Kirloskar Oil Engines Limited (KIRLOSENG) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to the Kirloskar Oil Engines Limited Post Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] I now hand the conference over to Mr. Amit Shah from Antique Stockbroking. Thank you, and over to you, sir.

Thank you, [indiscernible]. Good evening, everyone. On behalf of Antique Stockbroking Limited, I welcome you all to post earnings call of Kirloskar Oil Engines Limited. To discuss the results, we have the senior management team of the company represented by Ms. Gauri Kirloskar, Managing Director of the company; Mr. Rahul Sahai, CEO of the company; and Mr. Sachin Kejriwal, Chief Financial Officer of the company. I will hand over the call to Ms. Gauri Kirloskar for the opening remarks, post which we can open the floor for Q&A. Over to you, ma'am.

Yes. Thank you very much, Amit, for that introduction. Good evening, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Before we start the call, I'll just reintroduce my team because there are a couple of more people here. So Rahul Sahai, CEO at KOEL; Sachin, who is the CFO at KOEL; Kiran, who is the CHRO; Farah Irani, who is the Company Secretary; and from ARKA, we have Ridhi Gangar, who is the CFO. As is customary, I will begin with business and operational updates. Sachin will then provide a brief overview of the financial performance, following which we will open the floor for Q&A. Q2 has been a strong quarter for KOEL with net sales crossing the INR 1,500 crore mark for the first time. I would like to congratulate the entire KOEL team on achieving this new milestone. This also takes our H1 net sales to INR 3,027 crores, marking another significant achievement as we crossed the INR 3,000 crore milestone for the first half. Overall, the year-on-year growth numbers are encouraging, though they come on the back of a relatively muted Q2 performance last year. Nonetheless, we have also delivered double-digit growth on a quarter-on-quarter basis, which makes this performance particularly satisfying. On October 10, we announced the restructuring of our B2C business. The Board approved the transfer of B2C business within KOEL stand-alone by way of slump sale as a growing concern to its wholly owned subsidiary, LGM. So from Q3 onwards, you will see this change taking place in the reporting. The key objective is to maintain dedicated focus on each segment and drive greater efficiency through structures best suited to their respective customer needs. As we align these businesses, we are adopting new nomenclatures following the restructuring. The B2C business is now referred to as fluid dynamics. Accordingly, if I use this term in my speech, please interpret it as the B2C business. Also, our international business comprises a mix of B2B and B2C exports. Therefore, in certain parts of my speech, the numbers may appear regrouped under this classification. Please feel free to reach out to our team if you require any clarification on these bifurcations. Now coming to business performance. Looking at the stand-alone sales breakup. The B2B business witnessed 35% growth year-on-year with all subsegments recording a double-digit growth. The B2C segment grew 28% year-on-year with WMS sales recording 22% growth year-on-year and international B2C business witnessing a 77% growth year-on-year. In terms of geographic mix, -- sorry in terms of mix across both B2B and B2C segments, domestic sales stood at INR 1,406 crores, registering a growth of 35% year-on-year. Export sales stood at INR 187 crores, reflecting a similar 35% growth year-on-year. EBITDA for the quarter stood at INR 214 crores, reflecting a margin of 13.4% versus 12.4% last year. Numbers for the previous period are excluding reversal of provision for overdue receivables made for a customer -- for sales made in earlier years. EBITDA margin for Q2 of FY '25 at a stand-alone level, including reversal for overdue provisions -- overdue receivable provisions was 13.9%. In the current period, there is no such reversal. Let me now take you through what drove this performance. The Power Generation business unit anchored the company's performance, delivering a strong 41% year-on-year growth in sales and achieving its highest ever quarterly revenue of INR 678 crores. This robust performance further strengthens KOEL's market leadership. We are seeing encouraging momentum in the Optiprime initiative and the business secured several notable commercial wins, including multiple 1,500 kVA orders, 2,000 kVA and 2,500 kVA orders, underscoring the depth of customer confidence in our offering. Looking ahead, we remain focused on the planned rollout of our products in Q3 FY '26, which we expect will further enhance our competitive position across the domestic power generation business. Moving to the Industrial business. The Industrial business unit also delivered a strong performance with 40% year-on-year sales growth. This was driven by healthy traction in both defense and railways, where demand remains robust. Our defense business continued its positive trajectory, supported by emergency procurement orders and steady progress on key strategic programs. Notably, we completed and submitted the detailed design for the Indian Navy's prestigious Make 1 initiative. We have product -- new product launches in the railway segment for the 400-horsepower engine for a rail maintenance application for utility track vehicles. Now coming to distribution and aftermarket. Distribution and aftermarket business unit reported a 13% year-on-year growth, reflecting the benefits of our ongoing organizational strengthening. During the quarter, we implemented a revised field structure with an increased focus on key account management and advanced service offering. Our extensive service network continues to be a key differentiator with service requests reaching an all-time high of approximately 92,000, demonstrating both the scale of our installed base as well as our commitment to customer support across the life cycle. Moving on to fluid dynamics. The fluid dynamics business delivered a 28% year-on-year growth, supported by its highest ever monthly billing in September following the appointment of new leadership and a structural realignment of the business. However, on a sequential basis, the segment experienced a decline versus the immediately preceding quarter. This quarter-on-quarter degrowth was primarily due to lower sales volumes, which impacted fixed cost absorption. Addressing these factors remains a priority as we work towards strengthening our performance in coming quarters. Lastly, our international business. International business continues to demonstrate strong diversification and strategic progress. Overall, the international B2B sales grew by 39% year-on-year, while B2C sales registered an impressive 77% year-on-year increase. Exports for the first half of the year exceeded INR 320 crores, reflecting broad-based strength across markets. The Middle East and North Africa region remained our largest international contributor, accounting for approximately 60% of the international sales mix and it continues to progress well. Since we are talking about our business segments, I'll also give a quick update on our NBFC business, Arka. At Arka in the beginning of the year, we had outlined a strategy to build out a granular retail book to complement the stable ROA-accretive wholesale book that we have built out previously. This plan is a very strong on-ground team and a widespread network of branches to increase our reach across 7 states that we have selected in the country. In Q1, we built the risk management frameworks and credit assessment guardrails for granular secured retail lending for wheels financing as well as LAP financing. We also prepared the tech stack for the loan origination to happen in a fully digital environment, which promotes superior credit decisions in a timely manner. In Q2, we started pivoting our business model from wholesale to retail as the business started in July. A new leadership team is now fully in place to manage governance, operations and distribution. My recent visit to Rajasthan branch openings gave me firsthand experience to witness the retail distribution model, which is fundamentally different from the previous approach. In the last 4 months ending October, the granular retail AUM has now touched INR 140 crores with monthly disbursements of INR 60 crores. We have opened 85 branches in the last 6 months. And as we speak, there are 1,400 employees who are working at Arka, which is an increase of 900 employees in the last 6 months. Our incremental cost of borrowing has also come down to 8.3% in Q2 from a 9.76% exit in fiscal year '25. Arka Q2 audited financials are reflective of the investments made in new granular detailed financing journey that has started without compromising on the focus of the existing wholesale and SME book performance. With the business updates done, let us look at the overall consolidated performance. Net sales from continuing operations for the quarter were at INR 1,933 crores, registering a 30% year-on-year growth. Net profit from continuing operations for the quarter was at INR 159 crores, which is a 51% increase year-on-year. Please note that numbers for the previous period, excluding exceptional items and reversal of provision for overdue receivables net profit for the Q2 FY '25, excluding exceptional items and excluding reversal for overdue receivable provisions was INR 125 crores. In the current period, there are no such exceptional items and reversals. Last quarter, I spoke about our focus on new product introductions and our plans to enter emerging areas, particularly in non-internal combustion engine technologies to accelerate our progress. I would like to assure you that we are taking measured and deliberate steps on this journey. The recent restructuring of our B2C business is one such step, and we expect to share further developments in the coming quarters. Our objective is to keep the business aligned with evolving market landscape by leveraging our strong technology and talent base. These initiatives are expected to position the company for steady and sustainable growth over the long term. With that, I'll now hand over to Sachin, who will walk you through the financial performance in detail. Thank you.

Good evening, everyone, and thanks, Gauri, for the update. I will give a quick update of the financial performance for stand-alone and consolidated business. The results and the presentation for today's call has already been uploaded on exchange and our website. As mentioned by Gauri earlier, KOEL delivered a strong performance in the second quarter of FY '26, reflecting steady progress in the company's operational and financial journey. We crossed INR 1,500 crores mark first time ever, registering a 35% net sales growth year-on-year and 11% quarter-on-quarter. Net profit for the quarter was at INR 141 crores, registering a 44% growth year-on-year and 15% quarter-on-quarter. Coming to a quick overview of financial performance. I will start with stand-alone performance first for the quarter. Net sales at INR 1,593 crores for Q2 FY '26 versus INR 1,184 crores for Q2 FY '25, that is 35% increase year-on-year. EBITDA INR 214 crores for Q2 FY '26 versus INR 148 crores for Q2 FY '25, 45% increase year-on-year. EBITDA margin is at 13.4% for Q2 FY '26 versus 12.4% for Q2 FY '25. Net profit at INR 141 crores for Q2 FY '26 versus INR 98 crores for Q2 FY '25, 44% increase year-on-year. Cash and cash equivalents of INR 475 crores. Please note that cash position is net of debt and includes treasury investments. Numbers for the previous period, that is Q2 FY '25 are excluding reversal of provision for overdue receivables made for a customer towards sales made in earlier years. In the current period, that is Q2 FY '26, there is no such reversal. EBITDA margin at stand-alone level for Q2 FY '25, including reversal for overdue receivable provision was 13.9%. With payable at 71 days and receivables around 40 days, we are maintaining healthy working capital levels. Inventory is slightly higher at 62 days to cater the business growth. Here is a further breakdown of stand-alone sales for the quarter. The B2B sales were at INR 1,449 crores, that is 35% growth year-on-year. We registered a double-digit growth across all the business units. So within B2B, Power Gen was at INR 678 crores, which was 41% increase year-on-year. Industrial at INR 373 crores, that is 40% increase year-on-year. Distribution and aftermarket was at INR 227 crores, 13% increase year-on-year and international business of B2B was at INR 171 crores, that is 39% increase year-on-year. The B2C sales were at INR 144 crores, registering a 28% increase year-on-year. And within B2C, WMS was at INR120 crores that is 22% growth year-on-year, international business of B2C was INR 24 crores, that is 77% increase year-on-year. Please note, on October 10, we announced transfer of our B2C business into LGM via slump sale as a growing company. So from next quarter onwards, you will see that accounting changes reflecting our books. Now looking at the consolidated performance for the quarter. Revenue from continuing operation at INR 1,948 crores for Q2 FY '26 versus INR 1,499 crores for Q2 FY '25, which is 30% increase year-on-year. Net profit for continuing operation at INR 159 crores for Q2 FY '26 versus INR 106 crores for Q2 FY '25, which is 51% increase year-on-year. Numbers for the previous period, that is Q2 FY '25 are excluding exceptional items and reversal of provision for overdue receivables made for a customer to a sales made in earlier years. In the current period, that is Q2 FY '26, there are no such exceptional items and reversals. Net profit for Q2 FY '25, excluding exceptional items and including reversals for overdue receivables provision was INR 125 crores. Let us have a look at consolidated segment performance for the quarter now. B2B segment revenue for the quarter was at INR 1,457 crores, which is 34% growth year-on-year. The segment PBIT was at INR 163 crores, reflecting approx 27% increase year-on-year. PBIT for the previous period that is Q2 FY '25, excluding reversal for overdue receivables provision was INR 111 crores, which is 47% growth year-on-year. And in the current period, there is no such reversal. B2C segment revenue for the quarter was at INR 258 crores, which is 23% growth year-on-year. The segment PBIT was INR 18 crores against PBIT loss of around INR 1 crores for the same quarter last year. Financial Service segment revenue for the quarter is at INR 233 crores, reflecting [ 17% ] year-on-year growth. The segment PBIT before exceptional item was at INR 34 crores, that is 9% increase year-on-year. Please note, numbers discussed here represent continuing operation only and after reclassification of our SMS business into B2B from B2C business. The PBIT and PBT numbers are before exceptional items. In closing, I would say it's been a strong quarter for us and steady progress during the year with strong H1 performance backed by healthy market demand and encouraging results across our key product segments. Our new product launches are being well received, and we are steadily moving ahead on strategic priorities outlined in our B2B vision. We remain optimistic about the coming quarters. And as Gauri mentioned, you will be hearing more from us on strategic initiatives outlined in our 5-year plan. With that, I will open the floor for Q&A.

[Operator Instructions] The first question is from the line of Jason from IDBI Capital.

First of all, congratulations on a very strong set of numbers. So sir, first, my question actually pertains to just wanted to understand in the Power Gen segment, which sectors is growth emanating from? Is it more broad-based? Or do you see some strength in certain business verticals? Or is the growth -- does the growth continue to stay broadbased?

So to answer your question, the growth continues to stay broad-based, and we're seeing demand across all of our segments, all of our customer segments in Power Gen.

Sure. And just from an ongoing business perspective, I mean, this up cycle has lasted for some time now. Just from an ongoing business perspective, I just wanted your sense on how sustainable do you see this up cycle continuing for.

So what we're seeing so far is that at least in the domestic market, the demand is sustaining. And internationally, I would say that we have very negligible market share. So a lot of what is going on macroeconomically outside has not really affected us as a company. So we're cautiously optimistic because obviously, there has to be caution given the current environment we're in, but we do see this demand sustaining for some time.

My next question just pertains to Optiprime. Now you did mention that you have several high horsepower orders like 1,500 kV, 2,000 kV as well. Now just wanted to understand which sectors is the growth coming from? How do you see the traction from the data centers, whatever you can share from the high horsepower perspective and the Optiprime series. Just wanted to know [ something ].

Yes. So, it's a great question. I think as we've talked on previous calls as well, high horsepower is not just about having the product, but also how we sell it. It's a technical sale. So I think having these wins demonstrates that we're able to prove to the customer that product is worthy and can also compete in that space. So it's pretty big win for us. And if we look at where we get it from, where we're getting these orders from, it's across mostly, I'd say, infrastructure and what I mean by infrastructure is large real estate projects, whether it's commercial or residential real estate project.

[Operator Instructions] The next question is from the line of Mohit from ICICI Securities.

My first question is what was the HHP sales in H1 and Q2? Is it possible to quantify or give some -- give the contribution in the quarter?

We're not giving that breakup, sorry.

Broad number sir?

No.

Is it possible to -- so last year, full year, I think we did INR 1 billion, right, INR 100 crores, right? Is it fair to assume that we have done better than the full year number of last year in H1?

I won't be able to give you a number. What we do track is how we're incrementally moving up in terms of market share node by node. And what I can tell you is that we are incrementally moving up node by node in the high horsepower segment.

Understood. My second question on the industrial. I think industrial, the construction has been down, the mining is down. I think in this quarter, we have sold most of the defense and railways, right? How do we see this business in the -- from the H2 perspective or let's say medium term? I thought this business will be weak in the Q2 [indiscernible].

Yes, I got your question. So I'd say we remain optimistic on the industrial segment. So we see this momentum continuing.

It's mostly defense led or railways led? Or do you think it will get more broad-based as you progress in the future?

More broad-based. So not only defense and railways, but from construction and mining as well.

Understood. Lastly, on the export, could you just talk about the North America market, how it is taking off and how is the growth -- is the sustenance of the growth?

So the North America market is not taking off for us. That is what I would say in the sense that -- and the reason I say it that way is because the North American market is a market which we have just invested in and just entered. Although it's the largest genset market in the world, it will take some time, and we do see the returns on that only coming over the medium to long term. The reason I say this is because it's not only about getting the right partner in that market, but it's also about building distribution, building out our entire product portfolio. So although we have products, the products have to be certified. So that -- all of this takes time. So the U.S. market for us is a market that is important. It is a market that we will continue to invest in and focus on, but we will not see the uptick in volume and value for some time.

The next question is from the line of Teena from Motilal Oswal.

Congrats for a great set of numbers. So my question is more on the Power Gen side. On the Power Gen, the growth of 40%, will it be possible to quantify like is it entirely volume-driven increase or there is some kind of pricing impact or maybe some kind of, let's say, a higher share of HHP, like you mentioned that HHP is gaining traction, but 40% growth, I mean, how is it broken down between demand pricing and HHP, a broad indication?

So the growth is broken down between volume as well as HHP. No pricing difference.

Okay. So HHP, the way you have been taking initiatives, so now has it started reflecting in the numbers for the company?

Yes, I would say that.

Okay. And on the industrial business side, you mentioned that you had done certain emergency procurement orders also and railway orders also. So is that emergency procurement order over in second quarter? Or will it continue in the coming months and quarters also? Just wanted to understand the trend in the industrial business because this quarter has been phenomenally well as compared to the industry players.

[indiscernible] It's not a onetime thing.

It's not a onetime thing. And the NPCL order has started contributing or that will take some time to contribute to the numbers in the industrial business?

Yes. So Teena we are in the execution of that NPCL orders. So the revenue for those NPCL orders will start getting recognizing from the next financial year.

The next question is from the line of Suraj Malu from Catamaran.

Can you please help understand what was the industry volume growth in this quarter across LHP, LMHP, and HHP?

I'm not able to answer that question. I don't know.

Got it. And how big would be Africa and Middle East opportunity for you.

It's sizable. The Africa and Middle East markets are very important to us. As I mentioned in my opening notes, it's also the largest contributor to our international business being 60% in this quarter. So -- and it's not that we have significant market shares in these regions. So they are very important areas of focus for us.

The next question is from the line of Jeetu Panjabi from EM Investco.

So 2 pointed questions. One, your exports, the Middle East and Africa side, can you give us color whether whatever bump we went through a couple of quarters ago, whether that's normalized now growth rates you expect over the next 6, 12 months should be more normal? Or you expect this -- the heavy growth rates to continue? And two, on Arka, can you give us a little more details on where are we on the goals that we've set out and whether the fundraising plan that was under works, if that is on schedule? And how do we see the next 12 months there?

So the first question on the Middle East and Africa and whether that has stabilized and the sort of ups and downs we went through some time ago. The big thing that happened there for us and the reason you're seeing these kinds of numbers is because the genset OEM who we talked about earlier that we had appointed there. We had made a business model change in the Middle East, if you remember, which is that we have gone from directly going to distributors there to actually appointing a genset OEM in the Middle East. What has happened is that genset OEM has stabilized, which is why we are seeing the traction coming in. And I think now going forward, we will continue to see that traction because they've essentially set up well in that area. As you can imagine, putting in that change did have its difficulties, whether it was with realigning distributors to a third party or whether it was with finding talent, retaining talent, et cetera. So that hard work is -- and challenging work is actually complete. So we are quite optimistic now about the growth that we'll see from that region. So that's on your first question. On your second question, which was on Arka. Yes, the plans are -- they're going as we have planned. I can't say too much on a call until there is an update to give you. But I'd say that what is important is that in defining a new strategy, it's always very important to see the execution of that strategy get traction, right? So we had talked about pivoting to a retail book. And the reason I gave a little bit more color on either the new leadership team that's in place or the traction that we're seeing in terms of the branch openings, the people who have come on board and the kind of disbursals that we're making, it's extremely important, especially as we look at fundraising because we can't just be selling a story. There has to be some numbers demonstrated behind that. So I'd say that I'm happy with the progress that we've made in this area. And when there is an update to give you, we will give it.

The next question is from the line of Umesh Raut from Nomura.

Congrats for very good set of numbers.

Sir, can you please be a little louder? We can't hear you properly.

Is it audible now?

Yes, we can hear you.

Congrats for a very good set of numbers. My first question pertains to price hike that industry has taken, especially after CPCB IV+ norms, given that now transitioning is fully completed. So where exactly those price hikes have now settled in, in the industry?

Yes. The price hikes have settled down and there was a price hike as mentioned -- sorry, my voice is echoing for some reason. So if you could go on mute. So what I was saying is that there was a price hike with CPCB IV+, which was between 25% and 40% depending on the node. And that price stabilization has occurred and the prices have stabilized going forward.

Any particular level at which those have stabilized or it is broadly in the range of 25% to 40% for different nodes?

Yes, it's broadly in the range of 25% to 40% for different nodes.

Got it. And considering that key raw material prices, especially in the last few months are kind of moving up now, especially related to, say, copper or iron prices. So how do you think pricing action going forward? And do you think given the steady demand and which is more broad-based now in this cycle, especially price hike would be easier to take than the last cycle?

So we will assess the situation. If the prices moves going forward, we will take a calculated decision and think of the price increase.

Understood. My second question is pertaining to Industrial segment, where I want to kind of get a breakup in between, say, demand from existing products as a part of industrial product offering and demand which has been there on the account of new product launches? And any color over here in terms of how inherent demand is there, especially in the railway market, considering that post electrification also, we have seen very good growth from railway business.

So it's a combination of both, but I would say largely the demand continues for our core products. We have a whole bunch of new products either already launched or in process, and we are seeing traction there. But to answer your question, largely from our core traditional products.

Understood. And on the railway business side, how do you see it, especially post electrification now that it is continuously doing well for us. So how do you see outlook in railways, whether this momentum will continue, say, beyond FY '26 into next couple of years as well?

Yes. So we remain committed to supporting the railways with their requirements and whether it is through existing applications that we are in or developing new ones, such as what Gauri mentioned, the 400 HP product that we recently launched, we will continue to support our customer and endeavor to grow that business.

The next question is from the line of Prolin Nandu from Edelweiss Public Alternative.

So my question, Gauri, is to understand how are things shaping out for us in data center? Because when we do some channel checks with, let's say, a solution provider for data centers or people selling some other equipment to data centers, KOEL's name does not come across as one of the contenders there. So could you help us understand where are we in the journey where we have some significant wins in data center as a category?

So look, data centers is one of the segments that we look at. And we've had a few wins in data centers. As you will appreciate, the data center market is also very, I would say, closely [ set ] and controlled market driven by U.S. specification. So I understand what you're saying. There are times where you might not find a name, but what you will also see is plenty of times and more so as we move along, you will start seeing our name.

So just -- I mean, is it like you start with, let's say, 8 data centers and you move up? How do we get into that specification kind of a thing, right? As you mentioned, it's a U.S.-driven specification. So does it start with edge data centers before we move to -- just want to understand our strategy, right? How do we -- I understand it's a tougher market, but is it just the case of our DG sets being used in some data centers, the performance being monitored? Or are there any other strategies that we are adopting, right, to penetrate this market?

Sure. So -- and I think you've kind of laid out exactly what we are also thinking. The non-spec customers and there are plenty of them as well, we are targeting them and we are trying to work closely with them. Yes, I was just saying not just edge data centers.

The next question is from the line of Abhijeet Singh from Systematix.

We can't hear you very well. Could you speak into your mic set.

So ma'am, my question is on the Power Gen business in the domestic segment. And as we are moving up the [indiscernible] chain and trying to gain more and more market share in the higher nodes. And there we have -- the competition is pretty intense. We have well entrenched players there, big players, big brands. So what are the key challenges we are facing in trying to gain market share from them? And what is our strategy to -- in order to be able to do that?

Yes. So what I would say is that even we are a reasonably strong brand and we've been entrenched into the domestic power gen market. And if you look at the numbers that we are doing, it would give you an idea that once we commit to a particular node and we have the product, we are able to figure out a way to grow our share of wallet and market presence. Beyond that, I think this is not -- I mean I will not be able to say more in this conversation, but we remain committed to growing our market share.