APL Apollo Tubes Limited (533758) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning, dear members. I'm Deepak C.S., Company Secretary of APL Apollo Tubes Limited. We welcome you all to the 38th Annual General Meeting of APL Apollo Tubes Limited. Along with us, we have Vice Chairman, Mr. Ashok Kumar Gupta, the Board members; Mr. Deepak Goyal, who is the Director, Operations and CFO; and other panelists who have joined, either physically or through VC. In accordance with the relaxations provided by Ministry of Corporate Affairs and Securities and Exchange Board of India, the company is conducting this AGM through the WebEx facility provided by CDSL without the physical presence of members at a common venue. All members who have joined the AGM through VC are, by default, placed on mute by the host to avoid any disturbance arising from the background noise and for ensuring smooth and seamless conduct of the AGM. So the remote e-voting facility for this AGM was provided from September 6th, 10:00 up to September 8th, 5:00 p.m. Friday. The company is also providing e-voting facility during the AGM to enable the members who have not voted during the remote e-voting to vote. During the proceedings of the AGM, members may raise queries through the chat box facility provided by CDSL. Depending on the nature of the query, they will be answered either immediately or through the registered e-mail of the shareholder later. If any member faces any technical issue, kindly contact helpline numbers of CDSL as provided the notice of the AGM. Since our Chairman, Mr. Sanjay Gupta, is -- could not be present due to certain unavoidable engagements, it is proposed that Mr. Ashok Kumar Gupta, the Vice Chairman and Director, be elected as the Chairman of the meeting. Therefore, now I propose -- now I request the host to initiate the polling on the scene so that members presently express their [ ascent ] to the proposal. Host, can you start that poll for election of the Chairman?

Yes, we are starting, sir. Poll has started. You may cast your votes now. [Voting]

Last 30 seconds remaining to cast your vote now. [Voting]

Vote -- poll completed, sir. Result has been displayed on your screen.

The members have consented to the proposal for election of Mr. Ashok Gupta as the Chairman. Sir, welcome to the meeting. You've -- sir, the quorum is complete. 30 numbers are required to present and the [ equipped ] quorum is there. So I request you to kindly chair the proceedings of the meeting.

Thank you, Deepak. A very good morning to all our directors, to all the shareholders and all the ladies and gentlemen who are present in the meeting. A very warm welcome to you all. Before we formally proceed with the meeting, may I request the company executive, Mr. Deepak, to conduct a roll call of the panelists who have joined through VC?

Yes, sir. We have with us Mr. Anil Kumar Bansal, who is an Independent Director and also the Chairperson of the Audit Committee as well as the Stakeholders Relationship Committee. Anil, sir, can you please conduct the roll call? Sir, you're on mute.

Yes, sorry. I'm Anil Kumar Bansal, attending this AGM from my residence in GK II, and I'm able to hear and see everybody.

Thank you, sir. Welcome to the meeting. Next, we have Mr. V.S. Jain, who is an Independent Director.

I'm V.S. Jain, attending the meeting from my residence and the voice is clear. I can see all of you.

Thank you, Sir. Welcome to the meeting. Then we have ma'am Neeru Abrol, who is an Independent Director.

Namaste, everyone. I'm Neeru Abrol, Non-Executive Independent Director of APL Apollo Tubes Limited. I'm attending the meeting from my residence in New Delhi, I can see and hear everyone, and no one else has access to this meeting apart from me. Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am. Welcome to the meeting. Then we have Mr. Abhilash Lal, who is independent director.

Good morning, everyone. This is Abhilash Lal, Independent Director, attending this AGM from my residence in Gurgaon. I confirm that reception is clear. All video and audio is clear and legible. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. Welcome to the meeting. And then we have Mr. Jitendra Agarwal, who is the partner in Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP statutory auditors. Jitendra sir, can you do a roll call process?

This is Jitendra Agarwal here. I'm the statutory auditor of the company, and I'm attending this meeting from Delhi.

Thank you, sir. Thank you for joining the meeting. Welcome. Then we have Mr. Abhishiek Lakhotia, who is from Deloitte Haskins & Sells statutory auditors. Abhishiek , can you please do the roll call? Abhishiek, can you hear us?

Yes. Yes. I can hear you. Good morning, everyone. Abhishiek Lakhotia, this side, statutory auditors, representing Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP. I'm attending this meeting from my home in New Delhi and I can hear and see the proceedings very clearly. Thank you.

Thank you, Abhishiek. Welcome to the meeting. Then we have Ms. Sarvari Shah, who is the representative of the Secretarial Auditors, Parikh & Associates. Sarvari, can you please do the roll call?

This is Sarvari Shah from the -- this is Sarvari Shah, Secretarial Auditor, attending this meeting from Mumbai.

Thank you, Sarvari. Welcome to the meeting. Then we have Mr. Jatin Gupta, who's the scrutinizer for this meeting. Mr. Jatin, can you please do the roll call process?

Good morning. I'm Jatin Gupta, acting as scrutinizer for the present meeting. I am also attending this meeting from my residence in Delhi, and I am able to witness the proceedings very clearly.

Thank you, Mr. Jatin. Welcome to the meeting. Sir?

Thank you, Deepak. Now I would like to introduce the distinguished panelists we have. We have with me Mr. Deepak Goyal, who is the Director of Operations as well as CFO, who's sitting with me here on my left.

Good morning, everybody, too.

I'd also, like, to introduce our Chairman of Audit Committee, Mr. Anil Kumar Bansal. He's also the Stakeholder Relationship Committee Chairman. I'll also like to introduce Madam Neeru Abrol, who is the Chairperson of Nomination and Remuneration Committee; Mr. V.S. Jain; and Mr. Abhilash Lal, both are Independent Directors. They have joined us through VC. We have our auditors, Mr. Jitendra Agarwal and Mr. Abhishiek Lakhotia, who are, again, joining us through VC. Then we have our madam Sarvari Shah, who is our Secretarial Auditor; and Mr. Jatin Gupta, who is the scrutinizer for this call. So I welcome all of you to this meeting once again. Sitting on my right is Mr. Deepak, who is our Company Secretary. I once again welcome all the panelists, those who are present physically here as well as those who have joined through VC. Some of our directors of the company are not able to be present here, both due to their preoccupation as well as because of G20. So there have been some travel restrictions here and there, so everybody was not able to come. However, as you would have noted, the statutory auditors, the independent auditors, the scrutinizer, the secretarial auditors and independent directors all are here. So I see that the quorum is present and the statutory participants are also there. With this, I call the meeting to order. Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me immense pleasure to bring before you a very successful year we had. It was one of the best years in the history of our company, your company. Though we had 2 years of uncertainty, pandemic, war, a lot of recessionary trends, global headwinds, we are very fortunate that we are in India. And despite such headwinds, India has been able to establish a firm footing on the economic resurgence and has been growing steadily. India has been growing at around 7% to 9% year-after-year. Even this year, I think we are growing at around 8% now. And this increase, if you observed, and if you -- as you all know, is not only led by infrastructure push, which, of course, is there in all sectors. It's not only led by the service sector, which has been growing. But I think a lot of it has been growing through the private consumption, and this is a uniqueness of the country. The growth in the country is not only because of the government expenditure. It's significantly also because of the individual household consumption. Having said that, while the domestic demand is good, we are facing headwinds so far exports are concerned, the international market is concerned. As you know, a significant part of our output is sold in the international market. So we were trying to go in a very big way in the international market. We have a good presence as well. But the kind of growth which we are observing in the domestic market, we are not seeing in the international demand. That is kind of creating a headwind for us in the international year -- international arena. Despite these difficulties, you would have observed that we have achieved over 30% growth in this year. I think this was a remarkable growth. And this has enabled us not only to keep our market share, but also improve it marginally. As a result of this, our revenue has increased by about 24% over the previous year, and EBITDA has gone to almost the highest ever of INR 1,070 crores from around INR 990 crores in the last year. And net profit has increased by around 4% to INR 640 crores. These are all almost the highest ever that we have done. As a result of this, the operating cash flow has increased to around INR 970 crores, registering a very robust growth of 50%. EBITDA also is significantly good at INR 4,500 per tonne, even though it's marginally lower than what we used to have earlier at around INR 5,000. And -- but this is because of the difference in the prices, which is happening every now and then. As you know, international prices have been changing time to time because, at some point of time, the prices used to be as high as INR 65,000 per tonne and then the steel prices in India fell to around INR 55,000 per tonne. So despite this loss we have taken, you are seeing -- we are registering a wonderful growth, both in terms of revenue and in terms of net profits. Talking of our returns, our ROCE, return on capital employed, is almost 29%, which is almost one of the best in the industry. Not only last year, but in the current year also, your company has been doing very well. As you know, the growth has been significant. But apart from financial results, as you know, we focus a lot on the sustainability part of it. So today, we are having the G20 Summit in the country, in the capital. So the whole focus of the summit has been on sustainability. And as you know, the motive, One Earth, One Family. And so keeping that in mind, your company also has been working in the same direction. We have been focusing on innovation, creation of market in the new sectors and on ESG. So while talking of innovation, let me tell you that at a point of time, we used to make sections of 40 by 40, 50 by 50, 100 by 100 and -- perhaps not only in the country but perhaps in the world, we are one of the few companies, when I say few, not more than 2 or 3 companies, who are making square tubes of 1,000 by 1,000. You can understand the dimension of it, 1 meter x 1 meter tube. I don't think many people would have seen such a tube. We have already set up a line where we are continuously making steel sections of 500 x 500. So you see the kind of innovation, the kind of growth, the kind of new products, the kind of differentiated things which your company does. I'm happy to share with you that on the ESG front, we have got another big achievement. The company stood at 80th percentile. It's only a couple of years back that we started exercise of ESG measurement. And within such a short time, we have reached 80th percentile. That means we are better than 80% companies in the country so far as ESG is concerned. And our score has reached a high of 29 points against the industry average of 22. So this shows how much importance we give to sustainability, to growth, to environment. While we are focusing on sustainability of the environment, of the country, of the universe, we're also looking at our own sustainability. And that's why our working capital cycle has come down significantly. As it is, it was quite low at 7 days. Now it has come down to 5 days. I think I must give appreciation to all my colleagues in the company who have done such a remarkable job, which basically means you're working on a very low inventory, and you are working on a very low debt, and you are working on very low debtors. And as I mentioned to you, on our innovation, we are now coming up with new products, which are basically, apart from sections, we have also entered into color-coated sheets. As you know, color-coated sheets are the new-generation materials, which lasts longer, good to see, good for environment and has a very, very long life. We are also now embarking upon aluminum-zinc galvanized sheets, which is one of the first in the country and then value-added hollow sections, whereby we could be making hollow sections, which are not simply steel hollow sections, but something more than that. We are also reducing the -- our carbon footprint. We are reducing both Scope 1 as well as Scope 2 emissions per metric tonnes of steel produced by around 25% by the year 2030, which is in line with the goal of the country, to reduce emissions, to reduce the carbon footprint. We are also, as you know, already having facilities for renewable energy, for solar energy. We are one of the very few companies in the country where the energy mix has gone up to around 47% renewable. There are not many companies who are having for more than 47% renewable. And so this has helped us. So it's not only energy-wise. If you see we are taking deliberate attempt to change the construction from concrete based to steel based. This itself will improve environment drastically. I'm happy to share with you a number of buildings in the capital that are coming, which have been shifted through our -- efforts of your company from concrete to steel. And I'm sure all the shareholders will be proud of this achievement. And I can assure you this journey towards renewable, towards recyclable, toward prefabricated will continue. It won't only continue, it will be further strengthened. Because as you have all seen, the union budget, which came out in February '23, the year ahead seems to be very promising one for us, particularly in the steel industry, particularly in the sections. The government is spending so much on infrastructure, so much on the airports. We see all the airports have been modernized, on the railways. So all this is giving a high quantum of demand for your company. And in line with that, we are also increasing our footprint so far as production facet is concerned. Already, as you know, our Raipur facility is one of the best in the world. We are further taking steps to further increase the facilities there. We are also at the -- going international now, as you know, we have facilities in Middle East. So all these facilities, we will further augment to make sure that the country -- not only the country, the whole world slowly shifts to recyclable, slowly shifts to reduce carbon emissions. So with this kind of effort, I'm sure your country -- your company will have the rightful contribution towards sustainability and environmental protection, and we will be able to face the challenges of the future very well. And all this has been possible because of the excellent guidance that your company gets from the Board of Directors, and we just introduced you to the -- some of the Board members. I must really appreciate them and thank them for giving us continued guidance in all sphere, right from our operations to sustainability, to compliances, to all aspects of business. And I will be falling short of my duty if I don't talk of my colleagues, my employees. I must tell you today, we have the best team, not one of the best teams, the best team in the country, if I could talk of only steel industry or if I can talk of only pipe industry. But then, all this would not have been possible if we didn't have the faith of our customers. So we have more than 3,000 loyal customers, direct customers who talk to us day in and day out. Now these are the customers who have been with us for 20, 30, 40 years and consistently, without break. So this is our real strength, real pillars. And of course, the shareholders kind of faith you have given. Again, my colleague told me just now that we have shareholders who are with us since perhaps 1990, 1995, more than 20, 25 years. This is the kind of strength that we have and all other stakeholders I like to thank, including our banks and our associates. I want to thank, once again, to all of you to -- for listening to me so patiently and for the continued support, which you have been giving to us from time to time. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Chairman, sir. The members -- dear member, the Register of Directors and key managerial personnel and their shareholding maintained as per Section 170 of Companies Act and the Register of Contracts as per Section 189 are made available for inspection on the website of the company. There is a link available on the log-in where you have joined from to access these documents. By clicking those links, you can go to and get access to these documents. And now coming to the notice of the 38th Annual General Meeting. May I, with the permission of the members, take the notice dated 5th August 2023, convening this 38th Annual General Meeting of the company, along with the Board's report and its annexure as read. Annual report and the notice is available on the website of the company, www.aplapollotubes.com and also that of CDSL. The auditor's report issued by M/s. Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP, Chartered Accountants, the statutory auditors of the company for the financial year ended -- that ended on March 31, 2023, does not contain any qualifications or remarks. And therefore, with the permission of members, I'll take that also as read. Now coming to a secretarial audit report, again, no qualifications, observations or comments of the auditors on this report for the financial year FY '22/'23 issued by M/s Parikh & Associates, the Company Secretaries in practice. And with the permission -- so this is also taken as read. Now with the permission of the Chairman, I'll take up the agenda items, sir.

Please.

So the agenda items for transaction in this Annual General Meeting are item #1 is to receive, consider and adopt the audited financial statements, both stand-alone and consolidated for the financial year and that ended on March 31, 2023, and also the report of the auditors and the directors thereon. This is proposed as an ordinary resolution. The second agenda item is to declare a dividend at the rate of INR 5 per share, which is 250% on the face value of INR 2 as recommended by the Board of Directors, to declare the same for the financial year that ended on March 31, 2023. This resolution again needs proposed as an ordinary resolution. The third agenda item relates to appointment of Mr. Rahul Gupta, DIN: 07151792, who's liable to retire by rotation at this AGM, and being eligible, offers himself for reappointment. This resolution is also proposed as ordinary resolution. The next is a special business, which is about a ratification of the remuneration to be paid to the cost auditors, which is about INR 6,00,000 for the financial year 2022/'23 SG & Associates, Cost Accountants. That is all about the resolutions that are on the agenda of [ today ], sir?

Thank you, Deepak. Thank you for taking care of the agenda items, and I'm sure the voting must have been happened by now. Now investor forum is open for you. It's your forum now. Whatever we had to share, we have shared with you, all the information on the company's performance, on the agenda item. So now I request all the members to please raise their questions, if any; queries, if any; and complaints, if any, and we will try to address them to the best of our ability. Members, any queries?

Host. The first speaker who had registered is Mr. Manjeet Singh. If he is available, please unmute him and allow him to speak and also...

Sir, Manjeet Singh is not available in the meeting.

He's not there. Okay. The next is Mr. [ Kaushik Shaukar ]. Is he available?

Mr. Kaushik, you're unmuted. Please ask your query.

Am I audible?

Yes, you're audible. Please go ahead.

Good morning to all. I am honored to have the opportunity to address you all today and would like to express my gratitude to the Board of Directors for allowing me chance to express my view. Thank you, sir. Thank you so much. First of all, I serve the Board of Directors for out-of-box thinking and keeping meeting on Saturday. And considering VC mode of meeting, therefore allowing pan-India participation. So I request you to continue this trend. I'm a satisfied shareholders of our company and I must commend the management for the remarkable efforts in creating wealth of the shareholders. However, I'd like to raise a couple of concerns. My primary concern pertains for utilization of savings on account of VC Board of Meeting. I believe it was prudent and fair. It was okay to portion of these funds were shared by shareholders, more particularly amongst bigger shareholders who actually participate in EGMs, because considering the available contribution and active involvement, it will be a gesture of recognition to issue a small [ memento ]on the occasion of festivals. Sir, you can broaden the breakup of expenses on account of VC mode of meeting and account of physical mode of meeting if possible? And we request the Board to consider proposal and explore the possibility of implementing the gesture of gratitude and appreciation. By doing so, I firmly believe that it will reinforce the positive rapport with the company and shareholders and contribute to overall wellbeing of the corporate family. It will serve both purposes. Yes. My next concern is, what is the company's strategic plan for future growth and expansion? What are the new -- are there any new product launches or market expansion on the horizon? How does the company plan to stay competitive in the industry? My final concern is that company has been hesitant in supporting individual in the -- including myself have sent my credential in the past and follow-up the same with the company. But my question has not been considered. So not aiding differently-abled person with part of the effect will be -- I appeal for support in certification of work, including forms staying [ CV ]. Your assistance for -- mean lot to me. If I can't get help from a company like APL Apollo, then whom can I turn to? I have recently made my credentials, after our AGM, provided, given the hopes of recent justice and consideration for that help and support. I want to clarify that. I'm not seeking handoff or free money nor sympathy. I value my independence and self-reliant as [ Chartered accountant ]. And I hope you can understand and respect my desire to maintain the independence. Thank you for considering my request and finally believe that -- I firmly believe that every -- with your support, I can make a significant contribution to our organization to have a positive impact on our society. I eagerly await your response and sincerely appreciate the time and attention you have given me today. Additionally, I request assistance in introducing made to your esteemed auditor. As a fellow professional, I believe that provided that guidance will be instrumental in realizing our mutual goals.

In the interest of time, we request all the members to please be brief in their queries. Thank you, Mr. Kaushik. We can have the next query, please.

Mr. [ Vinod Agarwal ] is there, host?

Sir, Mr. Vinod is not available in the meeting right now.

Okay. Then Mr. Gagan Kumar?

Sir, Mr. Gagan is also not available.

The next speaker is [ Surendra Kumar Arora ].

Mr. Arora, you're unmuted. Please ask your queries.

[Foreign Language]

Thank you, Surendra-ji. Next is -- we'll -- the Chairperson will try to answer about the queries, whichever are possible to be answered during the meeting at the end of the release by all the shareholders and the remaining would be replied to their individual e-mails. Next is [ Shipra Singh Monod ].

Host?

Host, Mr. [ Shipra Singh Monod ].

Mr. Monod is not available in the meeting right now, sir.

[ Risabh Jain ]? Mr. [ Risabh Jain ], I think is there. Mr. [ Risabh Jain ].

Mr. Jain, you are unmuted. Please ask your queries.

Hello. Am I audible, sir?

Yes.

Good morning, Chairman, sir, Board of Directors and the members attending this e-meeting. Excellent speech has already been given by the Chairman, sir, wherein all the -- most of the queries has already been covered. But I would like to know that in this time of competition, where our profit marginally increased as compared to year '21, how would you reward the shareholders during this financial year? And shall we expect a good dividend during this financial year? And the second point is that the share price is trading at around INR 1,700 plus at presently. Is the management thinking about the split of the share during this financial year? And thank you very much to the company secretary and secretarial team for allowing me and express my views in front of the Chairman, sir. Thank you, sir.

Thank you, [ Risabh-ji ]. Next is Ankur Chanda. Mr. Ankur Chanda.

Mr. Ankur, you are unmuted. Please ask your queries.

Am I audible?

Yes, you are. Please go ahead.

Okay. Good morning to everyone. Sir, [Foreign Language].

Thank you, Mr. Ankur. Next is Mr. [ Raju Varma ]. Mr. Raju is there?

He is there.

Raju, you are unmuted, please ask your queries.

[Foreign Language]

Go ahead, please.

I'm Raju Varma, shareholder [Foreign Language]

Thank you, Mr. Raju. Next is Mr. Vinod Motilal Agarwal.

Sir, Mr. Vinod is not available in the meeting right now.

Our next speaker who is registered is Mr. [ Sarjeet Singh ]. [ Sarjeet Singh ].

Mr. Singh is also not available, sir.

Mr. Praveen Kumar?

Mr. Praveen, you're unmuted. Please ask your queries.

Hello. I'm audible, sir?

Yes, sir.

Good morning to my respective chairperson for this meeting, well decorated esteem Board of Directors and my co-fellow shareholders join this meeting online. Myself, Praveen Kumar joining this meeting from New Delhi. I have a few observations, which I'd love to share with the entire house. First of all, thank you respected Chairperson for your very, very in-depth address to a shareholder. Sir, I think you covered almost everything and it is very, very informative from a retail industrial perspective also. So I'm very, very thankful for your hard work for preparing this speech. Sir, I'm part of our company when the company name is Bihar Tubes. And over the period, I am very, very thankful to our founder, respected Sanjay Agarwal-ji, the Chairperson of our company, for taking so many proactive steps. And the last big event is the merger of Apollo TriCoat with our company. That's truly cut the administration cord, leverages our benefit and leveraging the strength of both the company into one. So that's -- hat's off to him and the product we have in the market, and I'm very, very thankful to signing [Foreign Language] investors so that will promptly see by the market, by everyone India, so we will be recognized as a true brand, which arrived in a big way. So I'm very, very thankful for the management initiative and the share price is putting all-time high. Yes, a split is due. Bonus is due because company is very, very on the fast track to growth path, and I salute the dedication, the devotion our respected Chairperson have to bring sustainable growth for the company. I supported all the resolution, which is set up for the notice today. And my question to the management is for the next year, what will be the growth driver for our company? And I'd love to thank our Company Secretary and his entire team for bringing higher standard of corporate governance in the company. If you have any queries, it will be promptly replied by our respected [ CES ] in its entirety. So I'm very, very grateful to him and his entire team. And I'm very, very thankful for your marketing team and our respected CFO for designing our annual report because I requested our CES, Mr. Deepak for a hard copy of our annual report. I'm very, very thankful to him. He sent me annual report, along with our company's diaries and a few pens, so I'm very, very thankful to him for his very, very investor-friendly approach. And sir, it's not the annual report, it's a catalog also that's the rare combination I see in listed entirety. It is very, very transparent. I'm very, very thankful to our CFO for designing in such a way so that each and every retail investor who has not -- might be not have financial knowledge in that aspect, he can understand it. So that truly shows that our management is very, very transparent. So I'm very, very thankful to be part of such a legacy. And I just pray to the God that he will bless our respective Chairperson Sanjay Agarwal-ji entirety so that you will take our company with a newer height in the future. And I'm very, very thankful for this opportunity to share my views and express my feeling for more than 2 decades.

Thank you, Praveen-ji. The last speaker, speaker #30, [ Yashvi Kothari ].

Mr. Yashvi, you are unmuted. Please ask your queries.

Hello? Yes, am I audible?

Yes, sir, you're audible. Please go ahead.

Thank you for the opportunity and very good introductory brief that you gave. Sir, I will jump on to my questions. So sir, basically, firstly, if you can tell them normal like this steel growth is on approx GDP 6%, 7%. So what is with the growth of structural steel, if you can tell us about that? Secondly, on the baby coil or semi coil, we see that the concept is emerging. So how do you see that from this coil, the steel types are being made? So how do you see that market growing? And what is our, sir, market size of the structural steel and sector-wise revenue contribution, if you can tell on that side? And lastly, on the Patara market size. And how do you see that Patara versus the HR coil, what is the price differential? And how is that market gaining share over HR? Or how is it sir?

Thank you, Mr. [ Yashvi ].

We have a member who wants to speak.

Apart from those who registered if any other member wants to speak, they can also speak or they can put that question on the chat box. Is there any other member who wishes to speak?

Sir, we can see few questions in the Q&A box.

[Foreign Language]

I'm unable to see the chat box, host. [Foreign Language]

[Foreign Language] Any member want to speak?

What are the questions? We are unable to see it actually, host.

I'm sending the question and answer, sir.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Certainly.

Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, so nice of you to have given your thoughts, your views, your queries. We really indeed fortunate -- the company is fortunate that we have sought such enlightened shareholders. And the best part is shareholders are taking interest in the company. They're studying the results, they are studying the annual report. Well, I think we are very lucky to have such good shareholders, and that is part of the reason why the company's also doing so well. So I'll try to get all the answers for you in a summary form. So what is the first question which was put up by members, well, whether we should have a physical meeting or a VC mode meeting. I think there are contrary views on both sides by the shareholders. And depending on the situation, we will take a decision on a year-to-year basis. So -- and depending on the government guidelines. So as you know, we have to do the AGMs as per the government guidelines. The government allows us, doesn't allow us and depending on the situation, the decision will be taken from time to time. There are views on both sides. The second query you asked about was about the -- how do we reward our shareholders. Typically, shareholders are rewarded both by way of a dividend and by way of your split or bonuses. The split and bonuses are decided from time to time as the opportunity arises. As and when it is decided, we'll obviously come back to you for your approval. But before that, let me again inform you that the dividend, as you see, has already been announced, and it's a pretty healthy dividend, which is around 250%. So that way, that's -- your company has been traditionally rewarding its shareholders from time to time adequately. You also inquired about the roadmap of the company and the growth drivers and how do we expect to continue our growth. My colleague, who is the Director of Operations, Mr. Deepak Goyal, he is here, who is a master of the subject, and he will definitely elucidate you about this company growth. Deepak?

Yes. Good morning, everyone. So we are primarily focusing on the 3 things. We are expanding regularly, regionally, and we are focusing on the structural tubing sectors. So in the recent past, we have increased our capacity from 2.6 million tonnes to the 3.6 million tonnes, and we have come up with some new products. The structural tubing side, we are capable now to making the sections by 500 by 500 diameter. And we introduced a new -- Galvalume seats, Galvalume pipes, color-coated seeds. So we are approaching the structure tubings in the various government projects. The new airports are coming up, renovations of the new railway stations and for the regional connectivities, the few new airports are coming up. So demand actually is very good in the country and especially government focused on the infrastructure activity in these years. So we are seeing very good demand in the coming years. We are expecting this year -- again, we achieve more than 20% growth and the same targets we are taking for the next years.

Thank you. Thank you, Deepak, so much. Another queries of people were talking about communication of the company. I'm sure all of you are getting regular communication from our side, from our company secretary, and I must thank Deepak for that for being so prompt. And if there is anything more needed, we will do that as well. A couple of questions that come on the Q&A in the chat box. So some members are asking about the amount of water towers that we have. So now we go on getting orders for all kind of applications, whether it is water towers and it is structural. And in addition to that, our dealers also get a lot of orders for these facilities. And we do not compile this kind of information at any point in time because there are different areas through which the orders flow to distributors directly or even through retailers. There was a query about distributors, how many distributors you have? Well, we have, as mentioned, around 700 to 800 distributors and large number of people or retailers who are supplied from distributors. So these numbers goes on varying from a day-to-day basis. What will be the figure on 31st March may not be figures in April, may not be the figure in September. It goes on varying. It goes on varying depending on demand and goes on varying whether some distributor has been added or somebody is taking this month or not. So these are the data which goes on changing. And what is the Blue Ocean project?

Blue Ocean is over 100% subsidiary, in which we are built up over a corporate office in the Noida Sector 132. And it's not an investment. It's in-house projects for construction of our corporate -- new corporate office.

There have been some queries about -- regarding purchase and sale of shares. Purchase and sale of shares are individual matters, and company doesn't go into the details of those things. So with this, I think all the queries which we're asked for have been responded by us. And in case there's any other further query, I shall request the members to please be active -- be proactive, as I should say, check up from our Deepak, who is our company secretary, and I'm sure he will give the response quickly. With this, I'll hand it over again to Deepak to take it further. So I just would like to inform you that the e-voting is perhaps going on now?

It is. It has already started, sir.

It has already started. So the e-voting is going on. Members may please complete the e-voting process. In the meantime, we have -- we are very fortunate that our independent directors are with us. May I request independent directors to kindly give some views of their own also with regard to the company and whatever they would like to inform to the shareholders. The directors, please. Sir, would you like to say something? Madam, you like to say something?

I think you have both covered everything, what additional we'll be able to say, but the company is doing very well, and we are seeing the growth over a period of time. And the compliance issue, like some people were commenting, yes, over a period of time, it's considerably improved. And I think it's a perfect mix of everything. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam. Thank you so much for your views. Yes, please.

Yes. Good morning, everyone. This is Abhilash Lal here. So first of all, I would like to thank all members who have taken the time to attend this AGM today. Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to it as we move ahead. I think we have covered a lot of areas. I think it's important to understand that operational performance is important, but so is all the regulatory compliance. Thanks to your support. Your company has made great jumps, I would say, in the last 5, 6 years. It has now certainly regarded as one of the fastest rising stars, and we look forward to your continued support to make sure that we continue to reward all stakeholders and society as we go ahead. Thank you all so much.

Thank you, Abhilash Lal-ji. Sir?

Jain, I'm an Independent Director. I would like to tell to the shareholders that the company is focused on the welfare of all stakeholders. It's the prime motive of the company. The growth plan has been very good in the past and expected plans are also very promising. Market is very good. And being independent director, I want to assure the stakeholders that we want to keep a very distant view and take very independent view on all the proposals. And I'm sure, with your the support, the company will move very fast, grow very fast and will not leave opportunities untapped in coming years.

Sir, we must thank you, not only for your wonderful words, but more than that, for a continuous guidance in each meeting and in between meetings. Sir, thank you so much for your words, sir. Bansal, sir, like to say something? Sir, you're on mute, is it?

No, no, it's fine. I think the respected Chairman of the AGM and the Company Secretary and CFO, my fellow panelists and respected shareholders, has been a wonderful year as Ashok-ji has already said in his AGM speech. I think nothing more than that is required to be said. But as an Independent Director on the Board of company for more than 8 years, now I fully can say, endorse that this company will grow by leaps and bound. And they're following good corporate governance, put the -- just called it team, which is possible. Inside also, I must say that Mr. Ashok Gupta has dealt it in detail, but Deepak, both the CFO and company secretary are also not leaving any stone unturned to ensure that company remains in firm corporate governance. My best wishes, and I'm sure the company will keep growing to its best. Thank you, Ashok, for inviting me to speak. Thank you, sir.

Thank you, Bansal, sir, for your beautiful kind words. As usual, you have been very supportive of us, not only here but also in all the meetings and all the deliberations. We have our auditor as well with us, Mr. Jitendra Agarwal. Mr. Jitendra-ji, if you are there and would like to say a few words? He's not there, is he? And then Mr. Abhishiek Lakhotia, who is there also, our statutory auditor. Abhishiek, you would like to say anything?

Hello?

Yes.

Can you hear me?

We can hear you.

Yes. Good afternoon, everyone -- rather, good morning, everyone. So I've been auditing APL Apollo for a fairly long time now, and it has been a pleasure auditing this company, the regulatory environment, the compliances, the strictness with which the Board and the audit committee looks at it. It has always been a great learning experience. And I think everyone is very mindful of the regulatory environment. That's what we always look at. And I just -- my best wishes for the future growth and the plans for the company.

Thank you, Abhishiek.

Thank you, Abhishiek. May I request Deepak to take it further.

Thank you, sir. On the e-voting, members who have not cast their electronic e-voting or remote e-voting -- sorry, e-voting during the AGM, are requested to kindly vote on the proposed resolutions. Once the proceedings conclude, the voting will still remain open for another 15 minutes to enable the members to cast their vote. And on -- for the scrutinizer, once the voting is over, Mr. Jatin Gupta, the scrutinizer, will present his report to the Chairman and the results on voting within 2 working days from the conclusion of this meeting as per the SEBI regulations and the Companies Act. And the results shall be posted on the website of the company and it shall also be disseminated with our stock exchanges. Now I request Mr. Deepak Goyal, Director Operations and CFO, to propose a vote of thanks to the Chairman.

Yes. I propose vote of thanks to the Chairman for and on behalf of all the members and other panelists present in the meeting. Thank you, sir.

Thank you. Thank you, Deepak-ji. I hope that uninterrupted video and audio was available during the meeting to all the members, all the panelists, all the participants. Now I request Chairman, sir, to formally conclude the meeting.

So once again, my privilege to thank our esteemed Board, distinguished Board, one of the best Boards you can think of. Our shareholders, very loyal shareholders being with us for a long time as well as the new ones. And my colleagues here who are conducting the meeting so successfully, also to the auditors and the scrutinizer for taking -- attending this meeting and CDCL for providing the platform. With this, I declare the meeting as officially concluded. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. Host, thank you.

Thank you.