Exide Industries

“I have said this in the past that our plan is we have to make it cash neutral in two to three years' time, which is, I think, a very fair ask by global standards.”

“Therefore, we are investing capital in debottlenecking each of our factory.”

“Now, most of our, I would say, the capex requirement for phase one for 6 GWh is over.”

“So that third pillar of capital allocation in form of equity will continue for the next couple of years.”

“But as you know, going forward, it will be mostly for the working capital, land, loss funding, things like that. Not so much for capital equipment.”

“The other part of capital allocation is basically factory automation. This we are doing continuously over the last couple of years to digitize, automate our operations, and improve our productivity.”

“These actions have already unlocked substantial amount of additional four-wheeler battery capacity through which we are able to meet both the OEM as well as the aftermarket demand concurrently.”

“And we are also in the discussion of putting up additional capacity because a lot of automotive OEM has approached us because they have announced their capacity expansions as well in conventional IC engines.”

“First we will utilize the first line. Once we reach our 1.5 GWh, then we will shift to the second line.”

“But we can use that line for other products also if the PLI does not happen.”

“The automotive OEM business grew by over 25% for the fourth consecutive quarter, as vehicle makers stepped up production and dispatches.”

“The two-wheeler and four-wheeler replacement business delivered its fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth, helped by a steadily expanding vehicle parc and the reach of our distribution network.”

“Home inverters grew by 20% year-on-year, while solar grew by 40%+, supported by the favourable seasonal demand as well as the government initiatives, including the PM Surya Ghar Yojana.”

“Exports grew by over 20% year-on-year for the second consecutive quarter on a low base.”

“Industrial infrastructure, excluding telecom, grew by a high- single digit, supported by the industrial UPS as well as the traction motive power business.”

“The affordability gains from GST rationalization supported the automotive demand, aided by healthy replacement market.”

“We expect that two to three years from now, this automotive OEM demand will translate into aftermarket demand, for which we are getting prepared.”

“Solar and infra push by the government is likely to drive our solar and stationary storage business in a big way.”

“Electric two-wheelers reached 11.6% of the two-wheeler retail in September, which is directly relevant for our lithium-ion business.”

“In the quarter two, we saw about close to two lakh per month. Which translates to about 7.5 GWh- 8 GWh of market, which is existing today from new vehicles.”

“EBITDA came in at INR606 crores, up 53.6% year-on-year, and EBITDA margin improved to 12.1% from 9.4% in the quarter two, resulting in an expansion of about 270 basis points on a low base.”

“For half year, EBITDA margin was 12.2%, up 130 basis points year-on-year.”

“Input costs remained elevated vs last year due to prolonged geopolitical challenges, especially across West Asia, as well as a weaker rupee.”

“On a sequential quarter basis, the full benefits of softer lead or softer LME for lead and antimony prices could not be fully realized due to continuous weakening of rupee against the U.S. dollar.”

“We will continue to do that in the current quarter as well as the upcoming quarter as well.”

“So in terms of working capital requirement, we are well covered within our approved limit.”

“We continue to be debt- free and generate healthy operating cash flows.”

“So the requirement of working capital will increase now, and we are building up an organization.”

“In September, we signed a long-term strategic cooperation agreement with the ExCom Energy Solutions GmbH, Germany. This is to expand our industrial battery and energy storage business across the European Economic Area.”

“All I can tell you, the discussions are in very accelerated way, I would say.”

“market loss on HDFC Life in this six months of around INR600 crore.”

“However, government tenders, mainly railways and power sector segment, continued to remain muted during the quarter.”

“We are waiting for the PLI, we will of course apply for the PLI.”

“As of now, on raw material side, no announcements or suspension notices, nothing has come up.”

“To safeguard ourselves, we have also done a long-term purchase agreements with the suppliers.”

“So in phase two, we do not know at what level the exchange rate will be. But yes, it can work negatively regarding our capex per kilowatt-hour.”

“Standalone revenue for quarter two was INR5,026 crores, which is up 20.3% year-on-year.”

“INR10,331 crores, up by 18.9% year-on-year.”

“Half year pre-tax profits grew by 46.5% year-on-year. The balance sheet remains strong.”

“We expect approvals from a few OEMs and telecom players in the near term.”

“As we speak, for some of the leading two-wheeler OEMs, the performance testing is over. Now they are doing the lifecycle testing.”