JSW Cement Limited (JSWCEMENT) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the JSW Cement Q3FY26 Earnings Conference Call hosted by GM Financial. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during this conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star then zero on your touchstone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Dharmesh Shah from JM Financial. Thank you, and over to you, sir.

Thank you. Good morning, everyone. On behalf of JM Financial, we welcome you to the JSW Cement Q3 FY26 Result Conference Call. I will now hand over the floor to the management for their opening remarks, which will be followed by interactive Q&A. Thank you, and over to you, Kunal.

Thank you, Dharmesh, and good morning to all. I would like to welcome all of you to the Q3 FY26 earnings call of JSW Cement. I trust you have had the chance to review the financial results and investor presentation, which have been shared with the Stock Exchange and uploaded on our website. All right. We are pleased to have with us today Mr. Nilesh Narvekar, CEO, Mr. Narendra Singh, CFO, and Mr. Hitendra Jarivala, Chief Marketing Officer. With this, I will hand over the call to Mr. Nilesh Narvekar for his opening remarks. Over to you, sir.

Thank you, Kunal, and good morning, everyone. I'd like to start by reiterating four key messages about the company. First is, with the total volume growth of 14% YY in quarter three of 526 and a 12% YY in nine-month FI26, JSW Cement remains among the fastest-growing cement companies in India in terms of sales volumes. Now, it is our goal, as we have maintained, to continue with the growth trajectory over the next two years as we build and ramp up our new capacities. Please. The second message is our GDBS business continues to deliver exceptional results in terms of volume growth and momentum across all key customer groups. The third, along with strong volume growth, we are also delivering substantially improved by our performance in terms of EBITDA per ton and PAC, as we had highlighted to investors during the IPO. Our cost-saving program are on track to deliver the promised savings. And the fourth message is you're coming to deliver on an efficient CAPEX program while controlling leverage levers as promised. Let me move on to list out a few key highlights for quarter CFI 26. Our total sales volume in QCFI 26 increased by 14% to 3.56 million tons, which is significantly faster than the industry growth in our region, which we believe is around 7%. So, taking this product-wise, the cement volume sold with 1.89 million metric tons increased by 7% YOY, and GGDS volume sold with 1.53 million tons increased by over 70% YOY. Within cement, the trade mix was 72% versus 52% in the previous quarter. This was primarily due to the strong demand from the institutional channel for us. The revenue stood at 16.21 crores, increased by 13% YOY. Operating EBITDA for the quarter was 285 crores, a 32% YOY improvement against last year.

Thank you.

In terms of some of our key operational highlights, our clinker utilization in quarter three was 96% and grinding unit, the grinding utilization was at 64%. Our clinker to cement factor was 52% in Q3-FI26, a slight increase versus 50% in the previous quarter. With respect to our two main products, cement and GDBS, cement realization for quarter CFI26 was 4,459 per ton, a decrease of 4% QOQ. As all of you are aware, there was a softening of cement prices, particularly in the south and east regions where we operate. GDBS realization Variations for Q3 FY26 was 3,655 per time, broadly flat on a QOQ basis, with minor variations from market to market rather than any structural change in our pricing strategy. The lead distance reduced by 10 kilometers to 273 kilometers in Q3. In terms of capacity expansion, just to reiterate, a capacity expansion plan will take the company to a grinding capacity of 41.85 with a tinker of 13.04 million, as is outlined in our investor presentation. I would like to provide a brief update on the North region. A Nagor integrated unit in Rajasthan is being set up in two phases. In the first part, in the first phase, we have a 3.6 million ton per atom clinkerization unit along with a 2.5 million ton grinding. It is on track to be commissioned in this quarter. In fact, we have received the CTO as well. In the next phase, the WHRS and the additional one MTP branding unit will be commissioned. On the Punjab branding unit, we have progressed significantly on the preparatory schemes, including engineering and ordering of main packages. We are hopeful of receiving the EC and the CTE this quarter, and thereafter, of course, we will update you on the commissioning timelines. On green power, we are happy to note that we added 6 megawatt of solar capacity, Nandiyal, sorry, 8 megawatt of solar capacity across Nandiyal and Vijay Nagar during quarter C of FI 26. And let me recap a plan for green power capacities. We started in FI 26 with 27 megawatt of solar and 21 megawatt basic recovery in our existing plants across southwest and east. Our plan was to add a further 127 megawatt of RE power, of which 8 megawatt was commissioned in quarter C FI 26. And we are on track to commission the remaining RE capacity in the coming quarters. In addition, we are planning a 60 megawatt of RE power at Nagor plus a 19 megawatt waste recovery, which is a total of 79 megawatt linked to Nagor operations. I'd like to comment briefly on ESG. We continue to have the lowest CO2 emission intensity in the cement industry with scope 1 and scope 2. Emission intensity at 270 kg per ton of cementation material in Q3. Our RE share has increased from 21% in FY25 to 25% in Q3, FY26. And we are making all efforts to increase our AF alternate fuel usage further from the 13% levels we are at in Q3, FY26. We continue to have a strong focus on health and safety of our employees and continue to pursue community initiatives in the focus areas around our plants. Finally, on the industry context, cement demand improved in December 25, supported by pickup and infrastructure activity after relatively sluggish environment in October and November. Demand is expected to remain healthy in quarter 4 of FI 26. While cement prices were weak in Q4F526, we have seen improvement in January, as all of y'all would also know through channel checks. Pricing in the non-trade segment showed meaningful improvement in south zone and margin improvement in west, which is the Mumbai market. The trend is expected to support the channel price increase in the near term. We expect pricing momentum Let them in Q4F26 to remain stable and mildew positive, led by non-trade segment recovery, and the gradual transmission of this increasing price table across the view, the trade segment or the channel segment as we refer to it. The added impact of the cost of the capex fund by central and the state government continues, and this will of course give us – give sustained momentum to the cement institution business and GGBS. We are encouraged by the announcement of the finance ministers in the recent budget that the central capex is moving up to $12.2 trillion in FY27 and increase 11% over the revised estimates for FY26. And we believe strongly that this will support the cement demand in the coming years. Let me now hand over to Narendra Singh, our CFO, to walk us through the rest of the... Narendra, over to you, sir.

Good morning, everyone. I will add some points to the financial performance on Q3, as well as nine months for the year. In terms of Q3 FY26 financial performance, revenue was 1,621 crores. That's an increase of 13% year-on-year. Despite weaker pricing in Q3, operating EBITDA improved by 32% year on year to 285 crores. That's a very healthy Rs. 802 per tonne for the quarter. Operating EBITDA margin was 17.6% in the quarter, which is a jump of 250 BITs over the last year, same quarter. Total EBITDA including other income was 371 crores, an increase of 51% year on year. PBT stands at $184 crores in the quarter, including positive contribution of $15 crores from our JV operations in Fujira. That for the quarter is $131 crores. I would like to add two points out of the above, which are one-offs during the quarter. During the quarter, we signed an SPA with Nuboko to divert our investment in Vandraj Energy for a consideration of 191 crores. This transaction has been completed in this week, and we have received these sales proceeds. We have recorded a gain from this disposal of 53.6 crores, which has been shown as part of other income in the quarter and nine months also. To be clear, this item is not included in the operating EBITDA, and operating EBITDA per ton number, as I mentioned earlier, is As a result of the new labor cohort, we have recorded an expense in respect of prior financial years of 33.7 crores, and this has been shown as an exceptional item in the quarter. Note that we have already recorded 1,466 crores of exceptional expense, which was the fair value expense arising from the conversions of CCPS. This was recorded in the first quarter of the year. So for the nine months, total exception item expense is about 1,500 crores. In terms of the major cost elements during the quarter, raw material and power and fuel increased on quarter-on-quarter basis by Rs.81 a ton. Broadly speaking, this was due to three reasons. Higher OPC volumes in the overall sales mix. Higher volume of interplant movement of raw material. Higher clinker cost in West Region. This higher raw material cost was partially offset by lower power and fuel cost due to increased RE share, which is now 25% as against 21% in the previous quarter. And of course, plant operating efficiencies did help in bringing down the power cost. Next, blended fuel cost for the quarter was stable at Rs 1.49 per mcal versus Rs 1.50 per cal in the previous quarter. Our current fuel inventory is sufficient till March or April 26, and we should see further improvement in power and fuel cost in Q4. Logistics. Lead distance reduction by about 10 km, quarter on quarter. However, the logistic costs were stable due to withdrawal of railway busy season surcharge and change in source mix, that is reallocation of volume between plants. In terms of our 9-month performance, total sales volumes increased by 12% year-on-year to $9.98 million, with cement and GGBS volume increasing by 8% and 14% respectively. Revenue is at 4,617 crores, an increase of 13% year-on-year. Operating EBITDA is 875 crores, a 43% increase, which equates to 877 rupees a ton for 9 months. Total EBITDA including other income was 953 crores. Adjusted PAT, which we define as PAT excluding the CCPS non-cash payment expense, is $306,00 in 9 months. In terms of the balance sheet, net debt is $3,557,00 at the end of December. Net debt to a bidder stands at 2.9 times. Average cost of debt for the quarter is 7.8%. Happy to note that during the quarters, Chrysler upgraded the company's long-term credit rating to AA- stable from A stable. During Q3 and 9 months of the year, the company incurred CAPEX, including maintenance CAPEX, of 491 crores, that is for the quarter, and for 9 months, 1455 crores. We will now be happy to address your questions. Thank you.

Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and 1 on their touch-tone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and 2. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. Our first question comes from the line of Rajesh Ravi from HDFC Securities. Please go ahead.

Hi, sir. Good morning. Am I audible?

Yes, you are.

Yeah. I have some good set of numbers. Sir, my first question pertains to why you mentioned non-trade prices have improved and expectations of trade prices recovery. What is the overall demand traction in Q4 that you are witnessing across your market of operations? How is the demand traction stepping up in Q4?

So, we are expecting a very healthy growth in terms of the infrastructure and housing demand in the south. The payments from the government departments also have been released in the month of October and November, which has given a lot of speed to the kind of projects which are going on, be it infrastructure projects, be it road projects. All these payments have We are expecting a very healthy demand from all these sectors. In fact, a lot of parts of South were also affected due to this intermittent rains in the month of October and November, which had not caught up speed for the projects. But in the month of December, we have seen a healthy trend. January has been much better, both in terms of prices and demand. And we are expecting this to go on in the quarter four also.

Great, great, sir. And a few more questions. On the GGBS, we have seen steel prices witnessing a sharp recovery December onward. How does that, you know, impact your margins in the GGBS positively, negatively? What are the thoughts over there?

Sorry, we didn't catch your question, Rajesh. Can you repeat that, please?

Yeah, GGBS with the steel prices shooting up 10 to 14 percent, you know, in this quarter, fourth quarter, December and January, we have seen strong price uptake. What is your thought on the GGBS profitability? How is that? How does that move along with steel prices? Yes?

No, no. GGBS and steel, I mean, we have a long-term contract, and the pricing is discovered annually. Okay. Not a discovery, rather annually, it's linked to the wholesale price index of slack cement. So, we are not impacted. Steel prices can move wherever. But for us, the price is locked unless there is a price escalation attributed to wholesale price index.

Okay. So, even your selling price do not change materially with still prices movement, right? And given that the prices, if still prices were to remain steady at the higher side that we are seeing currently, are there a potential of the next year's prices go slag, GGBS going up?

No. In fact, due to the rising demand in the infrastructure segment, and with this recent announcement of a lot of packages of high-speed rail coming up, we are seeing a lot of activity in terms of construction in the railway segment, where there is a good demand for GGBA and PSE cement. So, these are the, that may in fact help us in marginal improvement of GGBS prices for the coming year.

Understood. And, sir, in GGBS, until your next expansion, what is the growth opportunity you have available, you know, till you reach full utilization?

This is, this is likely to continue. This kind of growth is likely to continue. It all depends on which area. We are seeing a very healthy demand in the West, with a huge number of infra projects being announced in particularly MMR region. We are seeing a healthy demand here. We are also seeing a very healthy demand in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh areas with this continuation of this Capital Region Development Authority project. We are seeing a healthy demand in both AP, Telangana, as well as in case of MMR region.

And lastly, on the cement business, North's plant is, you know, phase one is on the verge of getting a commission. So what sort of market seeding we are already doing that, and what is the thought process for FY27 in terms of volumes and in terms of trade-on-trade mix on the first two years? Any direction on the, you know, on the same?

To answer your first question, we are not doing any kind of seeding over there, unless and until we get our own clinker, we are not going to get our product in the marketplace. And trade and non-trade demand will depend on, the projections will depend on the kind of demand we generate in that area.

We have added a significant amount of network already onboarded, Rajesh, which has already come on stream. Okay. So they've already signed up with us. So there's a very healthy interest across the geography. Last count, I think we had already crossed 500 channel partners and close to around 37 people, MMC agents in the next segment. So we're seeing a good amount of traction in terms of interest for us. And as Zadivala mentioned, only when we get our own clinker, which is just around the corner, we make the cement and that's when we enter the market. Understood. Understood.

One last clarification. I'm sorry to interrupt, Rajesh. I would request you to read my... I'll just complete my...

We move on to the next participant. That's Rashi Chokra from Citigroup. Please go ahead.

Thank you. Just on the point that you mentioned on GDVS that infrastructure demand should help pricing. You know, last time you talked about strategy of trying to keep pricing more stable to get, you know, more favorable demand for GDVS. Is there any change in that strategy?

No, there is no change in that strategy. We would maintain that strategy of maintaining healthy realizations for GDVS Segment 1.

The thrust is on improving the, increasing the volumes. So, we feel unless there is a drastic change in prices of OPC, we will continue to maintain the same prices.

Got it. And again, to that, I know you don't give the split between cement profitability and GGPS property, but is it safe to assume that given that GGPS pricing has more or less been stable and lag prices, I think the last time around you had spoken about your cost improvement which was 200 rupees still pending for cement and about 35 odd rupees for GGVS. Any update on that, please?

Yeah, Rashi, we are progressing on all the levers. So, as we noted in our presentation, lead has reduced during the quarter. We have also, you know, commissioned some RE capacity, which has increased our RE share as well, Q on Q. So, I think it would be best for us to update you in the next quarter because it's, you know, we calculate that cost saving on an annualized basis. But we have made progress on the remaining 200 rupees per tonne saving as well.

Understood. Okay. And sorry, just one last question. In the nine month, could you share the regional growth trends for your volumes, like between South East and West? Or for the third quarter?

Just one second.

We, except for Bihar, South Tamil Nadu and South Kerala, from where we have strategically withdrawn from a few markets, all other markets we have grown. We have grown in the East, we have grown in the South, and we have been stable in the West. Because we don't operate in many areas in the West, we are more or less stable in the West.

This is for the nine months.

This is for the nine months.

Thank you.

Thank you. Participants, please restrict yourselves to two questions. If you have any more questions, kindly rejoin the queue. Our next question comes from the line of Siddharth Merotra from Kotak Securities. Please go ahead.

Hi, sir. Thanks for your opportunity. Congratulations. and a good set of results. So I wanted to know what sort of volume guidance are we sort of building in, given the fact that our major north capacity is sort of slated to come online this quarter. So on a blended basis, perhaps if you could sort of give us some guidance and color on regional volume growth for next year, that would be helpful, sir.

So, the target continues to be a volume growth of mid-teens, probably high-teens. That's the target and that's the guidance probably we'll be giving for the next year also. So, but let's wait for the performance for this year get over. We are seeing very healthy improvement in volumes, and we are hopeful we will continue to grow at this pace. And this, when I say mid-teens, high-teens, I am not factoring in the north into this. This is excluding. North will be over and above this number.

Okay, sir, understood. This is so very helpful. I think I wanted to understand what is the strategic intent behind us setting up this grinding facility in UAE. From what I understand, our blinker is in a JV held in that geography. So, I mean, we were supposed to service Dolby from UAE. So, with this new capacity coming up, what sort of timelines are we looking at, number one? And number two, why the strategic shift in terms of clinker utilization within UAE itself? What happens to Dolby clinker now?

No. So, our current capacity in Fujaira, clinker capacity, we are producing about 2.7 million tons a year. And this grinding unit is going to be 1.65. At a, let's say, 80-85% utilization, we are looking at 1.45 to 1.5 million clinker requirement for this grinding unit. So, we still have 1 million plus to feed into Dolby, and that would continue. Dolby requirement will be around that number only for a couple of years more. Now, regarding the rationale behind it, one, this plant will be coming up within 12 months. It's a very short construction period. So, it should be up and running by April 27. And today, as you might be knowing, the market in UAE has been very hot last year or so. And the industry expects this to continue for next five to seven years, just because of all the construction activity that is happening in UAE, primarily Dubai, Ras al-Khaima, Abu Dhabi. Kuwait is on a rebuilding phase or building phase after 1991 war. So there is a very, very active interest from all our current customers if we can feed them cement.

And most of the large builders out there, without naming

any, I have met three of them, they are willing to do a long-term agreement with us for cement supplies or concrete supplies. So, we feel this is a very attractive business opportunity and hence the rationale behind putting up this unit.

Understood. Understood. Just for one small clarification, this plant is fully owned. Your clinker plant will continue to be owned in a JV. Is that understanding correct? Yes. Yes.

Yes. Correct.

Okay, sir. Thanks for the opportunity.

Thank you.

Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Pratik Kumar from Jeffrey's group. Please go ahead.

Hello. Yeah, good morning. My first question is on your North operations. When you say that you're done with your channel partners, are some of these channel partners your steel business partners or these are like some of the other competition cement partners who have now come with you and

See, the majority of the dealers that we have appointed or we are in the process of appointing in the north, be it in Rajasthan or Haryana, they happen to be core cement, cement and paint dealers, cement, paint and hardware dealers, but we are surely getting a lot of support from the steel dealers that are there in our system, we are getting a lot of support from them also, but the total number as of now who have been onboarded is very, very low. It is very low. So, it is majority of the dealers, like I would like to say, close to about 90% of the dealers, 95% of the dealers are core cement dealers who are operating with other brands also.

Sir, does that answer?

Any expectation? Yeah, that does. Also, now into FI 20,000, what is your expectation for it? Sir, it is about to come in as soon as it comes from this time.

Can you repeat, Pratik, please? We couldn't hear you.

Yeah, I'm saying, sir, what is the expectation of volumes in the year one from the North's operation?

So, we expect about 50-55% utilization in the first year, and this will gradually go up.

Okay. One separate question on GBBS. While you have been saying that the prices are expected to be stable, there is a mild dilution Q&Q again. In last quarter, you said that there is a change in customer mix, and that has reflected in this. What is the specific reason here?

No, the only reason is, see, we are running short of slag in Dolby today, and we even have to move slag from Vijayanagara to Salem. That number is up in the current quarter. So, this is a very good position situation to be in, wherein we have almost exhausted all the slag that's available in Dolby, and it would continue this way for another year or so, till the next blast furnace is up and operational within the next few months. So, it's only the cost which is impacting us because of the way we have started distributing the GGBS.

There is, basically, there is no change in strategy. It is only that, it's a geography mix change. Yeah, it is only a geomix change, nothing else.

Sure, thank you. Thank you.

The next question comes from the line of Shreya Mehta from Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.

Hi, sir. Thank you so much for taking my question. Congratulations on a great set of results. Sir, just a clarification. When we say that we aim for metting into hiking growth, excluding the north expansion, is it fair to assume that the cement segment should be growing in tandem with the industry growth as we understand that DGBS will continue to grow in high teens?

We are targeting similar growth for cement and GGBS. In fact, GGBS, we are targeting a much higher growth because of the acceptance in larger market segments. We are expecting a higher growth in GGBS. But yes, cement, we would like to get it in line with whatever we are doing as per the industry. We will definitely outperform the industry.

Sure, sir. And, sir, with Nagar expansion coming in Q4, and Punjab grinding and the phase 2 coming somewhere in FY27-28, do you see any competitive intensity increasing in the northern region, considering that bulk of capacities are lined up in the next 12 to 15 months? Yes.

See, if you go through the kind of projects coming up in Rajasthan and Haryana and the INSEA region, any kind of capacity coming there will definitely be consumed and absorbed in those markets. Additional capacities will definitely not be sufficient to cater to the kind of demand coming up over the next two, three years.

Go ahead, sir. Thank you so much.

Was that par or more expensive than the traditional mix at the RMC level?

Just one second.

See, people are accepting JGBS at a particular price. Whatever pricing levels we have maintained, people are accepting of that. And we don't see any kind of threat with the ups and downs in the cement prices in non-trade segment. Though, in the beginning of January, we've seen a little bit of improvement in the non-trade prices across all territories in South and marginally in the West. But that normally doesn't affect us because everywhere it is, majority of the places, the mixes are prescribed.

Kunal, this is Nilesh, just to weigh in. And typically, as Dariwala mentioned, the customers, when they freeze on a design mix, they don't change it that often because they should do the entire testing process all over again and the source change. So with the increase in January, Violet could have been a little more favorable in December, but I think it's back to being more favorable in terms of the design mix than the traditional mixes.

Understood. No, sir, what was interesting was despite the kind of cement pricing we've seen, and, you know, even if the mix was at par, you know, you're still able to get a 17% sort of a volume growth. So my question was, is this more related to the product? Like, is it now entering into that stickiness phase wherein customers are even willing to pay that, you know, marginal premium or even it at par at the RMC? I mean, I was just referring more towards that.

We believe so, Pranal. We actually believe so, but I would like to see this play out for a couple more quarters. The hard work put in by the technical teams around trying to emphasize the green properties of GGBS and the quality of the concrete that gets made is nevertheless, we keep doing more and more of it. So we believe that's what is causing it. I think the proof of the pudding would be once we see the performance in quarter four and thereon. I think that's when we can probably authoritatively say that, yes, it's the sticking of factor which is driving this.

Understood. And just to follow up on this, just trying to dissect it further. Now, this 17% growth, like, could you touch upon whether the underlying RMC demand was also this strong or the GDPR's penetration within the RMC TAM is improving? I am just trying to understand on the penetration levels here.

Definitely the penetration levels have increased. We have reached a much larger number of customers in the last quarter and the quarter before that. We have seen a very, very healthy acceptance by both RNC and new infrastructure projects across our operating markets.

Understood. This is the president. Thank you.

The next question comes from the line of Shravan Shah from Daulat Capital. Please go ahead.

Hi, sir. Thank you. Sir, for CapEx for FY26, so 1,455 crore we have done in nine months. Last time we said 2,300 crore for FY26 and 2,000 crore for FY27. So, if you can, again, specify, and even possibly for FY28 also, if you can, broader range would be helpful.

So, for next year, that is FY27, we will be spending about 2,000 odd crores. And for FY28 also, the number would be somewhat similar. And 26, about 2300 is what we are going to end up spending. So a few months back, we had given a guidance that we would be spending about 7300 odd crores to complete all our projects. So, and we have just one addition into that, that's the Fujira thing. That's about 39 million dollars. So, adding up all of these, I think we should be spending about $2,300 this year, $2,000, and $2,000 in the following few years. That should be sufficient to complete all the projects. Okay.

So, for Nagor, by March, how much, or maybe till December, how much we have already spent?

Hello.

Hello, sir. Please go ahead.

Just one second, sir. Yeah.

5,700 odd crores has been spent. Sorry, sir. I didn't hear, sir. About 2,700 crores has been spent till December. Okay.

Okay. Out of 3,350 odd crores. Correct.

Because the project is nearing completion, it's only some payments which are pending.

Got it, got it, sir. So, an answer in terms of the timeline, if you can just specify the remaining 1 million ton Nagor, when it will come, and this Panjidav 2.75, when it will start.

So, I think the additional 1 million should be up and running before September, current year. That is at 26, 27, sorry. Okay. Yeah, so before September 26, it should be up and running. Regarding Punjab, we are just awaiting the ECs and all. Anytime they are there, we should be starting the work because the land is in control with us. And from then, it shouldn't be more than 18 months. Of course, our target would be 15 months.

Okay. And the Vijayanagar and Dolby, 2 million Vijayanagar and 4 million Dolby, when it will be coming?

So, we are going to start them, both the projects in FY27. In the next call, we should be updating you.

Okay, and lastly, sir, is it possible to share the RMC revenue and the clinker revenue for third quarter, third quarter report 26, YY, QQ, and nine months also would be helpful.

Actually, during the quarter, we have done about 168 crores revenue.

168 crores in third quarter?

Yeah, in third quarter.

And Klinker revenue, sir?

Klinker revenue is about 36 crores.

36. And is it possible for QOQ, YOY and 9 months if you can share the numbers? And we'll share it with you, Savan, offline. Okay. Okay. That's it from my third. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. We take the next question from the line of Naveen Saadio from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.

Yeah. Good morning, and thank you for the opportunity. Just a couple of clarifications. In your opening comments, the management said clinker utilization is almost, Ninety-five, ninety-six percent, if I heard that correct. And so is it only for the Indian market or the India-based clinker capacity that we are talking about? Because you also said that cement volumes without Nagor can continue to grow in double-digit rather mid-teens, as you said. Just wanted to understand that.

You're right. The Nandiyal and Shiva, that's India operations only, is at 96%. As regards Fujita, that operates at more than 100%. But we are not considered in this calculation of 96%.

Of course. So, if it's already the domestic capacity is at 96%, are we banking on a significant increase in blending for the cement volume to grow in double digits?

It is both. Currently, we are selling some clinker. This number of 36 crores revenue, which I mentioned, that is the clinker sold to third parties. That will go off, which we are expecting in this march itself. So, that clinker would be available, and of course, the product mix would change.

And this purchase of stock in trade, which is there in the P&L, is this purchase of clinker from Fujaira unit?

Hello, sorry.

This is more of slag that we purchased recently.

That is slag, that is not clinker purchased from Kujara.

That's small volume of clinker.

Understood. Understood, understood. And just one more question if I may. You mentioned 2.5 million from grinding in Nagore coming in Q4, And Punjab, you said, is awaiting AC and 15 to 18 months thereafter. But what about the 1 millionth and additional branding unit in north? Is it at the same location and what is the timeline for that?

Same location and as I mentioned, that would come up by September 26th.

Understood. Helpful.

Thank you, Tom. Thank you. We take the next question from the line of Jain Nayan Bhatia, an individual investor. Please go ahead.

Good morning to the team. Congratulations on the good numbers. I hope you are able to hear me.

Yes, please.

If I ask you about Shiva cement or a separate call has been scheduled for the same? No, there is no separate call for Shiva.

So, we can ask, right?

Yeah, you can, go ahead.

All right, sir. Now, can you write on...

I'm sorry to interrupt, Jain, you're not audible. Could you please change your location? Am I now? Yes, go ahead. Am I now audible? Yes, yes, go ahead, Jain, please.

Yeah. Now, I just wanted to ask you about the grinding capacity that has come up in the shape. What is the breakup of the revenue of linker and cement in Shiva cement?

Just one second.

Yes. Cement, the revenue is about 14 crores. All right.

For water.

Okay.

And clinker is 112 crores.

112 crores. Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Rashi Chopra from City Group. Please go ahead.

Thank you. Just a basic follow-up. What is your green energy target for next year? Is that a 25%?

Yeah, 63% is the overall target, and hopefully this should be up and running by March, this March. We may slip very small capacities into the next financials, but the target continues to be 63% of the overall. In the existing operations, excluding North. North will be a much higher number.

Understood. And in this quarter, what was the percentage of the premium cement?

It was 60%.

Thank you.

Thank you. We take the next question from the line of Rajesh Ravi from HDFC Securities. Please go ahead. I think my questions have been answered. Thank you. Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Shravan Shah from Daulat Capital. Please go ahead.

Yeah. So, just a couple of clarifications. When we said 7,300 crore is the total capex, so this is still 33.85 MTPA, which as per the presentation is, by CY28, we are planning to start, or if you can specify.

Yes, that's right. It's up to calendar 28.

By MTPA, this is the 7,300 crore is the total capex.

Hello.

Yeah, so for the first leg, as we've given in our presentation, so it's about, it's 33.85 millis, right? As per our presentation, it's up to that.

Okay, okay, got it. And, sir, is it possible to break it down the current 21.6 MTPA capacity? Out of that, how much is for DGBS and how much is for cement?

No, the capacity is fungible. The same grinding unit produces, can grind slag and it can grind clinker as well. So, there is no specific capacity split as such.

Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Naveen Saadiyo from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead. Yeah, thank you for the follow-up.

My question was regarding this UAE facility, so you said it operates at 100% utilization, but entire volume is sold in that region only. We don't intend to bring it here because I thought initially maybe that was the plan to have those clinkers imported on the West Coast and utilize it. So, is it more remunerative there, and that's why we are not bringing it, or how should one look at it from a volume addition to domestic growth point of view?

I'll break this up into how we sell, what we sell there, and what we bring into India. So, our current capacity there, production is about 2.7, 2.75 million. And Dolby requires less than, slightly less than 1 million at the moment. So whatever Dolby needs, we bring it here. And the balance is sold domestically. Now today we are selling clinker. It is more remunerative to sell cement. Because we have this surplus capacity, we thought we will put up our grinding unit to sell cement there. So, what comes to Dolby will continue to come. Dolby's requirement would continue to be met from Ujjira.

Understood. Understood. And that cost is captured in purchase of the stock in trade, right? Or in raw material?

No, no, no. That's in raw material.

Understood. Then my second question was on the GTPs front. I think in the previous call you said because OPC prices were a little soft, That is why GGBS prices were a little under pressure. But in this quarter, then we saw a significant, like, you know, your numbers itself are like a 4% sort of a decline. But GGBS has not seen a major decline as such. So is it fair to assume that the GGBS prices, because there is some improvement now in the March quarter as we speak, as you said, So is it fair to assume that GGP's prices also have bottomed out and here to stay or is there is more dynamic pricing to it? It competes with other additives. And if that is the case, then is it project-based pricing? Is it like, you know, contract, one-year contract, three-month contract? How does this pricing, if you could just help us understand? Thanks.

The way we look at it is, we would like to hold on to the present levels of prices, but definitely, as you said, if any project is there of national importance, then we tie up with the respective contractor or the company to give them a long-term perspective or commitment on the price. But our strategy holds we would like to maintain the prices or, in fact, go up but not go down.

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that was the last question for today. I would now like to hand the conference over to the management for the closing remarks.

Thank you, everyone, for taking time to join our call. And we look forward to staying engaged, and you can obviously reach out to us if there are any further questions. Thank you, and good morning to everyone.

Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of GM Financial, that concludes this conference call. Thank you for joining us. You may now disconnect your lines.