KRBL Limited (KRBL) Q4 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to the KRBL Limited Q4F526 Earnings Conference Call. 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 typestone board. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Ashish Ten, Chief Financial Officer of KRBL Limited. Thank you and over to you.

Thank you, and thank you for joining us. Welcome to the Q4FI26 earnings conference call for analysts and investors of KRBL Limited. Today, we are Mr. Anup Kumar Mittal, Chairperson and Managing Director, Mr. Anup Kumar Gupta, Joint Managing Director, and Mr. Ayush Gupta, Head of India Business, as key speakers on the call. To begin the call, Mr. Anjul Kumar Mittal will share updates on the business, industry, and our overall strategy. Following that, Mr. Ayush Gupta will provide insights into the performance and outlook of our domestic business. Finally, I will present the financial overview of the company for the fourth quarter and year-ended March 31, 2026. Once the management has concluded their opening remarks, we will open the floor for an interactive question-and-answer session. Please note that some of the comments made during the call may contain forward-looking information, and actual results may differ from these statements. You can refer to KRBL's investor presentation available on the Stock Exchange websites and our company's website. Now, I would like to invite Anilvi to share his views. The floor is yours.

Good afternoon, everybody. Thank you for joining us today for KRBN's Q4 and F42026 Earning Call. I sincerely appreciate your continued trust and confidence in the company. Today, I will take you through the global rise market environment. Developments in the Basmati industry, the impact of recent geopolitical events on trade and logistics, and KRBL's performance for the quarter and the full financial year. Let me begin with the Global Right Outlook. As per the latest USDA estimates, Global rise production in the upcoming 2026-27 marketing year is expected to moderate to approximately 538 million mt, compared to around 543 million mt in the previous marketing year. The decline is primarily expected from the lower production in key exporting regions including India, Myanmar, and the United States. At the same time, global rice consumption is expected to increase to approximately 541 million metric tons compared to around 538 million metric tons in the previous year. This increase is largely being driven by higher consumption in India, where domestic demand alone is expected to rise by nearly 4 million metric tons. As a result of lower production and higher consumption, global rice stocks are expected to decline in the coming marketing year, which may keep overall rice market relatively firm. Despite this tighter global balance sheet, India continues to remain highly competitive in international market and today commands close to 40% share of global rice trade. In fact, USDA forecasts India's total rice export in the 26-27 marketing year at approximately 25 million metric tons, which is higher than the previous year, despite lower domestic production. This clearly demonstrates India's strong structural position in the global rice industry. Good morning. To India, USDA estimates rice production for the coming marketing year at approximately 150 million metric tons compared to 152 million metric tons in the previous year. While production is expected to moderate slightly due to weather-related concerns and early monsoon uncertainty, India is expected to comfortably retain its position as the world's largest rice producer. At the same time, domestic consumption is projected to increase significantly from approximately 124 million metric tons to nearly 128 million metric tons. This continued rise in domestic demand, coupled with lower production expectations globally, could support stronger rice pricing trend in the coming year. On the Basmati front, the 2025 crop season has now largely played out in the market and we have much better visibility on the actual crop outcome. Overall acreage remained healthy across Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and parts of Madhya Pradesh. Near pest resistance and higher yielding seed varieties continue to improve farm productivity and disease resistance. However, weather conditions during the later part of the monsoon created regional quality variations. Localized flooding and heavy rains in certain parts of Punjab and Ariana affected moisture levels and milling recovery in some pockets. At the same time, other producing regions delivered very good grain characteristics, aroma, and length. As a result, the crop can be characterized as adequate in quality but mixed in quality. This has led to greater segmentation between premium export-grade material and lower-grade supplies in the market. Pakistan Basmati crop also experienced similar weather-related disruptions. While early reports pointed towards sewer flood-related damage, subsequent assessments indicated that the overall impact was more localized. Certain districts did face losses, but several producing regions delivered satisfactory rain quality and aroma. An important development this season has been pricing dynamics between India and Pakistan. Since October 2025, Pakistan's Super Basmati export costs have consistently traded at a premium to comparable Indian 1121 offers. Pakistan F.O.B. prices. In many cases, remained in the range of approximately U.S. dollar, 1180 to 1220 per meter ton, while Indian prices remained relatively more competitive due to larger availability and greater export volumes. This pricing differential has reinforced India's competitiveness in global markets. While Pakistan achieved higher realization on select grades, India continued to benefit from stronger overall export momentum, diversified buyer relationship, and large supply availability. As a result, FY2026 has been a record year for Indian rice exports. Basmati exports grew by approximately 8% year-on-year to 6.5 million metric tons, the highest ever Basmati export volume achieved in a financial year. Non-Basmati exports also remained strong at approximately 15 million metric tons, reflecting a growth of around 6% over the previous year. India's ability to supply both premium and mass market rise categories at competitive prices has helped maintain its dominant global position. At the same time, the second half of the financial year shows a sharp rise in geopolitical uncertainty, particularly following the escalation of tensions involving Iran, the United States, and Israel. These developments significantly disturbed shipping and logistics across the Middle East region during March 2026. A considerable amount of cargo remained stuck at Indian port as well as Middle Eastern destination ports during this period. However, with proactive coordination between governments, port authorities, shipping lines, and importers, a large part of these shipments Issues were gradually resolved during April and May, and cargo have now largely reached their destination. KRBL, like the broader industry, was also impacted by this disruption across multiple Middle Eastern markets. However, through close coordination with the buyer and support from authorities, the operational challenges were managed effectively. One of the biggest consequences of the geopolitical situation has been the sharp increase in logistics and freight costs across the Middle East. Shipping routes have become concentrated through a limited number of operational ports. For example, Khor Fakhan has emerged as a major transshipment hub for UAE-bound cargo. Jidda for Saudi Arabia, Salalah for onward movement into Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain, while Jordanian routes are increasingly being used for Iraq-related trade blows. Marine insurance coverage continues to remain available, which has been critical for continuity of trade. However, war is premium. Charged by insurance companies have increased materially and are now being applied shipments by shipment depending on destination and route exposure. Despite this elevated logistics and insurance cost, Buyers across the Middle East have broadly accepted the higher freight environment, largely because there are currently limited alternatives available to maintain continuity of food supplies in the region. Looking ahead, we believe that as geopolitical tensions stabilize, supply chains and freight markets should gradually normalize. Inventory levels in several Middle Eastern markets have reduced over the last few months due to shipment disruptions, and therefore we expect demand deplenishment once logistical stability improves. There have also been recent discussions around concerns of a potentially deficient monsoon in India for the upcoming 2026 crop season. At this stage, it is still early to make definitive conclusions. These are higher levels showing progress and monsoon disruptions over the next few months will be critical indicators. However, any meaningful weather disruption could tighten paddy availability and support stronger price realization in the coming seasons. Now turning to KRVL performance. Our export revenues for Q4 FY2026 stood at Rs. 279 crores, compared to 450 crores in Q4 FY2025. The decline was primarily due to lower export to the Middle Eastern region during the peak of geopolitical disruption and logistic bottlenecks. For the full financial year, FY2026 export revenue stood at Rs.1555 crore, representing a growth of approximately 6% on year. Overall revenue for Q4 FY2026 was Rs.1526 crore, supported by strong domestic blended sale, which partially offset the temporary decline in exports. The company reported an EBITDA of Rs.237 crore and a PAT of Rs.155 crore during Q4-2026. Despite the external disruption witnessed during the quarter, we are pleased with the company's overall operational performance during FY2026. The resilience of our branded portfolio, disciplined procurement strategy, strong balance sheet, and diversified market presence have allowed us to navigate a highly volatile global environment effectively. Looking ahead into FY2027, we remain optimistic about the medium-term outlook for the rice industry, and for KRBL specifically. India continues to enjoy structural advantage in rice production, export competitiveness, and global biorelationships, provided geopolitical conditions in the Middle East. Stabilized over the coming months, we expect export demand and shipment flow to improve meaningfully. Our strategic priorities remain clear, maintaining leadership in premium blended basmati rice, strengthening procurement quality and supply chain efficiency, expanding our global market reach. On the real estate side, I would also like to reiterate. Our primary objective remains treasury optimization and long-term value creation. The core-rise business continues to remain our primary focus. We will evaluate real estate opportunities selectively and only where they are value-creative and strategically beneficial for the company. Regarding the Samalkha District Manipat land parcel, we continue to assess various monetization and development options. Our approach remains flexible, prudent, returned, focused, and any major development decision will be undertaken only after detailed evaluation and necessary approvals. In closing, I would like to thank all of us. Shareholders, customers, partners, and employees for their continued support and confidence in CRBL. The past year has demonstrated both the resilience of the rice industry and the strength of our business model. We remain committed to delivering sustainable long-term growth while maintaining the quality, trust, and leadership associated with the India Gate brand. I will now hand over to Ayur for domestic business update and detailed financial review. Thank you once again.

Good afternoon, everyone. I will walk you through the performance of our India business for quarter 4 financial year 2026 and the full year financial year 2026. It has been a strong year for our domestic operations, and quarter 4 was a quarter we are particularly proud of. Let me start with the headline. Quarter 4 financial year 2026 was our best ever quarter for domestic revenue. The revenues of Rs. 1230 crores in Q4 financial year 2026 is a 22% growth year-on-year, the highest-ever quarterly domestic revenue for KRBL. Growth was driven by 16% rice volume growth and 5% rice realization growth, a healthy combination of volume expansion and value improvement. Expanded non-Basmati revenues of Rs.78 crore in Q4 up from Rs.54 crore in Q4 financial year 25 is a growth of 44% year-on-year. Our non-Basmati portfolio continues to grow at a meaningfully faster rate, validating our strategic thrust to widen the RISE portfolio beyond Basmati. Together, these numbers reflect both strength in our core and growing momentum in our adjacencies within RISE. Full-year domestic revenue, excluding power, stood at Rs. 4,444 crores, a 10% growth over financial year 2025. The portfolio breakdown for the full-year tells a compelling story. Branded Basmati, full-year business grew by 9% year-on-year, driven by consistent volume growth and improving realizations. Branded non-Basmati business for the full-year grew by 38% year-on-year. This is now a 271 crore business in just a few years and growing rapidly. It represents an expanding share of our domestic mix and a meaningful new growth engine for the organization. The non-Basmati trajectory is particularly noteworthy from 197 crores to 271 crores in a single year, growing at nearly four times the rate of the overall domestic business. This validates the consumer opportunity in branded, quality non-Basmuti rice and our ability to compete and win in this segment. Despite competitive intensity in some channels, we have defended and extended our market leadership position across the board. For financial year 2026, our channel-wide market share in packaged Basmuti rice stands as follows. General trade, we have a market share of 36.9%. We are the undisputed market leader across every channel in which we operate. That is a position we have worked hard to build, and we are investing deliberately to protect and expand. Domestic strategy continues to be anchored around four clear pillars. Let me update you on the progress on each. Pillar 1, democratizing our distribution. Our retail footprint has grown to 3.4 lakh retail outlets across all channels, the strongest outlet presence in the packaged Basmati category. We are reaching 1.2 crore urban Indian households, a key metric for our long-term brand penetration goals. Our focus has sharpened on deepening presence in better quality stores and increasing penetration in under-penetrated towns. Distribution expansion is becoming more granular and targeted, particularly as we invest in direct coverage in towns previously served indirectly. Pillar 2. Remodeling our supply chain. Our supply chain transformation is ongoing and is a critical enabler for our distribution ambitions. We have established 16 CNFs and 8 super stockers to ensure wider and deeper supply across geographies. Our move towards a stronger FR model, a structured go-to-market framework, is driving better serviceability and cost discipline. Key focus areas include safeguarding against channel infiltration, tighter governance on GTM practices, and driving servicing and cost efficiency in modern trade and e-commerce. These structural changes are designed to progressively improve service quality and operating margins over the medium term. Pillar 3, investing in the brand. Brand building remains a cornerstone of our domestic strategy. In quarter 4, we executed several high-impact campaigns that reinforced our brand equity and cultural relevance. Three notable ones that I would like to talk about is our campaign around New Year's called the Quitter's Day for a new brand called Uplife. Built on the Uplife's health philosophy, encouraging consumers to keep it up on their wellness journey, featuring Smriti Mandhana, Lakshel Alwani, and Ashneel Grover, the campaign delivered 139 million views, 113 million reach, and 2.1 million engagement. Also, the contest garnered 6,000 plus participants. Our next campaign that I'd like to talk about is a campaign that we did on Women's Day, Hashtag Not Your Biryani. India Gate turned everyday food language into a powerful cultural conversation challenging casual sexism. A bold, values-led campaign that generated 36 million views, 410,000 shares, 600 stories, and wide editorial coverage. Lastly, but not least, our campaign on Eid. We did a strategic partnership with Zepto and Blinkit, placed Indiagate Classic Biryani Masala and Indiagate Classic Rice at the heart of Eid's celebration, delivering 28 million reach and 59 million impressions. Our brand investments are building narratives that make Indiagate culturally resonant, not just a product on the shelf. This supports long-term premiumization and household penetration. Pillar 4, following into new products and categories. Our category adjustancy initiatives are gaining traction, and Quarter 4 saw meaningful new launches. Indiagate Classic Masala Mill Mixes. We launched four new variants, Kashmiri Damalo Masala, Patiala Paneetika Masala, Purani Dilli Butter Chicken Masala, and Chaterina Chicken Masala. These extend the Indiagate classic premium promise into the ready-to-cook segment, with differentiated positioning rooted in regional culinary authenticity. Edible Oil. Full-year financial year 2026 revenue of the edible oil business was 12 crores. This is early stage, but the distribution architecture is being put in place. We expect this to scale in financial year 2027 as distribution deepens and consumer trials build. Further in the uplife category, we have the uplife health rice range, in the brown rice, the basmati brown rice, and the low GRI segments. This segment continues to build brand salience amongst the proactive health consumers. Brand investment and digital campaigns are driving both awareness and trial in this emerging segment. For context, Q3 financial year 2026 domestic revenues was 1,104 crores, broadly flat year-on-year, reflecting competitive intensity and pricing headwinds in the market at that time. The strong sequential acceleration in Q4 to 1,230 crores total reflects recovery and acceleration in branded volume growth from flat in Q3 to 16% overall volume growth in Q4. Price fabulization supporting improved realizations, distribution and brand investments translating into tangible top-line outperformance, non-basmati maintaining its strong growth trajectory regardless of the broader category cycle. The market leader invariably rebounds faster when category conditions improve. Quarter 4 is a clear demonstration of that. Some days. Financial Year 2026 was a year of record domestic revenue, Rs. 4,444 crores, driven by consistent branded volume growth and disciplined premiumization. Quarter 4 was our best-ever quarter domestically at Rs. 1,230 crores, validating the strength of our brand, distribution investments, and consumer preference for India Gate. Branded Basmati growing 9% for the full year. Branded non-Basmati delivered 271 crores growing 38%. A business that is scaling fast and diversifying our domestic mix. We have defended and grown market share across every channel. General trade at 36.9%, modern trade at 38.7%, and e-commerce at 40.1%, all at market leader levels. Our four strategic pillars are advancing in tandem. Deeper distribution, supply chain restructuring, cultural resonance, brand investment, and category adjusts the initiatives. Our focus remains unwavering, strengthening the core, premiumize the portfolio, widen distribution, and build adjacencies, all while protecting margins and the long-term equity of the India-Gate brand. We are confident in the trajectory of our India business and look forward to building on this momentum in financial year 2027 as well. Thank you. I'll now hand it over to Ashish for its remarks.

I will now take you through the performance for the quarter and financial year ended March 31st, 2026. All figures mentioned by me, Rep, obligated financials of KRBA Limited. For the quarter, the total income was at 1,526 crores, higher by 6% over the corresponding quarter last year. Domestic revenue witnessed robust growth of 22%, while export revenue declined by 33% due to lower exports to the Middle East region. Gross margin for the quarter stood at 29.6% compared to 31.5%, lower due to higher COGS and lower other income. EBITDA margin for the quarter was at 15.5% versus 16.2% in the same period last year due to lower gross margin, partially impacted by MTM movements on the investments and also partially benefiting from lower other expenses. Pat for the quarter was at 155 crores, or 10.1% in margin terms, as against 154 crores, or 10.6% in the corresponding quarter. For the year as a whole, total income stood at 6,168 crores, higher by 9% against FY25. In FY26, domestic revenue grew by 10%, mainly driven by branded rice volume growth of 8%, while export revenue grew by 6%. Cost profit of the company in terms of margins was at 28.3%, while EBITDA and PAYET margins stood at 15.8% and 10.5% respectively. Margin improved mainly due to lower input costs and higher other income. Moving to the balance sheet, our total inventory as of March 31st-26 stood at 3,714 crores. This includes 879 crores in paddy inventory, which was at 791 crores. On a volume basis, as of March 31st, Paddy and rice inventory stood at 230,000 tons and 427,000 tons, respectively, compared to 217,000 tons and 476,000 tons of rice in March 31st-25. Lower inventory is due to both lower per unit cost and lower quantity. Net bank borrowings, including treasury investments, was at a negative 789 crores as of March 31st, 26, as against a negative 405 crores last year. Lower inventory, coupled with higher cash profits generated in FY26, will result in lower net bank debt. A dividend of 450% of face value. Translating into Rs.103 crores has been approved by the board and is subject to shareholder approval in the upcoming AGE. With that, I come to an end of my prepared remarks. I would now like to hand over to the moderator for opening the Q&A session. I would just like to mention that as the ED matter is subjudice, we will not be in a position to respond to queries on this matter. So over to the moderator now.

Thank you very much. We will now begin with the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star then 1 on the touchstone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and 2. Participants, you are requested to use answers while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. A reminder to all, you may press star and 1 to ask a question. We have the first question from the line of Chirak Sengal from First Water. Please go ahead.

Yeah, comments on very good performance as growth in India balance to overall returns. My first question is on India business. What markets are games did we see in Q4 across all these channels?

Actually, we don't have Q4 market share levels. What I shared was the full financial year market share levels, but I just have to tell you from my experience, the trend has improved in the latter half of the year. So, while the overall, whatever I just shared with you as overall market share levels, Q4 would be higher, you know, 100 to 200 business points.

But this is the scientific form. Okay, the reason I'm asking is because the overall financial year numbers suggest a decline in market share.

Versus last year, no, sorry, not versus last year Q4. I meant versus sequential market share levels across quarters. Versus last year Q4, I really don't have the numbers at hand right now.

Okay, no worries, I'll take it offline. Second question is on the exports. So if you take Q4 as the base, How much further drop do we expect in Q1?

As far as export is concerned, it mainly depends upon geopolitical situation. It is difficult to comment, but one thing is definitely we can foresee that there is a huge gap as far as food storage or food. Surplus is concerned. Whenever this Iran issue will be solved, I'm quite sure there will be a huge pressure on shipments and orders as far as exports are concerned.

Okay, but let's assume that the current condition to continue in June, like, basis that, I'm just trying to understand if there is any, you know, improvement on a month-on-month basis. So, like, for Q1, if you were to, like, just give me a trend versus Q4, is there a reduction, like, further reduction versus Q4?

See, let me give you a broad outcome. As far as Middle East business is concerned, the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have impacted the overall trade flows and shipment volume of several countries in the region due to disruptions in logistics, shipping, and port operations. However, we believe. The current situation is temporarily in nature, and over the coming weeks, there should be a greater clarity on how the region stabilizes. In the interim, shipments are continuing through alternate ports and through Although this has resulted in higher freight costs, elevated insurance premiums, and longer transit time, despite these challenges, buyers have broadly remained supportive as there are limited alternatives available for maintaining the food supply continuity in the region. So, as far as we are concerned, we are expecting that this geopolitical tension is not going to remain for months together. It is now a matter of days only. Any time it can come to a settlement.

Okay.

Sorry to interrupt in between Chirak, I would request you to please rejoin the queue again as for our participants in the queue. Thank you. Thank you. Before we take the next question, ladies and gentlemen, in order to ensure that the management will be able to address all the questions from the participants in the question queue, we request you to kindly limit your questions to two per participant. If you have a follow-up question, please rejoin the queue again. We will take the next question from the line of Amit Agarwal from Leve Investments. Please go ahead.

Good afternoon. My question is regarding uplife oil. What is the limit for the oil, and what is the expectation from the product? Because nothing much has been said about the oil market.

So, Amit, thank you for the question. I mentioned in my remarks that in this financial year, we have done about 12 crores of revenue in the edible oil business. While the category of blended edible oil today is at about 16 to 1700 crores, and the reality of the category is almost 85 to 90% market share rests with one single brand. Right. So the edible oil or the blended edible oil category has been created, you know, by that brand. And while it's an enticing category and a health forward category, I think it's a little bit of a long term journey that we are looking at in building brand equity. So while we are at 12 crores this financial year, you know, we are re-evaluating our GTM in the general trade market specifically. While MTECOM, you know, continues to. So we will see a healthy double-digit, I would say, growth in the category this financial year.

Do we have any supply chain or exchange also in this product or no?

Frankly, supply chain for us is quite stable and sorted. Yes, obviously, because of the volatility emerging from geopolitical situations, the price volatility has been quite significant in this financial year. But since our volumes are quite minimal right now, I don't see that as a risk, you know, in the early journey of...

And my second question is regarding exports. There's a devaluation in the currency in the last two or three months. So how much that thing has benefited our exports? And do we expect to have a better number I'm talking about compared to the last quarter, exports-wise?

As far as the devaluation of the currency is concerned, we have a policy in the company to book 80% whatever we sell. So normally we get a profit of even half percent on the... Foreign exchange side, we cover, we forward the dollars. So we don't take a risk because it could be otherwise, other way also. But still, let me tell you, at the moment, we have to still cover around five, six million dollars. And in that, we will be definitely making a profit of 2% or 1.5% as far as foreign exchange is concerned. Our future, definitely, as far as future is concerned, to whatever we sell in the current market, which is today's dollar price.

And my question is regarding the exports. We understand that the Iran market has been affected. So, are exports to Saudi Arabia and Dubai or Oman or Iran, are they also affected or just the Iran part is affected? This is my last question.

No, let me tell you the Saudi business continues to progress well and we are seeing consistent demand with regular shipment movement under our current model of working. But there is still, because of the logistic constraints and shipment problems, that area is affected, but we are making shipments via Jiddah. The Saudi Arabian business is continuing via the Red Sea site. So there is a problem, but not to that at chance compared to Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE and all. Because I tell you, as far as Dubai is concerned, We are doing exposed via salala, but as far as quantums are concerned, they are affected. They are small.

Okay. Okay. Thank you.

Thank you. We will take the next question from the line of Krushi Parekh from Bugle Rock Capital. Please go ahead.

Yeah. Hi, sir. My first question is, I mean, wherever the situation currently is and the inventory levels that we have, how are we approaching FY27 when it comes to our volume of buildup for inventory?

Yeah, this is Ashish. So, see, as far as the inventory is concerned, we are placed very comfortably. So, in rice equivalent terms, as of March 31st, we were carrying about 5,30,000 tons of inventory. This is badly converted into rice and rice altogether. Now, if you look at our volume sales in last financial year, domestic business did about 5,60,000 MT, and the export business, we did about 1,60,000 MT. So, compared to the volumes, we are very well placed in terms of inventory. Similarly, in terms of pricing, I mean, we blocked in a price where, regardless of where the price moves in FY27, we are very comfortable. So, we don't see any challenges on the inventory side.

No, no, sorry. I think my question was, how are we looking to build up our inventory going forward? Because we have seen a decline as such in the last year. So for this particular year, how are we looking to build it up?

It depends on the season, what is the pricing and all. It is too early to say, but naturally, we will build up our inventory in the coming season. We are looking at the export demand, and we think the...

Okay, and my second question is, considering how, I mean, it's being a balance sheet business, how is the competitive scenario shaping up in the exports market? Do you see any stresses when it comes to the competitors or the peers? And how are we looking to play, you know, on the other side of the war whenever it ends?

Let me tell you, there has been a big gap built up over the whole of Middle East, because whatever stocks they were having, there is a vacuum, there is a big vacuum created, and I am quite confident that any type of settlement which takes between the Americans and the Iranians, and this war settles down, or conflict settles down, Definitely, the demand will be just double than the normal demand. For example, We understand that every country has come out with a big tenders at the government level to build up surplus food stocks, food security stocks. Therefore, demand is going to be phenomenal demand. There's no doubt. And the stocks which are lying with us, which are unsold. I do not talk about the unsold. There is a very good margin. There is a margin of around 8 to 9 percent as far as the prices are concerned. So, therefore, we expect a good year ahead.

But the competitive pressure, do you feel it will remain the same as it was pre-war or it is likely to be different going forward?

Now we are not worried of the pressure I give you. For example, I will not be very specific. We have got about 35 to 40 tons of rice lying at Kandla port, out of which about 13-14,000 tons is already packed. We do not know and that pricing, I talk about that, at today's prices it is around 20% cheaper. Now, if we cancel that contract because it has been lying at the port for more than two months, we might cancel it. So that 20% margin can come. There have been several buyers at the port itself who are asking us, but because it is meant for export, we want to do export. If I have to sell it domestically, I will get that 20% margin.

Okay. Got it. Thank you. All the best, sir.

Thank you. We will take the next question from the line of Sormund Chaudhary from Mantharovar Binanshils. Please go ahead.

Good afternoon, sir, and thank you for the opportunity. On the export front, I just wanted to know what is our current run rate, like how much would we have done in April, let's say?

We don't have an April number. We don't have an April number.

Swaminder, this is Ashish. We will not be able to share month-wise numbers.

Okay. Can we maintain the Q4 numbers in this quarter, or would it be even lower than that?

See, as of now, I mean, if we look at April, it seems to be in the same trajectory, but May and June is something that we need to see.

Okay. And secondly, on the domestic front, this quarter has been a really great quarter. So what is the outlook going forward? Like, can we maintain this level of domestic run rate for the next two, three quarters? And secondly, what would have been the volume growth in the domestic market YOY?

So on the domestic business, you know, we are working towards 10% volume growth here over year. That includes general trade, monetary e-commerce, while volume growth will vary across the channels, but at an organization level in the domestic markets, we are looking at a 10% volume growth. In terms of how much we've grown?

In quarter 4 is 16% volume growth.

16% volume growth in quarter 4.

Okay, okay. And lastly, since we are sitting on close to 1,000 crore in cash, are we looking at an extraordinary dividend or a buyback or something?

So, Swami, on dividend, I'd cover it in terms of what the board has approved, and we'll place it in the AGM. In terms of other measures, you know, nothing, no specific update right now.

Okay. Okay, fine. That's it from my side. Thank you.

We will take the next question from the line of Nooresh Mirani from Analyzes India. Please go ahead.

Good afternoon, sir. My simple question is the company is looking to buy real estate at a 30-40% discount. If the company is available at a 30-40% discount and the promoters do not tender in a buyback, isn't that a better option?

If you want on a real estate update, let me tell you one thing. On the real estate front, we have taken one opportunity in Samalka land parcel. The total land area is approximately 130 acres and is divided into two separate portions of our road. The main GT road is passing from the center. There are two sides of that requirement. One side is around 60 acres and the other side is about 70 acres. The 60-acre parcel is strategically located and is currently intended for Kervia's own warehousing. We have a plant near Sonipath in Barotha where we are having a very big sewer problem of the space. We intend to develop warehousing over there, but we have a question mark that if we today sell that land, we have a much bigger profit than developing a warehouse, but business is more important. So we are not caring to monetize that piece of parcel, but to develop our own warehousing. So in our mind, as far as real estate is concerned, We intend to develop our own business. That is in mind as far as real estate is concerned. You will not believe in last three months we have got so many opportunities, but we are not very clear whether we should invest in real estate or not. Till time we have a very big opportunity where we feel we can double our investment.

Yeah, my second question is regarding the Basmati price rise, which has happened in the last three, five months, and what is the management's view for the next one year for the rice price?

It is too few to comment anything on the price. We have already been given a contract when I say we meet on behalf of All India Rice Export Association for mapping the total crop right from Punjab up to MP, Rajasthan, everywhere of the crop size. And once we know about the crop size, then only we can discuss more on 27.

Thank you.

We will take the next question from the line of Shashwaj Jain from NL Alpha. Please go ahead.

Hi, thank you for the opportunity. I just had a couple of questions on the export side. Firstly, can you quantify the channel inventory that we have in the export market? And secondly, have you made any progress on appointment of distributor for the Saudi market?

See, let me tell you, as far as Saudi business is concerned, we continue to progress well, and we are seeing consistent demand with regular shipment movement under our current model of working directly with the wholesaler. We are being extremely selective in this process and we believe the Saudi market is strategically important and the financial implication of appointing the wrong partner can be significant. Therefore, our priority is long-term alignment and operational statability rather than speed up of the execution of any distributor. The orders are coming. We are there in the market.

Understood. And just regarding the channel inventory, if you can quantify it for the export, Ma.

No, I think it's difficult to comment on channel inventory, but I think Anilji in his speech had mentioned that if you look at the broad Middle East markets, most of them are sitting at lower inventory than their own normal levels at a country level.

We can't remember many of our channel.

All right, understood. Thank you.

We will take the next question from the line of Bhavik Shah from Inexa Capital. Please go ahead.

Hello, sir. Sir, can you help me with the price realization and domestic and price realization and export in Q4?

If you look at the Basmati branded realization on the domestic side, that was around 79 to 80,000 rupees per empty. And on the export side, the same number was about 138,500 or 139,000.

How it has changed, say, for example, in Q, going ahead in Q1, how will it change in terms of domestic price realizations and international price realizations? And say, when you say your shipping cost and freight cost are at least in international, so how much it has impacted your gross margins over there?

I think the question is that what do we expect, how do we expect the realization to change in Q1 for the domestic market and the export?

Domestic business, you know, where the realizations of 80,000 are going to remain upwards positive only. I think another 2-3% improvement in average realization will be seen in quarter one in the domestic front.

Understood. And so any guidance for FY27 in terms of volume or in terms of overall guidance?

Domestic business, we spoke about domestic business, we are working at an average 10% volume growth, and export, we have already spoken a lot about the conditions that are prevailing, so really putting down a number is not possible.

Right, and so in terms of inventory, we have around 3700 of inventory, if I just take the current quarters, that is around 1500 crores, so we have around two quarters of inventory. So, like, how do we see the latter half of the year?

The call comes in the month of September-October. Actually, it is not that we sell everything old. It is a mixture of old and new. We carry this crop of 3700 crores. We carry it down to more than one year, one and a half year. It is a mixture of old and new. In September, we start selling new crop also.

And there are two things, let me tell you. One is the aged rice, which is dried from 15 months to 2 years. One is steamed rice, which is sold out of the new crop. So what Anoop is saying, that when we sell, there are various different variants, which are sold as aged rice, which are 2 years, 15 months, and like this. And there are certain variants, which are steamed rice, which is sold out of the new crop or the new manufacturing.

All the best.

Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, we will take that as the last question, and with that concludes the question and answer session. I now hand the conference back to the management for the closing comments.

Let me tell you, as far as Basmati business is concerned, the total country is passing through difficult times, leaving Europe and America, rest all of the world, has come in the clutches of this state of Hormuz crisis. I am confident that this Trump going to China might settle this issue. But I think this issue has to be settled because it's not dependent only on Basmati exports, but the whole country's inflation and economics are now dependent on this settlement of war. So once the war is settled... I think that the exports will double up in the next six months because there has been a big gap as far as food reserves are concerned. And Middle East is consuming basmati rice in all the three meals, whether it is breakfast or lunch or dinner. So I am quite hopeful even at the buffer stock level or the strategic food reserve level. The governments will also buy, and the private trade will also buy. And we are hopeful that whatever setbacks we had in the last three, four months will be covered up in the next three, four months. But we are waiting for the settlement. And we are once again, thank you to the investors and to everybody to always support us and always being with us, with the company. Thank you so much for that.

Thank you, members of the management. On behalf of KRPL Limited, we conclude this conference. Thank you all for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines. Thank you.