Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to Suzlon Energy Limited Q1 and FY 2027 earnings conference call. During this call, the company management may take certain statements that reflect their outlook for the future. This could be construed as a forward-looking statement. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are associated with uncertainties and risks, as detailed in annual report. Actual results may differ, so please statements should be reviewed in conjunction with the risks that the company faces. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in listen-only mode. If you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star then zero on your touchtone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. We will begin with the opening remarks, followed by a question and answer 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. Ajay Kapur, Group CEO, and Mr. Rahul Jain, Group CFO, and senior members of the finance team. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Ajay Kapur, sir. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thank you. Good evening, everyone, and thank you for joining Suzlon's Quarter One FY 2027 earnings call. FY 2027 has started strongly for Suzlon and the Indian wind industry. Even amid global geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and resulting supply chain volatility, we have sustained strong execution, demonstrating the resilience of our business model and the strength of India's RE opportunity. While Middle East tensions created near-term supply chain disruptions, they have also reinforced the strategic importance of energy security, further strengthening the long-term investment case for domestic RE, especially wind energy. India's economic growth, rapid electrification, AI-led data center expansion, industrial growth, EV adoption, and cooling demand continue to drive structural power demand growth. The country's peak power demand has already crossed 270+ GW, reinforcing the need for large-scale RE capacity additions, especially during non-solar hours, which is peak demand.
This momentum sets the stage for a multiyear growth cycle, with annual installations expected to cross 10 GW in the near term and reaching 15 GW by FY 2031. With 57 GW already installed and a strong pipeline with STU and PSU bids, as well as C&I demand, particularly for wind, India is set to achieve the near-term target of 100 GW by 2030. Repowering also started gaining traction, and there is rising customer interest, which gives visibility of several opportunities ramping up in the next two to three years. Now taking you through the business highlights. Suzlon delivered 506 MW in quarter one, making our highest ever first-quarter deliveries. This performance was achieved despite temporary supply chain and logistics disruptions arising from geopolitical tensions in West Asia. These disruptions deferred approximately 10%-20% of deliveries, which is expected to be recovered in coming quarters.
Q1 FY 2027, Suzlon installations grew 2.3x from 117 MW- 269 MW COD. With more than 1,257 MW of erected but waiting for commissioning turbines, this paves the way for uptick in the CODs going forward. Order book is a healthy 6.1 GW, reaffirming our market leadership. In the first four months of FY 2027, we have already secured 1 GW of orders and continue to have a strong pipeline.
Order book is not constrained with DevCo model in place, with 60% new orders from DevCo. Hopefully, this will keep the momentum going in the coming quarters. Market pricing remains healthy and rational. ASP increased from INR 5.6 crore / MW in Q1 FY 2026 to INR 6.3 crore / MW in Q1 FY 2027, aided by project mix. The successful launch and maiden order for S 175 in India, alongside the Blue Sky platform, marks Suzlon's return to advanced global markets.
With S 175 and S 163, Suzlon is expanding its technology portfolio with high-capacity turbines. We are pleased to report and deliver superior yields, better reliability, and lower LCOE, unlocking opportunities across repowering and new build projects worldwide. 4.5 GW manufacturing capacity, fully operational. Expanding footprint with three AI-enabled smart factories to drive efficiency and scale. On Suzlon 2.0, it is translating into tangible growth opportunities across multiple adjacencies. On the RE Tech side, we have successfully launched S 175 5 MW turbine and secured the first customer order. On the DevCo, strong market acceptance reflected in 600+ MW of orders booked within the four months, which translates to 60% of the business coming from DevCo-led engine. Exports expanding global footprint with a growing opportunity pipeline spanning key international markets with opportunities under evaluation in Europe, Australia, Latin America and Southeast Asia.
On the BESS, advanced storage ambitions through strategic technology partnership discussions are ongoing. On the solar side, we have identified 20+ GW serviceable solar asset base, leveraging Suzlon's extensive field presence and infrastructure within 25 km radius of Suzlon service locations. Our RE AMS portfolio remains strong with 16.1+ installed base in India and machine availability crossing consistently above 95%. Renom AEM is consistently growing on the back of steady fleet additions across multi-brand and a healthy pipeline. Foundry and forging continues to scale strongly. Revenues at INR 126 crore and EBITDA at INR 22 crore with continued momentum driven by domestic demand and export growth. Now I invite Rahul Jain, our Group CFO, to take you through our financial performance.
Thank you, Ajay. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I would be using slides 20 to 27 of our investor presentation, which has been uploaded to our website, as the reference point for my discussion during this presentation. In Q1 FY 2027, Suzlon delivered 506 MW, marking our highest ever first quarter deliveries in India. Suzlon reported consolidated revenue of INR 3,819 crore in Q1 FY 2027, a 23% year-on-year growth with EBITDA at INR 595 crore and PBT at INR 390 crore. Also, a PAT of INR 305 crore was reported during Q1 FY 2027. EBITDA and PAT did get impacted on account of some of the factors. Certain deliveries impacted on account of temporary supply chain and logistic disruptions arising from geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which impacted fuel availability and movement of critical equipment, including cranes, trailers, and transport vehicles required for WTG execution.
Higher fixed costs reflect investments made in to support scale, including the Puducherry facility, new blade plants, leadership strengthening and Suzlon 2.0 initiatives. Q1 FY 2027 is impacted due to the above factors, and in the long term, we continue to grow in line with our ambitions set up for Suzlon 2.0 at 25% CAGR for the next five years. We are pleased to report on our balance sheet as of June 26th, reflects a position of exceptional strength with strong consolidated net worth of INR 9,869 crore. Our net cash position of INR 2,322 crore further enhances our financial flexibility and resilience.
Adequate working capital limits have been tied up for execution of the current order book. Our integrated business model, backed by robust supply chain, strong execution capabilities, and industry leading service network, continues to differentiate Suzlon and create a sustainable competitive advantage. I would now like to hand over the call to the operator and open the floor for questions. Thank you.
Thank you, Rahul sir. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin with the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touchtone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. Our first question comes from the line of Balas ubramanian with Arihant Capital. Please go ahead.
Good evening, sir. Thank you so much for the opportunity. Sir, in Q1, the delivery is around 506 MW, but the commission is only 269 MW. I think it implies the gap of nearly 237 MW in Q1 alone. What is a typical revenue recognition lapse between delivery or erection and commissioning? In total, I think 975 MW erected inventory is expected to convert. I think when we can expect, whether it's in Q2 or Q3, to get some clarity on that side.
Okay. Let me try and answer that question, please. Q1, what we saw as deliveries was 506 MW. Our total COD in Q1 was about 269 MW. When we look at it from an overall perspective, the position that we have on RR versus commissioning, there is a certain gap, and that will continue to remain. We have to also look at the fact that we have 1,257 MW of erected machines. Now as the erection completions happen, when the COD positions will likely improve going forward as well. I think it is not the gap to be looked at, but also the RFC stock and the stock of machines that have been commissioned, that have been installed ready for commissioning as well. I think that is the position to be looked at.
From a Q3 and Q4 perspective, if you look at it, the seasonality of the business is such that, and historically also we've seen, that there is a seasonal trend that works out, that plays out. Historically, what we have seen is, let's say about 35%-40% in the H1 versus 60%-65% in H2. I think that trend still remains. Hopefully, that answers your question, sir.
Got it, sir. As for my second question, I think we are making strategic investments in S175 platform and new rotor blade manufacturing facilities and the Blue Sky European relaunch. What is that expected payback period for these investments and when we can expect meaningful revenue contributions, whether it's in FY 2028 or 2029?
Very good question. Rahul already gave you an answer to your earlier one that we have 1,250 erected turbines, a large part of it is now ready for commissioning. Part one. Part two, as we migrate to new 5 MW series for Indian market, plus 6.3 MW S163 for international markets, these are the investments being made. Internationally, it takes anywhere between 18 months to 24 months to seed the market and start the first shipments. That's the answer for international. For our domestic, we've already got the first order of S175, which will start deliveries end of this year and next year.
Also, the other strategic investments we are making in new factories as part of our expansion. I think all these investments pan out over the next 12- 18 months. We are very hopeful that the payback for all these it's a very fairly short payback. These are not long investments because as soon as the ramp-up happens on the volumes, this already starts paying back.
Okay, sir. My last question, around 85% of order book is from PSU and C&I sectors. I'm trying to understand whether it's a PSU-dominated order book or a structured RAC on cash conversion, or the payment cycles are improving. I'm trying to understand whether-
Basically-
Yes, sir.
Basically, it's a, you would say, 50/50 mix between PSU and C&I. When we take each order, it has its own uniqueness. Wherever there are payable days more, there the pricing is adequately done in a manner that it accounts for the days. I think from that aspect, I think we are well covered.
Okay, sir. The mix will continue or it will change in the coming years, sir?
It's an evolving market. Cannot predict that. By and large, as part of the journey to RE, we need investments from everyone, including PSUs, who have taken larger targets. At the same time, large corporates are repeat customers for us. You would have seen in our various announcements. We're very happy to partner with both of them. I think more or less the same trajectory will continue. We have a sharp focus on our receivables management, we are seeing improvement over there also.
Got it, sir. Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Mohit Kumar with ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Good evening. Thanks for the opportunity. My first question is, sir, what explains the weakness in EBIT margin during the quarter? I am talking especially about WPG. On a per megawatt basis, the EBIT has declined from INR 52 lakh /MW- INR 26 lakh /MW , while the average selling price has only gone up, right? Can we expect it correct going forward? How should we look at it?
Okay. When you look at EBITDA numbers, what we are seeing is roughly about a flattish EBITDA from INR 599 crores, which was Q1 FY 2026, to INR 595 crores in Q1 FY 2027. The way to look at it is probably this. There are certain investments that we are making for our Suzlon 2.0 strategy. There is a bit of a strengthening of that position starting to happen. Therefore, some of the expenses have to be upfronted, right? Benefit of these expenses will come over a period of time. Therefore, you are looking at a flattish EBITDA. That's one of the reasons. Second key reason is the fact that, what Ajay also mentioned, given the geopolitical position, there were certain lower, let's say, operating leverage playing out this quarter.
As we go out in time and as our operating leverage becomes better, some of these positions should be better going forward as well. The third element of this is, when you look at it from a segment perspective, our WPG or the RE solution segment versus the RE AMS segment, there are higher margins in the AMS segment overall. As your mix changes, there will be some positive or negative depending upon what mix you are at. That is essentially the reason, Mohit.
Understood. My second question is, of course, the ALMM on the wind is expected by, I think it already got implemented, right? I think the C&I deadline is December 25, if I'm not wrong, right? December 26. The utility it has already been implemented from August 25. Whatever bid happens post August 25. In your opinion, are you gaining market share post that, and have you seen the impact on the ground? Second is, do you see the ALMM expanding into components like yaw and pitch drives in the next two years? I believe that those drives, they are not covered as of now.
Let me answer at a larger level. First of all, this ALMM SOP brings level playing field for the Indian players. Suzlon is fully compliant and well-positioned versus import-dependent competitors. The SOP provides clear staged requirements for listing and inspection, plus a new import monitoring system, which is REEIMS. I think this helps us. On the second part of your question, we can connect separately. At this moment, maybe we can reach out to you separately and answer that question.
Understood. Thank you. All the best. Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Sumit Kishore with Axis Capital. Please go ahead.
Thanks. Good evening. Two questions. The first one is that the fixed cost in WPG business in Q1 seems to be at Q4 FY 2026 levels, despite much lower volume. You spoke about the advanced investment that you're making for Suzlon 2.0 strategy. How should we think about the full year WPG fixed cost here? How much of the impact in Q1 was because of the temporary issues around fuel availability, pricing, movement of cranes? How should we think about the full year fixed cost for WPG business for FY 2027?
Sumit, to answer your question, the way to look at it is that there are certain one-time costs that have been baked in into the Q1 numbers. Like I said in an answer to a previous question as well, the overall position from a year perspective, there will be some one-time, or let's say, investments that we are making for our future positioning, be it for export, be it for the DevCo model and others. That's something that will come through over the year as well.
Again, if you look at it, we have always said that our EBITDA margins between 17%-18% last year was the position that we had taken. My sense is that this year also, ±1%-2% from there, we should be able to maintain and with strong positioning, given as we go out and operating leverage plays out in H2, we will certainly see a better positive change to that.
Okay. Just the fixed expenses that you have in mind for cultivating exports and Suzlon 2.0, would you like to put a number to that for the full year so that we can track that?
Not really, Sumit. I don't want to put a number to it. Let me just say that we are judicious at it. We have the ability to do some of these expenses because we are looking at growth as our key lever going forward. There will be certain upfront costs, and to be very frank about it, as the Group CFO, I'm not very worried.
Sure. Just a quick one on the 602 MW DevCo EPC contract. What sort of advances have you booked for these contracts? Could you give us some sense of the execution timeline versus the non-DevCo order book and, possibly, whether this would be margin accretive?
Very good question. These are similar contracts as we have been doing in past. Same commercial term, except that here we have readiness of available land banks and connectivity, working closely with the customer and the client.
Okay.
Which helps in a faster implementation. Other than that, all advances, everything is in the same nature as we have done in past, and they are value accretive.
Sure. Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Prakhar Porwal with Ambit Capital. Please go ahead.
Thanks for the opportunity. One question, first one, a follow-up
Prakhar, your voice is cracking. Could you just speak up a bit?
Am I audible?
Yeah, your voice is a bit muffled.
Just one second. Am I audible now?
Yes, please try.
Yes.
Yeah. My first question is a follow-up on the previous one. On the DevCo, you mentioned margins and terms on the similar levels that you have on the existing orders. Advances, et cetera, on these orders, because I assume the conversion cycle is three, four years. Are these the projects where land has been acquired and the customer has given an advance for these contracts? The 602 MW that we have done.
The answer is, current sales which is happening is already the advanced DevCo sites that we had. Those are the ones we have offered, which are very big. Whatever investments we already made in the land, in fact, they will get unlocked very soon as the advances start coming in and we increase the site progress.
The year three, four, five DevCo orders, which is also part of the Suzlon 2.0 strategy, those are yet to be announced, where we have a slightly different strategy. These are the ones which are more like the current orders, but they have been coming through the pipeline of our DevCo team. As you know, we have been working on it for a while. It's not that we started after announcement. We're already working on it. These are the more baked ones, and therefore, there is a very high demand also for these sites from our customers.
Sure. My second question is again on margins. The fixed cost that you mentioned that you are investing for the-
These are their bills.
For the Suzlon 2.0 that you're mentioning, what type of fixed cost, if you can mention maybe some of these?
Basically, we have to incur, for example, new plants we are setting up. We're making investment in technology for the new protos that we are working on, international and domestic market. Part of marketing and international markets to open up the market. These are all those investments which are inevitable as part of the growth strategy.
Sure. Just lastly, on repowering, you mentioned briefly in the opening remarks. If you can highlight some maybe movement in terms of repowering in India that is happening, and also maybe on the investor day you discussed about Europe repowering opportunity. Because this question is related to the conference that was held and the minister had asked the Wind Council of India to prepare a report for all the repowering potential sites. Maybe anything that you are seeing from there, and any type of demand that you expect from that segment, that is all.
Very good question. In fact, at a high level, repowering has a potential of close to 25 GW in the country. What we have done is, a significant portion of India's installed wind fleet was commissioned 10- 20 years ago, using relatively small turbines with lower hub heights and lower energy yields. Modern turbines, such as the latest generation platforms, can generate substantially more energy from the same footprint, and therefore, that's where the whole answer lies. These are also very good wind sites because these are the best which were taken in the beginning. For Suzlon, we have already started working on our S88 to S120 platform. That investment we are already making. This is also part of our Suzlon 2.0 strategy.
I think in the next one or two quarters, I should be able to come out and tell you the pilots and the orders that we already cracked. The team is very confident that before we end this year, we would have already logged in confirmed order book from the repowering in India first. Within international markets, Australia, very promising market. Europe, very promising market, lot of demand. The same product that we are launching here in India is what we will launch also internationally. For that, permits and all the approvals, looking at their local grid and grid requirements are being currently done. These are also the investments which are part of our Suzlon 2.0 strategy.
Sure. Thank you so much.
Thank you. Our next question come from the line of Sweta Jain with Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers Ltd. Please go ahead.
Good evening, everyone. Coming back to the fixed cost questions and the follow-ups again. I understand that you will not be able to give me an absolute number with respect to how much of the costs have been up-fronted in this quarter. If you could just help us decipher what margin impact would have been X of these costs for the quarter. It is just to assess how the entire year would pan out, frankly.
Same question you have asked a different way, Sweta, you are also laughing anyway. Okay. It is about INR 40 crores -INR 50 crores is what would be the number across various subheads, which I told you. I think as we ramp up volumes, this should start panning out and should not have such a major impact for the full year.
These entire INR 40 crores-INR 50 crores will be one-time for this quarter impact only?
See, it's a year-long journey, Sweta. It's one quarter story. Ajay is not saying that we have baked it everything in first quarter. It's a year-long journey from where we are coming, but not a big number, I would say.
The revenues, if I understood correctly, the previous answers, we'll start actually witnessing something materially next year onwards from the Suzlon 2.0 versions.
Basically, what Rahul was saying, typically, we've been operating at about 17%-18% margin. Our endeavor will be to remain in that realm.
Okay.
We can give or take 0.5% up and down, that's the way we would like to go. You've seen a strong delivery in the first quarter. This is the highest ever in the June series for Suzlon since inception.
Correct.
23% on revenue and 12% on RR. More importantly, 230% on commissioning. On top of it, another 1,250 erected, ready to be commissioned. I think these are the good numbers. I believe they are going to be all value accretive for the business going forward. On top of investments for current and future years, I think, which is going to pay us rich dividends, because if I have to achieve 2031 goals, I need to start, I think we already started.
Correct. Absolutely. That's the point. Thank you so much for that answer. The next is on foundry and forgings. I think since last year, we've been tracking and stating that this business is expanding into different verticals, targeting aerospace, other foundry verticals in automobiles, et cetera. If we see, Suzlon's share has continuously been inching up on a quarterly basis. Any thoughts with respect to how the utilization can be actually ramped up to 50% or something material number?
Sweta, very good question. This is one business which gets more impacted with the geopolitical issues which were happening in the recent past. We are trying to also increase the share of exports. Some of the big customers we found got into the Gulf crisis. What the business is looking at is distinct three segments, foundry, forging, and bearing. We have started talking to more customers, more order pipelines. In fact, in the coming quarters, you'll see the whole strategy panning out beautifully well. Obviously, while Suzlon will be a big buyer, but we want to actually increase the share of non-Suzlon-
Non-wind.
Non-wind and exports. These are the three or four KPIs given to them with a very clear three business models of foundry, forging, and bearing. I'm very confident this business has a lot of promise in time to come.
Okay. Thank you, and all the best for future.
Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question come from the line of Satpal Singh Khanuja with Ishaan Ventures. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Good evening. First of all, I would like to ask that there has been unconfirmed news in the market that there is some kind of foreign holding cap that the company has placed. Can you confirm that if there is a cap on the amount of holdings in the company which can be held by foreign FPIs and FIs?
Not really. I don't think there is any such thing. In fact, I can't place a cap on it. That's the rule from.
Okay. That is what my.
Nothing else.
Hello?
That's all?
Hello? Hello?
Yeah, Satpal, any further question you have?
Yeah.
Can't hear you
As regards the installed capacity, there was an interview of J.P.C. sir, which was held at the One Earth campus, where he said that once the 5 GW machines are started, like the production is started, the installed capacity will automatically go up from 4,500 MW- 7,500 MW. Am I wrong in somewhat of understanding of that statement?
I'll not give you a number from 4,500 MW- 7,500 MW, if the current capacity, everything shifts to, let's say the 5 MW , yes, that is the way it has to be looked at. It will be much higher.
That takes time, no? Because your current order book, if you see, of the 6.1 GW, is largely S144, three series, and some part of it is also where the retail demand and some customers and some orders are there of 2 MW . I think it's a mix and it's a transition as it happens. When you finally transit, it will go up. Obviously, you're right.
Okay. Sir, when I go on a line-by-line comparison of the profit and loss account, the majority of expense that has increased is in material consumed. I'm still trying to understand what would be the expenditures that would have been booked into material consumption.
Basically, it is the EPC. If you see last year, same quarter. We were 22% share of EPC. This year, we are 32% share of EPC. There's a substantial shift.
Okay. Right, sir. Thank you for the opportunity. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Raj Shah with Enam AMC. Please go ahead.
Thank you, sir, for the opportunity. My question is related to the realization that has increased from INR 5.6 crores /MW- INR 6.3 crores /MW. As you mentioned in the opening comments, that this is a part of the result of a project mix change. If you can throw some light on how should we think about this number as EPC business is increasing for the entire year, how should we think about this number?
Basically, you're right. The EPC share has gone up from the base year, where I said it was 22%, has gone up to 32%. That's what is translating into the higher revenue.
EPC and project business.
Also project business.
This upward movement shall continue going forward as well, sir?
The scope has increased, the revenue has increased.
As our project business will be higher, we will see this number in that range. Again, this is also a judgmental number overall, is what I would like to say. The ASPs are in fairly good shape, is what we are saying here.
Got it. Sir, for the asset management business as well, we saw margin expansion in this quarter. My question was, now do we see that this shall be a sustainable margin level of 33%-34% going forward as well?
This is actually much higher, 43%, we believe this should be more like higher 30s, 38%, 39%.
Okay.
You're seeing the segment review. What is the question? Can you repeat? I think I may have got it wrong.
No.
Can you repeat your question, please?
Yes, sir. I'm asking about the O&M business.
You're talking of the O&M business EBITDA margin or the share of O&M business of the total business? Which one?
No. EBITDA margin.
Yeah. That it's right. In this quarter, it's slightly elevated at 43%. I believe it should be more or less in the higher 30s and closer to 40%. That's the way we'll endeavor to work on.
Yeah. That's right.
Rest is all timing issue sometimes.
Got it. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Our next question comes on the line of Amit Bhinde with Axis Capital . Please go ahead.
Hello, sir. I just try to understand your movement on interest expense that seems to be pretty high, almost up 30% Y-o-Y. What's exactly resulting in this increase? Secondly, some outlook on the tax rate that we should consider for the full year. This time as well, including deferred tax, the tax rate is close to around 22% versus the other initial commentary of there being no tax for the next one or two years on the income statement. Can you, if you can explain on those two points?
Okay. The way to look at it is that when you think about from Q1 to Q1, my revenue is higher by about 23%. To a certain extent, that will also go into the interest cost as well. Given where our overall working capital utilization is, which is flat to slightly higher and tracking that number, this number is overall dependent on the overall utilization of working capital, which is leading to a slightly higher interest cost. I can also tell you that when we look at it from a line-by-line item from an interest cost perspective, our overall rates that we can command from the market has actually come down. That's a positive change that has happened. That's probably the explanation I would give to you from an interest cost perspective.
When you look at it from a tax perspective, all the tax charges that you see on our P&L is the recognition and the, let's say, the rundown of the deferred tax assets that have been recognized in the past. None of these are cash items. Minor cash could be there, but nothing major. Largely, these are non-cash items, is what I would say.
Right. Got that. Just to clarify, you had mentioning that you would invest money on the RE DevCo side, surely there would have been some investments done. Can you quantify how much have we done on that side? Has that also contributed to the increase in the interest cost?
Again, that it's an overall cash utilization position. Our overall DevCo investment is expected to be about INR 500 crore on a revolving in nature. Currently, we will probably in the range of INR 200 crore- INR 300 crore. It remains like that. If there was more investment in DevCo, obviously there would have been a better cash position that was available with us. I don't think we need to look at it from that perspective. It's an overall working capital position that has led to slightly higher interest costs. Like I said, our overall rates are lower than what we had started the year with and last year as well.
Got it.
Positives more than negatives.
Right. Got that. Just one more thing, if you can just talk us through the CapEx plan, because now we have sufficient capacity of 4.5 GW at hand for the domestic market, now we are launching newer turbines on the export side, et cetera. How should one think about your CapEx investment or any capacity addition on that front?
CapEx, we had guided even earlier calls also, closer to INR 700 crores ± INR 100 crores, depending on the timing and sometimes permits and local issues. By and large, that guidance remains intact.
Just to add to what Ajay said, Amit, the point is that the CapEx is to support our growth and capacity expansion.
Right.
The 5 MW series and others, as they come in, they will need certain blade factories.
True.
We are now investing in AI-enabled blade factories as well, like we said in our opening remarks as well. It's investing into the future rather than just looking at the current 4.5 GW capacity.
Is any of these investments closer to the end market, like in the foreign geographies that you're making to?
No, these are all currently in India. As of now, the foreign strategy is to be able to manufacture in India and sell globally.
Transport is all right.
The products that we are making are for the global markets as well.
Right. Got that, sir. This was helpful. Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Nikhil Abhyankar with UTI Mutual Fund. Please go ahead.
Yes. Sir, a couple of questions. First question in line with the earlier question regarding the gross margin. Is it fair to assume that the impact on the gross margin was largely because of the change in mix and none of it was regarding the commodity inflation?
No, I didn't get the question. Could you-
No, I think the question was commodity impact-
Impact on gross margin was largely owing to the change in mix between EPC and WTG supply, or there was also some component because of the commodity inflation.
Again, yes, I understand your question now. Thank you. The mix with respect to the AMS business, which is a higher margin business versus supply of, let's say, the RE solutions business, is the one that has impacted it. Obviously, there is some impact of one-time costs as well, like some of the other participants have talked about. Yeah, largely, what you're saying is right.
Okay. Sir, under the DevCo model, we have already booked around 600 MW of orders. We just want to understand how much land or bank is available with us and any trajectory if you can give in terms of land bank development in this year and in a couple of years down the line.
As a thumb rule, we earmark up to 25% for a project which is fully baked to invest in the land. We do stage gating depending on where we are. At a second stage gate, we increase this from 25% - 50%, and by then we would already sign the term sheet with the customer, and then we start also transferring the land in the name of the customer, thereby recycling the money, which Rahul was earlier mentioning, that we have earmarked about INR 500 as a packet for this particular initiative. Currently, we have not reached the threshold of that INR 500. We are much below that.
Yeah. Sir, the CapEx plan of INR 700 odd crores, does it also include the DevCo investment?
No. That's separate. This is CapEx. Pure CapEx.
Okay.
DevCo is essentially buying the land and connectivities and others, right? That is essentially inventorized.
Right. Sure, sir. Understood. Thank you and all the best.
Thank you. Our next question come from the line of Priyesh Babariya with Mahindra Manulife Mutual Fund. Please go ahead.
Hello. Thank you so much, sir, for giving me an opportunity. Just one question with respect to DevCo model. Earlier we were actually expected to limit our investment to, let's say, INR 250 crore- INR 300 crore. Now we are expecting to actually increase it to INR 500 crore. Do we have any kind of a restriction in terms of how much we can invest in this particular business, or this can actually go beyond INR 500 crore as well?
Priyesh, thank you for the question. The INR 250 crore number that you are talking about is a very long back number. We have come to a state where, even when we were talking about Suzlon 2.0 strategy, we have talked about this as a INR 500 crore number, even at that point in time. As of now, that's the cap that we have. If there is a change on it, we'll certainly come back and give you the positioning around it. That's what we've kept our, let's say, financial guardrail around.
Sir. Thank you. Thank you so much.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Neil Oswal with PGIM India Asset Management. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Thank you for the opportunity. Two questions. First, as your share of EPC increases, do you expect the working capital cycle to worsen materially? Second, if you can share some details on the BESS side, some specifics regarding the partnerships that you're exploring, if you can share something.
Let me just answer the working capital question first, then I'll give it over to Ajay to answer the other question. On the working capital cycle, again, I don't think EPC creates a negative. The working capital cycle is what it is, right? We are working on various tracks to improve the working capital cycle. I am happy to report that when you look at our numbers and when you look at our statement, that has been the investor presentation. We will see a significant reduction in the receivable number, right? I think EPC or non-EPC working capital cycle is what it is. It is not negatively impacted by EPC. Ajay?
Yep, that's very true. Regarding BESS, we are currently in a state where we are discussing with our various potential partners. We already had few rounds. Some of them are quite-
Encouraging.
Encouraging. I think in the next couple of months, we should be able to close those partnership and the first cut arrangements. Our target is that FY 2031, we want to come with 3.1 GW. We are working in that direction. Basically, we are looking at tying up with some partners and some meetings, as I mentioned, already happened. It will take time, but we want to do it right because again, in this sector, if you don't get it right, you end up not creating value accretive. We want to do that.
For us, the core of the whole strategy is that our RE solutions is to enable us to optimize the wind sites in the DevCo model and at the same time solve the customer's pain point where he's looking at a complete RE end-to-end versus pure wind, and therefore, we are doing BESS and then also solar and hybrid. What we have also done is hybrid controllers through our central R&D. A few customers have already signed up with us for pilot orders. I think that's something we are already progressing ahead of time.
Sure, sir. Thank you so much for the insights.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, in order to ensure that the management will be able to address all the questions from the participant, we request you to kindly limit your question to two question per participant. If you have a follow-up question, you may rejoin the queue. Our next question comes from the line of Abhishek from Motilal Oswal. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hi. Two questions. First, can you tell us a little bit about the pricing difference versus the global WTG manufacturers? You're trying to go into Australia and Europe and all these places. What kind of competition are we facing from the local players, from the Chinese? That's my first question.
Abhishek, when we are looking at the international market, when we talk to our customers there, it's not just Chinese. In every country you have two or three big players. Suzlon has been there at some point or the other in the past. They are looking at us as a good alternative to those two or three. Some of them are already using Suzlon turbines, which was supplied long back. Some of them already have Suzlon fleet, which is being managed by our international operations and maintenance teams. I think we are also picking up our markets where, for example, smaller turbines, 2 MW series for repowering is something, an order we believe we should be able to procure from Europe and Australia. Here we don't compete with Chinese, or we don't compete on price alone.
We purely compete on the product and the delivery. Finally, I think it'll be all coming out of India, and we should be pricing at par with the local players, give or take, something which should be done as part of the marketing strategy. We are not really looking at competing on price. We are purely looking at competing on total value add, energy.
Got it. The second question is that, if I look at the local market, utility scale ordering has come off quite significantly from 50 GW almost two years back. There has also been some INR depreciation. How has pricing moved in the domestic market? Has there been some pressure over there?
Wind is traction. There is a good traction.
I think the realization is okay.
Yeah. I'm saying there's a good traction of wind-
I think realization has gone up from INR 5.3- INR 6.2, but if we exclude EPC and just talk about WTG, then how is that coming along? Sorry, yeah, go ahead please.
When we look at the current bids in the market, there are almost five gigawatt of bids in the market right now, as I speak to you. Government's ambition is also to take it to a 10 GW market by FY 2030. On top, another five gigawatt, say, 15 GW by FY 2034, 2035. That's what we are seeing in the industry. We are finding very good traction on wind. With the DevCo-led model, we want to solve the challenge of long lead time for wind assets to be put in place. I think the question is not about the demand, I think the question is execution. Since, in the evening hours, wind is the only solution in the RE space. I think that's where the opportunity, at the same time, challenge lies. I don't know if I've answered your question, Abhishek.
Yeah. I was specifically asking about the pricing movement in the domestic market, and has there been any pressure because of INR depreciation?
More or less same. I mean, yeah, your INR depreciation has happened, for example. At the same time as we ramp up our volumes, for example, our three megawatt series, we've already done 9 GW of orders. That also gives you alternate suppliers. You also develop your ecosystems of supplier databases, and you keep optimizing your costs. I think it's a constant movement on cost optimization, volume, and it's end of the day volume game. As you ramp up volumes, you also bring your unit cost down.
Got it. Thank you so much.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Nitin Kaushik with Afin Capital Private Limited.
Good evening, everyone. Thank you for the opportunity. Sir, my question was regarding Suzlon investor presentation, in which you mentioned.
We cannot hear you, Nitin. Can you be more audible, please? We cannot hear you properly.
Sorry, is it audible now?
Still not very clear.
Hello.
Kindly speak louder or, I don't know, your connectivity is pretty weak. We are not able to hear you.
Sir, is it audible now?
Yeah, please try now. We'll see.
My question was regarding the Investor Day presentation, in which you mentioned the renewable energy sales of 10 GW, which is for a current amount. Sir, I was asking that your current capacity is 4.5 GW, so how would you achieve that 10 GW sales? Even if you consider a capacity expansion, won't it take some time to properly ramp up the additional capacity?
Very good question, Nitin. I'm glad you asked it.
Thank you.
Our presentation for Investor Day was for FY 2031, which is five years from now. We said we'll do 10 GW sales of RE, which would include wind as well as solar and BESS. We also mentioned that you can take a 75/25 breakup. We are looking at 7,500 wind, and we are five years from now. The capacity is already 4,500. We are making investments in new plants. As we'll migrate to higher turbines, the same plants will start making from three to five and then onwards.
I think, this question was also asked by somebody else, that the current capacity, if we start making different turbines, translates to already 7,500. We have enough time for transition towards our FY 2031 ambition. Right now, we are focusing on FY 2027 and 2028. I think with every passing year, we will keep updating our FY 2031 forecast, which we had made only two months back.
Okay. Thank you, sir.
I hope I've clarified your. Yeah. Thank you.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Nikhil Poptani with Kizuna. Please go ahead.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity. My first question is, you said that our 10%-20% deliveries were deferred to subsequent periods. Can we assume that in the Q2 those deliveries will happen?
Nikhil, to just quickly answer your question. I think, we have to look at it from a H1, H2 perspective. Like I answered one of the previous questions, we are roughly about 35%-40% in H1, and H2 is typically about, let's say 60%-65%. I think that trend continues, Nikhil.
Super, sir. Sir, my second question will be on the lines of contribution margin.
The like of? I didn't get the question.
Sir, I wanted to ask the second question on lines of contribution margin.
Sure.
Did our contribution margin came down because of EPC mix going up? Let's assume that we have a 50% mix of the EPC business and 50% of the wind turbine deliveries. What are the steady state margin that we are looking at?
The way to look at it is not EPC versus non-EPC. The way to look at it is the RE solutions business and the RE AMS business. We've said this in the past, the AMS business typically has higher margins because of the service nature of the business. As, let's say, the volumes of the sales on the WPG ramps up, the mix changes, which leads to a slightly lower margin. I think that is the way to look at, not looking at it from a EPC, non-EPC perspective.
Super, sir. Those were my questions. Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that was the last question for today. I now hand the conference over to the management for the closing remarks. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thank you very much, everyone, for participating on Suzlon Energy's Q1 FY 2027 call. We hope to have answered most of your questions. If not, please do connect with our investor relations team. We will be happy to answer the questions that you have for information in the public domain. Thank you very much. Bye-bye.
Thank you so much, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Suzlon Energy Limited, that concludes today's conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your line.