Blue Star Limited (500067) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good afternoon, everyone. I, Rajesh Parte, Company Secretary and Compliance Officer, welcome you to the 75th Annual General Meeting of Blue Star Limited. Mr. Shailesh Haribhakti, Chairman, had occupied the Chair. He has joined the meeting from Mumbai office. Members may please note that this AGM is being held through video conference in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2013 and applicable circulars issued by Ministry of Corporate Affairs and SEBI from time to time. The facility for joining the meeting through video conference is being made available for the members on first come first served basis. Members participating in the AGM through VC shall be reckoned for the purpose of quorum as per Section 103 of the Companies Act 2013. All members who have joined the meeting are by default kept on mute by the host to avoid any disturbance and ensure smooth conduct of the meeting. The company has received requests from a few members to register themselves as speakers at the meeting. In the interest of time, we have restricted the number of speakers and we will request the shareholders to limit their speech to up to 3 minutes. Once the question and answer session starts, the meeting moderator will announce the names of shareholders one by one, who have registered themselves as speaker shareholders. The speaker shareholder will thereafter be unmuted by the host. To start speaking, shareholders are requested to click the video on button. If the shareholder is not able to join through video for any reason, the shareholder can speak through the audio mode. If there is a connectivity problem at the speaker's end, we would ask the next shareholder to join and the same earlier speaker shareholder who could not speak due to connectivity problem will be called again to speak. Members are requested to refer the instructions provided in the notice for a seamless participation through video conference. In case members face any difficulty, they may reach out on the helpline numbers mentioned on the notice of the Annual General Meeting. As the AGM is being held through video conference, the facility for appointment of proxies by the members was not available, and hence, the proxy register not available for inspection. The statutory registers and other documents have been made available for electronic inspection during the AGM. Members seeking to inspect such documents can send their request to send their request to [email protected]. As the requisite quorum in terms of Section 103 of the Companies Act 2013 is present, I am calling this meeting to order. The company has not received any board resolution from any corporate shareholders appointing authorized representatives under Section 113 of the Companies Act 2013. We also have Mr. Nikhil Sohoni, Group Chief Financial Officer. The representatives of statutory auditors and secretary auditors present for the 75th Annual General Meeting. With the unanimous consent of the directors attending the meeting, I request Mr. Vir S. Advani to occupy the chair in case, due to technical glitch, Mr. Shailesh Haribhakti fails to continue with the meeting.

I agree.

I agree.

I agree.

Thank you, directors. I now request Mr. Shailesh Haribhakti, Chairman of the Board, to initiate formal proceedings of the Annual General Meeting. So, Chairman, request you to unmute yourself.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I, Shailesh Haribhakti, Chairman of the Board, have great pleasure in welcoming you to the 75th Annual General Meeting of Blue Star Limited. Before we start the main proceedings of the meeting, I request all the directors to introduce themselves. I would request Vir to first do that, Mr. Vir Advani. Vir, can you please unmute your line?

I'm Vir Advani, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Blue Star Limited. I'm also the Chairman of the Risk Management Committee. I'm attending the 75th AGM of Blue Star Limited from Mumbai. Thank you.

Mr. B Thiagarajan?

I am B. Thiagarajan, Managing Director of Blue Star Limited. I am the Chairman of Corporate Social Responsibility and ESG Committee and a member of the Audit Committee and Risk Management Committee. I'm attending the 75th Annual General Meeting of Blue Star Limited from Mumbai.

Mr. Anil Harish?

Good afternoon. I'm Anil Harish, Independent Non-Executive Director and I'm Chairman of the Audit Committee.

Mr. Sam Balsara.

Good afternoon. I'm Sam Balsara, Independent Director of Blue Star Limited. I'm also the Chairman of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee. I'm attending the 75th Annual General Meeting of Blue Star Limited from Mumbai.

Anita Ramachandran please?

This is Anita Ramachandran. I'm an Independent Non-Executive Director of Blue Star. I'm a member of the NRC and the CSR and ESG Committee. And I'm attending the 75th Annual General Meeting of Blue Star from my office in Mumbai. Thank you.

Mr. Arvind Singhal.

Good afternoon. I'm Arvind Singhal, Independent Director of Blue Star Limited. I'm the Chairman of Investor Grievance and Stakeholders Relationship Committee and a member of the Audit Committee. I'm attending the 75th Annual General Meeting of Blue Star Limited from Mumbai.

Mr. Dinesh Vaswani?

I'm Dinesh Vaswani, Non-Executive Director of Blue Star Limited. I'm a member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee. I am attending the 75th Annual General Meeting of Blue Star from Mumbai.

Sunaina Murthy please?

Good afternoon. I'm Sunaina Murthy, Non-Executive Director of Blue Star Limited. I'm a member of the Investor Grievance, Stakeholders Relationship Committee, and Corporate Social Responsibility and ESG Committee. I'm attending the 75th Annual General Meeting of Blue Star Limited from Mumbai. .

Mr. Rajiv Lulla?

Good afternoon. I'm Rajiv Lulla, a Non-Executive Director of Blue Star. I'm a member of the Investor Grievance cum Stakeholder Relationship Committee, and Risk Management Committee, attending the 75th AGM of Blue Star from Mumbai.

Thank you, everybody. As the notice was already circulated to all the members, I take the notice convening the meeting as read. The reports of the statutory auditors and secretary auditors do not contain any adverse qualifications, observations or comments on the functioning of your company. And hence, are not being read. Let me now apprise you on the performance of your company during fiscal year '23. Good afternoon again, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the 75th Annual General Meeting of Blue Star Limited being conducted virtually. It is indeed an honor and privilege to address you for the fifth time as the Chairman of the Board. Blue Star was founded on September 27, 1943. And this year marks its 80th year of operations, making fiscal year '23, '24 yet another landmark in the illustrious history of the company. The founder of Blue Star, Mr. Mohan T Advani held these values dear to him: courage, hard work, honesty and pride in a job well done. As I reflect on Blue Star's performance over the past 8 decades, it gives me great satisfaction with the enterprise he painstakingly built brick by brick has lived up to his vision and continues to build on the legacy left by him. Be a company that is a pleasure to do business with and place the company's interest of [indiscernible] are important guiding values he enunciated and practiced and the entire organization stays committed to these. Since the platinum jubilee year, the last 5 years have been challenging as well as an exciting period of consolidation after the turbulent periods in 2020 and 2021. We not only weathered the storm of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also reimagined and reinvented ourselves, concentrating on acquiring new capabilities, building research and development, strengthening the Blue Star brand, expanding the distribution footprint and accelerating growth. You will be happy to note that return on capital employed improved to 33.9% in fiscal year '23, in comparison with 25.7% in FY '18. As you are aware, the company has invested in manufacturing capacity expansion. And this improvement in return on capital is on an enhanced capital base. The market capitalization of Blue Star as on 30 April 2023, was INR 13,355 crores, as compared to INR 7,481 crores on April 2, 2018, when it was in its platinum Jubilee year. This represents a significant growth of 78.5%, marginally higher than the growth of BSE SENSEX which also grew 77.7% during the same period. Out of over 5,200 companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange as on 30th June 2023, only 250 companies have revenue of INR 8,000 crores or more. Out of these 250 entities, only 36 have been in existence for over 8 years. You will be delighted to know that your company is part of this elite group. Quarter 1 fiscal year '24 financial results. Earlier today, the Board met and approved the results for Q1 FY '24. Room air conditioner sales during the summer season were impacted due to unseasonal rains and unfavorable weather conditions. But all other businesses rose to the occasion and helped the company post modest growth in the quarter ended June 30, 2023. Financial highlights from Q1 '24 on a consolidated basis are as follows. Revenue from operations for the quarter grew to INR 2,226 crores, compared to INR 1,977.03 crores in Q1 FY '23. EBITDA, excluding other income and finance income for Q1 '24, was INR 145 crores. EBITDA margin, 6.5% of revenue, compared to INR 123.31 crores, EBITDA margin, 6.2% of revenue in Q1 fiscal year '23. Net profit for Q1 FY '24 was INR 83.37 crores, compared to a net profit of INR 74.35 crores in Q1 FY '23. Owing to the investments in manufacturing capacity expansion, net borrowing as on 30th June 2023 stood higher at INR 283.46 crores compared with the net cash position of INR 81.03 crores as of June 30, 2022. The current forward order book as on June 30, 2023, was at a report INR 5,359.05 crores, in comparison with INR 3,901.48 crores as on June 30, 2022. Despite lower-than-expected sales during the summer season, the market outlook for Blue Star's products and services continues to be good, and I remain optimistic of our prospects for the fiscal year FY '24. Future-ready Blue Star is what all of your Board is engaged in and is working on. The term of future reading implies that the conditions in the future will be distinctly different from where they are now. We know that human evolution over thousands of years has always entailed in some form or another a desire to prepare for the future through processes, understanding astrology, studying nature and predicting based on the past. Planning for life after the time of preparing for the future education of our children or their weddings have been an integral part of that. Business enterprises in addition to annual business planning have been undertaking forward planning for many decades. Over the years, given the volatile nature of the market environment and uncertainties associated with it, strategic planning has become a complex exercise, and boards are expected to play a role in helping executive management identify opportunities and threats, making available the financial and human resources, and assessing the risks as well as risk mitigation measures. Meaning future reading goes beyond strategic planning. It also involves preparing the organization for the emerging business paradigm, considering potential changes in consumer behavior, technological disruptions, new business models, unpredictable shifts in the competitive landscape, regulations arising out of global issues such as climate change, and geopolitical risks, with an objective to secure the ability of the enterprise to continue to create value for the shareholders. The pace of change has accelerated and it demands a high degree of agility to navigate the challenges arising out of the paradigm shifts. It is a much larger pursuit than digitalization. Because of the complexities and uncertainties surrounding the market environment, it is critically important to build scenarios and make the enterprise agile and resilient, and prepare contingent course correction measures as a part of the strategy. Being future-ready is a continuous endeavor at Blue Star. And let me briefly share how we propose to accomplish it. One, customers. We are looking at our current customers and their rapidly changing needs and expectations. We are also assessing new customer segments, which we would like to sell, and the value that we can extract and deliver. Given the fact that growth in the domestic Indian market will be driven by the aspirational middle class and first-time buyers, one of the key strategies is to make our products affordable. But at the same time, ensure that these products are reliable, durable and differentiated, thus delivering the Blue Star value proposition built on trust, products and technologies. Driven by energy efficiency improvement and decarbonization imperatives arising out of climate change mitigation measures, the company has been making significant investments in R&D and innovation. To further augment the efforts of the company, as you are aware, Mr. Ashok M. Advani, Chairman Emeritus and Promoter, rightly chose this area for his grant of INR 100 crores spend over 5 years. Geographies served. While continuing its stronghold in South India, the company has now strengthened its presence in North India and is steadily gaining market share. Apart from deepening our market penetration in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia regions, the company is executing a plan to enter North America and Europe with high and sustainable heating and holding products. Manufacturing. Built on the principles of value addition through backward integration, flexibility, lean manufacturing processes, EQM, TPM, building scale, smart technologies and sustainability, blue Star is making major investments in manufacturing capacities for the future. As you are aware, a modern deep freeze of manufacturing facility at Vara and Maharashtra and a state-of-the-art room air conditioner plant of Blue Star Climatech at Sri City, Andhra Pradesh, to commence commercial production in FY '23. The company has acquired land for setting up 1 more new plant in Sri City, manufacturing commercial air conditioning products for domestic and export markets. Supply chain excellence. In the post-pandemic era, global supply chains got disrupted and a totally unexpected war and other geopolitical conflicts now call for quickly building resilience in supply chains. Logistics and warehousing costs are significant in India. As a part of its mission to achieve global competitiveness, the company has formulated a robust supply chain strategy and has invested in a competent team and systems to execute it. Distribution channels. In the fast-growing Indian market, several types of distribution channels, including traditional single-store retail outlets, exclusive dealers, regional retail chains, modern retail formats, and e-commerce, coexist and continue to evolve. ONDC, or Open Network for Digital Commerce, is a potential game changer and is another evolving framework. Blue Star continues to make major investments in expanding its distribution reach. It is pertinent to note that one of the important values and beliefs of the company, practiced as a Blue Star way, is treat business partners as respected members our organization. The Blue Star brand. Philip [indiscernible] said, markets always change faster than marketing. Blue Star is a valuable brand, and through concerted efforts and strategic interventions, it has become a desired and aspirational name for 8 decades. We will continue to invest in brand building. We'll make it a trusted and relevant brand, new generations of customers, and new markets which we plan to enter and grow. Digitalization. Blue Star has implemented Industry 4.0 using IoT in its manufacturing facilities. The company is a pioneer in deploying remote monitoring of air-conditioning products such as chillers for maximizing our time and energy efficiency improvement in its customer service operations. The company has deployed robotic process automation in critical processes as a part of the program to tighten internal financial controls. Blue Star runs a major program to leverage data analytics. It is planning to make substantial investments in next-generation digital tools for enhancing customer experience. With cloud first as its strategy, it will further strengthen its information security. Blue Star's digital strategy for the future [indiscernible] the implementation of new converging technologies, including ubiquitous Internet, platform commerce, and [ Rev 3.0 ]. As you are aware, ChatGPT attracted hundreds of millions of customers within a few months, and the power of generative AI and its potential impact cannot be ignored. Blue Star has begun using artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques for predicting and preventing certain breakdown conditions in its products. Financial capital and balance sheet. As you are aware, Blue Star's track record in maintaining a lean balance sheet and delivering good returns on capital is admirable. It is necessary to expand the capital base of the company to fund the future growth and in meeting -- and in its meeting held today, the Board has given its approval to raise funds up to INR 1,000 crores to the qualified institutional placement [ queue ]. People. Professional management and meritocracy are the cornerstones of the people policy of Blue Star. It continues to be one of the best employers in the industry with an impressive employee engagement trust index. Keeping in mind the growth plan for the coming years, the company is investing in building the talent base for the future. Commitment to the environment. As I detailed in my letter to you forming part of the annual report, Blue Star will continue to remain ahead of the curve in its environmental commitment and preparing for its net zero emission. The company is committed to and is integrally involved in formulating and participating in industry programs and initiatives such as India Cooling Action Plan, energy labeling, e-waste, circular economy, green buildings, decarbonization, and lifestyle for environment. Social responsibility. Under the social responsibility initiative entitled SITARE Blue Star provides digital education to school children, vocational education and skill building for enhancing employability and scholarships for deserving and needy students for higher education. Blue Star, as well as its charitable trust Blue Star Foundation are engaged in and permitted to this long-term initiative. Corporate governance. Blue Star is committed to excellence in governance, with the Board, the executive management and the promoters aligned to long-term shareholder value creation, ethical business practices and transparency. You can rest assured that the company will continue to retain our well-governed enterprises. In conclusion, I would like to compliment the executive management and the employees of Blue Star for delivering exceptional results for the year ended 31st March 2023. I would like to place on record my deep sense of gratitude to my colleagues on the Board as well as to Mr. Ashok M. Advani and Mr. Sunil M. Advani, Emeritus chairpersons, for their valuable counsel. He's a very public intellectual, Yuval Noah Harari wrote. Philosophers are very patient people, but engineers are less patient, and investors are the least patient of all. Most employees of Blue Star are engineers as are the promoters. And they have an aspirational vision for the company to excel in all that the company does. I appreciate and thank you, dear shareholders, for your continued faith in the company as it embarks on the exciting new phase of its journey towards its centennial. And I'm confident that Blue Star will continue to rise to every occasion and deliver. My best wishes to you all. The company had provided remote e-voting facility through NSDL to its shareholders to cast their votes electronically in respect of all businesses mentioned in the notice. The remote e-voting facility commenced on July 31, 2023, 9:00 a.m. IST and ended on August 2, 2023, 5:00 p.m. IST. Members present in the AGM through VC and will not cast their vote on the resolutions to remote e-voting shall be eligible to cast their board through e-voting system during the AGM. Members may cast their vote while simultaneously doing the proceedings of this AGM. Please note that there will be no voting by show of hands at this AGM. Mr. Bharat Upadhyay, Partner of M/s. N.L. Bhatia & Associates Practicing Company Secretaries, has been appointed as the scrutinizer to scrutinize the remote e-voting process and e-voting during the AGM in a fair and transparent manner. For transacting the agenda contained in the notice, I request Mr. Rajesh Parte, Company's Secretary and Compliance Officer, to briefly explain the resolutions proposed to be passed at this age. Rajesh, over to you.

Thank you, Chairman. Since the remote e-voting is already concluded and many members have cast their votes, there will be no proposal or seconder for the resolutions as set out in the notice of AGM. Item #1 of the notice relates to approval of the audited stand-alone financial statement of the company for the financial year ended March 31, 2023, along with the reports of the Board of Directors and auditors thereon, and the audited consolidated financial statement of the company for the financial year ended March 31, 2023, together with the report of the auditors thereon. As stated earlier, the auditor's reports are unmodified. The resolution at Item #1 of the notice is set for your approval as an ordinary resolution. Item #2 of the notice relates to approval of final dividend of INR 6 per equity share of INR 2 each of the company for the financial year ended March 31, 2023. The resolution at Item #2 of the notice is set forth for your approval as an ordinary resolution. Item #3 of the notice relates to the reappointment of Mr. Rajiv R. Lulla, who retires by rotation, and being eligible, offers himself for reappointment. The resolution at Item #3 of the notice is set forth for year approval as an ordinary resolution. Item #4 relates to reappointment of M/s. Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP, Chartered Accountants, as the statutory auditors of the company to hold office for a second term of 5 consecutive years for conclusion of the 75th Annual General Meeting. This resolution at Item #4 of the notice, is set forth for your approval as an ordinary resolution. Item #5 relates to ratification of the remuneration of M/s. Narasimha Murthy & Company Hyderabad Cost Accountants for the financial year ended March 31, 2023. The resolution at Item #5 of the notice is set forth for your approval as an ordinary resolution. In respect of Item #5 covered under special business, necessary information has been provided in the exploratory treatment forming part of notice of AGM. Approval of the members is therefore sought for the said agenda items. I now hand over the further proceedings to the Chairman.

Thank you, Rajesh. I now invite the shareholders to offer comments and seek clarifications on the resolutions contained in the notice. In order to afford an important opportunity to as many of you as possible, I request you to be brief and avoid repeating the questions, comments made by earlier speakers. Shareholders are requested to mention their name and folio ID or client ID before asking questions.

Thank you, Chairman, sir. Before we start asking questions from shareholders, a short audiovisual will be played. [Presentation]

The Chairman will now be taking questions. Kindly unmute yourself, switch your camera on before speaking. Please restrict your queries or comments to under 3 minutes. I now invite Ms. [ Smita Shah ] to speak.

[Foreign Language] Thank you.

Thank you, Smita. [Foreign Language] Thank you very much.

Thank you.

[Foreign Language]

[Foreign Language]

[Foreign Language]

Mr. Bharat Shah, could you kindly unmute your microphone and speak? We appear to have lost the audio connection with Mr. Bharat Shah. We will move on to our next speaker shareholder, Ms. Lekha Shah. Ms. Lekha Shah, do unmute microphone? Switch your camera on and speak?

Can you hear me, sir? [Foreign Language] Good evening to all of you, myself, Lekha Shah from Mumbai. First of all, very thankful to our company secretary Rajesh for sending the AGM notice [indiscernible]. This is fully acknowledged [indiscernible] speakers in place. So I'm very grateful to our Company Secretary, Mr. Rajesh ji and his team. Thank you, Chairman, sir, for explaining as [indiscernible] company. Congratulations for excellent work, sir. Shailesh bhai I pray to God that he always shower his blessings up on you. As [indiscernible] said, I am proud to of our company completing 75 years in operation. Chairman, sir, I hope the company will continue video conference meeting in future. Sir, I would like to ask few questions. My first question is, to maintain our leadership position, this new energy-efficient product manufacturer in our R&D facility. My second question is, after sales service, being an important services provider, what steps are taken to provide service support and investment in technology. Sir, I strongly and wholeheartedly support all the resolutions for today's meeting and my best wishes always to the company and its prosperity. Thank you so much, sir.

Thank you, Lekha. I will answer your 2 very, very pertinent questions on maintaining leadership position. I think we have done this by truly making Blue Star future proof. We now address the needs of every customer segment. And the INR 100 crore 5-year grant that we have received from Mr. Ashok Advani will go to support our R&D efforts. And so we hope to maintain our leadership position. In terms of aftersales services, we are all very conscious, at every Board meeting, the evaluation of the quality of service being rendered after sales is being discussed. Rest assured that we are empowering our people who come in touch with all of you with all the technology means that they need to, one, set your machinery back in order if there is a problem, or keep it in a fantastic shape because of all the empowerment that we provide to them. Thank you very much for your questions and your support to all the resolutions.

Our next speaker shareholder is Mr. Bimal Kumar Agarwal.

Hello. Good afternoon to everyone. First of all, I'll thank the Company Secretary and his team and also the management staff and the shareholders. As Chairman has explained everything about the company very well and everything has increased, and only -- what are our earning in dollars, running in dollar, because what are the export market? And 1 thing I got to say is regarding all the shareholders.

Mr. Bimal Kumar Agarwal, have you muted yourself? We can hear you now again.

Suppose we don't deposit 1-year dividend in 7 years, the share growth in [EPFO] continued 7 years you don't deposit, that also I want to know, that some companies are just 1 year dividend have not put -- they're put in IPF. How can they do that, but when you are reading the paper that they continued 7 years, that I want to know. Please try to explain why the shares are going to IPF. If dividends are gone because they think it's hard earned money or hardly earned money. This is hardly earned money, it's going [indiscernible]. Sometimes your shares also might have gone.You have shifted from one house to another, sometime it's like -- become like a building at Walden, you lose your distints. That is unethical part on the government or [indiscernible]. Try to see into this matter. I'm sorry, have gone off this distinct. That's all from me. Thank you, Arvind. I have wanted it, supported all the regulation. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Thank you very much, Bimal Jee. I must tell you that we are very conscientious about all our shareholders. We follow up vigorously where we find that we are not able to get in touch with our shareholders. So we have a very minimal amount, which is regulatory required, which gets transferred to IPF. So please rest assured that we are making every effort to service our shareholders and to bring them back to a normally service shareholder status. In terms of earnings in dollars, the notes to accounts already contain the information. I'll request Rajesh Jee to send an e-mail to give details of the export earnings. Thank you.

Our next shareholder speak is Mr. Manoj Kumar Gupta.

Good evening, respected Chairman, Board of Directors, fellow shareholders. My name is Manoj Gupta, I've joined this meeting from my residence Kolkata. Sir, I feel proud to see your smiling face in any company because I've seen you in Adani and L&T Finance and Blue Star. In Blue Star, you are our Chairman, but we have learned so many things from you. Because you run the company smoothly and in a very principal manner. So we have a great respect in regards to you. And now thanks to our Vice -- Executive Chairman and company secretary and his team for excellent work for help us to join this meeting through VC. Sir thanks to -- for reward to investors for -- by issuing the bonus in the history of 1:1. By not asking by any investor, the Board has considered on the eve of 75th AGM to issue the bonus 1:1 to the shareholder and dividend is good in this price market and several challenges, [bar] and inflation that you can is INR 12. That means every time you see the Dividend. And sir, what's your future plan with CapEx for next 2 to 3 years? And sir, we should not forget our founder who has founded this company pre-independence with a long vision and future aspects. That which we are getting approved today after 80 years, the fruits are we are getting, who had founded this company. Those are things that the future will get a good result that we are getting today. And how you face the competition in your business from VOLTA, Samsung and other companies. They are also in the same business. And sir, brand ambassadors should be reviewed and some brand ambassadors should be taken from our women and females, those have won the bronze, silver and gold metal in Asia and the Olympic games that we should consider. Cricketers has a lot of money in the IPL under cricket, every -- full year they get the money by the BCCI and others. But our hockey -- women's hockey and women players are not getting money. So corporate sectors should come forward to appoint them their brand ambassador. And have you any plans to come in this region sir, eastern regions or North-East. And with this, I believe that company will more progress under the leadership of Mr. Advani and his team and take the company to new heights. Thank you, sir.

Thank you very much, Manoj. I will request Mr. Thiagarajan to appraise you of the CapEx plan, but we do remember our visionary founders and every value that they have set for us we attempt every meeting to actually make sure that we recollect, remember and reinforce. So far as the brand ambassador is concerned, we are extremely well advised by the firm that deals with our advertising and we will convey this message to them for their [indiscernible]. Tyag, can you just give the number in terms of the CapEx plan.

Thank you, Chairman. The CapEx over the next 2, 3 years will be in the region of around INR 750 crores.

Thank you, Tyag. Thank you Manoj jee, for all your engagement.

Thank you, sir. Our next shareholder to speak is celestina elizabeth mascarenhas. Could you kindly unmute your microphone and speak.

Okay. Am I audible.

Yes, you are. How are you? What a pleasure to see you.

I'm fine. So nice to see you. This is an actual AGM, please to have a nice dialogue. I'm happy this way also, I don't have to come out, run, take taxi and all. So this way is also good. And I can attend little more meetings than I could because I could just go one meeting and come back because I cannot run 3, 4, I have not that aged now in order to go about. So this is very nice to me, very comfortable. I can have my tea. I can sit on my chair and everything Okay, fine. And I can see you also in interact [indiscernible]. Thank you so much. Respected Chairman, Mr. Shailesh Haribhakti; Vice Chairman, V.S Advani; MD Thiagarajan, other members of the Board and my fellow shareholders attending this VC, and Mrs. C.E Mascarenhas, I am attending from Mumbai. Thank you very much. Now I think the company's Secretary, Mr. Rajesh Parte and his team for sending me the annual report and also registering me as a speaker on this great occasion of 75th year. Of course, it has -- from the starting it is [indiscernible], but when you came as an corporate, means with these AGMs and all, it is 75th year. I'm proud, I'm a shareholder of this great company and all the products, we have to use somewhere or the other. So I'm very, very happy that Mr. Advani's Emirates, they make this thing happen to us and still, we are going up the ladder, thanks to all of you. Now about the annual report, very beautiful, self-explanatory, adhering to all the norms of corporate governance. Working is very good even in such tough conditions, because there were shortages of raw material, he used to be always here Thiagarajan coming on the national TV and selling ad and deal tough. We see that this goes on and it has now. And really, what I find INR 12 per share dividend, very good market cap, thanks for the bonus, 1 is to 1. Now what can we ask -- now many said it should have been physical meeting. Now what I say forget about the physical making. I don't have a plant visit on the rotation of this 75th year, Where I come to the plant, some few who have participated in this AGM. You can take us earlier also, we would go many years back. Now everything is open. So we have a plant visit. We see all our manufacturing plus our products and plus there, I mean, we can actually see it. And if we are interested, we can buy also maybe a little discount. So such sort of after this range, you can make it a 1-day matter and all the top executive ports and be there that day, like we used to have earlier. This is my suggestion. Now congratulations for the awards and the accolades received during the year, very good CSR work. I don't want to name. Now my question is this ESG, about -- on the ESG front, have we gone for any rating of the ESG? And if so, what is our support. And do we -- have we listed on some ESG platform to get big investors in our company investing CapEx somebody here, you have already answered. The next question, we have a strong R&D and innovations. How many people are there? And what is the attrition level there? Next question is we have a portable A.C. What is the price of that portable AC? Because I feel we can take this A.C from room to room. I don't know how it is. I've not seen it. Now we are getting future are getting future ready. And for that, we have already started using AI, ML, Block Chain, CLOUD, ChatGPT. How much sort of once we are investing in [indiscernible]. Which is our most popular product and where our market share is the highest, plus our margin is the highest? Remaining, I don't want to ask further questions. I supported all the resolutions. I wish my company all the best and may grow from strength to strength. That's what I look out. And now Mr. Mascarenhas , on this occasion of 75th year, he has to say some few lights.

Yes, please. Please, go ahead.

Can I proceed? Respected Chairman, are very distinct members of the Board and my fellow shareholders. Good Evening to you all. My name is [indiscernible] Mascarenhas. I'm associated with this company as a shareholder for a very long time. Though I have not attended many meetings, but in spirit I am there, my wife is a spokesperson for me. I am a shareholder of this prestigious company. Now I'm very happy about the results. Our PBT/PAT has gone up at a good handsome dividend of INR 12 is most welcome. We have got a lot of our good product line, and I'm happy about it. We are using some of them in our domestic like washing that -- like washing machine and deep freezer. Now I would like to know whether our products are exported, especially to U.S. dollar-related countries because the rising dollar against the falling Rupee, what is our revenue? So in this regard, I would like to know. And my personal question is about the investor education protection fund. How much of this amount of dividend, unpaid dividend and the number of shares which have been transferred. Now why I say personally because I'm one of the shareholders who has lost tremendously. 7 years back, I had not encashed dividend warrant. I am forward about it, and it was a nominal amount. For that I'm paying a price that my dividend is gone forget it. I don't mind. But my shares which has appreciated tenfold has also gone. And the company and registrars are not responding to untimed number of calls that I made by Email and all. So please help me Mr. Haribhakti. You are Chartered Accountant.

Yes. I will give you the solution, Mr. Mascarenhas. Please write to Mr. Rajesh Parte, giving full particulars including a copy, if any, that you retain of any past evidence about your shareholding, please send it to us. And once you have that, the government is obligated to reinstate your shares and to release your dividend if full particular and evidence is given. Please work with Mr. Rajesh Parte to get this matter sorted. I can give you the information that 435,160 shares, representing 0.45% of our total shareholding has been transferred to IPF. So I'm sure your shares are safely there. You can have them received if you show full evidence that they belong to you. So don't worry at all. I will also take this opportunity to give answers to Mr. Mascarenhas's very interesting questions. On the plant visit, we have noted your suggestions. On ESG, Mrs. Mascarenhas, we as a company, I have already outlined to you how carefully we are paying attention to ESG, but we do not wish to take any spore or any rating until we have concretized our net zero plan and move forward on all our ESG commitments. So we -- as of today, have no rating and no score. Our margins are under constant pressure, that you are aware. This is an extremely competitive market. And so we always have to manage both the revenue side and the cost side. But you will be very happy to note that the Board's attention is 100% engaged on margin improvement. And as you saw from the results last year, our margins have gone up on an overall basis. So that answers your question about margin. And Mr. Mascarenhas, we have a very robust ForEx management system, which helps us to make sure that the fluctuations in the Indian rupee do not adversely affect your capital. So thank you both for all your suggestions and questions and we really appreciate your engagement as long-time shareholders of the company. Thank you very much.

Thank you, sir. I now invite Ms. Prakashini Jee Shenoy to share with hopes with us.

Hello. Can you hear me, sir?

Yes. Yes, please.

Thank you, sir. I'm Prakashini Vanisha Shenoy from Mumbai, Respected honorable Chairman, Shree Shailesh Haribhakti Jee, other dignitaries from the Board and my fellow shareholders, good evening to all of you. I received the annual report well in time, which is colorful, knowledgeable, informative and contains all the informations as per the corporate governance. I thank Mr. Rajesh Parte and Gaurav for the same. I should not forget to thank them once again for reminding me of today's meeting and giving me the link for speaking without which I wouldn't be in a position to speak. Then you once again, Mr. Rajesh and Gaurav Jee. The Chairman, Mr. Shailesh Haribhakti Jee, has given a wonderful picture regarding the company is working in all parameters. Why fear about the future of Blue Star when we have such a wonderful, knowledgeable person like Mr. Shailesh Haribhakti Jee. I'm proud to be the shareholder of the Blue Star company. At the outset, I congratulate one and all for getting various awards during the year. I'm also thankful to the board for declaring dividend as well as bonus for 2023 for completion of 75 long years. Sir, I have a few questions. What is the market share in the domestic market of Blue Star AC. With rising price of the raw material, what impact it would have on the profitability? My next question is, how are we planning for the digital future? Last but not the least, Haribhakti Jee, on personal request for your good self to please continue with VC meeting so that people all over the world shall have an opportunity to express their views regarding the company. I wish the company good luck for a bright future and pray God that the profit of the company shall reach the peak in due course. Sir, I strongly and full-heartedly support all the resolutions put forth in today's meeting. Thank you, Chairman Sir.

Thank you, Prakashji. We really appreciate your recognizing the company for all the awards and all the accolades that it has received. Our market share of room Air Conditioners in the domestic market is 13.5%. And we are preparing very aggressively for our digital future. You will be very happy to know that our factory, which has some up in 3 city is a manufacturing 4.0 recognized ready -- almost fully robotic digitized factory and we are investing very significantly in creating a fantastic digital future for our sales. As I mentioned in my earlier response, we are very cognizant and very sensitive to cost management. We have a total cost management system in place in the company, and we are very conscious about managing both the revenues and the costs so that our margins are preserved and enhanced. Thank you very much for all your engagement and your wonderful questions. Thank you very much.

Thank you, sir. I now like Mr. Kirti Shah to speak.

[Foreign Language].

Mr. Kirti Shah? I think we've lost connectivity with Mr. Shah. We move on to our next speaker, Mr. Anil Mehta, but he has not joined the meeting. So I'll now invite Mr. Hiranand Kotwani to speak.

[Foreign Language]. It's a great pleasure to join you. Certainly, the company has done well. But relation with the secretary department is not good because our main gentlemen, he has not replies in last year also. But those who personally visit them in the South Bombay or in a Worli, they used to take the advantage. But certainly, this share department, the particular secretary department should improve to listen to all the shareholders. Please make note of that. Turning to the point, so flood was there in Himachal, our plant is there. Before 31 was not [indiscernible] Recently, we come across some flood in Himachal, our plant what some effects there in Hamachal and [operation] or other things, I want to know. Bangalore Metro, what is our revenue from the Bangalore Metro. I want to know. Blue Star -- now new investment has come in this new Sri City in Telangana, how much investment -- when our operation will be in this plant? And what we will be manufacturing there? How much outlay and how much revenue we are expecting from this Sri City? Smart was least our Dubai operation, Al Rostamani and Some walk cinema, how much revenue from these, I want to know? Certainly, other question has been asked, can we have a good wishes for the future well-being of this organization, very dear to me. Thank you.

Thank you very much Kotwani Jee. Let me just reply to all your questions. we were fortunate that there was not any significant damage that we suffer in the HP floods. And so our factories continue to operate I will request Mr. Thiagarajan to give you the number of the revenue from the Bangalore Metro. 3 City is a, as I mentioned, a manufacturing 4.4 ready manufacturing facility, which has been set up for the room air conditioner business of your company. And it has been so structured that flexibility will be available to your company depending on the market forces that we see emerging. Our Dubai operations were on a steady even keel during the last quarter. And our current quarter has fortunately to the question of our previous speaker also been very have been very positive. We had a fantastic traction so that all our businesses combined together were able to deliver a superior performance compared to the previous Q1 during this Q1 as well. So your company is progressing well on its march towards maintaining and improving profitability and its position. Thank you very much.

Thank you, sir.Our next shareholder who registered to speak is not locked in at present, Mr. Sharat Kumar [indiscernible]. So let us move on to Mr. Santosh Kumar Saraf.

[Foreign Language]

Thank you, sir. Our next shareholder to speak, Mr. Dinesh Gopaldas Bhatia.

[Foreign Language]

[Foreign Language]

Thank you, sir. I now invite Mr. Yusuf Rangwala to speak.

[Foreign Language]

[Foreign Language] And thank you for all your support and all your congratulations. All the best to you.

Thank you, sir. I now invite Mr. Satish Shah to speak.

Hello. [Foreign Language]

[Foreign Language] Thank you and I have made answer all questions, all shareholders who wanted to speak have completed and therefore, I just want to thank all shareholders for their valuable comments and questions. We have answered all your questions as soon as you ask because otherwise, it becomes very difficult to remember, [Foreign Language]. The e-voting facility shall remain open for the next 20 minutes. Members will not cast their work yet are requested to do so. All businesses as per agenda have been transacted. I therefore, declare the meeting has concluded, subject to completion of the e-voting by the shareholders present through VC. The scrutinizers should present a consolidated report on remote voting and voting at the AGM within 2 working days on the conclusion of the AGM and therefore, authorized Mr. Rajesh Parte, Company Secretary and Compliance Officer of the company. We announced the results of voting and submit the voting results to the stock exchanges and the same shall be placed on the website of NSDL company and the same results shall also be displayed at the registered office as well as the corporate office of the company. And thank you all for attending the meeting, be sales and be heavy. Thank you very much. This meeting is now concluded.