Popular Vehicles and Services Limited (PVSL) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to Popular Vehicles and Services Limited Q2 and FY '26 Earnings Conference Call. This conference call may contain forward-looking statements about the company, which are based on beliefs, opinions and expectations of the company as on the date of this call. These statements are not guarantee of future performance and involves risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. [Operator Instructions] Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Naveen Philip, MD and Promoter of Popular Vehicles and Services Limited. Thank you, and over to you, sir.

Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and a very warm welcome to our Q2 and H1 FY '26 earnings call. Joining me today are Raj Narayan, our CEO of Popular Vehicles and Services; Mr. Abraham Mammen, the Group CFO; and other senior team members. To begin with, we have shared during our Q1 update, we were evaluating an opportunity to expand our presence into the state of Telangana. I'm pleased to inform you that, we have successfully completed this acquisition. Effective 15th October, we have acquired the authorized Maruti Suzuki dealership of R.K.S Motors Private Limited through a slump sale transaction. The transaction value is approximately INR 90-odd crores, excluding the inventory. This acquisition includes all operational assets of the dealership, excluding the land and building, which remain with the seller. This covers leasehold premises, plant, machinery, service tools, furnitures, digital and IT assets and other operational infrastructure. On the people side, we have selectively onboarded 1,039 employees based on role requirements and cultural alignment. We believe this approach will ensure continuity of operations, service quality and a smooth customer experience. To support brand continuity during the transition phase, the outgoing dealer has also provided a limited nonexclusive royalty-free co-branding license for up to 36 months. The division would be called the Popular R.K.S. This marks an important milestone in our strategic journey with Maruti Suzuki. The acquired dealership operates across 19 locations, including 27 authorized touchpoints covering Arena, NEXA, True Value, service, bodyshop, commercial driving schools and supporting back-end functions. This provides us with a strong and ready operational platform in the fast-growing Telangana market. R.K.S has been a dealer for Maruti Suzuki for approximately 30-odd years. With this expansion, PVSL further strengthens its geographic footprint beyond Kerala and builds on the scale we have already established in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and partly in Maharashtra. Most importantly, it reflects the continued trust and partnership we enjoy with Maruti Suzuki. We see this as a long-term accretive opportunity that enhances our market presence and positions us for sustainable growth in the southern region. JLR faced a massive cyberattack from the end of August, which paused the production and continuity in supply of spares for most of September and part of October, which impacted our business performance in Q2. Similarly, we had also completed the acquisition of Bharat Benz's dealership of Globe CV Private Limited in the state of Punjab through a slump sale. The total consideration for this transaction was approximately INR 12 crores. The dealership operates 8 state-of-the-art facilities across key cities of Punjab. Of these, 7 are integrated sales outlets and one is a dedicated aftermarket spare parts facility, with a combined service capacity of approximately 37 days. With this acquisition, Prabal Motors now become the exclusive dealer partner for Bharat Benz in Punjab, significantly enhancing our sales and service reach in that region. All these initiatives are in line with our strategic objective to diversify our geographic presence and reduce the revenue contribution from Kerala to below 50% by FY '27. Outside of these acquisitions, we have also continued to strengthen our presence in existing markets. We have received an LOI to set up NEXA workshop at Perumbavoor and Thodupuzha in Ernakulam and neighboring district. This facility will have 2 dedicated service bays and 3 bodyshop bays, with an expected monthly throughput of approximately 500 vehicles. The investment for this workshop is estimated to be around INR 2 crores and will operate in close alignment with the NEXA Studios. In addition, we have taken a step towards building a stronger digital and retail parts ecosystem by establishing an e-commerce platform for spare parts and accessories under the entity ZPAREX Digisolutions Private Ltd, which has been formed as a step-down subsidiary under Popular Mega Motors Private Limited. We expanded our operational footprint during the quarter with the commencement of operations at several new touchpoints. This includes the launch of Tata Commercial Vehicle service center in Calicut. During the quarter, Tata Motors also introduced ACE Pro, which has been gaining strong market traction and is expected to contribute an additional 15% to 25% in terms of volumes. In line with our focus on strengthening aftermarket reach, we established a new spare parts retail outlets in Kollam and Pathanamthitta. Additionally, in the electric 2-wheeler segment, we enhanced our presence through Ather -- through its outlets across Maharashtra at Chandrapur, Kamptee, Nagpur and Baluch as well as in Chennai. Lastly, during the quarter, we completed the divestment of the 2 subsidiaries, Kuttukaran Green Private Limited, which operates at our Piaggio business and Vision Motors Private Limited, which operates at our Honda business. This has enabled us to sharpen our portfolio focus and reallocate management bandwidth towards higher growth and higher synergy business. Coming to the business overview. Q2 is seasonally a strong quarter for us, supported by the Onam festive period from mid-August to mid-September. We began the quarter with healthy inquiry levels and improved footfalls. Coming in with a strong order book from a muted Q1, we are expecting a meaningful pickup in the passenger vehicle volumes. However, during mid-August, the discussions around a potential GST rate revision created a wait-and-watch approach among customers. The rate cut was announced in early September and became effective at the end of the month. This led to postponement of purchases, particularly in the mass segment. As a result, passenger vehicle sales, excluding the luxury segment, declined on a year-on-year basis, though in August, particularly, we had a growth. Sequentially, both the volumes and revenue improved, reflecting the underlying demand momentum. This impact is primarily a timing shift rather than any deterioration in consumer sentiment. The demand environment remains supportive. We expect the deferred purchases to flow through Q3, and we're already seeing signs of a pickup. Raj will probably quantify what we have been able to do in October. Notably, the Arena portfolio, which had been relatively subdued for the last 2, 3 years is showing renewed traction. Demand trends in premium hatchbacks and SUVs also continue to be encouraging. Having said that, Q2 also marked our strongest quarterly performance in terms of volumes over the last 6 to 8 quarters. This was achieved despite the absence of Honda volumes for 1 month during the quarter. In fact, our volumes in Q2 surpassed the quarterly averages of FY '23, FY '24, reflecting the scale benefits of our diversified and network expansion. Coming to the inventory side. To cater to the improving demand environment, we carried a higher inventory during the quarter. Inventory levels have come down in June, but festive stocking led to an increase thereafter. This was a deliberate buildup for August and September during the festival season. We expect inventory levels to normalize gradually through the remainder of Q3, which I think by the end of October, Raj will give a view. I think we are below the approximately 30, 35 days of inventory. On the cess front, we are still awaiting the final clarity from the government, writ petition has been filed in the Supreme Court by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association. However, we have taken a provision of INR 3.6 crores for compensation sales for the amount lying in the electronic credit ledger during this quarter. This includes approximately INR 2.5 crores on PVSL books and about INR 1.2 crores on the subsidiary books. And this has been accounted for under other expenditure at the group level. If we adjust for this provision, our EBITDA degrowth of 16% would reduce to around 10% and our EBITDA margin would stand at around 3.5% compared to reported 3.2%. We believe this was a prudent step in the current environment to remain aligned with the potential outcomes. We have an additional exposure of approximately INR 3.6 crores for the vehicles in transit at the end of the Q3 and not reflecting in ECL balances. Future growth prospects. As part of our growth strategy, we continue to expand the business growth organically and through strategic acquisitions. On the organic front, we have been strengthening our network across categories and in new regions. On the inorganic side, we have completed 2 acquisitions in the first half of FY '26, one in commercial vehicles and one in passenger vehicles. We are also evaluating opportunities to add another luxury brand, dealership brand. To support this, we have proposed incorporation of a new step-down subsidiary under the wholly owned subsidiary -- under the wholly owned subsidiary Popular Mega Motors India Limited. These initiatives are aimed at further strengthening our portfolio and expanding our geographic presence. Alongside this, we are working to diversify our revenue streams. The first step in this direction has been the incorporation of a new step-down subsidiary under Popular Mega Motors for developing an e-commerce platform for spare parts and accessories. The thought process here is straightforward. This is a high-volume, high-margin segment where customer purchasing behavior is increasingly shifted towards digital channels. We intend to leverage our multi-brand portfolio, starting with PowerSteps, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Bharat Benz and Ather and over time, we expand to product range include other OEMs where we have relevant scale. This will allow us to build a stable recurring revenue line that is less cyclical compared to vehicle sales. Looking ahead, the economic environment remains supportive, aided by GST rate reductions and improving consumer sentiment. We expect a sustained recovery in demand across key segments with the momentum from our recent acquisitions, continued network expansion and disciplined operational execution. We believe that, we are well positioned to deliver a much stronger performance in the coming quarters and close FY '26 on a positive growth trajectory. Thank you, and handing you over to our CFO to present the other details.

Thank you, Naveen, and good morning, everyone. I will take you all through the company's operational and financial performance for the quarter and the first half of '25, '26. Before I start, please note that the Honda and Piaggo volume and revenue was till August '25 only, so financial year '26 quarter 2 represents only through 2 months of these OEMs. The key highlights for the quarter in passenger vehicles. New vehicle volumes stood at 8,498 units, up 48% quarter-on-quarter from 5,736 units in quarter 1 of FY '26. Total income from this segment stood at INR 664 crores, up 37% from INR 484 crores in quarter 1 of '26. Service volume stood at 1,86,503 units, down 7% quarter-on-quarter from 1,99,807 in quarter 1 of FY '26. Total income from the segment stood at INR 149 crores, down 3% from INR 154 crores in quarter 1 of FY '26. Quarter 2 being a festive season quarter witnessed higher volume momentum versus quarter 1. The full impact on sales was moderated as some customers deferred purchases after the GST rate cut announcement and Honda volumes not represented for 1 month. The luxury segment continues to perform well and is trending upwards. The Service segment remained subdued. Overall service volumes were impacted during the quarter. However, the impact on revenue was relatively low. This was because high-value services such as collision and repair continue to maintain a steady volume. Moving to the commercial vehicles. New vehicle volumes stood at 2,797 units, up 13% quarter-on-quarter from 2,478 units in quarter 1 of FY '26. Total income from the segment stood at INR 452 crores, up 6% from INR 425 crores in quarter 1 of FY '26. From the -- services volume stood at 15,469 units, up 10% quarter-on-quarter from 45,786 in quarter 1 of FY '26. Total income from the segment stood at INR 87 crores, up 20% from INR 73 crores in quarter 1 of FY '26. The growth in volumes was supported by improving demand environment, addition of the integration of the Punjab operations. The EV segment. New vehicle volume stood at 1,717 units, up 30% quarter-on-quarter, up from 1,318 units in quarter 1 of FY '26. Total income from the segment stood at INR 28 crores, up 14% from INR 25 crores in quarter 1 of FY '26. Services volumes stood at 9,940 units, up 20% quarter-on-quarter from 8,258 units in quarter 1 of FY '26. Total income from the segment stood at INR 2 crores, a flattish quarter-on-quarter. We continued the strong momentum in quarter 2, showing overall year-on-year growth, reflecting increasing penetration and structural shift towards electrification. The EV 2-wheeler penetration is increasing and Ather is gaining market share, enabling us to grow our volumes. Services volumes increased strongly. However, realizations remained flat. Now moving to the financial performance. Our total income for the quarter stood at INR 1,534.6 crores, up 16.6% quarter-on-quarter from INR 1,316 crores in quarter 1 of FY '26 and up 1.1% year-on-year from INR 1,518.3 crores in quarter 2 of FY '25. Impairment losses reduced to INR 1.7 crores from INR 3.4 crores in quarter 1 FY '26, driven by lower debt provisions and improved collections during this quarter. Employee costs increased during the quarter, primarily due to the integration of the Punjab operations. EBITDA stood at INR 49.4 crores, up 29.1% quarter-on-quarter from INR 38.3 crores in quarter 1 of FY '26 and down 16.5% year-on-year from INR 59.2 crores in quarter 2 of FY '25. EBITDA margin stands at 3.2% for quarter 2 FY '26. The other expenses, includes a sales provision of INR 3.5 crores in quarter 2 of FY '26. The adjusted EBITDA comes at INR 53 crores in quarter 2 of FY '26, up 38.5% quarter-on-quarter and down 10.4% year-on-year. Adjusted EBITDA margin stands at 3.5% for quarter 2 of FY '26. An exceptional gain of INR 15.3 crores was recorded on account of the divestments. There was a PAT of INR 0.6 crores versus loss of INR 8.8 crores in quarter 1 FY '26 and PAT of INR 7.6 crores in quarter 2 of FY '25. The half year of FY '26 financial performance. Our total income stood at INR 2,850.5 crores, up 1.2% year-on-year from INR 2,816.7 crores in H1 of FY '25. EBITDA was at INR 87.7 crores versus INR 111.2 crores in H1 of FY '25, a decrease of 21.1% year-on-year. EBITDA margin stands at 3.1% for H1 of FY '26. Adjusted EBITDA comes at INR 91.3 crores in H1 of FY '26, down 17.8%. Adjusted margin stands at 3.2% for H1 FY '26. There was a loss of INR 8.2 crores versus PAT of INR 30 crores in H1 of FY '25. On the other updates, Popular Mega Motors India Private Limited, company's wholly owned subsidiary is certified as a Great Place to Work. The credit ratings update, CARE Ratings Limited have upgraded the rating awarded to the subsidiary company, Popular Autoworks Private Limited for the long-term bank facilities from CARE BBB+; STABLE to CARE A; STABLE on the outstanding of INR 2.5 crores and have also upgraded the rating for long-term short-term bank facilities from CARE BBB+; STABLE/CARE A2 to CARE A-; Stable/CARE A2+. CRISIL Limited has reaffirmed the ratings awarded to the company as a long-term Crisil rating at CRISIL A/Stable and the short-term rating at CRISIL A1 on the outstandings. Awards and recognition, Popular Mega Motors India Private Limited company's wholly owned subsidiary received multiple accolades from Tata Motors for the South India region for H1 FY '26. Highest ACE PRO Sales Winner, recognizing exceptional performance and leadership in ACE PRO sales. Customer Success Center Winner awarded for outstanding customer engagement, service excellence and commitment to enhancing customer satisfaction. Highest SCV EV Sales Winner conferred on Popular Mega Motors Chennai for remarkable sales growth and leadership in SCV EV category. The state-wise revenue breakup for quarter 2 of FY '26 is Kerala at 59%, Tamil Nadu 25%, Karnataka 11%, Maharashtra 5%, and Punjab at 1%. That's it from my side. Now, I would like to open the floor for questions and answers.

[Operator Instructions] The first question is from the line of Preet from InCred Asset Management Company.

As you mentioned in FY '25 revenue of the acquisition, what kind of EBITDA margin we expect from this acquisition? Will it go in a ramp-up stage or it is already -- if it was already running at what kind of margin it was running?

Sorry, Preet, could you just repeat the question, please?

It's on EBITDA margins of the Hyderabad acquisition.

Telangana as well as Bharat Benz.

Okay. Both the acquisitions.

So, on the acquisitions that we did in the Telangana region, they were working at close to around INR 8 crores in terms of the profit that they ended in the previous years. We currently with the acquisitions that we've actually done at this point of time, we've only started around the 15th of October. The first year that we are actually looking at the operate -- because of the preoperative expansions that we actually have, we are expecting this -- the first year to have kind of a negative in terms of the margins that we will have, but we are -- we will actually try to breakeven towards the first quarter of the next year.

It was on Bharat Benz or both the acquisitions?

No. This is on Telangana.

On the R.K.S. acquisition that we are talking about and on the Punjab operations that we are having, we've had low margins in terms of the first half in the August and September months. But towards the end of the year, we are expecting the Bharat Benz operations to actually breakeven or minimal very low in terms of the profitability there. So we will probably be breakeven or close to breakeven in Bharat Benz business.

Okay. So what...

In Punjab.

... understand is for Bharat Benz we would be close to breakeven. And for R.K.S Motors, we would be at loss for this year, and we will be breakeven by next financial year, first quarter. Is my understanding correct?

Yes.

Yes, right.

Yes. Yes.

Just to give a color on both, the Bharat Benz dealership, when we acquired it, it has been a profitably running dealership for the whole of last 2 years. August and September, because of the floods of Punjab, there was a little bit of a slowdown, but we're assuming that the second half -- I mean, October onwards it would be good. We have started averaging, I think about 50, 60 vehicles in terms of sales, which is a larger number. In terms of the Telangana acquisition, in October, I think in September, they did about 350-odd vehicles, 300-odd vehicles. We're expecting by the year end, we should be touching about 500 vehicles by March itself and hoping to turn around things. Only, as Abraham mentioned, only the preoperative expenses we have incurred during September, October during the acquisition will be the negative part of it.

Apart from this, if you can give some insight on Service business, it was not growing as expected. Like if I'm not wrong, you have given the guidance of 12% or 15% kind of growth in the Service business. But for the first half, we are seeing almost flattish numbers. So do we -- are we changing any guidance on the Service business? Or do we expect it to ramp up in the next 2 quarters?

So in the next 2 quarters, Raj can probably add color to it. Raj, do you want to add some numbers on it?

Yes.

In terms of Q3, Q4?

So one good thing that has happened is that the overall retail numbers have also started going up. In terms of our Q1, we were on a growth. And if you look at August, September, again, there was a little bit of a slowdown. And then October also, we are going on a high growth, in excess of 50%. So that will bring in a lot more vehicles, free service and all in the coming months. We have -- even more heartening thing, that's what I'd like to add on a point here is that the ASPs have grown by 12% in terms for multi business, while the overall volumes have been growing. That's because I think in the last call, we had mentioned that we had a strategic tie-up with the consulting company, Accenture, who works closely with us to enhance both our sales retail conversion as well as in terms of the service revenues. So we had a lot of programs running on the revenue per car, largely on the labor per car where we get about closer to an 8% margin and the spare per car also where the margins are in the range of about 17% to 18%. So that with the volumes coming in on the revenue front, it will be a good growth. But on the retail front, Q3 versus Q3 should be slightly closer to 4% to 5%.

So, Preet, just to add on to the margin part, the half year that we look at in the quarter 1 as we had a lower in terms of the gross margins when compared to the quarter 2. And with the efforts that we are doing in terms of the revenue per car and looking at different parameters, there has definitely been an improvement and our gross margin in the second quarter of the year has been higher than the first quarter. So we are trending at close to around 59% on an average, which was actually close to around 56% in the first half of the year. So we are seeing improvements on those aspects. And also we're focusing on the volumes part to see how the volumes can actually add on to the margin so that we could see a better second half of the year.

Another thing on impairment loss. If I'm not wrong, last quarter, you told that we have booked around INR 3 crores, INR 3.5 crores of impairment loss. And we have told that we may see the reversal in this impairment loss. But for this quarter also, we see an impairment loss of INR 1.7 crores. If you could just brief about what this loss exactly is? And will it be a sustainable loss of INR 1 crores and INR 1.5 crores?

Okay. So this impairment loss is basically coming because of the ECL provisions that we do. We had an impairment loss last year of -- in the last time of around INR 3.7 crores. There has been improvement in terms of the collections that has happened in this particular quarter. There has been reversal consequent to it and the provisions that we are doing for the bad debt according to the estimated credit loss has come through. So if you see, it has come down to INR 1.7 crores. There has also been an increase in debtors in this particular quarter because of it being a seasonal business and our increased volume. But having said that, there is -- we are not expecting any increase. There is additional focus in terms of the collection and more focus in terms of the ACE collection so that we get benefits out of it.

And on the sales, it is mentioned that INR 3.6 crores of provision we added. Do we have any clarity from the government? Are we able to get recover that back or?

No, there is no clarity from the -- yes, there is no clarity from the government. In fact, the OEMs also speaking to the government because the total cess impact across India on the cess ECL ledger is about INR 2,500 crores for all dealers put together. So the government has asked for a dialogue with the OEMs to see how this can be compensated partly through the OEMs also, I think. What the association has done is they filed a writ petition, quite confident that the case would be in the favor of the dealerships because even in the past, even when VAT was there and specific states had cess collected, and when the cess was removed, this amount was credited back by the government through a High Court order. So we're hoping that, that would take into effect. But as a prudent measure, after speaking to the auditors, we have decided to take the hit right now on the P&L account.

And if you can mention something on tax, why was tax higher for this quarter?

So basically...

Go ahead. You can continue.

Okay. So basically, whatever was available on the ECL ledger as on 30th September is what we provided for. So what happened is that there were certain vehicles that were on stock and transit as on end of 30th September. So the balance of 30th September did not reflect the stock and transit amount. So whatever has come in the month of October -- sorry? Sorry, Preet.

I mean, the question was on tax, I thought.

This was on the EC, right?

No. No. It was on tax. I can see that figure, the gross of INR 11 crores of PBT and same has been paid for the tax -- provision for tax. So I just wanted to have understanding why the tax is so higher in this quarter?

Okay. So basically, the tax is on the higher side because...

Abraham, we lost you.

This is the operator.

I can't hear Abraham, right.

Just a moment. Ladies and gentlemen, the management line has been disconnected. Please hold while we get them reconnected. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being on hold. The management line has been reconnected. Thank you, over to you.

Okay. So Preet, on the tax part of it, the tax that is coming is coming because of the profits that are made in the subsidiaries. We have close to around INR 18 crores in terms of the profits that are provision that -- tax provisions that we have there, and it is set off against the deferred tax asset that we have for the loss-making units of PVSL and KCPL, that's close to around INR 7 crores, if I remember right. So that's the reason we are actually seeing INR 11 crores there.

But having said that, I think we've also spoken to the auditors to see if there is any way that we can look at tax in a different angle. And hopefully, in Q3 or Q4, we'll get some benefits out of that.

Sir, last question on the guidance. If you can give -- last quarter, you have given the guidance on Q3. If you can give the guidance for the full year on the same. First was the service business. What kind of growth we assume as compared to FY '25? Second on the EBITDA margin, if I'm not wrong, you have mentioned that you will be doing around 4%, 4.5% EBITDA margin for this and maybe 5% for the next fiscal year. Now after you closed the acquisition because you are saying that it could be breakeven or at the loss, what kind of EBITDA margin we can see -- reported EBITDA margin we can see for this year and for the next year?

Yes. So next year 5%, yes, first, we stand back. The servicing in terms of volume growth, we should probably be at around 2% to 3% for the whole year in terms of volume growth, I mean, outside of the acquisition. So acquisition also should drive probably about -- approximately about 40,000 vehicles in terms of service, in terms of Maruti. So which would -- on a base of the 5 lakh, 5.5 lakh, 6 lakh vehicles that we do, that will be closer to about 4% growth from there. So other than the growth that we see from the businesses that we're already existing in. So 3% from the current businesses and probably about 4% from the acquisition. So about 7% or 8% is what we do in terms of volume growth. But in terms of revenue growth, we are already at, I think, about 3%. We will tend to do higher than that over the next 2 quarters.

So it will be like -- if I heard it correctly, it was 3% organic volume growth, 4% inorganic, and on revenue of sales, we will be at the similar lines?

Yes.

on the EBITDA margin, what kind of EBITDA margin are we planning for this fiscal year?

Yes. EBITDA margins, I think we should be able to do about 4.2%, 4.3% from the current 3.5% margins that we are at.

4.2%, 4.3% except -- keeping aside the inorganic part, right?

Keeping aside the inorganic part.

Okay. And lastly, on the debt, last quarter, we mentioned that we can see a significant reduction in the debt. But this quarter, that was a little higher as compared to FY '25. So if you can mention on FY '26 closing basis, will the debt be higher than FY '25 or it will be lower or it will be in the similar line?

No, FY '26 closing debt would be lower because, as I said, for the festive season, we had built up stock, but the GST announcement came as a complete surprise to us. So our festive season in Kerala didn't go too well. But if you look at it in terms of from October onwards, I think, Raj, can you tell us what was the October closing?

Yes.

Go ahead. Go ahead. Have we lost you again?

This is the Operator. Just a moment, let me check. Ladies and gentlemen, the management line has been disconnected. Please hold while we get them reconnected. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being on hold. The management line has been reconnected. Thank you, and over to you.

Are we audible now?

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

Okay. So I was talking about the stock. We were holding a stock base of about 75 to 85 during the earlier part of Q1 and also the first month of Q2. However, we've been able to bring it down drastically, and we brought it down to almost 34 days in October. One is in terms of the increased rating, which really contributed. So this has also resulted in a reduction of our interest cost by almost half. So -- and our overall ability to earn the OEM incentives also increased and the discount will also come down. So multiple impact is happening because otherwise, they were throughout from the H2 of last...

I think we have lost him again. I'll just continue. Throughout last year and the beginning of this year, we've been carrying higher stock. We started correcting in April, May. We had bought it down. And in July, August, because of the festive, we had picked up a bit of stock. But by September end, we were down to about approximately 45, 47 days. And October end, we are down to about 33 days. This is for the Maruti. The rest of the businesses are anyway at the lower level, except for Bharat Benz. But all businesses put together, we would be down to about under 30 days of stock by October, November.

And do we need to take any debt for this acquisition? Like we have only -- we have acquired around 9 to...

Sorry to interrupt, Preet, sorry to interrupt. Due to time concern, we need to move further to the next question. [Operator Instructions]