JSW Dulux Limited (500710) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Distinguished shareholders, [Foreign Language]. It is now 2:30 p.m., and I find that the quorum is present. So I call this meeting to order. On behalf of the entire Board, it is indeed my pleasure in welcoming you to the 69th Annual General Meeting of your company, Akzo Nobel India Limited. Let me start the proceedings by introducing my fellow Board members, who join me today in this AGM through video conferencing and other audiovisual means. Let me begin by introducing the Board members. To my extreme left, is Mrs. Smriti Rekha Vijay, Independent Director and Chairperson of the Audit Committee and Corporate Social Responsibility Committee. Next to her is Mr. Amit Jain, Independent Director, Chairman of Nomination and Remuneration Committee and the Risk Management Committee. To my immediate left is Mr. Rajiv Rajgopal, your company's Managing Director. Sitting immediately to my right is Mr. Krishna R, your company's whole-time Director and CFO. And next to Krishna is Mr. Hemant Sahai, Independent Director and Chairperson of Stakeholders Relationship Committee. I also acknowledge the participation of the Statutory Auditors, Mrs. Price Waterhouse Chartered Accountants LLP, the Secretarial Auditors Mrs. A K Labh & Co., Company and Cost Auditors, Mrs. Chandra Wadhwa & Company in this meeting. Please note all statutory registers are available during the AGM for inspection at NSDL website. Before starting the formal business, I would like to share a few opening remarks. Dear shareholders, [Foreign Language] and good afternoon. It is truly my honor to welcome you to the 69th Annual General Meeting of your company. The year gone by has shown that the world's transformation into a global village continues to accelerate. The impact of uncertainties and developments elsewhere are impacting businesses across the world faster than ever before. If you look at the big picture of 2023, global economic growth is expected to further taper down to 2.8%. In this dynamic backdrop, only those companies that are resilient, agile, strategic, innovative and sustainable in their ways of working, will grow today and also be relevant in tomorrow's marketplace. At Akzo Nobel, we pride ourselves on supplying sustainable and innovative paints and coatings that our customers, communities and the environment are increasingly relying on. Our world-class portfolio of brands, including Dulux, International, Sikken and Interpon is trusted by customers around the globe. From a global perspective, Mr. Gregoire Poux-Guillaume took charge as our new CEO in November 2022 and launched 4 strategic priorities for 2023. These include, first of all, margin management; secondly, operating expense; thirdly, working capital management; and fourth, integrated supply chain. Together, these steer Akzo Nobel's ambitions to balance growth and profitability worldwide. Talking of India specifically, I firmly believe that this is India's age of coming in a new global order. The Indian economy is emerging as a global engine of growth with a projected GDP growth of over 7% for the current financial year 2023-2024, India is the world's fastest-growing major economy. In the medium term, tailwinds such as; first, favorable demographic dividend; secondly, a strong domestic consumption; thirdly, a government and private investment in infrastructure and manufacturing; fourth, increasing digitation; and fifth, a rapid urbanization are expected to continue to drive the Indian economy and inter alia the prospects of the paint and coatings industry. The industry is estimated to grow from INR 62,000 crore today to INR 100,000 crore within the next 5 years. So where does your company fit in the larger picture? Our commitment to innovation, industry-leading sustainability focus, cross-continental experience in 150-plus countries worldwide. Over 2 centuries of expertise in paint and coatings industry and most importantly, our proud people who are in sync with the pulse of the market, puts Akzo Nobel in a unique position. As a leading global player and a well-known international brands in India, your company's ambition is clear: to grow faster than industry while growing profitability too. In his presentation shortly, your company's Managing Director, will share more details on our strategy that brings alive our India ambitions. Esteemed shareholders, your company's annual report for the financial year 2022 and 2023 has already been circulated. For the year ending March 31, 2023, we delivered a record performance across multiple financial metrics. First of all, our revenue from operations, which stood at INR 38,021 million was a new high. With an accelerated 21% top line growth, we cemented our position as the top 2 incremental share gainers in the Indian paint and coatings industry for the second year in a row. Secondly, our EBIT surpassed INR 4,000 million for the first time and was a significant 24% increase over last year. Thirdly, calibrated pricing actions, better mix and enhanced operating efficiencies translated into a record EBIT of 11.6%. And fourth, at INR 3,351 million are profit of after tax before exceptional items too was the highest ever. While growing faster, we continue to deliver double-digit profitability for the fourth straight year. Our operating cash too was strongest ever. Overall, we are a stronger Akzo Nobel today. At the same time, we remain steadfast to contribute meaningfully to a sustainable future. 3 key 2030 sustainability ambitions drive our India business. These are, first of all, reducing our carbon emissions by 50%; secondly, utilizing 100% renewable energy; and thirdly, moving towards 0 waste. We continue to act on these ambitions. For example, nearly 75% of the energy requirements at our Bangalore site are met by renewable energy. Likewise, nearly 60% of raw materials purchased during the full year of 2023 were sustainably sourced. Innovation also has a key role to play here. We continue to offer our customers solutions that enable them to reduce their own emissions and material use. Currently, nearly 30% of our revenue is coming from sustainable solutions. Our societal initiatives in 3 focus areas of economic development through skill building, education and community health care continue to benefit local communities. In the full year of 2022-2023, the Akzo Nobel Paint Academy provided sustainable livelihood opportunities to 3,800 underprivileged youth. And secondly, our education initiatives benefited more than 6,700 children. Thirdly, 25,000 tele-consultations were provided to painter families and communities around our sites. And fourth, your company also contributed to the NITI Aayog's Aspirational Districts Program. Our committed efforts to drive a more diverse, inclusive and empowered future for local communities continue to be recognized with prestigious Corporate Social Responsibility awards by the CII-ITC Center of Excellence, Institute of Company Secretaries of India and the leading industry body FICCI. While growing profitably and sustainability, doing business with integrity continues to be our core driver. My heartfelt gratitude to the dynamic, diverse and experienced Board members of your company who augment our robust corporate governance framework. I'm happy to announce that at today's meeting, the Board of Directors has recommended reappointment of Mr. Rajiv Rajgopal as Managing Director of the company for a further period of 5 years, with effect from November 1, 2023, subject to your approval, which will be sought through a postal ballot. The full year 2023 behind us and full year 2024, a year of opportunities ahead, I take this opportunity on behalf of all the Board of members to thank you, our valued shareholders, for your continued support, loyalty and above all, for your trust in Akzo Nobel India. Reciprocating this faith in you -- in us, the Board has recommended a final dividend of INR 40 per share, over and above the interim dividend of INR 25 per share, taking the total dividend for the year to INR 65 per share. This takes our company's total shareholder return to over 20% year-on-year. Looking ahead, the market will be more competitive. Notwithstanding the many variables, be it entry of new competition, evolving consumer needs, new marketplaces, brand spends and shifts in the industry, we are cautious, yet optimistic. This optimism stems from my confidence in our solid foundation and robust strategic initiatives across both paints and coatings. The future looks promising indeed as we are geared up to unleash new excitement in the market and further build on our growth momentum in India. [Foreign Language], and thank you once again. Now before we move on to the formal business of the day, as outlined in the notice of this meeting, I would like to invite our Managing Director, Mr. Rajiv Rajgopal to share with you some highlights about the business of the company.

Thank you, Chairman, sir. Good afternoon to all the shareholders. Chairman sir and to all the members of the Board, I would like to thank all of you and all the shareholders for the trust and faith reposed in me. I'd like to thank all of you for the reappointment subject to shareholders' approval. And all I can promise is to continue to work diligently and make sure that I am able to take the company to the next level. We will now start with the presentation that I have over the next 20-odd minutes, and I'll run you through my thoughts and give you some idea of what Akzo Nobel and Akzo Nobel in India is sort of geared to do. Can I have the next slide in? Yes. So this is broadly the agenda, quickly walk you through a little bit about us. The business environment, business updates, financial performance, I'd like to talk a little about ESG, which is a key focus area, and then I'll quickly conclude. So first about us, just wanted to remind everybody, Akzo Nobel is a INR 10.8 billion revenue company in 2022. We are the third largest global player in paints and coatings. We've had a 7.3% return on sales in 2022. We are available or selling across 150 countries, and we've got more than 35,000 employees. On Akzo Nobel India, I'm proud to showcase to you the Gwalior factory, we call it Narmada. We've got about 1,500 employees. We are in 5 manufacturing sites. So Mohali, Gwalior, Thane, Hyderabad and in Bangalore, where we sort of manufacture paints and coatings. A lot of work is happening on capacity augmentation and expansion plans are in place. We are scaling up distribution through both our online and offline channels, and I've walked you through this. A 50% increase is what we've seen in our network, and our ability is to now start moving towards 5,000-plus towns, which is quite a shift that we've had with our Distribution 2.0 strategy. We cover more than 20,000 paint retailers and we've got around 4,000 B2B customers. We've got a world-class color center for ASC, which is a global color center, I'm really proud of that team and a low-cost innovation center, which we are driving for differentiated products in Thane. In terms of business environment to quickly walk through. I think our Chairman already mentioned to you, if you really look at different economies, when you look at the GDP growth across the countries, you can clearly see that India is still an outlier in terms of growth. And while one may argue whether it's 6 or 7, the fact is it's still one of the fastest-growing economies. And I think, hence, it's fantastic to be in this point of time in India and also play in a sector, which is really going to see good growth as we go ahead over the next few years. One of the things which is really benefiting and for those of you who've seen our quarterly results, which we've just announced. Yes, we are seeing some benefit of the crude price. The crude has been softening, of course, in the last few weeks, we've seen a little bit of firm movement of the crude price, but nevertheless, significant low compared to a similar period last year. Fortunately, for us, the rupee is now very stable, and I think that's something that augurs well for us, because both the crude price and the rupee are the 2 variables when you really look at in terms of our overall buying index. We are seeing a good rebound in the core sector growth. And one of the things that we are seeing, of course, is the fact that the interest rates have got slightly elevated, and this is felt by most of us who are buying homes and taking home loans, yes. But nevertheless, despite that, I still believe that India is still in the cusp of the next few years, seeing good growth subject to the environment and everything else being stable. A quick update on the business. I talked to you last year about this, but I just thought I'll reaffirm. Our strategy is pivoted around 6 metrics or variables. First is around brand building. Our focus is really on how do we really improve the core, which is the core of our brands, both on premium and -- premium interior, premium exterior. We are seeing a significant premiumization as we see in the industry and not just in paints, but in general, and we want to partake in it and make sure that we've got differentiated solutions with expanded offerings and advertising, which is really going to win the heart and minds. We've just got the recent brand scores and just to tell you that we've seen a sharp upward movement on the brand scores after a bit of time. On distribution, we are seeing that through our Distribution 2.0, as all of you know, we are slightly differentiated in the industry. We have since for the last 5, 6 years, about 160-odd distributors covering the retail business. And we have now started what we call the Distribution 2.0 last year, where we are now running through what we call the micro distributors, a hub and spoke, as we want to expand from more than 5,000 to 7,500 towns. The third pivot is around digitization where we are looking at a digital-first approach for consumers. So what are we doing? We've got a painter app, and we are able to do things like customer life cycle management, where we are able to really sharply target our painters and offer differentiated propositions. And also, we've got the global CRM tool, where we are really able to look at the entire inventory, the orders -- order book for the next 6 months and really be able to sharpen our focus in a laser manner with customers. We've also started IoT insights, which is helping us in our manufacturing productivity. The other initiative that we are doing is around value creation. And we have driven a lot of initiatives to really drive sustained double-digit profitability, something that I've been promising you, since I assumed the role. On people, ultimately in our paints and coatings business, people are the heart of what we perform, and inviting a people-centric culture, becoming more diverse, inclusive, driving diversity and empowering the teams is something that we really sort of enjoyed doing. Innovation, this is something that I'm really proud of, of really saying how can I bring the magic of science to the magic of paints. And as all of you know, we started that last year when we were the first to really start working with start-ups in a measured manner, and we'll bring more about it as we shortlisted the 2 winners, and we are working with them and trying to see how we can bring the best of digital to the paint and coating business. In terms of strengthening our product propositions and consumer connect, we've come with a new campaign called Ghar ka Champion, where we had Ashutosh Rana and Ishaan Khattar, which was available on what we call the HSM or in terms of our Hindi Speaking Markets, and we've got targeted campaigns for states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and you can see we roped in Anju Bobby George in Kerala, and she's had a tremendous impact where we are seeing a huge rebound in the state. We've also launched our DIY, Do It Yourself, and we will play to you the commercial at the end of this presentation. It's called Joy is DIY. And we also started a new campaign on Aquatech, which I really founded it's been really hot booming campaign called Parul and Painter, Love Story, which really brings you the essence of what Dulux Aquatech can do, and we will be presenting to you what more we are trying to do to dial up in this category. So we've really worked hard on our premium interior Velvet Touch, our flagship and your favorite brand has really started really rebouncing and doing well after the campaign last year. We have launched PU Satin, PU Enamel very recently. We've relaunched Dulux Powerflexx. We've come in with more propositions on Aquatech Promise Smart choice continues to be a driver of growth. And also, we started bringing our DIY products and offerings into the market last year. In our Coatings business, I must complement the teams for some fantastic performances. And really, what we've done is really focusing on high-performance coatings for car worldwide. As all of you know, we've got to tie up with McLaren and in the Formula One. In our Powder Coatings, we continue to be the most sustainable option for protecting surfaces, both metal and wooden. We've dialed in a lot of innovations on our Interpon. And as all of you are also aware that we are trying to expand our capacity now by also bringing in now a new capacity that we want to get by end of the year, early next year in our Gwalior factory. Marine & Protective, we've seen a huge rebounce in this industry. And this business has started doing very well. Our Protection & Aesthetics, both in and out of water is something that we've done. And as I mentioned in one of the earlier investor calls, we are proud to be associated with the INS Vikrant. And we also -- between paints and coatings are very proud to be associated with things like -- properties like Central Vista and also landmark sites that are coming to us. In our Industrial Coatings, we've started getting traction back. So we see still some headwinds in our coil coating business, but I'm certain that in our packaging coatings business, we will start seeing growth very soon. In terms of financial performance, I thought I should just walk you through. As all of you have seen in the annual report, it's been the highest ever revenue last year at INR 3,821 crores, and the highest ever EBITDA at INR 545.1 crores and the highest ever net profitability at INR 335 crores. So I really want to complement my team for the fantastic work that they have done last year. What has it led to? We've seen sustained market share gains as you remember, during COVID, we followed in doing the right thing and perhaps the industry grew faster. But after that, as I promised you, we've gained equal to and now started growing equal or faster than the industry. Our margins if you look at have been ahead of the industry, so 45.4% to 39.8%, despite the prices of crude, et cetera, going up, we've been able to maintain it. And as we've always promised you as a team, we are here to win and win profitably. So we've delivered double-digit profitability, and that journey has continued, right? When you compare our performance versus the listed players, right? In terms of asset utilization, we are driving asset utilization and OWC improvement with strong liquidity improvement. And what we've done, as you can see, the OWC to revenue percentage has sort of improved to 7%. Cash from operations is at INR 628.5 crores, and return on capital employed, I'm proud to present to you the return on capital employed percentage is now at 36% here. So really, again, I think kudos to all the teams for sweating the assets, making sure that we are able to use every rupee of what is put into the business and driving higher productivity and driving value creation to deliver this agenda. As we do this, we continue to believe in rewarding our shareholders. You can see the EPS has gone up to 73.6 last year versus 63.7, which was already the highest. And our dividend payout has been consistently now high, and as you can see, we've declared a dividend of INR 65 in the last fiscal INR 40 as the normal dividend and the special INR 25. And this is in line with also making sure that we are able to increase our return on equity percent by 25%, which is the, again, all-time highest. An area that I'm really proud of working along with my team is on ESG. As all of you know, this is going to be a very key metric for companies like us, and we want to be at the forefront of it as we try and drive good business results or great business results. So in terms of environment, I'll just cover a few points. I think what we are trying to do is 100% compliance to plastic-based management rules. We are focused on making sure there is 0 waste to landfill, 0 liquid discharge, we are looking at 34% renewable energy and 30% of contribution from Sustainable Solutions. On social, I think Chairman already covered a lot of it, but again, a few things that I should talk about. We are driving aspirational districts covered by our CSR projects. We started trying to provide employment to women, something that we as a team fell during COVID, and we've started driving this in states like Assam, Bengal, Tamil Nadu and in Haryana, and we are going to bring it to more states and drive this further. We've brought education access to 6,700 children, and we've got a 0 tolerance policy towards harassment and 0 fatalities and high consequence injuries, and we continue our work in terms of telemedicine. In terms of governance, I don't think I need to speak to you 100% Independent Audit Committee, 50% of Board comprising of independent directors. And we are guided by our core principles of safety, sustainability, integrity, and it's ingrained in me and my team. Some of the awards, I'm proud to share with all of you, we got recognized as the most trusted brand in 2023, and that's also borne through our brand score improvement. We won the CII-ITC Sustainability Award. We've been winning the Great Place to Work. As a company, we got registered for the first time, and we also have now come in the top 100 in manufacturing. We won a lot of CSR awards. We also won the top 50 supply chain awards by the Alden Global Value Advisors. So all compliments to the team for the fantastic work, and I'm certain that we will do -- take this to the next level. So to conclude, our Chairman mentioned, I'm proud of the fact that India was one of the first markets that our Global CEO, Greg Poux-Guillaume visited, and you can see him here at our Thane factory with the Chairman, Head of Manufacturing, myself and colleagues. What are our strategic priorities as we move ahead? We are going to hold on to a pricing gains to try and expand margins. While doing that, we are going to make sure that we are focused on delivering sustained top line growth with focus -- laser focus on market share gains. We're going to adjust cost base to market reality in certain places that we need to. We're going to drive working capital hard. We're going to make sure that we do it in a digital manner. And we've already started a lot of work in integrated supply chain, and we are going to bring to you over the next few quarters. Some innovations that we are planning to bring into that area to reduce working capital and make sure that we are able to respond more effectively to our consumers and customers as we move forward. Lastly, to conclude. So we are going to strike a balance between now as we move forward between growth and profitability. For a company of our size and the market share that we have, our focus is really going to be driving top line growth, but doing it by holding up profitability and making sure we continue to invest in our brand, distribution and technology. We continue to focus on giving significant returns to our shareholders, and we will continue to engage with all of you. We continue to have regular investor engagements, and I want to thank once again all of you for your incredible support in the last year. Thank you.

Thank you, Rajiv. Many thanks to you and the team, very exciting. Let us now move on to the formal items of business to be conducted at this meeting as set out in the notice dated the 23rd of May 2023, when we convened the 69th Annual General Meeting. The notice of the AGM, together with the financial statements and the report of the Board of Directors was sent to the members by e-mail and public, notices were published in the newspapers. Therefore, with your permission, we are taking the notice as read. And as per the present protocol of passing resolutions at the general shareholders' meetings, the concept of proposing and seconding the resolutions is no longer relevant. Similarly, approval by show of hands is also not recognized. As you are aware, under the Companies Act of 2013, shareholder approval of the resolutions proposed at the meeting needs to be obtained through electronic voting mechanism, which is called remote e-voting. The company has tied up with National Securities Depository Limited, NSDL to provide this facility, and I'm sure most of the members of the company would have availed this facility during the period of July 31 to the 2nd of August of this year. Members who have not cast their vote through the remote voting platform, will be able to cast their today for each resolution using e-voting platform of NSDL for a period of 30 minutes at the end of this meeting. Now let us begin with the question-and-answer session. Members I would like to note that considering participation of members through video conferencing and other audiovisual means, 2 options were given to the members to ask questions and express their views during the AGM. First, members who preregistered themselves as speakers at the designated e-mail address of the company; and secondly, members posting messages using the chat box available on the screen of all participating members. I would like to remind the member speakers of our usual ground rules in this regard, which are meant to ensure that all preregistered members get an opportunity to speak and express their views in about 2 to 3 minutes. For the sake of good order, the operator will be calling out the names of each preregistered speaker along with the folio number and whose audio video shall be unmuted. I would request the speakers to please restrict their message to the preregistered questions and not to raise any extraneous issues. As per usual practice, I will be taking the questions from all the members and provide answers at the end. So please, Inba, could you mute the audio video of the preregistered speaker shareholders, sequentially?

[Operator Instructions] I now invite our first speaker member. Mr. Amit Kumar Banerjee, folio number IN30032710068402. So please accept the prompt on your screen, unmute your audio and video and ask your question. Ladies and gentlemen, we request you to please remain connected while we unmute the connection for Mr. Amit Kumar Banerjee.

Yes. Good afternoon to everyone. Respected Chairman of the Meeting, Board Members present. Myself Amit Kumar Banerjee from City of Kolkata. Thank you for getting me connected and opportunity to speak such a wonderful occasion Akzo Nobel India Limited video conferencing meeting. It is our 69th Annual General Meeting of the company. As regards the performance is concerned, it is quite good at presented under review as visible in the balance sheet. Very nice, good growth [indiscernible] financial presentation to increased [indiscernible] Excellent. EPS has also gone up, yes, definitely up to INR 73.58 in comparison with the last year, about INR 63.608, dividend also there 40%, I mean that INR 40 per share. Sir, I would like to know about some -- a feeling to say something that, sir, is there any plan to enter into any new industrial specifically in ware industries as light paints, ware are also used in paint industries. Any plan to enter into adhesive industries like Fevicol's and others. What is your views on green plants eco-friendly paints using green energy? Please share your views. Finally, what is the key challenges now at present for sustainable growth in future? I appreciate the effect efforts given by the entire team members of Akzo Nobel India Limited. I thank our Managing Director, Mr. Rajiv Rajgopal, Wholetime Director and CFO; respected Krishna Rallapalli; yes, our Company Secretary Madam, Harshi Rastogi; and her secretarial team; including Mr. Thomas; and also at Kolkata, Mr. Sanjay Murali for presenting excellent services and contributions. I hope our management will maintain the growth and prosperities of the company, will expand the business with prestigious brand Akzo Nobel into future with new high. I hope our company will definitely come out with better prospects. I thank all the team members also for smooth conducting such a wonderful video conferencing today. Myself, Amit Kumar Banerjee, over to you set for further proceedings.

Thank you, Mr. Amit Kumar. Yes. Inba, we'll continue with the other questions and then we will answer them in the end.

We now invite our speaker #2, Biswendra Narayon Kundu, folia number IN30026310101052. Request you to please accept the prompt on your screen, unmute your audio and video and ask your question.

Respected Chairman, Mr. Oscar, members of the Board, fellow shareholders and friends. I'm B N Kundu. At the outset, I would like to thank the management for steady progress of the company year after year. According to [indiscernible] property, the report presented to us has been very nicely prepared with exhaustive details and have nothing further to say on it. The prospect of paints industry in India is very bright and the company is [ bullish ] about repeating the industry growth momentum during the current year also. In the financial year 2022, '23 -- 2022, '23, they achieved the remarkable performance and robust growth throughout the year. The company has also maintained the human face to the shareholder by paying [indiscernible]?

Sorry to interrupt you. Mr. Kundu. I think you should mute your webcam to conserve your bandwidth. Mr. Kundu?

Yes. Now it is, okay?

Yes, sir, your audio is now fine. I suggest you to mute your webcam to conserve your bandwidth.

Sri big congratulations to entire management team. Sir, I'm also very happy to see that this company absolutely debt-free company. I pray to God that you maintain this fashion years together. Sir, if you see your performance highlight, you have performed in all sectors. Sir, your PAT is INR 335 crores, you're earning per share increased INR 73.58, the shareholder [Technical Difficulty] performance. Sir I have some specific question, what is your further expansion if it is then where in your order book position? [Technical Difficulty]

Mr. Kundu, could you please adjust your mic and speak, it looks like we can't hear you very clearly, sir.

[Technical Difficulty]

Mr. Kundu, if you can hear us, could you please adjust your mic and speak? We can't hear you very clearly, sir. I'm sorry. Mr. Kundu, we can't continue with your question. We would request you to please reconnect, refresh your connection and rejoin. We will promote your turn again. Ladies and gentlemen, in the meanwhile, we will move to our next speaker member. The question is from Mr. Santosh Kumar Saraf, request you to please accept the prompt on your screen Mr. Saraf, unmute your audio and video and ask your question. Yes, sir.

Respected Chairman, Board members, and my fellow shareholders and all employee and staff those are present in today meeting. My name is Santosh Kumar Saraf, I'm speaking from Kolkata. Mr. Oscar, my English very weak, so I best continue with Hindi. Because only I speak in English for you to say [Foreign Language]. And wish a god for your good career, good health and good time. I can -- we're speaking in Hindi because my Hindi is very -- if I speak in Hindi, then I speak with my heart. [Foreign Language] Mr. Oscar, I request you to kindly increase the percent of female employees, because our Prime Minister [indiscernible] world's third largest economics. So if women is are not empowerment, if women not get their service in the country made, then how we became third largest, [indiscernible] education sir, so try to give more and more job to our women because they're so intelligent. Our Finance Minister is intelligent, our Finance Minister is female and our President is also female. And our Industrial Minister is also female is Smriti Irani. Sir I request you to try to give more and more jobs to female employees, because they're so sincere and though hard working, sir. Sir, there are so many cases of income tax related, sales tax related pending from 1998. So I want to ask your legal team, how it is minimized by out of court settlement or otherwise? So I request you to please ask them to minimize because when the case is shown in the balance sheet, but it's like good balance sheet. So I request [indiscernible], sir? Sir, [Foreign Language] you're company is very good, and I think this business meeting is very nice, cost-cutting, less expensive and also suitable for all shareholders, if they live in India or they live in outside city, they live in Kolkata or outside Kolkata. Everyone have right option to join the meeting and ask and express their feelingness to our hard workers who are working in the factory, sir, because they also work -- we see work hard that there somebody can be -- can congratulate us for their work. So I express my [Foreign Language]. Once again, Mr. Chairman, I wish you and your family and all our directors, all our employees and all our shareholders those are who are present in the meeting for a happy [indiscernible] India 2023 and [indiscernible] and also, we -- when -- we pray to god, please the spend there this year is healthy, wealthy and prosperity. Yes. Thank you, sir. [Foreign Language] My English is weak, so please excuse me.

[Foreign Language] Mr. Saraf. Really a pleasure. Thank you.

We now invite our next speaker member, Mr. Manoj Kumar Gupta to please accept the prompt on your screen, unmute your audio and video and ask your question.

Hello? Good afternoon. [Foreign Language] Respected Chairman, Board of Directors, fellow shareholders. My name is Manoj Gupta, I'm equity shareholder of Akzo Nobel. I've joined this meeting from my residence, Kolkata. Sir first of all, I feel proud to be a part of Akzo Nobel, earlier Indian explosive than ICI now Akzo Nobel, several names have change and several company has merged with this company then Akzo Nobel registered in since 2023. And sir, I thank to the MD for his nice presentation and visionary presentation about his view and remarks. I've seen 7 Chairman and 7 MDs in the last 35 years. This is -- that means every 5 years, Chairman and MD has changed. But I thanks to the Board that we have given -- I thank to the Board that we have given the extension to our MD -- beloved MD for next 5 years. So keep in mind that he will take the company on new heights, and he will get the entire support from Akzo and entire support from the executive and employees putting the company on new heights, sir. And I thank the company secretary and his team for help us to join this meeting [ obviously ]. Thanks for your dividend for INR 65. But sir, what's the benefit to say you anything? You are not listening anything from the shareholders? Investors has not got return as per the sensex. When the sensex was 50,000, your share price was INR 1,800. When the Sensex is near about 70,000, your share price is 18,000 -- 1,800. And we are always asking you to increase the liquidity to -- by splitting the shares either 2:1 or 5:1. But why are you not listening? Just see the Asian Paints, 10 years back, we have asked the Asian paints to split the share. They said, okay, we will put forward your views in our next Board meeting. They have called the AGM in August. In December, they have split the share 10:1. So such type of practice should be there that -- you should not consider the bonus, we know that, that Akzo will not give the bonus. From last 35 years, I'm waiting for the bonus, but you had not considered. So I will not ask you to issue the bonus, but to consider the split of shares either 2:1, 5:1 or 10:1. Then your liquidity will increase, market cap will increase, your -- 140 crores population country, just you see where you stand, just you see. Be liberal, make liberal. [ Leave the pay ] conservative policy. That era has gone, that time has gone. When Mr. Evert was the Chairman in early 90s or when Mr. Ganguly has come, he had changed the shape and condition of the company with the help of the Aditya Narayan, then company has become the Akzo Nobel today. So you think -- forget about past whatever has happened in past. Whenever we go to a distributor give Akzo, then he says, no, you take Asian Paints. Asian Paints is more durable and long lasting. This is your image in the mind of shopkeepers. They do not suggest to customer to buy the Akzo Duco Dulux. They suggest to buy the Asian Paints product. So that Asian Paints Berger -- Calcutta based another company see the Berger, their market cap their situation Berger, just you see. How you will take the company on a right path either you pay the INR 100 dividend or INR 200. But think about the market where you stand with the population of 140 crores population and our visionary prime minister has a vision to take the company, you are MNC and you can't do anything [ here or phera ]. But you should run the company smoothly and take the view of the small investors, either we are right or wrong earlier. So think about that, what will be the future? In this country, we have seen several companies has gone, Shalimar Paints, Jenson & Nicholson, several has gone, but you should stand there because you are the MNC. And R&D, you should spend some money on the R&D expenditure to innovate more products. Like Asian Paints just you give a raw house and tell them we will give you INR 20 lakh, you should furnish. Everything they will install in the house. And just you enter in your house by cutting the ribbon, innagurate the house. So such type of system should be there. Investors has not -- nothing getting only dividend, and we are not getting a call of investor call to meet the MD, and you are not coming physically to Calcutta to meet us. This time, luckily you came to India to conduct the AGM. So we are happy to see that you have come to India after 3 years, after COVID impact as gone. So you spare some time to visit the city of joy where you have started the journey. And I request you and MD to come to Calcutta to meet us that we are ready to meet you and bring some young talent because India has talent. I can tell you, if you don't mind, I tell, frankly, foreign has money, but no brain. India has brain, no money. But now due to our beloved Prime Minister, visionary Prime Minister we became the fifth largest economy. And within 2025, we will be the third largest economy of the world and say there are several disputed cases. Several demands are due. What's your view on that regard? [Foreign Language] And sir make a plant visit to the shareholders, if possible, that we are interested to make a plan whenever we come to Delhi and we approach the company secretary, if you can help us to visit the plant either Gwalior or Mohali. And have you any plan to come in the Eastern part with a few investments, Eastern is growing and Northeastern is also growing with the -- after become the NDA government in Northeast Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, so states are growing up. Some is growing fastly. So think about that, and I totally agree with Santhosh for -- about the women empowerment. Give a chance to women to come forward and -- in that one woman executive director in the Board, either Director Human Resource or other. So give her a chance to be a part of the Board. With these remarks, I believe that you will consider our view, and you are smiling and we want to say -- we want to see you always in a smiling face so that the company will smile also, in future also. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I now invite our speaker number five. Mr. Ananda Sundar Roy. [Operator Instructions] Ladies and gentlemen, we request you to please remain connected while Mr. Roy unmute's his audio video connection. Mr. Roy could you please unmute your microphone, sir? Mr. Roy? Yes.

Very good afternoon. Chairman of the meeting, Mr. Oscar Wezenbeek; and our MD sir Shri Rajiv Rajgopal; and our CFO, R Krishna and other Board of Directors on dias and employees of the company and my fellow shareholders. On the screen off the screen, my name is AS Roy. I'm one of the very proud member of this company. And first of all, I thank -- my extreme -- my thanks to all the employees of the company those -- with whom I have been able to hear at this AGM, and I deliver my observation about the appearance of the company. [ Shri Sanjay Mallick at the registered office and Mr. J Thomas who have been very, very helpful to me and others also and my -- of course, our company secretary. Sir, first of all, this year, in particular, I observed your speech. And both of you see Shri. Rajiv Rajgopal and your speech, it came in a different way to me. I just -- I found your -- in your speech that -- some words like a sticky week -- wicket and strong betting each with favorable conditions. These are from likely -- you are from a land of football. I mean, Holland, where football is being most popular, and it has been placed with the, I mean, feet. And from feet to you took that to hand. So now from feet to feet it came up to hand-to-hand hand in hand. So this is -- I observed this year. And another -- your word is very, I found that progress for all, which is we are going -- which is going beyond the expectation as an industrial firms. This is -- I salute to you, sir. And I welcome this year Gregoire Poux-Guillaume as our new CEO, and lets observe -- see experience and his strategy in the future. Sir whatever you have been doing as industrially, it is more than the build business. It is just like you are serving the whole people beyond the borders as I observed. And -- in this way, I can -- I have no other way to say because all have been spoken earlier all the points have been raised so -- EPS is good. We just -- we got very good return from this company. So very happy about that material return gained from the site. Now what I'm going to ask you about the spiritual gain from this company because you -- whatever we have done so far, all the jobs in the ship industries or building the structures and the aircraft -- sir my request -- we developed some -- of some rooms here and they develop -- including this [indiscernible] and took all the -- our job done in miniature forms like in the miniature -- like [indiscernible] and put there. So the onlookers and the future generation could know about this dedication of this industry. That is my request to you. And sir, Tata ji is one -- because every meeting my reference to Tata has come -- Tata ji one set up a model town in Tata Nagar and that is becoming history. So why don't we say it -- because we have been so much doing for the villages and why don't do some part we select some part and set up a model town like Akzo Nobel Model Town -- we do everything for them to be remembered in the future, right? And sir, I have no other words I have -- I wish you from the bottom by heart everybody that you be safe in the future, and we are with you all. And just my feeling take you heart to heart. Thank you, sir. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. Roy. And I can tell you, I have been with the help of my fellow directors have been getting increasingly included in the world of cricket. So apart from Holland, I now start to learn the intricacies of spin bowlers, fast bowlers and what have you got? So I'm giving a -- became an expert there as well. So diversity in progress there. Thank you. Thank you very much for your question, and we'll come back to you.

Thank you. We now invite our Speaker #6, Mr. Alok Kumar Pal. [Operator Instructions]

Good morning, everybody. Myself A.K. Pal. At the outset, I convey my heartfelt gratitude to Secretarial department. Special thanks goes to Mr. Thomas and Mr. Sanjay Murali. I profoundly touched by the generosity, sincerity and hospitality. Investor Service Secretarial Department truly remarkable and [ praise worth ]. In this connection, I also congratulate Board of Directors for [ staggering ] performance of the company. I hope company will touch new scale of heights under your [ able ] leadership. Sir, I have a few questions, general and specific, which your company lost to evaluate fixed assets. Sir Page 103 in auditor reports I found some remarks by auditor to property note held company name. In Thane Property, we lost original title deed. Sir, are you applied for duplicate deed? What is the current status of the Thane Property? And also [ Mysore ] Property, you listed is not renewed till the auditor report signed. Sir, this is still pending or this listed is renewed? On Page 105, I found there is so many dispute case. I draw your attention particular sale tax dispute case, which is spending from 1982, 1983, that means 40 years. I like to know last 40 years, what is the total expense incurred in this particular case? No, sir, I'd like to know have company regularly performed customer, dealer, supplier, and investor satisfaction survey. Company has any supplier code of conduct policy. Have company carry out any assessment of employee satisfaction to evaluate how effective your procedure, rules and compliance are functioning? Have company conducting any campus drives to acquisition talent? How many freshers you added current year? Please give the data of your market share in following category: Decorative paint, automobile paint, specialty coating, powder coating, industrial coating, extrusion coating, protective coating and mairne paint. Now sir, our company's CSR project certified by social accountability standard, ASA8000? What is the capacity utilization of each plant? What is the average [ training hour ] per employee? As part of improvement of the management system and other organizational process, are you audited periodically by internal or as well as external agencies for compliance and improvement as per IATF 16949 and ISO 14116 and ISO 45001 guidelines, have company participate in customer audit to reinforce your commitment to compliance and allocation. What is your growth plan and CapEx spend. Now, sir, company have any branch auditor and internal auditor, please name the top 3 customers. Have company done energy audit to reduce power and fuel cost? Are your energy system [ ISO 50001 ] compliant? I'd like to know company's IT and cyber security system ISO 27000 compliant or not? How many new customers you added current year? Are you implemented 6 sigma projects for zero defect work culture? Have you done customer satisfaction survey? If done, what is the score? Have you done shareholder satisfaction survey? If done, what is your score? Company have any auditors who help to enhance and protect organizational value by providing risk based objective assurance advice and insight. Company appointment any risk officer who leads the risk function. I'd like to know, have company regularly perform customer, dealer, supplier and investor satisfaction survey? Okay. I thank you for patient hearing.

Thank you very much, Mr. Pal for a list of very detailed questions. We will look into it. Shall we have the next question.

We now request our next speaker member. Mrs. [indiscernible]

Okay, very good afternoon respected all chairpersons and all viewers. Myself, [indiscernible] from Kolkata. I am very happy to know that the company's performance is developing a lot, which is sustainable growth in nowadays after COVID-19 pandemic situation. But I have put some specific question and request in present situation. What is the aim and objective of future development in all of our countries and all over [indiscernible] national level and globally. What is the CSR activities on challenging persons, please macro analysis of CSR activity, once we submit the macro analytics audit of cash flow management, bifurcated analysis top line and bottom line growth. Please must be consider plant visit, must be considered -- please must continue this in future, abroad persons can participate and also express their views easily. Shareholders are [ well wishers ] like as parents of the company, as a well wisher I like beautiful brighten street light and like as [indiscernible], shareholders can lighten to the future part of the company and with live the future journey we are -- so must be considered -- speaker shareholders rewards.

Our next speaker member. Mr. Mahesh Kumar Bubna had registered, however, has not connected. We will, therefore, move to our speaker #9 [ Ashish Kumar Pathak ]. [Operator Instructions].

Good afternoon, respected Chairman. [Foreign Language], Board of Directors, Company Secretary, fellow members joining at 69th AGM of Akzo Nobel India Limited. My name is [ Ashish Kumar Pathak ] joining from [indiscernible] Kolkata. At first, my esteem gratitude to our Company Secretary, Harshi Rastogi and also Mr. J. Thomas also Kolkata office, Mr. Sanjay Mallick, for nicely sending me the hard copy of the annual report video in advance. Sir excellence for your opening remarks, I have noted all the valid points also respected Managing Director, I have also noted the all valuable points. At first, I am congratulating my company which is well ahead of the benchmark of S&P BSE 500. This is congratulations to my company's management team and also excellent financial performance, cash from operation [ INR 6,285 million ]. Return on equity achieved 25% against 23% and net worth achieved INR 30,156 million. And also remember, rewarded with INR 65 per equity share as a bonus. Sir, I have some viewpoints which I'd like to share. Why we reduced some expenditures in research and development from [ INR 130 million to INR 101 ] million because you primarily mentioned, we are in innovative way our business expanding. In -- also, you mentioned the sustainable and innovative way we are going. So please throw some highlights about this. Also, any plan for future acquisitions and joint venture and also a leading decorative paint company ongoing higher CapEx and manufacturing of vinyl acetate ethylene emulsion for cost optimization, which is key constituent in manufacturing inherent and which is very, very environmental and friendly. So any our plan throw some highlights and any plan for joint venture with Nano technology company, which is primary area of surface coating and care. And any plan for joint venture in industrial coating list throw some highlights. And sir throw some highlights, the actionable total percentage of revenue in India -- and any CapEx plan for next 3 years where you primarily mentioned India, these faster-growing economy. And any capacity expansion plan also [ respected men ] MD also mentioned Gwalior plant for capacity expansion and any CapEx for what are the solvent because very, very cost effective and very market in demand. Also, our net profit margin reduced to 8.8% from 9.92%, sir, about the bonus my previous speaker also mentioned. But my view is that you also reward the bonus -- against bonus NCD because NTPC and Britannia also rewarded members with nonconvertible debenture for the rewarding policy of member. Also with good promoter holding, I think, actual -- parent company may concentrate in our business area as India. And sir, according to the regularities decarbonization strategies, how my company management teams gear up to avoiding the carton footprints and CapEx for ESG framework -- and sir, delay in monsoon is very massively hit in this financial year, have any impact on our business, if possible, throw some highlights. And all our 5 plants are recognized as a smart factory with industry for AI, ML, IoT, cloud and cybersecurity and cost optimization and risk management. Thank my company's team for awards and record accolades mentioned -- nothing to say more. I expect everybody good health in my company. Thank you, sir.

We will now invite our next speaker member, Mr. Atanu Saha.

Good evening, sir. I Atanu Saha, a shareholder of Akzo Nobel India Limited. And thanks to all members and all stakeholders of Akzo Nobel of our 150 countries of around the globe. First, I -- with respect our Sir Oscar Wezenbeek, respected Chairman, Board of Directors, all independent directors, all -- and our company Secretary, CFO, Chief Financial Officer, sir, and all respective shareholders present in this virtual meeting. First, I do thanks to our committee to provide me to speak. Today, it's 3rd August -- it's in August, month of August 2023 Thursday, our company organizing its 69th Annual General Meeting. Sir, our previous shareholders rise number of points and also [indiscernible] to our board of members and also informed to extend our 5 years to the Oscar Wezenbeek. Our company -- sir, my question, our company is almost debt-free. Sir, as a multinational company, sir, with different segment products, our company sales growth of 6.93% near about 7% over past 5 years, together 13% the growth on previous quarter. Sir, our [ achievers ] predicted that India's stand on third position in respect of GDP and its percentage. Sir this year, the matter of rainfall, it's moderate. The GST planning its all new height. Sir, matter of inflation, not any problems, maybe a matter of cost of products and cost of product price. Sir, when do we expect a bonus. And another question arise along with this that what cost of percentage we're devoting for our own research and development wins on year basis. Sir, thanks to our company that they are providing a free education to all ladies students and also extension study for AZ Group which achieving its popularity now, think about extension studies. Thanks to our company that they are proving a great place to work, zero fatalities and zero high consequence injuries. Please arrange a plant visit, sir, at Nasik. Sir, I already casted my vote. Sir -- and our principal secretary J Thomas and Calcutta office Sanjay ji, helping us to time to time and solve our different queries. I wish a good year ahead, a good results, good health -- mainly good health to every employees and everybody. I Atanu Saha. I now hand over to our moderator. Thanks. [Foreign Language]. Have a good day. It's Akzo Nobel, which always welcoming into our world of color.

We now invite our next speaker, Mr. Jaideep Bakshi.

Good afternoon, Chairman, MD and Board of Directors, myself Jaideep Bakshi connecting from the city of Kolkata. Thanks to our company secretary and also to Mr. Thomas for giving me an opportunity to express my view and also to Mr. Sanjay Mallick of our Kolkata office for maintaining [ cordial efficiency ] with the shareholders. Sir, the initial presentations were really worth listening, it was a good presentation about our company affairs and also our future prospects also. And also the annual report presented also is a nice one with all details. Sir, of our financial performance highlights has been well maintained in Pages 12 and 13 and year gone by also highlights on Page 14. Congrats for the dividend, which were passed on to INR 65, including the interim and the final one to the shareholders. And once again, congratulations for the zero fatalities, which is a great achievement, which you have maintained -- maintaining this good safety standard in our daily business. It's a remarkable achievement. And what are our plans for R&D spending in the coming years for customer age and better customer-friendly products? Sir, what is the percentage input in major sourcing from MSME because they are the backbone and they are helping out to them will be a great job. Sir, are we monitoring the quality source from them? And human capital kindly stress on the woman empowerment. And with our footprint expansion above 20,000 retailers, are we thinking of any adding on? And any scope of feedback facilities from our customers regarding the product, which we are supplying? In our renewable energy, what is the percentage of energy saved, can we have any data like that? And congrats once again for the awards and -- to all involved in this -- having this achievement. Sir, this Dulux gloss enamel for metals and [indiscernible] for outdoor walkways, what is the market response? And a highlight on our Paint Academy. It's good that we are building up the skilled workers also. And on our range of DIY paint and home reached our performance with new customers coming up in many cities, what is our response in this sector? And sir, in automotive sector, any new tie-up with any new manufacturers? And government, sir, is pushing up for this infrastructure development and housing complex, except many projects are coming up. Sir, how do we place ourselves in this? And sir, nothing to add more, I hope, sir, our company comes out with much better results and reward the shareholders handsomely in the coming years and wish the company all the best in the coming years. Thank you, sir, and all stay safe.

Thank you. We now invite our speaker #12, [ Tapas Kumar Banerjee ].

Respective Chairman, present Board members and my fellow online shareholders. I am Manosh Banerjee, joint holder attending the VC AGM from Kolkata. I convey my sincere thanks to our Secretarial Department for sending hard copy of annual report and registered myself as a speaker shareholder. And also thanks to Mr. Thomas and Mr. Sanjay Mallick for Kolkata office. Sir in all respect, financial year 2022-2023 was a remarkable year. Our company reported best ever financial performance and demonstrated significant progress. Congratulations to the management team for that. I also congrats to the Board for declaring healthy dividend payout, INR 25 interim and plus proposed final dividend of INR 40, in total, INR 65 per share. Sir, I already supported all the resolutions by [indiscernible]. I have some queries, sir. Number one, if you could give us a sense on the waterproofing or in construction chemicals business? And how do you see the growth in this category? Next question, sir, with some of the amount of decline in crude and crude-related input cost, how are you looking at short of the pricing scenario for the financial year 2024? Next question, sir, about economy and value segment and waterproofing. All this, put together, is how much as a percentage of sales. And one final question, sir, with the new competitors coming in, all encumberments and are focusing on the premium end of decorative paints, which has been a sweet spot for Akzo Nobel being over-indexed with Dulux. Are you seeing any changes in competitive intensity or in the margin structure of this segment? Before I conclude, as we move towards new horizons, I draw strength from team Akzo Nobel and from their dedication to take our company to even greater glory in the coming years. Thank you for patience hearing and have a good day sir.

Thank you. We will now invite our next speaker member, Mr. Dilip Kumar Das.

Good afternoon Chairman all -- also other officials Director and fellow shareholders who are connected with the 69th AGM of Akzo Nobel today. I am Dilip Kumar Das, shareholders joining from Calcutta. Sir, I have received your annual report notice in time, thanks to your entire team. In Page #12 and 13 Financial performance of highlights, lapping, we see all the sectors in the higher side, and dividend is INR 65 is a very good sir. In CSR activity, educational section, sir, last year are INR 15 million. But this year, INR 13 millions. So what is the reason behind it please explain sir. Sir to sales on the higher side, sir, arrange discount coupons for all the shareholders and others who are related with the Akzo Nobel like Titan, Bata, specialty Restaurants, villa corporation, et cetera, et cetera. The request, sir, arrange factory visit to get together or get together with Akzo Nobel families, members and shareholders on the occasion of birthday of Akzo Nobel. I hope every success of the company in years to come. Sir, I am signing off.

We now invite our next speaker member [ Siddhartha Chakraborty ].

I am [ Siddhartha Chakraborty ] a small shareholder of Akzo Nobel India Limited, joining VC from Kolkata. That I believe my company is in strong hand and it will perform better to better in coming future. And I have casted my vote in favor of you. [Foreign Language] It's a giant company, nothing more to say, best of luck. Thank you, sir.

We'll take the next question from Mr. [ B Narayan Kundu ].

Respected Chairman, Mr. Oscar, members of the Board, fellow shareholders and friends, I'm B N Kundu. At the outset, I would like to thank the management for steady progress of the company year after year. According to soft copy, the report presented to us has been very nicely prepared with all details. I have nothing further to say on it. The prospect of paints industry in India is very bright and the company is bullish about the repeating the industry's growth momentum during the current year also. In the financial year 2022, '23, the company achieved a remarkable performance and robust growth with throughout the year. The company has also maintained the human pace to the shareholder by paying a dividend of INR 65 per share. Big congratulations, entire management [indiscernible]. I'm also very happy to see that this [indiscernible] purely debt-free company. I pray to god. Sir, if you see your performance highlights, you have performing in all sectors, sir, your PAT is INR 335 crores, your earnings per share increased 73.58. We -- the shareholders are very happy to see if your current performance. Sir, what is your road map next 5 years? If it is -- regarding on claims share is 4,40,000 [indiscernible] related to 152 shareholders. What action you have taken? Please say the final reminder to the shareholder. And last, I should mention one person name that is our beloved friend, [ Mr. Amit Jain ], he started his career as a management trainee at ICI India. He started his career as a management trainee at ICI. Sir -- for your contribution in this company under your -- this company comes into a front line. With these remarks, I'm closing here, thanks to all.

Thank you very much. That was the last question. Over to you, Chairman, sir, for further proceedings of the meeting.

Well, first of all, thank you very much. It's really to see fantastic engagement of our shareholders. I really appreciate that a lot. So I will now request that together with Mr. Rajiv Rajgopal, our Managing Director; and Mr. Krishna, our CFO and Whole Time Director, we will answer the questions to the best of our knowledge. Given the time, we might not be able to answer all of them in detail. But after this meeting, for sure, we'll make sure that everybody gets the answers that they were looking for. But just to highlight, I think starting from the top, we had a couple of questions -- regarding new segments, new areas that we might want to enter. I think also that was a question that was first raised by Mr. Banerjee, but also with other shareholders. Rajiv, maybe you would like to comment on that.

Yes. So thank you very much for the question. Look, we are in the business of paints and coatings, and we believe that we have a long way to go in making sure that we are able to grow our existing offerings and look at offerings in the adjacencies where we can drive market share gain. With specific regard to new segments in Industrial, we are open and we are exploring certain stuff, but obviously for purposes of confidentiality, we don't really discuss this in great detail. On adhesives, it's an adjacency that we've evaluated. We believe that at this point of time, it could perhaps be a distraction to our existing business. And hence, we have not looked at it, but at an appropriate time, if we feel that it's an attractive segment, we will reevaluate it. There was a question next -- on eco-friendly paints, and I'm referring to the question from Mr. [ Amit Kumar Banerjee ]. On products, stewardship is our commitment to ensuring product safety and considering sustainability aspects throughout the entire value chain from raw material extraction to R&D to manufacturing, transport, marketing and application. Our 30% approximately of our revenue comes in through such products from sustainable solutions, and we are working to try and grow it. We did launch a product called Dulux Better Living and we, for various reasons, perhaps a little ahead of time, but we are really looking at saying how can we really bring in certain eco value, eco-friendly propositions across our Paints and Coatings business. It's not just in pain but also, for example, in segments like powder where our teams have done exemplary work in bringing such offerings to the market. In terms of challenges and sustainable growth, I think we've got to just look at that we do expect that there would be short-term disruption from new entrants, and we have embarked on working on a strategy where we'll make sure given a higher market share in the premium business -- the premium segment in paints where we've got approximately about 16%, 17% market share, we do believe that it's our right to win, and that's an area of focus where we'll continuously invest and make sure -- because you sort of hit us there, it's not going to be easy. And we will continuously work on innovation, consumer-centric strategies, leveraging our distribution strengths and I believe that your company is well positioned to capitalize on the existing and new growth opportunities and to overcome some of the challenges. Yes. I'll now proceed with Mr. Santosh Kumar to ask questions. In terms of eco-friendly products, I answered some of it, but Mr. Saraf, as you know, Dulux Weathershield SunReflect technology, which was launched many years ago. We reduced the surface temperature to 5 degrees, is an example how we've looked at products that can really enable betterment of society. We've also got in our Coatings business, Intersleek 1100SR which improves shipping vessel performance while being biocide-free. Our Interpon D technology is another one which helps architectural longevity and products like Better Living, as I mentioned, brings in antibacterial properties. In terms of expansion plans and acquisitions, your company currently is focused on creating long-term growth organically. We believe that we have to work on strategic areas like margin management, adjusting operating expenses to the new market reality, reducing working capital and increasing cash flow and improving supply chain through technology. M&A opportunities are very difficult to predict and hard. We need to make sure that from a system and from a capability perspective, we are geared. We are looking and scouting at opportunities, but we need to find the right target, and it needs to be making sure it's a long-term winning proposition for us. Oscar, would you like to take the question on bonus shares?

Yes. I think that came up from some of the shareholders to the question about can we split the shares or should we have bonus shares? I think Mr. Saraf and Mr. Gupta raised it, but some others as well. At the moment, we have no plans at this stage to do so. The reason why we would do bonus shares or split shares will be very much in the context of wanting to attract more shareholders. We are very honored and very happy with the commitment that we have with our current shareholders and also the promoter of the company has a long-term vested interest in India. So in that respect, we are well positioned with the current position that we have. And coupled with the strong business performance that we've seen, we believe we have -- and the growth plans, we have the capital to realize those. So there's no plan to further split stocks or issue bonus shares. I think there was a question also from Mr. Saraf about diversity.

On diversity, look, we are -- so we moved from 5% to 8.5%, is it enough? The answer is no. I think we're looking at getting at the right talent in terms of diversity and we acknowledge that, that's an area that we are continuously focusing on. It's externally benchmark and your company actually goes beyond just the organization. We also look at our extended communities. We've taken many policies which help really focuses on disadvantaged groups and sections of society to bridge the inequality. We have a clear policy on diversity and inclusion, which guides our initiatives, which is on your -- on the company website and in the annual report, and we stay committed to it. I go now to Manoj Kumar Gupta's question on growth strategy. I articulated -- look, Manoj ji, I think you want to look at -- for contextually, I think when you sort of compare it, you would start seeing that we've done a huge catch-up with a lot of initiatives and while holding and continuously growing our premium segments, making sure that we are able to play in the mass and the economy segments, we brought in a lot of innovations, whether PU, Satin. Yes, some of it, we were doing a bit of a catch-up. But nevertheless, to be very honest, I think our R&D teams are working continuously on looking at differentiated products. And our attempt is to really play in segments where we see material growth, long-term sustainable growth, and we have embarked on a strategy to sort of do it. In terms of spends versus Asian paints -- sorry, on R&D, I think there's more spend on R&D. We draw strength from our global -- as all of you know, we've got a fantastic global repertoire of products and innovations and which helps in bringing differentiated propositions, cost reduction, and we are completely sort of working on it currently. Our spends could be anywhere between 2% to 3.5% of the revenue. And we are continuously making sure that we get the right talent. We get top talent from some of the top premium institutes into R&D center. And as I mentioned, in our low-cost innovation center in Thane, we drive differentiated products, and we are looking at some more. And our world class center in Bangalore in terms of color, brings in great propositions on color for the automotive customers world over, yes. I think in terms of distributor agenda, all I would suffice to say is there's been a lot of hard work. Our distributors are able to offer products to customers in the smaller towns with a phenomenal turnaround time of less than 4 to 6 hours, which was impossible many years ago. So really, I think that's something that we continue to work on, on a distribution 2.0 as we start entering into more towns. So really, I reckon the question, but look, we've got to craft our own path in order to make sure that we get a sustainable growth and making sure that we drive distribution very well while retaining the core is something that we've embarked on and it's what seems to be working well. Oscar, would you like to talk about the women representation on the Board?

No, exactly. And I think we also had a question on the returns versus the Sensex there. If I take those 2 questions, I would say that -- starting with diversity, that's a policy that we clearly subscribe. So I'm really happy to receive that question. And if I look at our Board, we're very fortunate, of course, with having Ms. Smriti Rekha Vijay as part of our Board and indeed, it brings tremendous insights and value to our Board and that's definitely an agenda that we promote very strongly. In terms of Mr. Krishna, the returns versus the Sensex, maybe you would like to comment on that.

Yes. As far as the returns versus Sensex, if I see the last 2 years, we opened the Sensex.

I'm sorry. Are you on mute? Are you audible?

Sir, could you please hold the mic a little closer to your end.

Okay. Is it better now?

Yes sir. Thank you.

As far as returns versus Sensex, it's a very relevant question as we crossed the 10 years since the merger with -- of the different legal entities in AkzoNobel, the incremental value of -- that is the capital appreciation on the share price, dividends to the minority shareholders since the merger is around INR 2,500 crores including a dividend payout of INR 660 crores. More recently, 2022, '23, our company's shareholder return is around 18% versus -- and which is well ahead of the benchmark of S&P and the BSE 500. Thank you. Back to you.

Yes. Thank you very much. If I look at some of the other questions that we have received, going through the list, we got a question from Mr. Paul, Rajiv, about the Mysore property deal that was not renewed. Is that something you would like to comment on?

So this is the Mysore. So just on the Mysore Property deed, we received the final possession of the land acquired and we are in discussions with KIDB in terms of making sure that we are able to get it. As you know, there was a legal case and we aim sort of a price that we -- while we won, obviously, we need to make sure that we are completely compliant in being able to do it. So really, that's where we are, and we will keep you posted during our quarterly calls if there is any further update.

Yes. Also a question about the supply code of conduct that we received from Mr. Paul. Indeed, we are committed that the business is done in the company in a fair and ethical way. And indeed, the business partners are an integral part of that ecosystem. So there's a documented code of conduct for business partners that emphasizes their commitments also to the same core values of safety, integrity and sustainability. And as part of all the agreements and purchase orders entered into by the company with those business partners, it includes the confirmation that they are in compliance with all the laws and regulations applicable to the business they conduct for AkzoNobel and the code of conduct. So that's an integral part of how we do business in that respect. We also got questions on -- very detailed questions on market share position that we have by segment and the like. In that respect, I would say, we clearly, as you've seen from our annual report, we have a very extensive reporting that we do on the business environment, I would say, definitely well in advance of what the law stipulates. And I'm very happy to see that we see a very strong market share growth. And of course, there are always differences in a very diverse country like India between states and cities and segments, exactly where I went. So that said, I would say, a quite a complex question to answer. But overall, I think the company has and also in its plans for the future, a clear ambition to continue to grow above industry levels. Looking at some of the other questions, I think about the -- we got the questions about the competitive landscape there. How we feel about that? How is that an impediment for our growth plans.

Well, look, I think -- and I've said this in the last couple of years. I think if you look at the last decade, we've had many companies coming in, a lot of competitive pressures. But I think we've charted our own, and we've not just held the #4 in terms of position, but we've also, in the last 2 years, started becoming the second fastest-growing company and I think that's something that I think the team and I are proud of and we would like to maintain. Yes, there is a new competitor who's coming. We are working on strategies on it. We believe that given some of the right -- the premium positions, et cetera, we've got a right to win in those places, given our brand strength, et cetera. And so we are going to work on adequate strategies to make sure that we ring-fence our people, ring-fence our market position and not just ring-fence, but also play aggressive. This is not to defend. I personally believe that this is like a bit of a T20 match where you've got to take the fight to competitors. And so, you can count on us to make sure that we sort of get pretty aggressive in terms of our offerings and our sort of approach to the market in trying to gain market share.

Yes. exactly. Also, we got a suggestion for many of the shareholders for plant visits, Rajiv?

That's noted, and we will have Mr. Krishna at an appropriate time and the Company Secretary and team to come back to you.

Yes. I think it's a wonderful suggestion. I think further to have our shareholders further engaged like we intensify further engagement with all the stakeholders for AkzoNobel, that, of course, is a wonderful suggestion. In that respect, I think of other plans that we have received, Krishna, about CapEx. Any comments from your side there?

Yes. There are a couple of questions relating to the CapEx and the capacity utilization. And right now, on a 2-shift basis, we are utilizing the capacity at around 55%. And we do have a debottlenecking process, which is in place on a continuous basis. The expansion project, as we have announced, the expansion of powder manufacturing capability in Gwalior, which is under progress. The total outlay of the CapEx is around INR 110 crores.

Yes. Good. We have tried to pick the questions that seem to be most relevant and most repeated by you. Rest assured that the question that we have not answered, we will get back to you with a response. Anyway, I was very happy to hear many of you also complementing our Corporate Secretariate, not just Mrs. Harshi Rastogi, who indeed has done a wonderful job, but the entire team, Thomas and everybody else, receiving a lot of complements the last couple of weeks. Mr. Gregoire has been helping us again with this team. So very encouraged to hear that you know how to contact our Corporate Secretariate. So any questions, please, I would like to encourage you to continue to approach us. Let me now take up the agenda items sequentially as proposed in the notice. So that will be, first of all, related to the adoption of the audited financial statements, both the stand-alone and consolidated statements for the year ended 31st of March 2023 and the reports of the directors and auditors thereon as an ordinary resolution. I'm very happy to inform you that the auditor's report on the financial statements of the company for the year ended 31st of March 2023 did not have any qualifications or adverse observations. And in view of the same with your permission, we will take it as read. Item 2 relates to the confirmation of interim dividend at INR 40 already paid and declaration of final dividend for the year ended 31st of March 2023, at INR 25 per equity share as an ordinary resolution. Item 3 relates to the reappointment of Mr. Krishna as our Director as an ordinary resolution, and items 4 and 5 come under special business. Item 4 relates to the appointment of Mr. Hemant Sahai as an independent director for a second term of 3 consecutive years as a special resolution. And Item 5 relates to the ratification of remuneration to M/s Chandra Wadhwa & Company, cost auditors, for the year 2023 and 2024 as an ordinary resolution. And I request those members who have not cast their votes through the remote e-voting facility so far, can exercise their vote for each resolution through the electronic voting platform provided by NSDL, the icon of which is available on the top of your screen. The voting facility will be open for casting votes by shareholders at the conclusion of this meeting. Mr. AK Lap, proprietor of A K Labh & Company, Practicing Company Secretary will scrutinize the votes cast through remote e-voting and the votes cast during the AGM on e-voting platform as provided by NSDL. The results of the voting will be compiled by Mr. A K Labh, Practicing Company Secretary, and he shall submit the report no later 5 p.m. on August 4, 2023. The voting results along with the scrutinizer's report shall be uploaded on the website of the company and the NSDL and shall also be available at the registered offices of the company. The results will also be filed with the stock exchange as required under the regulations. I once again thank all of you for attending the virtual AGM of your company and giving us your support and valuable suggestions. Though there limitations, e-meeting did allow us to have a wider participation from all over the country and even abroad, which would have not been possible with the physical meeting. I do hope you all stay healthy, stay safe. And over to you, [indiscernible], for the conclusion of this meeting.

Thank you very much, sir. Dear members, as instructed by the scrutinizers, request all the members participating in the AGM and who have not yet casted their vote to cast their vote in the remaining period of 30 minutes. Thank you. [Break]

Dear members, as advised by the scrutinizer, the time for e-voting has elapsed, and they are of the view that all members who are participating in the Annual General Meeting have been given adequate time and opportunity to vote at the AGM. And this concludes the proceedings of AGM. Thank you all for participating in the AGM and e-voting.