Balkrishna Industries Ltd

As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star then zero on your touchtone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr.

Rajiv Poddar, Joint Managing Director. Thank you, and over to you, sir.

Thank you, Steve. Good morning, everyone and thank you for joining us today. I would firstly like to wish all of you a very Happy New Year. Along with me, I have Mr. Bajaj, Senior President and Director Commercial and our CFO; Mr. Satish Sharma, Senior President and Director, Strategy and Business Development; Mr. Ravi Joshi, our Deputy CFO; Mr. Sushil Mishra, Head of Accounts; and SGA, our IR Advisors.

In the U.S. market, despite the ongoing tariff situation, our strong product quality, brand positioning and by sharing the tariff impact with our channel partners, this has enabled us to regain some of the sales momentum.

India continues to outperform all markets. The positive momentum witnessed in Q2 post the GST reduction has sustained into Q3 as well. This has been supported by broad-based demand across channels and product segments in India.

For Europe, it is important to note that the EUDR norms, which were to get implemented from 1st January '26, the same has now been deferred by 1 year and is now likely to be implemented from 1st Jan '27. ` I would like to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate the Government of India for their remarkable efforts on signing the landmark FTA with the EU. We believe this will allow for further seamless trade between the two geographies.

Let me now share some other key highlights.

Aligned with our core value of giving back to the society, we have dedicated a state-of-the-art sports injury and rehab center at KEM Hospital in Mumbai. This 15,000 square feet facility is amongst the largest of its kind in a government hospital in Western India.

Further, BKT has featured on the wall of giving at Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai. This is in recognition of its long-standing commitment to supporting access to high quality by us.This is an evidence-based and affordable cancer care center.

In addition, as a testament to our comprehensiveness efforts on the ESG front, we have established an S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment score of 58. This placed us amongst the leading tire manufacturers in terms of sustainability performance.

In the sports engagement, I'm happy to share that BKT Tires is the official partner with all the five women's IPL teams, franchises in a landmark multi-team deal for '26 season. This partnership will expand our cricket footprint via our association with every Women's Premier League team of India, thereby strengthening -- further strengthening our brand visibility and reinforcing our commitment to sports and also to women's sport.

Let me update you on the capex front.

During the quarter, we have commissioned a new line of carbon black, taking the total capacity to 265,000 metric tons per annum. All remaining capex is progressing as per schedule.

With this, I now move on to operational highlights.

For the quarter, our volumes stood at 80,620 metric tons, a growth of 6% year-on-year.

For 9 months, volumes stood at 231,536 metric tons, a minor de-growth of 1% year-on-year.

Our standalone revenue for the quarter stood at INR2,682 crores, registering a growth of 4% year-on-year. This includes realized loss of forex pertaining to the sales of INR47 crores. For 9 months, the stand-alone revenue stood at INR7,762 crores, registering flat performance on a year-on-year basis. This includes a realized loss on foreign exchange pertaining to sales of INR117 crores.

The standalone EBITDA for the quarter was at INR605 crores, a margin of 22.5%. For 9 months, the standalone EBITDA was at INR1,760 crores, registering a de-growth of 11% year-on-year.

However, the margins for 9M stood at 22.7%.

Profit after tax for the quarter was recorded at INR375 crores, while for 9 months, we have recorded a PAT of INR927 crores.

Our capex spend for the 9 months of this financial year was approximately INR2,200 crores.

As on 31st December ' 25, the gross debt and cash and cash equivalents were INR3,649 crores and INR3,012 crores, respectively.

Accordingly, we have a net debt of about INR637 crores.

The Board of Directors has declared a third interim dividend of INR4 per equity share in addition to the INR8 already paid in the previous two quarters.

With this, I now conclude my opening remarks and leave the floor open to Q&A.

Thank you very much, sir. We will now begin with a question and answer session. The first question comes from the line of Mumuksh Mandlesha with Anand Rathi. Please go ahead.

Sir, firstly, we have seen Europe market turning positive this quarter expecting some good growth this quarter. And I think some of the markets like Germany seems to have done well. I just want to understand, you also mentioned about macro challenges, but still we have seen a very good growth in the Europe. What could the factors that led to the rebound, sir?

So I think overall, there anticipating better season to begin from this year. So that could have been the course. And as I mentioned in my earlier comments during the last quarter that a lot of the destocking had levelled out. So it could be due to that.

So going ahead, sir, I mean, considering macro challenges, should Europe be a flattish kind of demand, sir?

Got it, sir. Sir, on America volumes, sir, how much would be now, U.S., sir? And has the volume started there? And any impact of tariff on the margins, sir?

Overall, Americas is being there in the investor presentation. The exact U.S. sales is down as compared to previous year, but the exact numbers are not handy.

And any impact of tariff, sir, in our margin numbers, sir?

Yes, obviously, because we have shared with distributors, but the large portion is being borne by them.

Got it, sir. Sir, on the capex side, this year already, we have done INR2,200 crores, which was the guidance last year for the full year. Can you update what is the capex for the full year now? And also any expectations for next year?

So maybe about INR300 crores, INR400 crores more in the current financial year, and the balance would be in the next year.

Got it, sir. And sir, on the commodity side, sir, how do you see the trend there? And if you can share the Euro-INR rate for the Q3? And how do you see the hedges ahead?

So the euro rate for Q3 was at approximately INR97. And how do we see our rate? It should marginally improve from here.

Got it. And on the commodity side, sir, how do you see the trend ahead?

The next question comes from the line of Siddhartha Bera with Nomura.

Sir, my first question is, again, on this Euro-INR rate. I mean, we had close to INR91 last year, and it has gone up to INR97 now. So can you talk about how the European realizations have been because it's a significant improvement on the hedge rates, but we have not seen much change in our ASPs or margins. So some thoughts there. And current rate is significantly higher.

So are there significant hedges, which leads to a lower rate for you for next year? Or why are you sort of indicating only modest increase for next year?

So firstly, the Europe share has gone down. So that has had an impact. Also, as we maintain that we always have a forward booking, forward hedge. So that is also playing out. And for next year also, the same hedge policy would be continuing.

Okay. But in terms of European realizations, have they remained stable? Or has there been any change in that also?

Yes, realizations are same. There has not been a significant movement on that.

Siddhartha, having said that, the last quarter's realizations were around INR91, INR92. This quarter is INR97. And still, we are giving that it will improve from here. But because if you see in last 10 months, the euro have run up from INR90 to INR110, even after December, for last 20, 25 days, it has run up by INR5. So because we are running forward positions, so we are saying that the entire gain will not be captured in the rates.

Okay. Got it. And sir, on the India business now, I mean, we have seen a pretty strong growth consistently now for the last few years. This quarter seems to be even stronger. So anything here which is driving this? I mean, apart from the industry growth, any customer additions or any market share gain, if you can talk about? And how do you think this plays out for the next year?

As I mentioned in my opening comments, the positive impact by the government's role in reducing GST has driven the sentiments, and that is what is driving in the entire auto sector, and we are getting the benefits of that. Understood.

Also the good rains, which were there in the season, have led to better demand.

Okay. And does higher India share have a negative impact on the ASPs or margins? Or there is no much change, if you can just guide us?

Yes, it does have a slightly lower ASP. But if you see after all that also with the enhanced level of India, the EBITDA levels are at par with what they've been in the past. So it is nullifying the overall effect.

Got it, sir. Sir, last question is on the CV foray. We had talked about that the pilot will start from this quarter. So any thoughts now, how should we think about the ramp-up to be next year? What percentage of our volumes can come from the CV segment?

So as we have mentioned in my opening comments, all the projects are going as per schedule.

So the CV will also come up in this quarter. we'll make the announcements once we are ready.

So we're not anticipating any delay on that. As far as the ramp-up goes, we have a plan which we are working to.

It would be too early to sort of give any light on that at the moment. But we are quite confident of keeping our long-term vision of 2030, and we are working towards that. It will be too early to comment on a quarterly basis what will be the impact, but we are quite confident of our long- term vision.

The next question comes from the line of Raghunandhan with Nuvama.

Firstly, sir, with reference to the Europe trade deal, can you indicate what is the existing duty?

And how much reduction in duty can be anticipated because of that deal?

Current duty is 4%, and it is not very clear what will be the duty after this treaty..

Got it, sir. And in the rest of the world regions, which markets are mainly facing decline, sir?

So I think Southern part of America would be there. And Asia also a little bit.

Got it, sir. And how much would be the freight cost as a percentage of revenue in Q3? And how do you see the outlook forward?

I think it's around 5%, and we look at it to be stable at the moment.

Got it, sir. Last quarter, I think it was over 6%. So there has been an improvement here. It is positively supported...

It fluctuates depending on which country has got more of the exports and where it has gone. But this is the range -- is going to be in this range only. There's not going to be significant movement upward or downward.

Understood, sir. And within our expenses, is there any cost which we are also factoring for the efforts towards the CV and PV foray? Is there any product development or other costs, which are part of our financials?

Nothing significant to note -- I mean, to highlight over here.

Understood, sir. And lastly, sir, on the capex, will FY '27 capex also be in a similar range to '26, around that INR2,600-odd crores?

No, as we mentioned, we are not seeing an overrun. So out of the total amount that we had committed from the budget, about INR2,500 crores, INR2,600 crores would be done in this financial year and the balance would be done in that financial year.

Understood, sir. Thank you, sir. Thank you so much. Wishing all the best.

Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Abhishek Jain with AlfAccurate Advisors. Please go ahead.

Thanks for opportunity. Sir, how much is the current inventory in the U.S. and European market?

And how would be the outlook for the U.S. and Europe in the fourth quarter?

Sir, I have heard that inventory is quite low in the U.S. and you have started to increase the numbers in the U.S. from this quarter. We have seen a strong growth on a quarter-on-quarter basis on U.S. But still, it has declined 30% Y-on-Y basis. So just wanted to understand what is your strategy for the U.S. market? Are you waiting for that the tariff issues to be resolved and then you can start to ramp up the volume or you will continue to see the gain in the market share in the U.S.?

So as I mentioned in my opening comments, because of our strong brand positioning and quality and some major chunk of the tariffs to be shared between us and our channel partners, we have been able to gain some of the momentum that we had lost in the Q2 has come back in Q3. And too early to comment on what would be the change or how the tariffs would play out because as of now, there is nothing changed in that scenario. So once things change, we will have to relook at our strategy. At the moment, we are trying to just regain some of the lost momentum that we had in Q2.

So how much impact on the margin on the U.S. business? Because of this, you are taking some hit on the -- absorbing some sort of the tariff by yourself. So how much impact on the overall margin because of that?

I'm not able to quantify it on a public call because these are business details.

Okay. And sir, how much difference in the realization margin export versus domestic market now?

As I mentioned in my comments earlier, it is marginally lower. Again, I'm not going to quantify that.

Okay. Sir, my last question on the carbon black plant. Sir, as you have increased your capacity to 265,000 tonnes, so just wanted to understand how much would be used for the captive use

and how much for the commercialization? And what kind of the revenue and EBITDA margin we can see on this business?

So this entire incremental quantity is for the outside sale because whatever internal consumption is there that we were able to make from the earlier capacity. And margins wise, it will be as per industry average.

The next question comes from the line of Yash Agrawal with Nirmal Bang Securities. Please go

Sir, just wanted to understand on the U.S. tariff, like how much has been passed on to the dealers and how much we are bearing the impact of it?

Yash, I'm sorry. As I mentioned earlier, these things I'm not able to quantify on a public call, but we are sharing the cost where it is being borne between both of us. That's all what I can comment.

The next question comes from the line of Aditya with Old Bridge Mutual Funds. Please go Yes. Thank you for the opportunity, sir. Sir, my first question would be on the India market. So I just needed some sense on how we should see this market? How we should see this volumes split between agriculture and construction equipment, if you can give us some sense there?

It's roughly about 60%-40% between industrial construction and agri, very rough approximation. Industrial construction?

Industrial construction side would be about 60% and 40% agri.

Agri? Okay. That's super clear. And second question, sir, on the U.S.business, of course, we have done pretty well as compared to expectation in the U.S. business. So of course, we are witnessing lower volumes due to tariffs this year. But if you can give us some sense on the end consumer demand for these tires in U.S.? And how is the farm level activity as compared to last year or a year back today and where are we there in that cycle?

So as we are all aware that U.S. is a net importer, so that would continue. As far as -- for us, it's, of course, a challenge to -- with the tariff that we have been put up with. I mean, as a country, we've been put with. So we are trying to navigate through these scenarios. It's difficult to comment on how the momentum would be going forward because we don't have for certainty of how long this will continue for, whether it goes up, goes down. But whatever is enforced on the country and being law-abiding citizens, we will make the best of that scenario.

Okay. I mean I wanted to like get some sense like how is the farmer level activity in terms of crops? Is the output down or is the end level activity down or significantly down over last year, which is impacting the end consumer demand? Is that also a case -- a significant case going on there this year?

No, not that we are aware of. It seems to be normal.

Okay, sir. Thank you so much.

Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Chirag with Keynote Capitals. Please go Yes. Thank you for the opportunity. Sir, my first question is related to the carbon black sales.

What percentage of our revenue came from carbon black this quarter? It is less than 10%.

Secondly, could you update how has been the utilization of the advanced carbon black assets?

And what kind of volumes are coming from there?

Still not very significant, but yes, we are able to get the sample approvals from many places.

And in the coming quarters, it should improve.

Got it. Sir, my second question is related to the Indian market itself that now in Indian market, could you just highlight what is the right to win for any new company which is getting into commercial vehicle and passenger vehicle as a segment? And what is the reason for Balkrishna would be that we would be able to significantly gain the initial 2 to 5 percentage of the passenger and commercial vehicle market? As in my understanding, it is a competitive industry where even low-priced players are not able to penetrate into the market the way the branded larger players have. So just wanted to understand your point of view on this?

Yes, Chirag, we have spoken about it in the past. I don't know whether you were on that call or not, but we hope to deliver a better value proposition to the market through the route of the product, channel, brand, end user value. So all these put together, I think we should be able to deliver a better value proposition than what the market is experiencing currently.

Got it. Sir, just last question. If I am able to bifurcate the OHT industry to agriculture, mining, construction and industrial, I just wanted to understand, is Balkrishna present into the industrial tires as a segment?

Yes.

Got it. That is it from my side. Thank you, sir.

The next question comes from the line of Pramod Amthe with InCred Capital. Please go ahead.

Yes. Hi, thanks for taking my question. Sir, two questions. One, with regard to U.S. market, with the duties and all, who are the competitors who are gaining at your cost? And do you feel once -- as and when the duties normalize, you should still have a right to regain it back, which countries or which manufacturers? How to see it?

So as per competitor activity, we generally don't comment and we'll refrain from doing so.

Regarding BKT's policy, we believe that we are building the foundations and keeping everything intact to when the scenario changes, we will be ready to regain the momentum that was there.

And actually, if you see our previous commentary, we have always mentioned that the North

America is a driver of growth for us. So we are keeping everything ready to come back to that market when things improve there.

And second question is with regards to the new projects. When we visited last time similar time to the plant, you had some conveyor type of tires, which you are planning as a new project and also specialty carbon. Any update in terms of client acceptance and orders on the same?

So regarding the carbon black, as Bajaj ji mentioned, that it is a work in progress. And as we had mentioned, the ramp-up would take time because of acceptance. But every day, we are getting newer acceptance. So in the coming quarters, that should work. Regarding the conveyor that you saw were actually what we call rubber tracks. So that is what was there. Rubber tracks is a work in progress again. And as we are moving ahead, we are trying -- I mean, our product is under validation at OEs and that is expected in the coming quarters. So that should then also ramp up. Thanks and all the best.

Mr. Pramod, does that answer your questions? Yes. Thank you.

Okay. Thank you. As there are no further questions from the participants, I now hand the conference over to the management for closing comments.

We thank everyone for taking the time out and coming to hear us and looking forward to seeing you in the next quarter. Thank you everyone. Stay safe.

Thank you. On behalf of Balkrishna Industries Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us and you may now disconnect your lines. Thank you.