Thank you. On behalf of ICICI Securities, we welcome you all to Q1 FY27 result conference call of Borosil Limited.

Today, we have with us senior management represented by Mr. Rituraj Sharma, CEO; Mr.

Anand Sultania, CFO; and Mr. Dhaval Patel, Head of Investor Relations.

Now, I handover the call to the management for their initial comments on the quarterly performance, then we will open the floor for Q&A session. Thank you and over to you, sir.

Thank you, Manan, and ICICI Securities for arranging this call. Good afternoon to every one of you.

The Borosil team is delighted to be communicating with you once again. I am pleased to inform you that Borosil Limited's board has approved the financial results for Q1 FY27 during our board meeting on 14th August, 2026.

We have submitted our results and an updated presentation to the stock exchanges and they are available on the company's website for review. Some quick updates.

We are pleased to inform you that the company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Styliens India Limited, has successfully commissioned setting up of BIS compliant manufacturing unit with two double-walled lines for vacuum insulated stainless steel flasks, bottles, and containers in the state of Rajasthan. The commercial production from two double-walled lines commenced on 30th June, 2026 and the production from third double-walled line is expected to commence during Q2 FY27.

With the introduction of new Green Energy Open Access Regulations, 2025, we are pleased to inform you that the company has successfully commissioned its third captive solar plant in Bikaner during Q1 FY27 with a capacity of 20 megawatt peak integrated with battery energy storage system. This is the company's first project with battery storage and the first installation under the Green Energy Open Access Regulations, 2025.

As a result, solar power now meets about 61% of our overall energy requirement. The company has strengthened its retail footprint with the launch of its exclusive Borosil brand stores.

The company launched its first exclusive brand outlets in Pune and Gurugram. Thoughtfully designed to elevate the retail experience, the stores offer consumers an immersive destination to explore Borosil's complete range of kitchen, dining, home, and lifestyle solutions under one roof.

I'm pleased to report that Borosil Limited has delivered a steady performance in Q1 FY27 with consolidated revenue from operations reaching ₹253.6 crores, up from ₹232.7 crores during the same period last year. This represents a 9% year-on-year growth.

This steady growth achieved against challenging market conditions reflects the resilience of our business model, the strength of our execution, and the continued trust and loyalty of our customers, placing us on a strong competitive footing alongside our peers. In Q1 FY27, the company achieved an operating EBITDA of INR 35.9 crores against INR 40.2 crores.

In Q1 FY26, the EBITDA margins for Q1 FY27 was 14.6% as compared to 17.8% in Q1 FY26. The lower margins are primarily attributable to input cost inflation, particularly in fuel and packaging materials arising from the West Asia conflict.

The overall net impact of the conflict on Q1 FY27 was approximately INR 10 crores, which was partially offset through price increases implemented across multiple categories. Additionally, the company continued to face challenges in one of its key categories, Hydra, the vacuum insulated stainless steel flask and bottles category.

These challenges adversely impacted the company's financial performance, both in terms of revenue and margins. In Q1 FY27, our other operating income stood at INR 8.2 crores, primarily on account of shared service support income, with related expenses reflected under total expenses, and export incentives with other operating income of INR 6.2 crores in Q1 FY26.

Profit before tax for the quarter was INR 17.4 crores versus INR 23.5 crores in the same period last year. The current quarter includes royalty income of INR 4 crores and investment income of INR 1.2 crores, while the previous year benefited from investment income of INR 1.4 crores and a one-time stamp duty reversal of INR 7.2 crores, partly offset by professional fees of INR 1.6 crores.

The net impact of one-time items in Q1 FY26 was INR 5.6 crores. Depreciation and finance costs remained largely stable, with a marginal decrease in depreciation to INR 21.9 crores from INR 22 crores in Q1 FY26 and a slight increase in finance cost to INR 1.8 crore from INR 1.7 crores in Q1 FY26.

Consequently, profit after tax declined from INR 17.4 crores in Q1 FY26 to INR 12.8 crores in Q1 FY27. As on 30th June, 2026, at the consolidated level, Borosil Limited maintained a strong balance sheet with investments, cash and bank balances of INR 56.2 crores against total debt of INR 155.2 crores, resulting into net debt position of INR 99 crores.

Now, let's take a closer look at our category-wise performance for Q1 FY27. Borosil's consumer business continues to expand across both glassware and non-glassware categories under the Borosil brand, along with our opalware range under the Larah brand.

The Larah opalware segment reported sales of INR 83.6 crores in Q1 FY27 versus INR 76.2 crores in Q1 FY26. Larah's performance in Q1 FY27 reflecting a 9.8% growth over the same period last year.

In our glassware segment, which includes borosilicate microwavables, serving ware, glass tumblers, lunch boxes, and storage solutions, we recorded double-digit year-on-year growth of 16.8% with revenues reaching 65.6 crores in Q1 FY27, compared to INR 56.2 crores in Q1 FY26. The non-glassware segment, comprising a diverse portfolio of small home appliances, insulated bottles and flasks, cookware and other kitchen essentials, registered a marginal growth of 4.2% with the turnover increasing to INR 98.1 crore in Q1 FY27 from INR 94.2 crore in Q1 FY26.

BIS compliance requirements continue to impact sales of our Hydra range. The company has recognized these headwinds and has proactively shaped its strategy to mitigate their impact.

The successful commissioning of the Hydra plant with commercial production commencing on two double-walled lines during Q1 FY27 is a significant step forward. This will strengthen our supply chain and provide greater control over product availability and compliance requirements going forward.

Despite these challenges, the overall impact on the non-glassware segment was more than offset by strong growth in other categories, particularly domestic appliances and stainless steel cookware. Borosil is on a transformational journey to address key ESG opportunities and create long-term value for our customers.

A strategic priority for us is lowering our operational carbon footprint and meeting decarbonization targets. In line with this, we have successfully commissioned two captive solar power plants in Bikaner, Rajasthan, 8.6 megawatt peak in December 2023 and 7.2 megawatt peak in September '24.

Building on this momentum and with the introduction of Green Energy Open Access Regulations, 2025, we commissioned a third captive solar power plant in Bikaner during Q1 FY27 with a capacity of 20 megawatt peak integrated with battery energy storage systems. As a result, solar power now meets about 61% of our overall energy requirement.

We are further evaluating opportunities to set up an additional 6.5 megawatt peak captive solar plant at Borosil Limited and another 3 to 4 megawatt peak plant at Styliens India Limited to meet the power demand of our Hydra facility. These initiatives reinforce our commitment to sustainability, energy independence, and long-term value creation.

In Q4 FY26, the board approved a new glassware manufacturing project at Bharuch. The company currently generates sales of approximately INR 100 crores through sourcing of drinking glasses, storage jars, jugs, and bottles from BSL's Bharuch plant.

Recognizing the strong growth potential in categories such as jugs, jars, and bottles, the board has sanctioned the establishment of a dedicated manufacturing facility at Bharuch, Gujarat. The project involves an estimated capital expenditure of INR 42 crores.

This strategic investment positions us to strengthen our presence in high-growth glassware category and capture greater value through in-house manufacturing. The project is progressing as per plans and expected to commission by end of Q3 FY27.

In Q4 FY26, the board also approved expansion of borosilicate pressware glass furnace from 25 tons per day to 32 tons per day at Jaipur with an addition of third forming line. The existing borosilicate glass furnace was set up in Jan '24 and is due for rebuilding in Jan '28 in the normal course of operation.

Whereas the current furnace utilization level is 90%. Hence, the board approved expansion with third additional forming line with an estimated capex of INR 50 crores.

This capacity expansion will help company to remove capacity bottlenecks, improve operating efficiency, lower production costs, and enhance competitiveness. It will further help to improve product diversification and portfolio expansion.

The project is progressing as per plan and expected to commission by end of Q4 FY28. The Thermoware range has been introduced to cater to the everyday needs of school and college students, offering convenient solutions for carrying beverages and meals from home.

The collection includes a vibrant range of insulated bottles and lunch boxes, tiffins designed for convenience, durability, and style. Additionally, Borosil is expanding the category with insulated casseroles specially crafted for homemakers to help keep food warm, fresh, and ready to serve.

Borosil is at the forefront of India's transition towards healthier, eco-friendly kitchens. We are replacing plastics with microwave-safe, BPA-free glass and stainless steel products that combine safety with sustainability.

Rising incomes and growing health awareness are accelerating adoption, while our aspirational designs, educational marketing, and emphasis on hygiene and elegance are helping us convert plastic users and set new benchmarks for the modern kitchen. This strategic focus not only strengthens our leadership, but also aligns Borosil with evolving customer lifestyles and values.

Our omnichannel presence across general trade, modern retail, leading e-com platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, and borosil.com, leading quick commerce platforms like Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy, along with strong B2B and export channels has delivered deep market penetration. Today, with products available in over 24,000 retail outlets, we have built a diversified revenue base that connects with both urban consumers and global markets.

In summary, despite near-term challenges, Borosil's strong brand equity, diversified portfolio, expanding manufacturing base, and omnichannel reach positions us well for sustainable growth. With that, I would be happy to take your questions.

Thank you.

Hi, sir. My first question is on the glassware division.

Can you please bifurcate the 16.7% growth between how much was price-led and the volume-led growth?

Hi. Frankly, the glassware portfolio is a large portfolio.

It'll be very difficult to bifurcate, for example, exactly the price-led and the volume-led growth. Like I said, we have passed on the cost increases to the market, but at this point in time, to apportion in a manner would be quite difficult.

Anand, you want to comment?

Yeah.

In the glassware section during the first quarter, primarily this is led by the volume growth. The price pass-ons have been with a lag.

This particular category is all volume growth. It's not driven from the price.

As you said that the price impact will come with a lag, how much price hike has been taken in Q1?

It's like this. Sorry.

Go ahead, Ruturaj.

If we compare this with respect to the West Asia conflict impact probably, the price that has compensated in the first quarter is very less. That's about couple of crores versus the overall impact of about 12 crores in the overall affairs of the sales.

I think we have to wait and watch probably once the price is passed on. There will be some lag that we will see.

In the coming quarters, I think we will see the impact.

Yes, sir, but can you just give us a range of the price hikes that you've taken?

It's like this. The entire cost which has increase that we got, we have passed on the entire cost to the market.

The question is of getting it realized. There's always a lag, so that will come in time.

It ranges between 5 to 7% depending on the category. In some cases, it could be even more than 5 to 7%.

It's not a standard price increase, okay?

Understood. Sir, we don't give margins separately, did we face margin pressure in Q1 in the glassware division?

If so, then was it due to the input cost inflation or China dumping? Yes.

No, it's like this. Yes, we did face margin pressure in the Q1, essentially like I said, it was on account of the West Asia crisis.

Like Anand mentioned, the impact from fuel and packaging has been the highest and that we will try to offset in terms of the price increase in the market.

Understood. Sir, in terms of ADD on the borosilicate glassware products, what is the status of the same?

Anand, you want to add on it?

At the moment, the investigation is on and it is pending before the appropriate authorities. I think it will take some time.

Okay. Sir, next on the opalware.

In opalware, can you bifurcate the revenue growth in terms of price-led or volume growth or it was also more of volume-led growth?

Yeah. In this category also, again, this was essentially volume-led growth.

We've been able to get higher volume growth in this category also like the glassware category. There's hardly any price-led growth in this category.

Any price hikes taken in this category?

We have taken price hikes in this category also, but like I said earlier, the realizations of the price hikes will come in going forward from Q2 onwards.

Okay. We are seeing that the margins were under pressure even for La Opala in Q1.

Are we facing similar pressure in this segment? If so, then what would be the reasons and what will be the sustainable margins going forward?

Look, the margins under pressure due to West Asia conflict, the reason remains the same across the categories, whether it is opal or glass and even in the steel and cookware. You see the pricing, the commodities all has had a pricing issue.

It's been across the categories. It's not that only for one category we had this.

Understood. Sir, the sustainable margins in the opalware category?

We don't share we don't share category-wise margins. At an overall level, we are still confident that barring aside the West Asia conflict impact probably, we are we are good to maintain about 18 to 20% EBITDA margins on the overall business.

Understood, sir. Thank you so much.

Yes, sir. Thank you for the opportunity.

I have a few questions, sir. As you said earlier that we're hoping to maintain 18 to 20% margins barring any impact, what is the kind of expectation that we should have for the current year in FY27?

What is the kind of capex that we're doing in FY27?

Sorry, you have two questions. One is on the margins.

Are you speaking of the EBITDA margins? I couldn't hear you.

You're saying our expectation of 18 to 20%, right?

That is for a medium term, right? I'm asking for FY27.

You are asking for, sorry?

I'm asking for this year, for FY27. FY27,

yes, that remains about 18% EBITDA margins.

Okay. What will be the capex guidance?

Capex, Anand, you want to add?

The overall capex for this year is anticipated to be about

Hello?

Can you hear me now?

Yeah.

The total capex for FY27 is estimated to be about 125 crores, which is for the two glassware projects. One is the expansion of borosilicate glass furnace and second is the Bharuch facility for the glassware.

Also, we might do some solar projects further going forward and some maintenance capex on the furnace rebuild for opal glass furnaces, which is going to come for rebuild in this year. The overall capex will be roughly 125 to 150 crores.

Okay. My next question is on the depreciation side, sir.

What is the level of depreciation that we should expect for the current year?

Current year overall depreciation would be approximately 92 crores, including Styliens at a consol level.

Okay. Telling as such, you said the utilization for glassware is around 90%.

What would be the utilization for opalware? How do you see the revenues for both of these segments panning out for the rest of the year?

I think opalware also we have full capacity utilization. Like I said, for glass it's 90% and similar for opalware.

Your other question, I didn't get, actually.

I was just wanting to get a sense of how do you see the revenues moving for both the segments, glassware and opalware, for the rest of the year?

We expect growth to happen in both the segments, in both glassware and opalware, like you saw in Q1, opalware is volume-led growth and similar was the case of glassware. We expect to maintain the momentum.

Right.

Should we see a 15% kind of a growth for both the segments for the year?

Sorry?

Sir, we can't hear you clearly.

Yeah. Should we see a 15% kind of a growth for both the segments for the year?

No, you cannot have the same thing for both. I would say, for example, for opalware, we had about 9% in Q1.

I think a fair estimate would be around the same going forward. We'll see how the market goes, but we would continue to grow, is for sure.

Okay. Thank you.

I'll come back in the queue.

Sure.

Hi, sir, thanks for taking my question. Sir, in the last quarter's call, you had mentioned about Chinese competition dumping products in the market on the borosilicate glassware side.

What's the status on that? Have you seen reduction of competition given that rupee has depreciated and maybe in China, we have seen the government scaling back export incentives?

If you could comment on that.

You're right, actually. This is what last quarter also we had shared and unfortunately, this continues to happen.

Despite depreciation of the rupee as well as the shipping freight rates going up, I would say in the market, we're not seeing much of a difference as far as the Chinese dumping is concerned. If that answers your question.

Got it, sir. Sir, if that's the case, do we see let's say scale down of the normalized margins that we were expecting in the borosilicate glassware business when you scaled up to let's say 90-100% kind of utilization levels at your furnace?

I believe earlier, our estimate was that this business would achieve 25-30% kind of EBITDA margins. Would you be able to achieve those kind of margins at reasonable levels of utilization or because of this incremental competition, there's a significant reduction in the normalized margins that we used to expect from this business?

It's like this that it's not about one quarter. If you look at our performance, the primary objective of ours has been to expand the glassware market, right, unlike the other players.

In that case, significant investments also we have made. The price is only one part of it, but we have been building this market in terms of adoption by the end consumer.

As, of course, in the call, it was mentioned that the investigation on the anti-dumping thing is going on. Depends upon a lot of other factors and we'll see how it goes.

Got it. If let's say the current status quo persists, what kind of EBITDA margins can we expect in the borosilicate glassware business?

Sorry, we don't share category-wise margins.

Got it, sir. Also, sir, on the solar power side, what kind of incremental savings do you expect in FY27?

FY27,

the overall savings from the solar with the phase three implementation that we have done so far, that will be about 27-28 crores at EBITDA level.

Got it. Should we assume it would be straightaway addition to EBITDA or maybe you could use those savings to let's say give reduced prices to drive growth in some of your other businesses?

Some of the projects we have done earlier also. It is only the phase three that has been added this year from quarter one.

Solar has always been there, but definitely we will leverage this opportunity in terms of getting more competitive as well as basically increasing our margins also.

Got it. What kind of net savings we should assume for next year out of this 28 crores?

See, at the moment, I think it's too hard to comment on this. We'll have to see how the market behaves probably, and accordingly, we have to see that what needs to be passed on and what needs to be retained.

Got it, sir. Sir, does first quarter have any contribution on growth side because of inventory stocking by the channel?

Because of all this input cost inflation, you have taken price increases and maybe the channel has stocked up before the price hike. This first quarter's growth which we are seeing has some benefit on account of that and maybe in the forthcoming quarters, the growth will be lower.

Is that the right way to interpret?

No, I don't think that's the right way to interpret because, like I said, the price impact will come in Q2, there was no question of a forced sale or retailers adding up to the inventory. That would not be the correct way to view it.

Got it, sir. Also, sir, last question.

Could you give us an idea of what kind of movement have we seen on the inventory levels from fourth quarter to first quarter? Has there been liquidation of inventory?

Typically, you see the inventory gets added. Inventory goes up, primarily for the reason that we are heading into the season now, the Diwali season.

There is addition to inventory, and the reason is that you build up the inventory for new products and portfolio gets enhanced, expansion happens. Typically, that's every year, that's what happens.

Got it, sir. Sir, this final question, sir.

You mentioned your guidance of around 18% EBITDA margin for the overall business in this year. Have you assumed any contribution from let's say favorable anti-dumping duty investigation by the government or this is if the status quo persists?

Like Anand mentioned, the investigation is going on, so that would not be a reason to attribute to it.

Got it, sir. Thanks a lot, sir.

That's all from my side.

Thank you. [unclear] So when you say 18% EBITDA margin

Am I audible?

Yeah. First, question EBITDA margin guidance, does that include other in

Sorry, we can't hear you. You're breaking out.

Hi, sir, thanks for again. You said that we'll be doing an EBITDA margin of 18% for FY27, which implies an ask rate of more than 20% margin for the remaining nine months of FY27, whereas historically, the margin has been in the range of 15-16% over the past four years.

Sir, what gives us the confidence of this 18% margin?

I think the way to read this or to interpret

Hello? Am I audible?

Sorry, can I just get the lady's name once again mentioned?

Anu Parakh. Sorry, like you yourself mentioned that historically, it's been about 14 to 15%, right?

This is what you mentioned. What I meant was that we can look at about 18% in a steady-state business, without the West Asia impact.

This is how it should be taken. You're right.

Broadly, it's been 14-15, and without the West Asia impact in a steady-state kind of business is what we would look for. Hopefully, that clarifies.

Got it. Given the price hikes that you've taken in glassware and opalware in Q1, and given the current raw material prices, how much margin improvement can we expect over the next two quarters?

It'll be very hard to put a number to it,

but

the fact remains that we have passed on the price hikes, and we expect Q2, Q3 onwards the realizations to kick in. Also depends on a lot of other factors, like we have definitely seen gas prices coming down, the fuel prices coming down, there has been improvement there.

To put a number to it immediately would be very hard to do that.

Just to add on this point, I think what we have seen as an impact maybe roughly we have seen about a 6 crore impact on the fuel prices in our opalware business, and currently at the current levels probably what we see is that that impact could reduce to maybe about 1.5 crore a quarter. Even on a similar borosilicate business, the impact due to fuel that was seen around 2.5 crores a quarter probably, that could come down to maybe about 60-70 lakhs a quarter.

Frankly, it's too hard to put a number because the input cost inflation is a bit fluid at this moment.

Understood, sir. Sir, lastly, on ROCE profile, we see that Borosil has a strong brand value in the market, but the company's ROCE profile has been weak at around 10% level for the past four years.

What is the reason for the same? What kind of sustainable ROCE the company targets over the medium term and how are we looking forward to reach to that level?

See, Borosil has been investing heavily into capexes in the last three, four years. If you look at maybe the last three years, we have increased our capacity on opalware furnace, we have invested into borosilicate glass furnace, we have been heavily investing into solar.

All of this is a subset of that. I think going forward, as we enhance our capacity utilizations and improve our margins, I think we should definitely look at basically 22 to 24% ROCE margins on the business.

Sir, we are already operating at high utilization level currently, what are we missing?

No, the utilizations have been basically, maybe better in the recent quarters probably. We are sitting on huge inventory also, which is underutilized on the capacity.

That further adds basically to capital employed. On a steady-state business, yeah, will definitely improve the ROCE.

Just to add to Anand's point, if you notice over the last one and a half, two years, a lot of inventory we had to build on account of BIS challenges, which happened in Hydra also, which happened in our appliances business also. In both the cases, we have ensured to move production to India manufacturing.

On the one side, we had to build inventory; on the other side, we had to also invest in manufacturing. That's one of the major factors which is contributing to a lower ROCE.

Sir. Thank you so much.

Um.

yeah. Hi, thanks for the opportunity.

Sir, first question on EBITDA margins. You spoke about 18 to 20% EBITDA margins, does it include other income or it is excluding other income?

Excluding other income.

Just also once again, I would like to clarify to the lady also, I had said, about 14-15% in a business, and we are looking at improving it towards an 18% kind of EBITDA margin, without the West Asia conflict. Just to clarify and to put the context right.

Right. Sir, also if we look at our EBITDA margins excluding the impact of West Asia, we have done really well.

Would you like to call out for any reduction of expenses which we are structurally doing and one can expect cost reduction going ahead?

There are a number of factors, actually, Anand mentioned one of the things was from the solar savings which has come in. The other is we have high realization SKUs we have sold, and we have better in glassware and opalware, both.

I think some of these things have also contributed to our effort.

Anything on cost front that you would like to highlight, sir? Anything

like

cost reduction measures, on cost reduction apart from solar?

In terms of cost reductions also typically when you sell a portfolio, then items contributing to a lower gross margins and all getting discontinued is also part of the process. That's also part of the cost reduction effort which goes on.

All right. Sir, second question on opalware.

What is the proportion of our HoReCa versus B2C?

No, we are not structured for HoReCa. That's not the focus area for us, essentially HoReCa is very, very minimal.

By HoReCa, sir, whiteware. Whiteware would be less than 5% for us?

Sorry, whiteware, in fact, we do not have a channel for HoReCa is what I meant,

meaning

an exclusive channel for HoReCa. That's what I meant.

Let me reframe my question, sir.

Contribution of whiteware to normal? I think, Anand, how much would that be in terms of percentage?

Bhavin, our overall contribution to the whiteware probably would be in the range of about maybe 10% of the overall sales on the opalware.

What was it last year, sir?

Less than 5%.

This category has grown by almost 100% this year. This is how one should understand, right, sir?

It's too small of a base from that point.

Any plans to chase this going ahead? Do we plan to maintain this ratio going ahead?

How are the margin differential between both the whiteware and the normal business?

You see, the whiteware essentially caters to a specific segment, and we would love to maintain the current ratio, meaning at 10% also, like you said, it will represent a higher contribution. In terms of margins, this is far lower than our regular range or the decal range.

Hence, one doesn't particularly moves up the contribution of whiteware.

Okay. Sir, next question on distribution.

We have opened a couple of exclusive stores. Just trying to understand the rationale behind this move.

Also do we have any incremental plans to increase the store counts going ahead, and what is the capex that we need to incur to open these stores?

Sorry, I lost you. Do we have more You said some

Exclusive stores, exclusive stores, sir.

Yeah. We just launched our first, in fact, stores in Gurugram and Pune.

The rationale is very simple that we wanted our end customers to come and experience the brand and the kind of range that we have under one roof. I think the kind of visibility it gives us and the opportunity for the customers, the consumers to come and interact with the brand the major reason to be out there and put up our own brand stores.

That's the rationale. Second, sorry, what was the second part of it?

Any target that you would like to put on over here, any number of stores that we plan to open, and what is the capex that we incur to open this store?

We haven't had any target in terms of say the count, the number of stores that we want to put up. If you look at the cities also how we have things, we have done in Gurugram, we've done one in Pune, and next we definitely have one in Jaipur lined up.

It's a process wherein we are also trying to put up and see how it goes and learn from the experience, and then maybe we can give it a shape essentially in terms of having a scale to it, that is something we are yet to close in. Anand, on capex, if you want to mention what kind of capex we have done?

Bhavin, depends on store area to area, but typically in the range of about 40 to 50 lakhs each store.

Fair enough. Okay.

Sir, last question on gas prices. What proportion of our total cost is gas in case of opalware and glassware?

How much of it is being already passed on to the customers? Also, if you can specify, you spoke about it has been passed on in a staggered manner.

It has been passed on majorly in Q1 and Q2. Is it possible to specify, is it after May, June, when have we taken the price hikes?

The first part regarding price hikes, we had announced in the month of April itself. In terms of actual execution, it starts from mid-May and then by the time the material reaches, etcetera, happens.

That's what I meant by saying that the realizations will come in from Q2 onwards. That's the first part to your question.

Now the second part, I think you want specific how much is the contribution of gas in the business, is that the question?

In opalware and glassware, what proportion of cost is gas?

What proportion of cost. Okay.

In total Anand, you want to take this?

If you look at basically the first quarter last year, the fuel would have been maybe about 2.9% of the overall sales, and this year, it's about 5.8%. At a opalware level, maybe fuel cost on a steady-state prices would be about 4%, and on the glassware, it could be around 5.5% without the West Asia impact.

Fair enough. Okay.

All right. Thank you so much.

Hey, thank you. Am I audible?

Yes.

My question is on the two Hydra lines that came in in June. How much time do you foresee to figure things out in the line and actually start churning out salable products?

Any timeline?

Pranay, we already have started and declared the commercial production on 30th June. Also,

okay.

Already we are getting salable materials from the two double-walled lines.

Oh, okay. I think that answers the next question then that we should be in a good place before Diwali stocking and we shouldn't miss out this time, right, on the Hydra segment?

I think, yeah, that's a fair things to say that we would be in a much better position.

Got it. Thanks a lot.

Those were my questions. All the best.

Okay. Thank you.

Hi. Good evening, everyone.

I'm fairly new to the company, I'm just trying to understand a little bit more around the capital allocation decisions over the last few years. In FY24, we invested 197 crores; in FY25, we did a capex of 97 crores; in '26, we did a capex of 136 crores; in '27, we plan to do a capex of 150 crores.

As per the presentation put forward by the management in Q4, operational ROCEs have been 11.5% in '25, 10.7% in '26, and at least I have not seen any data over the last five years where the ROCE has actually exceeded more than 14-15%. What I am trying to understand what's giving you the confidence to allocate that much capital even this year to further capacity or for solar investments when at least in the past, you've not been able to generate a certain degree of ROCE?

Or is this the ROCE expectation investors should have moving forward? That,

in fact, it's not one question. In terms of ROCE, the number you're looking at or in terms of capital allocation, you're asking?

On capital allocation. I'm asking on the rationale for capital allocation, which I believe is a function of ROCE as mentioned by the CFO in one of the earlier calls.

Like you mentioned in the past say four, five years, if you look at the journey in terms of in each of the categories that we operate in, whether it's been glassware or opal or the Hydra, the two double-walled lines that we have put up. Now, all of this has its own cycle to build the thing.

It's not a question of every quarter or a year. Whether it's the glassware like 25 tons per day borosilicate glass plant that we put up, or the 42 metric tons per day opalware we put up, which then became 84 metric tons, and similarly from 25 to 31 we'll put up.

Like I said, we've been building the market. It's not about what ROCE will be in this quarter or for the year.

You have a horizon wherein basis which you build the market. If you look at our journey, we have been having a CAGR of more than 21% over the last 10 years.

The business has shown this kind of growth. Then we also in the call itself, we said one of the challenges was the BIS, for example, and we had to now put up a manufacturing plant for the double-walled vacuum bottles, etcetera.

This does need capital, and in terms of production, the ramp-up happens. It has its own cycle.

It's not the number that will deliver, but going forward, like Anand mentioned during the call, that we definitely are looking at 22%. Am I right, Anand?

I think you want to add something to this?

No, that's right. I think in the last three Dev, in the last two, three years probably, if you have seen, we have been investing heavily into manufacturing facilities probably.

As we move forward and we scale ourselves probably, we will definitely see improvement in the margins and the overall ROCE. Initially, what happens is basically due to heavy capexes and the depreciation element probably, initially the businesses are seen with a lower ROCE, but definitely this will improve going forward.

Right. Can you help us understand the bridge?

What's going to get you from the current 11% ROCE in FY26 to a 22% ROCE? How is that going to be bridged?

Is it just purely a function of depreciation waning off? Is it a function of your margin improvement?

Can you just help us quantify and bridge that number, please? That would be very helpful.

That number is not a immediate number. Medium term is an aspiration probably where we're going to reach, and of course, there are basically ways and means to achieve that.

One would rightly mention one is that scaling basically in terms of capacity utilization, enhancing our capacity on the borosilicate ware and the glassware that we're setting up. We have seen good traction in those categories where we are trying to do more capexes around.

Solar is an initiative where probably it's a 25-year project probably where you put up the capex and then you enjoy the benefits over the next 25 years. Of course, the paybacks are much earlier probably in the next three to four years, but you look at the overall number.

Far, we have invested around 130 crores into solar facilities also, where you see that at least a 30 crores basically at an EBITDA level, the savings. All of these initiatives will definitely help us improve margins going forward.

Of course, as we scale, there are many fixed costs where we'll get leverage on, like your warehousing, it's all fixed, it's not variable at any point of time. All of this will help us basically margin expansion as well as basically improving our ROCE margins.

While you did guide for an 18 to 20% EBITDA margin for this year, if you achieve that EBITDA margin, what would be your ROCE profile for this year? The aspiration of 22% ROCE, in what timeframe are you looking to achieve that?

Dev, at the moment, the market is fluid, because you see the first quarter we just had a big impact on the West Asia conflict. We also mentioned that we have passed on certain prices.

There has been some lag, and of course, it doesn't happen immediately. The prices have started settling.

While the fuel prices have settled meaningfully, but we still see the petroleum products on the packaging and so many other places the prices are still the same. It's not settled anyways.

We still need to see. I think the broader idea is basically to improve margins, maybe 18 to 20% is a guidelines probably.

Whether it's going to happen this quarter or next quarter is not something that at the moment we can comment, but yes, that's the whole idea.

I just want to add, Anand, one more point. The 20% number came from the gentleman who had asked the question, but just want to clarify that from 14-15 to 18% is what we would look at in a steady-state business without the West Asia conflict, just to clarify.

Sorry, maybe I've misunderstood it, but is the 18% margin guidance for FY27 or is it an aspiration that you plan to achieve in the next couple of years?

That's for this year we wish to achieve.

Perfect. Then if you're able to give a guidance on the EBITDA margin, then why are you not able to give a guidance on the ROCE?

Anand, you want to add to that to explain him further?

Dev, I think one is that definitely will do better in the coming quarters as far as the EBITDA margins are concerned. I think on the ROCE guidelines

On the ROCE, Anand, yeah.

On the ROCE guidelines, I think if we can improve our margins to maybe about 18% for this year, obviously what you mentioned as last year, we were about 11-12%, obviously this will also move up. It will not remain the same.

Sure. Thank you.

Thank you everybody for your time and the questions. Thanks.