Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the Suzlon Energy Limited Q3 FY25 earnings conference call. During this call, the company management may make certain statements that reflect their outlook for the future, which could be construed as forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are associated with certain uncertainties and risks, as detailed in the annual report. Actual results may differ, so these statements should be reviewed in conjunction with the risks the company faces. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode, and if you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing Star then Zero on your touch-tone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. We will begin with opening remarks followed by a Q&A session.
To be fair to others, we kindly request each participant to ask no more than two or three questions. From the management, we have with us Mr. JP Chalasani, Group CEO, and Mr. Himanshu Mody, Group CFO. Over to you, JP Chalasani. Sir, thank you.
Thank you. Good evening, everyone, and thank you for joining our earnings conference call for Quarter 3 FY25. We are happy to share that our good performance has continued for Quarter 3 FY25, driven by strong growth momentum and the success of key strategic initiatives. I will now highlight the key points, and following that, we will open the floor for any questions you may have. As promised in our last investor call, we are pleased that for the current quarter also, our order book is at an all-time high of over 5.5 gigawatts, maintaining our leadership across the customer segments. For the very first time in history, we will also enter the new financial year with orders in hand for the entire year. Our focus continues to be on securing high-quality orders for a period beyond FY26 that offer greater value and better margins.
On the manufacturing front, we are extremely happy to announce a significant ramp-up in capacity to over 4.5 gigawatts with revamped Pondicherry and Daman facilities. Additionally, we have added new blade lines in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, which will increase our production to meet demand for the future. The order book for S144 now exceeds 5 gigawatts, a testament to superior technology and strong customer confidence in Suzlon. This achievement reflects our 29 years of proven track record and a 31% market share in the installed base in India. We take pride in stating that the S144 is truly made in India, made for India product, with over 85% of its components sourced domestically. On the execution front, Suzlon has achieved a record quarterly delivery of 447 megawatts, marking an outstanding 163% year-on-year growth, up from 170 megawatts same quarter last year.
With the 977 megawatts delivered in the nine months of FY25, we have already surpassed the entire FY24 total of 710 megawatts, setting a new benchmark for our performance. The industry commissioned approximately 2,277 megawatts in the first nine months of FY25, falling short of expectations, primarily due to transmission delays and land-related challenges. However, we see a sizable number of turbines currently in the pre-commissioning stage to get commissioned in a phased manner. Talking about Suzlon, we have commissioned 241 megawatts in the first nine months, and with an additional 218 megawatts, which are pre-commissioned, bringing the total to 450 megawatts. With around 80% of our order book being non-EPC orders, where land availability is in customer scope. However, even for non-EPC orders, we have prioritized orders with partial land availability upfront.
Notably, NTPC, Jindal Renewables, and the latest Torrent Power orders come with substantial land availability at the start, which will provide better commissioning visibility for FY26. Our OMS business continues to do well with 15 GW capacity in India, with machine availability ensured beyond 96%. Renom continues to strive for customer fleet acquisition with the aim of assets under management crossing 3 GW. We believe India's renewable energy journey is just beginning, with the wind sector poised for multi-decade growth, supported by a wind installation target of 400 GW for Viksit Bharat 2047. With our ramp-up strategy on track and operational preparedness at optimal levels, we are well positioned to sustain momentum, creating long-term value for our stakeholders and play a pivotal role in advancing India's renewable energy.
It gives me great pleasure to mention that our efforts on the ESG front are being deeply appreciated and recognized by the external world. Suzlon is now a member of United Nations Global Compact and has aligned to the decarbonization goal of Net Zero by 2050. I would now like to invite Himanshu to take you through our financial performance.
Thank you, JP Chalasani, and good evening to all of you, ladies and gentlemen. As always, I will be using slide numbers 18 to 26 of our investor presentation as a reference point of my discussion during this discussion. The investor presentation has now been uploaded on our website. With an unprecedented order book of 5.5 gigawatts, we are thrilled to have clear and promising revenue visibility. The timeline for executing this order book is approximately 24 months, setting us up for an exciting and transformative period over the next two fiscal years. In Q3 FY25, Suzlon continues its exponential growth trajectory, delivering 447 megawatts, with all financial parameters showing a strong surge YOY and QoQ. In the nine months of FY25, we have already surpassed all our targets or deliverables that we did for the full year in FY24.
On a consolidated basis, Suzlon delivered record performance in Q3 with a revenue of INR 2,969 crores, which is 91% higher YOY for the same period. For the WTG segment, our contribution margin has improved to 22.7% for the nine-month period FY25, from 19.4% during the same corresponding period for the prior financial year. Our EBITDA for the quarter 3 is at about INR 500 crores, which is 102% increase YOY and a 70% jump QoQ, with an improvement in EBITDA margin to 16.8% from 15.9% last year, despite organizational build-up, technological advancements, and a substantial ramp-up in capacity. This we've been able to achieve largely because of the scale and the leverage that we now have with our suppliers due to the scale of our order book.
Quarterly PAT of INR 388 crores is 91% higher on a year-on-year basis and 93% higher on a quarter-to-quarter basis, which gives us confidence that Suzlon has shifted into high gear on the operational growth, following a successful financial turnaround on the balance sheet front nearly a year ago. We are also pleased to report that our balance sheet has further fortified as of December 2024, with a net worth of INR 4,914 crores and a net cash position of INR 1,107 crores. Our pioneering business model of offering end-to-end wind energy value chain, fully integrated supply chain, track record of project execution, and best-in-class service cannot be easily replicated, which provides us a very, very strong competitive edge. With that, I'd like to conclude my presentation and open the floor to any queries that the callers may have. Thank you.
Thank you very much. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press Star and 1 on the touch-tone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press Star and 2. 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 Sumit Kishore from Axis Capital. Please go ahead. Sumit Kishore, please go ahead with the question. Your line is unmuted. As there is no response, we'll move to the next question, which is from the line of Mohit Kumar from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Yes. Good evening, sir, and we're in a very, very good quarter and superb last 24 months. My question is around the order inflow inquiry. Of course, it has been created 20-18 months.
I'm sorry to interrupt, sir, but you are not audible.
Am I audible now?
Yes.
So the question is, how has been the order inflow inquiry as of now? Are we seeing inquiries? Are we seeing inquiry as strong as it has been there in the last 18 months?
Yeah, I think it is not last 18 months. What I would say is actually it is increasing from quarter to quarter, the other inquiries, as we keep seeing it. So therefore, we see a good traction in terms of other inquiries. And there are, obviously, you know that there are three types of other things. One is C&I segment, which is our strongest point, where we have about 58% market share in our order book. Then PSU is picking up now. You know that we have one already, NTPC, one order. Second, the bid is put in already. We're expecting results to come out in the next 30-45 days. Another PSU. And third is the hybrid. So the hybrid project. So we actually - and also, we are now seeing a traction that people are talking about. Hybrid, it is not immediately to be done.
Can we do a project development? And then we want to do a project, let's say, in FY27, starting at the end of FY26. So we're getting interesting proposals. And so we're also getting into discussions where people are saying, "Can we have a little longer-term pipeline type of discussions rather than just having one-off projects?" So I think from that angle, the traction what we're seeing on the order book is very, very encouraging.
My second question on the C&I side, given the fact that the transmission charges are supposed to go up by June 25, and there was an expectation that C&I will pick up in the Q4 FY25 and Q1 FY26. Are you seeing that momentum, sir?
Yeah, it continues. See, let's understand that, first of all, the transmission, two factors play a role. One is tariff arbitrage compared to what they have today versus what happens with the renewables. Secondly, on the transmission front, it is not completely going away in June 25. We are moving from 100% waiver to 75%. Okay? For one more year, you have 75%. Then it goes to 50%, then it goes to 75%. So therefore, while it is less than what it would have been up to June 25, but there's still the transmission charges waiver to the extent of 75% for the next one year. So therefore, people would have preferred to complete as much as possible before June 25. But then it's wherever projects are, there's still the traction is happening on that.
Understood. So my last question is on the financial side. I think on the O&M services, your revenues are increasing QOQ, right? QOQ and YOY. But your EBIT is almost similar at INR 2 billion. So can you please explain that, and how should you build up for the future?
So Mohit, it is essentially there is, if you look at any period, there are certain one-off items that hit the P&L, whether it is relating to insurance services or the insurance claims or the VAT and VAS services, that causes this fluctuation. But clearly, going forward, as we've always maintained that the O&M margins at an EBITDA level will be about 40%, and we'll continue to maintain that guidance going forward. There may be aberrations quarter to quarter due to, as I said, insurance claim income and the VAT taxes.
Understood, sir. Thank you, Mr. Mody. Thank you.
Thank you, Mohit.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Sumit Kishore from Axis Capital. Please go ahead.
Thanks. My compliments on a fairly strong set of numbers in Q3. My first question is, what are the emerging trends of wind solar sizing in FDRE projects with evolving battery economics?
It's actually very difficult to predict as you ask, I think, partly due to universal concept. The changing pricing scenario of storage would keep changing the combination of wind solar how much do you want to have it. Having said that, what type of an FDRE we are talking is important because are we talking about the load-following FDRE?
Yes.
The FDRE definition is completely different. If you see, go ahead and see the bid itself, there are seven or eight types of FDRE.
Let us say for load-following FDRE?
Load-following FDRE. See, earlier it used to be like it used to be about 200% of the capacity is supposed to be wind. Now people are still talking about 140-150%. So therefore, it also depends upon the load profile, specific load profile. Okay? If you're talking about, let's say, a load profile of a Delhi discom, okay, which came up, because the peak is much higher, so then you will have more of wind capacity there. And if you're talking about semi-urban type of an FDRE, then you'll have a different combination. It's difficult to explain, but it is changing with respect to the storage spacing. But still, the installed capacity required of wind will be more than 100% in any FDRE load-following scenario.
Whether it will be 150 or it should be 160 or 170, we really don't know, depending upon the load profile of that particular retail distribution segment.
Got it. The second question is, could you quantify the non-recurring items which may be part of third quarter as part of employee expenses? Also, whether the depreciation and interest costs that we see in Q3, are they the recurring numbers that we should expect with the higher WTG capacity, especially on depreciation?
Depreciation, Sumit, will be a recurring item because with the increased CAPEX, as JP Sir mentioned, with Pondicherry for the additional national facility getting mobilized and our additional molds for the S144 getting commissioned, the increased CAPEX is, of course, hitting the P&L from a depreciation perspective. You should certainly assume that the depreciation of about INR 60-65 crores a quarter would continue as a normal standard.
One-off expenses.
Yeah. So one-off expenses in employee, of course, would largely pertain to ESOP charge. Now, the ESOP charges for Q4 would be similar as you've seen for Q3. As we step into the next financial year, difficult to say, but as of now, it looks like that the ESOP charge on account of employee expenses as a one-off would reduce for the full year in FY26 as compared to FY25.
What has been the number for Q3 on ESOP expenses?
ESOP expenses Q3 would be about INR 32 crores. And for the nine-month, that expense, of course, you can just simply multiply it by three, about INR 83 crores is the nine-month expense on ESOP. Our estimate is INR 116 crores would be the charge for ESOP for the full year FY25. And that INR 116 crores would certainly be lower. I can't say by what amount for FY26, but it would certainly be lower.
Okay, and just one last question, if you could comment on what strategic steps are you taking for diversifying from your main growth engine of WTG in India right now?
Right now, as you see, there is a huge amount of traction within India. What we are now trying to look at is that how do we actually diversify our business within the WTG as a growth is like as what we have been talking earlier, where increasing our activity of advanced development. Okay? So we're getting into those contracts. As we speak today, we do have a contract which we don't announce as part of WTG contracts for about 1,100 megawatts for advanced development of projects. And then furthermore, we are entering into. So therefore, what we are trying to do is diversify. I don't know whether you call it as diversification, you call it as a different action, is that what do we need to do that this growth engine would further grow?
So because one of the reasons we are seeing is that the commissioning not happening at the required level, that has the pushback on how much can you supply. So we are trying to see that pushback can be removed or not. That's one area which we are significantly concentrating. We started this year. That will grow big way the next year as well. So that we will not have an issue of a pushback coming on our supply. That's one area we're doing. Second area, obviously, we're concentrating is in terms of multi-brand acquisition in case of Renom. So these two are going to be the major things. But then we are looking at any probability of exports in case you sit here. But that we're in the process of studying.
We're not going to say that that is going to be the action right now planned for the next year. But then we are looking at it. So saying that, okay, fine, if in India this is what is maximum it can take, then because we have a capacity, is it possible to do it to, let's say, Europe? We don't know what's going to happen. Yes, I know your first question is 'but', but I have no answer for that. To Europe and other places because there are a lot of European manufacturers that are significantly exporting from here to Europe. India is the base. Our manufacturing costs are much lower than them. So obviously, if they can do it, we can also do it. But that is more of an incremental capacity over and above what we can sell in India is what we're looking at.
Otherwise, once you go on to add, we don't have any other significant diversions at this stage.
Yeah. No, I agree. And just to further add to my earlier answer, Sumit, and also to Mohit's question in the first question, from the depreciation perspective, this quarter is the first quarter where we have fully consolidated Renom as well because in Q2, we consolidated that only for about 25 days. In Q3 is the first quarter where the entire consolidation has happened. And about INR 8 crore delta in depreciation that you see is on account of Renom. And also to earlier Sumit's question, when you see the OMS segmental EBIT because Renom as a margin business is lesser than the Suzlon O&M business. So as Renom keeps growing, although it's very small still, so it doesn't make too much of a difference. But as we see the segmental revenue along with Renom, you might see a percentage shrink, but very minimal.
Those were my questions. Thank you, and wish you all the best.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Puneet Gulati from HSBC. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Thank you so much for the opportunity and congrats on a great order book. So how should one think about this five-gigawatt order book? Or what period would you expect to deploy this?
These are some part of it, obviously, for the current fiscal quarter four of this year. And the large portion is for FY26, and some of them is FY27. Let's be clear that these days that you have an order book, when you take the order book, you have a contract to schedule saying that this is what is the delivery. But we all know that there are changes happening with respect to the project schedules because maybe the substation got shifted or something else is happening. So there is a constant discussion between us and the clients to the extent of keep modifying the schedule. But the simple answer to your question is that most of this order book is for FY26 and FY27.
Possible to give some sense of how big?
Residual after quarter four.
Yeah. Possible to get a break-up between quarter four and then maybe FY26 and FY27?
Yeah. I can give a contractual breakdown, but that's not going to help because it doesn't give you any number or saying that what it is really going to be because the contractual number is different and reality of what's going to happen is different.
Correct.
As we keep approaching quarter to quarter, we will know what next quarter we're going to deliver.
Understood. And in this environment of.
Opening comments, first time in the history of Suzlon, we are starting the next financial year with the full order book position.
Right. Right. No, that's very interesting. In that context, how are you pricing your product where there is uncertainty of timing of installation, FY26, FY27? Is there a flexibility in pricing that you're keeping, or is it a fixed price contract?
Two things we do. One is that the steel delivery as a pass-through because that's a major component for us. And second, what we say is that our price is valid for X amount of months for the project to get executed. If the supply is for reasons not attributable to Suzlon, if they get delayed contractually, then obviously we need to sit back. We can't really go up and we need to sit back and discuss the pricing. These are the two safeguards what we have.
So third one that we've also done for our large A-class components with our suppliers, we've entered into long-term framework agreements. So we know that at least the key critical components. Also, we do have a, in a way, price reason, beyond a certain volume, we in fact have a volume discount.
Okay. And okay, sorry. So there is a volume discount once you reach a certain number, and before that, it's a fixed price. And in that case, have they given any advance? Is there a risk that these contracts might get canceled if the price discussions don't fructify or are very firm in nature and there is huge advance payments?
We've not given any advance to our suppliers because of the framework agreements. These are mere framework agreements. But we've kept a fairly large margin of safety in terms of what we can deliver over the next 12-24 months with our VR order.
This is a supply chain, sorry.
Received advance from your customers?
We don't announce any contract unless the contract is backed with advance. We don't announce.
Right. Last one, are these all for S144, or is there a plan for an upgrade built into these orders as well?
No, no. All these are for 144 at this stage. And of course, there's a small quantum of 8% out of our outstanding order book. 92% is 144, and 8% is for S120. And there is no other model other than these two we are offering in the marketplace.
Understood. What's in the pipeline? Any thoughts you can throw on?
Yeah. Pipeline always you always work because the product development cycle is long, so obviously, we are working on the next version of the turbine, but depending upon what, when is the market ready, what happens to S144, we will advance the turbine.
Understood. That's very good. Thank you so much.
We will answer 144, obviously.
Got it. Got it. Thank you so much. All the best.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Vikram Datwani from Nuvama Institutional Equities. Please go ahead.
Good evening, sir. Congratulations on a good set of numbers. Two questions from my side. So first is we've seen order inflow already at 3.5-4 gigawatt in this year. The order book is at roughly 5.5-6 gigawatt. So at any point, do you think we will get choosy with our order inflow, or can we maintain this order inflow run rate because you already have visibility for the next two, two and a half years? So do you foresee this kind of inflow going forward, or will we get a little choosy in orders in the next couple of years?
No. The moment I say choosy, it looks like we become arrogant. So obviously, we're not that way. The customers have a choice, and we have a choice. When we discussed about these projects, is that what we look at? Seriousness of the project is looking at their financial closure, if it is a big PPA, PPA is there or not. Because all projects what we acquired from the bid, that 21-22%, all of them have a PPA. And then if it is a non-EPC, it's an C&I recommend supply, their position of land and the substation is what we look at it. So generally, if you look at it, most players who are in the market today, the large IPPs what we enter into, all of them are good people. Okay?
As long as we have our own pricing of which we want to offer, if that matches, and then we have adequate safeguards in terms of if there are delays, then we just go ahead. I don't think I will not use the word that we are choosy at this stage.
So if it's choosy.
Lots of deliveries coming in, then we're being asked for when we can't do it, then it is not choosy, but we will tell them we can't do this. This is what our delivery schedule may be. We can adjust to the delivery schedule. It is fine. Otherwise, they have an option to go somewhere else. Those things can happen.
Yes. Correct. So I was majorly talking about from the capacity standpoint, like you rightly alluded to at the end.
Yeah. So before, if the delivery schedule is already we're overloaded during that particular period, then we offer a different delivery schedule to them. We don't say no. We offer a different delivery schedule. And there are some discussions. Sometimes we agree to a different delivery schedule, or sometimes it doesn't meet. So they say that, "Sorry, this time it doesn't meet, then I'll go somewhere else.
Great. Got it. Thank you.
But that is, again, not the word of choice, but not able to meet the requirement of the client.
Yes. I meant it from a capacity point of view. Got it, sir.
Yeah.
Yeah. My second question is on.
You did happen.
Yeah.
No, it did happen that way.
Okay, sir. My second question is on margin sustainability. So we've had quarters where you've not booked EPC revenues, EPC expenses because installations have been weak. So on a yearly basis, do you have any sustainable margin guidance or any target mix between product delivery and EPC delivery?
On margin, if we look at the contribution margin for the WTG segment in the nine months of this year, we've done about 22.7% for the division as a whole for the segment as a whole. Now, clearly, the commissioning, for reasons we've discussed, has been a little lower. But having said that, as and when the EPC work and the commissioning completes, that margin may slightly come down. While earlier we've always maintained a margin of late teens, I think safe to say that close to 20% or a little over 20% on a consolidated steady-state basis would be the contribution margin. That is pretty much, I would say, upping the guidance from a contribution margin perspective by a few percentage points.
Got it. Thank you. And any reasonable percentage breakup between product versus EPC that you are targeting?
No, we've not yet started giving segmental split of product versus EPC. We're just, as you know, reporting WTG as a segment. We are not doing the split as of.
Okay. Got it. That's it from my side. Thank you and best of luck going forward.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Amit Mehra from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.
Hello. Congratulations, sir, on a great set of numbers. So my first question is with regards to the realization, it comes to around INR 52 million per megawatt for this quarter. Now, in this, I understand that EPC portion was not there, but then is there any pricing pressure that you're experiencing with a few other OEMs getting very active in the market?
No, there is no pricing pressure whatsoever. In fact, when JP sir mentioned earlier, we don't want to be arrogant in saying no to certain orders. So clearly, the kind of traction that you see with our order book pretty much there for the next two years, there is no reason for us to come under pricing pressure. And neither are we seeing that from the competition perspective. So this is merely due to slower execution on the EPC front that you're seeing the INR 52 million, which, as always, we mentioned, will be close to about a sixth close. If you take steady-state basis, it's about INR 58 million, to be precise. I think it's a notch lower, largely because of the slower EPC execution.
Right. Right. So 58 million is a good number to work around with. Right. And on the contribution margin that you said in the previous question, 20% or a little over it, is that a sustainable guidance, or is it only for F25?
As I mentioned, as we move forward, around, I would say, 20% would be one large component. Of course, that is steel. Depending on where the utility prices move, while that's a large pass-through item, but consistently, our endeavor would be to deliver a margin of close to 20%, which we always maintain late teens. About 20% is what we can consistently do.
Right. Okay. And.
We must have the contribution margin from late teens to 20%.
Yeah. That's the only change in guidance. Yes.
Got that. And on the previous question, you mentioned that there's around 1,100 megawatts of advanced development projects that you are offering. So in this, how would the realization?
I'm operating with executing.
Yeah. So you're executing. So how would the realization differ versus the 58 million for an average?
No, that is.
Right now.
Yeah. Let me explain. In the previous quarter's calls also, the development, what happens is that if someone wants to do an EPC project with us because the land is an issue, so what they do is that they only give an NTP for the land. Okay? And first of all, we are not waiting even for the NTP. We have started developing the projects where we start acquiring the land up to a certain extent, then we keep offering in the market, saying, "This project is there if you want the development." Then they come in and give an NTP for land, and they start paying for the land from then on. Okay? And at appropriate time, the NTP for EPC will be given. And we don't announce those EPCs because they have not been given. So once that EPC NTP is given, advance is given for that portion.
Land, they already give the advance. So we announce to the market. That's how it works.
Is this 1,100?
I mean, these are certain to be converted into EPC contracts, but at what stage, when it gets converted, we announce to the market.
Right. So right now, is this 1,100 a part of your 5.5?
No. No. No. No.
There is no advance?
That's what I said, that this will get as and when it gets converted into EPC contract with the advance is when we will announce. Right now, it is not part of 5.5.
Any indicative timeline, six months or one year, that this can get converted?
It's reasonable to expect that next three to four quarters, this gets converted into EPC contracts.
Right.
They'll be EPC.
Right. And one more question on your delivery timelines. As you mentioned that there is a contractual delivery timeline in each of the projects. So how is the timeline differing in C&I versus the PSUs? So PSUs, is it 18-24 months, or how is it in C&I, especially in PSU?
So you're asking C&I versus PSU, or?
Yeah. So is it like C&I would have a lower contractual delivery timeline? Is that the right way to look at it?
No. C&I normally tend not to revise significantly the contractual schedule because it is meant for their own consumption, normally. But there also, we see that they get stuck with respect to the land and other things, or the evacuation.
Right.
But to a lesser extent, PSU, we have to see because we're just doing some execution of NTPC right now. But on the bid-related projects, obviously, we see a big shift.
Right. Broadly, would it be like 12-18 months for C&I or lower?
Means like 12 to 18 months shift you're talking about or contract schedule?
The delivery timelines from ordering.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's the reasonable number, 12 to 18 months.
Okay. Right.
Depending on the size of the project.
Right. And for CapEx, do you have any guidance revised because now that you are adding new blade lines, etc.? So I recollect that you were guiding around INR 400 crores of CapEx per year. Is there any revision to that?
So, Amit, no revision. And request that this be your last question. We can, of course, connect offline if you want. But to quickly answer your question, that no revision and guidance to the same.
Sure. Yeah. That was my last question. Thank you.
Thanks, Amit. We can connect offline.
Yeah. Sure.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Adesh Mehta from Motilal Oswal AMC. Please go ahead.
Hello? Yeah. I can hear you. Please go ahead. Yeah. Fine. So just wanted to understand this margin guidance, this margin aspiration of around 20%. This is on the EBITDA numbers or at the contribution level?
Adesh, it's on the contribution level for WTG.
Okay. Okay. I wish it was EBITDA, but definitely not. So it is on the contribution margin for WTG segment. Thanks for clarifying. And other thing which I wanted to understand is that so far, wind installations have broadly lagged our deliveries, right, if you see the country-level data. For how long do you think this can continue, that even as installations are lagging, we will continue delivering our products to our clients? See, obviously, if there is a continuous delay in the land or the evacuation, there would be a—that's what I said sometime back in another question—that there could be potentially a pushback on supply side. It means that there could be delays and clients can say that, "Please slow down the supplies." That's probability can happen. Otherwise, even our numbers, what we're looking at today, would have been still higher. Okay? So what we delivered in Q3.
But that is what we need to overcome. That is where I said that we have now been working with one is on the development side. Second thing, what we are looking ahead is that if you look at next year, it is not going to change in a quarter or two quarters, but it will definitely change in FY26 significantly. These are land coming from development. Second also is that some of the clients, what we have now contracted, have land in position. For example, we just did the Torrent Power contract of 482 MW, which is meant for the distribution business. They already have 50% of land along with the rights-of-way. So as I said, that we are developing ourselves. NTPC has whatever we have now executing, they're already getting the land in advanced position.
Torrent Power for Karnataka, which got delayed EPC project, we are doing EPC. So therefore, we acquired the land almost for about 150 MW. They're already out of 10 MW. So these things will result in a better project execution, quicker project execution moving ahead. But do we see a significant change in Q4? No. Are we going to see some change in Q1 next year? No. I think gradually starting from Q2 next year onwards, you will see an improvement, pushback coming down. FY26 will be definitely better than FY25 because of these reasons. FY27 onwards, I don't think, at least as of the moment, we will see any issue with respect to the land. Evacuation, of course, it's beyond our control. But on the land delaying, the projects will not happen significantly compared to FY26, we can guarantee that FY27 would practically be not there.
Right. And sir, do we see this being a hiccup over the next 6 to 12 months? Because the execution run rate is very strong from our side. Do you think given the progress report you are seeing at your client level, you can continue delivering this number of equipments? Yeah. See, what happens is that we have multiple clients. Okay? If it is only one project, two projects to continue to supply, then there is a saturation point you reach quickly. Because you have multiple projects and multiple clients. So while I do agree that there will be some pushback, which is what we talked about, contractors schedule getting revised. But then we don't see it to that extent impacting our supplies significantly in the next few quarters. And by then, we would be ready with even the land. Not only we.
Sector as a whole realized this as an issue, land and ROW. So most people are actually investing in land much in advance. Like I said, the three clients which we are working with right now for this 1,100 megawatts, they are spending on land much in advance with us. So I think things would change. Today, I completely agree that that's not just the land, including the evacuation, is an issue today. We are nowhere near our ambition of reaching about eight gigawatts a year run rate. But I think the things would change, expected to change in FY26 and FY27. All the best, sir. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, in order to ensure that the management is able to address questions from all participants, please limit your questions to two per participant. If you have a follow-up question, you may rejoin the queue. The next question is from the line of Dheeraj Kripalani from Avendus Capital. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Yeah. Hi. Thanks for the opportunity. So my question is on the industry level. If you look at the wind capacity additions in India, so till FY25, only two gigawatts has been added. So my question is that I just want to know your view that what capacity additions in India you will see in the next, let's say, three years, and what are the challenges, of course, in the capacity additions?
Yeah. As I said, okay, we talked about Suzlon. We're now talking about industry. But I also said sometime back that not just we and the other industry players are also working towards reducing the risk of land. Okay? So therefore, this year, we still see though we're at 2,277, let's say 2.3 gigawatts in the first nine months. It could be anywhere between 3.5-4 gigawatts is what we see. There's a large capacity. We also have, as I said, as we speak itself, we have more than 200 megawatts pre-commissioned. Means that you can just get under the grid any day. So it's available. So other people also have it. So we still hope for the 3.5-4 gigawatts is what we should achieve this year.
Then next year, we should, I think, with all the efforts what we've now put in, it should be around 6 gigawatts. Then we hopefully, at least FY27 onwards, we reach 7-8 gigawatts.
Okay. Yeah. Thanks. Thanks for the answer. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Arun Kalisan from Geojit Financial Services. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi. Am I audible?
Yeah. Yeah. You are.
Yeah. Hello sir. So first of all, congratulations on a good set of numbers. And I'm still a novice in understanding this industry. So I just wanted to know that earlier in one of the con calls, you had mentioned that the capacity addition would be somewhere around 5 to 7 gigawatts in 2026-27 for India in general. And then from then on, it would be around the range of 10 gigawatts. Right? I just wanted to know at what amount of capacity addition do we see these tariffs go to a range where it turns less profitable for the developers? Because is there a concern of oversupply when it comes to this? So that is my question. Because we are seeing solar module prices correcting and correspondingly, the tariffs have also come down by huge margin.
If that is the reason, how would we look at negating that?
See, the first part is I agree that in our country, the tariff goes up, but the demand will drop. Okay? Demand is a function of the tariff. The demand elasticity gets limited if the tariff goes up. Having said that, if you look at the - I keep saying this - if you look at the exchange and look at the demand and the price when wind generates is constantly high. Okay?
The only thing what you're seeing is the tariffs during the solar time are coming down because the supply is higher and the demand is less. So I think there is enough appetite in the market to meet the current load profile for the wind capacity. And the wind tariffs are not - they're not going up. I don't think any tariffs are going up because tariffs are only falling even for FDRE because the solar prices are falling.
Only case of solar, the tariffs have gone up because of the restrictions of this, and that has significantly gone up. If I remember right, the solar standalone now is almost crossed INR 3 because of the domestic content criteria. So that can increase the tariffs. But the wind tariffs are not increasing. Wind tariffs remain the same. So the demand does exist for around the clock power because as we're growing, the demand is going to keep increasing. To some extent, there will be impacts of solar tariffs going up because of domestic content. But I think to that extent, the storage prices that are coming down should be able to compensate.
So, this about 10 gigawatts of addition post-2028 that we are factoring in is sustainable, right?
Sustainable is different. We always said that in case for us to meet the 100 gigawatts in 2030, these are unreachable, and we expected that. In fact, even compared to our expectations for this year, it is less. Okay? Let's add on the fact that we thought that we'll touch about 4.5-5 gigawatts, which we now revised to 3.5-4 gigawatts. Next year, as I said, sometime back 6, then 8. Yes. Then it's still feasible in FY28 with the advanced actions what everybody's taking.
Okay. All right. Thank you. Thank you for your time.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Dinesh Shah from ASK Investment. Please go ahead.
Hello.
Yeah. Please go ahead.
Yeah. So my question would be, as you mentioned that we have ramped up the capacity from 3.1 gigawatts to 4.5. So I would just, because of which our depreciation also increased. So I would just like to understand that are all the assets operational and live, or are we expecting much more CAPEX which will increase the depreciation going forward?
So as I said earlier, we are looking at close to about INR 350-400 crores of annual CAPEX for the next two to three years, which will all go towards capacity augmentation. Of course, as a result, even the older asset base will get depreciated completely. To answer your earlier question, whether all the CAPEX that we've incurred till date is operational, most of it is, and some of it is getting operational as we speak. So for the next few quarters, including, of course, the Renom acquisition charge, about INR 65 crores of depreciation on a quarterly basis is a steady state that one should assume.
Okay. Okay. Thanks so much. And my second question would be with respect to the interest income of INR 70 Cr. I was just validating with respect to, since in our books as of September, we had borrowings of approximately INR 232 Cr gross debt. So I would just like to understand that how do we validate the interest of INR 70 Cr if you can just read me about that?
Yeah. So of course, the interest cost is largely due to the LC and BG commissions that we have to pay to our lenders. And there is the INR 232 crore debt that you're referring to as working capital debt that sits in our two subsidiaries, which is SE Forge and Renom. So they have their cash credit facilities as working capital which attract a normal interest rate. And the other is, of course, LC/BG charges at the standalone level which we pay for giving guarantees to our customers and LCs to our suppliers. That, of course, naturally gets netted off with the interest income that we are able to generate with the cash balance that we have in the company.
Okay. Understood. That's it from my side. Thanks.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Siddharth Singh from Ishan Ventures. Please go ahead.
Sir, good evening.
Good evening.
Hello. It is always a pleasure to talk to you, JP sir. You are one of the corporate leaders who deliver their promises quarter on quarter.
Thank you.
Sir, can you help me understand the impact of the Trump era on renewable energy sector in India? Do we see a reduction of prices of the product if Chinese and European players start dumping in Indian markets?
See, the Chinese are already there.
Yeah.
Chinese are not there in a way significantly in the U.S. at this stage. The U.S. market is mainly with GE and the stuff. So I don't think that would make a difference. Europeans significantly present today. They manufacture huge amounts of quantities in India, but they're exporting because they're unable to compete in India. So therefore, either way, it should not make a difference. I only look at it is that in case the opportunities for first of all, I have no clue about what is going to be the impact because every day you're needing a clarification. IRA is impacted. The next IRS statement, it is IRA is impacted only to the extent of EVs. It's an evolving situation. And there is a clear view that onshore wind turbines won't get impacted. It's only the offshore that is going to get impacted.
So therefore, whether you speak or I speak, it is more of a gossiping between two of us and point of opinion. Therefore, I think we should wait for a few more weeks before we see any impact on India. But if at all there is going to be an impact, in my opinion, it will be a positive impact, but not a negative impact.
Oh, yes. So it's comforting to hear, sir.
Comes down in U.S., there will be more investment opportunities coming down here, coming in India. So I can only see the positive side of it. At this stage, I'm not seeing anything significantly negative for us.
Thank you, sir. Thank you very much. My second question would be now, since we have our 18-24 months of normal period of conversion of any contract, plus there are usually delays from the side of the customer. Now that we have an executable capacity of, say, 4,000 megawatts, as you mentioned in some other discussions previously, would a number of around 10,000 megawatts in the order book be the right number where we can think of coming at full capacity?
Come again? 10,000 megawatts or when?
Sir, when we say that we have an installed capacity of 4.5 megawatts and we are targeting to achieve 90% of that, given the 18-24 months conversion period and the delays that normally happen, to come at full capacity, an order book of about 10,000 megawatts would be the right number?
No, no, no. Let me clarify. Today, we have an outstanding order book of 5.5 gigawatts as we speak. And obviously, at any point of time, there will be a number of orders which we're negotiating. We should keep getting more in the future. Okay? So this 5.5 gigawatts is an order which is a confirmed order backed by the full advance. What I mentioned is that somebody asked me the question is that how much of it will be for next year. I said contractually it could be anything, but let us wait and see what happens in terms of reality of the project. So I'm not giving any guidance with respect to out of this 5.5 gigawatts, how much will be done next year. But I only said this 5.5 gigawatts will definitely get executed in FY26 and FY27 together. That was my answer.
No, no. So what I'm saying is now that we have a capacity of 4,000 on these 4 gigawatts, what we are targeting is an order book of something like 10 gigawatts?
Oh, you're saying that because we have a manufacturing capacity of 4.5?
Yeah.
So I might have a manufacturing capacity, but they should be EPC. The projects are ready to EPC. So obviously, yes, your point is right that if I load our manufacturing capacity to the 90%, so then obviously about four gigawatts is what we should supply every year. But that capacity comes only when your manufacturing plant is loaded on a consistent basis every month. But that doesn't happen. Your EPCs are different. So your project EPC is what decides how much capacity creation happens.
Right. Right. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Depesh Kashyap from Invesco. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi. Thank you for taking my questions. Just a clarification on the interest cost of 70 crore. I think last quarter you highlighted that there's a 10 to 11 crore of one-off expenses due to a new contract that you have got, right? So the normal run rate was 44-45 crore of interest cost. So is this 70 crore now a new normal that you think, or if there's any one-off sitting here?
No, no. INR 70 crores is not a new normal, Deepesh. There is close to about, of course, in this, INR 15 crores gets added in a quarter because of the one-off lease cost that currently that is there. Close to about INR 15 crores a quarter. That will get on a continuous basis, quarter on quarter. In addition to that, there is the Renom working capital cost that is getting added. As I said, Renom has about INR 120 crores of working capital facilities with it, which they utilize on a cash credit basis. So of course, while we look at optimizing the cost, but we will also look at increased cash balances going forward. So the net interest cost would probably be in the normal region of around INR 40 crores a quarter, give or take.
But that we will manage through, of course, whether increased interest cost or increased interest income, both net basis, we should assume about INR 40 crores.
Understood. Secondly, when do you expect the normal taxation to start hitting your P&L?
So I think that, of course, it's very difficult for me to give you any guidance on that. But safe to say that I don't see that hitting us in FY26 at least. Can't say about FY27 at this stage.
Understood. Lastly, any plans on utilization of cash? Any inorganic opportunities you're looking at, or any dividend payments you're thinking about? Because now you are a INR 400 crore plus net worth, right? That's how things are going.
So inorganic, of course, we keep looking out. We'll be very selective. We won't go very aggressive, any inorganic opportunities. Any return or payback to the shareholders will, of course, at the time of annual results, will be deliberated and discussed at the board before recommending to the shareholders. We'll, of course, need to see the reserves. So as we know, there is a scheme which is impending that requires reclassification of reserves. So once that is done is when we can have the dividend-paying capabilities. I hope and assume that that should be completed. That scheme should go through by June, July. Once that is ready and the business exigency is permitting any dividend payout and the board approving, we would then only be able to recommend the same for the shareholders.
Great. Great. Thank you and all the best. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Rohan Vora from Envision Capital. Please go ahead.
Hello. Sir, thank you for the opportunity and congratulations on the numbers. So I just wanted to check on the Siemens. Are you still looking at it, or what is the update around that?
I'm sorry to interrupt you, but can you speak a bit louder, Mr. Rohan Vora?
Yeah. Is it better?
Yes. Please speak.
Yeah. Yeah. Please.
Yeah. So sir, I just wanted to check around Siemens Gamesa. So what is the update around that, and are we looking at that particular transaction?
Obviously, Siemens Gamesa, we will not have an update because that is that company to provide. We are not looking at it. We said in your answer.
Absolutely, so are we looking at it, is what I'm trying to understand.
No.
No, no. We've always been on record. We never changed our stance. So we are not looking at that.
Okay. Okay. Thank you, sir.
Does that answer the question, Mr. Rohan?
Yes.
Yeah. Yeah. Let me take the next question.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Deepak Purswani from Svan Investments. Please go ahead.
Hi. Good evening, sir. And congratulations for a good set of numbers. Sir, just wanted to check it out eventually when we would be looking at four gigawatt of execution on the year-end basis. From the order inflow point of view, at some point of time, we are also considering export market to be tapped going ahead. If you can throw some light on that.
See, our manufacturing capacity is 4.5 gigawatts. Therefore, we are in a position to supply 4 gigawatts a year if there is a demand to the extent in India. So when that, I really won't be able to answer that because it depends upon various external factors. But we do have a capacity to supply 4 gigawatts a year as we speak today. As far as the international is concerned, some time back in a different question I mentioned that right now there's so much happening in India. However, we are evaluating what opportunities are available outside India. If at all, today is only evaluation phase. So in case because we have a capacity that India EPC gets to a certain level, can we actually do an incremental capacity and then sell outside? But right now, there is no solid proposal to that. It's only an evaluation process.
And by when, we don't know really. All depends upon market evaluation.
Okay. Thank you. Thanks a lot.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Falguni Dutta from Mansarovar Financials. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Good evening, sir. So I just have one question. Is it possible to give volume guidance for FY26?
We have not been providing that volume guidance, not just for the FY26. We are not even providing for the next quarter. So I think we will maintain that. So the.
Okay.
Because it depends upon various factors because we don't want to give a guidance and then start giving the reasons why it has been achieved or more achieved or underachieved because the market is so dynamic outside in terms of execution.
You mean to say.
Yeah. You mean to say because of the execution issue. Right. Understand.
Yeah. Yeah.
Okay, sir. Thank you. That's all.
But you're seeing the growth. So therefore, obviously, you can guess.
Okay.
Growth will continue quarter on quarter.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, due to the time constraints, this will be the last question, which is from the line of Rusmik Oza from 9 Rays Equi Research. Please go ahead.
I'm audible?
Yes, you are. Please go ahead.
Yes, sir, I want to check up in next fiscal year if industry does around six gigawatts. Can we maintain the market share of 40%, which I think last quarter we were above 40% market share? If you can just give some color on the kind of market share we would retain next year.
Can you please come again? I'm sorry.
I just wanted to understand what kind of market share would you be able to retain next year that's FY26 in industry?
Market share of what?
WTG.
Oh. I mean, WTG, what? Order book, supply, or?
Supply. So, supplier or commissioning of wind energy.
See, right now, the publicly available number is only the commissioning. Okay? So there is no data or nobody is monitoring data in terms of order book or in terms of the suppliers. Right now, this year, obviously, the 40% is not there at all. We are much worse than that at this stage number because we also can't measure. Last time also I mentioned measure the performance based on the market share of COD for us because as you see in our composition, only around 20-22% is what is EPC. Rest all our non-EPC where we don't have the full control. So therefore, now the main indicator is in terms of supplies. That's what will decide what is the new financial performance and the commissioning number.
Okay. Okay. Thanks. And my second question, sir, was on this foundry and forging business. Utilization level right now is around 19%. Just wanted to get a feel how much can this utilization go up next fiscal year and the margins which are set around 12.5%, can they go back to 15%-16%?
We're working towards that. We're working towards the processing of order book in terms of non-wind as well as exports. And also, we are trying to see that we increase our machining capacity so that we don't need to outsource machining so that we increase the margin. You will see the improvements quarter to quarter from now onwards.
Okay. Thanks for the opportunity. Thank you so much.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this was the last question for today. I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Himanshu Mody for closing comments.
Thank you, everyone, for joining the call, and I know there is a question queue still pending. My apologies to all those investors. We are unable to take all the questions at this stage. However, I request please do write to us on our email ID, investorrelations@suzlon.com, or reach out to my colleagues, Siddharth and Krishna, with your questions, and we will be happy to answer those, but apologies, we won't be able to take any further questions at this stage. Thank you very much for being patient, hearing us out, and look forward to being in touch with you all. Thank you so much.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Suzlon Energy Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines.