Dalmia Bharat Limited — Q3 FY26

Dalmia Bharat Ltd Q3 FY2025-26 Earnings Conference Call https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYvZkkvv-Mg Published: 3 months ago

0:02 2 seconds Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the earnings conference call of Dalmia Bharat Limited for the quarter ended 31st December 2025. 0:11 11 seconds Please note that this conference call will be for 60 minutes and for the duration of this conference call all participant lines will be in the 0:19 19 seconds listenonly mode. This conference call is being recorded and the transcript will be put on the website of the company. 0:26 26 seconds After the management discussion, there is an opportunity for you to ask questions. Should you need assistance during the conference call, please 0:33 33 seconds signal an operator by pressing star then zero on a touchstone phone. As a reminder, all participant lines will be 0:40 40 seconds in the listenonly mode. Before I hand over the conference to the management, I would like to remind you that the certain statements made during the 0:48 48 seconds course of this call may not be based on historical information or facts and may be forward-looking statements. These 0:55 55 seconds statements are not based on expectations and projections and may involve a number of risk and uncertainties such that the 1:03 1 minute, 3 seconds actual outcome may differ materially from those suggested by such statements. 1:08 1 minute, 8 seconds On the call we have with us Mr. Punit Dharmmia managing director and CEO Dharmmia Bharat Limited, Mr. Dhandra Tutesha, CFO Dalmia Bharat Limited, Mr. 1:20 1 minute, 20 seconds Priyatin Malhotra CFO Dharma Bharat Limited and the other management of the company. 1:27 1 minute, 27 seconds I now had like to hand the conference over to Mr. Prasad Nagiel investor relations lead. Thank you and over to you. 1:35 1 minute, 35 seconds Thanks Ruja. Good evening everyone. 1:38 1 minute, 38 seconds Thank you for joining us today on the Q3 FI26 quarterly earnings call of Dalmia Bharat Limited. We published our results in investor presentation couple of hours 1:46 1 minute, 46 seconds back and I hope you had a chance to go through it. We have the tag management here with us today to answer your questions. I will now request Mr. Punit 1:55 1 minute, 55 seconds Talmia for his opening comments. Thank you. Thank you Prasan. 2:01 2 minutes, 1 second Good afternoon everyone. Before I begin, I would like to wish everyone a warm and prosperous new year. 2:10 2 minutes, 10 seconds I will first begin some with my thoughts on the general Indian economy. 2:16 2 minutes, 16 seconds The Indian economy has demonstrated strong resilience despite the geopolitical headwinds and registered a GDP growth of 8.2% in Q2. 2:26 2 minutes, 26 seconds The Reserve Bank of India is projecting India's GDP growth at 7.3% in the current fiscal. We have become the 2:33 2 minutes, 33 seconds fourth largest economy in the world and we'll continue to hold our pole position as the fastest growing major economy. 2:41 2 minutes, 41 seconds I'm personally very excited about the India growth story and we take pride in being an integral part of it. 2:49 2 minutes, 49 seconds Cement sector. 2:51 2 minutes, 51 seconds Talking about cement, continued government investments in infrastructure and capacity building is expected to support cement demand over the medium to 2:59 2 minutes, 59 seconds long term. This is also encouraging us to step up our investments in the cement sector as we work towards our strategic goal of becoming a pan India player. 3:09 3 minutes, 9 seconds In the current environment, we have started witnessing witnessing improved demand traction with the withdrawal of 3:17 3 minutes, 17 seconds with the end of monsoon and the festivities. According to estimates, cement demand during quarter 3 grew at 3:25 3 minutes, 25 seconds about 7 to 8% on a Y basis and I believe this momentum will continue in quarter 4 as well. At this pace, FYI26 will 3:35 3 minutes, 35 seconds witness a growth of about 6% Y on a full year basis. Moving to prices, we saw healthy increases at the beginning of FI26. 3:45 3 minutes, 45 seconds GST deduction in September was a key milestone for the Indian cement industry and benefits were duly passed on to the consumers. 3:53 3 minutes, 53 seconds Q3 saw softening of prices beyond GST cuts especially in our key operating regions of east and south. Though Q4 has 4:02 4 minutes, 2 seconds started with some improvement, we will see how prices pan out in the coming months. As I mentioned earlier, pricing 4:10 4 minutes, 10 seconds in the short term is difficult to predict due to market the various market dynamics. However, I remain optimistic that prices should be supportive going forward in the mid to long term. 4:22 4 minutes, 22 seconds I would now want to spend some time on Dharma's operating performance in Q3. 4:30 4 minutes, 30 seconds Generating shareholder value by delivering profitable growth remains our topmost priority. 4:37 4 minutes, 37 seconds We are focused on driving it through sustained improvement in revenue and deepening our cost leadership. 4:45 4 minutes, 45 seconds In quarter three, we delivered a robust volume growth of 10% versus last year. 4:51 4 minutes, 51 seconds This growth was driven by focused effort efforts of our sales team to deliver superior value proposition to our 4:59 4 minutes, 59 seconds customers supported by improved demand traction. 5:04 5 minutes, 4 seconds We have been making consistent efforts to deepen our channel engagement. We recently hosted our annual dealer conferences and we have received very 5:12 5 minutes, 12 seconds promising feedback from dealers. This is an encouraging sign and it reinforces our belief that we are on the right track. 5:20 5 minutes, 20 seconds Regarding cost, we remain steady on our path to deliver a cost takeout target of 150 to 200 rupees per ton that we spoke 5:29 5 minutes, 29 seconds a few quarters back. We have made meaningful progress in our journey by delivering efficiencies across the value 5:36 5 minutes, 36 seconds chain and there are more initiatives in the pipeline. I believe that this focus on cost will keep us in goodstead to maintain our position as one of the lowest cost cement producers in India. 5:48 5 minutes, 48 seconds Now let me talk about our expansion plans. I'm happy to share that we have started commercial production from the new clinker line at Umangu in Assam with 5:57 5 minutes, 57 seconds a capacity of 3.6 6 million tons of clinker perom. 6:01 6 minutes, 1 second The 2.4 million ton peranom grinding capacity in Langa was already commissioned in Q4 last year. This makes us fully clinker back to serve a total 6:10 6 minutes, 10 seconds of 8 million ton cement capacity in the region. 6:15 6 minutes, 15 seconds Northeast as a region has been very promising in terms of demand growth and offers one of the best profitability 6:22 6 minutes, 22 seconds among the regions. Our focus now is to ramp up this capacity quickly. Our bail gam pune expansion as well as the 6:30 6 minutes, 30 seconds kaddapa expansion are progressing as per schedule. We have placed all the major orders. Civil work in bail gam is also 6:38 6 minutes, 38 seconds in full swing. These projects will take our capacity to 61.5 million tons. As 6:45 6 minutes, 45 seconds informed earlier, we are on the path to expand our presence in the new regions in new regions and reach a capacity of 6:52 6 minutes, 52 seconds around 75 million tons by financial year 28. We are developing the Jesselme project and are likely to firm up our 7:00 7 minutes decision in the next few months. In parallel, we are working on various other projects in preparation to reach 7:08 7 minutes, 8 seconds our stated long-term ambition of 110 to 150 million tons by 2031. 7:14 7 minutes, 14 seconds To conclude, I must say that I believe we are making very positive strides in our journey amidst promising times when 7:21 7 minutes, 21 seconds prospects of long-term demand remain strong. Industry consolidation is accelerating and the potential for margin expansion is significant. I'm 7:30 7 minutes, 30 seconds confident that as a company we are well positioned to capture the tremendous opportunity that lie before us. Thank you and over to you Dhinder for the 7:39 7 minutes, 39 seconds financial up. Thank you Punji. Let me give an overview of our financial performance. 7:47 7 minutes, 47 seconds As Punji mentioned, our performance for the quarter was continued to be guided by profitable growth. During the 7:54 7 minutes, 54 seconds quarter, we witnessed the sales volume growth of 9.5% Y to 7.3 million tons. 8:02 8 minutes, 2 seconds Our trade share stood at 52%. While premier product share was at 23% during the quarter. 8:09 8 minutes, 9 seconds Revenue for the quarter improved by 10% on a Y basis while prices were marginally higher on a 8:17 8 minutes, 17 seconds Y basis. It corrected in our core markets sequentially. 8:22 8 minutes, 22 seconds This led to NSR drop of about 4% on a QQ basis. 8:27 8 minutes, 27 seconds As called out last quarter with the change in GST regime, our incentive run rate has also come down. 8:35 8 minutes, 35 seconds During Q3 we have acred incentives of rupees 91 cr. This figure includes certain incentives amounting to rupees 8:44 8 minutes, 44 seconds 37 crores pertaining to earlier years and rupees 9 crores for H1 of FI26. 8:52 8 minutes, 52 seconds During the quarter a receipt of incentives was rupes 121 crores with which our total outstanding incentive declined to rupees 776 crores. 9:02 9 minutes, 2 seconds As mentioned last time, we expect the incentive run rate to be around rupees 200 crores next year. 9:09 9 minutes, 9 seconds Coming to the cost line items for raw material cost per ton of production increased only by 2% y to rupees 780 per 9:18 9 minutes, 18 seconds ton despite the additional levy of tax on minerals in Tamil Nadu. Further our 9:25 9 minutes, 25 seconds power fuel cost per ton of production increased by just 1% by to rupees 1,9 per ton despite the cost headwinds. 9:36 9 minutes, 36 seconds During the quarter we have achieved share of 48% on consumption basis. Power cost efficiencies will continue to 9:43 9 minutes, 43 seconds improve with the rising share of renewable energy in our consumption mix. 9:48 9 minutes, 48 seconds We have commissioned 23 megawatt of capacity this quarter. With this our total re capacity has reached 410 megawatt. 9:58 9 minutes, 58 seconds In 9 months we have invested about rupees 50 crores in equity svs for the growth captive re projects. There are 10:05 10 minutes, 5 seconds more projects in the pipeline which are expected to come online in the next few months. 10:11 10 minutes, 11 seconds During the quarter our blended tco and coal consumption cost has remained rangebound at about $99 per ton on a Q basis. 10:22 10 minutes, 22 seconds Blended fuel cost during the quarter stood at rupees 1.36 on per kal basis 10:27 10 minutes, 27 seconds while CC ratio was 1.6 times our logistic cost during the quarters 10:35 10 minutes, 35 seconds saw a significant decline of 5.6% 6% y thanks to good progress on our various initiatives. 10:42 10 minutes, 42 seconds Our direct dispatches percentage stood at 62% this quarter while lead distance was at 277 km. 10:51 10 minutes, 51 seconds Other expenses during the quarter increased by 11% y to rupees 579 crores primarily due to planned shutdowns and 10:59 10 minutes, 59 seconds increase in marketing spends. During the quarter, the company hosted its annual dealer conference and was one of the 11:08 11 minutes, 8 seconds major sponsor of the Messi India tour among other initiatives. 11:14 11 minutes, 14 seconds As Punji mentioned, we'll continue to strengthen our position as one of the lowest cost cement producers. In one of the slides of our earnings release, we 11:23 11 minutes, 23 seconds have included our total cost spent excluding the two major external headwinds that affected us that is additional area of mineral tax in Tamil 11:31 11 minutes, 31 seconds Nadu at rupees 160 per ton and spike in fuel prices clearly shows that we have reduced our 11:39 11 minutes, 39 seconds federal cost over the last few quarters through better operational efficiency across levers. Our abita per ton stood 11:46 11 minutes, 46 seconds at 823 per ton while absolute abita was at rupees 6002 crores. This is an 11:53 11 minutes, 53 seconds improvement of 18% on vio as you are aware that the government of 12:00 12 minutes India has recently notified the new labor codes. Consequently we have assessed an incremental impact of these 12:08 12 minutes, 8 seconds changes amounting to rupees 32 crores towards graduity and other employee benefits. This has been provided under exceptional items. 12:17 12 minutes, 17 seconds During quarter 3 F6 we have incurred capex of about 513 crores which makes 12:25 12 minutes, 25 seconds YTD December spending to be rupes 173 crores. 12:29 12 minutes, 29 seconds We expect the spending to be around rupes 27 crores in fi 26. Majority of the capex in current year is being spent 12:37 12 minutes, 37 seconds on Omrangu linker Bam Pune units and Karafa project along with the other land acquisitions and other ROA projects. 12:48 12 minutes, 48 seconds Our gross debt at the end of the quarter stood at Rs 6,844 crores while net debt stood at 1,73 crores. Our balance sheet 12:57 12 minutes, 57 seconds position remains strong with our net debt to Abita at 0.6 times. 13:02 13 minutes, 2 seconds Just to summarize, we saw good volume, good volume growth and stable costs in quarter 3. Our drop in prices led to margin suppression during the quarter. 13:13 13 minutes, 13 seconds As we look forward to quarter 4, we expect positive momentum to continue on demand whereas margins are likely to get 13:19 13 minutes, 19 seconds supported with better prices. With this, I open the floor for question and answer. Thank you. 13:27 13 minutes, 27 seconds Thank you very much. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on the touchstone 13:35 13 minutes, 35 seconds 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 13:44 13 minutes, 44 seconds question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. 13:54 13 minutes, 54 seconds First question is from the line of Jashandep Singh Chhatta from Nura. Please go ahead. 14:01 14 minutes, 1 second Hello. Uh thank you for the opportunity. 14:04 14 minutes, 4 seconds So before I ask my question, I just need a clarification on the incentive front. 14:08 14 minutes, 8 seconds Uh in your presentation, you have mentioned that around 37 cr of the incentive received this quarter uh were 14:16 14 minutes, 16 seconds uh from the previous period period. So is it in line with the expectation on the run that the management was uh you 14:22 14 minutes, 22 seconds know building in or is should we treat it as a one-off item and you know how how should we look at this 37 cr 14:32 14 minutes, 32 seconds when we said that the run rate for the next year is about 20 crores. So this new incentive is also included. So this incentive is including the retrospective 14:40 14 minutes, 40 seconds side effect that is why the figures have been stated that uh 37 cr into the previous year and 9 cr in the first half but the impact will come in the coming 14:49 14 minutes, 49 seconds years also that is included in the run rate of 20 crores per year. 14:53 14 minutes, 53 seconds So it is in the normal course of business right sir? 14:57 14 minutes, 57 seconds Yes please. Yes please yes. Okay thank you for the clarification. Now my first question is uh you know largely on 15:04 15 minutes, 4 seconds account of demand and pricing. I I you know in your key states uh you know few of your key states in both east and northeast there will be state election 15:13 15 minutes, 13 seconds that will be happening this year. So with that context how do you see demand uh you know going in east and what will 15:20 15 minutes, 20 seconds be the impact on the pricing how how do you see pricing I understand punit just mentioned in shortterm it is very hard 15:27 15 minutes, 27 seconds to say but over fi27 if you can give a wider picture on both demand and pricing how how are you seeing you know 15:34 15 minutes, 34 seconds especially in east I think uh you know our view is that 15:42 15 minutes, 42 seconds east is uh you know one of the lowest per capita consumption regions in the country and the headroom for growth here 15:50 15 minutes, 50 seconds is quite high. A lot of the eastern economy is determined by mining and natural resources. Um and I think the 15:58 15 minutes, 58 seconds government is quite focused on unlocking uh you know some of these resources and converting them into GDP growth. Also a 16:06 16 minutes, 6 seconds lot of infrastructure is being built. Um so my personal view is that uh also given the fact that uh you know now uh 16:15 16 minutes, 15 seconds to get reelected you have to show good development and you have to meet the aspirations of um you know you know the 16:23 16 minutes, 23 seconds Indian demographic which is largely a very young population. uh so my belief is that e should definitely uh be 16:31 16 minutes, 31 seconds slightly above than the you know national average and I think 7 to 8% growth in east should be uh quite easily 16:39 16 minutes, 39 seconds possible but again as I said there'll be blips along the way this is like u you know large part of Indian consumption is the capex business uh whether it is 16:48 16 minutes, 48 seconds housing or infrastructure the repair business is quite low in India still because India is still being built and therefore sometimes capex gets postponed 16:57 16 minutes, 57 seconds sometimes but over a slightly longer period it's more easier to predict quarter on quarter there could be blips but over a 3 to 5 year period it evens 17:05 17 minutes, 5 seconds out and uh I think that he should grow in high single digits quite comfortably. 17:11 17 minutes, 11 seconds Uh second point is if I look at pricing uh the pricing in east India um and south also uh declined more than the adjustment for GST post 22nd September. 17:24 17 minutes, 24 seconds Um I expect this to come back and uh even um uh in the first I mean even in 17:32 17 minutes, 32 seconds January itself we are seeing some corrections um although they are still um you know minor and not very 17:40 17 minutes, 40 seconds meaningful but I see some upward corrections in uh in January and this is usually a strong quarter in terms of 17:47 17 minutes, 47 seconds demand also. So I think given the fact that there has been excessive uh correction in prices um and uh the 17:56 17 minutes, 56 seconds demand is strong I expect some some price uptick this quarter but um again as I said it's hard to say and long-term 18:04 18 minutes, 4 seconds I think prices will get driven by consolidation I think barriers to entry in this business are rising and higher consolidation will mean higher prices 18:12 18 minutes, 12 seconds over the medium to long term that's all thank you thank you for this but if I put this 18:19 18 minutes, 19 seconds question it's sorry you were saying no go ahead this is 18:27 18 minutes, 27 seconds yes so if I put this question a slightly differently like uh we had Bihar election and we saw out of all the eastern state Bihar spend close to 55% 18:35 18 minutes, 35 seconds of their you know budgeted capex whereas all the other eastern states are less than 25%. So given that West Bengal and Assam will be soon having elections, do 18:43 18 minutes, 43 seconds you think more funds and more projects will flow to each east and hence you will have a higher uh demand coming from 18:50 18 minutes, 50 seconds these regions? Uh which obviously suits uh DMA but just wanted to understand a quickly on you know how elections normally affect uh demand in that sense. 19:03 19 minutes, 3 seconds recently I think you know if you were to look at quarter if you look at quarters three we have seen revival across 19:11 19 minutes, 11 seconds markets on demand in east. So if you were to you know see four quarters prior and the trend line I think the the trend line has started to move up in quarter 19:19 19 minutes, 19 seconds three elections would have an impact. We would right now not sit in judgment and you know anticipate which way it will go but if you were to look at collective 19:26 19 minutes, 26 seconds east I think Bihar is now through the election cycle we expect spending to come back in other markets also I think the spending is a little overdue. So we 19:35 19 minutes, 35 seconds are hopeful it will come back. So we will see how it pans out. I think Odisa, Jakartan, Bihar, all of them should go do and West Bengal might see some blip 19:43 19 minutes, 43 seconds in the interim but I think that again the demand will come back. So high single digit might be we may end up catching double digit is what are expectations. 19:53 19 minutes, 53 seconds Understood. Thank thank you so much for this yan. My last question is largely on cost. We have seen petco you know uh 20:00 20 minutes rise in the recent months. So what will be the impact uh you know for Dalmia in fourth quarter on cost front if you can 20:08 20 minutes, 8 seconds just give an estimate the blended cost will go up as we seen that the petrol prices have gone up but 20:15 20 minutes, 15 seconds of course we'll try to mitigate this by increasing the blend of the domestic coal which is slightly cheaper 20:23 20 minutes, 23 seconds understood sir I'll join back with you for my other questions thank you thank you the next question is from the 20:31 20 minutes, 31 seconds line of Indra Raja Garval from CLSA please go ahead. 20:36 20 minutes, 36 seconds Yeah hi thank you for the opportunity. A couple of questions of the 150 to 200 rupees cost savings how much have we realized so far and what is still pending. 20:46 20 minutes, 46 seconds So Indrajit I think uh Dhindra G mentioned in his uh in his commentary earlier if you look at slide 23 of our 20:55 20 minutes, 55 seconds deck actually we made this that explicit because this is generally a question that comes up you know I think we gave this we we gave this estimate around 21:02 21 minutes, 2 seconds five to six quarters ago structurally if you were to see I think we have made decent progress we are you know if you were to remove the two major headwinds 21:10 21 minutes, 10 seconds that come have that have come along along our way one was the Tamil Nadu limestone and one is the fuel you know uncertaintity 21:17 21 minutes, 17 seconds We have roughly in the ballpark of 45 to 50 rupees per ton is what we have structurally extracted but as Puniji also mentioned you know there are more 21:25 21 minutes, 25 seconds in the pipeline. So we gave a guide to the 150 to 200 we have down six quarters we are roughly 50s in the bank. I think uh much more will get converted in the 21:34 21 minutes, 34 seconds coming quarters. So we are pretty much steady on on this journey. 21:38 21 minutes, 38 seconds Sure this is helpful. Uh second I missed the capeex guidance for this year. What was it again? 21:45 21 minutes, 45 seconds Yeah 2700 KS and uh lastly if you can help us understand uh how is the current pricing 21:53 21 minutes, 53 seconds versus 3Q average? We have seen some increases in early January. So is this like meaningfully above 3Q average or we are broadly at same level. 22:03 22 minutes, 3 seconds I think we are just 20 days into the quarter. Uh right now if you were to ask that question yes we are excited with the green shoots but too early for us to count money. Uh early signs are good. 22:14 22 minutes, 14 seconds Let us see how it pans out. You know, as we have said, you know, we are not in the business of predicting very immediate short-term on prices. So, let's see how it pans out. 22:22 22 minutes, 22 seconds Sure. Thank you so much. That's all from my side. 22:27 22 minutes, 27 seconds Thank you. The next question is from the line of Amit Mura from Access Capital. Please go ahead. 22:34 22 minutes, 34 seconds Uh yeah. Hi, good evening. Thanks for the opportunity. So, uh my first question is on CapeX. So while uh uh this year you have uh essentially being 22:42 22 minutes, 42 seconds able to control the capex from an initial guidance of 4,000 crores you had given earlier in the year uh does it mean that next year now uh the capix 22:51 22 minutes, 51 seconds will be far higher uh with with this reduction in 26 and if you could talk a bit more about the journey on capix in 27 and 28. 23:02 23 minutes, 2 seconds Yeah. So next year also we expect the capex to be around 4,000 crores and for the next two years I think the capex could be in the range of about 8 to 9,000 crores. 23:12 23 minutes, 12 seconds So basically four and five in that. 23:16 23 minutes, 16 seconds Yeah, Amit actually you know if you dial back to what Puniji mentioned you know we are working on other projects there might be some more announcements coming round the way this is the current 23:25 23 minutes, 25 seconds project that we are running we we would be hitting in the vicinity of two and a half three on an average annual might be 23:32 23 minutes, 32 seconds on there a little above three and as we announce more projects I think we'll have more clarity we are a few months away from that announcement so I think we can we can park that question for a 23:41 23 minutes, 41 seconds while once we come with a full road map of 75 because the next thing is due as Kuniji mentioned I will give more clarity. So as of now if you were to 23:48 23 minutes, 48 seconds look at the current projection capacity that we are doing ballpark of roughly three peranom and as more happens we'll announce that. 23:59 23 minutes, 59 seconds Sure, understood. 24:01 24 minutes, 1 second And yeah and just a second question uh on on on uh realization. So uh again uh 24:09 24 minutes, 9 seconds last year in Q1 like we had mentioned that we are pursuing profitable growth. 24:14 24 minutes, 14 seconds Uh but we have essentially seen realization actually drop almost 9% for you between Q1 to Q3 which is actually higher than the industry pricing 24:23 24 minutes, 23 seconds decline. So wanted to understand is there's been a change in approach or you're still following uh the profitable growth strategy. 24:32 24 minutes, 32 seconds No. So you're saying Q1 to Q3? 24:36 24 minutes, 36 seconds Yeah. So those two quarters essentially both quarters have seen like roughly four four and a half% fall which at least what I understand is a bit higher than the decline seen in the market. 24:46 24 minutes, 46 seconds So so I'll make you I'll try to answer your question in points. Number one, uh discounting and selling is definitely 24:53 24 minutes, 53 seconds not a strategy on the table. I think when we say profitable growth, we deeply believe in this concept. Point number two, whatever, you know, drop in 25:01 25 minutes, 1 second realization you're looking at a blended level is by and large, you know, a mix of the markets where we operate. As you are aware, east and south have seen the 25:09 25 minutes, 9 seconds most significant drops uh in terms of the prices industrywide. So if you were to benchmark us versus the peers, I 25:17 25 minutes, 17 seconds don't think you will see our falls deeper. If anything, you know, we would have improved something on price positioning. So rest assured that the 25:25 25 minutes, 25 seconds NSR drop is not, you know, an outlier to the industry. Uh it would be one shade better only and discounting is not uh on 25:33 25 minutes, 33 seconds the table as a strategy to sell and the profitable growth remains our objective. 25:41 25 minutes, 41 seconds Sure. And if I could just squeeze in one last question. Uh so we have seen generally a very strong pickup in demand 25:49 25 minutes, 49 seconds uh from December onwards largely. So in that context what would you kind of pin 25:56 25 minutes, 56 seconds your volume guidance if you can give any for FI27? 26:04 26 minutes, 4 seconds We generally don't guide the market on volumes but we remain hopeful that we will be able to do better than the industry and this is what we are endeavoring to do. 26:16 26 minutes, 16 seconds Okay. Okay. Sure. That's all for me. Thank you. 26:21 26 minutes, 21 seconds Thank you. The next question is from the line of Navin Sardi from ICS Securities. Please go ahead. 26:28 26 minutes, 28 seconds Yeah, thank you for the opportunity. Uh so my first question uh was on the social capacity plan which in your 26:36 26 minutes, 36 seconds opening comments you said uh uh 75 million ton target uh remains for FY28 26:44 26 minutes, 44 seconds and you also uh said that uh plans for ja will firm up in next few months. Now 26:51 26 minutes, 51 seconds I'm I'm referring back to your uh comments in the previous quarters wherein we had alluded that uh if the JP 26:59 26 minutes, 59 seconds uh associates transaction does not uh come through we could actually see the digging uh commencement of like you know 27:08 27 minutes, 8 seconds breaking ground in in general nearby April. So how are we positioned to start 27:14 27 minutes, 14 seconds uh J projects by April or are we awaiting any incentive related clarity or some you know approvals may I say 27:23 27 minutes, 23 seconds from the government before we kickstart the Jelmme project. How should one look at it? 27:29 27 minutes, 29 seconds So I think one should look at it with quite a bit of optimism as Kuniji mentioned you know like you know we participated in the process the process 27:37 27 minutes, 37 seconds was out in open uh the COC has made a decision as we had said a couple of quarters back that if this doesn't 27:45 27 minutes, 45 seconds happen we'll look at other options we are now actively pursuing JP project detailing uh you know sorry JM project 27:53 27 minutes, 53 seconds detailing my mistake uh every now the detailing of the project would entail at least these 15 20 critical points before we come and announce a date or a month. 28:02 28 minutes, 2 seconds So just bear with us as we said in a few months we'll be back and we'll be informing you in terms of all the steps but rest assured that every single 28:10 28 minutes, 10 seconds element that goes into creating the project is happening and is well on track. 28:17 28 minutes, 17 seconds Helpful. My second question was on u uh pricing. uh uh Puniji's uh uh initial 28:24 28 minutes, 24 seconds comment this time appeared a little cautious than what it was in the past couple of quarters more so after Q1 when 28:31 28 minutes, 31 seconds south prices had really recovered. I mean uh uh we were I mean you know uh expecting prices to hold up with benefits of consolidation in south but Q3 of course saw a much sharper uh dip. 28:44 28 minutes, 44 seconds So uh is it fair to assume that competitive intensity has again like you know got elevated and that's why uh the 28:54 28 minutes, 54 seconds near-term caution even though long-term optimism prevails. 29:00 29 minutes Look the all India capacity utilization of the sector is around 70%. You know so I think we will see um and there is you 29:10 29 minutes, 10 seconds know reasonable capacity expansion in the pipeline. Our belief is that capacity growth will be around five six% peranom. Um so and demand supply demand 29:19 29 minutes, 19 seconds growth we think maybe 7% 8% peranom. So really we don't expect material increase in capacity utilization of the sector 29:26 29 minutes, 26 seconds over the next few years. Uh of course there are regional differences. Uh this is the national average. I believe that 29:33 29 minutes, 33 seconds the over capacity in this sector is here to stay at least for the next foreseeable future you know. So what happens is that when new capacity gets 29:42 29 minutes, 42 seconds commissioned at that time you know there are sometimes there's a you know volatility in prices but um you know I 29:49 29 minutes, 49 seconds think you know new projects are viable and acquisitions are viable at the price at which uh you know recent transactions 29:58 29 minutes, 58 seconds have happened uh at EITA which is much above the current level. So I believe that there is uh you know assuming 30:07 30 minutes, 7 seconds rational behavior in the sector. Uh my personal view is that you know pricing is going to move up over the medium term 30:15 30 minutes, 15 seconds and I remain um you know cautious in the short term but uh you know reasonably optimistic in the medium to long term. 30:24 30 minutes, 24 seconds My position hasn't changed uh you know but again as entrepreneurs we are mostly optimistic. uh so you know I think uh 30:33 30 minutes, 33 seconds you know you should look at uh the long-term trends in the sector and you know discount what I want to say if you want to but I think we are uh investing 30:43 30 minutes, 43 seconds uh you know behind the growth in India and our deep conviction that uh you know there is entry barriers are rising due 30:51 30 minutes, 51 seconds to limestone auctions and due to uh you know not easy to commission new projects and it's not even easy to integrate 30:59 30 minutes, 59 seconds acquisitions and you know u you know turn them around quickly. It's a it's a skill which requires a lot of hard work and lot of focus and lot of disciplined 31:08 31 minutes, 8 seconds execution. So in our view that you know entry barriers are rising and I think consolidation will yield good results in the long term and I think this GST thing 31:16 31 minutes, 16 seconds again is a very big shift. Um it's almost 10% um uh you know difference 31:22 31 minutes, 22 seconds than uh you know uh what it was u you know consumers are used to paying a 31:30 31 minutes, 30 seconds higher price and um uh than what is it than what the spot prices are and in the medium term at least the prices should 31:38 31 minutes, 38 seconds easily bounce back to what consumers are you know used to paying for what period of time over a over a 2 three year 31:46 31 minutes, 46 seconds period I think that's easily possible So I think I remain optimistic. 31:50 31 minutes, 50 seconds No, great. We truly truly appreciate your comment. Just one small question for the northeast clinker unit which got 31:58 31 minutes, 58 seconds uh commissioned recently. Are we planning any split grinding units in Bihar like some of your peers are already contemplating or in an advanced 32:06 32 minutes, 6 seconds stage of uh land acquisition? Is that a possibility to expect a better utilization of the clinker there? 32:16 32 minutes, 16 seconds Can you please repeat the question? 32:19 32 minutes, 19 seconds Yeah. Can you just repeat the question please? 32:22 32 minutes, 22 seconds Yeah. My question was about the possibility of a split grinding unit coming up in Bihar. So some of your 32:29 32 minutes, 29 seconds peers in northeast are contemplating rather not just contemplating are in an advanced stage of land acquisition 32:37 32 minutes, 37 seconds uh in in Bihar for a grinding unit to utilize the clinker in northeast. So, so and they are very close competitors to 32:46 32 minutes, 46 seconds you if I may say uh said in an open forum. So, I'm I'm just trying to understand if we also to utilize the 32:53 32 minutes, 53 seconds clinker better uh likely to put up a or pursuing to put up a grinding unit given the state also has incentives. Just 33:01 33 minutes, 1 second trying to understand your thoughts around better utilization of northeast link. Thanks. 33:05 33 minutes, 5 seconds It's a definite possibility. I think as I said we are evaluating all options in line with our you know uh laid out road 33:13 33 minutes, 13 seconds map and I think u as and when we are ready to make announcements we will but this is a definite possibility. 33:19 33 minutes, 19 seconds Yeah we have excess clinker in the northeast right now. Appreciate thank you so much sir. 33:28 33 minutes, 28 seconds Thank you. The next question is from the line of panakin from HSBC. Please go ahead. 33:33 33 minutes, 33 seconds Yeah thank you very much. Uh so my first question is on the near-term March quarter. Uh so you mentioned in your comments that you expect industry demand 33:41 33 minutes, 41 seconds growth of 6%. Uh 1H was low single digits. Q3 was better. Uh but that would broadly imply that Q4 could be as much 33:49 33 minutes, 49 seconds as 10% industry or late uh single digits industry demand growth which will be very strong. Uh would that assessment be correct? 34:00 34 minutes Yeah, I would this is what we expect. I think the momentum has picked up in December. We expect the same to roll on in quarter 4 might be you know a little 34:09 34 minutes, 9 seconds here and there. So we high single digit is what our expectation is for the industry. Thank you. 34:16 34 minutes, 16 seconds Sure. If we have such strong demand growth, uh would pricing um you know also see a similar improvement given 34:24 34 minutes, 24 seconds pricing has been very weak for the last 6 months or you see uh industry over capacity, competitive intensity hold back price increases because naturally 34:34 34 minutes, 34 seconds such a strong demand growth should drive prices higher. 34:39 34 minutes, 39 seconds Well, as I said, I mean, um, you know, the prices corrected quite excessively uh beyond the GST reduction in both 34:47 34 minutes, 47 seconds south and east and in there has been a marginal recovery in uh in January. uh but as I said I want to just wait and 34:55 34 minutes, 55 seconds watch and demand growth obviously helps uh but uh let's wait and watch as to you know what happens and can just to add 35:02 35 minutes, 2 seconds you know December saw December saw a more decent demand than November but still it saw a price drop so you know we 35:09 35 minutes, 9 seconds can't put our finger down and say this is going to happen let us see we are hopeful this should be positive for the industry we are fingers crossed 35:18 35 minutes, 18 seconds got it uh my second question is that you know the trade share which used to in the late60s u uh Q3 Q4 Q1 uh has been 35:28 35 minutes, 28 seconds 62% for the last two quarters or so. So is this the new normal we should work with uh as uh as newer capacities come 35:36 35 minutes, 36 seconds on stream for Dalia or will the trade share go up back to the late 60s. This is definitely not the new normal. 35:44 35 minutes, 44 seconds Uh this is a reality in a subdue demand environment. This is something that has happened by choice I would say partially by and by the way market drove us I 35:54 35 minutes, 54 seconds think you should look at uh mid60s to high 60s only as a future path this is what we are you know committed to deliver 36:01 36 minutes, 1 second got it in asapities in the interim as the capacities come online there might be a little spike here and there but steady state I don't think this is what 36:09 36 minutes, 9 seconds you would look at understood understood thank you very much 36:17 36 minutes, 17 seconds thank Thank you. The next question is from the line of Satya Jen from Ambit Capital. Please go ahead. 36:24 36 minutes, 24 seconds Hi, thank you. Um on the expansion plan, just wanted to touch on um the next leg of growth. Um um Punid, you mentioned 28 36:33 36 minutes, 33 seconds 75 million tons given typically it takes 2 years. How confident are you on 75 million t in 28 and with Jason may I 36:42 36 minutes, 42 seconds just want to check um what's the status on land acquisition ECE um we're hearing reports of uh some delays in general 36:50 36 minutes, 50 seconds because of um great Indian buster gib so just wanted to see your preparedness uh specifically in Jason May um and as you 36:58 36 minutes, 58 seconds look at FI28 and also tied to that would be Navalgard that um this was awarded four years ago to all the biders and the 37:06 37 minutes, 6 seconds premiums were very Hi. So given we understand there's a timeline of 31 3 + 1 years and if you don't commence production 37:13 37 minutes, 13 seconds uh sorry to interrupt Mr. Satya Sat Jen may request you to please we hold up for a second. Ladies and gentlemen, please 37:21 37 minutes, 21 seconds stay connected while we check the connection for management. 37:39 37 minutes, 39 seconds Heat. Heat. 38:15 38 minutes, 15 seconds Natoo. 38:29 38 minutes, 29 seconds Hey. Hey. 38:46 38 minutes, 46 seconds Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for patiently holding. We have Mr. 38:50 38 minutes, 50 seconds Sat Jen in the connection. Is Mr. Jen, you may please proceed ahead with a question. 38:55 38 minutes, 55 seconds Hi, thank you. Um so just wanted to check on the expansion beyond what you already have um specifically tied to 39:03 39 minutes, 3 seconds north so you have two options JSON may and as you look at JSMare specifically what is the land acquisition status what 39:12 39 minutes, 12 seconds is the EC we hearing uh generally some delays in EC because of great Indian bustard even for cement and is that 39:19 39 minutes, 19 seconds something um you're noticing so level of preparedness for Jessel mayor especially as you look at FI28 commissioning and 39:27 39 minutes, 27 seconds also Navalgard uh it's been four five years since he's got that and all the others who got that lease um in 21 2021 39:36 39 minutes, 36 seconds and typically as we understand that after the award of um mining lease typically there is 3 plus 1 years and if 39:44 39 minutes, 44 seconds nobody commences production within that time frame the um lease is given back. 39:49 39 minutes, 49 seconds So what is the status on the optionalities you have both in JLM and our business? 39:57 39 minutes, 57 seconds So I think uh on JSLM um things are going as per plan. Uh we we expect uh 40:06 40 minutes, 6 seconds you know a large part of the land acquisition for grinding units etc is already done. Uh and in that area it is 40:16 40 minutes, 16 seconds uh you know not very difficult to acquire land. some part of it is government land also. Um so I personally think that you know we are on on 40:25 40 minutes, 25 seconds schedule in terms of developing that project. Uh 40:30 40 minutes, 30 seconds so in terms of u you know Navalgard I think uh our priority is Jesselm made 40:38 40 minutes, 38 seconds right now because from a a return perspective we think that um this will offer better returns and um therefore 40:47 40 minutes, 47 seconds you know we are more focused on this at the moment in any anything on GI related delays um 40:54 40 minutes, 54 seconds are you witnessing in EC sorry What what delays the great Indian bustard um related delays there in Jim? 41:05 41 minutes, 5 seconds I haven't heard anything about it so far but okay and um secondly on this um in the 41:12 41 minutes, 12 seconds notes to account you mentioned for the ED investigation for Gaddapa the back and forth obviously you gave your reply 41:20 41 minutes, 20 seconds and then um after December there is a reply from ED um can you um give us some 41:28 41 minutes, 28 seconds idea what's happening um in terms of what ED reply has been is it possible to give some update 41:35 41 minutes, 35 seconds I don't think it will be fair for us to be very exact with that update. I think we are we are pursuing it through the right channel and we are uh you know 41:43 41 minutes, 43 seconds optimistic about for a good outcome in near future but let us wait and we will keep you posted on the developments on that. 41:52 41 minutes, 52 seconds Okay. Thank you so much. 41:57 41 minutes, 57 seconds Thank you. The next question is from the line of Shra Sha from Dat Capital. Please go ahead. 42:04 42 minutes, 4 seconds Uh hi sir uh sir is it possible to share uh both the karapa and belgam in terms 42:11 42 minutes, 11 seconds of the capex so roughly 6,800 cr was the announced capex so how much till now we 42:18 42 minutes, 18 seconds would have broadly would have spent on that we would not be would not want to share 42:26 42 minutes, 26 seconds know project wise capex details I think you know I you just need to look at the larger picture as we said you know The projects are on track. You know, we are 42:34 42 minutes, 34 seconds pretty much on track to deliver them on the target commissioning date and you know, detailed project by project campus is not what you would want to diverge into the call. 42:44 42 minutes, 44 seconds Okay. Okay. And and previously participant have have tried to understand in terms of the 75 million t 42:53 42 minutes, 53 seconds still I'm I'm again trying to understand in in further more detail. So if you can specify in terms of timeline because it 43:02 43 minutes, 2 seconds is becoming a very difficult to to kind of a digest that we can reach to 75 million t actually we need a kind of a 43:10 43 minutes, 10 seconds 13 odd million t uh so we have to start spending now uh so that's what when when 43:18 43 minutes, 18 seconds punisher said that the we will be announcing in couple of months so want to understand a couple of months uh does 43:26 43 minutes, 26 seconds that mean by March we will be announcing or it would be by June even if by March also uh how how are are we kind of a 43:36 43 minutes, 36 seconds confident that we can reach to a 75 million ton. 43:41 43 minutes, 41 seconds So uh so a few points point number one yes you know Puniji mentioned today also we are chasing targeting to be around 75 43:50 43 minutes, 50 seconds by FI28. Now uh Jessel may could be an opportunity of in the vicinity of 7 to 8 43:58 43 minutes, 58 seconds million tons. We will see how we detail it out and this could very well take us in the in the range of 70 because we are 44:06 44 minutes, 6 seconds uh looking at 61 and a half any which way is the current expansion announced. 44:09 44 minutes, 9 seconds Okay. Then you know we just spoke about northeast extra clinker that we have and we might end up you know setting up a grinding facility. Even if we do 44:18 44 minutes, 18 seconds something in March April announcement and we also mentioned that you know not that the work is you know waiting announcement we are anyhow working on all the levers to set up the project 44:26 44 minutes, 26 seconds even if we do that announcement the next two three months we would still have you know 24 clear months to have the project up and running. So we are pretty hopeful 44:34 44 minutes, 34 seconds that you know and you know FI28 is a milestone 7 around 75 million t is a 44:41 44 minutes, 41 seconds milestone give or take a month here and there actually doesn't matter in this long journey but uh just uh just wait 44:49 44 minutes, 49 seconds for a few more months and we will be giving more clarity on this topic and and then given further to if I 44:55 44 minutes, 55 seconds extend it still we are we are kind of on maintaining 110 30 million t by fi31 one. So another 35 45:05 45 minutes, 5 seconds odd million ton post this. So uh does that mean that now onwards we would be kind of every year keep on announcing 45:13 45 minutes, 13 seconds and then in terms of the capex uh how how are how how are we on a yearly run rate basis can look at and in terms of 45:21 45 minutes, 21 seconds uh neta what's the level that we should not be so because everything is kind of a link so if that's the plan then in 45:28 45 minutes, 28 seconds terms of the volume growth also we should be looking kind of a 15% plus kind of a kagger so but that's not the 45:36 45 minutes, 36 seconds Today we we are kind of a portraying we are still kind of a sighing away uh in terms of clearly confidently uh talking 45:45 45 minutes, 45 seconds kind of a that kind of a number 15% kind of a growth because till now also our utilization is low and the way we are we 45:53 45 minutes, 53 seconds are keep on or are pursuing to add the significant capacities. 45:59 45 minutes, 59 seconds So Javan I think we have mixed up a lot of points. Number one let's talk about we are not shying away from anything. We 46:06 46 minutes, 6 seconds delivered a 10% growth quarter the one that we just closed. We are very optimistic about you know beating the industry in terms of growth in the coming quarters and years. So that is 46:15 46 minutes, 15 seconds point number one. Point number two u to your question that should you expect a lot of announcements to come your way? 46:22 46 minutes, 22 seconds Definitely you should expect a lot of announcement because if we have to cover a journey of doubling our capacity in 5 years definitely we have to do that to 46:30 46 minutes, 30 seconds your point of too much capex on the on the annual. Yes. But you know if you were to just take a um this is a typical 46:39 46 minutes, 39 seconds thing that I've been saying to my friends even uh in the investor community you know even 46:46 46 minutes, 46 seconds in a bad year we generate 3 to 4,000 crores of cash which is equivalent to setting up a 6 to 7 million t capacity in a year. So if you were to just add up 46:54 46 minutes, 54 seconds numbers and if you were not to factor any incremental you know um growth or any incremental margin addition we are 47:01 47 minutes, 1 second still steady in terms of our leverages to fund our uh growth journey for the next five years. So I don't think that is a topic that would worry us too much 47:10 47 minutes, 10 seconds and we have stated our capital allocation policy we have stated our clear goal that you know we want to stay within two in terms of net to a bit we 47:19 47 minutes, 19 seconds are 0.6 six I think we'll be comfortably reaching home. So that is not a concern. 47:24 47 minutes, 24 seconds Yeah. Lastly sir, is it possible that in January we said that some price hike is there? If you can quantify was it kind 47:32 47 minutes, 32 seconds of 15 odd rupees and that two in a non-trade? Was there any price hike in trade also in January? 47:39 47 minutes, 39 seconds Yeah, January I think it's still living January. I think you your trade case can give you better indicator than what we 47:47 47 minutes, 47 seconds know as of now. But let us let this uh quer pan out and we'll have more chat on this topic. Okay. Sorry to interrupt you sir. 47:54 47 minutes, 54 seconds Yeah, I'm done. Thank you. 47:57 47 minutes, 57 seconds Thank you. The next question is from the line of Rahul Gupta from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead. Hi. Uh thank you for taking my question. 48:06 48 minutes, 6 seconds Uh so I have one uh question uh on other opex. So u how much of your marketing 48:13 48 minutes, 13 seconds initiatives that you undertook uh this quarter had one-offs. Uh can you please help us understand that? 48:21 48 minutes, 21 seconds Uh we can get back to you in a while. 48:24 48 minutes, 24 seconds You know we don't have that number off hand. I'll try to give it to you before we end the call. 48:29 48 minutes, 29 seconds Okay. So just a a connected question on this slide 23 where you discuss uh your cost adjusted uh uh for uh uh Tamil Nadu 48:37 48 minutes, 37 seconds tax uh uh keeping uh fuel cost constant uh from 1Q25 48:44 48 minutes, 44 seconds uh so does 3Q26 number also include one off from marketing expenses? 48:49 48 minutes, 49 seconds Yes. Yes, it does actually. We have just you know we did not wanted to slice and dice it too much. So it has one-offs of marketing. It has a spike of you know 48:57 48 minutes, 57 seconds the fix the shutdown cost we had in this quarter. We don't want to cut out down two layers. We just called out the two larger headwinds because that is 49:04 49 minutes, 4 seconds everything else is a part of business the way we see it. So if you were to ask me structurally I think we are we look at a larger number than what is coming 49:12 49 minutes, 12 seconds in front of you and hence when we say that more initiatives are in pipeline you know that is the the reason that we say that. 49:20 49 minutes, 20 seconds So just want to understand that um the cost savings that you have uh got is 50 rupees or more than that because a part 49:27 49 minutes, 27 seconds of marketing expenses already included in that. So maybe your savings are better than 50 rupees, right? 49:33 49 minutes, 33 seconds Yeah, that is what we are trying to mention. Okay, great. Thank you. 49:41 49 minutes, 41 seconds Thank you ladies and gentlemen. in order to ensure that the management is able to uh sorry just to answer that question 49:48 49 minutes, 48 seconds roughly 20 to 23 crores of extra marketing spend has been incurred this quarter if you were to you know take that number. 49:57 49 minutes, 57 seconds Thank you. Participants are requested to please limit your questions to one per participant. The next question is from the line of Pratikumar from Jeff. Please go ahead. 50:11 50 minutes, 11 seconds Yeah, good evening. Uh my a couple of questions. Firstly uh your employee cost on analyzed basis has remained uh like 50:20 50 minutes, 20 seconds hardly moved in past 2 years uh from 24 to 26 uh is this also part of cost saving or and how is this uh kind of 50:28 50 minutes, 28 seconds happening and the outlook here is the first question. 50:34 50 minutes, 34 seconds I don't think employee cost reduction as such is a line item of a costsaving agenda. Yes, we believe in running a fitter leaner organization which is you 50:42 50 minutes, 42 seconds know fit for purpose or future but this is not a a stream of cost initiative that we're driving very consciously. 50:54 50 minutes, 54 seconds Hello. Uh sure. So b so basically but your employee cost uh in two years have 51:01 51 minutes, 1 second grown only 22 2% each uh so you have seen a reduction in employees uh during this period or or what 51:09 51 minutes, 9 seconds as I said you know we are getting into a mode where we have a fitter organization for future I'm 51:17 51 minutes, 17 seconds saying that cost reduction for through employee cost is not a stated objective that we are trying to change it's a byproduct of all the other efficiencies 51:24 51 minutes, 24 seconds that we are building in the Right. Uh sure. Uh my other question is on JP assets. So uh as far as uh it's 51:34 51 minutes, 34 seconds public information like it has been like sort of given out by NCT to uh the other group other industrial group. Uh so uh 51:43 51 minutes, 43 seconds why are we like sort of sort of still chasing it and still talking about it? I'm like bit confused on the thing. 51:50 51 minutes, 50 seconds We did not talk about it. 51:54 51 minutes, 54 seconds Uh Mr. Kumar, may we request you to please rejoin the queue? We have participants waiting for the turn. 52:02 52 minutes, 2 seconds Thank you. The next question is from the line of Kunal Sha from Dam Capital. Please go ahead. 52:07 52 minutes, 7 seconds Yeah. Hi sir. Um just one question. Now for a large part of the year the government keeps momentum was on the softer side and now we are seeing a 52:16 52 minutes, 16 seconds demand rebound in December and Jan. Now could you just provide some color here on the profile whether we are seeing pick up of central capeex or state capex 52:25 52 minutes, 25 seconds or more IHB rural demand. So just wanted to understand the sustainability of recovery as you speak 52:36 52 minutes, 36 seconds actually um you know as I said that u it's very hard for us to build a you 52:43 52 minutes, 43 seconds know model like this where um we can get a very accurate quarteronquarter 52:50 52 minutes, 50 seconds stateby-state demand projection. Uh there are times when projects get delayed. there are times when uh you 52:57 52 minutes, 57 seconds know there is large capex and projects get accelerated. So I think what we have learned is instead of spending too much time on this issue and becoming a 53:06 53 minutes, 6 seconds perfect demand forecaster we are better off making a you know larger trend line 53:14 53 minutes, 14 seconds on how the you know Indian overall demand is likely to behave and plan our investments on that basis. I think we 53:23 53 minutes, 23 seconds have found that it's just um uh you know a better way to spend time uh to plan investments which are longer term with a 53:32 53 minutes, 32 seconds longerterm trend line in mind. Uh and I think there are sometimes blips along the way but as as I said earlier you 53:41 53 minutes, 41 seconds know things catch up and um revert to mean unless there is some very very structural you know change. So overall I 53:50 53 minutes, 50 seconds still you know believe that uh you know 7 to 8% demand growth over the next 10 53:58 53 minutes, 58 seconds 20 years is possible in India and that is the core drivers remain intact which is infrastructure which is housing um 54:07 54 minutes, 7 seconds you know which is um commercial urbanization and also um uh you know you 54:15 54 minutes, 15 seconds know the revival of manufacturing and private capex in India. these four drivers structurally I think will remain 54:21 54 minutes, 21 seconds intact. Uh we don't see any reason uh why I mean we don't any we don't see any reason quarter on quarter to change our 54:29 54 minutes, 29 seconds view on this and we also don't see any reason to change our investment strategy unless something fundamentally changes. 54:37 54 minutes, 37 seconds So I think it's hard for me I know I cannot give you an answer to a question which u you know we just don't look at it quarter on quarter and frankly we 54:45 54 minutes, 45 seconds don't even know you know. So I think it's hard for me to give you an answer to this question and frankly maybe you guys are better qualified to answer this 54:54 54 minutes, 54 seconds u based on the data that you see but we don't plan our investment strategy also. 54:58 54 minutes, 58 seconds So if demand growth like becomes negative our investment strategy won't change. If demand growth suddenly becomes 13 14% in one quarter our 55:06 55 minutes, 6 seconds investment strategy won't change. But yes you know we are ready in the market. 55:10 55 minutes, 10 seconds our distribution, our you know sales infrastructure, all that is planned based on you know the capacity that that 55:17 55 minutes, 17 seconds we put in. So uh I think I can't give you a better answer than this that we look at medium to long-term for this. Thank you. 55:24 55 minutes, 24 seconds Understood. This is extremely helpful. S just one small followup here. Uh just to put this the other way around. Are we 55:31 55 minutes, 31 seconds seeing any pickup let's say in terms of tendering activity or inquiries especially on the nontrade side or the infra projects? I mean if you could just help with that. Thank you. 55:40 55 minutes, 40 seconds Yeah. Yeah. Certainly. I mean I think we are seeing a lot of u uh you know large capexes. There are metros being built 55:48 55 minutes, 48 seconds almost in uh you know 9 or 10 cities uh in India where we are participating. 55:55 55 minutes, 55 seconds Large capex happening there. In northeast lot of bridges are being built. Hydropar projects are in the anvil. Um you know there are roads. I mean we you know we see it all the time. 56:06 56 minutes, 6 seconds There are railway tracks. Uh so I think there is a lot of activity on infrastructure and um um you know yes 56:14 56 minutes, 14 seconds there are tenders which are which are coming in for some of these uh you know large projects on a continuous basis. 56:23 56 minutes, 23 seconds Sorry to interrupt Mr. Sha may request you to please rejoin the queue sir. We have participants waiting for you can actually just I'll just take 30 56:30 56 minutes, 30 seconds seconds more. You can actually see in in our investor deck we have put down some projects where Dalmia has been supplier to some infrastructure projects. There 56:38 56 minutes, 38 seconds are pictures and there is location of those projects also. Thank you. 56:43 56 minutes, 43 seconds Thank you. The next question is from the line of Ash Jen from Mquary India. Please go ahead. 56:52 56 minutes, 52 seconds Hi. Good evening. I had just one question. You know earlier on the call. I'm sorry to interrupt you Mr. Jane. Your voice is not audible sir. 57:01 57 minutes, 1 second Uh is this better now? 57:02 57 minutes, 2 seconds Yeah, it's better. We can hear we can hear it. 57:05 57 minutes, 5 seconds Yeah. So P earlier on the call you know you made a point that uh capacity addition remains quite decent in the sector and utilization may not uh 57:14 57 minutes, 14 seconds improve materially uh you know for the industry on overall basis. Right? So in that backdrop how should we think about 57:22 57 minutes, 22 seconds the margin profile of the industry? Is it like remain remaining in a range and most of the expansion will be driven by 57:29 57 minutes, 29 seconds uh by cost efficiencies and all or there's a strong case for a sustained price hike for the industry from let's say the next 3 four 5 year point of view 57:37 57 minutes, 37 seconds and if yes then what kind of drives that confidence because you know organic expansion also remains quite steep in the sector irrespective of how much 57:45 57 minutes, 45 seconds consolidation we see in the space I think um you Now our belief is that u 57:57 57 minutes, 57 seconds if you look at the ROC of most of the companies uh it is uh you know not in 58:05 58 minutes, 5 seconds line with what we see globally in consolidated markets. Uh I also think that um you know when new capacity comes 58:15 58 minutes, 15 seconds in there is a you know quest for market share at times and all industries go through this this phase of uh sometimes 58:23 58 minutes, 23 seconds people prioritize market share over margins and sometimes people prioritize margins over market share. So I think all industries go through this 58:32 58 minutes, 32 seconds cyclicality in terms of um you know what is priority at what point in time. My belief is that uh you know with a 7 to 58:41 58 minutes, 41 seconds 8% demand growth um you you know I think uh to keep up the earnings profiles uh cost reduction can happen maybe 3 4%. 58:53 58 minutes, 53 seconds But you know beyond a level cost has a finite limit to below which you cannot go and ultimately I think um you know 59:00 59 minutes prices should uh you know get a strong uptick. If I look at a you know long-term kagger in this sector of 59:08 59 minutes, 8 seconds prices uh in the last 10 years it has been quite dismal. So last 10 year price kagger is like very low single digit and 59:17 59 minutes, 17 seconds I think u it begs the question that whether consolidation has actually driven prices up and has whether it has given returns or not in terms of prices. 59:27 59 minutes, 27 seconds I feel that um you know if I look in the rearview mirror it doesn't give too much confidence that consolidation will give 59:34 59 minutes, 34 seconds a price uptick but given the fact that entry barriers are rising and cost of uh you know setting up capacity or 59:41 59 minutes, 41 seconds acquiring new capacity is fairly rich um I personally think to earn uh you know 59:48 59 minutes, 48 seconds risk adjusted uh hurdle rates of return I I expect prices should go up in the medium to long term but how soon how up 59:56 59 minutes, 56 seconds how much up is hard for me to predict but I think it's it's a conviction that I have given what we've seen in uh you 1:00:04 1 hour, 4 seconds know different industries different geographies within India as well as outside India but again it's a view that I that we hold the future will only tell 1:00:12 1 hour, 12 seconds whether we are right or wrong but we are basing our investment strategy based on this assumption but we are not going to hang all our 1:00:20 1 hour, 20 seconds boots on price increase we are going to make sure that you know we work hard on 1:00:27 1 hour, 27 seconds figuring out the right markets in which we want market share. Uh we are going to figure out how to remain efficient. We 1:00:34 1 hour, 34 seconds are going to you know make sure that our capital allocation is disciplined and we remain within the leverage conditions 1:00:41 1 hour, 41 seconds that we have outlined. Uh so we will grow with a very strong balance sheet and with a very efficient cost 1:00:48 1 hour, 48 seconds structure. Uh so yes price is a bonus but it is not something that we are dependent on for meeting um you know the 1:00:55 1 hour, 55 seconds returns that we are targeting internally right so pur if I can just have a follow up on that uh so you know like the way 1:01:04 1 hour, 1 minute, 4 seconds you know my only concern is the cash flows in this sector are so strong that it's very difficult to believe that you know the the capacity aspiration of 1:01:12 1 hour, 1 minute, 12 seconds companies uh will not be there tomorrow or day after tomorrow. So are you seeing any change in terms of how you know 1:01:19 1 hour, 1 minute, 19 seconds managements are operating because roe really is not something you know companies talk about that often in this sector particularly. So do you sense 1:01:26 1 hour, 1 minute, 26 seconds there's a change in you know especially given the change in ownership of capacities and all in the sector in the last four five years and could that be a 1:01:33 1 hour, 1 minute, 33 seconds trigger you believe uh uh you know could mean in terms of how people think about profitability. 1:01:42 1 hour, 1 minute, 42 seconds No sorry I didn't I didn't get get your question. You are saying that cash flows are strong so people will keep adding capacity and hence prices will not go up. Is that the question? 1:01:50 1 hour, 1 minute, 50 seconds Yeah, because that's what you have seen right in the last 1015 years because uh you know it's a definite possibility. Look. Yeah, go ahead. 1:01:58 1 hour, 1 minute, 58 seconds Yeah, sure. Go ahead. Go ahead. Yeah. 1:02:01 1 hour, 2 minutes, 1 second No, it's a definite possibility. I mean who knows the future? As I said, if you look in the rearview mirror, the price cagger is like low single digit. It it's 1:02:08 1 hour, 2 minutes, 8 seconds below inflation. So if you you know look in the past, that's the reality, you know. So yes, I mean there there is a 1:02:15 1 hour, 2 minutes, 15 seconds possibility that people keep adding new capacity and cash flow remains strong and prices don't go up. Yeah, that's a definite possibility. 1:02:25 1 hour, 2 minutes, 25 seconds I mean I don't know but I remain convinced that you know you know there is a strong case that as as um um you 1:02:33 1 hour, 2 minutes, 33 seconds know consolidation happens even more because it is hard to execute. It's a boring business. A lot of people in the 1:02:41 1 hour, 2 minutes, 41 seconds next generation want to get are more attracted to uh you know different sectors which offer amazing 1:02:48 1 hour, 2 minutes, 48 seconds opportunities in India and I think this business requires disciplined execution. 1:02:52 1 hour, 2 minutes, 52 seconds It's boring. It requires you know the hard work on the ground and I don't know I mean how many people can 1:02:59 1 hour, 2 minutes, 59 seconds institutionalize managing scale at uh at these levels. So over a long period of time more consolidation will happen driven by multiple factors portfolio 1:03:08 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds choices succession etc. And I think as more consolidation happens you know in my view prices should go up. 1:03:16 1 hour, 3 minutes, 16 seconds I think with that we'll have to end the call. 1:03:22 1 hour, 3 minutes, 22 seconds Thank you ladies and gentlemen. That was the last question for today. I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. 1:03:29 1 hour, 3 minutes, 29 seconds Punit Dalmia for closing comments. Well, once again, I wish all of you a very happy 2026 and um thank you for your 1:03:37 1 hour, 3 minutes, 37 seconds interest in in our company and thank you for uh all your incisive questions. Uh we look forward to continuing our interactions in the quarters ahead. 1:03:45 1 hour, 3 minutes, 45 seconds Thank you very much. Have a great day. 1:03:48 1 hour, 3 minutes, 48 seconds Thank you. On behalf of Dalmia Bharat Limited, that concludes this conference. 1:03:52 1 hour, 3 minutes, 52 seconds Thank you for joining us and you may now disconnect your lines.