Type of Event: Q1 FY27 Earnings Conference Call hosted by Antique Stock Broking.
Date and Time: The call was held on August 3, 2026. A specific start time was not mentioned in the transcript.
Purpose: To discuss the company's financial and operational performance for the first quarter of the financial year 2026-27 (Q1 FY27).
Management Participants: The call was attended by Mr. Sanjay Gupta (Chairman and Managing Director), Mr. Anubhav Gupta (Chief Strategy Officer), and Mr. Deepak Goyal (Director Operations). Mr. Rahul Gupta (Director) and Mr. Chetan Khandelwal (Chief Financial Officer) were noted as absent due to an urgent meeting.
Presentation Availability: The transcript was filed with the exchanges and is available on the company's website. There was no mention of a presentation deck or recording being made available.
UPSI Statement: The transcript did not contain any explicit compliance language stating that no Unpublished Price Sensitive Information (UPSI) would be shared.
Financial and Operational Highlights
Financial Period Discussed: Q1 FY27 (Quarter ending June 2026).
Volume: The company reported a volume of 745,000 tons for the quarter, which was below expectations and represented a 20% decline quarter-on-quarter (QoQ).
Profitability: EBITDA per ton was approximately INR 5,500, which was described as "flattish" and "better than expectation" compared to the previous quarter (Q4 FY26), despite the negative operating leverage from lower volumes. Gross profit per ton increased by INR 1,000 QoQ.
Reasons for Volume Decline: Management cited four primary reasons for the softer volume:
UAE Operations: Impacted by geopolitical situations, resulting in a loss of ~25,000 tons QoQ.
SG Premium Brand: Volume suffered due to a high price gap with secondary material.
Energy Crisis in India: Impacted demand for rust-proof pipes and roofing products, leading to a loss of 25,000-30,000 tons.
High Factory Inflation: Led to softer demand in the construction industry and destocking by channel partners.
July Performance & Outlook: Volumes improved in July, up 20% month-on-month to over 300,000 tons. Volumes are targeted at 330,000-335,000 tons for August and 350,000-360,000 tons for September.
Guidance: Management reaffirmed its full-year FY27 guidance. Volume growth is expected to be 15-20%, and absolute EBITDA growth is targeted to be over 20% compared to FY26. The EBITDA per ton spread is expected to remain in the range of INR 5,000 to INR 5,500 throughout the year.
Capacity Expansion: The company plans to add 2 million tons of new plant capacity over the next 2.5 years (Gorakhpur 200k tons, Siliguri 300k tons, New Malur 1m tons, and another 0.5m tons in Maharashtra/North Karnataka), plus 1 million tons from debottlenecking. This will increase total capacity to 8 million tons and raise the share of value-added products from 65% to 75-80%.
Balance Sheet: Working capital days remained below zero. Cash on books was ~INR 14 billion as of June 2026, similar to the INR 15 billion reported in March 2026.
Strategy: The company's strategy focuses on de-commoditizing its portfolio to reduce the impact of steel price volatility and the primary-secondary steel price gap.
Additional Notes Section
Attachment: The regulatory filing included the enclosed (a/a) transcript of the conference call.
Financial Data: The announcement itself did not contain a full set of financial statements (P&L, Balance Sheet) but did disclose specific operational and profitability metrics (volume, EBITDA per ton) from the call.
Q&A Highlights: Key topics from the Q&A session included a detailed recovery plan for UAE operations, commentary on competitive intensity from upstream steel players expanding into pipes, the strategy for the SG Premium brand, and the outlook for employee costs and ROCE (Return on Capital Employed), which is targeted to return to 40%.
