Poly Medicure Limited (531768) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary
February 2, 2024
Earnings Call Speaker Segments
Operator
operatorLadies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to the Poly Medicure Quarterly Earnings Limited Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note that this conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Kashish from ICICI Securities. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Kashish Thakur
attendeeYes. Thank you, Shoaib. Good afternoon, everyone. On behalf of ICICI Securities, I would welcome you all to Q3 and 9 months FY '24 Earnings Call of Poly Medicure Limited. Today, we have senior management of the company with us represented by Mr. Himanshu Baid, Managing Director; Mr. Naresh Vijayvergiya, CFO; and Mr. Avinash Chandra, Company Secretary. I thank the management of Poly Medicure for giving ICICI Securities the opportunity to host this call. And with this, I hand over the call to the management for opening remarks. Over to you, Himanshu sir.
Himanshu Baid
executiveThank you, Kashish, and good afternoon to everyone on the call. I will take you through the quarter 3 earnings and also through the 9 months revenue of the company. And so -- just for information sake, so I will inform you about what we have done in the quarter and also over the 9 months. So for -- on a stand-alone basis, the company's revenue grew by around 18% from quarter 3 last year to quarter 3 FY '23, '24. EBITDA has also increased from INR 66 crores to INR 84 crores, and PAT has increased to INR 47.5 crores to INR 61.46 crores. So EBITDA, there's an increase of 27%. In PAT, there is increase of 29% roughly. On the consolidated basis, the quarterly revenue has grown from INR 284.83 crores to INR 339.6 crores, increase of around 19% and EBITDA margin has grown from INR 69 crores to INR 90 crores, around 30% increase. And PAT has grown from INR 50 crores to around INR 65 crores, which is close to 30% increase. So as per the guidance we have given in the beginning of the year and then we revised the guidance during the second quarter. The company has overall grown in 9 months by -- on stand-alone basis by 22% and on a consolidated basis by around 23.4%. So we have revised the guidance between 22% and 24% for revenue growth, and we are in that range. And also for EBITDA, we had also given a guidance of around 25%. So our EBITDA in quarter -- for 9 months stands at around 26%, close to 26%. And on a consol basis also the EBITDA for 9 months is around close to 26%. So we are in the range, which we have already given to our shareholders. On the business front, in 9 months, revenue -- stand-alone revenue has increased from INR 774 crores to INR 946 crores, an increase of 22.15%. And EBITDA has gone from -- 9 months EBITDA has gone from INR 187 crores to INR 252 crores, and PAT has increased by 121 -- from INR 121 crores to INR 181 crores. So a significant increase in EBITDA and PAT in terms of absolute numbers. PAT has almost grown by 50% for 9 months, if we consider from FY '22, '23 to FY '23, '24. On a consolidated level, the revenue increase of INR 108 crores to INR 998 crores. And EBITDA has increased from INR 186 crores to INR 261 crores, a 40% increase, and PAT has increased from INR 120 crores to INR 189.9 crores, almost INR 190 crores, a 57% increase in PAT over 9 months. So the company has performed as per the guidance given in the initial part of the year and also during the mid part of the year. And we are very confident that whatever guidance we has been for the full year, we should be able to hit those numbers. So far, we have seen good quarter -- good 9 months and also January month was a good month, so -- where we have seen steady increase in revenue. So we will continue with the current guidance. For FY '25, we feel that we will start with the guidance of 20% plus and see maybe during first -- end of first quarter, beginning of second quarter, after assessing the real situation, we will be able to give you the right picture. But I think so far, with the current momentum, we see that we should be able to grow 20% over also in the next fiscal year. In the current 9 months, we have seen that domestic business has grown by around 18% and export business has grown to close to 24%. For domestic business, I think the growth is slightly lower than what was anticipated. We hope that we will be able to cover this up. And we are taking some steps to ensure that the domestic business also grows at the same pace as export business. So we will be taking some adequate steps during the next few months and during the next financial year, so that we have a better growth rate in the domestic business also. On the renal business front, we have grown -- if you look at quarter-to-quarter growth from last year's to current financial year, we have grown 28%. And then with regulation coming in, we are very hopeful that -- and with standardization coming into BIS, we are very hopeful that the run rate will increase. So we should end this current financial year around INR 90 crores of renal business. But in the next financial year, we are very hopeful to grow to around INR 140 crores to INR 145 crores. So that's the guidance we have with the renal business. So, we should grow by over 50% for the next year because we see now the traction. We are already investing in new capacity build up, and that will help us to reach this new revenue number of INR 140 crores to INR 145 crores for the next fiscal. Our machines -- Made in India machine. So we have upgraded that machine. And now we have more than 50% local content. We'll be launching the new revised machine within this month. Earlier, the machines were around 35% made in India content and now the new machines, the next generation of machines are around 50% made of India content -- made in India content. And -- this is a big milestone because this will allow us to now participate as a top-tier supplier in a lot of government contracts because there's a preference for companies, which have 50% local content. So hopefully, this will help us to grow that business. And we have factored that in, and we'll probably be able to sell more machines next year, and that's the plan. In terms of our overseas subsidiary, Italian subsidiary has done well. And Italian subsidiary has grown the business by around 50%. And also the company has generated approximately a PAT of around INR 7 crores over 9 months. In the same period last year, it was -- it had a loss of around 65 lakhs. So I think there's a big turnaround with increase in revenue and also the profitability. And I think we will continue with the same momentum. And next year also, I think we have plans to grow the company by around 35% to 40%. Going forward, we have launched our critical care division in India. There is a soft launch already done. Also, we have done -- we'll be doing a soft launch of our cardiology business this month. And we are hopeful that we'll keep on adding more products as time progresses. And I think we are very hopeful that this business will also be doing well. They've already hired around 20 people for critical care and cardiology business combined. And I think as we speak, we are adding more people in the team, and we will start with North India first, and then we will start covering West and South India. So that's the plan. And I think, hopefully, by end of quarter 2 next year, we should be having a pan-India coverage for both the divisions. In terms of the CapEx, we have done close to around INR 185 crores of CapEx for the first 9 months. And 3 plants are already ready, and they have started functioning, and we'll be in a ramp-up phase now. And the fourth plant will be ready by early next year, early next year means financial year, maybe in April, May. Already all the plant and machinery has been ordered, and we are waiting for everything to arrive and then start production. So all new 4 plants will be up and running in the span of almost 24 months since we started and where we are today. And this has given us adequate infrastructure to grow the business for the next 3 to 4 years. So the plan was to have adequate infrastructure across different verticals. So renal has an adequate infrastructure now. SEZ in Jaipur is again -- has adequate infrastructure to grow exports business. Also, the new businesses cardiology and critical care also will have adequate infrastructure to grow in coming years. So that's the growth for the new businesses, which we have planned. Export seems to be growing quite steadily. We have grown again 40% in the quarter 3 in export in Europe business, which is, by far, still the biggest market almost, 40% to 42% revenue still comes from Europe for exports. So if you are splitting the revenue again, we still maintain the same split of 1/3 India, 1/3 Europe and 1/3 rest of the world. Last quarter, we have been granted 19 more additional patent -- sorry, in the last 9 months, we have been granted 19 additional patents. So there's a steady increase of patents in the company. steady -- Our innovation team, R&D team continues to design, develop new products, processes and also improve the functional aspects of our existing products and develop new products. So that's been the DNA for the company, and we continue to do that. And you can see today, the patent portfolio is now over 375 patents, which are active and live over different geographies. So we continue to work in that direction. In 2024, we plan to launch around 8 to 9 new products. Already the work has been going on for these products, and we are very hopeful that we'll be able to put them in market. Some related to infusion therapy, some are related to oncology, some are related to renal business. So -- and some are related to even our transfusion business. We are also adding some new capacity in the transfusion business that will help us to meet some additional demand for exports and for the local market, and that capacity should be up and running by May. So that will also help us to increase our share in the domestic market for transfusion as well as in the export markets. We -- we have -- also on the U.S. business, we have made some -- as I told you earlier, we have sent the first shipment, received some feedback, we are working on some new additional improvements. We've also received 2 new products under U.S. FDA and our total number products are 4. And as the time progress -- because first shipment was -- after the FDA approval, we sent the first shipment. And based on the feedback from the clinical side, we are going to make certain small changes in the products. And then we are going to send maybe the new shipment sometime in April and May. So the -- it's on track as per the plan, which we had laid down. So it's pretty much on schedule. And hopefully, by end of this year, which I told earlier that we'll have 8 to 10 products, and this will help us to grow the business, to, as we have planned and talked about it earlier, $15 million to $20 million in the next 3 to 4 years. So we are in line with that. And I think manufacturing continues to be on our forte, though we see some disruptions in supply chain due to this Red Sea crisis, but it's not impacting us too much because we typically maintain 2 months of raw material stock inventory. And I think even with these delays, what we have seen through Red Sea, some imports were delayed, but I think we should be able to manage this with our safety stock, which we carry. On the customer front, yes, there are some delays. We are trying to mitigate them by sending additional products to customers, maybe some through airfreight and some also -- some additional shipments so that they don't run out of inventory. But I think we'll have to be watching out this issue because there will be also some increase in freight rate. But mostly, the freight is paid by the customers, so it's not going to impact us directly or indirectly in terms of our P&L. But again, the point of concern is that shipments are getting delayed and that may also impact some of the customers in terms of getting the products in time. This is all from my side as an update and now back to ICICI team to moderate the call.
Operator
operator[Operator Instructions] The first question is from the line of Jaiveer Shekhawat from AMBIT Capital.
Jaiveer Shekhawat
analystMr. Baid and team, congratulations on another great quarter. Sir it was very nice to see your team at Adavelt recently, driving the awareness of Poly Med brand. Could you highlight some of the initiatives you are taking apart from, say, participating in these exhibitions to promote acceptance of Poly Med brand across more regions in Europe and outside that as well?
Himanshu Baid
executiveYou asked a great question, and thank you for visiting our stand at Adavelt. So I think as you've seen at the stand, we were trying to push concepts. And we were not talking about products there. We were talking about that, okay, if you are looking at infusion therapy, this is the concept we offer for infusion therapy or for renal or for blood banking. And I think you have seen that across, or of oncology or for diagnostics. So the idea was to sell concept to customer that we are a total solution provider under this category of products. And that's why you should lean on our company. So that was the message we were trying to give. We also launched our cardiology products. You must have seen that. There was a display for cardiology also. So as we are speaking, we have done that. I think the response was good. And I think -- the idea is to stand out from what other people are doing. And that is helping us to perform better and better, and I think that was the whole idea at Adavelt.
Jaiveer Shekhawat
analystSure. And sir, you highlighted in your opening remarks that your domestic business growth has been lower than anticipated. So one, could you explain why was that the case? And then also, what is it that you're doing to sort of address growth going forward?
Himanshu Baid
executiveSo see, the growth was only 18.5% as compared to 21%, 22% we were targeting. So I think that drop in growth is probably due to seasonal issues or maybe because normally, winter season is a healthy season. So we have seen a little drop in demand in domestic market, which is very marginal. But I think also we are going to put more people on the ground. And as new divisions are lining up basically, so we should be -- and we have started small sales from the new division already is always in our buildup phase. So hopefully, once this new division on track in the next few months, we -- and again, the plan for next year is -- and renal is also going to grow a now faster because renal this year has grown only by 21%, 22% overall. So -- which was supposed to be around 30%, 35% because of the regulation and the Chinese imports. But now we see a good traction going forward. We've already seen some changes in the market. So next year projection for renal is already 50% growth. So from 20%, 22%, if we are going to 50%, so everything will pull up. And these 2 new divisions will also contribute. So overall, I think next year, the target is to grow by around between 22% -- 22%, 23% in domestic business.
Jaiveer Shekhawat
analystSure. And sir, given the high amount of cash on your balance sheet, I'm assuming must be over INR 150 crores plus also a lot of operating cash flows that are being generated, so any sense in terms of how you're thinking about deployment of these over the next 3 or 4 years? Because your CapEx needs, I'm assuming will not be much. And also, if you can highlight about, say, operationalizing of the new facilities. You said you are yet to receive some of the molds and plant and machinery. If you can just highlight that.
Himanshu Baid
executiveYes. So on the cash front, we basically -- we're still on a high CapEx cycle. As I mentioned, in first 9 months, we have spent around INR 185 crores in CapEx. And then the plan was to spend close to around INR 200 crores, INR 220 crores for the year, but we may exceed that plan. And maybe spend around INR 230 crores, INR 240 crores. And also next year, because as these new plants are new, we'll be adding more equipment machines. So maybe next year also, we'll probably have a CapEx of INR 100 crores, INR 150 crores, and we are setting our own gamma sterilization facility. So that will also go live in maybe end of -- sometime end of next financial year just to mitigate our risk for our dependence on outside vendors. So currently, we are -- some -- from heavy cycle, we'll go to a moderate cycle. And hopefully, by the end of next year, the CapEx deployment should kind of taper down. And we hopefully would look at inorganic opportunities. I think that's the one we should look at. And what's your second question? Sorry, I forgot.
Jaiveer Shekhawat
analystNo, actually, it was around deployment itself and then the facility is getting operational as you've highlighted...
Himanshu Baid
executiveI think the facilities are getting operational already. So -- and as we are getting more machines, because we have started already. So initially -- initial 1 or 2 years, we started 30%, 40% utilization, and we scale up to around 50%, 60%, 70% as time progresses. So that is where we are. And I think this will continue to rise only, the capacity utilization.
Operator
operatorThe next question is from the line of [ Harsh Mirchandani ] from KRIIS PMS.
Unknown Analyst
analystCongratulations on great set of numbers. Just wanted to understand that like you mentioned in the opening remarks also that we are awaiting contracts worth $15 million, $20 million. Can you help us understand what kind of discussions are going on and it's -- and what has moved in the last 6 months pertaining to these discussions?
Himanshu Baid
executiveSo this is what regarding the U.S. business. We already have the contracts in place. And this is all about now starting -- so we have started selling the products to the U.S. market. And we have received our first clinical feedback from the customers because you can't sell anything without getting the U.S. FDA approval. So we have sent the first products. We have some -- got the feedback, and we are now working on some improvements on the product based on the feedback we have received. And hopefully, in the next 1 or 2 months, we'll start sending shipments out of the U.S. and bigger shipments. And this is a buildup -- so the $15 million to $20 million is a buildup over the next 3, 4 years. So end of, let's say, FY '28, our U.S. revenue would be close to $15 million to $20 million year-on-year basis.
Unknown Analyst
analystGot it. Got it. And another question was any reason to give a guidance of 20% next year when we are seeing a good ramp up possible in terms of the new business and...
Himanshu Baid
executiveI think we start at a moderate number and then we can revise. As I said, after end of Q1 or early Q2, we'll definitely make a revision and let's start with a moderate number with the current situation which we are in. And I think we should be able to do better only. So let's start with the number, which we think is really achievable. And then we'll -- even for this year, we did the same thing. We were at 20% in the beginning. And then during the end of first quarter, early second quarter, revised the guidance of 22% to 24%.
Operator
operatorThe next question is from the line of Zain from Dolat Capital.
Zain Gulam Hussain
analystI'm audible?
Himanshu Baid
executiveYes, please.
Zain Gulam Hussain
analystCongratulations on a great set of number. I just want to know that what will be our tax rate for this 9 months?
Himanshu Baid
executiveNareshji, can you answer that point?
Naresh Vijayvergiya
executiveOur tax rate is 25%.
Zain Gulam Hussain
analystOkay. And sir, what about the renal business, if you can share the quarter 4 number or 9-month number for this year?
Himanshu Baid
executiveYes. So the renal business will do almost INR 90 crores this financial year. And out of that INR 90 crores, probably we have done close to around INR 62 crores, INR 63 crores for the first 9 months.
Zain Gulam Hussain
analystAnd 9 months of last year?
Himanshu Baid
executiveSo we have totally 22% growth, roughly on this business.
Zain Gulam Hussain
analystOkay. And one question, sir. Sir, U.S. contribution, if you can tell me that how much of the U.S. sales are currently if you are doing U.S. sales?
Himanshu Baid
executiveNo, it's a very small number right now. As we have just started the business. Yes. So it will not worth mentioning right now on the call.
Zain Gulam Hussain
analystAnd sir, dialysis machine, you said you'll add 200 dialysis machines by FY '24. So currently, how much has been added and if you can give numbers?
Himanshu Baid
executiveSo we don't give numbers like this. So in the middle of the year because that's a very sensitive information from a competitor point of view. So we are in line to deliver 200 to 250 machines for the current fiscal. And next year, as our made in India machine with local board local content gets launched, so we'll be able to ramp up these numbers more faster.
Zain Gulam Hussain
analystAnd Europe growth in contribution, if you can share?
Himanshu Baid
executiveEurope, sorry, which contribution?
Zain Gulam Hussain
analystEurope sales contribution.
Himanshu Baid
executiveEurope is 40% plus revenue order of exports revenue.
Operator
operator[Operator Instructions] The next question is from the line of Vishal Manchanda from Systematix Shares.
Vishal Manchanda
analystSir, with respect to the domestic markets, would you be able to share a number as to how many hospitals are you currently supplying to actively?
Himanshu Baid
executiveWell, this is a very difficult number, Vishal, to share because it's a very widely held. So number would be 3,000 plus or even more, actually, or even 5,000. Because we don't track end-to-end because a lot of distributors are selling products directly into the market and through their trade channels. So end-to-end, we don't track, but actively, we track close to around 300 to 400 top hospitals in the country.
Vishal Manchanda
analystSo that is where you would be directly reaching through your own sales force and by the...
Himanshu Baid
executiveWe will be reaching though our own sales force, but the supply chain is managed by the distribution partners.
Vishal Manchanda
analystUnderstood. And again, on this -- on the domestic business, like if you could share as to what -- which one would be your top 3 portfolio products and what would be their contribution?
Himanshu Baid
executiveWe don't share that, Vishal, individually. Sorry, I can't do that.
Vishal Manchanda
analystOkay. And if you could share what percentage of the market are you currently addressing with your portfolio? And what is the scope of kind of building up there in terms of the addressable market on that...
Himanshu Baid
executiveOverall, we probably have a 5% to 6% market share on the products we do. And I think the scope is to increase it to around maybe 10% in the next 3 to 4 years. That's what we are trying to address right now.
Vishal Manchanda
analystSo in the covered market, you have 5% to 6% share. And is there...
Himanshu Baid
executiveYes, that's correct.
Vishal Manchanda
analystSir, can you expand the covered market? So would you be addressing 50% of the addressable market through your...
Himanshu Baid
executiveI think the idea is to -- that's how we will be able to take more market share. So it's basically a total market share, not covered market share, total market share. So once we increase our coverage, then we'll be probably addressing about close to 10% of the market. So that's the plan for next 3 to 4 years.
Operator
operatorThe next question is from the line of Purva Zaveri from Girik Capital.
Purva Jhaveri
analystYes. Am I audible?
Himanshu Baid
executiveYes, please, please go ahead.
Purva Jhaveri
analystI just wanted to ask for the CapEx, what was the guidance about the CapEx which you gave?
Himanshu Baid
executiveYes, the guidance for the CapEx was close to INR 200-plus crores. We have done close to INR 185 crores already in 9 months and because there's an expedited CapEx we are doing. And we'll be spending maybe another INR 40 crores, INR 45 crores for the current quarter also.
Purva Jhaveri
analystAnd can you just tell about those 4 plants which you mentioned initially?
Himanshu Baid
executiveSay again, I'm sorry, you are very strained. I can't hear you very well. Maybe you are -- you are on a speaker phone.
Purva Jhaveri
analystYes. Can you just tell about those 4 plants, which you'll be running like, which you've mentioned...
Himanshu Baid
executiveYes. The 4 glass, we are in Faridabad, 2 are already up and running. And 1 plant is in Jaipur SEZ and the fourth plant is under construction and at the final stages is also in Faridabad.
Operator
operatorAt this moment, there are no further questions. We have a question from Mr. Vishal Manchanda.
Vishal Manchanda
analystAm I audible, sir?
Himanshu Baid
executiveYes, Vishal, I can hear you. Very well.
Vishal Manchanda
analystSo on the renal segment, as you mentioned, you would be scaling up faster next year. Sir, would that qualify you for the PLI incentives next year because there's a critical number that you need to...
Himanshu Baid
executiveVishal, I think we are not basing our business on PLI. I think we have to base it on merit. And I think that is more important. So we want to gain our market share based on the merit of the product. So PLI, we are not sure. I think I'm -- I think we'll have to do more -- because PLI is almost INR 60 crores year-on-year revenue for the business. And that's the reason only a few companies have taken PLI in medical device sector. Out of, I think, 20 or 30, they have allotted only 4 or 5 have taken the incentive, especially companies making large equipments. I think otherwise, I think PLI is actually we are a non-starter.
Vishal Manchanda
analystOkay. So you said 60 -- the companies need to -- companies would need to cross INR 60 crores.
Himanshu Baid
executiveYes, INR 60 crores year-on-year revenue growth.
Vishal Manchanda
analystOkay. Okay. And there are only specific products in the renal segment, not the entire renal segment?
Himanshu Baid
executiveNo, no, no. They are not -- you can't increase the range, you can't cross segment or this is all fixed.
Vishal Manchanda
analystOkay. Okay. So basically, it would only be -- so you won't get those incentives, but you would continue to gain -- build that business larger?
Himanshu Baid
executiveNo, no. We are building -- business was not set on PLI, because the business was set much before PLI came in.
Vishal Manchanda
analystGot it.
Himanshu Baid
executivePLI was just an enabler I would say, but maybe has not worked.
Operator
operatorThe next question is from the line of Gagan Thareja from ASK Investment Managers.
Gagan Thareja
analystSir, the first question is around the acquisition you made in Italy. I think it was a product or the oncology specific product. Can you give us some idea of how that has ramped up? And are you able to cross-pollinate that in multiple geographies?
Himanshu Baid
executiveYes. I think the whole idea was to see what were the synergies between the 2 companies. And because Poly Med has a deep manufacturing infrastructure, so we were able to leverage that on our Italian factory. And also because Poly Med exports it's products over 100 countries, so we are able to get access to those customers directly for our Italian business. And because this is a Class III device, it takes sometimes 2 to 3 years to register in each country because these are implantable devices. So I think over a -- in the last 2, 3 years, we have leveraged that already, the company has grown reasonably well. And I think in next 4, 5 years also, we will see new registrations, which are going to come through in some very important geographies, and that will also help us to ramp up the business. So I think the companies have good track, now deliver -- started delivering profits. So I think that the whole transformation, which we did over the last 2, 3 years has actually worked well.
Gagan Thareja
analystI mean, is it material enough -- and now in the sense...
Himanshu Baid
executiveIt will be material because in next 2, 3 years, it will become quite important for Poly Med. Because strategically, also, that places us much above. So there are also cost benefits to Poly Med because as a company, when we go to customer we say we also are making products in Europe. So then there is a huge stress in the whole organization.
Gagan Thareja
analystOkay. All right. And for your EU sales, I'm sorry, I was a little late on the -- joining the call.
Himanshu Baid
executiveDoesn't matter.
Gagan Thareja
analystSo EU sales year-to-date would have grown by how much? And what portion of your sales would be constitute for year-to-date?
Himanshu Baid
executiveSo EU -- Europe sales around 40% plus sales of the total export revenue. Export revenues around 65%, 70% -- 66% -- 67% of total revenue of the company. So out of that 40% is EU.
Gagan Thareja
analystAnd it's grown by?
Himanshu Baid
executiveIt has grown by around 35% to 40%.
Gagan Thareja
analystOkay. So this year has been very strong. Has it come because of addition of new geographies or...
Himanshu Baid
executiveNo, no, the geographies are the same. It is because, I think, we were able to launch a lot of new devices in the European market in last few years. And I think that's the result of that.
Gagan Thareja
analystOkay. So you're saying that you started with I.V. Cannula, but now you've added to your product...
Himanshu Baid
executiveI didn't say that.
Gagan Thareja
analystOkay.
Himanshu Baid
executiveI didn't say that.
Gagan Thareja
analystCan you give some more color on -- I mean, in terms of product basket?
Himanshu Baid
executiveNo, we can't give you that detail. I'm sorry.
Gagan Thareja
analystOkay. Okay.
Himanshu Baid
executiveit's confidential to the company's business.
Gagan Thareja
analystOkay. And on overall sales, is it possible to give some idea of how much is I.V. Cannula today? And...
Himanshu Baid
executiveWe don't give these numbers out.
Gagan Thareja
analystAll right. All right. Yes. And the 4 plants that you are commissioning, 2 are already running, you indicated. In terms of utilization next year, where do you see being able to reach at what utilization...
Himanshu Baid
executiveWe're around 30% to 40%, that's what I mentioned in the call earlier.
Gagan Thareja
analystOkay. And full utilization could be to?
Himanshu Baid
executiveWould be probably end of year 4.
Gagan Thareja
analystEnd of year 4. And this could -- this doubles your capacity, if I recall it correctly.
Himanshu Baid
executiveExactly. Absolutely. It will double our capacity in terms of manufacturing capability. So the ramp-up would take time, nothing starts like -- it's not like a machine and start producing numbers. And with every country we need registration, every market we need to penetrate by getting products approved by hospital doctors. So it's a process.
Gagan Thareja
analystRight. Right, sir. In terms of margin, initially, when new plants come in, they tend to have fixed costs, which are not efficiently or fully utilized. So do you see over a period of 3, 4 years, the operating leverage that gets created from utilization ramp-up in these plants, aiding for your margins further?
Himanshu Baid
executiveThe current P&L has already absorbed all these costs. Yes, number one. Number two, as we start ramping up capacity products on these plants, definitely, we will see better performance. That's what we think, and that should happen.
Operator
operatorThe next question is from the line of Sumit Gupta from Motilal Oswal.
Sumit Gupta
analystMajority of the questions have been answered. I want to know about the -- like your plans about increasing the sales force in the domestic business? And how do you see the sales force productivity going forward?
Himanshu Baid
executiveI think the most important thing is domestic market is very fragmented. And because India is a large geography, so we'll have to keep on adding more feet on the ground to address more hospitals. So we have added 50 to 60 people this year, next year plan is to add across all the 6 divisions, around 100 people. And also, we'll be rejigging some of our leadership teams to ensure that we go deep down with most of our customers whom we are working with today. So we are working all across, and I think that's an important market for us, very, very important market, and we will continue to go faster here. And especially with make in India focus, I think a lot of new opportunities will open, especially with our 2 new businesses of critical care and cardiology.
Sumit Gupta
analystOkay. So what is the current field force in India?
Himanshu Baid
executiveI think it's close to around 400 people, including sales, marketing, clinical, PM, product management, teams and also application teams all includes.
Sumit Gupta
analystOkay. So over the next 2 to 3 years, you expect this -- the sales force productivity to increase?
Himanshu Baid
executiveSee, of course, the current key accounts will go more deeper, so same people would be there. But if we have to go wider, then we have to add more people. So I think in next 2 to 3 years, we'll add probably 100 people each year probably to address that market.
Operator
operatorThe next question is from the line of Dheeresh from WhiteOak.
Dheeresh Pathak
analystSir, 400 people, you said how many are on the ground people, which are dealing with the hospitals directly out of this 400?
Himanshu Baid
executiveSir, could you repeat that question? I could not hear it properly.
Dheeresh Pathak
analystSir, I heard in last question, you mentioned 400 people in the total sales division, out of which how many are on the ground dealing with hospitals?
Himanshu Baid
executiveOn the ground would be around 330 -- 330, 340.
Dheeresh Pathak
analystThese 330 people would be covering roughly how many hospitals?
Himanshu Baid
executiveOver 5,000 hospitals.
Dheeresh Pathak
analystOver 5,000 hospitals. Okay. And you're saying 100 people every year, you will be adding.
Himanshu Baid
executiveYes. We have to add because of 2 new division as well as the existing business expansion.
Dheeresh Pathak
analystOkay. Sir, for the 9 months, if you -- I don't know if you already shared this because I was delayed by a few minutes. So 9 months, if you can share region-wise growth. Like I think I heard you say that Europe was on 40% growth, right, this year.
Himanshu Baid
executiveBut we don't give out region-wise growth. We only give out domestic and export business. And out of that, we call out for Europe business because that's a significant part of the company's business, 1/3 of the company's revenue. So that is what we have called out. So domestic business grown around 18% -- 18.5%, export has grown around 23.5% in 9 months.
Dheeresh Pathak
analystYou're giving for 9 months, right?
Himanshu Baid
executiveYes. That is correct.
Dheeresh Pathak
analystOkay. And within exports, obviously, Europe has grown much faster, right? Because...
Himanshu Baid
executiveEurope has, anyway other countries are very badly affected because of currency crisis globally. Well, we are -- but for us, Europe is the prime market. So that market is growing. And for us, that is more important.
Dheeresh Pathak
analystSir, outside of Europe, what would be the second largest export market?
Himanshu Baid
executiveThen we have Lat Am.
Dheeresh Pathak
analystOkay. And Lat Am, you obviously bill in dollars, but it is the local country has been impacted because of...
Himanshu Baid
executiveNot in Lat Am. Lat Am is not very affected and the whole of Middle East, Africa, that is more impacted today.
Operator
operatorThe next question is from the line of Deepak Lalwani from Unifi Capital.
Himanshu Baid
executiveI can't hear him. We'll come back to Deepak.
Operator
operatorThe next question is from the line of [ Girish Jain ].
Himanshu Baid
executiveI can't hear anybody.
Operator
operator[Operator Instructions] The next question is from the line of [ Nihar Shah ].
Unknown Analyst
analystAround 50%...
Himanshu Baid
executiveYes, Nihar. Yes, I can hear you.
Unknown Analyst
analystYes. Okay. Great. So you've spoken about 50% plus growth in the renal segment, and we're also adding new products in the critical care and cardiology. So with that in mind, is -- are we facing some pressure in the base business in the domestic market because that business is...
Himanshu Baid
executiveNot really. There is no pressure because, again, is about getting the -- getting more deeper into the market. So the growth rate, of course, we are not happy with that, around 18%, 18.5%. So we would like to move to that number of 22% -- 21%, 22%. And of course, the base is also increasing. So I think we don't see any -- it's about going more deeper and wider with the existing business.
Unknown Analyst
analystUnderstood.
Himanshu Baid
executiveNew businesses will take time to scale up. It's not that they'll scale up immediately.
Operator
operatorThe next question is from the line of Deepak Lalwani.
Deepak Lalwani
analystCan you hear me?
Himanshu Baid
executiveYes, I can hear you, Deepak.
Deepak Lalwani
analystYes. Sir, I just wanted to understand, when you draw your assumption of 20% growth for the next year, just wanted to understand the basis of this assumption from 3 angles. One would be the market itself growing in India and exports. Two, if you could throw some light on the shift from Chinese products that we are seeing today, is it related to these 2 factors? Or is it completely company-led where we have worked on distribution, and we have worked on a lot of products and patents, which is sort of benefiting us.
Himanshu Baid
executiveSo I think I would agree with 1 and 3 because the 1 is regarding market growth, which is definitely happening, especially in India where we see 12% to 15% growth in the health care sector. So that will indirectly benefit the medtech sector. And there is no shift from China today. We don't compete with any Chinese products. We are not doing such products, which where we have competition with China. Otherwise, Chinese are hands down 20% cheaper than -- in any sector. So for us, it is more about technology patents, which we have, and we are able to today build that market for our own products. For us, that is the key.
Deepak Lalwani
analystRight, right. And when you draw the same assumption for the export market, what is giving you the confidence?
Himanshu Baid
executiveBecause -- exports also because we have continuously do customer engagement, and we know that what the customer is needing and we have projections for next year already.
Deepak Lalwani
analystRight. Right. Got it. And sir, you spoke about in your initial comments of the Red Sea impact. So if you could just throw some light on any revenue -- any short-term revenue or cost impact that you're seeing in the next...
Himanshu Baid
executiveI think we don't see any revenue cost because most of the freight is paid by the customer. So we don't pay any freight. Our rates are ex-factory or [ex-FOB]. So to us, I think there's no impact, but it impacts the customers in general, where they will have to pay extra for the freight cost or wait longer for delivery of the products. And that is where -- because if the customer is not suffering then probably you definitely feel that some cycles could go haywire. But I mean it's a temporary phase. And I think when this correction happens, again, I think we will be fine. Because you'll see a lag of 15 days. Once that lag is over then the cycle is again back to normal.
Deepak Lalwani
analystSure. Sure. So have you seen any substantial or any significant sort of a delay?
Himanshu Baid
executiveNo. I have already told that January was a great month again.
Deepak Lalwani
analystThe next question is from the line of Girish Jain from KGMC Finserv Group.
Girish Jain
analystAm I audible?
Himanshu Baid
executiveYes, sir. I can hear you.
Girish Jain
analystCongratulations on a good set of results. I joined late, so pardon me if there is some duplication in my questions.
Himanshu Baid
executiveSir, I can't hear you. Hello?
Operator
operatorSir, we're not able to hear you.
Himanshu Baid
executiveYes. I was not able to hear Mr. Girish Jain. Sir, can you repeat the question?
Operator
operatorMr. Girish Jain, can you repeat the question, please?
Girish Jain
analystYes. Can you hear me?
Himanshu Baid
executiveYes, I can hear you now. Yes.
Girish Jain
analystYes. So if you can share any flavor on the U.S.A. business, there have been any new filings?
Himanshu Baid
executiveYes. So we have received 2 new approvals of FDA -- under FDA. So totally now we have 4 approvals. And as I told maybe in the earlier calls, we are looking for 8 to 10 products. So hopefully, by end of this year, we will receive all 8 to 10 approval, which we have planned for. Initial shipments have gone, we've received some comments and feedback. And based on that, we are making some small improvements in the product based on the user feedbacks. And then once that is done, I think hopefully, in next 1 or 2 months, we will see more shipments go into U.S. But that is -- everything is in line what we have already anticipated. So this is nothing new or unusual.
Girish Jain
analystSo we are holding on to the expectation of revenue...
Himanshu Baid
executiveYes, yes, yes. absolutely. The revenue expectation is absolutely in line, and it was based on -- because whenever you have to send anything to U.S., you can only send after your FDA approvals. There's a real -- where they will try the products and really will go for clinical usage.
Girish Jain
analystAnd the other question was on the CapEx. If I heard correctly, 2 plants are already operational in...
Himanshu Baid
executiveYes, 3 are operational, Girish. 3 are operational. Fourth one is going to be operational by end of this quarter or early next quarter.
Girish Jain
analystAnd we hope to hit capacity utilization of 80% -- 80% or 90% by end of the third year?
Himanshu Baid
executiveFourth year, I would say.
Girish Jain
analystEnd of the fourth year?
Himanshu Baid
executiveBecause the infrastructure is built over to cater the lease for next 3 to 4 years.
Girish Jain
analystSo this capacity will suffice for the next 4 years?
Himanshu Baid
executiveAlready some capacity -- capacity has already kicked in. Some has already kicked in already. Yes. Because 1 plant started operational in the first quarter and then 1 has started in quarter 2, quarter 3 so capacity is always our kicking in, some capacity.
Girish Jain
analystOkay. And in previous call, I think if I remember correctly, you had mentioned that we have excess land available near the existing factory where we can put up more facilities required in the future.
Himanshu Baid
executiveYes, we will do that. Because now, I think we have sufficient infrastructure covering us for next 2 to 3 years. And once we see an opportunity, definitely, we will do that. So I think on that side, we are fully covered.
Operator
operatorAt this moment, there are no further questions. I would now like to hand over the call to the management for closing remarks.
Himanshu Baid
executiveThank you, everyone, for your participation and really thankful for great questions you have asked today. And definitely, it gives us more motivation to do better in coming years. And definitely, we will follow the recommendation guidance and what you have mentioned today on the call. And thank you for your time and look forward to speaking to you again very soon.
Operator
operatorThank you, sir. On behalf of ICICI Securities, that concludes the conference call. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines.
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