Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the Senco Gold Limited Q2 FY26 earnings conference call hosted by Avendus Spark. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in 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 * and zero on your touchstone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Ranganathan from Avendus Spark. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thanks. Good morning, everyone. On behalf of Avendus Spark, it's our pleasure to host the Q2 FY2026 earnings conference call for Senco Gold Limited today. From the management side, we have Mr. Suvankar Sen, MD and CEO, and Mr. Sanjay Banka, the CFO. Now, I hand the conference call to the management for the opening remarks, followed by a Q&A section. Thank you. Over to you, sir.
Thank you, Mr. Ranganathan. This is Suvankar Sen, the MD and CEO of Senco Gold Limited, and we would like to welcome every one of you all to the conference call. As we begin the call, I would be happy to share the updates. Primarily, if we look at it, this particular quarter Q2, Senco Gold and Diamonds has achieved a very good performance in terms of increase in profitability, whether you call it adjusted or without adjustments. In terms of PAC, we have increased our PAC by almost 300% compared to the Q2 of last year, from INR 12.1 crore to INR 48.8 crore. If we take the adjustment of the customs duty impact that was there, still there would be an increase in PAC of 43%.
This is very important because at this high gold price, when we could see that there were certain headwinds in terms of the sales, especially in the month of September, where consumers were in the mood of postponing their buying and confused as to what to do with the increase in gold price. As a result, we have seen that in a consolidated manner, our revenue growth has been about 2%, so about INR 1,536 crore compared to INR 1,500 crore of revenue in the previous year's quarter. In standalone financials, we have seen a 6.6% growth for the company. There are certain good things that have happened during this particular quarter that we have been able to continuously innovate with jewelry as per the demand of the consumer.
As a result of the planning in terms of marketing, promotion, and product development, we could see that there was a very good response in terms of revenue in the month of October. We had clocked the highest-ever sales in any single month of INR 1,700 crore in the month of October compared to about INR 1,100 crore of sales in the previous year's October month of the festive season. As we speak to you, we have already crossed INR 5,000 crore of revenue growth, which makes us strong enough that we are moving towards the target of our revenue growth of INR 7,400 crore for the whole year. That is one very good sign. The momentum post-Dhanteras buying also continues to remain strong. There is a strong number of days for the upcoming wedding season.
We can see that whether it be November, December, January, February, right up till March, there are a large number of wedding days. There is a sentiment in the consumer's mind that in this volatile gold scenario, the prices of gold could go up, which is making the consumers come and prepone their buying, which is for the next year to this year, and ensuring that the wedding jewelry sales continue to happen. In terms of average selling price and average ticket price in an increasing gold scenario, we have seen that it has almost gone up by 16% to INR 86,200. That is one important point to take note of.
The other aspect that we need to take note of is that the old gold exchange in the overall transactions that we do with the consumers, that has gone up to 42%-43% from a 35% a year back, which is showing that consumers are utilizing their old gold to exchange for new jewelry that they are buying. Whenever we are seeing YTD growth of almost 25% year on year as on date, but in spite of the value growth of 25% in terms of volume, we are seeing that the volume growth is in very low single digit or almost zero, mainly because of the increase in gold price scenario.
People are looking at buying lighter-weight jewelry in 22 karat, or in diamond jewelry, we are seeing that there is a tendency to buy 9 karat and 14 karat just to make and fit into the budget of the consumer. One good thing that has happened that is helping the profitability is that the stock ratio continues to remain strong at about 12%. Our effort and endeavor is, as a company, that we continue to make good designs. We have right now more than 200,000 designs in gold jewelry and 100,000 plus designs in diamond jewelry. The growth that we intend to do, I think we can be more sure that the 20% growth for the whole year will be very much in the pipeline.
Continuing with new designs and working on optimizing the stock at this high gold price scenario, we will continue to look at increasing the ROE and the ROC of the company and take it to a very nice, handsome, robust level. Thank you very much. From my side, I will request Mr. Banka to share his thoughts.
Yes, sir. Thank you. Just to give once again a sharper background, we have launched six showrooms in Q2 and a total of 16 showrooms we have launched so far while we are cognizant for the SSG growth. While the Q2 growth has been slower, and as you said, this industry sometimes depends upon the gold prices.
Since the gold prices were extremely high in Q2 and the GST cut was very important, people were waiting for the new GST rate to come into effect, and they had withheld their purchases for purchase of capital goods. That was one of the major reasons for the slower growth in Q2, coupled with global uncertainty, the rains in Eastern India. Accordingly, the moment this thing settled, we saw huge growth in October, which was almost more than 50% growth value in October, INR 1,700 crore plus sales, and YTD growth again is back on track to 25%. We have given a guidance of around 18%-20% growth for the rest of the year, which means that 25% plus 18%-20% for five months, we would be crossing 20% growth for sure for the whole year.
Financial number you've seen that the revenue growth in Q2 was 2% on a standalone basis. Your consolidated was 2%, standalone was 6%. We have to see the number for the TTM growth. When we published that TTM number as well, we are very happy to inform you that the trailing 12 months sales had crossed INR 7,400 crore. This is one of good signs which shows that clearly for the whole year, we'll be crossing INR 7,400 crore. Similarly, EBITDA margin for the quarter and for the whole year has been range bound. You would see an EBITDA margin improvement by 340 basis points from 3.5% to 6.9% on consolidated basis. Similarly, EBIT margin growth year over year from 3.3% to 6.9%, once again 360 basis points growth. Moreover, for Q1 and Q2 both taken together, the PAT is INR 153 crore.
This is almost 25% or 80% of last year's PAT. Obviously, the adjusted PAT was slightly higher at INR 2,000,000,000. This indicates that the business is quite solid and remains on track based upon the improved stock ratio, the pricing power which we enjoy. As you are aware, there's a lot of discounting happening in the market, but we maintain the brand image perfect. We don't indulge into discounting either in the making charges. We rather play in attracting our customers with more new deals and attractive offers. This is one part. Similarly, if you look at balance sheet, you will find an increase in the inventory level from around INR 35,000,000,000 level to INR 42,000,000,000 level, which we have explained. This has got two reasons. One is that there is preparedness, and secondly, the gold price rise impact.
Similarly, borrowing had also increased, so they have settled down now. This is a business where the business is hungry for growth and more and more capital will be required for inventory. When I say capital, I mean capital employed. We will continue to infuse in the business in the form of a plowback of profits. That is when the net debt to equity is also in the range of 0.75. Overall, we are very confident that the business is showing its resilience despite competitive pressure in the market, and we maintain our strength in the market. An important point was the GML, which rate had increased in quarter four and in the beginning two months. The GML rates have come down. I think that the slight risk on the profitability which was there, that has also come down.
That will add another INR 20 crore to the PAT for the whole year. Our working capital limits are in place. Overall, we are very much poised for the wedding season now for Q3 and Q4. With that, we request, we open the call for question and answer, and we will be very happy to answer your queries and curiosity about our company. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Banka. Thank you, everyone. I think now we can take any questions from all of the participants.
Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touchstone phone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press * 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 Vidisha Seth from Ambit Capital. Please go ahead.
Hi. I just had one question. If you all can update on the status of the levels of GML or non-GML borrowing and cash flows as of date or as of October. Just trying to understand the issue here because typically every second quarter, as of the first half of every year, the inventory balance would be elevated given the upcoming festive and wedding season. I was wanting to understand what led to the GML mix going down. Were there any issues on the margin side of it, or was it a conscious call if you can please elaborate?
Yeah. As you said, Vidisha, the lower in quarter one, and that's why from around 65% level, it had come to 51% level. Although the GML availability had improved in quarter two, but once again, as you are aware, GML is on unfixed basis. Due to the extreme volatility in the gold prices, we were receiving a lot of margin calls. To avoid the margin call pressure, we resorted to CC instead of GML. It was primarily due to the gold prices rise and volatility and to avoid the margin calls on the GML.
Just to follow up then to this, then what is the approach that you're looking to take going forward? Because gold prices, I mean, it can be predicted very accurately, right? But on the other hand, you said that you were wanting to increase the GML mix. How should one think about this forcing mix going forward?
It's a very dynamic situation. See, it cannot be predicted. It's a cash flow management on day-to-day basis. While our ideal target to take the GML to 75% remains there, as of now, we are seeing, again, we are seeing volatility for the last three-four days. Going forward, we have to see. In terms of impact, the differential impact is what? Around from 6.5, from let's say the GML interest rate is 3.5% and CC is around 9%. 6% on the differential will not be a huge amount. We weigh the benefit of this higher interest rate on the CC versus the margin call and accordingly calibrate to ensure that our both the profit target, the OpEx, as well as the cash flow availability, all these three angles are balanced properly. We will manage it properly.
Sure. Would you be able to share the current GML levels as of October 25?
It's too early. I don't have exact number, but I think it is around 54%-55% only because the rates remain volatile. The margin call risk is there. There is always a risk of gold rate moving in either direction. So better to manage the working capital more importantly at this stage.
Okay. The second question was when you've called out that at retail level, you've seen 50% plus kind of a revenue growth. Would there be a similar divergence between retail versus company-level sales, or can we expect company-level sales also to be north of 30%-40% for the month of October?
Percent exact. No, I think that the divergence won't be happening. This kind of growth that we have mentioned is at a retail level as well as at a company level. Yes.
Noted. Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Raj Saraf from FinVectors. Please go ahead.
Am i Audible?
Yes, sir. Please go ahead.
Yes, yes, you are. Yeah. A couple of questions from my side. I just want to understand that every company in the company listed and listed has, though they have the voluntary growth for this quarter, but the sales number is actually a multiplication of volume and the growth in the gold prices. By the virtue of that, they have posted at least, as I talk about the biggest year, that is a north of 20% sales growth. I just want to understand that the spending pattern in the region in which a majority of our branches are also a factor.
Are you saying about the volume degrowth and the profitability linked to that? Just to clarify what exactly is the question.
I just want to understand that our majority of our branches are in eastern sectors. That is the reason or the spending pattern of that region is actually pushed us to have degrowth in this quarter while our each and every tier has posted some kind of sales growth driven by the gold price spike. Why did not we be able to get our revenue at least passing with a good number?
Right, right. Okay. Yeah. See, there could be a possibility that 60%-65% of our stores and business is from the eastern part of the country. As a result, in Q2, we have seen that the growth has not happened as per our peers. All in all, if we look at H1 and if we also, while October, we have seen the growth that has happened and also the growth that we are seeing continuing in the month of November, it kind of reinforces the fact that a particular quarter does not really should be a matter of concern and worry. Also, amongst our consumer base, and we must keep in mind that almost 65% of the business that we get is from our loyal customer base and our repeat customers. For them as well, everyone looks forward on buying something for the auspicious season.
There were continuous efforts and relationship-building exercises during the month of September. As a result, we have seen that in October, we have had a growth of almost 55%-60%. Maybe that is one of the reasons why the other peers have not been able to kind of see that growth level in October that we have seen. All in all, in YTD, again, maybe I am repeating that we are seeing a YTD growth of almost 25% as of date.
Mr. Saraf, if I can build on this query, West Bengal and eastern region of India has been, in fact, somewhere I've read that West Bengal is among the top five fastest growing economy states in India. To set risk to speculation, eastern states are growing equally. The spend in eastern states remains same. This disparity which we are trying to see, whether the eastern states have grown less, whether consumer spending has reduced, that is not the reason. Maybe Durga Puja could be one of the reasons. GST 2.0, where customers have suspended their purchase for purchase of capital goods. The cultural pattern varies from region to region. I think that could be one of the reasons. That is why we have disclosed this Sanjay Banka sale. 25% growth is there, while 80% of our sales come from eastern region.
Even from future perspective, the market is quite strong. The GDP growth in the eastern region is strong. The state governments are stable. Your Bihar results will come soon. We think that on a pan-India basis, our business remains de-risked in terms of growth, while there has been a slight difference in the growth. Overall, for the long term, we see our portfolio equally distributed and totally de-risked. We are always confident of 18%-20% growth year on year for the next 5-10 years minimum. Okay, sir. The next some questions on, sir, margin this year has been to H1, that is north of 9%. Our sustainable margin is 7%. Though I have gone through the presentation in which there is a mention that this year the margin would be 8%.
Just want to understand how much hedging has helped us, and how much percentage NRV has right now?
Our sustainable EBITDA that we have always been speaking about is anywhere between 7% to 7.5%, and to be more accurate, between 7.2% to 7.5%. It is a blend of the various channels of sales. It is the blend of the various products, whether it be gold, diamond, platinum, silver, all the various products that we are selling. We will continue to reinforce the fact that this year also we should be clocking an EBITDA between 7.2% to 7.4% on a whole year's level. From a hedging perspective, I would like to say that when it comes to hedging in terms of the sales that we are doing, we are almost hedging 90% to 100%. That is buying as much as we are selling.
If we are looking at the hedging levels of the inventory that we have, as we ended Q2, our hedging percentage has been in the range of 65%-70%. I guess that in the hedging might have an impact of 0.4%, 0.5% overall, but all in all, most of the gross margins and the profit that has been earned is from the making charges and from the diamond jewelry sales.
Okay. So just give me a clarification, sir, on the slide number seven of your presentation in the profitability growth para. In the last line, you have mentioned that we have maintained our guidance of sustainable EBITDA margin of 7% range. FY2026, EBITDA may be 8% range higher than our standalone outlook. So are you standing by these statements, sir?
Yeah, yeah.
Yes, sir. Yeah, yeah. See, what we have clearly said, like let's say in quarter one, it was 10%, right? In quarter two, it is around 7.4%. We clearly stand by our guidance of the range bound of, let's say, 7.1%-7.4%. For H1, since it is more than, I think, blended is more than 8.5%, for the rest of the year, we are confident of 7% range. Hence, the blended for the whole year will be higher. For future also, we are driving the business clearly with a minimum 7% EBITDA target. In fact, going year on year, as we are looking at improving our STAR ratio, it should increase by 20-30 basis points more because with a larger network and with larger brand building expenses, our strength will happen.
Let us very humbly highlight that our pricing is amongst the best in the industry without taking any name. We do not discount our product. We do not sell too much bullion. If you look at even our point sales, that is only around 4%-5% maximum for a whole year. Rest assured of a minimum 7%. The 7% range I am saying, earlier we had 6.8%-7.3%.
Am I audible, sir?
Yes, yes, you are audible.
Yeah. Sir, so thank you very much for the clarification. Sir, just last question from my side. Sir, as you are saying that the consumer must have held themselves for the festive season. I have gone through some of the peers' festive season updates. Two of the peers have grown even more than 70%, and one is more than 100%, which is in the southern state. The trend is absolutely saying that the festive season has been good for every jeweler. What I'm not able to actually understand in our entire tier is why we have not grown on the sales number, whether each and every small and big company have grown at least the sales at least 20%, and we have not grown, sir. One more also clarification, this is my last question. Year-to-date growth of 25%, it is on standalone basis or consolidated basis?
Because in the last S2 update which you have given, there has been written 6.5% growth, and there has been not written the standalone consolidated. I was expecting at least that the consolidated number to be at least 6% more than the last quarter, last quarter of the last year. That is what actually more than 2%, and the standalone number is 6.5%. Please clarify this.
If you look at the difference, it is around 40%-50% crores, right? Between say a 2% and a 6%. So around 40%-50% crore is the difference between standalone and consol. Even when we are saying INR 1,700 crores versus INR 1,100 crores, it is that we initially speak of standalone. If there is any deviation, it will be in the range of 2%. It is not going to be a major range. Our standalone and consol, as I shared in the previous answer, is at that same level. This 24%-25% growth that we are seeing on YTD, primarily it is on standalone, but the difference, even if it is there, will be in the range of 1%-2%, not more.
Okay, sir. Yeah, thank you. Thank you very much. I wish you best of luck for the future.
Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Ankit Minocha from Azadi Bridgers Family Office. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hi. Good morning. If I look at the sequential numbers for margins, what substantially changed in Q2 versus say Q1 and Q4 previous to that, that the EBITDA margins have come down? I mean, what would you attribute this to? Could we also say that in Q4 and Q1, there was a higher level of inventory gains that would have not come in this quarter?
Mr. Banka, are you there to take the question? I'll just, while we are waiting for him to join. We have to understand that the 10% that had happened in Q1 was something which we explained in the last earnings call is because of the hedging percentage being on the lower side, we could get some more profit. We had also determined that that was in the range of 20%-25% corrol, and that was the Q1 scenario. What we have seen in Q2 is that at the current hedging levels of 70%, the EBITDA number has stabilized. What we always say is that EBITDA will be in the range of 7%-7.5%. Here, we are seeing that the EBITDA is at the standard level with the STAR ratio at around 12%, and the jewelry has been selling the way it has been selling.
Another benefit that had happened in Q1 is that we had done a INR 1,800 crore sale and leading to a higher overall absolute numbers of gross margin, which kind of percolated into the overall profitability. In this Q2, we have had a INR 1,530 crores of revenue sale, and that is what the overall impact has been. Again, Q3 with a much higher sales number, we hope that when the sales number becomes a little higher, the operation leverages come into the picture, and there could be some extra benefit if it happens. Yes, you could say that Q1 had an extra benefit of having a lower hedge ratio, but Q2 did not see any such extra benefit, and it is on the stable side as per our expectations.
I mean, what would be, how should we understand the inventory gains losses that could be coming up considering your hedging policy? I mean, if it's, say, changing from quarter to quarter, then in that case, the margins would also be widely different. Also, should we not be seeing stronger EBITDA margins for the next two quarters for H2 considering the strong rise in gold, and that we should expect some more inventory gains?
Yeah. See, in the first place, we are not guiding for higher EBITDA margin more than earlier we had said 6.8%-7.2%. Even right now, I said 7.1%-7.3%. Clearly, the market is quite competitive. Every quarter, we do not increase or reduce our prices, making charges, or diamond prices, right? Clearly, we are expecting a range bound EBITDA growth in the future. The pricing sometimes is dependent upon the extreme competition. Even some listed players are offering discounts on gold. You see that we maintain our pricing policy very, very constant. We ensure that instead of offering discounts on the gold or making charges, we rather attract the customers with the new and innovative lines. For future, look at similar number. Q1 was higher, which we had called out that part of the higher.
When the EBITDA was around 10.1%, we had clarified that a part of higher EBITDA is due to the hedging, I mean, the realization gain. You see that there was huge fluctuation in Q1 in the gold prices, whereas in Q2, the quarter-on-quarter increase in gold prices was only 6%. July and August were almost at the same level as what was in June. Only in September, partially, it has increased. That is why you have seen a stable EBITDA margin. Now, looking at Q3, you would have seen that the prices had come down. If the prices remain stable in the same range, then you can certainly look at 7.1%-7.4%. If prices rise considerably high, then we have to see what is the result. Minimum will be 7.1%-7.2%.
Your hedging concern, I think if you kindly look at our presentation on hedging, we have very clearly clarified that hedging has to be seen from two perspectives. One is on the sales hedging, which is almost 90%-100%. I would rather go one step ahead, and I will say 105%. Because whatever I sell, I have to purpose buy on the same day to keep my inventory level. In fact, for the new stores and for upcoming festive season, I will end up buying more than that. I will say 105%. That is one very important part of the hedging. We can show that at a business level. I am distincting two parts. At a business level, definitely we do not growth. Now, accounting, once again, it is subject to the weighted average cost in there.
I think as a SWAP businessman, as a prudent investor, we have to look both sides and the inherent strength of the business. I think that should be enough, and we will surely get a confidence into our business model and risk management practices.
Okay. Yeah. Thanks for that. That's quite clear. My second question is with regard to now investment levels that you would have to see for, say, new franchise partners to come on board. I mean, considering how gold has risen, I believe the investment for a new franchisee in the channel would be becoming significantly higher. How are you seeing the impact of this issue currently, and how do you think that this issue could be dealt with in the future?
See, one good thing that we have seen in this financial year is that we have already opened eight franchisee stores, and the management focus is that we will drive in more and more franchisees. We have about 8-10 more franchisees that are to be opened in the pipeline, and our effort is towards building connect and having a focus on opening more and more franchisees. Even in the future, when we plan to have our growth journey in terms of number of stores, we will continue to look at seeing at the opportunities that are lying in the tier two, three, four towns and cities. In this increasing gold price scenario, two things have happened.
One is that the confidence of not only the consumers, but also the potential franchisee buyers on gold and silver as an asset class has grown, and the interest of theirs towards opening franchisees is also there, very much there. It is just the ability to have the commercial capital to open the stores. We have multiple formats of stores for Senco compared to many of our competitors. We have got stores in tier two, three, four towns and cities with various levels of inventories. Also, our Everlight model, which is the INR 6-8 crore of capital required to open a store focusing on lightweight jewelry, is very much there as well. Our focus is that the future growth potential will continue to remain strong, and our effort towards opening more stores through franchisees will be there.
Yes, as you said, that the other competition players are also there. I think that the market overall, let us not forget that it is a large market, and India is shifting from an unorganized to organized situation. In this scenario of higher volatile gold price, players like us, the organized players, will continue to remain strong and keep opening stores. I guess that's the way to look at it.
Sure. My final question was to understand, say an inverse scenario happens and gold prices were to start going down next year. What is the impact of that on your profitability and considering your hedging policy this year? I mean, what kind of scenario should we build in if in case gold prices start dropping slightly next year?
We have a very strong framework, and the hedging team is working as per that strong framework and guideline. If the scenario of the same various scenario builds up that you are talking about, and if the gold prices suddenly are in a downward trend, then this 70%, 65%, 70% hedging can be very comfortably converted into an 80%, 85%, 90% hedging. If you look at it, it is only in the last, I would say, six months to nine months in this volatile gold price volatility that we are keeping our hedging ratio at about 60% to 70%. In the previous financial year, we were at 85%, 90% hedging. There are certain constraints of liquidity of margin calls that forces us to reduce our hedging position from 80%, 90% to 65%, 70%.
In your kind of a bearish scenario, we will make sure that as per the framework, we will increase our hedge percentage.
On sales level, 100%.
Yeah. To again reinforce the fact that at the sales level, we will always remain at 90%-100%. That much confidence and comfort is something that you can take from us.
Right. Thank you and all the best.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, in order to ensure that the management is able to address all the questions from the participants in the conference, please limit yourself to two questions per participant. Should you need any follow-up questions, you may rejoin the queue. The next question is from the line of Devanshu Bansal from Emkay Global. Please go ahead.
Yes, sir. Hi. Good morning. Thank you for the opportunity and congratulations on a good growth pickup in festive and the guidance update on both growth and margin front. Suvankar, I wanted to understand the payables have increased in H1, so we were able to get higher credit period from our vendors. What different are we doing now in terms of sourcing versus what we were sort of practicing earlier? Just your thoughts if there is a strategic change here.
The payables, is that what you're saying?
Yes. Yes. Payables have increased. Has there been a change in sourcing strategy? Has there been a change in credit terms from vendors? I wanted some thoughts there.
Devanshu, what has happened is that in the month of September, it was just before the peak festive season. This time, if you see that the Navratras started in the last week of September, and Dhantirus was in the middle of October compared to usually Dhantirus and Diwali being towards the end of October. As a result, with our expansion of network and the increase of stores, we've tried to ensure that we have enough inventory at the various store levels, and we have taken the support from our suppliers and vendors for the festive season to ensure that we have enough and more inventory at the stores.
It is because of that planning that we did from before that we could make sure that the inventory was there in the stores during the peak festive season, and we could achieve the sales that we could have achieved. It was more from that perspective rather than any kind of change of policy. It was more in terms of planning; that is the reason why the payables have been on that side.
Understood. Small follow-up on my first question. That implies that debt levels would still have remained at the September end levels, right? Because whatever payable deductions must have happened must have been to internal approval. Debt level sort of must be at a similar level as of now.
Yeah. At least for December, let's say the debt level has come down now. The debt level is always elevated in March and September for the Dhanteras preparedness, and it comes down by INR 300-400 crore. Let's say by December, depending upon the signal requirement. As far as March 26 is concerned, the debt level will be slightly more elevated than the September level because we'll be stocking for the upcoming Akshay Tritiya and Poila Boishakh and for further 20% growth. If it is TTM for INR 7,400 crore and 20% you add on that, the debt level will increase. We have to look at the debt-equity ratio, and net debt-equity is 0.75%. With this, we'll continue to be ring-bound in terms of the financial indicators.
Yes, sir. I agree with that equity share.
Devanshu, see, business is very of most importance. If you look at it this time in the upcoming season, Akshay Rupiah is in month of 19th of April, right? Usually, Akshay Rupiah happens end of April or in May. This time, it is in the 19th of April. I think for the industry, we need to make enough and more inventory for that particular season and the day. That is how we have to keep it in mind.
Fair enough. Second and last question from my end. This is in reference to studded sales. There is almost a 25% better realization that we are able to command for studded sales. I wanted to check, is it largely due to increase in the gold component in studded sales, or are we seeing better realizations for natural diamonds also within that mix? Just your thoughts here.
I think that in terms of realization, we have had growth in diamond jewelry as well as value growth in gold jewelry. I guess that with the festive season coming in and in October and the build-up, it has been both sides. We are also using technology and tools to optimize the stock. I think that is of most importance in this high gold price scenario. There is a lot of, and I have been saying it in each and every earnings call, that at store level, we are looking at the faster-moving inventory, the top-selling design, all of it. The merchandising team is working with that.
For the industry, when the gold prices have gone up by 40%-50%, we have to actually get into the minute levels of what is the budget of the customers, what are the weight ranges that are moving. The same designs might be selling in a much lighter weight, and we have to keep working on that. Those kind of initiatives in terms of building efficiency are being done. I guess that could be one of the main reasons why you are seeing this kind of better.
Suvankar, I was checking that in October, you mentioned 30% growth in studded, and you mentioned that volume carried growth is 5%. There is 25% better realization that we are able to command. The question was, what is leading to this 25% rise? Is this largely due to the gold component within the studded sales, or is this also being led by better realization per carat for natural diamonds? That was what I was trying to.
The volume carriages have also gone up by, I would say, low double digits. There is some amount of carriage growth. The gold aspect of it in the overall diamond jewelry has also played a role. Along with 18-carat, 14-carat is of a critical nature. We have also launched 9-carat purity products, and we are gradually doing that also to fulfill the demand of having products at the lower ticket size levels of consumers. Yes, not only has the gold price played a role, but diamond jewelry volume growth has also happened in the low single-digit numbers.
Lastly, from a realization per carat of natural diamond, has that remained stable? How has that sort of moved? Realization per carat of natural diamond.
Realization per carat of natural diamond has been stable. That is, the prices of natural diamond have not moved up the same way as it has with the gold prices. So per carat has been in the similar range.
Understood. Fair enough, sir. Thanks for taking my questions.
Thank you. A reminder to all the participants that you may please limit yourselves to two questions. The next question is from the line of Naveen Trivedi from Motilal Oswal. Please go ahead.
Just quickly, what was our same proceeds growth for this quarter? My second question is on what are our gross margin for our studded jewelry? I remember I think earlier we were guiding around 25%-30% sort of a gross margin. If you can just give us these two numbers.
You have to look at the same store sale growth for the quarter, for the half year, and also YTD. First, in terms of SSG growth of Q2 has been -4%. SSG growth for six months, H1 has been +8%, and SSG growth for YTD October has been 17%. That is where one has to look at the bigger picture. That is in terms of SSG. The other question you had was.
Only knowing, actually, you asked a question on the gross margin on the studded product. I think this is slightly sensitive information and not so competitive, very competitive information. I think let us look at the blended gross margin and blended EBITDA. We can take this call one to one.
Okay. I was just trying to understand because our gross margin this quarter and the previous quarter has seen quite sharp sort of a recovery. There can be a little bit kind of because of studded also did well compared to the gold jewelry side. Just trying to understand the math for the gold jewelry gross margin, how that has kind of seen expansion, and then how the other vessel business has seen.
Right. And then also we can, there is so much more detailing in terms of gross margin because of the product mix, because of the channel sales, all of that. Yeah, there are certain things we can share and certain things which are confidential.
Just last bit question on the triple SSG, you mentioned negative 4%. Do you think that since our customer base is more for the lightweight jewelry and slightly lower on the average order value, they are more sensitive to this gold inflation compared to kind of other players? You know, thereby, we have seen this kind of a portfolio issue and as well as the volume sort of a kind of a pressure this quarter. Is the understanding right?
See, this quarter, it is partially right because this quarter is just like something that we could see that in the month of September, the gold prices started shooting up. We could see that in the minds of the consumer while we were all reaching out and talking to them. There was confusion that is this gold price at these levels sustainable? Let us wait and watch, and we will take the purchase decision later on. That was the overall feedback that we got from our customer base. These same customers who are in this kind of a situation of wait and watch, when actually in the month of October, as we moved really into the festive season and it was Diwali and Dhantirus, they went and they bought. That has been the behavior of our consumers for this particular quarter.
That is where we are continuously guiding you all that do not get influenced by just the Q2 numbers, but look at the October numbers, and you will see that it is actually maybe a postponement of sales from September to October, and that is the reason that has happened with our consumers. That is the way to look at it. Yes, the sensitivity of price is there, but you look at the ATV numbers. That has also grown by 14%-15%. Volumes have come down. We are also developing products which are within budget, lighter weight, so that our consumers can continue to afford and buy. We are focusing on everyday wear jewelry, not only the heavy wedding demands.
Our whole thought process is that how the middle upper middle class of India can continue to buy jewelry even at these kind of volatile gold price scenarios. That's the way to look at it.
Yeah, sure. Thanks. Just a little bit since we are guiding second half is a very promising outlook. Now, if I look at the gold, again, sort of seeing inflation sort of a trend, when you are guiding this kind of a growth rate for second half, are we seeing that the gold sort of will remain in the lower side zone, and that's why you are kind of optimistic about second half, or you think that the gold can go up and then again customer base can still be in the sidelines and we may see some sort of a destabilization in the guidance compared to the guidance what we have? That's all from my side.
No, the second half, my optimistic guidance on the second half is because we have seen a very strong number in October, and we have seen that post-Dhanteras, usually people are in a mode of wait and watch, but this time we are in the middle of November, and we could see that there is consumers coming, buying, and the positive movement is there. Plus, the number of weddings that were not there enough in Q2 this time, there are a large number of weddings that are there in Q3 and Q4. That is also giving us the confidence that consumers will be buying, and whether it be for gifting, whether it be for wedding purchases, that will continue to happen. It is nothing really to do with gold price, but more with the other business opportunities related to jewelry buying.
That is how one has to look at it, and we are developing new, new designs to fulfill the need. That is the other strength on which we are banking upon.
Yeah, thank you and all the best, sir.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Bhavya Gandhi from Dalal & Broacha Stock Broking Limited. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hi. Thanks for the opportunity. I wanted one clarification. Say, for example, let's take an example. If our weighted average cost of inventory is INR 100 and the gold price is currently at INR 150, can we assume that until the gold price falls back to INR 100 or below INR 100, we will not see any loss on inventory because we have to value inventory at cost or NRV? Is that the correct understanding? Even if in a rising gold scenario, that INR 100 has become INR 150, if it comes back to INR 130, still we will not see any loss till it reaches back to INR 100, which is the weighted average cost of inventory, which is sitting on your books. If you can provide some light on that.
Bhavya, it's a very long subject, so I would request you to refer to the FAQ which we published in Q3, and even the current slide. It's a much longer discussion. It's very difficult to explain in few words. Particularly, let's say my current inventory of INR 4,200, let's say it has got some rate. Let's say INR 12,000 per gram. Now, the weighted average cost happens on a daily basis. If the price comes down, the cost comes down. From that cost, the margin is decided. It is linked to the hedging level also. As we said, if price keeps coming down, we will swiftly increase the hedging ratio to 80%-90%. I think that we are more on the accounting issue. Let us understand the business issue.
Whatever I sell today at a lower price, if price comes down to, let's say, INR 9,000 per gram, I will buy at INR 9,000 per gram. The business model remains intact as it is. Now, accounting may impact the weighted average cost; it will never ever give a symmetric result for the same quarter. If you look at two quarters or three quarters, it will normalize, and it will become symmetrical. That is all I can say.
Okay. So my second question is regarding the OCF. Since last four years, we've seen negative OCF. If you want to maintain 18%-20% growth guidance for next maybe couple of years, how do we fund our money for the COCO? I understand one on the inventory side, you'll be taking GML, but ultimately, you'll have to repay GML also. On the OCF, if you can throw some light, when can we expect positive signs? Because gold price, let's assume that if it's trending upwards only, then your OCF will continue to remain negative. How do you balance growth versus OCF? Yeah.
Let me make it more simple, Bhavya, because OCF, we are looking at from an accounting angle, operating cash flow. If I have to set up, let's say, 10 more stores or 15 more stores next year, I need INR 300 crore. That's all, right? INR 300 crore will be funded from the facts and the working capital drawing. That's all. The OCF, what you are seeing is an optically looking negative. I looked at some other players as well. Somebody was positive. Okay. Whenever there is a cash flow crunch, it is met by Tate Table and for a shorter period for Akshay Prithvi and Poila Boishakh and as well as Dhantirus. The long-term plans are in place. The working capital line, which has been increased to INR 2,400 crore for March 2026, maybe it will increase to INR 3,000 crore by March 2027.
Every jeweler company, you see the working capital borrowing rises, table rises, and the capital employed is partly funded by either equity or QRP or by the plowing back of profit. We are in a very comfortable situation, and I want to assure you that OCF does not become an impediment for growth of the business.
Okay. Got it. Just to follow up on this as well, sir, say for example, 18%-20% if gold price remains stable or even if it falls, will we be able to substitute enough volumes? Because I understand you'll be adding new stores, 18%-20% stores every year. SSG will go for a toss for the existing stores because then the gold price rise won't take place. How do you get to that 18%-20% mark on a longer-term basis?
No, no. We have always been stating the fact that whether if we consider a stable gold price scenario, our SSG is in the range of 12%-14%, and the new stores add about 6%-8% in the overall growth mark. When the gold prices will be stable or it will be down, and it is not something that we have seen recently, but over the last 15, 20 years, consumers start buying higher quantities, they get more stable, more customer acquisition, more footfall, and that will compensate for the stable or lowering of the gold price. That is the way moving forward. In an increasing gold price scenario, value will go up. Come down in a decreasing gold price scenario or a stable, volumes will go up, value will be in the same kind of range.
That's the way to look at it, and we are confident to keep on achieving the same.
Got it. And just last thing, if I can squeeze in, hypothetically, let's assume for this entire INR 4,200 crore inventory, if you want to hedge 100%, how much running capital do you require? Maybe like 10% is the margin money that you require, and some you want to have money for mark-to-market. In absolute capital terms, if you can tell me what could be the amount, say for example, INR 500 crore, INR 300 crore, just broad range also will help just for a layman to understand.
Bhavya ji, I think what he's saying is that right now it is something that cannot be said off the cuff. He will have to do some checking and then get back to you.
Sure. Sure. Okay, sir. That's it from my end. Thank you so much.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, in order to ensure that the management is able to address questions from all the participants in the conference, please limit yourselves to one question per participant. Should you have any follow-up question, you may rejoin the queue. The next question is from the line of Rupesh from Longwood Capital Partners. Please go ahead.
Hello sir, thank you for the opportunity. Most of my questions are answered. I just have two data-keeping questions. First is in Q2, in Q1, you said INR 20 crore was the inventory gain at the gross level. If you can give a similar number for Q2. My second question is, STAR ratio I think is at 12%, and we are looking at a strong wedding season. Do you see this number going to maybe 12.5% in, let's say, March, and then maybe we can target 13% next year? These are the two questions.
I'll read the first question and kindly repeat. Certainly in Q1, due to the higher EBITDA of 10.1%, based upon our working, it was around INR 20 crore we said as a realization gain. Are you asking what is the realization gain in Q2?
Yes.
It is around INR 5,260. In the opening remark itself, sir, it said that it is around 50 basis points on INR 1,500 crore. So that is the number.
₹7,800 crore, around ₹7,800 crore. Okay.
Yeah, yeah. INR 7,800 crore. To put it differently, had we held at 80%, then the EBITDA would have been lower by maximum INR 7,800 crore.
Okay. Okay. And the STAR ratio for second question? Yeah.
What was the second question, please?
I said the STAR ratio is already at 12% in the first half. We're looking at a strong wedding season Q3, Q4. Do you feel we can go to, let's say, INR 12.5 by March and then maybe target INR 13,000-INR 13,500 next year?
We are definitely aspiring. Our whole focus is to delight the customers with more and more jewelry designs. So the number is just a percentage. Our target is to reach out to more customers with diamond jewelry and why INR 13,500 crore. If I have my results, I would like to make it 15%. But yes, for the rest of the year, it all depends upon the market competitiveness. Despite the best of the ads we provide, we have seen a huge growth in Q3, in Q4, and Q1. It was slightly lesser in this quarter. Plus, some people found it attractive to invest in gold, and they were looking at a huge profit. It is a percent of choice versus treating gold as an investment. We will use a middle path to attract both streams of customers.
To answer your question, yes, we are looking at 13%, INR 13,500 crore for FY2027. Now, for H2, we are ready with a lot of designs with a higher focus on the lightweight diamond jewelry. As you say, it's a social media world. People focus more on the earring and the necklace, etc. We are prepared for that.
Okay. Okay. Thank you for answering my questions.
Thank you. A reminder to all the participants, please restrict yourself to one question only. The next question is from the line of Vijay Chauhan from Right Horizon PMS. Please go ahead.
Yeah. If you can just qualitatively mention about the consumer trends in the wedding season that has started right now. Is there any challenges we are looking at in terms of, let's say, consumer buying patterns? That will be quite helpful. I'm looking mainly for the qualitative point of point and the growth that we have mentioned for October in the press release. Are we expecting similar kind of growth in November, or do we see tapering down the growth because it was more of a festival-related sales? Any verbal or any specific range will be also helpful on that side. Yeah.
The October sales growth is because of the festive season. We think that the growth will continue to happen, but not at the same rate as we have seen in October. From a subjective description point of view, we are still seeing growth of 20% and upwards in the current scenario also. That is one. Second is that consumers are kind of accepting these high levels of gold prices. Whether it is from their old gold exchange or from buying with the money that they have, I think that they have realized that, yes, gold will remain in this scenario, and they will have to buy. At the other end, we have seen that while the ATV and ASP have gone up by 15%-18%, the weight ranges that people have bought on average have come down by 10%-12%.
If, suppose, someone was buying 10 grams worth of jewelry, he is now buying 9 grams worth of jewelry. That is the other aspect that we have been seeing from a level of subjectivity. Yes, lighter-weight jewelry, whether not only in terms of small items of ring, earring, pendant, chain, but then we have also seen that in necklaces and bangles also, consumers are trying to opt for something which is lighter, spread-out look, and lighter in weight. I think for Senco Gold and Diamond, that is our strength. Over a period of time, we will be working towards developing more and more in those kinds of ranges. Also, in terms of purity, 22-carat gold was always in demand. The Indian consumers in many places are also looking at 18-carat hallmark jewelry.
Those are certain initiatives that we are taking to keep those kinds of 18-carat jewelry inventory in certain stores and markets. In diamond jewelry also, along with 18-carat, we are reducing more and more on 14-carat and experimenting with 9-carat. In these scenarios, what's going to happen over a long period of time is that the volumes in terms of if we convert everything into a 24-carat volume, you will see that the volumes in 24-carat will not see that much growth. In terms of absolute numbers, in terms of making charges, in terms of diamonds, there should be more growth in those aspects. It is a much more longer-term scenario that I'm trying to explain to you all. Yes, I hope I could answer a part of at least the feedback that you were looking for.
Yeah. Pointed. Thank you, and good luck for the future.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Annanya Singh from Sowilo Investment Managers. Please go ahead.
Thank you for the opportunity. I have a couple of questions. My first question would be, how is the demand shaping up for us after the festive season, particularly with the strong festive sales? Given the festive season sales, what is our strategy for managing working capital in the upcoming months just to ensure smooth operations during the wedding season?
The demand for festive season continues to remain strong. As I mentioned before, we are seeing growth momentum of upward of 20% that continues to stay. That is a good sign. The other part in which you are saying that what is the strategy that we have? Currently, November, December, January, we will continue to focus on the wedding jewelry as a segment and the wedding buyers and the family of wedding buyers. That one remains in that focus area. As we move on to January, February, it is going to be the Valentine's Day, the love season, and the diamond jewelry focus will continue to remain. This is something that we have been doing historically as well. That is how one has to look at it.
By the end of January, February, it will be time to plan for Akshay Tritya, which is in the middle of April. That is one thing that we need to all keep in mind. We just want to also kind of keep all our investors aware of the fact that every time whenever there is an election happening in any of the states, we see that during those 15 days, one month, there is a little bit of a slowdown. We need to be conscious of the fact that how those kinds of events are occurring. For those times, we need to plan from before and ensure that either the inventory is there and the customer reach-out happens in the planned manner. This is something that we all should be conscious of.
Okay. Understood. Thank you so much and all the best.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Ranganathan from Avendus Spark. Please go ahead.
Hello sir. Am I audible?
Yes, yes, you are.
Sir, my question is on how is your non-core geography or non-Mixed End geographies performing? If you could give us some color in terms of how the growth has been and also in terms of profitability.
It is much easier to share with you the growth that we have seen in the out-of-East India markets. Because the bases are on the lower side, we have seen growth happening overall in the range of 25%-30% if you look at it at the overall numbers. There are certain quarters that certain zones do a little better than the others. All in all, if you look at the YTD numbers, the out-of-East India markets have been growing at around upwards of 25%. That is the way to look at it. In terms of profitability, it is not about East or out-of-East. It is overall, whenever we open a new store, we usually say that it takes about one year if it is a store in the East India market to break even.
It takes about two to three years for a non-East India store to break even. Out of the total number of stores we have, we can comfortably say that 90% of our stores are at operational level break even. 8%-10% of the stores are something that we are all working towards having a higher growth and higher sales so that the break-even numbers can be reached.
Thank you. That's it for me.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Himanshu from MB Investments. Please go ahead.
Hi. Good afternoon. My question is, how are we going forward in the upcoming quarter? Generally, it's been seen September is quite a subdued quarter for you all. This time around, it has been quite significant. What was firstly the reason for that? Secondly, going forward, how are we going to tap into the coming wedding season and the engagement season that's going to come in? How is the next quarter are you expecting? December is generally a good quarter for you. Is it going to be a significantly good quarter, or is it going to be in the mid-range, or is it going to be bad?
I see we have seen a growth of almost 55%-60% in the month of October itself. Currently, we are seeing a growth of upwards of around 20%, close to 25% YTD. We are kind of positive and optimistic with a strong Q3 as we see it is. The question on your Q2, Q2 for us always has been amongst all the quarters a kind of a slow quarter. Only in the last financial year, Q2, because of the duty cuts, had a very strong demand from the consumer side. Other than that, Q2 has always been historically amongst the slower quarters out of all the quarters. I guess that is what we have been seeing in this particular financial year.
With the wedding season and the focus on diamond jewelry, we will be looking and targeting on those consumers that are there for those segments and continue to create products and marketing campaigns around it. We have already launched our wedding campaign, and we will be launching our new set of collections for diamond jewelry. That is how we are looking at the days ahead.
Fair enough. Just another follow-up question. I'm from Gwalior. I visited your local store in Gwalior, and I visited Tanishq's store. I think Tanishq is the benchmark for jewelry in India. How would you differentiate between Tanishq? What would you say you have a better competitive edge than Tanishq in, say, what is it that goes for Senco as a company?
I think one of the competitive edges for us could be a wider range of jewelry that we provide to the customer, right? This is something that we have, what I am saying is from our belief and what we hear from the customer base. The range of jewelry from a lower ticket size to a higher ticket size, we keep a wider range. In terms of overall designing, we also try to keep a much more variety of designs. I guess that is how it is. You have reached our Gwalior store. I think that what I am aware of is that compared to our Gwalior store of Tanishq, we have been able to try our level best to build relationships with the customers and give them that variety. The store has been in a strong growth phase.
We are being able to connect with the consumers there and provide them with the kind of designs that they're doing. In terms of diamond jewelry, I wouldn't want to compare with any particular competitor. They are all our peers, and we respect each other. We are also working hard to provide diamond jewelry within the budget of the customers. Keeping the margins that we have, we are trying to be as competitive as possible. That is how we are working towards.
Fair enough. Just another follow-up quick question. Let's say there's a new franchise opening and you.
Sorry to interrupt, sir. In.
One question. Just it's another follow-up question. The question is, what is the tentative investment of a full-fledged flagship store, tentatively, whether it's any region, you would say, on an average?
No, it's like a flagship store, a value store. There are various levels. For a full-fledged flagship store, we will say not in terms of value, but in terms of kilos, anything around 30kg-40 kg of inventory would make it a full-fledged store. In the tier two, three towns and cities, that quantity can come down by a certain extent. There has to be faster replenishment and fulfillment of stock. That is how one has to look at it. This is the model with which we are working.
Okay. Thank you so much, Dalal, all from my side. Wish you guys the very best.
Thank you very much.
Thank you. Next is a follow-up question from Raj Saraf from FinVectors. Please go ahead.
Yes, sir. Thank you for giving me to ask you all the question as a follow-up. Just wanted the karat-wise revenue percentage and margin in each karat is very easy.
Sure. Comfortable?
Hey, Rajvi, what do we want to know? Karat-wise margin percentage.
Karat-wise, sir, like gold, like 22 karat, 18 karat, 14 karat, and 9 karat. So karat-wise revenue share and margin in each karat.
I think we are extremely confident in the information. We are basically pricing driven by market competition, availability, competitive edge. I don't think that this should be shared in the earning call .
Just wanted to understand, sir, if you can't share that lower margin, lower karat gold jewelry, it has been more margin percentage.
No, I think these are business secrets.
Okay. Okay, sir. Okay. Okay. The other question is, sir, how do we see the store addition? Are we planning to diversify more to South and Western regions?
No, our focus, as you said, will continue to be East and North. South and West will be more for only specific cases. That is when we talk about South. As of now, it is only Bangalore and Hyderabad. When we talk about West, it is clearly Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur we have opened a franchise store. It is a very selective rollout because there is huge potential still left in East and North. Once that is fully captured, then only we will go. As we all know, the margins are very low in South, particularly, where there is huge competition. If you look at the public result of the place, you will be able to understand it. We are highly focused on margins, ROE, and ROCs. Hence, East and North will be our first choice always.
Almost 80% of the future growth, if we are looking, let's say, 20-25 stores next year, 80% will come in East and North. We have the blueprint ready in front of us.
Yes. Thank you. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that was the last question for today. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Suvankar Sen for closing comments. Please go ahead.
I would like to extend my gratitude to all the members who have attended the conference and for continuously encouraging and supporting us and the team for our endeavors. I would like to reiterate that as we see currently, the YTD growth is happening at approximately 25%. That gives us a lot of optimism and confidence that we should be able to achieve our 20% growth year on year. We have already crossed INR 5,000 crore of turnover. Therefore, we are very much in the journey. EBITDA, as we go closer and closer to the end of the year, we will be more and more confident in terms of giving the accurate figures. On an estimate basis, we are looking at anything between 7.2%-7.4% for the rest of the year. That will help. It will all shape up.
Our effort will be towards the wedding jewelry segment and diamond jewelry in the upcoming seasons to capture the best of the consumer demand and continuously creating designs and products that will fit into the budget of the middle and upper-middle-class customers in this kind of a volatile gold scenario. We are sure of the steps that we will take and driving on the efficiencies, looking at the data, exactly what is selling where, and trying our level best to ensure that our investors' need of a very good number of ROCE and ROE is met and will work towards the same. Thank you very, very much.
Thanks, everybody. Grateful to you for your support and trust in Senco. Thank you.
Thank you. On behalf of Senco Gold Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your line.