Venky's (India) Limited ($523261)

Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to Q4 FY '26 Earnings Concall of Venky's hosted by ICICI Securities Limited. [Operator Instructions] Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Probal Sen (sic) [ Hardik Solanki ] from ICICI Securities. Thank you, and over to you, sir.

Thank you. Hello, everyone. Welcome to this Q4 -- post Q4 analyst call of Venky's India Limited hosted by ICICI Securities. We have with us senior members of the management from Venky's India, including Mr. N.K. Toshniwal, the GM of Oilseed segment; Dr. Vijay Tijare and Dr. P. G. Pedgaonkar from the Poultry segment; Mr. Deepak Khosla, GM of the AHP segment; and Mr. J.K. Handa, the Chief Financial Officer; as well as Mr. Rohan Bhagwat, who is the Company Secretary. We will start off, of course, with some management commentary on the results, and then we'll have an interactive Q&A session. Over to you -- so I'll hand it over to the management now. Over to you, sir.

Thanks, Mr. Hardik. A very good afternoon, and thank you all for joining us today for the conference call of Venky's India Limited. The company had published financial results for the quarter and year ended 31st March '26, along with information for investors on 14th May. I hope you all have gone through the same. Today, we have with us unit heads to answer all your queries in respect of their respective segments and area of operations. Before we start discussing the company's performance, I would like to mention that some statements made in today's discussion may be forward-looking in nature and may involve risks and uncertainties. After the end of this call, in case you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out to the Investor Relations team. I will now hand over the call to Mr. Jiwan Handa, our CFO, to make the opening comments. Over to you, Mr. Handa.

Good afternoon, and a very warm welcome to our shareholders and investors. I'm Jiwan Handa, CFO. We are meeting today to discuss on the Venky's earnings call for the quarter and year ended March '26. I hope you have gone through the audited results and also the detailed information to investors. For the quarter ended March '26, overall performance of the company substantially improved. Poultry and poultry products segment delivered a robust performance due to the improved realization from the sale of day-old chicks and grown-up broilers, particularly in the last quarter. The Animal Health Products segment has continued to deliver gradual increase in terms of turnover as well as the profitability. Performance of Oilseeds segment registered a vast improvement as compared to previous quarters. For the financial year '25-'26, the company registered a better performance as compared to previous year on account of better realization in the fourth quarter. Recently, improvement in realization is visible. And with the onset of monsoon, we hope to see better performance. With this briefing, our senior management is available here to answer all your queries. You may go ahead with your questions. Thank you.

[Operator Instructions] The first question is from the line of Akshay Satija from Alpha Invesco.

Congratulations on great set of numbers. Sir, if you could please share the volumes for grown-up broilers, chicks and layers?

The volume of commercial broiler birds is 8.69 crores in '25-'26 against the previous year, it was 9.17 crores birds. There was a reduction of almost 49 lakh kgs during this financial year. In regard to the layer chicks, the volume was 4.57 crores in this year, whereas last year, it was 4.38 crores. So there is an increase of 19 lakh chicks during the year. In case of broiler chicks it is 11.46 crores chicks during the year, whereas in the last year, it was 10.77 crores chicks. This is the volume of layer chicks, broiler chicks and commercial broiler birds.

Okay. If you could also share what would be the realizations for each segment? And also what would be our cost for broilers and chicks for this quarter?

Okay. As far as the commercial broiler bird rate is concerned, this year, it is INR 89.59, whereas the last year, the cost was INR 90.37. I mean, this is realization. So there is a reduction of INR 0.78 per kg, the realization is on the lower side. And in case of broiler chicks, the realization in this year, it is INR 34.94 whereas last year, it was INR 37.90, so there is a reduction in the broiler chicks, day-old chicks, it is INR 2.96. In case of layer chicks, the realization is INR 45.15 whereas last year, it was INR 41.50. So there is an increase of INR 3.65 in case of layer chicks. So broiler chicks, layer chicks, and commercial broiler birds, the realization is -- comparable realization is given. In regard to the costing is concerned, the commercial broiler bird, the cost of production is almost touching average INR 89 during the year. Whereas in case of layer chicks, it is ranging somewhere around INR 35 to INR 37 per bird. And in case of broiler chicks, it is touching somewhere around INR 32.

Okay. Okay. Sir, just a little suggestion here. If you could please share these details in the investor presentation or the press release that we publish every quarter, it could be of great help. Then additionally, sir, what I wanted to understand is, sir, is there any correlation between the cost of day-old chicks and grown-up broiler? I understand that in grown-up broilers, day-old chick is going to be an influential factor. But do prices really change for day-old chick cost for us?

No. As far as the commercial broiler costing is there, the day-old chicks being supplied to the commercial broiler division is on the cost basis, which is -- which was INR 28 per kg -- INR 28 per number throughout the year. So that was fixed for the year. So that is not affecting the cost of production of commercial broiler bird ultimately because the bird prices remain same for the entire year based on the costing.

Okay. So can we say then this difference between the selling price and the price -- this cost, this is additional benefit if Venky's is integrally selling whatever broiler that we are selling? This is the benefit versus what another farmer would do?

Yes. Surely, it is because it is a confirmed price to the commercial broiler division that this is on a cost basis being passed on to the other divisions. But as far as the variation in the production cost is concerned, there are other factors like feed cost, medication costs, growing charges cost, mortality costs and other product parameters. But as far as the day-old chicks is concerned, the cost is -- I mean, confirmed that this is what the price is throughout the year starting in all 365 days.

Okay. Okay. Sir somewhat similar on the parent front. So we actually -- as being a part of integrated VH Group, I think, source all our parent and grandparent chicks from the parent. So does that also give us some cost advantage? Because what I understand is parent is also selling these breeding chicks to other players, to our competitors. So do we get any cost advantage there also?

No, it's a uniform price for all the customers. VIL is one of the...

Okay, got it. Okay. So the cost benefit is going to be more on the chicks to layers. So sir, if you could also segregate in terms of volumes, like what portion is integrated and what goes via contract farming? Is there -- if you could quantify the cost difference?

No, your question is you want to...

Yes, what portion of our broiler volumes is -- so we grow the broiler ourselves or versus we use contract farming, contractual farming and the volumes come from there?

No, if you see the overall volume, what has been stated by Mr. Handa, 8.69 crore kgs has been converted and sold as broiler birds. So when we say 8.6 crores, it implies that almost 3.5 crores of the chicks are placed or sold through integration division, whereas we have sold directly to the customers close to 1 crore. So total 4 crores of -- 11 crores, so out of that, if you see, it comes to close to 80% under integration and 20% for open market.

Okay. got it. Sir, one more thing I wanted to -- so what is our plans going forward? Can we expect to grow at an industry rate or maybe higher than that, I think, 7%, 8%? Is there any specific model that we plan to grow by like contractual farming, leasing or we want to grow the broilers ourselves. Is there any specific plan to grow for next 3 to 5 years for us?

Yes, sure. I think this is a good question. In fact, if you see the profile of Venky's and if you see the overall growth from last few years, you must have seen that Animal Health Product division and Oilseed division. Our main focus is there. So majority of the expansion and majority of the production and majority of the EBITDA is coming from those divisions. though principally, we call ourselves as a poultry company. But if you see the profile, our profile is too balanced so that almost 49% to 50% is poultry and balance is coming from oilseed and AHP division. So when we talk of expansion, our expansion is not only in poultry, but the expansion is coming from all other divisions also, including poultry. With regard to poultry growth, our growth is coming to 7% to 8% as an industry. And we do expect that, that growth is likely to happen in Venky's also. But we have our own plans with regards to layer expansion, broiler expansion. And we have flexibility to convert some of the broiler birds rather than placing under integration or contract farming. We do sell into the open market. So that flexibility also is there. So at that point of time, I mean, that overall percentage may look less than the industry growth. But definitely, internally, we are growing, and we have plans to grow under poultry also.

Okay. Sir, is there any difference between...

I'm sorry to interrupt, Akshay. You may please rejoin the queue.

It's just a follow-up of the same question. Just a clarity on the same part. Is there any difference in the -- we trying to grow up the broiler and sell versus contract farming?

It is integrated only. It's integration division only, wherein we are placing the chicks growing ourselves and then selling into the market or it goes to the processing plant.

We will take our next question from the line of [ Arsh Khimawath ] from Capital One.

Hello, am I audible sir?

Yes, you are audible.

Yes, I just had 2 questions. First, on the poultry division. What gives us confidence that it will be less volatile in this year as compared to the earlier years? That will be my first question, sir.

So you are asking that what will be the outlook for the poultry on being less volatile this year? Am I right in understanding the question?

Correct, sir, for FY '27. Yes, sir.

No. If you see the overall poultry, I mean, when we talk of poultry and when we call it as volatile, it is only because of the feed ingredient prices and broiler realization. But if you see the overall performance of '25, '26, you can see that those first 2 quarters were not as expected, but later on, it was compensated by quarter 3 and quarter 4. So definitely -- I mean, overall outlook, if you see, I mean, it is more or less what we are expecting that in past, whatever the performance was there, the same performance is likely to be as far as poultry division.

So are we trying to say that it's going to be seasonality -- if you say there's going to be a seasonality where Q1, Q2 might be a bit tepid and then it might be followed by a bump in Q3 and Q4? Is that something which we can take it from this?

No. I mean, quarter-to-quarter performance variation will be there. Usually, we do not talk on quarter-to-quarter basis. As an investor, definitely, it's analyzed and reviewed from investor point of view. But from a company perspective, we always focus on yearly performance. So if you see yearly performance, definitely, there will be a bit of consistency with regard to poultry performance, except some vagary related to realization and some vagary related to ingredient prices. But yearly performance definitely will be as expected, what we are seeing.

Okay. And sir, where do we see on the feed cost prices right now, sir? Are we seeing it improving as to how it was in Q4.

In this last quarter, I mean, yearly 2025, '26, the average price is INR 31,658 per tonne for the feed prices, broiler feed prices -- total feed prices. I mean this includes layer ration as well as the broiler ration also. But as far as quarter 3 is concerned, the broiler feed rate is ranging somewhere around INR 39,000 per tonne.

Okay, sir. Got it, sir. And sir, another question would be on the other financial assets. In the other noncurrent assets, assets have increased by approximately INR 4 crores, sir. So there were some bank balances, which were there for greater than a year or something. So should we assume that it's the same number? Or is there any difference, sir.

Yes, it's a regrouping from the current assets to the noncurrent assets. Ultimately, figures are almost the same. It is basically, if you see the current assets, they are in the bank balances. But if you see the current asset -- noncurrent assets, it is lying in the other financial assets. So it's a regrouping as per the index requirement.

Next question is from the line of Siddharth from ithoughtPMS.

So my first question is this quarter, the margin in the poultry segment has almost 14% operating margin, right? Is it due to -- like what is the reason for this? And do you think that this performance can be maintained?

Yes. With regard to quarter 4, the main attributing factor was broiler realization and, of course, input costs. So that is the reason why the percentage and the overall absolute profit was higher. We do expect such kind of performance in future also, but there are certain things which, of course, we have to see with regard to ingredient prices. But as far as broiler realization is concerned, usually quarter 1 traditionally has shown a better performance in past.

Okay. So next, like what is your outlook on key raw material prices like maize and what do you -- how do you see that landscape?

As for raw material prices are concerned, I think it's going to be a little bit volatile in coming months. for one thing, the crude oil prices are very high. So one of the major ingredient corn, the government is working on the ethanol production. So that will lead to some inconsistency. Soya prices again are related to crude oil because a majority of the soya oil or palm oil across the globe is -- majority of them as -- is being utilized towards biodiesel. Prices are going to remain a little higher than the last year. But the realization factor is very good and consumption demand is very good. So I think that will be able to take the burden of the price increase, major soya.

What -- how is the supply-demand situation in the poultry industry right now in India?

See as far as supply and demand is concerned, India is more than sufficient as far as the corn and soya both are concerned. Today, corn, we are not able to export even to our neighboring country, Bangladesh, because Bangladesh is able to import much cheaper price from Brazil. So in one word, you can say -- in one way, you can say that India is expensive as far as the agri commodities are concerned. But the prices are going to be dominated by the international prices, which are already much lower than the Indian prices. So I think the local prices cannot remain higher for a longer period. Somewhere or other, the international factor has to come in. We feel very comfortable as far -- because the availability is very good for both the products. The price is there, which are fluctuating in nature, but we don't see much impact on that because of the global factors. The Brazil and Argentina are very economical as far as soya and maize is concerned. That is the price outlook from our side.

Next question is from the line of Akhil Parekh from 360 ONE Capital.

Many congratulations on a good set of numbers. My first question is on the poultry pricing trend, right? You highlighted for full year FY '26. If you can share those numbers for fourth quarter of FY '26? And how is the current trend like in month of April and May? That would be my first question.

As far as the layer segment is concerned, prices are stable, whatever the price is INR 45 to INR 49 is the price, which is same in the last quarter, fourth quarter as well as the coming quarter, that is April, May, June. In regard to the broiler prices, it was very good prices in the last quarter, ranging up to INR 105 to INR 110 where the Venky's is operating. Now in other part of the country, the prices were much higher. But in the area where Venky's is operating, it was ranging between INR 110 and odd, which has continued in the month of April also, similar to that and May also in the first 10 days, but now gradually it is falling maybe due to the multiple factors of the demand supply situation and all. And in regard to the broiler chicks, same is the case. The prices were quite up in the last quarter. It went up to even INR 55 per kg per bird, number bird, day-old broiler chicks, which has come down to the level of INR 35. And even some part of the Northern India, it has come down to the level of INR 22, INR 21 also as there are fluctuations in the different states, different numbers are there. So prices are April, May, it was good. But now from 10th May, 11th May onwards, it is a little bit on the falling side.

Does the adhik maas impact our business?

Yes, usually, it happens. But if you see the last adhik maas, the prices were quite upbeat because people started taking maximum correction with regard to production and the impact was not to that extent. Usually, people always fear about adhik maas and Shravan maas. So this time, adhik maas is in month of May. So people are quite -- I mean, they are taking a lot of precaution with regard to adhik maas. So availability will get reduced to the extent what demand will get compensated.

Got it. And my 2 more questions. One is on the Animal Health side. We have done very good and we have been scaling up meaningfully now. So do you think this INR 100 crores of top line quarterly run rate is sustainable going forward in Animal Health?

In Animal Health, actually INR 100 crores is a yearly. It is a '25, '26 performance. And this business is a very consistent kind of business. Last year, we have built up a new facility, which is adding value to our product line, which is giving us a bottom line -- improvement in the bottom line. But we also hope that this current year also, at the same speed we'll be there for Animal Health segment. And we are also introducing some new product line, which will add to the values.

Okay. Okay. It's fair to assume what we did in fourth quarter broadly that run rate can continue from a sales perspective? And margins also, if I look at it, EBIT margins were almost 29%, much higher than historical 23%, 24% range. We expect that to continue basically?

Yes. I think there will be -- first quarter seems to be on the same -- first quarter will be at the same kind of a speed of the margin. But second and third quarter, generally, we have seen because of now the raw material price of the ingredient has gone up. So definitely, there's a little bit of a pressure on the cost of production that will affect into a little bit reduction in the overall margin in the coming quarters. But for whole year, I think it will sustain 22%, 23% and above, and we are likely to see the improvement in the top line also. Yes.

Great, sir. Great. And lastly, on the oilseed business, our EBIT margins increased almost to 5.3%. And over last quarter-on-quarter basis, if I look at the numbers for last 8, 10 quarters, we have done very good in last 3, 4 quarters. So how should one look at it for full year FY '27, oilseed business in terms of sales as well as what is the sustainable EBIT margin, which looks like basically on the current scenario right now for this year FY '25?

See, as far as oilseed is concerned, last 6 months, there has been a gradual increase in the capacity utilization. And one of the initiatives what we have taken is to educate the poultry farmers about the impact on their production on account of the good quality of soya. That education campaign we started sometime in October and lasted up to January and February. And because of that, we have been able to increase our outside sales other than the group to the 20% of our production now. Now oil is already accounting around 40% of our outside production -- outside sales. And now this 20%, we are trying to increase it to 1/3 of our production of a DOC. So that means our dependence on the group will become lower and our 60% to 65% revenue will be coming out from the outside the group only. And that will ensure a better margins, better liquidity and wide acceptability of the product. So we see that we'll be able to build up on this platform much better than the past.

Good to hear. If I can squeeze one last question, if that's okay.

Yes, sure.

Yes. Sir, just on the Animal Health business, right? I mean, if you look at some of the listed peers, they get far better valuation and we being part of this whole entity, are there any internal discussions in terms of separating Animal Health business and getting it separately listed? Any remote thoughts or discussions within the Board meeting? If you can throw some light, that would be really helpful. Because what happens is because it's a part of entire Venky's, which includes a volatile business as well of poultry, Animal Health is not getting the right multiple. So I don't know if promoters and management and Board of Directors have given any thoughts on separately listing Animal Health business. That's all from my side.

If you see that in case of animal, it's part of the portfolio of the Venky's. Venky's portfolio is very interesting. It has a Poultry, it has Food Processing, it has Oilseed business and Animal Health. They actually complement each other. I think this is a perfect set of models. And then I think Rohan can add to it or you can ask Rohan separately if you have some dedicated question towards it. But presently, this model is fantastic.

Yes. I agree with Deepak -- Mr. Deepak Khosla. So we'll give -- we have taken your suggestion. If anything is there, we'll surely let you know. Thank you.

Next question is from the line of Harsh Shah from Merisis Advisors.

Congratulations on the great set of numbers. I have 3 questions actually. I'd like to ask the first question. There has been recently an article about CCI antitrust investigation. Can you throw some light or give some color on that?

Yes, sure. So this CCI investigation is regarding certain practices in the parent companies or the parent breeding farms in which Venky's as such, do not deal in those products. However, being a group as a part of legality, we have received the notice. So as such, Venky's India Limited being a listed entity would not be affected on that notice as of now.

Okay. Okay. And sir, just like the past participant, I just wanted to ask that because of the El Nino that is currently going on in India and summer, is there any impact on the bird weight, the summer seasonality, which can impact Q1 FY '26? Or you expect a bit good realizations? And of course, as you alluded that the prices of maize and soya will be volatile. How do we expect -- how should we expect Q1 FY '27?

Yes. Traditionally, if you see the productivity gets hampered in Q1, usually because of -- we have more than 95% of the farms which are open. So because of these conventional farms in India, usually, the productivity is comparatively 10% to 12% less if we compare it to quarter 2 and quarter 3. So definitely, the productivity will be less in quarter 1. And we do expect that the same to continue as far as productivity of quarter-to-quarter variation is concerned. So we do expect that the overall body weight and there will be a reduction in availability with regard to industry output of broiler meat.

Okay. Okay. And how do you view oilseeds business going forward? Are these kind of margins sustainable?

See, this oilseed business, I think we added capacity utilization in a better way. And it is on a continuous improvement on a capacity utilization. I'm sure we'll be able to keep up or even better this performance.

We will take our next question from the line of Madhur Rathi from Counter Cyclical Investments.

Sir, if you could start by telling us the realization in fourth quarter for DOC and broiler meat per kg?

In the commercial broiler realization is concerned, it is ranging -- in the last quarter, it is ranging somewhere around INR 100 -- one second.

Sir, if you could tell us the average, that will be really helpful.

Yes, yes, surely. It is INR 102.67 in the last quarter as far as commercial broiler is concerned. As far as the day-old chicks is concerned, it was INR 51.32 in the last quarter. And in case of layer , it is INR 46.15.

And sir, the same in the -- till quarter-to-date, what is the realization in all these parameters in the first quarter?

Yes. First quarter -- current quarter, that is only -- April only. April is completed, May is still going on. But in April, as far as the prices of broiler is concerned, it is ranging somewhere around INR 97, INR 98, or say INR 100 is round figure. As far as the layer chicks is concerned, it is INR 46 per chick in the last -- in the month of April. As far as broiler chicks is concerned, it is ranging somewhere around INR 38 to INR 39.

Sir, how -- what is the cost of production per kg and of broiler DOC in fourth quarter and the same in the first quarter?

It is INR 32, INR 33 in the day-old chicks. And as far as the cost of production for broiler bird, it is INR 89. Layer chicks, it is INR 35 to INR 37.

And sir, any change in the cost of production in the first quarter?

It is likely to change in -- because the first quarter is only April, May and June is still pending. So there are many ups and downs, particularly in the RM front. So likely to be changed in the cost of production depending on the seasonality as well as the RM production side -- I mean, costing side.

Sir, so have maize prices increased quarter-on-quarter in first quarter versus fourth quarter?

Not really because in this first quarter rather new bumper crop is coming from Bihar, but due to the rains and all those things, prices are temporarily gone up, but it's likely to come down or is within the range. So it may not be -- I mean, similar to the last quarter as well as the first quarter.

Understood sir. And sir, I was seeing our commercial broiler production in FY '10 (sic) [ FY '20 ] , it was 10.4 crore kgs. And I think in FY '26 also it is the same. So I don't think it has grown over the past 6 years. So what is the reason?

As we say in our last con call that we have a flexibility to convert broiler chicks either into bird through our integration division or if an opportunity is there, we do sell some part to the open market customer that is selling of broiler chicks directly to the customer. So because of that flexibility, if you compare in certain years, you will find that the number of kgs which are sold as a meat, sometimes it is more and sometimes number of broiler chicks sold in the market, it is more. So that flexibility is there on operational part depending on the situation.

Sir, but it seems to me that from FY '16 till FY '20, every year, commercial grown up broiler in kgs was increasing. But after that, it has basically plateaued out. And whereas -- so basically, the overall poultry division itself, it doesn't seem it has been really growing at 8%, 9% the industry average.

In regard to the commercial broiler section, for example, the prices are so volatile, day-old chicks prices are -- even in the last quarter, it was INR 50 plus, whereas in the first quarter, it is on the low side by INR 34, INR 35. The cost of production is INR 32. So this is what -- why the top line is also hampering and same way the commercial broiler bird. The prices were INR 120 or INR 115 or INR 114 in the last quarter, whereas in the April, it is ranging somewhere around INR 102 and -- or INR 100 or so. And presently, it is falling down to the level of INR 90 or INR 93. So top line is also hampering with the realization. Bottom line is also affecting the numbers. So that is why you are saying that it is not in the order the last quarter was there.

And sir, how is the parent bird placement for the year on an industry-wide scale? I mean, how is the demand supply in the broiler segment?

It is more or less 7% to 8% if you see in past few years. I mean, whatever the broiler breeders are getting sold all over India, the overall percentage of increase is 7% to 8% compared to previous year.

Sir, now if we look at FY '27 on a division-wise, you mentioned that in Animal Health care, we can expect something like 15% to 20% growth. Is that understanding correct?

Yes. I think the Animal Health business will definitely grow in the double digit. And even from the first month of this financial year, [indiscernible] direction only. So we are optimistic on this.

And sir, the Oilseed division, the fourth quarter performance, can we expect it to continue in the remaining quarters of this FY '27?

Yes, I think next 2 quarters, we definitely expect so. Third quarter, when new crop comes in. So that depends on the availability and the crop size in all India because El Nino is affected, though the soybean and maize doesn't need much of the water. But you want to see that how that El Nino effect is on the crop, then we'll be taking a call from October onwards at a later stage. But up to September, I think we'll be doing equivalent, if not better than this quarter.

Sir, my request to you kindly carry this request to the promoters as feedback. Sir, like the previous speaker said, the Animal Healthcare division, since it's an independent division, it might be housed in Venky's India. But since there are no interdivision transactions, it's an independent unit, so it can be split off, and it will generate huge value for the shareholders. And sir, also, we should do a share buyback. So -- because recently, the taxation has become very attractive for share buyback. So these 2 feedback I request you to carry to the promoters from the shareholders. Thank you very much.

Next question is from the line of Sahil Jain from [ Sannidhi ] Partners.

Hello, am I audible?

You are audible, sir.

Congratulations on a good set of numbers and a good part of execution. Sir, I wanted to focus a little bit on oil processing. Sir, if you -- if I go through the last decade, except for FY '16, your margins have been in a range of 4% to 5%. But since FY '21, where you hit a peak of INR 2,500 crores and until last year, which was FY '25, you came down to almost INR 1,100 crores. Can you explain -- and the margins also kept falling before this excellent quarter, which we have had. So I wanted to understand, one, what has happened between FY '21 to FY '25 and also the sustainability of which variable should we, as investors, keep a track of just to see what is happening in the Venky's Oil Processing division?

Yes. After COVID, we had certain setbacks and the constraints, which it took about 2.5 years to recover that. And if you look at it from '24 onwards, it has been gradually rising, but the cumulative impact is being seen now. So actually, the progress has started from the '24 onwards only. And things have built up in a better way. We have learned from the experience. And second thing, we are going for an outside market where our outside market will be around 60% to 65%. So that will add a lot of advantages to us, and it will help us to improve the capacity utilization also. In the commodity business, the main thing is capacity utilization, which makes all the difference. And that is what we are trying to encash that because we are debt free. We are not using any money for the CapEx. We are not using money for any working capital. There are absolutely no loan for the division. So that capacity utilization brings the best of the benefits.

Okay. So at current -- what is your current capacity utilization, let's say, Q4? And is there any seasonality in your capacity utilization in Oil Processing? Or is there like a seasonal impacts.

We are trying to be consistent throughout the year, though it is a seasonal industry, but we have made our working in such a way that procurement of raw material, sale of our goods that season or no season doesn't impact us, it is a consistent performance throughout the year.

Okay. And your capacity utilization, sir?

Capacity utilization today is around 65% to 70%. And this year, we expect to be around 80%.

So will that be your optimal capacity utilization, 80% or we can do a little more.

We can increase...

Okay, so we can reach 100%.

There're many factors account for that. It is -- the capacity is counted on 300 number days -- 300 working days only, but whereas days are 365. So capacity utilization for commodity, at least cost, it can be increased at any time.

Sir, one last question. So 2 last questions on the Oil Processing. One, what's the sort of procurement policy as [indiscernible] and what is the catchment area? So procurement policy, is there a direct procurement or is it from the mandi? And what is that catchment area, just to...

It is the combination of, it is a mandi purchase also, it's the traders purchase also. Both these things we are doing. And second thing that Nafed and National Cooperative Federation, they also stock the material, they also sell. So we buy ITC and all this bulk people who buy in the off-season and sell in the lean season, we buy from them also. It's a combination of all. In procurement, the main thing is the cost factors. And we are almost -- you can say the 70% to 80% of Maharashtra is our purchasing centers. That is where we procure our material. So that ensures one thing the competitiveness of the pricing. Second thing, availability, consistent availability throughout the year.

And will you be deploying any more capital in the Oil Processing because since your entire procurement in Maharashtra and you also have operations outside of Maharashtra. So will I -- in future, do we have a plan for any more CapEx in the same like North -- in North basically, you're already present in West via Maharashtra. So do you have any future CapEx plan?

Right now, we would like next 1 year for these units, all 3 units where we have the 4 plants to be strong enough to sustain any volatility in the future so that we ensure the consistent performance. After satisfying that, we'll think of further CapEx.

Next question is from the line of Chetan Phalke from Tirthan Capital.

Am I audible?

Yes.

Yes. So my questions are mainly on Animal Health business. Sir, I can see in last 10 years, we have almost more than doubled this business and the margins have also gone up from under 17%, 18% to this quarter, it was around 29%. So if you can just help us what is structurally changing in this business? Are the margins improving because of scale, because of the product mix, which is changing? Because a few quarters back, we were talking about getting into natural solutions and other specialized treatment products or higher margin replacement for legacy feed supplements. So what is really happening in this business? And if you can just help us the overall trajectory for this business over the next 3 years, let's say, including the competitive positioning or any export opportunities that we are exploring, et cetera. So just a more detailed color on Animal Health business. Yes.

In Animal Health business, in last 3, 4 years, there were 3, 4 changes have been made in the product mix. As you know, there's a lot of talk on the antimicrobial resistance. So we started developing a lot of products for the natural solutions, which is into the those kind of growth promoters, which was natural. That was the one change we have made. Second, the big change has come and we set up our new unit, which is basically for the treatment of the poultry, which is a therapeutic unit, which is last year, yes, before that, it was commissioned. And it has started giving us a good revenue and good kind of a product mix and good results. So the new unit before that, the product mix has also changed. And third thing was that we have deployed a lot of distribution channel all across the country with a lot of clearing and forwarding and our warehousing system where we can reach to our customers in a different nooks and corners. So if we develop any product we want to sell from Trivandrum to Guwahati or Agartala. So our system is such that it's all those places we can service within 6 to 7 days. So -- and then we have also started giving some technical support and assistance to our customers. So these all things are happening. And we see now with this kind of a capacity and this kind of a product mix, the future looks great, and we are very optimistic in the next 2, 3 years, our top line will further increase. It will definitely improve on the -- whatever the growth we were getting in the past. Now I think the growth will further strengthen. And definitely, it will affect on the bottom line as well as on the top line. And we are -- in export front also, we started selling to a few of the countries outside India. And that scope is also quite wide for us. These all things will help us to further strengthen this business in the next 3, 4 years. Yes, please.

Okay. Okay. And what would be our quantum of export at present? And what would be the capacity utilization in this business?

Yes. Actually, whatever export is still not -- it's a very -- I should say it has been tiny. It's not even 2%, 3% of the turnover, which has started yet. That's #1. And capacity, we have 2 plants, 1 plant, which is our earlier plant at Kesurdi, which is giving us around 75% to 80% utilization. A new plant which we have built, so which is still at -- because this is for specialty product and the therapeutics. So this is still at the 35% to 40% of the capacity utilization, which will give us a lot of volume in the coming year, going to be set for the next few years with this new production unit.

And incrementally, how much volume or how much revenue this new plant can give us? And what would be the difference in this and the next...

Yes, yes, I cannot comment on that as of now. But we are very optimistic for this business. We'll continue to see the double-digit growth in the coming years definitely, actually.

Okay. So essentially, sir, we are saying incrementally all the growth will come from outside the group or within the group?

Yes, yes, sir. Absolutely. We are -- a lot of -- as our -- we have expanded our distribution channel, and this will definitely help us for the outside group also. Even with the inside group also, we are trying to service better and better. But outside group also, now the numbers will definitely increase. And last few months, we have already seen that changes.

Okay. Okay. And sir, who are we competing against in this market? And what is the market share? How big is this opportunity?

Yes, absolutely. What happens with this business is divided into 3, 4 segment. And Venky's India Animal Health division is one part of that. Then our group company will deal with others like biologicals and premix and others. And there are many companies which have some of the product lines similar. These are multinational. These are local companies. And growth opportunity definitely will increase because people are becoming more and more conscious now and the natural solution which we are providing, which is definitely going to give us a good volume in the coming years.

What would be our market share, sir?

Actually, market share [indiscernible] the product to product because some products will be very less, still around 10%, 12%. Some product will be around like feed safety, food safety, those kind of product line, we must be 40%, 45% of the market share. On an average, you can say between 24%, 25% in these product lines on average market share will be there. And we hope to increase in the coming years.

Okay. Okay. So can we assume we'll maintain this INR 110 crores kind of an EBITDA run rate in this business? We'll continue to grow at a higher than the industry rate...

Yes, yes, definitely. We'll work on the top line, and this will sustain these kind of margins. And definitely in this business, sometimes opportunities come, then we'll try to encash those opportunity.

Okay. And my last question is, sir, on the SPF egg side. What would be our current utilization revenue and the margins for this business for the year -- financial year '26 and outlook for '27?

Yes. As far as the capacity utilization is concerned, it is to the extent of 48% in this year and the total capacity is 1.88 crores for the whole year. But for [indiscernible], it is 48% against last year of 45% utilization. And the production was taken out almost 1 crore during this year. And the realization was INR 80.22 during the current year. So this is hopefully to be improved further as there are a lot of inquiries from different nook and corner of the globe.

Okay. And what would be the margin in this business, sir, in SPF eggs at present? And going forward, what do you expect?

We'll get back to you on this question.

Okay. Okay. So sir, if I just -- last one -- last question from my end. If we just connect what sir guided on the soya business. So if we say that Animal Health is going to maintain INR 100 crores, INR 110 crores EBITDA, SPF eggs is there. And your soya, we are confident that we'll maintain this run rate. So essentially, are we saying these 2 divisions alone are becoming INR 160 crores, INR 180 crores kind of an EBITDA run rate?

Yes.

Yes, definitely. And soya will contribute to the top line also.

We will take our next question from the line of Mahesh [ Attal ] from [indiscernible] Investment Advisors.

Sir, what I understand is that the soya prices have been going -- the soya bean oil prices have been moving upwards. And I think they have -- in the international markets, the price have already touched around $1,600 mark. What are you seeing on the pricing front? And how it is going to increase our realization because we have done 5% EBITDA. So what I understand is it could further go up in the coming times. Is my assumption right on this? What are you seeing on ground? That would be my first question, sir.

No. In soya business or any commodity business, it is not the finished goods or raw material value, which matters. What matters is what conversion cost you are able to realize that. Conversion costs always remain the same. When the prices are high, the profit in percentage comes down. When prices are low, the conversion cost forms a part. So you'll find that percent of margin becomes more. But actually, it is a conversion cost on which, #1. #2, a certain amount of profit come from the inventory, which is a speculative profit. And there, we have a fairly expertise. We are able to buy the goods in advance. So we are able to realize the future benefits of the inventory. Those two combinations make up the profit of the soya division.

So do you see that -- I mean, how do we link the oil prices to your thing? How much of that is actually oil?

40% is oil, 60% is the meal. Out of that 60%, about 20% meal we are selling outside. So you can say the total turnover of about 55% we are selling outside. We are targeting 33% of the soya meal to sell outside. So our outside part of our operation will be 65% plus and in-house, it will be 35%.

Fair enough. Sir, in your beginning one of the questions that you've answered, you've said that the broiler chick, the day-old chick realizations have gone down from INR 55 to somewhere around INR 38 and then you are seeing a downward trend again in that particular segment. So does this also impact your Animal Health division in a way because if the realization goes down, down, down in that part, the Animal Health also depends on how good the industry is, right? I mean you will only -- it will be good for the farmers to get the products, Animal Health products only when their realizations are better. So how do you see this thing...

Yes, please. I understand. It's a very -- it's a good question. Actually, as well as Animal Health business is concerned, it is basically for the poultry health. So when they have a problem, they want to prevent any disease, they want to make good performance. They want to give nutritional supplements. So that time, these products are required. So this is -- whenever the market is a little bit disturbed, only over the payments get delayed, but not generally the -- basically the product consumption or people start buying less product, doesn't happen. Only sometimes the credit extension goes up in those markets, those times. Otherwise, these are the -- generally in the cyclical issues, it doesn't affect the sales, it affects on the -- basically on the -- your credit period extension during those periods. That generally happens. But luckily, as you are aware that -- in this business, we supply to the layer, we supply to the broiler, we supply to the broiler breeders, we supply to the feed millers. So 1 of the 2 segments is getting a little bit affected, others takes up. So generally, it doesn't affect.

Fair enough. Third -- my last question, sir, would be on the balance sheet side. So if you see the receivables have gone up in the -- I mean, in our balance sheet as on 31st March. And also, what is the view of management on the balance debt that we are having in the book, sir? If you can actually let -- I mean, I just wanted to understand how you are looking at debt. Do you want to clear this down or you are comfortable at these debt levels? And how exactly -- because you already said that the raw material pricing would be a little volatile this year. So how are you geared up to get more inventory for the next -- over the upcoming year? How are you planning it, sir?

See, as far as the receivables are concerned, it was INR 553 crores in the last year, which has come down to the level of INR 544 crores. This includes external as well as the group associates. If you see the group associates outstanding, it was more in the last year, it has come down this year. But at the same time, the turnover has gone up to the INR 150 crores more in case of oilseed segment. So by even increasing the turnover to the extent of INR 150 crores, the debts are almost same. That means there is a solid improvement [indiscernible].

Right. And sir, what about the procurement thing? Are you actually looking at increasing the debt in the procurement season because I think you'll be needing more working capital?

No. On the working capital front, we are having the sufficient working capital in place. It is almost INR 160 crores is the working capital -- I mean, availability, which is sufficient to meet the requirement of all the segments which we are having and the sufficient inventory or stocks are available. There is -- at the moment, there is no -- I mean, planning to enhance the capital or liability in any other way, maybe term loan section or the working capital section, no plans to increase the liability as such.

And sir, just one more thing to add, sir. A few years back, there was one group, Srinivasa Group, which used -- which bought the parent bird, so do you see any competition on that front, sir? I mean they wanted to have their own parent bird in the -- in this particular territory. So any update on that?

I think this is a question, which is related to industry and not related to Venky's. So definitely, we'll come back to you, and we will post you the answer in detail with regard to all the details available with the [indiscernible].

We will take our next question from the line of Chetan Phalke from Tirthan Capital.

Just wanted to understand on the poultry division, last year's Q1 and Q2 were abnormally volatile. So compared to -- I understand we cannot predict the poultry prices for the next 1 or 2 quarters. But will the volatility be lesser in Q1, Q2 of this financial year? Where do we expect -- basically, what I'm trying to understand is, will this year Q1, Q2 will better compared to last year's Q1, Q2, just broadly on the poultry side?

Slowly, slowly, industry is getting mature with a consistent placement by all the integrators, including all the professional companies. So if you see that is one of the reasons why there is a consistent placement around the year, irrespective of whether it's quarter 1, quarter 2 or quarter 3. Earlier, there were a variation with regard to the placement and people used to correct the placement in quarter 2, and they used to increase the placement in quarter 1 and quarter 3. Now that is not the case, and there is a consistent placement. At the same time, demand also is supporting. If you see overall pie graph of non-veg segment, earlier, poultry was having 35% to 40% in non-veg segment. Now it is crossing more than 55%. So definitely, there is a growth in demand also. There is a consistent placement from professional players of whoever are placing under integration, they are also. So we feel that there will be less volatility in future. Of course, there will be a volatility of ingredient prices that is something different. But if we see the prices or realization, to some extent, we expect that the market is likely to get mature, and there will be less volatility.

Okay. Okay. And sir, earlier briefly, you mentioned about our growth plans as well in day-old chicks and layers and in commercial broiler. So if you can just elaborate a little more on that. I mean, what makes us think that we can go back to, let's say, 5% plus kind of a volume growth in all these segments, especially the volume growth.

Yes. In case of poultry segment, particularly like layer segment, we sold 4.57 crores chicks during last year '25-'26. We are planning to sell almost 5 crore plus chicks during this '26, '27. So there is a solid plan to acquire more numbers in case of layer segment. As far as broiler is concerned, we are having the packed production line up the breeders flock and all everything. So we are hopeful to have a better number at the same, maybe having a 4%, 5% growth in regard to the CBF, contract broiler farming wherever Venky's is operating. So we are having the same set of, I mean, offices, branch offices and people in place as well as the numbers. Only sometimes the various issues like viruses and disease are also concerned. Like in the last year, Rajasthan was having a very good number, we were having. But at the same time, a few issues were there, the productivity norms were less. We were having a less production because of virus and many other factors. But as far as our availability in the different states where we are -- Venky's operating, we are having a pack production. We are likely to repeat this number at least 2%, 3% more, 4%, 5% more in the broiler chicks as well as CBF numbers. Layer in any case, we are going to increase from 4.57 crores to 5 crore plus.

Okay. Okay. And sir, lastly, if you can just help us understand what is -- is the competitive intensity changing in the regions that we are operating, especially in the North and West? And how do we see the new entrants performing or how easy or difficult it is getting for new players to come up with commercial farms and scale up our hatcheries and breeders and all those segments?

If you would like to bifurcate the expansion of the industry, we are seeing that more than 75% of expansion comes from existing players because they are better off and they are already having the infrastructure of [indiscernible] breeder capacity, hatchery and even commercial farms. So more than 75% of expansion is coming from existing operators. And of course, new entrants are coming, not in a big scale, but definitely 25% of expansion comes from the new entrant or the small-scale player or open market, we can say. But the existing and professional players, they are expanding and their expansion is more than 75% out of the total expansion of 7%, 8%.

Okay. So in your view, is the intensity is reducing or still being maintained as it was 2, 3 years back? The competitive intensity, I mean?

No, it's maintained. I mean, if you see that whatever edge is there for the existing player, I mean, they are having -- they are better placed when we compare to any new entrants or any new competitor coming into the market because they are well poised and they are having a very good presence in that particular geography with regard to the infrastructure.

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, due to time constraint, that was the last question for today. I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Hardik Solanki for closing comments. Over to you, sir.

Yes. Thank you, everyone, for joining the call. Thanks on behalf of ICICI Securities. Thank you, everyone.

Thank you very much. On behalf of ICICI Securities, that concludes this conference. Thank you all for joining us today, and you may now disconnect your lines.