Welspun Corp Limited (WELCORP) Q4 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to Wellsburg Co-op Limited Q4 FY26 Earnings Conference Call hosted by C61 Capital Market Private Limited. 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. Shooting assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star, then zero at touchstone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Shailesh Raja from 361 Capital Market Private Limited. Thank you, and over to you, sir.

Yeah, thank you, Nitej, and welcome everyone to the call.

We would like to thank Wilspan Corp for giving 361 Capital the opportunity to host this interaction today. Without taking much time, I would now like to invite Mr. Gautam Chakrabarty to introduce the management team. Over to you, Gautam.

Thank you, Shailesh, and good afternoon to everyone. Welcome to Q4 and FY26 earnings call of Wellsman Corp Ltd. On this forum today, we have Mr. Vipul Mathur, Managing Director and CEO, Mr. Parsi Burdi, Chief Financial Officer, and Mr. Yashavardhan Agarwal, Director Syntex. You all must have gone through the results and the investor presentation of the company, which are also available on the stock exchanges and on our website as well. During the discussion, we may be making references to this presentation, so I request you to please refer to the safe hour statement, which is there in our presentation. As usual, we will start the forum with the opening remarks by Mr. Mathur, and post that, we will open the floor for the Q&A. With that, let me hand over the floor to Mr. Mathur. Over to you, sir.

Thank you, Gautam. Very good afternoon to everyone. Let me welcome all of you for our Q4 and FY26 Earning Conference Call. To start with, I would just like to highlight the key performance financial parameters for the quarter and the full financial year. Suppose that we can have a more elaborative, detailed, interactive session where I would be more than happy to answer any and every questions what you might have, you might be having. So the key highlights for this Q4 and FY26 are as under. Our revenue from operations for FY26 was almost close to 17,000 crore rupees. Our EBITDA is close to 2,370 crore. 20 odd crores. Our is 1613 crore rupees, which is a 42% up on a Y on Y basis. Our order book currently stands at more than 25,000 crore rupees, which is equivalent to 2.5 billion dollars. Wellspent continued to be a net cash company despite all the capexes what we are doing. I am sure you would have seen our OCF and the free cash flow what we would have been doing. We have generated over this year. And the improvements in our EBITDA margins, we have recorded a CAGR growth of 43% year-on-year basis. Our EBITDA margins have been in excess of 14% and our ROSE has been around 22.3%. If you recollect, friends, at the start of the year, FY26, we had given a guidance of 17,000 crore rupees of revenue and 2,200 crore rupees of EBITDA. As against that, we have been able to maintain our revenue guidance of almost 17,000 crore rupees and surpass the guidance, which as against 2,200 crore rupees, stand at 2,371 crore rupees. The third guidance what we had given was that we will maintain our ROCE in excess of 20% and we have been able to achieve that. And I am also pleased to report and I am sure you have noticed that we have been able to maintain our EBITDA growth and EBITDA margins. These have been the key highlights, financial highlights for this particular financial year. Last year, we had performed, we had seen a very strong tailwind in the businesses across all the geographies, especially in U.S., South, Middle East, and in India. By our geographical positioning in all these three geographies, we have been able to make the most of it. As you are also aware that we have made significant investments, further investments in these geographies. Looking at the current geopolitical situation and looking at the situation that each country is now deriving for themselves, we see a very, very strong tailwind. for the next few years in all the three geographies, especially US and the Middle East. Let me focus a lot more today on the growth part of it, and I would like to cover each and every continent just to bring in further clarity for all my friends here. First and foremost, let's talk about the US, where we have a very significant dominant presence, Today, the U.S. oil and gas economy is seeing a sort of a paradigm shift. We are seeing the gas and oil, both of them, growing exponentially, resulting into a massive requirement for pipelines for the next couple of years, at least five to seven years. The key economic drivers, the key drivers, economic and business drivers for gas is the LNG exports. Today, as you are aware, U.S. has two or three very high producing places, and Permian means to be the biggest among lots. While they are drilling for the oil, as you know, they are generating or they are producing a lot of gas. This gas needs to be transported to the Gulf Coast, and then in form of energy, in form of LNG, it is exported to the, is being exported to the European and the nation market. This value chain is so strong at this point in time, because on one side, we are seeing an excess of gas availability at a very, very cheap price. If you would see it, the Henry Hub price is around $3, and the international price of LNG is hovering anything between $15 to $20. So, the arbitrage between $3 to $20 is giving a sufficient push for all the E&P companies or the midstream companies to create assets, build assets to transport this gas, and monetize this event. This is one of the key drivers which is defining the growth of demand for line pipes in America. The second key driver which is defining the growth and the demand for the line pipes in America is the development of multiple AI data centers. There is a huge capital investment, as you are aware, which is happening all across America in terms of creating indigenous data centers. These data centers require uninterrupted power. They are power guzzlers. And looking at the situation that the national grid, reliability being poor, they are putting up independent power plants beside their data centers. And these power plants are gas-based power plants for which the gas need to be transported. When the gas needs to be transported, you require pipelines. So with the upsurge of multiple data centers which are happening in America, we are seeing a huge surge of pipelines coming up, connecting the power plants attached to these data centers. This is the second growth driver currently which is happening. The third growth driver in the American market is also after a long time we are seeing the resurgence of oil. Today, U.S. is one of the largest producers of oil in the world. After factoring for their domestic consumptions, now they are into a surplus for exports. We are seeing a phenomenon of oil exports also coming into the international market, especially to the Europeans and the Haitians market, as we are seeing the Russian oil and gas receding from the market. So they seem to be capturing that particular market. So both oil and gas with the arbitrage what they have, currently they produce oil around $40 and with the pricing The economic arbitrage is once again allowing them to invest into the oil pipeline and this phenomenon is happening after a long time. So, the US demand drivers primarily are coming from three factors. Number one is on account of LNG exports, number two on account of oil and number three the demand which is coming up into the AI data centers and which now In which we are also a part of the value chain. These three, this is a sort of a paradigm shift. This is a fundamental restructuring which has seems to be happening in America. And we believe that this play is not a temporary play. Instead, this play is going to be for the next five to seven years' time. We, as Wellspun, have a major dominant presence in that particular economy. We currently enjoy more than 33% or 35% of market share. We are seeing a lot of significant emergence of pipelines, you know, in the near future. And accordingly, as you are aware that we have made some more capital investment in terms of new plants. And I am pleased to report that all our plans are almost booked till FY 2028. With the visibility, which seems to be emerging, with the projects, what we are seeing, we are more than confident that this order book will only significantly grow from where we currently stand. If I now move to the Middle East, so some countries are working on energy security, some countries are riding the wave of having economic benefit, deriving out of this energy deficiency in the global market. Today, Middle East is also one of the regions where there is a huge energy availability, and they are also in the process of monetizing it significantly. Secondly, they are intending to diversify their portfolio, they are intending to diversify their infrastructure in terms of producing more oil, more gas, and multiple points for evacuation. We have seen in the recent past that while they had sufficient oil, sufficient gas, but they were told that they could not evacuate it. I think so that learning has gone down deeply into the system, and just about every Middle East economy, oil and gas producing economy, is now focusing on opening up the infrastructure segment and developing multiple evacuation points, which will also require We have massive pipelines coming up in times to come. As Wealth Fund, we have a dominant presence now in the Middle East, especially in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. And given the projections, what we are seeing, and given the information what we are getting from the ground, I think so this market looks extremely, extremely promising for us. On the Saudi Arabia, on the Middle East side, as oil and gas is critical, equally critical is the water sector for them. They are investing heavily, they have been investing heavily into the water infrastructure sector for many, many years, and that goes unabated. Today, we are seeing massive desalination projects still coming up on stream. We are witnessing that multiple pipelines will be required, large diameter multiple pipelines which will be required for transporting this desalinated water to the cities. And on top of it, we are seeing when this water will come to the cities, there would be a massive distribution network, which has to be created in order to reach, in order to ensure that this water reaches every household. So, it is in this, keeping this in view, the distribution network, friends, you are aware, we have invested into our company, in a DI company, we are setting up a green field DIP project, and we expect to see the benefits of this distribution network in which primarily the DI pipe is being used to benefit out of the same. So, in the Middle East, it is not only about oil, gas, but it is equally important about water, and as your company has invested and have an absolutely local footprint now in place to capture this upcoming opportunity. Coming back to India, which is the third geography where we have a significant presence, We have seen in the last two quarters a sort of a fairly muted growth for various reasons known to you. We expect this situation to continue to prevail for certain times. We understand the country is facing, will have some more different priorities at this point in time, and to that extent, we expect that, you know, the growth here in India could still stay muted. Nevertheless, having said that, India as a country will have to work around, they are working with respect to energy security, there will be a network of oil, there will be a network of gas, and there will be a network of CGD, which is the city gas distribution network, which has to be built. And the pace might slightly vary, but I don't expect that these things will come to a standstill. The feedback, the government intent, and the allocations what we are seeing is definitely supporting a sort of a consistent growth rather than an exponential growth what we could have expected. But we see a sort of a consistent growth in all the three sectors, for the oil network, for the gas network, and for the CGD network. But having said that, the water requirement in the country, the investment in the water infrastructure in the country, we are very confident we will see a sort of an exponential rise, because water again being a sort of scarcity and required for massive irrigation purpose, we are seeing We have seen some very large projects which were announced the last year. They now have been coming on stream in this financial year. So, we see a growth coming up into the water sector where a lot of pipes, large diameter pipes will be required. We have seen that even, you know, we have seen that in the allocations under the Jal-G1 mission have been fairly decent. We have seen that the allocations have started trickling down to the state governments. The things which were more or less standstill in the last two quarters, we have started seeing traction and movement around that. And I am expecting that keeping water as a priority, the government is absolutely focused in terms of giving a further push to this particular sector. I am sure that in, you know, maybe one or two quarters could be slightly muted, but the H2 part of the financial FY27 could see an acceleration once we have come out with this current geopolitical situation. Lastly, I also want to give you an update with respect to the projects, what we have, we are currently executing. As you are aware, we are executing two major projects in Saudi Arabia, one a large diameter pipe plant, another a small ductile iron plant for water distribution. We are progressing well. This geopolitical situation has not impacted the progress of these projects. There would have been some supply chain disruptions here and there, but largely things are absolutely under control, and we would see that both these projects will come in stream in FY2027. We will see the economic benefit, the revenues and the margins coming, started trickling in, in FY 2027 itself. Likewise, as you are aware that we have invested, we are investing into two assets in America, one large diameter pipeline, which is ELSO, and also replacing our capacity of existing small diameter pipeline. Both these projects are absolutely up on track. One of them, which is the HFIW plant, will come in stream by the end of Q1 of this financial year, which is absolutely as per the plan. And our last diameter pipe plant, which is the ELSO plant, will also come up in stream, in operations by the end of this calendar year. So, we will see both all these assets started giving us some upside and margin accretion in this financial year. The full impact, the full benefit of these pipes, of these investments, we would start seeing in FYI 2028. Keeping our business in hand, which is almost $2.5 billion, keeping in view that these investments which we have made in these two geographies are coming on stream, keeping in view the underlining dynamics of tailwind into the oil, gas, and the water sector, the management is where we are very confident that we will be Doing exceedingly well in FY 2027, and accordingly, confidently, we have given guidance of a top line for 20,000 crore rupees and an EBITDA of 2,850 crore rupees, which is almost a 20% jump on a year-on-year basis. Friends, you will acknowledge and accept that in the challenging times, you know, to make these commitments requires lot of conviction, and I am pleased to say that at Wellspun, looking at our order book, looking at our executional capability, looking at the premium segments in which we operate at, considering that, you know, our global reach with global customers, I am very confident that we will deliver If not exceed the guidance what we have given. Thank you. Joining us, I sincerely appreciate you hearing me out, and I am sure that you could have multiple questions around that, and with this, I would like to end my comments and open the floor for discussions for any questions and answers. 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. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question is assembled. The first question is from the line of Ritesh Shah from Investec. Please go ahead.

Yeah. Hi, sir.

Congratulations for a good set of numbers. Sir, if you could provide more color on the quality of the order book by region, I think that would be of great help. Sir, second, you indicated that we are completely booked until FY28. So I think there is a good and a bad of it. Good is probably we would have already contracted our EBITDA button would already be fixed. Given the macro is improving, how should we look at it? Typically, if we had some capacity free, probably we could have asked for more profits on the same order. I'm not sure whether that's the right way to look at it, but I would love to have your thoughts. And third is, sir, you indicated on the water projects in Middle East. If you could highlight certain countries, I just read about Jordan giving out a large order. I'm not sure whether we are there, but I presume we would be one of the beneficiaries over here. So, I think these are three broader questions, sir, and, yep, I'll just talk about that, sir.

Thank you, Hrithesh. Thank you. I think, so, these are good questions. First and foremost, the question with respect to the quality of order book. I think, so, we have a strong order book at this point in time, which is almost close to $2.5 billion. It is spread over India as well as the U.S. You know, in India, if I just give you a reference, you know, we would be having close to 1.2, 1.3 million tons of an order book at this point in time. And out of that, almost two-third would be out of U.S., one-third would be out of India. And this is a very, very high-quality order book. So, in terms of, in terms of, you know, in terms of the margin, this is a, these are fantastic orders what we have. Coming back to your question that, you know, this is, while this was good, but also that, you know, have we over committed ourselves and have we lost on the opportunity? My friend, the answer is no. As I said, we are one of the most dominant player in both these geographies, especially in America. The quality of order book what we have is extremely good in comparison to what the others would be having. Number three, in terms of capacity, we still have some capacities which are available on our large diameter side of it. We have strategically kept that open, knowing fully that there would be an opportunity which will come up, and we would be able to leverage upon that. So, I'm very sure that, you know, once we, even if we have, we are saying that we have, we have booked till appointment T8, we can still accommodate certain capacities in between if we can see, you know, if we can get very higher, even better value-added orders. So, we have kept those flexibilities in built into our system, and be rest assured that at Wellsman, we will never let go very profitable opportunity. Number three, coming back to the water sector, water projects. Water projects are growing, mushrooming all across Middle East, especially in Saudi Arabia and all the neighboring countries as well, but Saudi Arabia taking the lead. We are seeing a massive growth, urban growth happening in that country, which requires massive water distribution requirement, and that is where we are seeing the play of DIP. And once we come in stream by the, you know, during the course of this year, we will see a huge fraction coming up around that. Also, countries like Iraq, countries like Jordan, you know, they are also pushing their water infrastructure project. We are a party and we are participants in those particular projects. In some places, we are also in pole positions, and as and when they will materialize, you know, we will keep you updated. But in terms of an opportunity, these are opportunities which are there, and we are present, and we are there in a pool position. I hope it is that answers all the questions what you have raised.

Yes, sir. Just a follow-up, sir. You emphasized a lot on quality of order book being extremely good. Sir, is it possible to put some quantification over here or some more qualitative remarks to appreciate the quality of order book? Is it like very large dia pipes, or is there an element of coating, testing, which is there? So basically, the idea is to not look at it on a per kg basis. To appreciate what you do better or what we have in better, it will help us with that, sir.

It is. All what we have is mostly large diameter, primarily in the oil and gas space, right? Right? And if you see, especially if you won't see in US, I think so, we are, we are at this point in time, the entire order book what we have is for the, for the, for the gas space. Today, all the pipes what we are producing either are being used for LNG exports, as I said earlier, or being used for carrying gas to the, powering the data centers. So that is the sort of, and in these two segments, you know, you deal with one of the top two or three players of that particular, of the midstream companies in that economy, and, you know, we have a historical track record with them, and we have orders from them only. So, we are playing with the premium customers in the premium space, and that is why I am saying that we have a very, you know, the quality of the order book is good, and that is giving us the confidence, it is, to, you know, stick our neck out and give a clear-cut guidance, even in these challenging environments, to give a clear guidance of more than 20% growth on a year-on-year basis.

Perfect, sir. I'll join back the crew. All the very best. Thank you.

Thank you. We have a next question from the line of Chetan Sharma from Systematic Shares and Stocks Limited. Please go ahead.

Thanks for the opportunity, sir. Am I audible? Yes, please. Yeah. A couple of questions, sir. From our middle-class plan, sir, are we exporting anything to nearby countries? If yes, then those shipments have experienced any delay? And the second one is that does the shipping cost increase, especially freight charges, given by the higher fuel and insurance cost?

Jaitin, good morning. I think so. First and foremost, our Middle East plants are yet to, they are in the process of being commissioned, as I say. They will come up fully in operations during this year, during the end of this year. And so, the question of currently exporting from there is not there. But to the larger question, that will those plants will also be exporting to, you know, from Saudi Arabia, the answer is yes. So, as and when we will start our operations, our primarily, our focus would be within Saudi Arabia, but that geopolitical positioning and the location enables us to look at the international market, export market from there. So, we will definitely be reaching out to that. To your second question, yes, there has been a supply chain disruptions which have been there. We have seen the shipping cost going up. We, you know, we had, but fortunately, you know, all the contracts what we had, you know, we were, we were not impacted. You know, there were some minor operations here and there, but largely we went, you know, because we had long-term contracts in place and all those contracts got honored. So, largely, all what we have at this point in time, we did not get impacted because of the increased cost of the shipping. But, yes, there has been a significant increase which has happened, and the good part is that we did not get impacted in our existing order, and in the future orders, what we are participating, or future projects, what we are participating, accordingly, they have been factored for.

Okay. Thank you, sir. And last two questions, sir. So, is there any hike in the industrial diesel cost in absolute term, in percentage term?

I'm sorry?

Industrial diesel cost price.

Domestically? Yeah. We are all seeing that what, you know, we are seeing that the way the prices are going at. Everyone is fully aware of that, Chetan. And, I mean, there is a cost escalation which has happened. There is no doubt about it. And, I mean, and this will, you know, most of our orders which are primarily export, you know, it is not impacting too much. But on the domestic orders, we are negotiating the contracts accordingly, factoring with the new diesel cost.

And one last question, sir. In this quarter, there is no order book breakup, according to volume 51 in the presentation, if you could guide on that.

Participant, the management line has reconnected. Over to you, sir.

Yeah, thank you. Our apology for this glitch. Yes, Chetan, did you give your answer?

Sir, one last question, sir, on the order book front only, that in this quarter, there is no break-up regarding the order book. Okay. So, if you could guide on that.

Chetan, we have given a sort of a consolidated outer book. See, today, we are a global company, breaking it up into pieces and this and that. I think so, may not be, we can discuss offline, but the consolidated book stands at around almost 25,000 rupees, and almost two-third, one-third breakup here between America and India, and thus details, I think, I am sure that we can share with you offline.

Okay, thank you. That's it for my end.

Thank you. Reminder to all the participants, please restrict yourself to two per questions. Reminder to all the participants, please restrict you to two per questions. We have next question from the line of Vikas Singh from ICIC Securities. Please go ahead.

Good afternoon, sir, and thank you for the opportunity. Sir, my first question pertains to this kind of the supply constraints you are projecting in the future and our capacity coming. Usually, during these times, many of the players try to secure the production capacity. So, have we started to get the trial orders or people seeking the inquiry to book our upcoming capacity beforehand, given the waiting period is too long?

Good morning, Vita. You are referring to the, you are referring, this question is more.

How do we address the U.S. new capacities?

That's correct. So, I think, so, we are gaining a lot of traction with respect to the new assets, at least in America, at least, I can tell you that, you know, we have not only started getting inquiries, but at the same time, we have started getting orders for the new plant, what we are setting up there. I think so we are starting with a fairly healthy order book at this point in time with respect to that plant which is going to come up. Also, in case of Saudi, you know, we have started seeing traction. A lot of inquiries have started coming to us. Domestic inquiries start coming to us. We seem, I am very sure that by the time the plant will get commissioned. Before that, in any case, we would have a significant order book even for our Saudi plant.

Okay, sir. So, my second question pertains to our cash usage. Even in next year, our guidance are super strong and the capex would be lower. We would end up generating more cash than what we can consume. So, what's the plan, though, basically? Because these capitals would be coming just on an immediate basis. Probably, we would not go for further expansion. So, So what will we do with the cash, because that could impact our ROEs at the end?

I think that's a fair point you are making Vikas. You know, if you look at it, despite we have been into the capex mode for the last one year, right, we still have been generating sufficient free cash flow from the business. We will continue to generate sufficient cash in days, in times to come as well. But what we strongly believe, first and foremost, our focus right now is to see to it that all these plants come on stream as quickly as possible and in time which we are pursuing and we are confident that they will happen. Number two, our priority would be to book these plants Today, the type of tailwind, the type of, you know, market dynamics, what we are seeing, our second focus would definitely be around that, you know, we are able to leverage this particular situation, and which we are more than confident to do that. Once we are able to accomplish these two things, then only the question of cash generation will happen. So, it is a question to be thought about. Is that cash generation going to happen? The answer is yes. But I guess it is few quarters away when these questions will become even more relevant, and I am sure we will be able to give you a very clear-cut plan with respect to what are we going to do with the set. Right now, our focus happens to be absolutely bringing these projects into operations, and number two, booking these assets with profitable orders. So we are taking a very structured, focused approach towards in that particular direction. But at the point in time when this question will come up, we will be ready with an answer.

No, sir. And if I may squeeze in one last question.

Sorry for interrupting, Mr. Vikas Singh. Please rejoin the view for the follow-up question.

Sure, no problem.

Reminder to all the participants, please restrict yourself to two per questions. We have next question from the line of Pratik Dhamsi from Union MF. Please go ahead.

Yeah, congratulations, the team, for a solid set of numbers. My only question is on the…

Pratik, may I just ask you to just level up your volume, please, a little bit?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sorry for that. So, my question was on the long-term outlook. You mentioned multiple opportunity at the onset of the call in terms of data center, in terms of gas opportunity in the U.S., Middle East, etc. In terms of slightly longer term, five to seven years, This run rate, which are getting in terms of order inflow as well as on the growth side, do you reckon it is as a sustainable number? How should one read it from slightly longer term point of view, considering you have the inquiries and the pipeline?

Satik, let's see this issue in two contexts. Number one, in FY26, if all the companies in America can get a visibility and a confirmed auto-booking, forget about Welsman foreign aid, apart from Welsman also, it is not that only I am booked, all others are also booked. So, if you see in FY26, if all the companies can get a visibility for the next two years or three years, till the end of FY28, that itself is a clear indicator as to what structural changes are happening on the ground, number one. Number two, as now things are getting more crystal clear, as we are seeing more clarity emerging that what type of data centers are coming up, number one. Number two, what type of LNG, possibility of LNG export which is going to happen, what type of oil and gas network is going to get created, right? It is giving us a very clear sense that this is there for the long haul. See, we are local there. We are plumped. We are in the market. We are servicing those customers. We are interacting with them on day-to-day basis. And when we are, you know, they are discussing their plans, that this is what they intend to do, right? So when we are hearing their plans, and then, and when we are seeing the micro and the macro indicators, that LNG at $3 versus $18, oil $40 versus $100, I think so, these are no-brainers that, you know, this investment And, you know, the surge in data centers, you know, they are talking of more than 5,000 data centers in America. These, you know, these indicators are very clear that this is a fundamental shift which seems to be happening on the ground, and it is there for a long time. So, we are fairly optimistic that this is not a short-term issue. This is a long-term structural change which seems to be happening in that particular country.

Got it. Many congratulations once again. Thank you.

Thank you. Reminder to all the participants, please restrict yourself 2-2 per question. We have next question from the line now. It's Neha from Vama. Please go ahead.

Hi, team. Thanks a lot for the opportunity. There's a couple of questions from my end. Firstly, on the plastic pipe division, how much have we been able to do in FI 26 and what are our targets going ahead and similarly for water tanks?

Can I ask Yesho, please, if you can address that? Yes?

Repeat that, sorry?

Neha, can you just repeat the question? It's a question. We have, Yesho wasn't there to answer this, please.

Sure. So, what I wanted to understand is how has your plastic pipe division fared in Fi26 along with water tanks, and what is the outlook for coming years for both these businesses? Yes.

So, Pipes started in 10 states. Acceptance of the product has been very successful. Learning additions were there, but now the product has started moving. So, now we are in the channel building phase. For tanks, we had a very strong year. Unfortunately, March for the LPG, because our tanks, is a little difficult for storing. So that primary water is supposed to, what we saw in pipes did not happen in tanks as much, across all players. But now that we are aggressively following the economy segment in tanks, we are very bullish on the growth of tanks as well.

In case of numbers, could you quantify that, you know, how much was FF26 and where are we headed for the next two to three years?

We're looking at a double-digit growth. I mean, besides pipes, but in tanks, we're looking at a double-digit growth every year.

And FF26 revenues for both the divisions would have been?

Existing businesses would have been...

Yeah, I think it was around...

It was in excess of something like 6.6.6, yeah, 6.10.

Yeah, 6.10. And the way things are looking at to us at this point in time, I think so both the, what Yesho is trying to say, both the pipe business and the tank business are showing strong tractions. Then in the last one or two quarters, one quarter, you have seen that there has been a fun crunch in the market because both are directly related to the water sector. You know, we have seen a little bit of a slowdown there, but the thing seems to be coming back We are very sure that both these segments will kick-start sooner rather than later, and we are hoping that we should be touching a sort of revenue and margin growth in excess of 10% in both the cases.

Understood. And secondly, on the DIY business, how much government allocations have we started seeing? I know you have mentioned a couple of quarters that you are seeing some amount of excitement, payments starting. Could you give more current flavor on it?

On the DI side of the business, you know, the conditions have been tough. There are two reasons for that. There has been an overcapacity issue, number one. There also has been an issue of payments not coming in. At least one part is getting addressed. The payments have started coming in. We are seeing payments coming into multiple states. We are seeing an uptake. We have already started seeing an uptake coming into that particular business. But number two, the issue with respect to overcapacity still remains. There is no doubt about that. And we would have to find alternate ways and means that how do we are going, how are we going to use our capacities? And we, you know, being on the port, export seems to be one of our, you know, one of our target areas that, you know, and we are going to grow that vertical exponentially.

Oh, got that. And last, you mean.

We have next question from the line of Par Bhaskar from Investec. Please go ahead.

Yeah, thank you for the opportunity and congratulations on a good set of numbers. So, my first question is basically like, when do you say no to a particular project?

I have an answer to that, to be honest. You're stumping me. Why would I say no to a project?

So, what are the threshold ROC levels for a particular...

You're talking of a capital project or a project where you're bidding?

Where you're bidding, where you're bidding, yeah.

So, see, that is, that is a factor of what is that particular project, number one. What is the competitive landscape around it, number two. How does that fit into our scheme of things in a way that we want to be a niche player? You know, we are not a commodity player. You know, we don't want to play on the lower end of the commodities. You know, especially when I am talking about the large diameter piles for all-in-game sector. So, I think, so, all these considerations go into our evaluation before we take a call. So, it is not one, there is no one simple answer to that, you know, what is the threshold. I think, so, we see it from multiple facets, multiple points of view, and then we take a call, Pascal.

Sir, sir, I just wanted to understand, like, if we, you know, how do we, you know, year over year, you know, target profitability, because there is a lot of lumpiness in your profitability, right? So, just wanted to understand going ahead in future, how do we plan to target this? Are there specific projects that we are looking at, and will there be a continuous lumpiness in your profitability, at least in carbon line types business?

I think so. If you see the performance over the last four years, there has been a continuous growth. I don't see that. I will not agree that there has been a lumpiness into the growth has been, you know, we have de-accelerated from there. I think so. We have only grown. If you see our performance over the last four years, our EBITDAs are, you know, in a CAGR of 43%, number one. But that's beside the point. I think so, you know, as I said, that We are present into quality markets. We are, we deal with premium customers into the premium segment. You know, this is ethos under which we work at. And I think so, the entire infrastructure, the entire facilities have been created and built around this ethos only.

Right?

So, I am sure that, you know, if there is a demand in the market, which seems to be there, the underlining tailwind which we are talking about, which is there and which is likely to be there, I think so, we should be able to So,

sir, do you see a bigger, you know, shift and, you know, spreads and, you know, coming two, three years or five years?

Mr. Bhaskar, please rejoin the queue for the follow-up question, the request.

Sir, it is the same question, it's just a continuation. I'll just end it, like, with this. I just wanted to understand, how do you see, you know, if there will be a sudden jump in profitability over the next two to three years, and what would be the drivers for the jump?

I have already told you that, see, jump in profitability is a factor of what type of, what quality of business you are participating into. So, as I said, the market is going, the demand is strong, we are with the right set of customers, we have a right product to offer, we play in the niche market, We have been delivering profitability. There is no reason why anything should change from here on.

Perfect, sir. Thank you so much for answering my questions.

Thank you. We have next question from the line of Netra Despande from Mira SX Air Khan. Please go ahead.

Thank you, sir, for the opportunity and congratulations for the good set of numbers. Am I audible?

Yes, you are. Okay.

Yeah. Thank you, sir. So, you said in the, just now, like two large plans which are going to commission in this year. So, just would like to know what would be the timeline and what the targets are starting and the for the completion of this target, as there would be the new capacity which is going to line up in this. That is my first question. And second question, it is like, we have seen slight reduction in the volume of SSPIC. So, for the segment-wise capacity, can you please explain, and if you can please include the syntax revenue also for the forward guidance, that would be grateful. And also, we have seen that the input cost has also slightly increased due to the CE crisis, but the first question that remains, that is, the new large project that you announced that is going to start on this year.

So, Neha, as I said, all these projects, you know, the two large projects which we are currently executing in Saudi Arabia as well as in the US are on track. There have been some minor supply chain disruptions here and there, but they are not going to impact the project per se. We, as we said, that they will all come in stream within this financial year straight away. So, we are absolutely clear and confident and we see no reason that why they should not be coming. I also mentioned that both these projects, not only they will come on stream, but they would start also contributing to our top line and to our bottom line and the margin in this financial year. That is the endeavor we are trying to do, and I am very confident that we should be able to do that. Now, whether it will be for one quarter, two quarters, three months, two months, that's something which we have to see. But for sure, all these assets will now come on stream in this financial year. And we will see some impact of this, some uplift coming from that, and the full impact coming then the next one actually. To your question that volume reduction in SS, you know, the market, you know, there was, you know, there has been some slowness in the European market. We were one of the large exporters of SS5 to the European market because of this CBAM and all the prevailing conditions and the supply chain what has suffered over the last one You know, there has been a reduction in the volume. But the good part is that, you know, while this could be a sort of a temporary phenomenon, but the good part is that the domestic market has bounced back very significantly. You know, the demand in the domestic market, especially in the power sector, is coming out to be very, very strong. And, you know, we are one of the largest players in the power sector from our stainless steel perspective. And we are going to be, I mean, we are very confident that, you know, this domestic demand which has bounced back. We will be, we will see a lot of traction coming to us in the steel business. To your third question about syntax, that's a fair point. I think so from next quarter onwards, we will start giving guidance about syntax, and we can start bringing a little more clarity about the volumes and everything. That's a fair point, and that's a fair ask, and I think so, we will do that. With respect to the input cost, your last question, input cost is a pass-through cost to us. You know, the input cost has gone up on account of freight, on account of fuel, on account of something here and there. So, but these are typically, correspondingly, you know, our top line, they are already factored into our top line. So, they are a pass-through. So, I mean, I don't think that there is too much to read around the input cost because they generally get embedded into our top line And they are a path through to the customer side of the way.

Okay, sir. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. We have a next question from the line of Sharviz Gupta from Maximal Capital. Please go ahead.

Good afternoon, sir. Sir, a couple of questions. So, one is, you know, on the share of profit and loss from associates. So, that is also has grown pretty strong in this quarter as well as for the year. So, what is the sort of the expectation for that in this financial year? I'm assuming that most of the capacities would be running at 100%. So, can we see any growth coming from this line item? And related question to that is, because we have so much cash, so is there an opportunity to increase our stake in these associates and JVs?

So, surveys to the first question, I mean, our JV, which is east pipe, is doing exceedingly well, and this is clearly getting reflected into their performance and in their profitability, and, you know, that is what you are seeing as a profit of JV coming as a line item into our balance sheet as well. You know, they are, they are, they are, that is one company that is again, sort of, you You know, they are into the pole position in the Saudi market. Today, they are the leaders into the Saudi market at this point in time, and they are doing phenomenally and exceedingly well out there. I am sure that their performance will continue to be like this in quarters and years to come because of the underlying demand which is there in the water sector in the Saudi market. If that continues to happen, I am sure that, you know, our profit of shares We will also see, you know, similar returns, if not better. Coming to your second question with respect to the cash and the opportunity what we have and we are going to increase our stake. I think so these are certain decisions at the board level. It is much above my pay grade, to be honest. I think so these are some strategic questions which we keep on evaluating at our board level. At this point in time, we are not contemplating anything, but, you know, these, but as I said that, you know, These are possibilities, including increasing, decreasing, new M&A, this, that. These are all very strategic questions and which we have a very, very collaborative, empowered, and a very professional board. And these are the questions which we keep on discussing there, Salvesh.

Okay, and secondly, on the networking capital days, so I think this has primarily come down because of the advances from the customers, and maybe this is mostly happening because in the U.S. people are paying us advances because of, to book the capacities. So, you know, how do we look into this situation and how do we extrapolate this going forward? Because, you know, one of the drivers for our ROC is this negative working capital lease that we have now achieved.

Sure. So, Shailesh, yes, the market is so buoyant that there are advances coming from the customers on many of the orders. And looking at the outlook in U.S., I think we will continue to get more and more orders and where these type of advances will keep trickling in. So, we see that while the earlier advances will get utilized as we produce and we ship out, but we are hopeful that the newer orders will keep coming on the similar terms. So, you can say this is likely to continue.

For this year's guidance, how much have we assumed from the new...

Mr. Sarvees Gupta, sorry for the interruption. Mr. Sarvees Gupta, please rejoin the queue for the follow-up question.

Sure.

We have next question from the line of Anand Darshan. Please go ahead. Good afternoon, sir.

Thanks for the opportunity and congrats on great numbers. Sir, my first question is regarding Wellspun Mauritius is sold at 22 percent stake in Epic to Wellspun Pipes, USA, for a total cancellation of 2,500 flows. So, what was the rationale behind this internal restructuring and how does the management plan to utilize the cash proceeds at the Mauritius entity level?

Anand, this is a, this is a part of our restructuring exercises, which we are doing across all our entities. We are moving, you know, this, I, earlier, if you see this entity was sitting in, in Mauritius, now it is sitting in US. So, this is a part of our plan that we want to park these entities into high-growth areas, you know, where we can achieve more flexibility in days to come, in times to come, if we really want to do something around that. So, you know, we felt that, you know, it will be more prudent for us to, instead of keeping it under a malicious entity, it is more prudent to keep it under the U.S. entity. And that's a part of the, you know, that's a part of a normal resectoring so that, you know, we are able to create values around it as and when an opacity arises. So, it is only with that simple objective that we have been doing that and have executed that.

Right. And my second question is regarding this, Indian players like Jindal, May Industries, and Rathamani are increasingly looking and expanding into the Middle East market. So, given this rising competitive intensity, how do you view the demand outlook, pricing environment, and your competitive position in this region, sir, over the medium term?

I mean, we are also watching with equal curiosity at this point in time. I think what you are saying is absolutely right. Just about every other leading Indian manufacturer has shown their intent to be into that particular market, which reinforces two things. Number one, that what we are telling you that there is a fundamental shift which has happened in those markets and there is an underlining demand that is getting revalidated. So if everyone else is looking at it, so the story seems to be convincing, number one. Number two, you know, getting there, started, start operating and leveraging is a little bit of a journey. You know, I am sure that every, you know, we have also undergone that journey. Everyone will have to undergo that particular journey. Let's not forget that Wellsman Corp is in that particular market for the last 20 years. We ventured into that market in 2004 and now for 22 years we have, we have been present into that particular market with direct foot on the ground for the last 14 years. So, these markets are good markets. They are very profitable. They are nice markets. But then you have to evolve into those markets. And I am sure all these companies, those who have shown their intent, they will eventually do that. So, in a near term, you know, while the competitive landscape seems to, you know, will increase, but will it pose a real threat in a absolutely near term? I don't think so, but nevertheless, we are evaluating that, we will watch it carefully, and whatever necessarily we need to do, we will do that.

Okay. One last question, sir. And we have reported a negative current tax of 85 crores during the quarter. Is it because of some refund or so, or what was the reason for this?

So, Anand, this negative current tax that you see for the current quarter, it's like mainly coming from the U.S. subsidiary that we have. And in Q4 of this year, that's in FY26, we have done capitalization substantial. And in U.S., there is a 100% bonus tax depreciation. So, what happens is that the earlier nine months, there would have been a current tax provided. But in fourth quarter, it gets reversed. And you will have a deferred tax expense coming in. So, if you see both lines together, you will find that it gets normalized. Current tax plus different tax.

Right, right.

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that was the last question. I now have to confess over to management for closing comments.

Thank you, friends. Thank you for joining us today afternoon for this interactive session. Being one of our Q4 and FY26 running calls, I am sure that we have tried to give you, tried to answer most of the questions what you would have raised, but still, having said that, that, you know, if you still have any questions in your mind, any doubts or any clarifications you need, you can get back to Mr. Percy Burdi or to Gautam, and they will be more than accommodative in terms of answering that. Lastly, I want to say that these are very, very interesting times for the company, for You know, this is clearly reflective into our, you know, how we have performed in FY26, how we have given the guidance for FY27, and more importantly, how we are viewing FY28 in our internal thought process. I think so, friends, as I said, that with the expansions, what we have done, the geographical positioning, what we have done, I think your company has positioned itself as a truly a global leader in all these three geographies, and I am sure that the next couple of years are going to be very, very, Thank you for joining this call, and look forward for interacting with you early next week. Next quarter, please. Thanks a lot. Bye.