Vikram Solar Limited (VIKRAMSOLR) Q4 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome you all to the Q4 and FY26 earnings conference call of Vikram Solar Ltd. hosted by GoIndia Advisors. Please note that today's conference call is being recorded. The audio and content of this earnings call constitute proprietary corporate material of Vikram Solar Ltd. May not be reproduced, redistributed, or quoted in any public forum or media communication without the company's prior written approval. I now hand the conference over to Mishital Khanzoja from Go India Advisors. Thank you and over to you, Mishital.

Thank you, Ikra. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Vikram Solar's earnings call to discuss Q4 and Fi26 results. We have the senior management team with us, and joining us on the call today is Mr. Gyanesh Chaudhry, Chairman and Managing Director, Mr. Samir Nagpal, Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Ranjan Jindal, Chief Financial Officer, and Ms. Reenal Shah, General Manager, Corporate Finance. We must remind you that the discussion on today's call may include certain forward-looking statements and must be therefore viewed in conjunction with the risks that the company faces. May I now request Mr. Chaudhry to take us through the company's business outlook and financial highlights, subsequent to which we can open the floor for Q&A. Thank you and over to you, sir.

Thank you, Sheetal. I hope I'm audible. Good morning, everyone, and a very warm welcome to Vikram Solar's fourth quarter and full year FY26 Onions Conference Call. On behalf of the entire Vikram Solar management team, I would like to thank our investors, analysts, and stakeholders for your continued confidence and support. FY26 has been a year of great significance for us, and I will walk you through three things. How the operating environment has shifted, what we have built, and where we are headed. My remarks will follow by a detailed operational and financial walkthrough from our management team. Now, the geopolitical disruptions for the past two years, most recently in West Asia, have reinforced one reality. For import-led economies like India, energy dependence is now a structural risk. Not a price cycle risk. Disruption in oil, gas, and freight routes are no longer temporary shocks. They are a permanent feature of the global system. Solar uniquely sits outside all of it. The result is a fundamental shift. Solar is no longer being pulled by incentives. It is being pushed by policy, by supply chain realignment, and by energy security. Security, economics, and policy are now aligned, and solar sits at the very center of this energy transition, not at its edge. This is the world Vikram Solar was built for. Just weeks ago, Mr. Amitabh Kant, former CEO of NITI Aayog and India's G20 Sherpa, described India's import dependence as a national security crisis. Not merely an energy issue. He called for non-fossil fuel capacity to be scaled from 500 gigawatts to 1500 gigawatts by 2030. Alongside large-scale storage and critical mineral processing at home. His framing, energy independence is sovereignty, captures exactly the moment we are operating in. India is currently the world's third-largest solar market by annual additions. Industry assessments project us moving to second within the calendar year. This is huge. We are not chasing a cycle. We are building for the coming decade. As we scale into more integrated, execution-focused organizations, I am pleased to welcome Samir, Samir Nagpal, as our Chief Executive Officer. Sameer brings over 35 years of leadership experience across a diverse set of sectors, with a proven record of architecting turnarounds, building high-performance teams, and driving profitability. Please do join me in welcoming him. His mandate is also very clear, driving operational discipline across the platform, strengthening execution rigor, and aligning the business for the next phase of growth. I now turn to what I believe is the most consequential strategic decision we have taken, our backward integration roadmap. India today imports nearly all of its wafer and ingot from China, creating supply chain vulnerability for every domestic manufacturer. Vikram Solar will capture that value chain upstream and convert India's solar surge into enduring, non-transient profitability. Our integration strategy moves into three deliberate stages. Modules first, then cell, then wafer and ingot. Each stage adds depth, reduces exposure, and brings more for the value chain under our control. By the end of this roadmap, Vikram Solar will be fully integrated from ingot to module. Let me now turn to battery energy storage. What I view as the next major growth frontier for Vikram Solar. Battery energy storage is policy-anchored, margin-accredited, and the piece that converts intermittent solar into dispatchable power. As India's grid defends, and as data center and AI-led load grows, storage is no longer optional infrastructure. It is non-negotiable. Our target is 15 gigawatt of best capacity by FY30, positioning Vikram Solar as one of the leading, largest integrated solar platforms and aligned with the national pathway I was referencing earlier. This completes our energy platform, and it takes us from a product company to a complete energy solution provider, delivering solar-plus storage as dispatchable power. Vikram Solar is positioned to be the partner of choice for this transition. In summary, FY26 has been a record year for the Indian solar sector, and Vikram Solar has delivered alongside it. More importantly, FY26 is the year in which we made the decisions that will define our next decade on manufacturing, on integration, on leadership, and on storage. The direction is clear. The team is in place. We remain fully focused on delivering for our customers, our partners, and our dear shareholders. With that, I now hand over to our CEO.

Samir, over to you. Thank you, GC. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. F526 has been a blockbuster year for Vikram Solar, and Q4 is the clearest expression of the momentum we are carrying into F527. We delivered our highest-ever quarterly production of approximately 1 gigawatt, secured our highest-ever order booking of approximately 1.9 gigawatt. and recorded our highest ever quarterly revenue of over 1450 crores. Each of this is a record in its own right. Together, they tell a single story. Demand for our modules is accelerating, our execution is keeping pace, and the operating leverage of the platform we have built is starting to show in the numbers. These results are not occurring in isolation. We are landing into a sector that is itself entering its strongest phase of structural growth, and Vikram Solar is positioned by capacity, by technology, and by provenance to capture a disproportionate share of it. What we are seeing this quarter is the early innings of a multi-year trajectory of strong growth for this company. Three things. Lay out how we lead the sector at this point of time in the cycle, walk you through where Vikram Solar stands within it, and give you a concrete update on the projects and the technology choices that will define the next three years for this company. Let me walk you through our view on the sector. FY26 is a watershed year, as I said, for the Indian solar manufacturing. And I want to be specific about why. India added 45 gigawatt of solar in FY26, nearly above the 24 gigawatt target, and roughly 87% higher than FY25. Cumulative installations now stand at 150 gigawatt, or 53% of India's 283 gigawatt non-fossil base. The CES National Grid Action Plan projects. India's peak demand rising from 289 GW today to 459 GW by FY36. Installed solar base must escape from 150 GW to 509 GW, roughly 3.5 types of today's base. Battery energy storage currently below 1 GW must reach 320 GW by FY35. We have reached a pivotal maturity phase in the industry, where policy certainty is aligning for vigorous push for backward integration. KLMM and BCG continue to provide the necessary guardrails for the rest of the road. The cell level mandate, effective June 2026, is a critical milestone. It forces a shift from assembly to true manufacturing. Together with the Wiffer Invert Mandate, it forms a coherent This is a different industrial framework, one that rewards operational debt. The discussion around the headline module capacity announcements will be attest by the imminent backward integration. Given the barriers of capital access, technology, execution capability, and customer intimacy, and a regulatory framework that requires integration, only a few will sustain. Our working assumption is that the sector will stabilize around 80 to 100 gigawatt. The three factors that matter most to an industrial company's long-term competitiveness are converging in our favor simultaneously, growing domestic demand, local manufacturing depth, Making integration a comparative mode rather than a cost. Opportunity 6, a company that has built the hard things. 9.5 gigawatt of module manufacturing at scale and soon going to be ramping up to 15.5 gigawatt. A technology platform which has transitioned well to n-type. A well-established customer base and a clear integration roadmap. Let me now give a bit on our project institution. Our execution capability is best illustrated by Wallow, which is, in our view, one of the fastest greenfield module manufacturing builds of this scale in India. We took the 5 gigawatt facility from ideation to commissioning in under 9 months. Beyond the timeline, the project delivered measurable operating gains, lower manpower intensity, faster line throughput, reduced effect rates from day one. Having set a nine-month benchmark and delivered on it, we are now replicating the same playbook at Gungai Coden. At Gungai Coden, the 6 GW module facility is in the final stage of completion, with the first module output on track for June 2026. On the 9 gigawatt top-concell facility, civil and PEB works are well in advanced stage and on track for completion by September 2026, with clean room and MEP completion in October. Equipment installation is sequenced across October and November. The power infrastructure, which Siemens is executing for us, is scheduled for commissioning in November. Utility is built out following December. We anticipate the first sellout in December, early January, followed by a sequential commissioning through March 2027 and a subsequent production ramp-up during Q2 FY28. What separates Vikram Solar in this cycle is a deliberate technology-first capital allocation philosophy. 20 years of execution through every meaningful technology pivot the industry has been through, from multi-crystalline to monopark to entire top part, has taught us that the cost of choosing the long vintage of equipment is paid for the entire operating life of the asset. We have made our peace with that lesson and built our CapEx strategy around it. Concretely, we have placed orders for the cell equipment all belonging to the latest Top 1 Plus generation with efficiency enablers built in from the outside to deliver a meaningful markup over the industry baseline. And they translate directly into a higher watt peak percent, more consistent module performance, and better realizations over time. Our next 3 gigawatt of cell capacity will be of a superior technology with incremental efficiency in the subsequent year. In the closing, I would like to give my outlook on where we will be in the next 3 years. Fast forward 3 years and the picture for me is straight forward. Vitram Solar will be operating its 6 gigawatt wafer in the facility which will scale up to 12 gigawatt by FY30. It will be operating its 12 gigawatt cell facility, 15.5 gigawatt module capacity, fully integrated, technology current, and one of a small handful of serious full-stack manufacturers in India. Against this, we have an industry that will have rationalized to roughly 80 to 100 gigawatt of sustaining capacity and a similar demand handle. That is the company we are building. And the reports we have set this quarter are the first visible markers of that trajectory. You will see it take shape quarter by quarter as we go forward. Thank you. And with this, I will hand this over to Ranjit for our financial walkthrough.

Thank you, Sameer. And good morning, and thank you, everyone, for joining us. I'm accompanied by Rinal Shah from our Invested Relations team, along with our advisors, Go India. Our Q4 and full-year 26 earnings presentation has been uploaded on the exchanges. FY26 has been a strong year for Wickham Solar, with a solid Q4 closing out a record full year. Every key metric, be it revenue, volumes, EBITDA, FAT, has reached an all-time high. During the year, the company delivered record revenue of 4,800 crores, up by 40% year-on-year. This was supported by sales volume of 3.3 gigawatt, a 76% increase from 1.9 gigawatt the previous year. Crossing the 3 gigawatt shipment mark in a single year is the first silicon solar which places us among the leading Indian solar manufacturers. A bit up of the year recorded at 917 crores with margins expanding to 19%, a 500 basis point increase over 14% in FY25. This reflects the operating leverage we have spoken about as our expanded capacity has come on soon now. Profit after tax for the year was at 470 close, a 10% flat margin. It is a meaningful milestone and one we can expect the platform to build on consistently from here. Q4 was a strong quarter and a fitting close to the year. As Samir mentioned, we touched a 1 gigawatt quarterly run rate for the first time, providing a useful operating baseline going into FI27. Revenues for the quarter were at 1,450 crores, up by 31% sequentially, with EBITDA at 235 crores at a 16% margin and PAT at 110 crores. Our balance sheet is in a very strong position. The net working capital cycle has compressed from 82 days in FI25 to 44 days in FI26, reflecting tighter receiver management, more disciplined inventory deployment, and timely cash generation of the scale platform. Importantly, the company carries no long-term debt. Working capital net debt at just Rs.64 and a net to debt equity ratio of 0.03 pays the way for the next phase of our CAPEX cycle from a position of financial strength and flexibility. During the year, we crossed a 10 gigawatt cumulative global model development. This represents over 25 million modules supplied supporting power generation for more than 5 million homes in India. We have scaled from 5GW to 10GW in just two years, deflecting steady execution in such policy-supportive environment. Our order book stands at 8.2GW , providing revenue visibility for the next fiscal. The mix is anchored by IPPs at 69%, CII at 13%, Government and EPC at 18%. This balanced composition gives us good visibility, quality counterparties, and the flexibility to direct production towards the most attractive segments as the cycle evolves. Through it all, our business model held up exactly as designed. Long-standing relationships that do not move on every price stick and that allowed us to hold blended realization steady. Approximately 80% of our order book carries sell price pass-through clauses, insulating the PL from any input volatility. And as volume scaled per watt overhead came down 16% on a full year basis. The result, stable margins, a more diversified mix, a stronger orbiting leverage, and a clear demonstration that we will build to grow through cycles, not just in the benign months. In short, FY26 has delivered record growth, record profitability, and a healthy balance sheet, a solid platform to engage with what is unfolding in the broader market. Let me place these results in the context of the industry backdrop. FY26 has been, by multiple measures, the most consequential year in India's solar industry and a defining year for Vikram Solar as well. The demand numbers tell their own story. Utility-scale projects led the charge with a record 34 gigawatt of additions in FY26, the highest ever in a single year, while rooftop solar crossed a milestone of its own at 8.5 gigawatt, powered by the rapid uptake of the PM-Surya Collusion. Together with the broader distributed segment under PM Kusum, India's overall capacity built for the year reached unprecedented levels. This is no longer an incremental growth. It is a structural reset of India's energy architecture and is happening in reality now. FI26 spares the strongest demand environment India's solar industry has ever seen with a few cyclical supply sectors. The kind of a cyclical scale integrated manufacture is built to absorb. We navigated it from a position of strength. Sell costs moved up during the year on higher seller prices and the removal of China's export VAT rebate, and the domestic manufacturing ecosystem continued to scale, naturally bringing more competitive pricing dynamics. These are similar features of an industry in rapid expansion, the ones we have managed through multiple cycles. For FI27, from a market standpoint, demand continues to be anchored in non-DCR in the near term, while gradually transitioning towards DCR. Vikram Solar's strategy is to participate meaningfully across both the segments going forward, supported by a favorable multi-year demand outlook. While our production will continue to be predominantly aligned to the non-digital market in the current year, we have also proactively positioned ourselves for the emerging GCR opportunity, including through a 2GW procurement agreement. DC's strong structural tailwinds will cover over 80 gigawatts of grandfather non-DCR demand over the next two years, along with approximately 28 gigawatts of live utility scale DCR tenders, providing a robust runway for the core utility segment and around 25 gigawatts of inherent DCR driven by C&I, COSM, and rooftop segments. Put simply, the demand environment is the strongest and most durable we have seen. The policy framework is moving decisively in favor of integrated domestic manufacturers, and Vikram Solar enters this space with the order book, the customer franchise, and the balance sheet to capture more than our fair share of it. The natural question then is, how do we convert this once-in-a-cycle opportunity into long-term, defensible market leadership? That is the lens through which our CapEx strategy has been built, and how our thinking has evolved over the last year. Let me lay out our integrated capacity roadmap. On the module front, we are at 9.5 gigawatt today, scaling to 15.5 once Gangai-Kundan's 6 gigawatt module plant commissions. Our 9 gigawatt topcon cell plant is on track for phased commissioning through Q4FI27 with the first cell ruling out in December 26, taking us to roughly 70% of backward indication. A further 3 gigawatt cell is planned in FI28, completing the cell stack and taking us to a full cell level indication. Moving on to the next phase of our integration journey of the 12 gigawatt wafer and ingot facility, we plan to add the first phase of 6 gigawatt at the existing site at Gangai, London, the investment of which was approved at the board meeting yesterday with an expected outlay of approximately 3,700 crores and commissioning in F529. This addition turns Gangai-Fontan into a single integrated solar manufacturing campus with zero transport cost between fabs, zero transit damages, and nil inventory buffers between stages of the value chain. The structural cost and quality advantage is significant. The journey for the 15-Gigawatt-hour best capacity has also kick-started, wherein a 5-Gigawatt-hour cell-to-packed facility is scheduled to commission the MAS-27, followed by the first phase of 7.5-Gigawatt-hour of battery cell manufacturing to commission in salary 29, and the second phase in F-530. The opposite CapEx programs shall be met with a disciplined mix of care and equity. Capital prudence is non-negotiable. We are committed to operate within firm guardrails through the entire investment cycle, maintaining interest and debt service coverage ratios above 2.5 and the net debt equity below 1.5, even at the point of peak debt drawdown. The phasing of CAPEX, the sequencing of debt tranches, and the buildup of internal records have all been calibrated to stay comfortably within these limits. Growth ambition will not come at the cost of balance sheet recipient. To summarize, as we close out what has been a historic year for the company and for the Indian solar industry, I want to leave you with four clear and durable takeaways from today's call. The earnings base is real. Record revenue, record margin, double-digit pack, and a strong balance sheet with no long-term debt. The platform has already proved it can generate the cash to fund what comes next. Order book strength, repeat customer debt. Demand visibility across segments and a consistent track record of operational execution is the foundation on which our cash flow projections rest. Secondly, in this environment, scale alone is no longer sufficient. Integration, technology alignment, and execution, and customer confidence are becoming the defining factors for long-term competitiveness. VictimSolar focuses on all these pillars to ensure sustainable growth. Thirdly, CapEx is financed through well-structured, diversified mix. The facing of actual spends and the sequencing of financing branches are designed so that no single source, including internal attuals, bears a disproposted burden in any given year. And fourthly, WithcomSolar is building a platform for long-term market leadership. From 12 megawatt in 2009 to 15.5 gigawatt of modules in Q127, from a private company to a public listed company with an A plus grade profile, this is a company that has consistently turned ambitions into execution. The investment we are making today is the foundation for a concrete position that will be defensible for the decades ahead.

With that, we would be happy to take your questions. Thank you.

Thank you very much. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and 1 on their touchtone 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. Please note, in order to ensure that the management will be able to address questions from all the participants in the conference, kindly limit your questions to 2 per participant. Should you have a follow-up question, please rejoin the queue. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question is from the line of Sahil Seth from Anand Thrati Institutional Equities. Please go ahead.

Hi, thank you for taking my question. So, my first question would be on our 2GW domestic cell we are procuring from Jupiter International.

I'm sorry, to interrupt, Sahil, your voice is muffled. Can you use your handset mode, please?

Am I audible now?

Yeah, please proceed. Thank you.

My first question would be on the 2GW domestic cell we are procuring from Jupiter International. When can we start to see the DCR module starting rollout from our...

Manufacturing facilities, uh, The agreement we signed with Jupiter has been faced in such a manner that...

I am sorry to interrupt, sir. Sir, can you please repeat? You are not audible. Hello?

Okay. Am I audible now?

Yeah. Please, thank you, sir. Prasheed.

Thank you, Sahil. So, the agreement we have signed for the procurement of L has been faced in a manner to take care of the BCR demand, which will take in post... The June 26th deadline, and within F527, the entire off-take with a ballooned off-take in the H2 is going to pan out.

Okay, got it. And so, my second question would be on the CAPEX front. Now that we have, for our 9 gigawatt cell facility, we are now procuring machinery direct from China versus our previous plan to import it from Thailand. What would be the CAPEX differential between those plans? And if you can plan out the CAPEX schedule for F527 and F528?

So, there was a change in the plan as we discussed. It was a 10% cost increase. So the overall cell capex for the 9G work would be at 5,400 cores, of which, as you know, that just since the commissioning is being done between December 26 to March 27, the deployment for the capex is almost going fully in the current year, barring the last 10% installment, which will switch on to FY28.

Okay. And, sir, for the best component, when would the CAPEX start?

So, essentially, for the 5 gigawatt hour, it would cost about 150 crores, which will be spent majorly in the current year. On the cell manufacturing, we expect to start the construction somewhere in October 26, with the 24 months of construction period. So, this financial year will majorly see the amount towards landing initial expenses, which we don't see more than 200 crores.

Okay, got it, sir. And sir, on the vaporing at Capex?

Again, vaporing at ingot, as the commissioning of the first phase of 6 gigawatt, which is planned to commission in March 28, the construction also is expected to start in Q2, Q3. The same concept applies here, but since we already have the land in place at GK, the initial spending for a few advances to the supplier within 100 crores.

Okay. And sir, what about the balance 6 gigawatts of the inverter? Would that incur a similar amount of KPF?

Yeah, so the sum rule of about 600 cores per gigawatt applies there as well. We intend to take the board approval for that in the subsequent financial year.

Okay, that was quite helpful. Thank you and all the best.

Thanks. Thank you. Next question is from the line of Ankur Bolanti from Januity Capital. Please go ahead. Ankur, your light is unmuted.

Yeah, hi, am I audible? Hello.

You are audible, please.

All right, thanks. Quick question, sir. Some of your peers have been expanding across vertically or horizontally. So any thoughts on more forward integration Or horizontal integration.

Let me take the question. At this point of time, we are completely focused on backward integration on the module and expanding into BESS. At this point of time, we are not thinking anything beyond that.

And sir, if you can double-click on your BESS expansion class, please.

As Ranjan mentioned, we are beginning with the BESS assembly, and then we are going to How do you backward integrate into cell manufacturing? He has already answered that question.

All right, okay, thanks, all of us.

Next question is from the line of Anish Kapil from Taurus Mutual Fund. Please go ahead.

Hello, am I audible?

You are audible.

Yeah, thank you for the opportunity. Sir, my question is, what was the sequential movement in key raw material costs during quarter four, especially for the cells, glass, EVA, backsheet and monium flames? And second question is, what is the current inventory holding period for the critical raw materials?

So, Anuj, right? Yes. Yeah. Anuj, we experienced some increase in the crude oil, which impacted the EGA cost. The aluminum frame cost has also gone up with the aluminum cost per ton going from $3,100 per ton to $3,600. But that was partly compensated with the corresponding fall in sale prices. So, the current quarter does not see much impact of this increase. On the second part, with the Valnam facility coming in, yes, we have increased the inventory levels. As a company, we do maintain an inventory of 30 days at the plant level, with about 60 days at the wind and on the water level. So that is what the overall cycle will follow. And I also mentioned in my speech that on the overall working capital cycle, we have brought it down to 44 days, which is next of the credits available from the tables.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you. Next question is from the line of Kaushik Doshi from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.

Yeah, thank you for that. My first question is, does the 1.9GW order inflow include the distribution part?

The order inflow does not include distribution. We have taken that out of order booking format.

Okay. Anshul, why were the distribution orders removed from the order book?

See, most of our distribution was in non-DCR segment, and we were running the recurring order book with them. That was our invent with the distributors. Now, since it is moving to DCR, and we are currently, this year, we are going to operate on our... So, we have changed the format to, you know, spot buying by distributors instead of a lettering order book.

Okay, I got it. Answer, my next question is, 6GW capacity addition is not done yet. If you could highlight the reason behind that.

Sorry, we could not get you. Can you please repeat?

My question was 6 gigawatt capacity addition is not done yet, if you could highlight the reason behind that.

Yeah, it's intact. So, it continues to commission within June, and the schedule is intact.

Okay, sir. Got it. I will get the two lines. Thank you.

Thank you. Next question is from the line of Akshay from UBS. Please go ahead.

Hi, sir. Thank you for the question, and congratulations on strong ramp-up in production, order book, and healthy cash translation through the year. My question is related to BSS, sir. In presentation, you have highlighted DCI mandate for BSS targeting 60% localization. So, in your view, how would policy will target this, and how much the cell costs for BSS bomb, and how much localization can be achieved just through assembly, including containers, electronics, BDS, etc.? That's the question, sir.

Akshay, we are extremely optimistic on the policy mandate, at best, considering it is going to be an intensive part of the grid stability mandate, which is becoming as large as an installed base as it is today. These are indicated numbers are given by CEA and the Ministry of Heavy Industry. We are, in addition to the localization mandate, we are also looking at and anticipating a similar policy on approved list of battery manufacturers. There is already an advanced chemistry PLI. On the demand side, the government has done enough. So, the next two to three years, we will see an extremely positive policy movement and the economics of the sell and upstream.

Got it.

Next question is from the line of Taveen Sahai from PL Capital. Please go ahead.

Yeah, thank you for the opportunity, and many congratulations on a very good set of numbers on the offline. My question first is on the gross margin, and there, you know, there is a contraction we had seen, and also we have seen that the model realization has declined around the 13% in the IMF terms. So can you please give some more color, like how much is the realization contraction and the RM inflation, how to segregate in the gross margin contraction? And, secondly, where you will see this realization to be in the coming year?

So, Samit, let me first give you a comparison as to what Q3 and Q4 on a per-WATPIC basis appear to be. In fact, the relations have actually gone up in Q4 by about 60%. Whereas the cost, as I told you by previous question, by virtue of the impact of the war coming in, the cost actually went up by 80%. So that 20% additional incremental cost has dented the per unit EBITDA to that extent. And hence, you could see a slight, what is it, percentage impact on the EBITDA margin level. But as we have already mentioned in our remarks earlier, this business, we focus on a per EBITDA war peak basis. And we see some more rationalization to come in, in the quarters to come. But with the scale coming in, the absolute numbers are expected to increase.

Okay. Second question is related to the 2 gigawatt procurement. Do you have anything finalized on the pricing or the spread to be shared with the company?

This is something which it will be unwise for us to share the commercials, but I can only assure you that the commercials have been arranged such that the expectation of the company is maintained.

Okay, and on the order book side, one gigawatt on the distribution, 1.5 on the CNI, and I understand because of this, the non-DCR to the maybe a DCR coming in. So, how you are, you know, the confident of gaining back these numbers. And also, if you can give some clarification on 0.6, we go out of the U.S. order with Salvert. So, where we can see these numbers to come in, basically, distribution in the CNI.

You see, as the mandate moves to DCR, the large chunk of non-DCR, all of the non-DCR distribution will move to DCR because of this qualification. Same thing is or similar is happening in CNI. So that is the reason why we have removed the rolling one gigawatt order book which we are carrying from distribution. On the CNH side, there is a large order book which we have is switching to DCR, and it has gone into renegociation. So we want to optimize our margins on the DCR portfolio because of the limited supply we have. And that is why we have taken them out of our current order book. Those are under renegociations, and if they fit our margin profile, we will account them as fresh bookings. So that's the approach we have taken.

And to add to that, our distribution system is a very strong hold and an area of focus for us. As you see, we have expanded our distribution network to about 110 plus. That's 550 plus of dealers and systematic dealers who are exclusive to Vitram Solar. Even with non-PCR, we did about 20% of our volumes last year through the distribution channel, and that number is only going to multiply now that we have the procurement deal for the PCR. So it is just a way of reporting that has changed. As to your export question, that particular project in question was deemed unviable by the IPC because of sunset of certain incentives in the U.S. market for the IPC itself, which is why we removed it from the order book.

Okay. Last one clarification. Is there any DCR volume in this quarter?

So, hardly any volume. So, the main occupancy has been on the DCR, non-DCR front. FY27, as Rinald and Samir explained, we'll see the DCR object to come in.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to ask questions, and all the best.

Thank you. Next question is from the line of Bala Mudali Krishna from Human Investments Advisor. Please go ahead.

Hi, good morning. The question is regarding the death level. Earlier, we have planned to have a 3154 death level by the end of SA-20. So, I think by seeing the next presentation, we are only sticking to the cell facility by the end of SA-20. So, by SA-20, it will also be at a similar level death level.

Bala, you will have to repeat the question for us, please.

Yes, my question is regarding the debt levels. Earlier, we had a plan of to become a fine network state level by the end of FI 27. So, I think by the, because the BESS and other projects are postponed to FI 29, so by the end of FI 28, it also will be at the similar level of debt level.

Yeah, so when we spoke about a debt level of 3,500, the plan was to have entire 12 gigahertz cell in place, which we have now phased into two of nine plus three. But as we also discussed, FY27 will see some outflow for the best in the vapor ingot business, which mainly will be from the internal accruals. So the closing debt for 31st March 27 can therefore be considered to be 3,200 crores.

By the end of S528, what could be this figure?

So the capex phase for the wafering that will come in more importantly here, and we expect that to remain at 6500-6600.

The question is, because we are incurring around 150 costs of interest costs, so by F27, the outflow could be a finite cost, and by F28, it could be a 10 cost. So, the question is, the top line will grow for the next two years, and EBITDA will also grow accordingly, but the bottom line could be staggered around this finite cost level, so because of this interest outflow. So, is it a right assumption?

That would be a awkward-looking statement, but I can only guide you that in the capex period, the interest for a project is capitalized and it's not charged to the PL. So, as you see, the commissioning of paper-ringer to come in, say, March 29, and the sell on, say, March 27, the PL will have the impact of the component for that debt of an asset which is capitalized. Could I answer that?

Yeah, yeah. So on the order book, secondly on the order book fund, so the negotiation of converting from non-DC to DC. So how would this mix between FF27 and FF28?

Can you say that again, please?

Yeah, order book fund. So, we are negotiating some non-DCR orders through DCR. So, how do you see this mix between DCR and non-DCR by FF27 and FF28?

The non-DCR segment will operate in those grandfather projects of 87 gigawatts. So, depending on how they get finished. Or get executed over next two years. That will determine the non-DCR order book. Rest, everything will move to DCR.

Thank you. Next question is from the line of Deepak Perswani from Swan Investments. Please go ahead.

Hi. Good morning and congratulations for good setup number. Firstly, sir, just wanted to check it out. Since there has been a ramp up in terms of the capacity for the module to 9.5 and eventually moving to the 15.5, Over the next 3-4 months. If I were to look into the production front, year as a whole, we should be, in terms of the production, we would be close to 7.5 or 8 gigawatt versus 3.2 gigawatt to DCL. Now, in this context, if you can give us broader sense, what would be our sales strategy in this context? Because if I were to look into the current order book, currently we have the 8 gigawatt. Order book. What would be the execution out of this in this year? And what would be the incremental sales strategy we would be looking out?

Okay. Thanks, Deepak. So, I just tried to give us to what the overall plan for FY27 is, and then we can see whether the question has been answered. FY27 collectively with the 6GW module coming is expected to produce collectively for the company as a whole. Some 8 gigawatt, of which as we discussed, 2 gigawatt will be on the DCR front and the balance 6 on the non-DCR. So we have an autobook of 8.2 as on 31st March 26, of which 7.2 is domestic, of which 6 goes out as we discussed. Which therefore leaves us with an order book of 1.2 with a whole year left over, or to take share of the 87 gigawatt grandfathered, which we highlighted in the previous question, to then build up for some volumes for FF20 as well.

Okay. Thank you and wish you all the best.

Thank you. Next question is from the line of Bhavna Chain from Aragha Capital Advisors. Please go ahead.

Am I audible? Yes, you are. Thank you for taking my question. First of all, congratulations for the good set of numbers. I have a question on the margin front, just repeating what the previous participant asked. What is the EBITDA per watt peak we are making as of now where we don't have any DCR module?

As I discussed, quarter four, the experience number of 2.35 with the DCR mandate getting stipulated strictly from, say, June 26th, we are encountering some optimization on the EBITDA per VASPIC further. We therefore believe that for the year as a whole, the non-DCR volume should deliver an EBITDA per VASPIC at 1.75 to 2 on an average basis.

Okay, and after the integration of cells, how much is our expectation it will go to?

So, we believe that 1.75 stroke 2, at least for FY28, should deliver about 5 rupees per water pit, which presently is at 6. So, with more of the capabilities coming in, we expect that to turn on by 1 more rupee in FY28.

Okay, by 28, we can expect that. I mean, you're expecting all that even after the industry overcapacity or the insufficient cell capacity makes it up, including all that, right? I mean, I hope that all factors are considered. Or we expect something.

Yeah, Samirin is opening the mark selected that on a country level with full integration with the top 15-20 players who are going to rule the game, what would be the country level supply and demand? What's that on a standardized basis? We think that revenues, net EBITDA for what we can continue.

Okay, sure. Thanks for that answer. There is one question about the utilization level. So, at least by FI 27, after the module and the BES or all those, whatever we are completing by FI 27, what is the utilization level we think we'll achieve?

On an average, for module, we expect on a nameplate basis about 65% to 70% to be a standard utilization. And for cell, that number is higher between 70% to 75% on nameplate. I'm not talking about effective. The clear is on the nameplate.

Okay. Okay. Thanks. Just one last question. Just curious about this technology that we are using for the cell part. Right now, all the competitors that we see are applying the HGT technology for the manufacturing, and we are adopting the XBC one. First question is, I mean, do we see any profitability improvement by choosing this new platform? Second is, do we expect higher CAPEX for a new technology? Both of them.

The industry-dominant technology currently is in top-con in both cell as well as module. HAT is the technology used by... One of the larger players with a limited capacity, and this is true for a global average as well. What we are setting up currently in our first phase of cell plant of 90 gigawatt is also any top-con, but it's a top-con plant with incremental couple of processes, which gives a leg up in efficiency over the industry baseline currently established at 25.2%. So, with the use of these processes, what it does is it takes the efficiency level up to, say, 25.4% or 25.5%, which basically helps us create more wattage in modules and hence translates to better wattage realisation. So, currently, our expense cost is also very in line with the industry. The numbers have been published.

Great. Just last question, if I can squeeze in. What is the company's expected silver consumption reduction, the future roadmap, you know, because that's an area of concern, which most players have been talking about.

Right. So, like I mentioned, the TopCon Plus self-setup that we are... Establishing uses a process called LECO, which anyway reduces the silver consumption because of the silver finger. Going ahead on our roadmap, in our R&D and applied research, we have projects which... It helps us replace or reduce silver consumption, but it's too soon to tell. There are various technologies being researched about at a global level in established labs that we have collaboration with, but at a commercial scale, these are the couple of processes that have helped us reduce the silver consumption for the industry as a whole.

Great. Thank you. Thank you so much for all the answers. Thank you.

Thank you. Next question is from the line of Dhruv Machal from HTFC ANC. Please go ahead.

Yes, sir. Thank you so much. Sir, I just had a question that until the utility scale DCR norms, you know, practically start kicking in, which in my expectation probably sometime in FY28 or some early FY29, where your new cell capacity is well-timed to, you know, probably commission. Until that time, just the CNI market, DCR, and the rooftop DCR market, probably, and versus the cell capacity production, which is there available in India, it seems the market is relatively well balanced or to some degree oversupplied, the cell market. So, in that context, given your brand power, given your, you know, scale and reach, I'm wondering, are you not able to optimize better on this relatively well-balanced DCR sell market to, you know, use your modules and sell more? I'm just trying to understand how is this working out.

Sure. So, through the enforcement in June 26, we see a very staggered buildup of DCR demand. Last year, you saw about 10 gigawatt consumption of DCR. This year, with 5 to 6 gigawatts of crystal, 7 to 8 for CNI for the H2, we expect the DCR demand to be about 20 to 25 gigawatts. Now, juxtapose that against the existing cell base. That is the nameplate, which is currently in our ramp-up and stabilization phase, and hence the output given by all of the large players is relatively lower than the nameplate number. So even in fiscal 27 and fiscal 28, where you will have another set of utility execution demand coming up. That will have a much larger demand number versus what the supply could provide even at that point, even after new work capacity that will be set up this year. So, yes, we are well placed with this staggered demand setup.

In the... from the line of Nyati Dhartha from Eloise Financial Services. Please go ahead.

Hi. Yes, can you hear me?

Yes, you are audible. Hello.

Yeah. So, I just wanted to know, how is the company planning to handle FY27 with reduced margins and no captive sell? So, like, what are your views on that?

The execution plan, as the CFO mentioned, would be 75% of non-PCR, which will yield about 1.75 to 2 rupees per watt. We already have a procurement deal with a large cell supplier, and that segment of 25% of the execution plan is also going to yield us a little better, between 2 to 2.5 rupees per watt. And hence, these steady numbers at the scale that we will operate in will yield. Phenomenal growth over the previous fiscal.

Okay.

Okay, and I'm sorry to interrupt.

You're not audible, ma'am.

Hello.

Yes, right now you're audible. Proceed, please.

Yes, so I just wanted to know what differentiates Vikram Solar from other big peers in this sector?

We were saying, over the last 20 years, we have one of the, you know, initial players in the segment, and our deep understanding and deep knowledge of the industry, we have translated into putting the right capacities and the right technologies into our products. So, that is one differentiator, and I think our customer intimacy is very high. Our brands… Reliability and its quality perception is very high. So those differentiators, along with all the backward integration we are doing, they will act as key enablers for us.

Okay, and lastly, I wanted to know that even though we are doing a debt reduction, so why has there been an increase in the interest expense, sequentially?

So, the terminal debt has come down, the working capital debt continues to remain almost at the same level, but the only increase in Q4 financial cost has come in because of The lease rental getting debited with the Wallang facility coming on track, which was on an equipment lease finance basis. And with Wallang coming in, the working capital requirement has been a bit increased on account of inventory.

So that has led to have a partial increase in the finance cost as well.

Okay, all right. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Next question is from the line of Nadeesh Shah from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.

Yes, thank you so much for taking my question. So, initially, we had 5 gigawatts more of model capacity coming in 2 gigawatts in India and 3 gigawatts in US. My understanding would be that these capacities have been scrapped to focus on backward integrations. But specifically on the US, is there anything long-term in the environment that has deterred you from putting capacity there?

Yeah, Nitin, for the U.S., like we mentioned in the earlier course as well, we've done the groundwork with the domestic environment and the ongoing high requirement of faceable supply, you know, down to the cost level, it was stringent, as well as, you know, the availability of skill power in U.S. domestic. You know, front is a challenge, which is why, you know, India as an opportunity looks infinitely more attractive, which is why we are focusing all of the capital as well as management bandwidth on scaling our existing business in India and, you know, backward integrating.

Also, another question on the U.S. Since November, India's exports to the U.S., be it sales or modules, has completely zeroed out. We currently have about 1 gigawatt of orders from the U.S. or exports in general. How secure are these orders? Can we expect these orders to be executed or is there a chance that these could be erased from the order book? You know, execution is at play, and where are we procuring these cells from? What are the countries that we're looking at procuring from?

You're right, Nidhi. The exports from the Indian domain to the U.S. have slimmed to almost negligible levels. The current export order book that we carry is with reputed ITPs that we've worked in the past. These are long-term conversations, and we still believe we will be able to execute them. We are working on getting our traceable, compliant. Supply chain, which does not have any prohibitive tariffs or duties applied to it. So the countries that we're looking at are in North Africa, which currently have some cell capacity that does not attract too much of tariffs.

And are we looking at any other countries to export?

Yes, absolutely. We are exploring EU as a market. There are some non-Chinese supply tenders for a couple of countries that are ongoing. We are also focusing on Australia, and at least, the conversations are very encouraging.

All right, thank you. And lastly… I'm sorry to interrupt, Nidhi. Please rejoin the queue. We are at the participating for the time. Yeah, thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, kindly restrict yourselves to one question only. We will take our next question from the line of Bhabal from Ariza Strategies. Please go ahead.

Hello, hi, good morning.

So, I have one question, with this level of growth, can we see the margin at the growing rate or the same? So I have one question, like with this level of growth, what's the growth guidance that you will give to the investors?

As we saw that FY26 delivered an 84% jump on the EBITDA. With the new facility coming in, we plan to deliver 7.5 to 8 GW in FY27, to deliver in EBITDA about 74% more than what we have delivered in FY26,

which therefore works out to a range of 1,500 to 1,600 net cores.

Okay, and so what's up?

I'm sorry to interrupt, Dhaval. One question at a time, please. Thank you. Next question is from the line of Shashank Jha, an individual investor. Please go ahead.

Hello.

Shashank, your line is unmuted. Yeah, please proceed. Thank you.

Yes, sir. My question is regarding battery. So, I have understood one thing that for 1 MW AC power, you need 1.5 to 1.6 MW solar module due to DC AC conversion. So, this is going to happen with base battery also. So, what will be the multiplication factor here if it is there?

The battery requirement depends on what setup it is. If you see the current standard requirement, the storage ranges from two hours to six hours. For a K&I or a data center setup, it could well possibly be a down-the-clock requirement with higher storage built-in. So, it is very hard to put down a multiplier, but on an average, this is the storage requirement. I mean, if I say 80 gigawatt of solar with storage, about 320 gigawatt hours with 4 hours of storage will be the DC block of best utilized.

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, due to time constraints, we will take our last question from the line of Vishat Kabdow from Hulani Venture Capital Fund. Please go ahead.

Good morning, sir. First of all, I would like to congratulate for the results. So, my question is, since silken wafers and silver are key input for your business, how are rising raw material costs, especially silver, impacting your overall cost structure, and to what extent you are able to pass these increase on to estimates?

So, that is too long and short. As on date, as I briefed, that the MSAs will sign with our customers to allow us to pass through the cost of sale and the dollar appreciation, which is to the extent of 50%. Going forward, with sale coming in, with deferringer coming in, we will have to see as to how the overall market pans out. Obviously, we cannot be setting the terms in isolation.

So, I can only give that information as on date.

Thank you. That was the last question for today. I now hand the conference over to the management for closing comments.

Okay. Thank you, everyone, for joining us today and for your insightful questions.

Hope you were able to address all of them comprehensively. We remain committed to keep you all informed and as we execute against the milestones we have outlined. For any further queries, if they remain unanswered, we see free to reach us.

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. On behalf of GoIndia Advisors, that concludes Vikram Solar's conference. Thank you all for joining us today, and you may not disconnect your line.