Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to Techno Electric and Engineering Company Ltd., Q1 FY 2025 earnings conference call, hosted by Asian Markets Securities Limited. This conference call may contain forward-looking statements about the company, which are based on the beliefs, opinions, and expectations of the company as on date of this call. These statements are not the guarantee of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Actual results may differ from such expectations, projections, et cetera, whether expressed or implied. Participants are requested to exercise caution while referring to such statements and remarks. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star then zero on your touchtone phone.
Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Suraj from Asian Markets Securities Limited. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thank you, Siddhant. Good afternoon, everyone. On behalf of Asian Markets Securities, we welcome you all to Q1 FY 2025 earnings conference call of Techno Electric and Engineering Company Limited. We have with us today, P.P. Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director, and Mr. Ankit Saraiya, Director representing the company. Now, I request Mr. Ankit to take us through the overview of quarterly results, and then we shall with the Q&A session. Over to you, Ankit, sir.
Thank you. Thank you, Suraj, and thank you everyone for taking out time to join us for this conference call. Good afternoon, and welcome to everyone to discuss our financials for the quarter ended thirtieth June 2024. Anything said on this call which reflects our outlook for the future or that could be construed as a forward-looking statement must be reviewed in conjunction with the risks that the industry and company faces. To begin with, let me quickly highlight our performance for the first quarter of financial year 25. The results of the company are not comparable on quarter-to-quarter basis due to the nature of the business. Quarter 1 are generally 15% of the full year turnover, followed by 20% in quarter 2, 30% in quarter 3, and 35% in quarter 4.
Company has created an SPV to set up 40 MW data center at Chennai. The asset is under implementation stage, and currently it is not revenue accretive, but, as we've explained earlier, it's value accretive. In the consolidated results, we knock off the financials of this SPV, as per the accounting standards. That is the major difference in the standalone and consolidated results. As and when this asset becomes revenue accretive, it will start showing its contribution in the results, and hence, it would be good to analyze henceforth. Total revenue for the company from EPC stands at INR 213.74 crores, up by 19.55% year-on-year. EBITDA for the company stands at INR 56.53 crores, up by 19.05% year-on-year.
EBITDA margin for the company stood at 13.66%. Other income for first quarter in the financial year 2025 stood at INR 23.2 crores compared to INR 30.64 crores last year. Profit before tax for the quarter is INR 75.73 crores, up 5% year-on-year. The company has successfully collected all the outstanding from TANGEDCO and other DISCOMs. The company has outstanding receivables of INR 18.33 crores towards late/interest payment surcharge from sale of energy. During the quarter ended June 2024, the company had received an approval letter from TANGEDCO for delayed payment of interest on energy charges from 2009-2010 to 2020-2021, amounting to INR 78.24 crores, which will be received in six equal installments from May 2024 to October 2024.
The company has received two installments of INR 26.08 crores for the month of May and June 2024. The total receivables as on 30th June 2024 is INR 52.16 crores. The company has recognized revenue from discontinued operations during this quarter, amounting to INR 59.90 crores, on account of recovery of interest on delayed payment on energy charges. Tax for the quarter, including discontinued operations, is INR 100.43 crores, up by 95.78% year-on-year. EPS for quarter one FY 2025 stood at INR 9.34, up by 95.83% year-on-year. Current investment value, including cash and cash equivalents, post QIP proceeds, stands around INR 2,500 crores. That is around INR 215 per share.... Treasury income will continue to be recurring income for the company.
Our unexecuted order book as on date stands at around INR 9,100 crore. We are L1 in orders worth INR 1,200 crore. This constitutes two PGCIL orders at Nilgarh and Sirohi worth INR 478 crore. One order from AEGCL worth INR 522 crore, and one order from Adani worth INR 135 crore. Currently, the bids in pipeline are over INR 5,000 crore, for which the results are yet to be open. We are hopeful of bagging at least INR 3,000 crore out of the same. The company have successfully raised capital, an aggregate amount of INR 1,250 crore by way of QIP last month. Just to take you through the outlook of various business segments the company works in.
We have been able to tide over the difficult times witnessed till FY 2023, and we expect the growth momentum, which begun in FY 2024, should continue for FY 2025 and 2026. We expect larger business out of AMI segment, transmission, and data centers. In transmission, especially coming out of higher-end technological solutions. After a negligible or nil energy growth over the last eight years, the energy demand is all-time high, and the demand growth is in double digits. The present peak load demand of 240 GW is expected to be 400 GW by 2030, thereby employing the per capita consumption to grow from 1,250 units to 1,750 units by 2030.
To meet this demand, the power plant capacity is planned to be enhanced by 80 GW in the conventional power, coupled with energy transformation to achieve a renewable power penetration of 500 GW to the existing grid by 2030. All this means the sector is now transforming by deploying high-end solution, namely supercritical power plant, 765 kV AIS, GIS transmission solutions, STATCOM solutions, VSC solutions, HVDC solutions, backed by BESS, battery energy storage system, where your company has larger presence than any other entity in the marketplace. Your company is presently focused in following areas: transmission, smart metering, FGD, hyperscale/edge data centers, and digitization of solution and power distribution. All these verticals are fully full of potential, and this implies a paradigm shift in the positioning of the company.
From the current mix of 43% of total installed capacity, renewable energy is expected to be around 64% by 2030, due to the significantly higher growth rate of 16% CAGR of RE versus 4% CAGR of fossil fuels. India's aim to expand renewable energy capacity to 550 GW—500 GW by 2030, would require significant investment in transmission infrastructure. The CEA report on transmission system for integration of 500 GW renewable energy capacity by 2030, identifies various transmission links aggregating 50,890 circuit kilometers and 4 lakh 33,575 MVA. Following the additions to the ISTS, the cumulative interregional transfer capacity is likely to be about 150 GW in 2030.
The integration of this transformation capacity at new/existing substation under ISTS for wind and solar capacity by 2030, would entail a cost of INR 2.4 trillion. Thus, Power Grid sees a large addressable market and estimates its transmission CapEx at INR 171,000 crore up to 2030, and expects CapEx revival to INR 15,000-INR 25,000 crore, starting from financial year 2024, 2026. This makes us optimistic. Pick up in Power Grid CapEx/asset capitalization, which would bring sizable opportunity for Techno in next two to three years. Data centers or digitization widespread will also create additional demand for power. As mentioned earlier, to meet the increased demand, the government mentioned the need to have 80 GW of thermal capacity.
This will bring a lot of opportunity in generation segment for Balance of Power Plant, power evacuation facility deployment for Techno. On the distribution side, RDSS, we see a lot of activity happening going forward, particularly in the case of smart metering, as government desires to contain losses of the DISCOMs. We are witnessing focus on strengthening power distribution networks to make them smarter and intelligent. Around 22.22 crore meters are under various stages of award, totaling to around INR 2.22 lakh crore, out of which around 87.64% would be under RDSS scheme. Out of the above, around bids for 11.76 crore meters have already been awarded, and around 1.27 crore meters have already been installed.
Apart from these, we will definitely need energy storage solution, like battery or pumped storage, of no less than 20% of this capacity. This will also have to be additionally supported by many kind of captive, capacitive, reactive power management solution in the grid. We see significant activities where Techno is fully qualified and competent to be part of. Coming to FGD segment. The FGD segment is seeming to come back to momentum. We have got orders worth INR 1,450 crore for FGD, and that is progressing as expected. This level of business will continue for next 5-7 years, as 100 GW is yet to be ordered out by CPSUs, SEBs and private sector, totaling to a scope of INR 1 lakh crore.
Under transmission, TBCB bidding is happening for 50 GW-100 GW, and a lot of bidding is in progress at the moment, and we are finding that every month, 4-5 concessions are being awarded to Power Grid or to the private sector. Total bids open for transmission is around INR 40,000 crore, out of which Techno expects to book order worth INR 2,000-INR 2,500 crore per year over the next 2-4 years. We currently have orders worth INR 4,900 crore for transmission, including TBCB orders, and we are currently L1 in orders worth INR 1,200 crore within this segment. Under metering segment, we expect to get orders worth INR 1,500-INR 2,000 crore out of this segment every year for deployment of 2 million meters. We have already got orders for around 3 million meters, worth INR 3,500 crore.
We have successfully bagged 2 concessions in TBCB, Gogamukh and Bokajan, with the total revenue of INR 2,800 crore over the concession periods. Similarly, we have also won concession of deploying 3 million smart meters. We have also won concession of RailTel to build 100+ edge data centers at prominent locations in all the Tier one, Tier two and Tier three cities under digitization plan. We ought to give share and outlook on data centers, we believe that digitization and services on cloud is the most prominent reason that has led to growth of data center and demand of data centers, apart from other reasons, such as 5G and many more.
The Indian data center market size is estimated to be 2 GW in 2024, and by 2029, it is projected to reach 4.77 GW, indicating substantial growth rate of 18.8%. In monetary terms, the market size is expected to be $2 billion in 2024, and $4.5 billion in 2029. The growth drivers in data center segments are cloud adoption, data localization, driven by the DPDP Bill 2023, policy incentives, digital transformation, technological developments due to rollout of 5G, AI, VR, that is virtual reality. We believe that AI and virtual reality will be revolutionary, and would incrementally require larger and more befitting data centers. Apart from that, Internet of Things, big data and cloud computing will continue to remain growth drivers for the segment.
Techno is also in advanced stage of setting up a data center of 24 MW IT load of hyper density nature, ultra scalable at Chennai. We have achieved significant progress on construction. We have already spent around INR 305 crore on the project, and we are hopeful of commissioning the first phase of the project during the third quarter of financial year 25. Overall, last five years, the company has successfully monetized all the assets created over the last decade or 15 years in the field of renewable power, transmission assets and the triple P model, TBCB mode. This has resulted in a cash surplus of INR 1,500 crore in the book of the company and is available for next phase of growth.
During the last year, we had mentioned that morning has just begun, and this is only the first shine of the sun, which would keep the brightening with every passing year. We are confident to achieve a revenue of INR 2,500 crore for the current year and INR 3,500 crore for the next year, implying an EPS of 35, INR 35 and INR 50 respectively. This concludes the opening remark, and we are happy to take further questions for discussions.
Thank you, Ankit. Well done.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, sir. We will now begin 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'll wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question is from the line of CA Garvit Goyal from Nvest Analytics Advisory LLP. Please go ahead.
Hello. Am I audible?
Yes, absolutely.
Good evening, sir. Congrats for a good set of numbers. My first question is on the data center project. Like you mentioned, it is expected to be commissioned in Q3 FY 2025. So my question is: How much revenue do you expect in FY 2026 out of this project, sir?
Yeah, Ankit, would you like to reply?
See, it will take us at least, you can expect three months to six months from the date we start commissioning, which will probably be somewhere around end of September, to start finding our first clients and first customers. It is only after commissioning do we expect that we see serious interest, and we will be in a position to attract quality customers. Therefore, at this stage, it is little too early for us to really say that what is the expected revenue until unless we've built a sales pipeline, which is probably, in my opinion, six to seven months down the line.
Understood, sir. Secondly, in opening remarks, you mentioned about the BESS projects. We heard from one of our listed peer about the upcoming tender of INR 15,000 crore-INR 20,000 crore in next one year. So, how much of it do you expect will come to Techno Electric, sir?
We are currently actively participating in BESS, and we do believe that there's a brilliant opportunity in the industry to participate in BESS. We are still figuring out the right mode and mechanism in which Techno would like to participate in the industry, whether as a developer, an EPC, or whether somewhere in the middle. I think, yet, the BESS market is too open. There's hardly one or two projects which have been installed, that too, are largely more of a PoC, more of a proof of concept. Given that, I think we are yet to figure out our own journey in this segment, but nevertheless, there is huge opportunity for the entire industry.
Got it, sir. Just last question on the order book side. Like you mentioned, you are expecting INR 1,500 crore orders in smart meter side, and I think I missed that, like, INR 3,000 crore also you are expecting somewhere. Sorry, greater than INR 5,000 crore you are expecting somewhere, right? So, what is the timeline for these order inflows, sir?
No, these will flow in over a year, dear. But as we said, we are already L1 in INR 1,200 crore, so that will happen in Q2. Balance are in pipeline. You know, we have submitted tenders, we are yet to be appointed and evaluated properly about INR 5,000 crore. So it's a ongoing exercise. We are talking of a yearly target. During 2024-2025, we'll have a order book of additionally INR 4,000 crore-INR 5,000 crore, including transmission, smart meters, distribution, FGD, all put together.
So out of INR 9,100 crore order book, you will execute INR 2,500 crore, and then additionally, you will get INR 5,000 crore. Is that understanding correct, sir?
To be clear, keep it INR 4,000, may happen 5 or 6 also, as the markets are now. So, I trust we are in a good order book position, and growth is ensured for next 2, 3 years.
Understood, sir. Understood, sir. Thank you very much, sir. I join back the queue, sir. All the best for the future.
Thank you. Before we take the next question, we would like to remind participants that you may press star and one to ask a question. The next question is from the line of Rohit Singh from Nvest Analytics Advisory LLP. Please go ahead.
Sir, my question are already answered.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Subhadip Mitra from Nuvama. Please go ahead.
Good afternoon, and thank you for the opportunity. I think I heard in the opening remarks that you have already gotten awarded a couple of transmission concession projects. I'm not sure if I heard this correctly. So just wanted to clarify that. Are you independently also bidding for any TBCB transmission projects which you have recently won?
Absolutely. You are right, Subhadip. We have won two concessions in TBCB. We want to be in a CapEx range of INR 500-INR 700 crore. The total concession period revenue is INR 2,800 crore, and this relates to Bokajan and Gogamukh at the moment. And the total CapEx involved in these two concessions put together is about INR 750 crore. With so much of opportunity on the high-end CapEx, the major players are quite busy now and their hands are full. But on the lower CapEx solutions, the competition is relatively low, and we are able to find better rewards, relatively. So we thought to capitalize, build on this opportunity, where station component is about 70%-75%, and line is no more than 20%-25%.
Understood. So what kind of return ratios or ROEs are you looking at for these kind of projects? Ballpark range.
You can say about 14% ± .
14%, right?
Yeah. Yeah, yes.
Understood. And you would be looking at, you know, deploying debt to the tune of 70% and 30% equity, something of that sort?
Right. You see, at the moment, we able to execute the project till COD out of our own resources, as we do for any other developer to begin with, with the support of the industry. And definitely, we don't intend to hold onto the life cycle of the asset. So it will definitely be partners with some with, during the course of implementation of the project, we are sure. But if need be, for a interim period, we may take some debt, sir, which can be 70% ±.
Understood. Are you already, I mean, just asking that, is there already an arrangement or a predetermined arrangement in place with, let's say, an InvIT or, you know, someone else to whom you can flip the project, once it's mature?
Yeah, discussions are on, but not concluding so far.
Understood. Sir, lastly, in terms of your guidance, you have given us the guidance for FY 2025 and 2026. But if I were to hazard a guesstimate for the FY 2027 EPS, what kind of ballpark range would you be looking at?
At least about INR 75.
Okay. Got it. Understood. And with the current level of margins, that would sustain or you're looking at margin expansion as well?
Yeah. Because, at least, 2027 is well taken care of the orders in hand already, which is about INR 10,000 crore with us, as of now. So putting, all together, including, top line of, INR 4,500 crore to INR 5,000 crore of 2027, this ten thousand will stand fully executed by then. Believing no other order efforts over the 2 years.
I read you. I read you. And this would include, I mean, this INR 10,000 crore, the INR 4,500 crore of sales is including any potential revenue from the data center piece, or this is only the core EPC business, whatever comes from data centers over and above?
Pure EPC. No, no data center revenue is factored here, because this we are talking of the parent company, basically. Data center is in SPV. That will be an add-on to this company. That may generate its own EPS of INR 25-INR 30 down those years.
I read you. I read you. Perfect, sir. Thank you so much. This answers my questions.
Thank you. A reminder to the participants that you may press star and one to ask a question. The next question is on the line of Chirag, who is an individual investor. Please go ahead. Hello, Mr. Chirag? Hello? The line from Mr. Chirag seems to be disconnected. Shall we move to the next question, sir? The next question is from the line of Hemant Soni, who's an individual investor. Please go ahead.
Sir, thank you for providing me the opportunity. Just wanted to confirm the number which you gave just now for FY 2027 EPS. Is it 75? Did I get it correct? Hello? Yeah. And sir, the order book number, as on date, can you please highlight? I missed it.
Orders for INR 9,100 crore in hand.
And relevant in?
Yeah, another INR 1,200 crore.
Another INR 1,200 crore were relevant. Okay, sir.
Yeah.
Just wanted to confirm, just wanted to confirm one more thing. Like, we had an aspiration of hitting INR 5,000 crore of revenue over the next 4-5 years. I think, in the last call, it was revised to INR 10,000 crore. Okay. So does it stand still?
Yeah, it should be INR 5,000 crore no later than 2028.
Hello?
Yeah. I think there is some disturbance. I don't know. This INR 5,000 crore may be visible as early as 2028 only, if not 2027.
Okay, sir. Thank you, sir.
Thank you. The next question is on the line of Mahesh from LIC Mutual Fund. Please go ahead.
Good evening, sir. Thank you so much for the opportunity. Sir, over the next 2-3 years, what kind of capital expenditure we are anticipating, both on EPC business and the asset-heavy business, where we want to be developer?
Yeah, we have programmed to spend about, almost, INR 8,000 crore-INR 10,000 crore, comprising our smart meters, TBCB, as well as data centers, both in, hyperscale as well as in-house data centers. So the CapEx will be around INR 8,000 crore-INR 10,000 crore, but which may be monetized also simultaneously, as going forward.
CapEx from the EPC business?
EPC business, so far we have, we don't need any CapEx as far as EPC is concerned. But TBCB yes , that will be about INR 750 crore out for 2 concessions, which we have so far won. And for EPC, our general working capital needs will always be there.
Okay, sure. Thank you so much, sir.
Thank you. Participants who wish to go ask a question, may please press star and one at this time. Next is a follow-up question from the line of CA Garvit Goyal from Invest Analytics Advisory LLP. Please go ahead.
Hi, thanks for the follow-up. Just to confirm, like you mentioned, 75 EPS for FY 2027, is data center projections included in it, or we are, it will be over and above to this?
It will be over and above this, yes. It is, data center is not part of this. The EPS will be part of the SPV of data centers.
Ah, got it, sir. Thank you very much.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Deepam Gala, who's an individual investor. Please go ahead.
Good afternoon, sir. Congrats on the good set of numbers. Actually, I wanted to ask, what has been the cool down in the steel prices from here? Can you quantify it?
Can you repeat your question, sir?
What has been the cool down in the steel prices year on year? Can you quantify it?
Quantify what? I could not get you.
Steel price.
Steel price is marginally better now, but in our solution, the content of steel is no more than 20% per se. So but there is a rise in copper prices also. So something or the other gives overall balancing to it, but let's see how it goes forward. You know, at the moment, transformer PV is around 5% over last 6 months, whereas steel, you may be having a negative PV of 2%- 3%. You are right.
Okay, so is there any change in the business mix that has led to the change in the GP margin?
No, we... Overall, we made attempt is to keep the same GP margin, depending on the status of execution of each contract. And given the mix of the contracts we are doing, we are hopeful to retain this kind of margins as EBITDA of 13%-14% or 15% going forward also.
The line from Mr. Deepam seems to be disconnected. We'll move to the next question. The next question is on the line of Faisal Hawa from H.G. Hawa & Co . Please go ahead.
Sir, with data center opportunity, will it be restricted for us in West Bengal alone, or will it try to get to other states also? And, who is our ultimate customer in this, that person who is having the data of the various corporates who want to also set up their you know servers in a remote location. And, sir, any plans to utilize the cash surplus that we are having towards any kind of buyback or large dividends?
Question two, I will answer after Ankit has answered you on the data center. Ankit, will you address data center query?
Yeah, sure. So, so the first data center that we are commissioning is in Chennai. It's in Tamil Nadu. I probably heard you mentioning West Bengal, but that's not the case, if I've heard you correctly. The first project is in Tamil Nadu, and apart from that, our second large data center is planned in West Bengal, where we have very recently been allotted the land by the state of West Bengal. But that project will come into picture of as a commission project by only 2026, end of 2026 or maybe mid-2027.
But apart from that, we won a project from RailTel Corporation, which is an arm of Indian Railways, to set up 102 data centers across the country, which is almost like four data centers in each state, which is giving us a countrywide presence. So we are not only looking to be a state player, but rather a national player when it comes to data center, with the widest footprints of data center by any operator. So yeah, that's, that's the journey for the company. And as far as the customer is concerned, it will be a mix. It will be a ratio of, it will be some kind of a mix between hyperscale and enterprise customers, which might be 50/50, 60/40, something of that nature.
So that's the kind of mix we're looking for our large data center in Chennai. While edge data centers might have a very varied kind of customer base, right from few locations being occupied by hyperscalers, few other locations being occupied by enterprises and may have some level of retail presence as well. So yeah, that's the range of customers that we are targeting. I hope I've been able to answer your question.
Most of the electricity will be generated by renewable sources?
Yeah, so it's attempt to make all our projects, it's part of the company's DNA and ESG, and a mindset that we will always like to be carbon neutral in our operations, and it's not carbon neutral, carbon zero. So we will try to ensure that maximum energy that is consumed in any of our projects.
... So is it a good assumption to make that we will get, like, at least, you know, 2-3 data centers every financial year, new orders and or it's tough to predict immediately?
No. So, as I mentioned, the Chennai, what we are developing is going to develop in phases, as I've explained earlier. So this year we are commissioning the first phase out of four phases, and going forward, consecutively, every year we will be executing one phase of this project. Similarly, in Kolkata, it will start, first phase will be commissioned in 2027, and going forward, consecutively, we commission each phase, ahead. And for edge data centers, we plan to roll out 20 data centers every year, and complete 300 data centers by 2029.
Okay. Thank you very much. It really answers my questions very well.
Thank you.
Thank you. Participants who wish to ask questions, may press star and one at this time. The next question is on the line of Rahil Shah from Crown Capital. Please go ahead.
Hello. Can you hear me?
Yes, sure.
Yes. Just, 2, 2, 3 questions ago, you were mentioning that you don't need any CapEx for EPC, right? Just the working capital. But then you mentioned you will just need some INR 750 crore of CapEx, but I missed what was that for. Can you please repeat it for me?
You see, we have two TBCB concessions, one like, Power Grid or any other private developer like Adani or Sterlite, which will involve a CapEx of INR 750 crore. So that is an investment from our side, because that is a concession of 35 years, which we are entitled for almost INR 80 crore per year. So we have to invest our own capital. As far as EPC is concerned, you have always terms of payment with the customer for whom you are carrying out the project, like Power Grid or Adani or Sterlite. They pay you month on month, so that's a normal working capital requirement, which we call an EPC business.
Okay. Okay. And just secondly, along with this revenue guidance, you also expect to maintain the margins between 13%-15%, correct?
Absolutely right.
Okay. Okay. All right, thank you, and all the best.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Nandan, who is an individual investor. Please go ahead.
Hello, sir. Am I audible?
Yeah, very much.
Hello, sir. My question is on the data center part. Now, I mean, we are already delayed in this first phase of data center. I mean, and the delay has been about now, say, a year. So what is the reason for such a delay? And do we expect such more delays in the future as well in the data center?
No, let me first set the record right, sir. We are not late by a year. It is only a delay of about three months, and that basically happened because of the floods that rained in Tamil Nadu in the month of May, dislocating many logistics issues. And also there is some delay of the power intake from TANGEDCO in the data center. So there is no delay of a year per se, I will say. We have what needed to be complete in the second quarter, Q2, which is now being planned early Q3, you can say.
Okay, sir. So it will be... The first phase will be commissioned in Q3?
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Okay, sir. And, I mean, are we getting the employees or the engineers or, you know, I mean, all the staff for the data centers? As because, you know, what we hear is that, you know, in the data center industry, there is not sufficient, you know, employees available in the market. So are we getting, sir, the recruitments?
No, there are challenges in this space, because suddenly there is more demand than supply of the professionals available. But we are able to mix and match. When we started two years back, it was a small team of 10 people. Today, we are a strong team of 55 people already, and I'm sure it will be more than 100 by the, by another year end. So people are being blended with the existing setup of the Techno also, who is competent to execute the same type of jobs. And also people are being recruited to augment our marketing and O&M groups, which are specialized to data centers. So availability is bit difficult, but it is not they are not there. Ankit, would you like to add something to it?
I think you've covered most of it.
You see, building any team from scratch is very, very difficult, and especially in this sector where there is scarcity due to the age of the sector, which is only about 5-6 years old, technically speaking, with great growth potential and almost number of players participating. So there's always a shortage of quality manpower, let me say that. But ultimately, we all have to be part of the industry, and we all are fighting to find a place.
Sir, thank you for this question, sir. Thank you for this answer. Sir, just one more last question. On this data center front, now, we are planning to build, say, 250 MW of data center by 2030, I think. So what is our plan, sir? I mean, I mean, in terms of building our own data center and building the EPC part of the data center, what will be the split that we can expect going forward till 2030 in the data center space?
It will be mostly deploying our own data centers, both in the edge category as well as in the hyperscale category. And maybe in between, we get the opportunity to develop AI-based data center, like we have MOU with Keppel of Singapore, who are strongly and seriously evaluating setting up AI-based data center in India, with a undersea cable connectivity with Singapore. So, this sector is evolving and so are the opportunities around it. But given the present visibility, till 2030, we'll be only deploying our own data centers and not EPC for others. And secondly, focus will be equally balanced between edge data center and hyperscale data centers.
Okay, sir. Thank you very much for answering the question. Wish you all the best.
Thank you. A reminder to the participants that you may press star and one to ask a question. The next question is on the line of Sunil Bhojwani from VK Family Office. Please go ahead.
Good afternoon, sir. This is with regards to the reference, so the guidance given for FY 2025, which is INR 2,500 crore. Are we capable of doing a run rate of INR 600 crore-INR 700 crore per quarter in the coming, having, monsoons coming in the next quarter? Do you see that we can manage the run rate of INR 600 crore-INR 700 crore in a quarter?
Sir, firstly, in our this sector, that is what we said in the beginning, quarters are not comparable and equivalent to 25% each. Generally, first quarter and second quarters are weak, which are around 15%, and Q2 is about 20%. But Q3 and Q4 are very strong in our industry. They generally are almost about 30% and 35%, in terms of the annual output, and you can see historically it is the same. So that is why, to address this confusion, we stated in the beginning of the submission that quarter-over-quarter results are not going to be equivalent and equitably distributed.
Okay. Noted, sir. And just one bookkeeping question, sir. What kind of tax rate would we have for the year FY 2025?
It will be about, you can take, overall 40%.
Around 20%. Okay.
Yeah.
Okay. That's all from my side. Thank you and all the best.
Thank you. The next question is on the line of Ashish Soni from Family Office. Please go ahead.
So in terms of this data center business, are our hands full in terms of whatever you are talking about, phase one, phase two, phase four in Chennai and Kolkata and this edge data center for RailTel, or are we planning to take up more orders in future?
Timing, you can say our hands are nearly full for next 6-12 months. Definitely we'll be more busy in executing only, but if any good opportunity comes by, we won't be shy off, because generally a data center gives us, you know, 3 years to deploy, by and large, as a way of life. Whereas the edge data center, you have to make ready within 9-12 months on each location. So definitely, company will be now more busy in the developing edge data centers, because we are committed to RailTel to do 20 edge data centers per year in 20 pockets.
In terms of transmission, there is a lot of pipeline being planned, so are we going to bid aggressively for that in next one or two years? Because that's the mandate across the state government and central government, right?
You see, this word aggressive makes me worry. We are definitely most experienced and, lead organization as well as station building is concerned, and most... And that too, on high-end applications like 765 kV, AIS or GIS. So we will always have our, position there. We already have business, worth about, 5 projects here in this space, building around 8-10 stations for different developers, including Power Grid. We are also mechanizing and, shrinking the timelines. We are executing a very prestigious assignment for Power Grid at [audio distortion] now, where they were delayed by 2 years in acquiring the land, and now we are building a station in 9 months, and we are almost there....
Given the ability of 30-40 years of background, having built 450 stations successfully countrywide, we are very confident of matching anybody's, any kind of, deliveries and specs, as long as they are rewarding to us.
Okay, sir. Thank you, and all the best.
Thank you. A reminder to participants that you may press star and one to ask a question. The next question is on the line of Sarvesh Gupta from Maximal Capital. Please go ahead.
Good afternoon, sir. Sir, on the edge data centers, so this year we would be implementing 20 of those. So next year, what kind of revenue accretion or bottom line can we expect from this?
You can look on edge data center, we are still not sure on the size of each deployment. It can range from under kVA to as big as, maybe 0.5 MVA-1 MVA each, and revenue will be around INR 18 crore-INR 20 crore. So we need to experience it, you know. Maybe we'll be more handy to be precise, by the end of the year. But we do trust that each data center on an average should give us INR 5 crore revenue per year. Say 20 means 100 CR, you can say.
Against that, sir, what would be our expenses? Like, what sort of margins we will be getting in this business? Very rough figure would be okay, sir.
You can take EBITDA of around 70% in this market, but CapEx is also a bit high. That is roughly around INR 18 crore-INR 20 crore per megawatt, as against... not INR 60 crore , sorry, per megawatt, as against 40 in case of hyperscale data centers. So all put together, you can still say that IRR will be 20%+, 20%+ only. But how it will pan out, we are yet to configure. It can be a good rewarding business going forward, because scalability is available here over the concession period. That is a big advantage in this concession, that 100 kVA can tomorrow become 1 MW over the period in that local pocket. So that is a big advantage here, scalability.
Understood, sir. Thank you, sir. That was my only question. Thank you.
Thank you. Next is a follow-up question from the line of Subhadip Mitra from Nuvama. Please go ahead.
Thank you for the opportunity once again. Just as a follow-up to my earlier question, if you have to get to the ballpark EPS of 75 by FY 2027, my estimate is you would be looking at a PAT number which is north of INR 850 odd crores. With a top line of, let's say, INR 5,000-5,500 crores by 2027, would we be looking at EBITDA margin crossing 20% mark? Is that the estimate?
No, no, Subhadip. It's a bit complex year, not so simple. You see, we have a good amount of treasury income. We have a good amount of TBCB income, capital gain income out of hiving off of the asset deployed. So all put together, we are talking at the parent level, this will be the kind of reward visible in 2027. So if you will look on a simple mathematics of only EPC business, it may not match. You know, because if you compute the tax element on it, it may come out of treasury income, which is happening year-on-year in Techno, as it is.
Right.
So it is a blended income we are talking, sir, in the-
I agree, I agree. So only the operational EPC income without, let's say, the treasury gains or without the, you know, other income or capital gains on asset sale, et cetera. If I'm looking at pure operational income, then we should roughly take that INR 5,000 crore-INR 5,500 crore top line and take maybe a 15%, 15% EBITDA margin, and then do the math below?
Right. Right, you can say you are not very wrong, I'll say. You are around that number, yes.
Understood. Understood. And given that you have such heavy CapEx coming up across various segments, whether it's, you know, on the data centers, on the TBCB transmission projects that you have won, wouldn't that kind of dent your cash balance and treasury income as well, the other income part of?
Sir, look, these economics are always a double-edged, you know, solutions. On one hand, we have a cash, which can be generate treasury income or, it can become EPC income to my own projects, which we are deploying, as a CapEx going forward. Like you take a case of smart meters, sir. Let's say it is a concession of 10 years. Now, when we win a concession, I'm obviously building a time value in the solution provided, which is, no less than, two thousand rupees per meter on an average. So if I deploy my capital, own capital, then I want INR 2,000 out of that deployment. So either I earn, treasury income or I save INR 2,000 to be paid to third party, over the period.
So the income, that this 2000 is over and above EPC margin. It is not a part of EPC, sir, because that is the time value of the CapEx deployed you inbuilt in the cost or in the very concession you inbuilt year on year. That is what becomes IRR, ultimately, at the end of the year. So, these kind of calculations are bit simple, but they prima facie may look bit complex.
Understood. Understood. Okay, thank you so much.
Thank you. Next question is on the line of Ashish Soni from Family Office. Please go ahead.
Sir, in smart meter, are we seeing any challenges on the ground? Because we hear multiple reports across states. Some states have some challenges, so what's your view on that?
You see, power is a seat of power in our country and definitely embraces the consumer and vote banks. So this... There may be temporary interruptions between you and me, but ultimately, power reforms have to happen. RDSS scheme has to be successful for the government. Government wants to make sure all DISCOMs are financially viable entities. After 20 years of Electricity Act, also, we are not able to do that yet. So this is a necessity, not a requirement, I will say, convenience anymore, but some interruption of 3 months during the voting pre-voting period here, they are mainly there, but it cannot be long run. But as far as DT metering and feeder metering is concerned, is going strongly. There is no issues on that side.
Secondly, being concerned what you have raised, we are part of, relatively, you know, smaller states like Tripura or Jharkhand, or, or, J&K, you can say. Where these issues may be there, sir, but, will not be of as magnitude as you may experience in non-BJP ruled states like Maharashtra. I know Maharashtra has sent a little wrong signal in the country, but, that is the political compulsion, possibly.
If at all there is some, Sir, is there a chance there might be some impact on our business in, because of this for, for a six months, one year period sort of thing? That's the message I take away from this.
Yeah, you have two messages, sir. Firstly, Techno has always been conservative in this space. We are not the-- We are the smallest of the deployers, where our aim is not to do more than 5%. I will again repeat, over the next 7 years, my share of total meter deployment will be less than 10 million. So it, because we had deployed static meter as BPL, APL category over last 10 years, so we know, we know the, we have the gangs, we know the art of deploying the meters. We understand concession, we understand the challenges of counterparty risk under the Electricity Act.
So all the knowledge put together, we did not want it to be out of the space, but we are also not trying to be the, the largest or the best, like we may like to be, in transmission, you know, or in ISTS space. So that we are conservative, we have contained risk, and impact is not, which we cannot be absorbed by the company.
Okay. Thanks, thanks for the answer.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that was the last question for the day, and I hand the conference over to the management for closing comments.
Yeah, Ankit, you have done well. Why don't you close also?
Just, just a moment, sir.
Yeah, let me do that. I will only say thank you very much once again for all of you to be part of this call. And we trust we have tried to address the issues to the best of the market conditions and situations. And I can assure you, your company in a given space will always like to outperform. Still, if you have any queries related to our performance, please drop a mail to us. And if you happen to be on this side of India, in Kolkata, now we have equally large setup in Delhi, you are welcome to visit us. And I once again thank everybody for joining the call.
Thank you. On behalf of Asian Markets Securities Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines.