
Incentives from where, government bodies or from the customers?
Yes, sir. Yes, sir, from the government bodies.
No, this quarter doesn't have any incentives from government bodies. It's a normal revenue generation for the operation.
Oh, okay, sir. Okay, sir. And sir, could you just throw some light on your locking business, like if there were any new customer acquisitions or some incremental business from your existing clients during this quarter?
Like, locking business? Yes, Sandhar would like to answer.
No, no, I just want to again reiterate the fact that the locking system, our business is getting a new platform with smart locks, where the value of the smart locks is, can be anywhere between 8x-10x of the locks that we produce. So for the company, it's a big thing, and with two launches now happening in October and November, the landscape of that particular business will change dramatically.
... Okay, sir. Okay, sir. Apart from that deal, were there any interest shown by the EV segment for the smart lock? Like, we have TVS for its iQube, or for Ola or other players which are into EVs. Are they interested in the smart locking business?
Yes, we are talking to all of them, but the first launches that will happen in India will be Suzuki and Honda, which will take it on a mass scale. Now, obviously, there are others which are doing it, whether we are supplying now to MMW. There are many who are talking about it, and some have launched in very, very small volumes, but obviously our interest was mass volumes. So the mass volumes are the ones that I'm talking about, which will take on the market for its first direction, and gradually all of them will move on to that particular platform on a mass basis.
Oh, okay, sir. Okay, sir, thank you. Sir, I do have one more question. So since TVS being your largest customer, how do you expect this to contribute going ahead?
Well, I think the capacity that has been set up, especially in the sheet metal division in the last two years, the new plants that have been set up, they have largely been set up for TVS. Therefore, you have seen that pocket grow a little higher. But I think we are now at a stabilization stage, and TVS today being the largest, whenever that happens, even in the previous scenarios of Sandhar, if Hero was higher, our idea is to bring that percentage down, not in terms of the volume of business, but to grow the other businesses faster, so that exercise will continue.
Okay. Okay, sir. Sir, and can you just throw some light on your Romania plant, and how do you see it going ahead post the strikes and after the geopolitical issues happening?
So see, the geopolitical issues, we have set up that plant, and to that end, we are utilization of the existing capacity is less than 25% there. So obviously there is a huge upside, and now things are changing, things are improving, and our two customers that we have there are growing their businesses in terms of sourcing it more from the Eastern European nations like Romania. So we expect that number to now continuously grow month-on-month in terms of the revenue that we generate from there. Well, the strike was in North America, so there, Romania was not at fault. It was Mexico that dropped its revenues.
Okay, sir. Okay, sir. Okay, sir. Thanks. Thanks, thanks a lot for the clarity and best of luck going ahead.
Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Shivam Dave from Prodigy Investments. Please go ahead. Yes, Mr. Shivam, go with the question, please.
Yeah, hello, am I audible?
Yes.
A little louder would be better, Shivam. Thank you.
Yeah. Is this better?
Yes, go ahead.
Yeah. Congrats on the good set of numbers. I had one doubt on the smart lock segment. What is the order size that we have got from Suzuki right now?
The Suzuki order book is of a level of INR 550 crore over three years.
INR 550 crore over three years, right. And this should start from, when will it start contributing to our top line?
October or November launch this year. Obviously, it's gradual, and therefore, we will only get a part of the revenue in this year. It will gradually add on to vehicles and vehicles and vehicles, but that, I think, is the overall summary of what we are looking at.
Okay. Okay, that was my only question. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Rahil Shah from Crown Capital. Please go ahead.
Hello, can you hear me?
Yes. Yes, we can.
Yes. Hi. So earlier, you mentioned about some, you know, developments with regards to the capacity expansions. So, for example, you said expanding capacity for casting components in Western India. So can you just reiterate on that and any other key developments with regards to capacities you're taking this year?
Well, I can give you broadly, and maybe Yashpal Ji can give you greater details. We are setting up one new plant, which is coming up in Khed City in Pune, and we expect to have it commissioned by August of this year. In terms of other capacities, we had one big plant, which had four divisions in Oragadam in Chennai, which was the base for our cabin and fabrication division, our casting division, our sheet metal division, and the auto division. That plant has now been given completely to the painting business for the growth plans in Chennai, and other three businesses are moving out to set up their own facilities, some in rented premises, some in a new facility, and therefore, all four businesses are growing, and those capacities are being set up in place as we speak.
In the meantime, the Mysore facility that we had set up again for sheet metal, where the capacity utilization was very low, is going to get to higher capacity utilizations in this year.
... Got it. Okay. And I believe, so for EBITDA margins, I think you said we'll follow the same guidance and we'll see an improvement of 50 basis points. Is it for the whole year, are you expecting?
Yeah, it is for the whole year, on year-over-year basis.
Over FY 2024, expecting a 50 basis points increase?
Yeah, 50 basis is our target.
Just for overall the business, you know, a general directional guidance and an outlook. So, which like segments are firing on all cylinders and will take the company, you know, will give a good amount of growth in FY 2025. You can just explain that. Because in two-wheel and four-wheel industries, we have also seen like more than two times, you know, volume growth. So is it likely to continue? So how are we, you know, well on-
Well, I don't know why, how to answer this question, but largely from our understanding, we are conservative. Other schedules.
Sir, your voice is breaking.
A lot was made out in... Can you hear me?
Yeah.
So even last year, while there's a lot of hullabaloo, the industry overall grew by 8.99%. And like I said, Sandhar grew by 21%. So we conservative on the numbers that are presented by the OEM, but we ourselves are very confident of the new content per vehicle that we've taken on in the last few years, and this will continue to grow. So at this point of time, we are quite happy. Hello?
Yes
Hello. Yeah.
Okay, sir. I agree your voice was breaking, but I got the gist of it. Thank you.
Yeah.
All right. Okay.
Thank you. A reminder to all participants, you may press star and one to ask question. The next question is from the line of Pranay Roop Chatterjee from Burman Capital. Please go ahead.
Just one question, how much maintenance CapEx and growth CapEx, totaling everything you mentioned, would we do in FY 2025?
Well, if you ask me about maintenance CapEx and growth, so maintenance CapEx would be around, in terms of you ask me turnover, 3%-4% is spent on the maintenance CapEx.
All right.
Because what happens is that there are government guidelines also in terms of running the generators, RECD guidelines, ESG requirements, so 3%-4% goes to the maintenance CapEx.
So, sir, that would mean around INR 130-INR 140 odd crores of maintenance CapEx?
Yeah, yeah. That is obvious.
Growth CapEx?
Growth CapEx, another INR 100 crore you can take up. Part of the maintenance CapEx will also go to the growth CapEx, some CapEx are common, so on an overall basis, you should see it up.
So overall, if I were to sum it up, for the investors, overall the gross block will increase by INR 200 crore?
Roughly, by INR 200 crore. Because what happens in terms of maintenance CapEx, we are doing some increasing the efficiencies of the machines also, which ultimately leads to the more efficiency in running the operation. So you can call it as maintenance CapEx, or you can call it as growth CapEx. It's a mix of both.
Got it, sir. And FY2026 levels should also be similar in terms of maintenance and growth?
Well, maintenance, as I told, 3%-4%, we will continue to do it so that we take our pace at the, I mean, the new requirements are. Growth CapEx, as of now, we need to, we'll be making the plans once we cover September, I mean, the first half of current financial year.
Got it, sir. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Shrenik Shah from Atul. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Am I audible?
Yes, please.
Sir, I wanted to ask, sir, what are our three- to- five-year plans? Can you please elaborate on that?
three-to-five-year plan?
Where do we see the company going in next to five years timeframe, basically?
Well, I think a lot of groundwork has been done in the last few years, and the idea is that we are ready with new technologies, with new content per vehicle, with capacities, with infrastructure, with the team that has been restructured. So the momentum of growth that you have seen in the last two years, we expect that momentum to continue over the next three to five years.
So are we saying that we can go for, like, 20% every year for next five years, three-five years?
Well, like I said, there are many ifs and buts, especially with a lot of uncertainty, whether it is geopolitical or it is health, or it is companies' economic growth or political scenarios. But keeping in mind that India, everybody being bullish about how India is in terms of its demographic dividend, in terms of its projected growth, I see no reason why we should not be able to achieve comfortably what we have in the last few years.
Thank you. Thank you, sir. And one more question, sir. Sir, what kind of revenues can we expect at full capacities in our all the joint venture businesses, JV businesses? Like we have seven JVs all around the globe, and we have a very high amount of capital employed over there also. So please, you can elaborate on that businesses.
Well, there are three things. One is the international business. The joint ventures are all in India. The international business is a 100% subsidiary. There, while capital is employed, a large part of that capital is employed in working capital, and because the payment terms in international markets are much longer than they are in India. So that's point one, two. Where joint ventures in India are concerned, we are continuously in talks with our joint venture partners to introduce new levels of technology, and as technologies are changing and being adapted in India, we see a very satisfactory momentum in the growth targets that are being kept. I would say that they would be in line with the overall growth of the company.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you so much. Sir, one more question: Sir, what kind of margins can we expect in steady state over next, I mean, what kind of margins are attainable for the company as a whole? I know we are expanding this, but,
I have mentioned this several times. I've mentioned this several times, that a stable, company margin can be between 12.5%-13% in terms of EBITDA. However, there are many restrictions that come in, which bring the margins down, especially for a company that is in a growth platform. So in the last few years, our margins have dropped on account of large investments that were being done, and a lot of our operational EBITDA was being lost towards these growth capitals. However, now that we've stabilized, you've seen the change, and that change is bringing back the margins back into operational, parameters. Therefore, that is the reason why Yashpal ji has just mentioned, that even in this year, you will see about a 50 basis point improvement in the margins that we will have over the last year.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you so much, and I appreciate, sir. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. A reminder to all participants, you may press star and one to ask question. The next question is from the line of Aditya Sanjay from Complete Circle Capital. Please go ahead.
Hi again, sir. Just wanted to ask you and just get some qualitative thoughts from you. You know, in addition to the three products that we have in the EV segment, you know, are we having any conversations with other OEMs, or are we looking at any other products? Just qualitative comments will do. Don't want any number around it.
Yes. So yes, the answer is yes, on both fronts. While new products will not be launched besides these three in the current year, we are working on several others with several OEMs, and co-developing with several OEMs, so you will see many more of them in the kitty as we go forward.
Sir, just another question. You know, these, these EV products, you know, how, how, what percentage of the revenue pie would they contribute to, say, in the next three, five years? Do you have any internal targets in mind? That's my last question. Thank you.
Well, I would not be able to give you any forecast on the percentage in terms of overall revenues, but suffice to say that over the next three or four years, they would become a significant number in the overall revenues of the company going forward, including and profitability.
Thank you, sir, and all the best.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Hemesh Desai from Dolat Capital. Please go ahead.
Hello?
Yes, please.
Hi. Just a couple of questions. The first one's on the aluminum die casting business. Have you had any new order in this segment? And, have you added any new customers or new products in this line?
You are asking about aluminum die casting?
Yes, sir.
Yeah, regular development. So I mean, the new product development is going on. That's the reason you can see that the vertical has grown. I mean, it has shown a very good growth in last two years of time, and in fact, we are expanding this capacity to Western India, also in Pune, as well mentioned in Khed City. So largely, we are catering to mainly two-wheeler customers in aluminum die casting, and we see no reason as to why we should not grow in this vertical in coming period of time.
Okay. And just my second question was on the tool and dies business. What outlook do we have for the next couple of years?
Well, Tools and Dies business, it's not a very, I would say, recurring business. I mean, it goes up, and this is the demand of the customer. It's seeing a good demand of 20%-25% over the last two years. I think it should go in the sales.
Okay, sir. Thank you. That's it. Thank you.
Thank you. A reminder to all participants, you may press star and one to ask question. The next question is from the line of Jay from Dolat Capital. Please go ahead.
Hello, sir. Thanks for the opportunity again. Sir, I just wanted to ask, what is your outlook on the RM basket going ahead?
What market going ahead?
RM basket, raw material cost.
Raw material cost is an astrologer's call, and very difficult for me to answer that question. You have seen some commodities starting to go up. Our standard answer and our standard line of approach to this is that this is a straight pass-through to the customers. However, there is a certain lag when the prices start to go up. And there is a little bit of pain that comes. But overall, on a larger platform, this is a pass-through. So, whatever happens, it really doesn't affect the overall volume of profits for an organization, especially in the auto component arena.
Okay, sir. Okay, sir, thank you. Sir, and could you just throw some light on how much this lag is? Is it a one quarter lag, or is it more than that, when the lag is passed on to the customers?
The lag is typically, our costings are done every three months. Because of a lot of volatility that started to happen about three years ago, there are some companies that shifted on to a one-month platform, but more often than not, costings are done over a period of—after a period of three months, every three months. So the lag is three months.
Okay, sir. Okay, sir. Okay, sir. And, sir, one more question from my end. That, can you just throw some light on your assembly business and the outlook going ahead?
The assembly business is a part assembly business, parts manufacturing business, where we manufacture steel rims. We do the plating, we do the handles and so on and so forth. That continues to grow, but the rate of growth is that of the industry. So if you look at that business, if the entire industry grows at 9%, 10%, that's the growth that we get in that particular business. The other growth or the accentuated growth is coming from new product lines.
Okay. Okay. Okay, sir. Thank you, sir. Thanks. Thanks a lot.
All right.
Thank you. As that was the last question, I now hand the conference over to the management for closing comments. Over to you, sir.
Well, I want to thank Dolat Capital, and I want to thank all the people who joined this particular call. We are very happy that you could make it. We at our end to work together to take advantage of the Indian landscape and the Indian auto industry. We hope that we will be able to give you results which are probably better than what we have done in the last quarter. With that, thank you all very much once again.
Thank you. On behalf of Dolat Capital-