Good afternoon, shareholders. I'm Varun Malhotra, Head Taxation, Legal, and Company Secretary of Voltas Limited. I welcome you all to the 69th annual general meeting of Voltas Limited. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has, by General Circular No. 10/2022, dated 28th December 2022, read with earlier relevant circulars, including General Circular No. 20/2020, dated 5th May 2020, permitted companies to conduct their annual general meeting in 2023 through video conferencing or other audio-visual means.
We are holding this AGM through video conferencing. While most of the shareholders have, over the past few years, become familiar with the process for participating in the AGM through video conferencing, for the benefit of those shareholders who are first-time participants, I would like to briefly take you through certain procedural and technical points.
All shareholders who have joined this meeting are, by default, placed on mute mode to ensure that there is no disturbance arising from background noise and to ensure smooth and seamless conduct of the meeting. The company has received requests from few shareholders to register them as speakers at the AGM. All requests received up to 19 June 2023 , being the last date of registration, were accepted, and such shareholders have been registered as speakers.
Once the question- and- answer session starts, the Chairman will announce the name of the shareholders who have registered themselves as speaker shareholder, one by one. When Chairman calls your name, the host will send you request for unmute. On receipt of such request, you have to click on the Unmute button on your device. Thereafter, click on Video button only once and wait till the video is on.
If the shareholder is not able to join through video for any reason, the shareholder can speak through the audio mode. While speaking, we request the speaker shareholder to use the earphones so that he or she is clearly audible, minimize any noise in the background, ensure that the Wi-Fi is not connected to any other device or devices, no other background applications are running on the device, and there is proper lighting to give and have a good video experience.
If there is a connectivity issue at the speaker shareholder's end, we would invite the next speaker to join. We would request the shareholders to be slow and audible while asking their questions, and limit their speech to three minutes. During the AGM, if a shareholder faces any technical issues, he or she may contact the helpline numbers mentioned in the notice of the AGM.
I would like to take this opportunity to explain the sequence of meeting and the process of voting on the resolutions as contained in the notice of the AGM. The Companies Act 2013 and SEBI Listing Regulations provide for electronic voting. Accordingly, the company had provided its shareholders the facility to cast their vote through the remote electronic voting system administered by NSDL.
E-voting commenced on Monday, 19 June 2023, from 9:00 A.M., and continued till Wednesday, 21st June 2023, up to 5:00 P.M. Pursuant to Section 107 of the Act, there would not be any voting on the resolutions by show of hands. Facility for voting at the meeting is also provided to the shareholders who have joined this meeting through video conference and who have not yet voted.
Shareholders may please go to the voting page of NSDL e-voting website and cast their vote, while at the same time, watch the proceedings of the meeting. Since the AGM is being held through video conference, and the resolutions mentioned in the notice convening this AGM have already been put to vote through remote e-voting, there would be no proposing and seconding of resolutions. I now request the chairman to take forward the proceedings. Thank you. Over to you, Chairman.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to welcome all the shareholders to this 69th annual general meeting of the company. I have besides me, Mr. Pradeep Bakshi, Managing Director and CEO of Voltas. As the requisite quorum is present, I now call the meeting to order. May I now request my fellow board members to introduce themselves? Mr. Zubin Dubash?
Good afternoon. I am Zubin Dubash, Independent Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee and Risk Management Committee, attending this AGM from Mumbai.
Thank you, Zubin. Mr. Bahram Vakil?
Good afternoon to all. I'm Bahram Vakil, an independent director in your company, also the Chairman of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee. Thank you. I'm attending this meeting from London.
Thank you, Bahram. Mr. Vinayak Deshpande?
Good afternoon. I am, Vinayak Deshpande, Non-Executive Director, attending this meeting from Delhi.
Thank you, Vinayak. Mr. Debendranath Sarangi?
Good afternoon. I am Debendranath Sarangi, Independent Director, attending AGM from Chennai. Thank you.
Ms. Anjali Bansal, I believe, is not able to attend this meeting. Mr. Arun Adhikari?
Good afternoon. I am Arun Adhikari, Independent Director, attending this AGM from Mumbai.
Thank you, Arun. Mr. Saurabh Agrawal is traveling overseas, and he's not able to attend this AGM. Other participants attending this meeting through video conference include Mr. Jitendra Verma, the CFO of the company, Mr. Varun Malhotra, company secretary, representatives of statutory auditors and secretarial auditors. I thank all the members for joining us today.
In order to facilitate a wider participation of shareholders from different locations other than Mumbai, a conscious decision was taken to conduct this AGM by video conferencing for this year as well. This is in compliance with the directive issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The company has taken the requisite steps to enable members to participate and vote on the items being considered at this AGM. A live streaming of this meeting is also being webcast on NSDL's website.
Since there is no physical attendance of shareholders, the requirement of appointing proxies is not applicable. The company has received four authorized representations, along with board resolutions from corporate shareholders authorizing representatives under Section 113 of the Companies Act 2013, in respect of INR 10 crore, 2 lakh, 53,480 equity shares, representing 30.30% of the paid-up equity capital.
The registers, as required under the Companies Act 2013, are available for inspection. Notice of this meeting and the link of the annual report was sent to shareholders who have registered their email IDs. I'm happy to note that more than 94% of the shareholders have registered their email IDs with us. With your perMs.ion, may I take the notice as received and read?
Since there are no adverse observations, qualifications, or comments by the statutory auditors and secretarial auditors, their reports are not required to be read. Before I call upon the speakers who have registered to speak, I would like to make a few observations which are relevant to holders. As many of you know, Mr. Varun Malhotra will superannuate in April next year from the services of your company, having served as its Company Secretary and the voice of shareholders since 2000.
On behalf of the board and myself, I'd like to place on record a sincere appreciation for the valuable contribution made by Varun during all these years. India, with a GDP of $3.75 trillion, is now the fifth largest economy in the world. In its Monetary Policy Committee meeting, the RBI projected India's GDP growth at 6.5% in the current fiscal.
India's growth outlook remains solid on strong domestic fundamentals. India will continue to be the fastest-growing major economy for the third consecutive year. The consumption growth is expected to remain healthy, supported by a sustained recovery in consumer services, coupled with higher purchasing power, with moderating inflation.
Your company has a diversified business portfolio comprising room ACs and other unitary cooling products, including commercial refrigeration and commercial air conditioning, apart from engineering products and services and electromechanical project services offered in India and the Middle East. The last financial year has been a mixed bag, with some wins, certain significant setbacks as well.
Your company has established itself as a leader in India in cooling products, is the country's leading room air conditioner and commercial refrigeration brand, consistently delivering high-quality products to its customers.
In addition to retaining market leadership in room air conditioners, this is the first time that we have crossed the milestone of INR 10,000 crores in aggregate revenues across all our businesses. I'm also happy to share that the commercial refrigeration business, the commercial air conditioning business, as well as Voltbek, are all INR 1,000 crore + businesses now.
The strengthening of these businesses makes us stronger and more resilient. Our international projects business suffered major setbacks during the year, which I will talk about in more detail later. During 2022-2023, despite increased competition, lower consumer sentiments towards discretionary spend and unseasonal rains, your company has achieved a 22% growth in sales volume on room ACs, and a growth of 33% in turnover as compared to the previous year.
In 2023, we sold 1.43 million room ACs, including over 1 million inverter split ACs, maintaining our leadership position. In order to have better and direct contact with customers and address the changing dynamics of the market, your company is focusing on rapidly increasing our own brand shops and exclusive brand outlets. Voltas has 260 exclusive brand shops and experience centers across the country, and aspires to cross the 500 mark during the current financial year.
Maintaining our leadership position in room ACs will remain our prime focus. A wide product range and distinct brand positioning and extensive channel network will enable your company to capitalize on several trends forecasted to shape the industry's future. With a current penetration of only 7% in India, the room AC market has a huge potential and is expected to grow annually at around 18%.
We are well poised to take advantage of this through our reach and distribution network, and by focusing on organized retail as well as e-commerce platforms. Your company is also setting up a backward integrated manufacturing facility for 2 million split ACs in South India. This facility would benefit from the government's production-linked incentive scheme, introduced for promoting its Make in India initiative.
Regretfully, the joint venture earlier proposed with Highly International (Hong Kong) Ltd for manufacturing of inverter compressors for air conditioners could not materialize. However, the company is pursuing and evaluating other options. The air cooler segment is a key product line extension, strengthening Voltas' positioning in the cooling products industry. As an alternate to air conditioners, air coolers are popular amongst the growing lower middle class, which allows your company to compete in a high-growth market segment in India.
The air cooler business achieved a growth of 27% during the year under review over the previous year, with sales volume of close to IRN 2.5 lakh units during 2022-2023. Voltas, with a market share of over 7% in air coolers, is one of the top three brands in the air cooler industry. With the expansion of existing manufacturing capacity at Pantnagar, the commercial refrigeration products business continues to maintain market leadership and achieved 26% growth in volume, with a turnover of approximately INR 1,000 crores.
Your company has entered into a technology license agreement with Vestfrost Solutions, Denmark, to develop, manufacture, sell, and service medical refrigeration and vaccine storage equipment, such as ice-line refrigerators, vaccine freezers, and ultra-low temperature freezers for the Indian market. Your company is also a prominent player in the commercial air conditioning segment.
This business includes sales of various cooling systems, such as variable refrigeration flow, VRF, chillers, ducted units, light commercial units for comfort cooling, vapor absorption machines, LTR systems for process cooling, in addition to customer care and our retrofit business. Commercial air conditioning units are generally used in offices, stores, cafes, restaurants, schools, gyms, and other commercial properties to maintain a comfortable temperature and air quality for consumers and employees in summer as well as in winter.
This business has reported a 27% growth in turnover over the last year, and has also crossed the milestone of INR 1,000 crore turnover. The home appliances segment is one of the largest categories in the Indian market, with a size of approximately INR 4 lakh crore in 2023.
Our joint venture, Voltbek, with Arçelik for the Voltas Beko brand of home appliance products, provides a comprehensive one-stop solution for all customers under one roof. Since its launch in mid-2018, Voltas Beko is one of India's fastest growing home appliance brands and has sold over 3.3 million units up to March 2023.
In addition to leveraging Voltas' distribution network, Voltbek is focusing on organized retail and e-commerce markets by developing a wide range of Made in India products and aspires to manufacture 1 million refrigerators this year to optimize its existing capacity at its Sanand factory. Voltbek has also recorded a turnover in excess of INR 1,000 crores and sold around 1.2 million units during 2022-2023. There has been a steady growth in its share of refrigerators to around 3% and over 5% in washing machines in March 2023.
The long-term prospects of Voltbek remain buoyant. The performance and profitability of the international projects business group was significantly impacted during 2023, primarily due to provisions made on account of encashment of bank guarantees issued by your company for two overseas projects, including termination of a subcontract in the UAE.
Your company made a provision of INR 244 crore towards the encashed bank guarantee amounts and other monies receivable from the main contractors, and the said provisions have been reflected as exceptional items in the financial statements. We have therefore taken a conscious decision to exercise caution and limit our overseas projects going forward by strengthening and tightening the terms under which we do business.
This would be suitably taken up with clients and main contractors at the time of bidding. While the possibility of us losing out some contracts cannot be ruled out, this hard stance would help to safeguard the overall interests of the company and the shareholders.
In order to have better emphasis on sustainable and profitable growth, with increased focus on B2C and B2B business verticals, the board of directors of your company had, in the year 2021, approved the proposal for transfer of domestic businesses relating to MEP, HVAC, and water projects, our mining and construction equipment business, and our textile machinery division, to its 100% wholly-owned subsidiary, Universal MEP Projects & Engineering Services Limited.
The transfer was subject to certain conditions precedent, which have since been completed. This has resulted in a more focused management of the business and execution of projects under one entity.
Similarly, for the international business, the board of directors have recently, at its meeting held on the 26th of April 2023, also approved the proposal for transfer of overseas branch offices of the company in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah in the UAE, Doha in Qatar, and Singapore, to its step-down, 100% wholly-owned subsidiary, Universal MEP Projects Pte Limited, incorporated in the Republic of Singapore, subject to satisfactory completion of conditions precedent and such other compliances and procedures as applicable in the respective local jurisdictions.
This restructuring process is expected to get completed by December 2023. This restructuring will allow your company to focus on the products business and the projects businesses independently of each other and expand their respective growths. It would also provide flexibility to your company to expand its product business further in the B2C space.
You'll be happy to know that the air conditioning of the new Parliament Building has also been done by your company through UMPESL. The growth of the economy and the government's focus on infrastructure development are expected to provide ample opportunities to UMPESL for water, electrical, and infrastructure projects.
The company has reported consolidated total income of INR 9,667 crores, with revenue from operations at INR 9,399 crores for the year ended 31st March 2023. Profit before exceptional items and tax was INR 551 crores, but due to extraordinary items, net profit was significantly lower at INR 136 crores. On a standalone basis, the company has reported total income of INR 7,850 crores, with profit before tax of INR 1,528 crores.
This includes exceptional income of INR 975 crores due to the transfer of domestic businesses to UMPESL. Net profit after tax was INR 1,405 crores. Based on the company's overall performance, and keeping in mind the shareholders' interests, the board of directors has recommended a dividend of 4.25 per equity share of INR 1 each, 425%, for the year 2022, 2023.
The dividend, if approved by the shareholders, would result in cash outflow of INR 141 crores. This payout works out to 32.69%. The dividend will be paid on or after the 27th of June 2023, subject to deduction of tax at source, as applicable.
On behalf of the board and myself, I would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation and gratitude to all the stakeholders, including our shareholders, for their trust, understanding, and constant support. I would also like to convey our appreciation and thanks to the employees of the company and our JV partners for supporting the company in these difficult times.
I wish to inform that over 98% of the company's equity share capital is held in demat mode. As transfer of shares and issue of share certificates in physical form have been discontinued by SEBI, I urge the shareholders holding shares in physical form to consider converting their shareholding into demat form. The shareholders can contact our secretariat team or TSR, the company's registrar, for any assistance they require in this matter.
I also take this opportunity to thank shareholders who have registered their email IDs with their depository company's registrar, thereby supporting the Green Initiative Program of the government for receiving the annual reports and other documents electronically.
Accordingly, soft copy of the Voltas AGM notice and annual report was sent to around INR 2.79 lakh shareholders out of a total of INR 2.95 lakh shareholders. I would now like to invite the shareholders who have registered themselves to speak and express their views or comment on the annual report notice of the AGM. We have a list of 23 speakers, and I would call upon the speakers one by one.
I would request all of you to please stay within the three minutes time and in respect of all the other speakers who would like to speak. Thank you. Our first speaker is Dr. Arun Kumar Boppana.
Good afternoon, sir.
Good afternoon , Arun.
Good afternoon.
Good afternoon, Arun.
Yes, sir. Looking for your smile. You have to smile, sir. I have to start for you to smile.
Yeah, yeah. Okay.
This is the understanding we have. Good afternoon, everybody. AGMs are all fun to share experiences and expectations. The success is due to the secretarial admin teams of Voltas. They have many hands to support with one mind to lead. Thanks to Varun and his team for the arranging this VC. My questions: What are company plans on latest air purifiers after COVID? Any plans for mechanical sanitizers after COVID for protection?
Sir, actually, after-sales service has become a big issue. The people do not appreciate regardless of what service you give. Will Voltas enhance this perception? What are your plans for new geographies, domestic and international? Any investment in startups? If so, how much, and what is the status as on- date?
Will Voltas turn ideas into research and research into implementation to develop and promote energy efficiency air conditioning systems for sustainability? What is the R&D budget to create eco-friendly cooling technologies to lower global warming potential, develop systems powered by renewable energy sources? Today, we have the HR challenges, issues and solutions.
Globally, there is a shortage of people with right skills, sir. People see jobs as temporary challenge. How does Voltas recruit and retain? Any budget to rebuild, to fill the skill match, mismatch with new age courses like coding, AI, robotics, et cetera? Foray into IoT, smart home technology, controlled by smartphones for convenience and energy optimization, what is the status? What strategy is Voltas playing in volume, price, opportunity, availability? Lastly, sir, you said Varun is superannuating in April 2024. Varun, to serve, was very keen.
Varun will be retiring soon. Varun, as a person, is adorable. Varun in, Varun in friendship is memorable. Varun always had a twinkle in his eyes. Varun, I always found him wise. Varun is always just full of zest, and I wish him all the best when he retires. Varun, thanks so much for everything, all these 20 years.
In conclusion, sir, I wish you identify new opportunities in emerging economies and increase jobs, because that is going to be a major problem even for law and order in future for the country. With this, I wish you all the best. Thanks for keeping the smile on, sir.
Thank you. Thank you, Arun. The next speaker is Mrs. Asha Latha Maheshwari.
[Foreign language] का डिविडेंड यानी INR 4.25 पर शेयर देकर आपने हम सबको बहुत ध्यान रखा है आपने। बहुत-बहुत धन्यवाद देती हूं। नए profit नए product लॉन्च किए हैं। Voltas भी देखो कि आप sales भी improve हुए हैं और air cooler, water cooler इतनी इत्यादि में भी आपकी मास्टरी है। इंडिया का number one ब्रांड है। Voltas का नाम आता है। ये सब आपकी मेहनत की लीडरशिप का सबका कमाल है। आपको कई award भी मिले हैं। CSR ने INR 14 crore से ज्यादा खर्च करके आपने अपना बहुत अच्छे का काम किया है। Social Responsibility बहुत खूबी से निभाई है आपने। Chairman, मैंने पढ़ा कि Middle East में INR 244 crore फंस गए हैं। क्या आपको बताइए, क्या यह दुख हुआ है?
भगवान से प्रार्थना करती हूं, मैं भी करती हूं। आपका यह फैसला जल्दी मामला जल्दी ठीक हो जाए। कंपनी को आपने पैसे जल्दी हमारे मिल जाए। मेरी यही भगवान से हर टाइम प्रार्थना रहेगी। यहां मैं Varun Malhotra और Bansuri की बहुत तारीफ करूंगी। चाहूंगी जो बहुत अच्छी इन्वेस्टर सर्विस दे रहे हैं। Chairman साहब, मैं यह कहना चाहती हूं कुछ समय पहले अभी हाल ही में हमारा कुछ यहां पर काम फंस गया था, लेकिन जब मैं इनके पास में गई तो इन्होंने इतनी जल्दी से इतना बढ़िया मेरा काम करा। मेरा लाखों में फायदा हो गया। मैं तो खत्म होने वाली थी। बहुत मेहनत करी और बहुत जल्दी हमारा काम कर दिया। मेरा उनको बहुत आशीर्वाद है और उनको कहूंगी, चांद ने चांदनी मांगी, गुलाब ने फूलों से बहार मांगी। हमसे पूछा तो हमने तो इन दोनों की खुशी-खुशी मांगी है और Chairman साहब, मैं आपसे कहना चाहती हूं जब ये इतने अच्छे हैं, आपने भी तारीफ की है, सब अच्छा है तो आप इनको एक्सटेंशन क्यों नहीं देते?
यह सब आपके हाथ में है। Chairman साहब जरा स्माइल दीजिए ताकि मैं समझ जाऊं कि आपका ध्यान किधर है। आप स्माइल तो दिए हैं, तो आप जरा बताइए कि इनको आप क्या चाहते हैं इनके लिए थोड़ा एक्सटेंशन- मैडम, आपका 3 मिनट पूरा हो गया।
हां, ये वक्त हो गया। बस last में Chairman साहब, मैं इतना ही कहूंगी यह आप सब की कलियों से प्यारी मुस्कान खिलती रहे। AGM की यह महफिल हमेशा सजी रहे। आपकी सफलता की खुशबू यही खिलती रहे। हर साल आपकी हर मुराद पूरी हो, सफल हो। आपका दामन ढेर सारा खुशियों से भरता रहे। Chairman साहब, मुझे इसी बात की बस एक खुशी है कि आपने smile मेरे कहने से दे दी। मैं बहुत खुश हूं आज। इसी के साथ strong support देते हुए मैं धन्यवाद देती हूं।
Thank you Ms. Maheshwari. Thank you very much. The next speaker is Mr. Vinod Agarwal.
I will unmute myself. I may start my video, sir. Let me start my video sir. [Foreign language] या, आई हव अनम्यूटेड माइसेल्फ, आई मे स्टार्ट माय वीडियो सर, स्टार्टिंग माय वीडियो सर। रिस्पेक्टेड चेयरमैन, मिस्टर नोएल टाटा जी, एमडी प्रदीप बक्शी जी और सीएफओ जितेंद्र वर्मा एंड कंपनी सेक्रेटरी वरुण मल्होत्रा जी। सर, गुड आफ्टरनून टू एवरीवन सर, आई एम प्लीज़्ड दैट यू आर होल्डिंग दैट थ्री मिनट टाइम लिमिट, व्हिच आई हैड रिक्वेस्टेड यू लास्ट टाइम सर, इन द एजीएम सर। आई एम वेरी प्लीज़्ड विद द प्लीज़्ड विद द स्माइल अलसो सर। देन टू और थ्री ऑब्जर्वेशन फ्रॉम द एनुअल रिपोर्ट सर, द कंसोलिडेटेड टर्नओवर हैज इंक्रीज ओनली बाय अबाउट एटीन हंड्रेड करोड़ कंपेयर टू द स्टैंडअलोन सर, बट द कॉस्ट ऑफ मटेरियल कंज़म्पशन इज अप बाय अबाउट ट्वेल्व हंड्रेड करोड़। द प्रॉफिट मार्जिन इट इज व्हेन यू सी द, द कॉस्ट ऑफ मटेरियल कंज़म्पशन परसेंटेज वाइज, व्हिच इज मच हायर इन द कंसोलिडेटेड साइड। अपार्ट फ्रॉम द लॉस, व्हिच हैज़ बीन ऑकर्ड ड्यू टू द मेन कॉन्ट्रैक्टर बैकिंग ऑफ एंड टेकिंग अ बैंक गारंटी, दैट इज अपार्ट सर, प्रॉफिट हैव कम डाउन ऑन दिस अलसो, बट इन द सबसिडियरी पार्ट, द कंसोलिडेटेड पार्ट, द कॉस्ट ऑफ मटेरियल हैज़ जंप फ्रॉम थ्री थाउजेंड समथिंग टू फोर थाउजेंड सिक्स हंड्रेड सर, दैट वी हैव टू लुक इंटू सर एंड सर, आई एम प्लीज़्ड विद द वन हंड्रेड एंड ट्वेंटी टू करोड़ दैट यू हैव इन्वेस्टेड इन वोलट बेको, व्हिच हाव बीन सीन सर, यू हैव सोल्ड थ्री, थ्री पॉइंट थ्री मिलियन यूनिट्स ऑफ...
Washing machine, dishwasher, the microwave and all sir, I am happy with that sir. You are making INR 450 crore investment for the 200 million air conditioner sir. I would like to know what would be the impact of the coolest Delhi summer sir. It was, it was, it never went up from 35 degrees Celsius sir this year.
It was the coolest summer because Delhi summer in May at 45, 46 degrees, it was only 35 degrees. That was the highest temperature recorded in Delhi this year sir. Any impact of that on our sales during the first quarter of the current year, if you could give us on this things sir? I'm pleased with the performance of the company. You have sold 75% of your ACs as inverter ACs.
When you've done this thing with Vestfrost, sir, for medical units and all, sir, are we likely to go into dust-free rooms which are required for medical units, b ecause that also is processing of air only, sir? Those medical facilities don't need production facilities have to be dust-free, sir. Are we in that segment, or are we likely to go into it, sir?
No, no.
Okay, sir.
No.
Okay, sir. Okay, sir. I get your answer. Sir, I wish the company all the best. Thank you, sir.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Agrawal.
Pleased that we have met.
Thank you. The next speaker is Ms. Lekha Shah. Moderator, if Ms. Lekha Shah is not available, we can come back to her later on.
Sir, I think Ms. Lekha Shah has a technical problem. We could go ahead with the next speaker.
Yeah. The next speaker is Ms. Lily Pradhan.
Am I audible?
Yes, ma'am.
Am I audible? Okay, okay.
Yes, ma'am.
Very good afternoon. Okay, very good afternoon.
Good afternoon.
Respected all chair, respected all chairpersons and all viewers. Myself, Lily Pradhan from Kolkata. I am very happy to know that the company's performance is developing a lot, which is sustainable growth, but share price is deteriorated. I have some specific question in present situation.
What is the aim and object of future development in all over world, like as globalized business? What is the CSR activities on challenging persons? Please, micro analysis of CSR activities on challenging persons. Must be micro sub analysis, audit of cash flow management. Bifurcated analysis, top line and bottom line growth. Please consider the planned visit. Thank you. Thank you so much. All the best.
Thank you.
Please always support...
Thank you, Ms. Pradhan.
woman empowerment. Always support woman empowerment. All the best.
Thank you. Thank you very much. The next speaker is Mr. Yusuf Rangwalla .
Yeah, good evening, sir. Good afternoon, sir. Mr. Noel Tata, sir. How are you, sir? How is your health, sir? Health is good, sir?
I'm very well.
I've been came, sir.
Very well, thank you.
Sir-
Thank you.
Yes, sir. I'll come on point, sir. Sir, wishing you a very happy Parsi New Year, which is in August, sir.
Thank you.
[inaudible] Sir, this is the 69th Annual General Meeting. I'm very thankful to our Malhotra, sir, and his team for giving me a service, giving me a chance, and also sending my balance sheet. Balance sheet is around 400 pages, sir. 394 pages. Sir, AC balance sheet, sir. Sir, Samsung, LG, same product, same business.
What competition we are facing with these three companies, sir? Voltas. Sir, a page coloring freeze. Sir, how many new color you are introducing this year? How many new series? Sir, semi AC, semi auto, and as you mentioned, you're having a government order. Sir, this how our company, and I'm very proud to be, sir, excellent, or up your dividend, INR 4 . This is a very good, sir, excellent dividend. As of now, market is 328 share.
Sir, that is a very good, keeping us up. Nothing more to add. Sir, I request for the factory visit, I wish our company good luck. I also one more thank to our Varun Malhotra, sir, who is a damn person and very hard worker, sir. We are very lucky to have excellent Company Secretary. I am very thankful to sir.
Thank you.
[inaudible] Chairman, sir, AC, thank you very much. Jai Hind, sir.
Thank you, Mr. Rangwala.
Jai Hind, sir.
Thank you. Thank you. The next speaker is Mr. Anil Parekh.
Hello?
Yes, Mr. Parekh.
Am I audible, sir?
Yes, we can hear you.
How are you, Noel, sir?
Very well, thank you.
Hello.
Please ask your questions.
Okay. Chairman, sir, Board of Directors, and all fellow shareholders. Sir, my name is Anil Parekh from Bombay. First of all, I would like to thank our secretarial team, especially Mr. Malhotra and Arun Kawade, and all the people at secretarial team. They are extending a very good investor services, and every time a timely call is from them to attend and help us to attend this meeting.
Thank you, Mr. Arun, Mr. Malhotra Ji. I hope you both are safe and sound at your respective end. Chairman, sir, I am deeply touched the way we are working. It's excellent performance year- after- year, and I'm really delighted to see that in our balance sheet.
Sir, on page number 11, our turnover has rose to 19% from INR 8,124 crore - INR 9,667 crore, and also our profitability has gone up. Sir, there was a significant provision of INR 244 crore for the termination of contract and encashment of bank guarantees for two overseas project, Dubai and Qatar.
Sir, what was the reason for termination of the project? I would like to know. On page 14, third 12, our 100% subsidiary, UMPESL, won multiple project orders valued at INR 3,762 crore, including solar power project. Can you elaborate us in detail, if possible, on these project orders? We have won INR 942 crore project at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for Qiddiya Water Theme Park.
When it will be completed, and what kind of this Qiddiya Water Theme Park, I would like to know from you. Sir, apart from this, I have a few more questions. On page 17, if you see from 2021 - 2022- 2023, our market share is going down from 25% - 21%. Sir, what is the reason that our market share is going down? Sir, on page 20, we have completed successfully some projects in Dubai, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, and others.
Mr. Parikh, may I request you to conclude as soon as possible, please? Thank you.
It's not possible. It's not possible, because, see, we get chance of only once in a year. You cannot curtail us. Please allow me for few more minutes. Saudi Arabia, we have quite a few projects, have achieved growth in giga projects, including NEOM, Red Sea Development, and all that. I would like to understand from that also. Apart from that, sir, my last grievance is, sir, why we are continuing with VC conference?
MCA did not give you mandate that compulsorily you have to go for VC conference. It's optional. You can have a physical meeting. We are deprived of our fundamental right to attend the physical meeting. Sir, kindly see to it that next year it should be physical meeting. Since everything is crowded, trains, buses, marriages, our offices, everything, why shareholders are deprived? That is my question. Thank you for present hearing. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Parekh. The next speaker is Mr. Manoj Kumar Gupta. If we have difficulty with Mr. Manoj Kumar Gupta, we can move to the next speaker.
Yes, sir, we could move to the next speaker and come back to him later, sir.
Yeah. The next speaker is Mr. Bimal Kumar Agarwal.
Hello.
Yes, sir.
Yes. Good afternoon to everyone. First of all, I thank the company, FP and its team, and also the management, and also the co-host, Mr. Hugo D'Souza. Now I come to the my questions. The company has reported higher revenue during FY 23, though the profit has declined, there has been significant rise in cost of material consumed. I request the management to provide insight into the steps taken to improve margin.
Please provide the insight into the business opportunities available for the company over the next one year. What is the impact of China factor on the company business prospect? Please provide the detail of effect plan over the next year. Always have the meeting online only. It's easier to join, like, wherever we are, we can join. Outside people also get chance to join the meeting. Keep it online only. That's a better option for everyone to join. Thank you very much. That's all.
Thank you, Mr. Agarwal. The next speaker is Mr. Shailesh Mahadeviah.
Respected chairman, distinguished directors, management team, and the members present. Sir, let me first congratulate the entire board of directors for achieving excellent result during the year as a result of your great efforts. Sir, the working during the year has been well produced in the annual report, which also includes the integrated report and BR and SR report also, because that gives us a considerable information, important from the shareholders' point of view.
Sir, you also gave in your statement in great detail the working of the company during the year and the problem which we had faced, as a result of which we have suffered some losses. Sir, these things happen, and you can't expect growth year- after- year for years to come. Sir, we accept your explanation.
Sir, with a view to un- appreciate my understanding and the working of the company, I wish to put some questions as under. Sir, number one, let me tell you that I am one of your oldest consumer of air conditioner, as old as 1954. It was purchased for the first time by my father when we were living at Matunga, and it was a novel thing.
The service of Voltas has continued even today. Sir, I was also happy to note that for the Parliament Building, Voltas has provided the air conditioning facilities. Sir, I would like to refer that the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report has been prepared on standalone basis. Sir, this report should always be prepared on the basis of consolidated report. Otherwise, it will not give all the information, particularly the investment of the company.
Sir, my next question is regarding CSR work, which has been done by the company, which is excellent. We have spent about INR 15 crore. Sir, my question and suggestion is that we should make economic study effect of economic effect on the society as a result of our expenses on CSR. There is a multiple effect. We have spent INR 15 crore, but the effect on the society is much more by a great multiplier, the ripple effect, and this is now measurable.
Sir, my suggestion is we should give such measured result for the society, the shareholders, and everyone will get the correct impression. Sir, my next question, that our name, Voltas, originated from our original contribution between Volkart and Tatas. Sir, Volkart are no more there in existence with us, why can't we change the name of our company suitably?
However, we may continue to use the brand name of Voltas for all our businesses, because it has become very popular. The change in name may be considered for our plus. Sir, my last question is the erratic climatic conditions in the current year, and it has given very unfavorable results in some cases. I believe, as a result of which we lost some business of air conditioners during the real summer time. Sir, further, El Niño is likely to be-
Mr. Mahadevia.
Active.
Could you kindly conclude, sir?
This is my last question. It is likely to have its effect over a period of 3-5 years. Sir, may I know, how do you foresee the effect of El Niño in our business? With this, I wish our organization all the best for all times to come. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Thank you, Shailesh.
Thank you very much. Bye.
Thank you. Thank you. The next speaker is Mr. Gautam Tiwari.
Good afternoon, sir. You can see me and you can listen me, no, sir?
Yes. Yes, Mr. Tiwari, please go ahead.
So nice to see you, sir, once again. Sir, very good special afternoon to you, sir, and industrialist par excellence. Sir, very good afternoon to our MD, CEO, and all eminent board of directors, along with the team Voltas. Myself, Gautam Tiwari, participating at this AGM from Mumbai. Dear sir, Voltas has signed a technology license agreement with Vestfrost Solutions, Denmark.
Let us know about the future of this business plans, whatever you have got in store with you, sir. Sir, very good compliments. In fact, lot of compliments and congratulations for having done the air conditioning work for our new Indian Parliament building in May 2023. Voltas, we are very proud after seeing this, sir.
Your smiles speaks volumes about it. Sir, thank you very much, sir, for giving 425% dividend. 1/3 to profit card dividend, sir. We look for better dividend next year. I am very sure you will do the needful. Sir, next is on page number 27-29, we have seen various awards and accolades that the company has been awarded with, along with the last year's report also. Thank you, Hiransh, for this. Congratulations for this, sir. Sir, investor care... Sir, very happy new Parsi New Year, and the best wishes and compliments for your health always-
Thank you.
All the time, right from the depth of our heart to you, sir. Sir, investor care, investor services of Secretarial Department, headed by Varun for all these from the year of millennium, along with Bansuri this year, has been very good and exceptionally outstanding.
To [Foreign language] Even Webex team t echnical team [Foreign Language] support [Foreign language] services हैं along with NSDL. We thank you very much for selecting such noble service providers. Sir, [Foreign language] , superannuation में, our Varun is going in April 2024. क्या next year की AGM, would you be conducting in the month of April 2024 since he is going in April 2024, sir?
No.
Sir, of course, I support all the appointments and directors and all resolutions, and I have voted there in beforehand. Sir, few questions, small questions I have got sir with you. Sir, why drop in Voltas market price shares, sir? It's a big drop right from so many years because हम लोगों ने INR 1,200+ से INR 800+ में भी देखा है share, और बहुत दिन से हमें ठीक है। I am very sure you have got all the expertise, all the talent, अपना research development network भी बहुत अच्छा है. Where do we lag actually from our competitors like Blue Star and all those people?
I am very sure, in the days to come, you will make it up and you will make shareholders, [fForeign language] प निहाल कर देंगे और happy कर देंगे, sir. sir, what is the target for room AC, where we stand in number one? Sales volume in FY 2023, 2024, where we stand number one. sir, we have got 260 numbers of brand shops. What is the target for current year? Sir, what is the target for cold room business, where do we stand in this business at present? As Blue Star is number one in cold room business at present.
Mr. Tiwari, could you kindly conclude at the earliest, sir?
Yes, sir. Half a minute, sir. Just half a minute.
Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir.
Thank you very much, sir. God bless you. Sir, what are your future plans for Voltas vacuum cleaner? I don't want to give you trouble for so many questions. Sir, our international project business, as you said, suffered a lot this year. What is the status of this business in your hands for this year and ahead?
Sir, as usual, we have a total trust, confidence and faith in the management. [Foreign language] हम आपके साथ में सिर्फ lifetime ही नहीं, इस life के बाद भी हमेशा आपके साथ में और आपको support करते रहेंगे, unconditional and reload. Once again, sir, I thank you very much all the way and all the best. Thank you very much, sir. God bless you with the choicest blessings, sir.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Tiwari. Thank you. The next speaker is Mr. Bharat Shah.
Hello. Sir, [Foreign language] आवाज़ आ रही है ना?
Yes, we can hear you.
[Foreign language] हां, माननीय Noel Tata ji और अन्य माननीय Director. Sir, मेरा नाम Bharat Shah. मैं sir, बहुत सालों से आपका shareholder रहा हूं, Voltas का sir. हर साल AGM attend करता हूं sir. बहुत literally company को आप sir चला रहे हो। बहुत company चला रहे हो। हमेशा shareholder को respect दिया है। Shareholder का एक को ख्याल रखा है, अच्छा good return दिया है, shareholder को। Sir, हर साल बड़ों की धंधा में sir हो रही है। अपना AC का तो अव्वल नंबर का नाम है sir। कोई उसमें दिक्कत नहीं है sir, और पूरी दुनिया में अपना नाम है। तो मैं बहुत-बहुत धन्यवाद मानता हूं और sir dividend भी आपने अच्छा दिया है। सब बातों को मैं बहुत-बहुत धन्यवाद मानता हूं sir, और इसके लिए sir, पूरे Board of Director, कंपनी के सभी छोटे-बड़े employees का भी बहुत-बहुत आभार मानता हूं sir.
Sir, CS activity dividend भी sir अच्छा है. Sir, कुछ bonus का भी दिया था आपने, वो जरा बताना और अगले 1-2 साल में bonus के लिए मैं request करता हूं sir. बाकी sir, CSR activity sir, बहुत अच्छी चल, इसके लिए मैं बहुत-बहुत धन्यवाद मानता हूं, एक मानवता के करे, सारे awards के लिए भी बहुत-बहुत धन्यवाद मानता हूं sir, Sir, Company Secretary, Shri Malhotra ji, उनकी team के जो नए आए हैं, one Shri Parikh ji और sir, पूरी secretarial team का मैं बहुत धन्यवाद मानता हूं sir. हमेशा hardworking team है sir. हमेशा shareholder का हित को ख्याल रखके, shareholder को respect देते हैं sir. कोई भी query है तो solve करते हैं. Best investor service दे रहे हैं. Malhotra ji और उनकी पूरी team का बहुत-बहुत धन्यवाद मानता हूं sir. Sir, ये...
We lost you, Mr. Shah.
[Forein language] आवाज़ आ रही है ना?
No, we lost you. We can't hear. We can't hear.
Hello, sir, [Forein language] आवाज़ आ रही है ना?
No, we can't hear you properly. We can't hear you properly.
Sir, [Forein language] तो मैं सारे त्योहारों-
Mr. Shah, I suggest you send your questions to the company if you have any more questions. Thank you. The next speaker is Smita Shah.
Yeah. Hello?
Yeah.
Hello. Hello, sir. Okay.
Yes.
[Forein language] माननीय Chairman, Shri Noel ji-
Yes.
MD/CEO, Shri Pradeep [Forein language] aur apne Mr. Saurabh ji Agrawal ji aur anya mananiya directors. Sir, Mera naam Smita Shah, Mumbai se baat karti hoon. Namaskar, sir. Excellent presentation. Sir, पहले तो मैं Company Secretary Shri Malhotra ji की सराहना करते हुए कहूंगी कि वो ऑलवेज शेयरहोल्डर को अच्छा रिस्पेक्ट करते हैं। हमें बैलेंस शीट भी फिजिकल कॉपी रिक्वेस्ट अनुसार भेजी है। साथ में 4 साल से ये जो वर्चुअल भी थ्रू मिल रहे हैं, तो उसमें भी हमें आपके साथ जोड़ने के लिए, बात करने का मौका देने के लिए हमें अच्छा सहयोग उनका मिल रहा है। उनकी गुड इन्वेस्टर सर्विस के लिए हमेशा अपने कोई भी कार्यों में तत्पर स्माइली Company Secretary Shri Malhotra ji को उनकी गुड इन्वेस्टर सर्विस के लिए धन्यवाद, अभिनंदन और उनकी टीम से जस्ट जुड़ी हुई Ms. Bansari Parikh को भी गुड सर्विस के लिए उसको मोटिवेट करते हुए मैं धन्यवाद करती हूं और साथ में Webex team का भी बहुत अच्छी गुड सर्विस है। कुछ प्रॉब्लम नहीं आता है उसमें तो। Webex team का भी बहुत बहुत धन्यवाद और बाकी तो सर, 5 साल के कंपेयर में अपना sales and service previous year को लेकर अच्छा बढ़ा है, net asset भी बढ़ा है और सर अपना in Asia में अपना एक बड़ा largest event भी हो चुका है। बहुत अच्छी बात है। आपने आज कठिन समय में भी कंपनी को आगे बढ़ाकर अपनी मेहनत और हार्ड वर्क कम जो कंपनी में रंग लाई है। बहुत-बहुत अभिनंदन, बधाई हो सर!
आज मार्केट में आपसे आपके एक से बढ़कर एक product भी बढ़िया लाए हो। आज भी सालों पुराना Voltas का नाम मार्केट में सुप्रसिद्ध है। अभिनंदन सर। मार्केट में आपके competitor कौन है और अपने कौन से product मार्केट में ज्यादा सेल होने जा रहे हैं और आपने जो good dividend shareholders का ध्यान में रखकर दिया, बहुत-बहुत धन्यवाद। shareholders की वैल्यू बढ़ाई। अभी सर, next year 70th AGM में सर bonus के लिए जरूर सोचिए और आगे के future plan 5 years के at least क्या है, बताएं और काफी time से visit नहीं हो पाए तो visit कराने की कृपा करें। मैं जरूर कहूंगी कि Voltas board team कि आपकी जो page number 114 पर जो Pantnagar factory में निकाला हुआ photos जो है, वो आपके excellent features की अच्छी पहचान दे रही है और मेरी हार्दिक शुभकामनाएं आपके साथ है कि कंपनी सफलता की ओर कोशिश करते हुए बढ़ते हुए कदम की प्रशंसा कर कंपनी future में day 4 times, night 8 times प्रगति की और आगे बढ़े, यही ईश्वर से प्रार्थना। हमारा always support रहा है। आज भी मेरा आज के सभी resolutions में मैं fully support करती हूं। मैं जरूर कहूंगी कि सर, next year की AGM 70th है तो physical हो जाए। Sir, अभी पूरा जन व्यवहार हर तरह से खुला हो चुका है और कई कंपनियां भी physical कर रहे हैं, जहां सभी shareholders बहुत खुशी से attend करते आ रहे हैं। अपना एक सर, अभी भले technology बढ़ गई, दुनिया में science बढ़ गया, लेकिन मिलना-जुलना तो बंद नहीं हुआ है। face-to-face मिलेंगे तो एक अलग सा vibration create होता है। अपनापन महसूस होते, सर, अपना एक जरूर physical अपना ये AGM रखें तो सर जरूर मैं कहूंगी कि next AGM में हम और आप रहेंगे साथ-साथ। बाकी।
जो अपने रहेंगे तो हाइब्रिड भी करिए तो उनको भी सबको मौका मिला कि जो आपके पास निकट आकर बात नहीं करना चाहते। बाकी तो हम और आप रहेंगे साथ-साथ और आपकी सभी की गुड हेल्थ वेल के साथ आप रहिए सदा, हमेशा खुशियों के साथ। इसी के साथ धन्यवाद।
Thank you, Ms. Shah. The next speaker is Mr. Sharat Kumar Jeevrajka.
Sir, Mr. Sharat has not joined in, we can move on to the next speaker.
Okay. The next speaker is Celestine Mascarenhas.
Hello, Am I audible?
Ms. Maskarenas. Please go ahead.
Hello, am I audible?
Yes we can hear you please ask your questions.
[Forein language] सर, देअर अपीयर्स टू बी अ टेक्निकल कनेक्टिविटी प्रॉब्लम, सर। वी कुड कम बैक।
There's a technical problem so we will come back [crosstalk]
Okay, thank you. Thank you.
[Foreign language]
The next speaker is Ms. Alose-
[Foreign language]
I think they have the same- they both have the same problem.
Yes, sir. There is a problem- [crosstalk]
Mr. Mascarenhas and Ms. Mascarenhas are both on the same.
We will move to the next then came back to them.
Yeah. Mr. Manjit Singh is the next speaker.
Sir, am I audible?
Yes, we can hear you.
Good afternoon, sir? [Foreign language आफ्टरनून सर! खंडक के बादशाह, वोल्टास के चेयरमैन, कैटरिंग डिपार्टमेंट और माय को शेयरहोल्डर। मैं सभी का स्वागत करता हूं और भगवान के आगे प्रार्थना करता हूं कि सभी स्वस्थ रहें। समय समय पर कंपनी को जो अवार्ड मिलते रहे हैं, उसकी मैं मुबारकबाद देना चाहूंगा। जो प्रोजेक्ट अवार्ड आपको मिलते रहे हैं, उसके लिए आपको बहुत बहुत मुबारक है और ईपीएस इस साल की हमारी बहुत अच्छी रही है। आप जो यह डी मर्जर वगैरह हैं, जिस तरह से कंसोलिडेटेड कर रहे हैं बिजनेस को, उसके बाद हमारी ईपीएस का क्या स्तर रहेगा और कितना रहेगा, उसमें कुछ परफॉर्मेंस बढ़ेगी। थोड़ा आप इस बारे में अगर बताएंगे तो हमें अच्छा लगेगा। एडवर्टाइजमेंट के पुराने दौर होते थे, होल्डिंग लगती थी शहरों में तो क्या इस तरफ हमारा ध्यान है?
सीजनल टाइप में जब हम एक खास चौराहों पर अपनी advertisement करेंगे तो हमारे product range का सारे शहर को पता चलेगा और customer को पता चलेगा। अगर आप hoarding वाली advertisement की तरफ थोड़ा और ध्यान देंगे तो ज्यादा अच्छा रहेगा। उसमें हमारे जो product हैं नए, वो भी जनता को पता चल सकेंगे और हमारे consumer को पता चल सकेंगे। Research and Development में Sir, हम अपना कितना पूरा टोटल जो income है, उसका कितना खर्च करते हैं और जो हमारा summer season है, वह काफी heavy रहता है और Research and Development के अंदर हम कुछ ऐसा प्लान लेकर चलें कि जो winter है, उसके अंदर भी कुछ product इस तरह से निकाले जा सकें कि जिससे हमारी sale growth 12 महीने कायम रहे तो ज्यादा अच्छा रहेगा। क्योंकि जो आगे के महीने हैं, winter के उनमें कई तरह के festivals आते हैं और New Year भी आता है। हमारे North India के हिसाब से तो कुछ पैसा खर्च किया जाता है। अगर आपके कुछ जो Research and Development में कुछ ध्यान इस तरफ रहेगा, winter में कुछ ऐसे product जो जिनकी हमारी sale कम है, उस तरफ ध्यान बढ़ाएं तो अच्छा लगेगा। CSR activity के अंदर मेरी आपसे गुजारिश यही है कि हम जो बड़ी बड़ी कंपनियां हैं, एक शपथ लेकर, एक कसम खाकर चलें कि हम Hindustan के अंदर कोई Cape Town नहीं बनने देंगे।
Water harvesting का program जहां जहां हमारे plant हैं, वहां आप बहुत अच्छा रखें। जो वर्षा का पानी है, वह वापस धरती में जा सके और हम कसम लेकर चलें कि Hindustan के अंदर South Africa जैसा शहर Cape Town नहीं बनने देंगे, जहां पानी की कमी हो गई है बहुत ज्यादा। यह हमारे जैसी जो बड़ी कंपनियां इस तरफ ध्यान देंगी तो बहुत अच्छा लगेगा और जो आगे दिक्कतें आनी हैं, उसमें कमी रहेगी। आप water harvesting की तरफ क्या ध्यान रखते हैं, थोड़ा आप इस बारे में बताइएगा। Retirement की age जो है, सरकार द्वारा निर्धारित है। हमारे Malhotra Sahab की भी retirement आई है और जितने साल उन्होंने इस company में काम किया है, उसके अंदर कितनी growth आई है, Voltas की। आप थोड़ा इस तरफ ध्यान करिए। अगर उन्हें Board में या उनका कुछ आगे कार्य का विस्तार बढ़ाया जा सके तो हमें ज्यादा अच्छा लगेगा। क्योंकि हमारे देश के अंदर जो इस time First Man या First Woman है, वो भी काफी age के हैं और उसके मुकाबले तो हमारे Malhotra Sahab age में काफी छोटे हैं। हमारा Board अगर इस तरफ ध्यान देगा कि एक हीरा जो इस Voltas से निकलकर कहीं जाने की तैयारी में है, वह Voltas के अंदर ही रहे तो बहुत अच्छा रहेगा। बाकी कुछ collaboration मतलब कुछ selector selection के हिसाब से मैं यह कहूंगा कि आप कुछ अगर post कर सकें, अपने।
Mr. Singh, if you could kindly conclude sir.
हमें अच्छा लगेगा। अगर आप पोस्टेज करें कोई स्टेशनरी एक्सेसरी अपने जो है हस्ताक्षर के साथ तो हमें बहुत अच्छा लगेगा जिस तरह का अरेंजमेंट आपके सेक्रेटरी डिपार्टमेंट ने हमारे साथ किया और हमें आपसे जोड़ा है तो हमें बहुत अच्छा लगा है। हम यही चाहेंगे कि Voltas दिन दूनी रात चौगुनी तरक्की करे। थैंक यू फॉर द Chairman.
Thank you. Thank you, sir.
हेलो।
The next speaker is Mr. Sarbjit Singh.
Hello? Hello, chair man.
Yes.
[Foreign language]
Yes, we can hear you.
Chairman, Sir, first of all, good afternoon to you, all the Board of Directors and all the staff of Voltas Limited and my co-fellow shareholder. Chairman, Sir, जिस तरीके से आप लोग मेहनत कर रहे हैं, वो सर हमें शेयर प्राइस में भी नजर आता है। सर, जिस तरीके से इस बार आपका लो रहा, 737 INR और हाई रहा 1,064 INR का। सर, जिस तरीके से आप लोग मेहनत कर रहे हैं और जिस तरीके से आप लोगों ने नए अपने products दिखाए तो सर, हमें पूरी उम्मीद है कि अगली बार जब हम आपसे इस मीटिंग में ज्वाइन होंगे तो हमारा शेयर 4-digit में होगा। सर, जिस तरीके से अभी मैंने देखा mutual fund ने भी अपनी होल्डिंग बढ़ाई है तो सर, इसका तो क्लियर नजर आ रहा है कि वो लोग तो सर तभी बढ़ाते हैं जब कंपनी अच्छी से अच्छी performance कर रही हो। हमें सर आपसे पूरी उम्मीद है कि आने वाले time में आप ऐसी मेहनत करते रहेंगे और सर हम लोगों को अच्छे रिटर्न देते रहेंगे और time to time आप हमें डिविडेंड भी देते आए हैं. Chairman, Sir, I'm Secretarial Department, I would like to thank, sir, who have given me such a frequent opportunity to speak in front of you, and the way they told us time to time that your test will be done, and after that you will be able to speak in front of the Chairman, Sir. Thank you, Chairman sir, and thank you Secretarial Department for giving me a chance to speak in your radio.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Singh. The next speaker is Mr. Aspi Bhesania .
Sir, Mr. Besania has not logged in, sir. We could move on to the next speaker.
The next speaker is Mr. Kirti Shah.
Mr. Shah, could you kindly unmute your microphone and speak, sir? Sir, we appear to be having a technical problem. We could move on to the next speaker.
The next speaker is Mr. Sanjay Banik.
Mr. Banik, if you could kindly unmute your microphone, sir.
Hello, am I audible?
Yes, we can hear you, Mr. Banik. Please go ahead. Ask your questions.
Okay, sir. S ir, I'm Sanjay Banik from Kolkata. At the outset, I would like to say that MD sir, Pradeep Bakshi's message from MD's desk is very elaborative, lucid, and informative. M y previous shareholders made some good points regarding the performance of the company. N ow my points are using the recycled plastic in finished products is such a good and radical step by your company.
Next, sir, if we go through the financial of the company the compounded sale sales growth in the last ten years is just 6% , and profit growth is merely 2% . C an we see a double-digit growth in the next ten years? What is your guidance regarding this? Next, MD sir mentioned that our company is engaged in the metro project, hospital, et cetera.
Sir, if you can name off some big and iconic project, we will also be informed regarding this. My next point is the annual report. I have not seen any facts and figures regarding the capacity utilization numbers. If you can elaborate it capacity utilization in consumer durables and industrial projects, like consumer durables in ACs, refrigerators, in such cases, it will be very helpful for us.
Now, sir, as you are stressing Make in India theme, you can tell us the percentage of raw material in terms of indigenous raw material and imported raw materials in consumer durable segment. Next is that India is today mostly rely on imported semiconductor to manufacture products.
I want to know that what is the percentage of cost component of semiconductor, like PCB in AC and other consumer durable of our company? Going forward, what is your outlook, when our supply of semiconductor is affected from the foreign country? Sir, our company is not in the business of manufacture of water purifier. It manufactures only water cooler and RO-enabled water dispenser.
My suggestion is that the company should also observe the opportunity of the water purifier segment, like KENT and HUL of the existing existing players. Lastly, my last point is that in this year of blockbuster summer, I have hardly seen any TV advertisement of our company's product in popular TV channels. Why, sir?
It should be more in order to penetrate more in the market, like AC and refrigerators. This is my suggestion, sir. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to present here and talk in front of you, like renowned management team. Thank you, sir.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Banik. What is the percentage cost of semiconductors in the total budget? The next speaker is Mr. Ronald Fernandes.
Hello? Hello. You can hear me?
Yes, Mr. Fernandes.
Hello. Can you hear me? Hello, you can hear me?
Yes, Mr. Fernandes.
Hello. Good evening, Chairman, Managing Director, Directors, and my dear fellow shareholders. My name is Ronald Fernandes. At the outset, first and foremost, I wish to thank the Company Secretary and the Secretariat, and the management staff of Voltas Limited, for sending the AGM report on time. First of all, sir [inaudible].
You have declared a very good interest, the problem is you could have easily declared 325% and 100%, one bonus share, sir, because VAT 69 is what? Value-added taxes. You have to have a celebration, sir, because your main person, Varun Malhotra, is going to go from the company.
Either you keep a balance sheet open for a six months, and then you have a next balance sheet of nine months. I know that in the month of December or something, he'll be retiring from the company. You can have a farewell for him with all the shareholders, followed by a get together and a CD. CD, what I mean to say, nothing is a cocktail dinner party, sir.
At least that celebration will be in mind as a remembrance for him, because he's a very experienced person in handling the shareholders, sir, and especially a person like me. Of course, no doubt, he'll send the annual report on time, everything for me, after having worked with him.
Of course, your host also, Ujwal D'Souza, who is there in the board. He has very well controlled all the system of the shareholder stuff. Looking at it, sir, I was, I think, maybe the 22 second speaker, and you signed a balance sheet on 22nd of September 2022, and then you have the date of meeting is 22nd.
Everything 22nd, because 2+ 2 is four, and two multiplied by two is four also, 2÷2 is one, and 2-2 is zero, total comes to nine. I think my number was nine for the trend meeting we had as a speaker, but this time it became 22nd. I do not know, sir, because I had maybe registered it late and all.
Secondly, you put out 400 pages pull out of the annual report and 16 pages of that. That again become 416%. 4+1+6 is 11, and the other one is 4.25, 425% dividend. Again, 4+2+5 , 11, 22. 27 speaker, 22nd date of the week.
Secondly, I would like to know the projects that you're handling. You have invested heavy investment for it. I would like to know, will it be profitable, and what is the total number of sales of ACs done in this particular year? 36 degrees and 38 means it was very, very hot, so I think a lot of people ordered for the this thing.
Of course, no doubt, looking forward also, sir, Bansari Parekh has been appointed and all that, so maybe he'll try to take over as secretary and all that. You don't forget about Malhotra, sir. You put him on the board of directors at least for the time being, because he's capable enough of doing something. Not like that, but you did for the MM Surti by training him.
I hope you are tracking with him and keeping in touch with him. Of course, no doubt, sir, your name is Noel Tata. N-O-E-L. Leon, it will reverse the alphabet, so it's L-E-O-N. You are the management of the company. You can decide on doing what you did, but just say, support all the resolution and thank the management for patiently listening. Thank you.
Thank you, Ronald. Thank you very much. The next speaker is Mr. Anil Mehta.
Sir, Mr. Anil Mehta hasn't logged in, sir.
Okay, thank you. Are there any other speakers that you wish to re-join, or is this the last speaker?
Sir, we did have four speakers with technical issues who couldn't speak.
Okay.
Mr. Manoj Kumar Gupta.
Okay.
That's number eight, 15, 16, and 20.
Okay. That concludes the speakers. Thank you very much for your questions. I'm going to attempt to answer all the questions that you have posed. Obviously, some questions have been asked by several shareholders, I'll try and answer them only once. Bear with me for that. I'm sorry that four shareholders, we could not, due to technical reasons, we could not hear you.
Therefore, if you want to send your questions in to the company in writing, I'm sure Varun and his team will answer the questions. One of the main issues has been holding this meeting through virtual means. As you've heard, there are several shareholders who prefer physical.
There are also some shareholders who prefer virtual. Many of the shareholders who have spoken today are from Calcutta and outside Bombay. They prefer a virtual means because they don't want to travel to Mumbai. I think we will be guided by SEBI and the authorities into which way we can hold our meetings.
Another point which was raised by many shareholders was the cost of goods, and I think this needs to be answered in. Also, if you recall, last year, there was a huge increase in raw material prices over the last two years. In the last year, we had an overhang of raw material prices with us and an extremely competitive market in which to sell them. Therefore you notice the cost of materials having gone up because, the market itself was also very, very competitive, and we had to retain, work towards retaining our market share.
A lso muted sales during the festival-
We had muted sales during the festival season as well. Some two or three shareholders spoke about the drop in our market share. It is a concern to the management as well as to the board, and it remains, as I've mentioned in our chairman's statement, it remains a focus area for us in this year, where we will try and improve our market share over last year by any means possible.
C oming to individual shareholders, Mr. Boppanna, you spoke about air purifiers. We are offering that. We do sell air purifiers. They're standalone products through our dealers across the country. You spoke about ultraviolet based products, and these are offered in through our commercial air conditioning business for offices and residences.
You asked us about international. We're already in the Middle East, in the UAE, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain, we've recently picked up some very large orders in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia, at the moment, is into a real investment phase, we expect a lot of opportunity in Saudi Arabia going forward.
You spoke about HR challenges, how does Voltas retain talent? I think the focus on retaining talent at Voltas, from the last year, has been really to mentor and to train our existing staff to be really look at their careers and see in which way we can continuously help their careers.
For those who have performed, continuously help them to grow within the company, this has obviously, this will obviously stand us in good stead. Ms. Asha Maheshwari, you asked about the INR 244 crores. These are bank guarantees and which have been encashed. We don't believe there was justification for these, and these will be fought .
Obviously, there will be litigation, and we will fight this. In one case, the contractor has gone bankrupt, and we are hoping that we will be reinstated with the new contractor coming on board. We've noted your request for an extension for Varun, but I don't think that's possible with our company rules.
Mr. Vinod Agarwal, you spoke about the cost of consumption, I've already spoken about that. You spoke about a coolest summer on the impact of sales. All I can tell you is that we've had quite a good April, May, and half of June. We are ahead of where we were last year, hopefully, our sales will be much better than last year.
You spoke about investment in Chennai. In fact, several of our shareholders have spoken about this, let me spend a minute on this. You know, with the government of India's Make in India policy, it's very clear that sectors like air conditioning can no longer, you know, survive with imported, fully imported products.
Therefore, really, your company is looking at perhaps the biggest change for over 20 years. Where we relied on outside suppliers, we now are going to become an end-to-end supplier and manufacturer ourselves. The Chennai factory is perhaps the biggest investment that Voltas has made in manufacturing over the last 20 years.
We believe it's warranted. We believe it will help us address future growth that we see in this market, therefore, we're going ahead with it on that basis. The next person was Ms. Lily Pradhan. Yes, I must acknowledge that our share price has fallen. We're not very happy about it, but it reflects the intense competition that exists in this sector over the last 12 months.
It also reflects the adverse weather conditions that some of the and the sales loss due to this over the last year. We hope that this year we will be able to reverse that trend going forward. Mr. Yusuf Rangwalla, you spoke about competition, Samsung, you know, LG. Not only Samsung, LG, today there are 65 brands in the air conditioning category, all vying for market share.
We are confident that we will be able to sustain and maintain our leadership position by offering best-in-class products and services. We're also diversifying into adjacent categories, like air coolers and on the product side, increasing our sales in washing machines and refrigerators.
This will continue and help us increase our revenue growth. Mr. Anil Parekh, you spoke of the INR 244 crores provision, and I've already given this answer. You asked about the Qiddiya Theme Park. This is a project that we have received from the Saudi government, and it's part of the huge investment program that the Saudi government is making in infrastructure in Saudi.
You spoke about our market share being 21 and having gone down, and I think I've already answered that question. We're not happy with the drop in share price and in the market share. We will do everything possible to get it back up again.
Mr. Shailesh Mahadeviah, thank you for being one of our first consumers or customers of air conditioners. I'm amazed that in 1955, you were already a Voltas customer. Thank you for that. I hope you have changed your AC since then, and you now have the more efficient and long-lasting products and better technologies.
You mentioned erratic climate conditions. Indeed, these are changing, but at the same time, we all know, and it's something which is spoken all over the world, the Earth is getting warmer. There will be overall a higher and higher requirement for cooling products all over the world.
In fact, we see that even places like Europe and the U.S., which North America, which previously didn't require air conditioning solutions, we see more and more people looking for those, given the high temperatures in those areas. Mr. Gautam Tiwari, you asked about details of technology on Vestfrost.
It is very much a high-tech company with very specific products like vaccine freezers, which are very low temperature and similar products. It's a small, but nevertheless, profitable market, and therefore, we are addressing that part of the market through our technical collaboration with Vestfrost. The technology that they bring, I think, will also help us in some of the other products that we are making, the more commercial products that we are making.
You asked for a target for room ACs. Our target is to try and achieve a 2 million AC sales this current year, and our team is making every effort to achieve that number. Future plans for Voltas Beko. Our sales have been excellent over April, May, and the first half June. If we continue that, we will see a really improved sales performance.
If this carries on, we will see a really improved sales performance throughout the year. As mentioned earlier, the categories in which Voltas, the home appliance category, is a massive opportunity in our space, and we are extremely bullish on this going forward. Mr. Bharat Shah, you asked about bonus. It isn't really the right time t his year and next year will not be the right time to consider a bonus.
Voltas is in a consolidation phase. Voltas is a company that's changing and really turning itself upside down with the new production, et cetera, that we're going to look at. Certainly, at the right time, the board will obviously consider a bonus thing.
Ms. Smita Shah, you spoke about what products are selling well. Well, inverter ACs continue to rule the market. They've taken over, today, more than 75% of ACs are inverter ACs. These are air conditioners, where the compressor is an inverter compressor. It delivers 20%-30% savings in electricity over conventional air conditioners.
They have taken over air conditioners across the world, and I think Indian consumers are also moving in that way. The other big product that has caught everybody's attention is semi-automatic washing machines, which in a very short period, have achieved a 9% market share in their particular category. Mr. Manjit Singh, you spoke about the reorganization and how it will help. You know, the Voltas had has two very separate businesses, which require very different management skills and attention span.
We recognized this a couple of years ago and decided that our projects business and heavy industrial business should move to a subsidiary company, where it could get the fullest of attention, which would leave Voltas to pay full attention to our B2C and B2B air conditioning and refrigeration, and our home products business.
It was a very complicated move. It's taken us a bit more time than we, than we thought, but all I can tell you is that this will hopefully finish in another couple of months, and then there will be clarity of management as well in Voltas. You spoke about advertising.
Yes, indeed, we had not spent a lot of money on advertising. I must inform you that we restarted again this year in a big way on hoardings. I must also tell you that advertising is moving away from TV, more into social media, where we remain very strong. You spoke about R&D and about winter products.
You may not be aware. We have products which do both heating and cooling. Maybe you should go to one of our dealers, and you'll be able to see products there, and those products are what we call all-weather products and sell throughout the year. In terms of water harvesting, it's something which we would be doing at all our factories.
Mr. Sanjay Banik , you spoke about sales growth of 6% and profit growth of 2%. Indeed, these have been below our expectations, we will work to improve these. You spoke about capacity utilization. Our capacity utilization of our factories has been close to 100% in all our factories.
We also purchase finished products from the outside, that's where we move our capacity up and down. Having said that, with the new Chennai factory coming up, we will mostly be manufacturing most products in-house only. You asked about the semiconductor as a percentage of product cost. Our PCBs are about 17% of the total product cost i n the inverter category.
In the inverter category. You spoke about TV advertising. I've already addressed that. Ronald Fernandes, you spoke about AC investments in the AC project in Chennai. I've already responded to that. We really believe it's something that we need to do and become a fully integrated manufacturer and sales of ACs.
Largest backward integrated plant in India.
It's going to be the largest backward integrated plant in India, Pradeep mentions to me. I think with that, I hope I've answered all your questions. If you feel that there's a question that's been left out, please reach out to Varun, and we will answer that question directly to you. Thank you. I now authorize the company secretary to conduct the voting procedure and conclude the meeting.
Messrs. NL Bhatia & Associates, practicing company secretaries, have been appointed as scrutinizer for this meeting. I also authorize the company secretary to accept, acknowledge, and countersign the scrutinizer's report and declare the consolidated voting results on receipt of the scrutinizer's report. The e-voting facility will remain open for the next 15 minutes, to enable shareholders to cast their vote.
The results will be announced within two working days of the conclusion of this meeting. The same would be intimated to stock exchanges thereafter. I would like to thank all our shareholders for attending this meeting and for their continued support to the company. With your consent, I and the other board members would now like to leave the meeting. Thank you very much. Have a nice evening!
Good evening, shareholders. The e-voting facility was kept open for 15 minutes, as mentioned by our chairman. We now close the e-voting. The requisite quorum was present throughout the meeting. Results of the annual general meeting will be announced by the company on or before 26th of June, 2023. With this, I declare the meeting as concluded. Thank you.