The Chatter: Management in Motion
Edition #13
Welcome to the 13th edition of The Chatter — a weekly newsletter where we dig through what India’s biggest companies are saying and bring you the most interesting bits of insight, whether about the business, its sector, or the wider economy. We read every major Indian earnings call and listen to the interviews so you don’t have to.
In this edition, we have covered the 26 companies across 13 industries:
Engineering Capital Goods
Fabtech Technologies
ABB India Limited
FMCG
P&G Health
Gillette
Sheela Foam Ltd. (Sleepwell)
FSN E-Commerce Ventures Limited (Nykaa)
Materials
Marvel Decor
Metals
Hindustan Zinc
Financial Services
REC Ltd.
Jio Financials
HDFC AMC
Nippon Life AMC
Crisil Ltd.
Auto & Auto Ancillaries
Tata Motors
Eicher Motors Limited
Belrise Industries Ltd
Chemicals
UPL
Astral Pipes
Healthcare
Sun Pharma
Conglomerate
Adani Enterprises
Telecom
Vodafone Idea
Bharti Hexacom
Software/Internet
Info Edge (Naukri)
Electronics Manufacturing
Dixon Technologies (India) Limited
Oil & Gas
GAIL (India) Limited
ONGC
Engineering Capital Goods
Fabtech Technologies | Mid Cap | Engineering Capital Goods
Fabtech Technologies Cleanrooms specializes in manufacturing pre-engineered modular panels and doors for constructing high-quality cleanroom environments. They provide design-to-validation solutions, primarily serving the pharmaceutical, healthcare, and biotech sectors.
Fabtech has entered the high-barrier semiconductor segment, a sign of long-term growth potential and strategic diversification beyond pharma.
“We have secured our first order in the semiconductor industry... The successful execution of this project will serve as a reference point for future growth in this high-potential vertical.”
—- Anup Munshi, CEO
The acquisition of Kelvin (now 51.3% owned) fills a major capability gap in HVAC, making Fabtech a full-scope player in cleanrooms.
“Putting in Kelvin helps us to scope-lift the entire offering... we did not have the HVAC and precision HVAC with us.”
—- Aasif Khan, Chairman
Management is clearly positioning FY26–27 as a warm-up. The big revenue/margin unlock is timed with India’s downstream semiconductor buildout.
“This is a reference-creating year... The real explosion happens post-2027 where the investment flowing into semicons starts resulting in cleanroom business.”
—- Management
[Analyst Take: So how is the financial year '26 so far and what company management is expecting it to be financial year '26?]
Willingness to sacrifice short-term margins in high-growth sectors (semiconductors, data centers) indicates aggressive market capture strategy.
“Tomorrow, in order to establish large references [in semicons], if we have to take a fall on the margin, we’ll do that.”
—- Anup Munshi, CEO
ABB India Limited | Large Cap | Engineering and Capital Goods
ABB India Limited is a technology company that operates with four business areas: electrification, motion, process automation, and robotics & discrete automation. The company serves 23 market segments with 18 divisions across industrial automation, power distribution, and manufacturing solutions.
[Concall]
Base orders grew by 10% despite receiving large project orders in both quarters, indicating underlying business strength independent of lumpy project wins and building more predictable revenue streams.
"Base orders grew by 10%. This is despite the fact that we also had a large order in the last quarter, and we could make it in this quarter as well. What's more encouraging is to see the base order is growing while the large order is definitely something which come as per the CAPEX cycle. So, this is something which is a healthy part of it."
– T.K. Sridhar, CFO
Export orders surged 40% year-on-year during global trade tensions, suggesting ABB India is gaining allocated export markets and benefiting from supply chain diversification trends.
"In fact, we had quite a good expansion of our export orders compared to last quarter. it was about 40% increase... So, our exports increased 40% year-on-year basis... And India as such, the way the trade system is, seems to be net positive for us, for our industries."
– Sanjeev Sharma, Country Managing Director
Process Automation business experiencing customer decision delays due to global and domestic uncertainties, though projects remain "in the pipeline," indicating timing issues rather than demand destruction.
"So there, many projects which were on pipeline are still on the pipeline, but because of the uncertainties which are floating across the world and also domestically, certain customers held back the decisions. And we do believe those projects are still in the pipeline and those decisions will improve."
– Sanjeev Sharma, Country Managing Director
Orders from Tier-3 and Tier-4 cities improved substantially, validating the geographic penetration strategy and demonstrating success in capturing India's economic growth as it spreads to smaller cities.
"So, this is something which is pretty interesting and as we see another thing which I would definitely look at it is that the orders from Tier-3 and 4 have improved substantially compared to the previous quarter. This is a welcome fact and is also resonating with our efforts which is happening by reaching out to the hinterlands of the country to be more relevant in those particular markets as well."
– T.K. Sridhar, CFO
FMCG
P&G Health | Mid Cap | FMCG
Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care manufactures and sells branded packaged consumer goods in the femcare and healthcare sectors. They distribute their well-known brands like Whisper and Vicks through various retail channels across India, with manufacturing facilities in Goa and Himachal Pradesh.
This is the clearest articulation yet of P&G Health's India strategy pivoting from product-only to a systems-led approach, one that integrates brand, channel, supply chain and people.
“We have delivered strong and balanced growth in a challenging environment... driven by the execution of our Integrated Growth Strategy — portfolio, superiority, productivity, constructive disruption and an empowered, agile organization.”
—-Milind Thatte, MD
Signals structural tailwinds in nutraceuticals driven by lifestyle shifts. Also hints that PGH is tracking innovation in formats (e.g., gummies, sachets).
“Interestingly, other new-age formats are gaining traction versus traditional formats like tablets and capsules… Lifestyle diseases are growing behind change in food habits, sedentary lifestyle, sleeping patterns.”
—- Lokesh Chandak, CFO
Shows consistent channel expansion, even as volume growth has been flat in parts of the sector. Also, rural outreach indicates long-term building.
“Neurobion pharmacy reach has expanded 1.4x over the past 5 years, adding nearly 100,000 new stores... We are also increasing our coverage in rural areas.”
—- Lokesh Chandak, CFO
Gillette | Mid Cap | FMCG
Gillette is a global brand, owned by Procter & Gamble (P&G), famous for its safety razors, blades, and other personal care products. Founded in 1901 by King C. Gillette, it's a leader in the grooming and oral care segments worldwide.
Gillette isn't just cutting costs; it's creating more efficient operations that allow for better products and flexible pricing. This leads to predictable and strong profit growth, helping the company thrive even when demand is uncertain.
"We improved structural margins by about 300bps... Productivity is more than cost cutting. It is a more efficient way of operating — in service to consumers and customers — every day."
—Ms. Srividya Srinivasan, Chief Financial Officer
Gillette is leveraging data and AI to gain clear visibility into its supply chain, helping them excel in both online and in-store sales. This strategy will lead to better product displays, and smarter inventory decisions, ultimately resulting in happier customers and increased market share.
"We are combining a wealth of point-of-sale data with retail shelf images to recommend optimized shelf design... We’ve expanded coverage by a million stores in the last 3 years."
Gillette is making electric toothbrushes more accessible in India, aiming for consumers who want good value but also desire better products. With promising early results and potential for widespread adoption, their Oral-B brand could drive significant growth for years to come, beyond just shaving products.
"We have doubled the business for Oral-B Power Oral Care in the last 3 years... the Vitality Pro Sensitive toothbrush removes the barrier of perceived complexity with a simple one-touch start and an accessible price point."
—Ms. Srividya Srinivasan, Chief Financial Officer
Gillette is upgrading its basic products and attracting 5 million new users, which is a bottom-up strategy to introduce premium products. This builds a loyal customer base that can be encouraged to buy more expensive items later, ultimately increasing their long-term value and reducing the risk of them switching to competitors.
"We upgraded and enhanced the much-loved Gillette Guard to offer a superior, cut-free shaving experience... we successfully gained the trust of 5 million more consumers who now rely on Guard for their shaving needs!"
—Mr. V. Kumar, Managing Director
Sheela Foam (Sleepwell) | Small Cap | FMCG
Sleepwell, the flagship brand of Sheela Foam, is a leading Indian manufacturer offering a wide range of mattresses and sleep comfort products, known for its long-standing presence and focus on innovation.
After a challenging period of integrating Kurlon, the company is now emerging. Significant cost savings from the acquisition are already in effect, with even more expected to show up from the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 onwards.
“In FY’25, the gross margins of 42.5% reflect an annual cost saving run rate of ₹120 crores. Additional savings of ₹130 crores have already been executed and the impact of which we will soon see.”
— Rahul Gautam, Executive Chairman
Furlenco, once a cash-intensive startup, has turned profitable and is now expanding its reach into more cities, specifically targeting the Gen Z furniture rental market. This move allows Sheela Foam to quietly establish a new vertical in the booming rental economy, catering to the preferences of younger consumers.
“Furlenco achieved its first full year of positive profitability in FY’25... ARR in March stood at ₹300 crore with ASP above ₹1,00,000. We also launched it in Indore, Kolkata and Ahmedabad.”
— Rahul Gautam, Executive Chairman
Sleepwell is creating a strong distribution network in rural areas and smaller towns (Tier-2/3 cities). This strategy sets them apart from companies that mainly focus on urban customers and online sales, giving them a significant long-term competitive advantage.
“Our small-town initiatives are now active in 4000+ towns… with STI-specific distributors appointed over and above the existing system.”
— Rakesh Chahar, Director
FSN E-Commerce Ventures Limited (Nykaa) | Mid Cap | Beauty & Personal Care
FSN E-Commerce Ventures Limited operates India's leading beauty and lifestyle omnichannel platform. It specializes in beauty products, fashion, and operates physical retail stores while building its own brand portfolio.
[Concall]
Fashion business achieves structural turnaround with 18% growth vs industry 10-11%, delivering 200 basis points EBITDA improvement described as "structural" by management.
"Finally, in Q4, we are starting to see a turnaround, and we are entering the next year with strong positive momentum behind us. Q4 was INR1,000-plus crores in GMV and more importantly, 18% year-on-year growth. Our estimates are that the industry growth has been much lower, around 10%, 11% by comparison. We have delivered close to 200 basis points improvement in EBITDA, which is structural improvement."
– Abhijeet Dabas, Executive VP - Nykaafashion.com
Exclusive multi-year Chanel partnership represents "milestone" for luxury positioning, with management emphasizing years-long relationship development process not easily replicable by competitors.
"I would say this is a milestone for Nykaa in its journey as a beauty retail platform. Chanel is one of the most iconic global luxury brands in the world. And they have chosen to partner with Nykaa to launch their beauty and fragrance portfolio in the market. This was something which we worked on with the Chanel Group for many years to get them comfort with India, get them comfort with Nykaa and ultimately launch in the market with us exclusively."
– Anchit Nayar, Executive Director and CEO, Beauty
Business model evolution from retailer to "house of brands" with INR2,100 crore own brands portfolio, targeting transition to core revenue driver within strategic timeframe.
"We're feeling very bullish about our own brand strategy. We feel it's really coming together, and we're incubating these incredibly strong brands that are really starting to take off. Feeling very excited that Nykaa is transitioning from being both a retailer, but now also we have our ambition on building this house of brands, and we're really developing our capabilities to do the same."
– Adwaita Nayar, Executive Director, CEO Nykaa Fashion
Consistent market outperformance across all segments: Beauty growing 30% vs industry 23-25%, Fashion 18% vs 10-11%, and physical retail delivering 15% same-store growth in "tepid market conditions."
"We believe this is significantly ahead of the rest of the industry, the rest of the India online BPC ecosystem, which we believe is growing roughly mid 23% to 25% CAGR. Same-store sales growth, which is 15% same-store sales growth in what I think has been a volatile and slightly tepid market on the physical retail side for most of the country."
– Anchit Nayar, Executive Director and CEO, Beauty
Materials
Marvel Decor | Small Cap | Materials
Marvel Decor Limited (MDL) manufactures and supplies a wide range of window covering fashion blinds and their components. They serve both residential and commercial clients across India and internationally.
Marvel is shifting from retail blinds to a B2B-focused, system-integrated, project-driven business model. The focus on architects, interior designers, and system integrators marks a strategic move aimed at scaling revenues and average order value.
“We are in the process of transformation and in mode of the journey of 10x from ₹50 crores to ₹500 crores… The project business funnel is built up and we’re onboarding over 200 architects and interior designers this year.”
— Ashok Paun, CMD
They've successfully replaced expensive global brands in a specialized market for motorized interior products. By offering better value in the Middle East, they're building trust that will help them succeed in other profitable global markets.
“We got our first big Solis Motors project of 900 motors in a hotel in Dubai… Already, Solis now accounts for 30% of our motorisation mix vs Somfy.”
— Khwahish Paun, Director
Marvel is building the necessary systems in the U.S. to make business-to-business (B2B) sales and delivery easier. By removing obstacles like cross-border invoicing, import duties, and payment complexities, they're opening up a new market they can now serve.
“We have established a fully owned U.S. subsidiary last month… now they will get material with local invoicing, instead of PayPal and import duties.”
— Ashok Paun, CMD
Metals
Hindustan Zinc | Large Cap | Metals
Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) is a leading Indian producer of zinc, lead, and silver, operating mines and smelters primarily in Rajasthan. As a subsidiary of Vedanta Limited, it holds a significant market share in India's primary zinc market and is among the top global producers of its metals.
HZL has positioned itself as a sustainability leader. EcoZen could attract ESG-focused buyers and command better prices, a big win in a commoditized industry.
“This year, we have launched Asia’s first low-carbon Zinc, EcoZen, with a carbon footprint 75% lower than the industry average... With the recent announcement by the London Metal Exchange on introducing a green premium for sustainable metals, EcoZen is well positioned for stronger value realization.”
— Arun Misra, CEO
Despite increasing production and transitioning to a more challenging mining approach, the company is effectively managing costs, demonstrates strong operational excellence.
“We achieved a 16-quarter lowest cost of production of $994 per ton... despite transitioning to underground mining and delivering over 1 million tons of production with minimal capex.”
— Arun Misra, CEO
The company has a clear plan to almost double its output, and this expansion is funded internally. This shows strong financial health and confidence in the future demand for zinc.
“You are spot on. First one is 1.2 million to 1.5 million... That announcement we should make very quickly. Then toward 2 million tons. We’ll catch low-hanging fruits first and generate the delta cash to fund the project.”
— Arun Misra, CEO
Hindustan Zinc (HZL) is currently piloting a new method to extract metals from waste that's cleaner, cheaper, and more efficient. If this technology proves successful, it could significantly reduce their smelting costs, providing a major competitive advantage in the industry.
“This is a new technology... to recover lead and silver from jarosite instead of the fumer route... It will be more environmentally friendly, and once successful, it will be implemented company-wide.”
— Arun Misra, CEO
Financial Services
REC Ltd. | Large Cap | Financial Services
REC Limited is a prominent infrastructure finance company. The company specializes in providing financial support for projects across the power sector value chain, including generation, transmission, and distribution. REC offers assistance to various entities in the sector such as state electricity boards, government utilities, and independent power producers through its wide network of offices nationwide.
Instead of signaling a price war with banks, management is focusing on creating a qualitative moat in this falling interest rate environment. The strategy is to leverage REC's deep sectoral expertise to offer value beyond just the cost of capital, focusing on project execution incentives and ease of doing business.
"The high interest rates that one could normally charge in the earlier years are no longer available. We must also realize that the liquidity scenario in the economy has loosened up further with the repo rates coming down. I think we can expect interest rates to only go southwards.
Having said this, we are very conscious of the fact that we have been fundamentally involved in the power sector for a long time. We have unique capabilities and unique perspectives with regard to the power sector. Fundamentally, we are looking at 3 or 4 major interventions. Number one, we are really going to incentivize the construction part of the project finance. As on date, generally there are no incentives in place for any player, whether it is a state player or a private player, to incentivize early completion of projects. So that is one area which we hope to target in the days to come. The second is the option of refinancing. The option of refinancing, once scheduled, COD (Commercial Operation Date) has been achieved. That is another option that we are looking at. We are also looking at streamlining and liberalizing the ease of doing business with respect to our guidelines. I think a combination of all these 3 parameters will make an interest rate reduction an irrelevant consideration.
I'm hopeful that once our guidelines have been further liberalized, once our incentive mechanisms have been put in place, people are not going to look at interest rate advantages. Rather, they will look at ease of doing business because as we know, there are a lot of imponderables in the power sector... I think REC is uniquely placed with its past profile, with its expert entity appraisal process, I think the interest rate consideration may not be very relevant in the year to come."
– Jitendra Srivastava, Chairman and Managing Director
Management exhibits prudent risk management by clearly stating their policy of not taking on PPA signing risk.
"With regard to your renewable PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) not getting signed... As far as REC is concerned, we are taking up only those projects for funding which have already signed PPA. So PPA not signed is not a risk to REC. But yes, there are issues in terms of signing of PPA. The renewable energy implementing agencies, NTPC, NHPC, SJVN and SECI, they have conducted bidding. And we understand that close to 40, 50 gigawatt of bidding concluded in the last year needs PPA to be signed with the DISCOMs.
And I think this is an ongoing process... So sooner or later, we have seen in the past also sometime, this gets accumulated and the number looks elevated. But I think in due course of time, things get sorted out. So that is something which lists to the sector. But again, let me say this one more time that we take up funding of a project only when the PPA is signed, so as such, no risk in our book."
– Vijay Kumar Singh, Director, Projects
This insight clarifies that a significant portion of the prepayment "problem" is actually a design feature of the large RBPF (Reforms-Based and Results-Linked Scheme) program. Unlike a typical loan being refinanced by a competitor, these are often temporary repayments by states which can then draw down the funds again under the same sanction. This explains a large part of the churn in the loan book and suggests that these prepayments do not represent a permanent loss of business.
“...this year, we have received the prepayments of around INR34,000 crores, of which around INR22,000 crores were from the RBPF, in which the scheme itself states that anyone having the surplus of the money can repay the amount and that, again, they can take the disbursement. So the disbursement and the prepayments both are flowing in the same way."
– Harsh Baweja, Director, Finance
"Regarding disbursement in the distribution segment... RBPF sanctions, you mentioned that Q4, there's no sanction. In fact, in RBPF one sanction is actually valid for 5 years... We are targeting RBPF disbursement close to INR80,000 crores to INR90,000 crores in the current financial year."
– Vijay Kumar Singh, Director
Jio Financials | Large Cap | Financial Services
Jio Financial Services (JFS) is an Indian financial services company that demerged from Reliance Industries in 2023. It aims to offer a broad range of digital-first financial services, including lending, payments, insurance broking, and asset management (through a joint venture with BlackRock).
This describes a clever, low-tech solution that overcomes the limitations of smartphones, making digital payments accessible for people in rural areas and small shops.Massive scale up opportunity
“The launch of JioSoundPay, an innovative way of receiving audio UPI alerts on the JioBharat feature phone, is helping us reach and onboard small merchants for our payment solutions business.”
— Hitesh Sethia, MD & CEO
The Jio-BlackRock partnership, which has already begun, is expected to completely change the mutual fund and wealth management industries in India.
“Our joint venture with BlackRock for asset management, wealth management, and securities broking promises to bring world-class investment solutions to the people of India… The AMC business is ready for launch with a well-defined product roadmap and go-to-market strategy.”
— Hitesh Sethia, MD & CEO
Their managed funds grew hugely, from ₹173 crore to over ₹10,000 crore in just one year, showing they can act fast. What's key is that most of this growth came from secured loans, which means they're being careful with risk.
“JFL has grown its Assets Under Management significantly to ₹10,053 crores… a mix of secured lending products catering to both retail and enterprise customers.”
— Hitesh Sethia, MD & CEO
HDFC AMC | Large Cap | Financial Services
HDFC Asset Management Company (HDFC AMC) is one of India's largest mutual fund managers, offering a wide range of investment products across various asset classes.It serves diverse investors through its extensive distribution network.
HDFC AMC is using its own money to start its new alternative investment platform. This platform will include special funds that invest in other funds, as well as credit-based strategies. This shows the company is moving beyond its usual mutual fund products and into more specialized, higher-fee investments.
“We have committed significant capital to seeding our Fund of Funds… We are also launching the HDFC AMC Credit Opportunities Fund and will invest from our balance sheet there too.”
— Navneet Munot, MD & CEO
HDFC AMC has quietly launched global fund offerings from GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, India's international financial services hub). This creates a two-way platform, allowing both Indian investors to access global funds and global investors to access Indian products, which is key for their international growth. Could materially increase HDFC AMC’s brand and flows from NRIs, institutions, and cross-border clients. Long-term gamechanger if scaled.
“We have launched three funds under HDFC AMC International (IFSC) Limited… positioned to enable global investors to tap into India and Indian investors to access global opportunities.”
— Navneet Munot, MD & CEO
HDFC AMC is avoiding direct online sales and instead quietly expanding its trusted network of financial advisors and branches. This strategy aims to capture stable, long-term assets and positions them for future growth beyond major cities.
“We strengthened our B2B platform with over 9,000 unique IFAs onboarded and over 100,000 partners engaged overall… 20% of our branches are now in emerging markets.”
— Navneet Munot, MD & CEO
Even with more branches and staff, HDFC AMC is keeping its cost-to-managed-assets ratio stable. This shows that their digital systems are working well behind the scenes, making operations more efficient as they grow.
“We continue to invest in digital capabilities and automation to ensure scale is met with operating leverage… Our cost-to-average AUM remained steady at 18 basis points.”
— Navneet Munot, MD & CEO
Nippon Life AMC | Mid Cap | Financial Services
Nippon Life India Asset Management (NAM India) is a prominent Indian asset management company that manages Nippon India Mutual Fund. They offer a diverse range of investment products and services to individuals and institutions.
Nippon Life India Asset Management (NAM India) is leveraging Japan's tax-incentivized NISA scheme (Nippon Individual Savings Account) to attract Japanese retail investors to Indian equities. This is a pioneering effort from GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City), utilizing the network of its parent company, Nippon Life.
“We launched the ‘Nippon India ETF Nifty 50 BeES GIFT’ Fund to offer Japanese investors access to Indian equities under Japan’s NISA scheme... This is in collaboration with Nissay Asset Management, which launched a feeder fund in Japan.”
— Sundeep Sikka, CEO
NAM India is actively making sure its funds, especially its ETFs where it's a leader, closely match their goals and have enough cash on hand. This shows they really care about how well investors actually do, not just about having a lot of money under management.
“For passive funds, our focus is not just on low expense but also on lower tracking error and higher liquidity... That’s the core of the business — many underestimate it in less mature markets.”
— Sundeep Sikka, CEO
While its competitors are pursuing trendy new fund offerings (NFOs), NAM India is focusing on core principles, prioritizing long-term stability over quick increases in managed assets. This disciplined approach demonstrates maturity and a strong belief in attracting investments through consistent performance.
“It’s very easy for us to launch a ₹5,000–10,000 crore NFO... but our strategy is not to chase short-term flows. We’d rather scale existing schemes with strong track records than distract teams with hype.”
— Sundeep Sikka, CEO
NAM India is adjusting its range of investment products because the growth of Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) might be slowing down. They are making sure not to rely too heavily on the excitement surrounding just small-cap or mid-cap funds. This shows they are thinking ahead about how investors' needs change over time and are managing potential market risks wisely.
“Even as overall industry SIP volume has flattened, we’re focusing on diversifying our SIP book into multiple categories... building more stable, long-term investor flows.”
— Saugata Chatterjee, Chief Business Officer
Crisil Ltd. | Mid Cap | Financial Services
CRISIL is a global analytics company majority owned by S&P Global Inc. It provides credit ratings, research services in financial, risk, corporate, economy, industry & equity sectors, working to make markets function better.
Analysts repeatedly questioned the spectacular ~30% YoY growth in the domestic ratings business for several quarters [highest in 12-13 years], especially when industry-level corporate bond issuance grew by only 3.9% in Q1 2025. This suggests a massive and potentially unsustainable market share gain.
“So, as Amish has spoken, you know, there's a clear preference for best-in-class rating in the market and there is a benefit from that. And specifically speaking about recent quarters, we benefited from the uptick in the bond market that we saw in the second half. That was a positive for us. We also benefited from a few large deals that happened in the market. And if you look at mid-corporate space, we are seeing good momentum on the enhancement side.”
– Subodh Rai, Managing Director, Crisil Ratings Limited
“I think we should look at annual revenues is what I would say... We continue to differentiate ourselves with the work that we do, the relationships that we have. I think that is what I would say. And I would also add, I mean, I think somebody mentioned earlier, is this the best? I would say the best is yet to come. I am a firm believer that I think we are going to continue driving the opportunity.”
– Amish Mehta, Managing Director & CEO
[Analyst take: Management's response deflects the direct question about the sustainability of this massive outperformance. Attributing it to "preference for best-in-class ratings" and "large deals" is qualitative.]
Auto & Auto Ancillaries
Tata Motors | Large Cap | Auto Ancillary
Tata Motors is a major Indian multinational automotive manufacturer producing passenger cars, commercial vehicles, and luxury vehicles via its Jaguar Land Rover subsidiary.
Despite some easing of US-UK tariff hikes, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) still faces a three times increase in export costs. To safeguard its earnings (EBIT), management is initiating targeted "missions" focused on reducing costs, renegotiating with suppliers, and adjusting its product strategy.
“What happened on April 3 is suddenly we got a 1000% increase overnight in our tariff bill for selling cars in the US... Even after the UK-US deal, it’s still a 300% increase. So we do have to protect our bottom-line delivery. And that’s exactly what we mean there.”
—Richard Molyneux, CFO – JLR
After carrying significant debt for years, Tata Motors now holds more cash than debt. This reduction in debt is a fundamental shift, made possible by generating a massive ₹50,000 crore in free cash flow over two years. This strong financial position gives the company the flexibility to withstand unexpected challenges and make significant new investments.
“While we ended FY23 at ₹43,000 crores debt, the peak was ₹60,000 crores… That’s now down to minus ₹1,000 crores — a net cash of ₹1,000 crores. This is a very strong performance.”
—PB Balaji, Group CFO
JLR is pivoting from low-volume legacy Jaguar to a China-specific Freelander brand through its CJLR JV. This is a cost-efficient relaunch in the world’s most competitive EV/auto market.
“Production in China of Jaguar XE, XF, and E-PACE will end this September… Freelander, built with Chinese costs and attributes, will start production soon — perfectly aligned to China’s needs.”
—Richard Molyneux, CFO – JLR
Tata Commercial Vehicles (CV) is modernizing its operations by combining connected vehicle technology, sustainability efforts, and digital sales. This aims to improve vehicle uptime, efficiency, and customer loyalty.
“Fleet Edge now has 800,000 active vehicles. Our AI tool ‘Mileage Saarathi’ delivers 5.5–6.3% real fuel efficiency gains. E-Dukaan is digitizing parts retail, and EV bus fleet uptime exceeds 95%.”
— Girish Wagh, Executive Director – CV
Eicher Motors Limited | Large Cap | Auto & Auto Ancillaries
Eicher Motors Limited is an Indian automotive company operating through two main business segments: Royal Enfield (premium motorcycles) and VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV) in partnership with Volvo Group. The company has established itself as a leader in the premium motorcycle segment and commercial vehicles market.
[Concall]
Royal Enfield crosses historic 1 million motorcycle milestone while dramatically shifting customer demographics from 38-40 years average age to 24-26 years for newer products, with 19% increase in first-time buyers indicating successful market expansion strategy.
"Over the period, we have added products which have actually brought the average age of Royal Enfield customers lower. Hunter, when we launched, it actually brought in at about 24-26 years as the average age. Meteor when we brought in, that also brought in the younger audience, so more and more what is happening is the younger audience are coming in, so the average age of the customer profile of Royal Enfield has drastically come down... our first time buyers have also increased almost close to 19%."
– B. Govindarajan, Managing Director, Eicher Motors & CEO, Royal Enfield
Strategic entry into electric vehicles with Flying Flea brand represents major business model expansion, with management indicating strong global customer validation ahead of official launch.
"We made our big move into our electric with the Flying Flea in-house brand of Royal Enfield. We began with the showcase of Flying Flea at EICMA, followed by the unveiling of the two models FF C6 and FF S6, which has received very strong interest from customers all over the globe. We are on track to officially launch this."
– B. Govindarajan, Managing Director, Eicher Motors & CEO, Royal Enfield
International expansion accelerates with local manufacturing in Thailand and Bangladesh, achieving top-3 market positions globally including #1 in UK middleweight, #2 in Argentina, and #3 in Brazil markets.
"We inaugurated our first fully owned CKD assembly plant outside India and Thailand. We also began operations of a manufacturing facility and flagship showroom in Bangladesh... We are #1 in UK in the middleweight, #2 in Argentina market and #3 in Brazil market."
– B. Govindarajan, Managing Director, Eicher Motors & CEO, Royal Enfield
Proactive tariff risk management through strategic inventory positioning protects North American operations during trade policy volatility, maintaining pricing integrity without MSRP changes.
"We have protected with an inventory which we were having there in our warehouse at Dallas. So to that extent, the season was not missed. It is also pre-tariff rate. So we are not changing the MSRP in North America... The MSRP is not altered much for our consumers."
– B. Govindarajan, Managing Director, Eicher Motors & CEO, Royal Enfield
Belrise Industries Ltd| Small Cap | Auto Ancillary
Belrise Industries is an Indian automotive component manufacturing group specializing in sheet metal and casting parts, polymer components, and suspension and mirror systems for various types of vehicles. The company serves the two-wheeler, three-wheeler, and four-wheeler (both passenger and commercial) segments, as well as agricultural vehicles. It also manufactures components for the white goods industry.
[Concall]
With premium two-wheelers growing faster than the mass commuter segment, Belrise is targeting higher content-per-vehicle via patented products and supply mandates on chassis, suspension, and disc brakes.
“Our content per vehicle in two-wheelers stands at ₹12,500. We plan to take this to ₹17,300 in the next couple of years by introducing three new products — including patented suspension systems and steering columns, which we now supply to four leading OEMs, including one in Europe.”
– Sid, Head of Strategy
Belrise’s export strategy is moving beyond a single-customer reliance to a more diversified European book, expanding margin profile and global validation for its proprietary systems.
“We’ve secured orders from two major European OEMs, both scheduled to start production in the second half of FY26. This marks a significant inflection in our export story, and we’re confident of building similar relationships across Europe.”
– Sid, Head of Strategy
Belrise repaid nearly 60% of its total debt post-listing, slashing interest burden and unlocking capital for strategic investments without equity dilution.
“Following our IPO, we’ve repaid ₹1,596 crore in debt. This deleveraging gives us financial flexibility — we can now fund growth internally, lower interest outgo, and improve our return ratios without taking on fresh leverage.”
– Rahul Ganu, CFO
Chemicals
UPL | Mid Cap | Chemicals
UPL Limited is an Indian multinational company and a global leader in sustainable agriculture solutions, manufacturing and marketing a wide range of agrochemicals and specialty chemicals.
UPL is pivoting hard toward high-margin, sustainable agri-solutions, aiming for 50% of revenue from this segment in 2 years. This signals not only higher profitability but alignment with ESG trends and regulatory tailwinds.
"Volumes in this segment grew by 21%, partly offset by currency headwinds resulting in 11% revenue growth... This volume and revenue growth have improved our overall mix of differentiated and sustainable products to 38% this year versus 35% last year, and we remain on our path to achieve a 45-50% differentiated and sustainable mix by FY27."
—Mike Frank, CEO
Despite a challenging industry backdrop, UPL generated robust cash, cut working capital sharply, and used capital transactions smartly. This enhances financial flexibility and strengthens investor confidence.
"The operating cash flow of ₹44.51 billion, approximately $530 million, exceeded our guidance of free cash flow of $300-400 million... Net debt reduced by ₹83.3 billion ($1.04 billion)."
— Anand Vora, Global CFO
UPL's worldwide crop protection business grew 11% this year, while competitors shrank. This shows UPL is gaining market share and has an operational advantage, especially with its weed killers and plant growth enhancers in North America, Europe, and Brazil.
"If you look at our peers, most companies were flat to down on revenue. Some were down in double digits... We believe we'll continue to outperform the industry."
— Mike Frank, CEO
UPL spun off its specialty chemicals business into a standalone entity, Superform with a clear ambition to serve industries beyond agriculture (e.g., pharma, mining, energy). Backed by 50+ years of chemistry expertise, this move could unlock new valuation layers and attract strategic investors or partnerships.
"We want to quickly scale-up our speciality chemicals business, so that we can unlock the shareholders' value... Our speciality chemicals business grew 24%... We have entered into six agreements with top-end potential of ₹2,000 crores annually."
— Raj Tiwari, CEO, Superform
UPL cut its working capital by 33 days, not by using financial tricks, but through real operational improvements. This means they have more cash for growth, lower borrowing costs, and shows strong execution discipline.
"Working capital days reduced from 86 days to 53 days... releasing ₹33.7 billion. This improvement came from significant inventory reduction and tighter credit controls."
— Anand Vora, Global CFO
Astral Pipes | Mid Cap | Chemicals
Astral Pipes, part of Astral Limited, is a leading manufacturer of plastic pipes and piping systems in India. They are known for introducing innovative technologies like CPVC pipes to the Indian market and offer a wide range of products for plumbing, drainage, agriculture, and industrial applications.
Astral has quietly built a ₹1,000 Cr adhesive business, making it India’s #2 player, competing with giants like Pidilite. This segment now offers both margin strength and global scale potential, especially with exports starting from Dubai and new chemistries in development.
"Astral is the second largest company today in the adhesive industry and market. And we are the first company to cross the ₹1,000 crore mark in India."
—Mr. Hiranand Savlani (CFO)
Astral is proactively investing in local manufacturing, even if it means short-term profit margins remain flat. In the long run, this strategy will reduce costs, make their supply chain more efficient, and prepare their operations for future challenges and opportunities.
"We are continuously adding capacity... not because we need it now, but to decentralize across India. Freight costs rise when polymer prices fall, so a pan-India setup helps save logistics cost long-term."
—Mr. Hiranand Savlani (CFO)
Astral is moving beyond basic pipes into tech-enabled, premium categories like fire-rated and silent plumbing systems. These products not only offer higher margins but also reduce competitive intensity, giving Astral pricing power.
"Drain Pro, Silencio, Fire, and OPVC together are already ₹450–₹500 crore. These are high-margin, differentiated products with very few players in India."
—Mr. Kairav Engineer (VP)
This marks Astral’s first structured international expansion. With world-class product approvals (UL, ISI), the company is now poised to gain from export-led growth, especially in high-potential markets like the Gulf.
"We’ve opened our first overseas office in Dubai. We’re now exporting adhesives and pipes to the Middle East and have appointed local distributors."
—Mr. Hiranand Savlani (CFO)
Healthcare
Sun Pharma | Large Cap | Healthcare
Sun Pharma is a leading Indian multinational pharmaceutical company, ranking among the largest in the world. It develops, manufactures, and markets a wide range of pharmaceutical formulations and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), serving diverse therapeutic areas globally.
Sun Pharma will invest $100M in FY26 to launch two new Specialty products. This marks a scale-up moment for its U.S. branded business and signals management confidence in long-term growth. This is not just spend, it’s revenue-building infrastructure.
“We don’t actually look at this as a cost — we look at this as an investment, and we expect this to further help us strengthen our Specialty business.”
—Dilip Shanghvi, Chairman & Managing Director
With the UNLOXCYT drug (Checkpoint acquisition), Sun Pharma isn't competing head-on with pharmaceutical giants across broad therapeutic areas. Instead, it's strategically focusing on a single, specific cancer type where it already has credibility. This smart, targeted approach could yield high returns on investment without significantly increasing commercial costs.
“Even though competitors have wider indications, focusing on a single indication lets us go deeper and perform better. Also, we already engage with these prescribers for two other products — we know the space.”
—Abhay Gandhi, CEO – North America
Sun is growing faster than the Indian pharma market, without increasing medical rep headcount. This signals internal efficiency and brand strength.
“This year, our growth is at least 3%-4% higher than the market, and the growth is coming from volume and new product. We have a good base and the momentum should continue.”
—Kirti Ganorkar, CEO – India Business
Sun Pharma is focusing its research and development (R&D) efforts more deeply on specialized areas, specifically investing in long-term, high-value conditions such as diabetes and dermatology. This strategy is expected to create very successful new drugs (blockbuster-like assets) within the next 3-5 years, with the necessary funding already included in their financial plans.
“We are now planning a trial of GL0034 in Type 2 Diabetes. Also, SCD-044 topline data is expected soon — Phase 3 studies are expensive and long, and we've already budgeted potential starts in our 6%-8% R&D guidance.”
—Dilip Shanghvi, Chairman & Managing Director
Conglomerate
Adani Enterprises | Large Cap | Conglomerate
Adani Enterprises Limited is an Indian multinational publicly listed holding company and a part of Adani Group. It is headquartered in Ahmedabad and primarily involved in mining and trading of coal and iron ore.
This is one of India's biggest infrastructure reinvestment plans, highlighting Adani's strong dedication and large capital commitment to green energy and transportation. Their diverse sector mix shows focused bets in areas like green hydrogen and PVC manufacturing.
“We’ve completed capex of around ₹31,500 crores this year. We are on track in the following year for roughly ₹36,000 crores. Green hydrogen will be ₹5,500 cr, airports ₹10,500 cr, roads ₹6,200 cr, and PVC another ₹9,000 cr.”
— Robbie Singh, CFO
With all airports now reaching profitability, Adani's airport strategy has proven its ability to grow. Upcoming detailed reports and leadership updates (starting September 2025) will offer more transparency, likely increasing investor interest.
“All [six PPP] airports have achieved EBITDA break-even now. The airport platform is on track to deliver ₹4,500–₹5,000 cr EBITDA in the coming quarters.”
— Robbie Singh, CFO
Adani's approach to nurturing new businesses is proving successful. Their mining services and green hydrogen segments are showing rapid growth in earnings (EBITDA increased by 100% and 108% respectively). This provides a clear view of the next set of businesses that will generate significant cash for the company.
“Emerging infra income is up 42%, EBITDA up 68%, and PBT up 87% — now higher than FY23’s consolidated AEL numbers.”
— Robbie Singh, CFO
Telecom
Vodafone Idea | Mid Cap | Telecom
Vodafone Idea Limited, formed through a partnership between Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Group, is a major telecom service provider in India. Offering voice and data services on 2G, 3G, and 4G platforms, the company aims to enhance customer experiences and contribute to the 'Digital India' vision.
Management cautiously confirms that the path for government intervention on the debilitating AGR dues is now clearer from a judicial standpoint.
Ques - “our understanding, at least as per media reports is that the Supreme Court did observe that if you do seek any relief from the government, then they won't come in the way.”
Ans - “Given the sensitivities around the court proceedings, I'm not allowed to comment on what was said. But what media has reported is a factual reporting of what happened in the court. There are, of course, transcripts and recordings available of the court proceeding. So I believe what media has reported is a correct reflection of what happened in the court. As far as the government relief is concerned, we are engaged with the government. Whether or what the government will do, I cannot comment on behalf of the government. But definitely, post the judgment, we continue with our engagement with the government to find a solution to the AGR matter.
“Yes, our view is that the government can do. And in fact, just to put things in perspective, even when the reforms package was announced in 2021, there was some PIL (Public Interest Litigation), which was filed in the Supreme Court. And that time the Supreme Court in their final order, they had stated to the effect that this is a policy matter, which is within the purview of the government, and they would not interfere in it.”
– Akshaya Moondra, CEO
Management explicitly links the two most critical variables for the company's future: debt funding and AGR resolution. Despite the massive equity infusion and credit rating upgrades, the CEO confirms that banks remain hesitant. This reveals that the equity raise was a necessary but not sufficient condition for securing debt.
“What the rating agency has done is somewhat different. One is that after the conversion, we have started reengaging with the banks. There are some activities which we have to finish, which are currently in progress. We will get to again a point of discussion with the banks somewhere in this month on some of the prerequisites in terms of those actions and activities are completed.
Generally, our past discussions with the banks showed that they needed some more clarity on AGR. Conversion, of course, has been a big step forward. So, I would say that the banks would want some clarity on the AGR dues. While that is happening, it is not preventing the discussions to go forward. Discussions are still continuing.”
– Akshaya Moondra, CEO
Management provides concrete, specific examples of how it is offsetting the natural increase in operating costs from network expansion.
“Some of these [cost cutting measures], I can qualitatively tell you is that negotiation of rentals has been done over the year where they were very high. Biggest saving is coming from energy cost optimization. A lot of initiatives have been taken that we can operate on a lesser energy cost. Then there have been activities and initiatives like we have in-sourced fiber management and also managed services for some of the radio networks that we had.
And I can tell you, particularly on fiber, it was a major, major activity... The end result has been good on both directions. Firstly, we have actually been able to reduce cost. But more importantly, the incidents that we used to have when the fiber was being managed through outsourcing was quite bad, and we've been able to reduce what we call as P1 incidents... by 75%. And the last area to be highlighted is that IT cost, we were continuing with many legacy contracts. We have revisited them.”
– Akshaya Moondra, CEO
Management is explicitly framing its aggressive unlimited data plans as a short-term, tactical "intervention" rather than a long-term pricing strategy.
“Nonstop Hero is a part of our strategy. As you are aware that we had been losing a number of subscribers over a fairly long period of time because we had not made investments. As we have made investments, our offering has become very competitive. To leverage that, we have created a lot of capacity... we need to have attractive propositions for our customers so as to get them back be able to experience our network, which they've not experienced for a long period of time.
And I'm sure that once they experience that with some incentives for getting them back to network, they will then continue to stay. So right now... these are interventions and initiatives meant to get our subscriber base moving in the right direction. And once we make some progress, ultimately, we would be having pricing, which is more in line with the market.”
– Akshaya Moondra, CEO
Bharti Hexacom | Mid Cap | Telecom
Bharti Hexacom Limited, based in Jaipur, India, provides cellular mobile, broadband, and telephone services in Rajasthan and North-East telecom circles. Established in 1995 as Hexacom India Ltd, it became Bharti Hexacom Ltd in 2004. Since 2004, it has operated as a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Ltd, offering mobile services and telemedia services.
This is a critical insight revealing a direct intervention by a government-related shareholder (TCIL) that has halted a key asset monetization plan.
"As you are aware, we have put the tower sale proposal to Indus Towers in abeyance as TCIL (Telecommunications Consultants India Limited), one of the public sector undertaking and a significant shareholder of Hexacom had requested the company to start a fresh process, which meets the requirement of TCIL as a public sector undertaking."
"...in keeping with the higher standards of corporate governance and transparency, it has been agreed to put the current proposal in abeyance and undertake a fresh exercise in consultation with TCIL."
– Soumen Ray, Non-executive Director
This confirms that FWA is not just a supplementary product but the primary engine of growth for the home broadband segment in Bharti Hexacom's markets which has difficult terrain and more rural location. Unlike urban-centric telecom circles where FTTH is the premium offering, Hexacom's growth thesis in homes is fundamentally tied to the success and scalability of FWA.
Fiber to the Home (FTTH) is a method of delivering internet connectivity where a fiber optic cable is run directly from the internet service provider's central point to the user's residence or business.
Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) delivers internet to a stationary location (like a home or office) by using wireless mobile network technology rather than physical cables.
“...On homes, yes, you are absolutely right. FWA is a very, very strong offering for us and as a matter of fact, lion's share of homes acquisition in Q4 has been with FWA. It is just the fact that there is no wired broadband in large geographies of these two circles (Rajasthan & North East). So, indeed, when somebody with credibility with high market share in mobility is coming up with FWA, there is taker, so you are absolutely right."
– Soumen Ray, Non-executive Director
Software/Internet
Info Edge (Naukri) | Mid Cap | Software
Info Edge (India) Limited is a prominent player in India's consumer internet domain. It started with naukri.com and has diversified into various sectors. With a focus on innovation and entrepreneurial culture, it leads in online classifieds for recruitment, matrimony, real estate, education, and related services through portals like Naukri.com, Jeevansathi.com, 99acres.com, shiksha.com, iimjobs.com, and Quadrangle.com.
After years of focusing on reducing losses and reaching cash breakeven , they now explicitly state a willingness to sacrifice near-term profitability in 99acres to capitalize on a perceived opportunity to gain significant market share.
“See, two years ago, we were losing maybe Rs. 200-220 crores a year in our non-recruitment businesses. We worked very hard over the last two years to get that to... This year we generated about I think Rs. 20-30 crores in terms of cash from operations from all the non-recruitment businesses put together. 99Acres, Rs. 2 crores positive, Shiksha about Rs. 26 crores, Jeevansathi Rs. 8 crores negative. Now, see, it's not as if we want to lose money, if we would ideally want to make money in all these verticals.
But if we see an opportunity to gain share, and improve our long-term competitive position, then we go for it, right? So in 99Acres, we've gained some share in the last six months, and we are continuing on that path. Now if revenue growth is solid, then it's not as if we will lose money, we would want to make money. But if revenue growth lags by a couple of quarters, we'll still go for share.”
– Hitesh Oberoi, Co-Promoter & Managing Director
This comment explains the divergence between Info Edge's strong recruitment billings growth (17% in Tech/IT services) and the weak net hiring commentary from major IT firms. Management clarifies that their business is driven by gross hiring (to backfill attrition) not just net headcount addition.
“Like I did say in my comments earlier, what we've done over the last couple of years is, or maybe 18 months is, one, we've grown the number of offices we have. We have increased our focus on acquiring small and medium enterprises as customers. We have these adjacent businesses and we are trying to penetrate the market more with those offerings... So I think it's a combination of three, four things. As far as IT services companies go, I've been saying this. What happened post COVID was that many of them ended up over hiring, and they built up a big bench. And therefore, they stopped hiring for a while. And they got rid of their benches. And at least now, even if they're not growing headcount, they have to replace the people who are leaving. Our hiring and our revenue is a function of attrition. So gross hiring, not necessarily net hiring.
...So my sense is that at least IT service company, most of them are at a point where their attrition rates have stabilized, they are replacing the people who are leaving, they may not be adding a lot of headcount... And of course, we have the cheapest way to hire. And in a modest environment, companies have some time to hire. So they would ideally not want to spend on recruitment firms, which are a lot more expensive way of hiring. So perhaps we are gaining some share also, hard for me to say.”
– Hitesh Oberoi, Co-Promoter & Managing Director
Management provides a clear framework for their AI strategy, moving beyond buzzwords.
“See, AI continues to surprise us... As far as our AI investments go, there are multiple types of investments we are making in AI.
One is leveraging basic, classic machine learning. So let's call it AI 1.0. Classic machine learning to improve our recommendation engines... wherever we've applied the latest sort of models, we've seen a 15-20% kicker in terms of all the metrics we track...
Second is generative AI, call it AI 2.0. We are trying to use generative AI to launch new features... for example, if there are lots of reviews on the platform, you want to give us summary...
Third is brand new products. I mentioned data products... We are piloting right now this agentic AI offering, which I'll call AI 3.0, which is basically, a recruiter agent that we have built for companies, which can help them do what they used to do in 10 days earlier, in 10 hours. And this is being beta tested in about 10 or 12 companies. Now we are moving to the commercial testing phase... As a result, our AI team has grown substantially over the last few years.”
– Hitesh Oberoi, Co-Promoter & Managing Director
This is a remarkably candid and sophisticated commentary on venture capital investing from the company's founder.
“See, the post-carry, post-expense IRR for the 2019-20 vintage fund, anything above 18-19% would be decent, above 25% would be excellent. Now, where you end up will depend on how many outliers you end up getting... IRRs can go up or down. IRRs also have this time decay element... The IRRs are indicative, and they should be taken somewhat with a pinch of salt. And until the companies get listed, or sold, or we get exits, we don't really know, what will be the IRR or what was the IRR.
We report IRR because it's industry practice and we use this method because that's industry practice. But essentially, till you get exits. I saw a good tweet the other day, somewhere saying you can't eat IRR [Internal Rate of Return], you can only eat MOIC [Multiple on Invested Capital]. So IRR doesn't feed the stomach.”
– Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Founder & Vice Chairman
Electronics Manufacturing
Dixon Technologies (India) Limited | Mid Cap | Electronics Manufacturing
Dixon Technologies (India) Limited is an Indian electronics manufacturing services company that manufactures mobile phones, consumer electronics, home appliances, lighting products, and telecom equipment for leading global and domestic brands.
[Concall]
Export strategy gaining momentum with 50% capacity expansion driven by North America opportunities due to evolving geopolitical scenario, positioning Dixon as a key "China+1" beneficiary.
"We're expanding capacity by 50% from our current levels for our anchor customer to meet their increased order book, a large part of it will be on account of exports to North America in light of the evolving geopolitical scenario."
– Atul Lall, Managing Director & Vice Chairman
Management reveals PLI's minimal margin impact, contrary to market fears, with confidence that operational improvements will more than offset PLI reduction.
"Please appreciate the PLI contribution to our margin is around 0.6%-0.7%. We feel that the initiatives that we are taking on automation, increasing our efficiency, a large scale and also our foray into the components under ECMS, the benefits and gains for us are going to be much more. There can be some time lag here and there, but on an overall basis, I think we're sitting on a much more healthier and comfortable position post PLI."
– Atul Lall, Managing Director & Vice Chairman
Backward integration strategy under ECMS scheme represents fundamental shift from assembly to component manufacturing, targeting significant margin expansion.
"We see ECMS, that's Electronic Component Manufacturing Scheme, a scheme launched on 8th of April by the government of India as a strong enabler for backward integration, cost efficiency and long-term value creation. The company's strategy to deepen the level of manufacturing by getting into components will further lead to margin expansion."
– Atul Lall, Managing Director & Vice Chairman
Export ambitions reveal next major growth driver beyond domestic market saturation, targeting 10-12 million units with global cost competitiveness.
"Almost 10 million to 12 million is going to be exports for us which we are very deeply working that these quantities should expand significantly in '26-'27. Our cost competitiveness is globally comparable so that the global market now after acquiring a very large share of domestic market, we are attempting to get into."
– Atul Lall, Managing Director & Vice Chairman
Strategic partnerships with contractual volume commitments provide competitive moats and revenue visibility in post-PLI environment.
"Please appreciate, we have deep strategic relationships. This relationship is very deeply entrenched. And for anybody to be very candid to catch up, it is not an easy task at all. Our forthcoming JV with Vivo is a strategic relationship wherein as per the binding term sheet, a very large percentage has to happen in JV only."
– Atul Lall, Managing Director & Vice Chairman
Oil & Gas
GAIL (India) Limited | Large Cap | Oil & Gas
GAIL (India) Limited is India's largest state-owned natural gas processing and distribution company. It operates across the natural gas value chain including transmission, marketing, petrochemicals, LNG, and city gas distribution through an extensive pipeline network.
[Concall]
Major infrastructure inflection point achieved with KLL Dabhol breakwater completion, transforming it into an all-weather port with 71% capacity increase potential (21 to 34-36 cargoes annually), projecting Rs. 300 crores additional bottom-line impact.
"This marks a significant milestone in KLL's journey towards becoming an all-weather port, which has increased GAIL's flexibility to efficiently respond to market dynamics. We are awaiting the final confirmation, final permission which should be available in about a week's time, after which this will operate during monsoon period also."
– Sandeep Kumar Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director
Competitive vulnerability revealed as major customers (IOCL 1.5 MMSCMD, BPCL 0.8 MMSCMD) easily switched to liquid fuels during Q4 due to relative pricing, highlighting transmission volume volatility risk.
"And this particular quarter you are talking about, there is certainly a drop of 5 MMSCMD, largely it has come down, 3 million volume of shippers has come down, IOCL 1.5 and BPCL 0.8. And this is coming down because they are shifted to liquid fuel, because this quarter there is a drop in price of liquid fuel so they switched over."
– Rakesh Kumar Jain, Director Finance
Conservative guidance philosophy with consistent outperformance track record suggests potential upside to FY26 gas marketing PBT guidance of Rs. 4,000-4,500 crores, based on historical pattern of achieving Rs. 6,000 crores vs Rs. 4,500 crores guidance.
"We have been given the guidance what is possible as a minimum. If you have followed last three years guidance, we gave Rs. 3,000 crores, we surpassed that. Then we gave Rs. 4,500 crores, we achieved almost Rs. 6,000 crores. Last year we gave guidance initially Rs. 4,000 crores to Rs. 4,500 crores, and again we surpassed that guidance to Rs. 4,800 crores."
– Rakesh Kumar Jain, Director Finance
Strategic pivot toward CGD business consolidation with Board approval to transfer six geographical areas to wholly-owned subsidiary GAIL Gas Limited, pending CCEA approval, targeting enhanced operational efficiency.
"In order to have a single entity for development of GAIL's CGD business and for bringing business synergy, efficiency and retail focused business approach, the Board has recommended to transfer six geographical areas of GAIL to its wholly owned subsidiary, GAIL Gas Limited. This was approved in the Board Meeting yesterday."
– Sandeep Kumar Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director
ONGC | Large Cap | Oil & Gas
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited is India's largest exploration and production company, engaged in the business of exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas. It also has significant investments in refining through subsidiaries like HPCL and petrochemicals through OPaL.
[Concall]
Production inflection point achieved after years of decline, with standalone oil production growing for the first time in many years, giving management confidence to maintain dividend levels despite 12% PAT decline.
"The second part is that contrary to a general belief and numbers over many years, last year, at standalone level, our production went up on oil side. And, this is a very heartening news because we believe that this positive story will remain because of the actions that we have taken. That is also reflected in the fact that despite PAT going down by 12%, we have kept dividend at same level because we feel that we can sustain this."
— Arun Kumar Singh, Chairman & CEO
New well gas pricing creating substantial revenue tailwind with 20% of gas portfolio already converted to premium pricing, adding ₹700 crores last year and targeting ₹1,500-2,000 crores additional revenue this year.
"Price of new well gas is 12% of crude…naturally, this is much better… 12% of crude even if you take $65 (crude price), it comes around $8 per mmbtu, which is much better than $6.75 that we get for APM. This additional revenue last year was around INR 700 crores. This year is likely to become…if all goes well and the prices remain stable...this at least should add to ONGC kitty not less than roughly around INR 1,500 to 2,000 crores additional."
— Arun Kumar Singh, Chairman & CEO
Dramatic cost deflation with rig rates falling 60% from $90,000 to $35,000 per day locked in 3-year contracts, while management claims 50% additional cost reductions achievable as rig costs represent ₹10,000 crores of ₹40,000 crore total costs.
"Rig rates, we at one point in time were taking at $90,000 a day that is now down to $35,000 a day. So you can infer your own numbers because we have around 30 such rigs in our western offshore... out of INR 40,000 crore, INR 10,000 crore is our rig cost. So that is a major component... we've almost achieved 50%. But 50% more we can achieve in this FY or next FY."
— Arun Kumar Singh, Chairman & CEO
Renewable energy scaling demonstrates execution capability with jump from 0.2 GW to 2.5 GW in just 4 months, targeting 10 GW by 2030.
"In January '25, if I remember correctly, we were at 192 megawatts. As on date, we are almost 2.5 gigawatt, because 2.34 gigawatt is Ayana plus PTC... I'm very happy to see that ONGC has become formidable in no time. I repeat, in no time, it has become a formidable force in renewable energy space."
— Arun Kumar Singh, Chairman & CEO
That’s it for now! Your feedback will really help shape how The Chatter evolves. Drop it down in the comments below!
Quotes in this newsletter were curated by Mridula, Apoorv, Vignesh & Kashish.
Disclaimer: We’ve used AI tools in filtering and cleaning up these quotes so there maybe some mistakes. Now, if you are thinking why we are using AI, please remember that we are just a small team of 5 people running everything you see on Zerodha Markets 😬 So, all the good stuff is human and mistakes are AI.
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