Voltas Limited (VOLTAS) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good afternoon, shareholders. I'm Varun Malhotra, Head Taxation, Legal and Company Secretary of Voltas Limited. I welcome you all to the 69th Annual General Meeting of Voltas Limited. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has by General Circular #10 of 2022, dated 28 December 2022, read with earlier relevant circulars including General Circular #20 of 2020 dated 5th May 2020, permitted companies to conduct their Annual General Meeting in 2023 through videoconferencing or other audiovisual means. Accordingly, we are holding this AGM through video conferencing. While most of the shareholders have over the past few years, become familiar with the process for participating in the AGM through video conferencing for the benefit of those shareholders who are first-time participants. I would like to briefly take you through certain procedural and technical points. All shareholders who have joined this meeting are by default placed on-mute mode to ensure that there is no disturbance arising from background noise and to ensure smooth and seamless conduct of the meeting. The company has received requests from few shareholders to register them, as speakers at the AGM. All requests received up to 19 June 2023 being the last date of registration were accepted and such shareholders have been registered as speakers. Once the question-and-answer session starts, the Chairman will announce the name of the shareholders who have registered themselves as speaker shareholder, one by one. When Chairman calls your name, the host will send you a request for unmute. On receipt of such request, you have to click on the unmute button on your device. Thereafter, click on video button only once and wait till the video is on. If the shareholder is not able to join through video for any reason, the shareholder can speak through the audio mode. While speaking, we request the speaker shareholders to use the earphones so that he or she is clearly audible, minimize any noise in the background, ensure that the WiFi is not connected to any other device or devices. No other background applications are running on the device, and there is proper lighting to give and have a good video experience. If there is a connectivity issue at the speaker shareholder's end, we would invite the next speaker to join. We would request the shareholders to be slow and audible, while asking their questions and limit their speech to 3 minutes. During the AGM, if a shareholder faces any technical issues, he or she may contact the helpline numbers mentioned in the notice of the AGM. I would like to take this opportunity to explain the sequence of meeting and the process of voting on the resolutions, as contained in the notice of the AGM. The Companies Act 2013 and SEBI listing regulations provide for electronic voting. Accordingly, the company has provided its shareholders the facility to cast their vote through the remote electronic voting system administered by NSDL. E-voting commenced on Monday, 19th June 2023 from 9 a.m. and continued till Wednesday, 21st June 2023 up to 5 p.m. Pursuant to Section 107 of the act, there would not be any voting on the resolutions by show of hands. Facility for voting at the meeting is also provided to the shareholders who have joined this meeting through video conference and who have not yet voted. Shareholders may please go to the voting page of NSDL e-voting website and cast their vote, while at the same time, watch the proceedings of the meeting. Since the AGM is being held through video conference and the resolutions mentioned in the notice convening this AGM have already been put to vote through remote e-voting, there would be no proposing and seconding of resolutions. I now request the Chairman to take forward the proceedings. Thank you. Over to you, Chairman.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to welcome all the shareholders to the 69th Annual General Meeting of the company. I have beside me Mr. Pradeep Bakshi, Managing Director and CEO of Voltas. As the requisite quorum is present, I now call the meeting to order. May I now request my fellow Board members to introduce themselves. Mr. Zubin Dubash.

Good afternoon. I am Zubin Dubash, Independent Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee and Risk Management Committee, attending this AGM from Mumbai.

Thank you, Zubin. Mr. Bahram Vakil.

Good afternoon to all. I'm Bahram Vakil, an Independent Director in your company and also the Chairman of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee. Thank you. I'm attending this meeting from London. Thank you, Bahram. Mr. Vinayak Deshpande.

Good afternoon. I am Vinayak Deshpande, Non-Executive Director. Attending this meeting from Delhi.

Thank you, Vinayak. Mr. Debendranath Sarangi.

Good afternoon. I'm Debendranath Sarangi, Independent Director, attending AGM from Chennai. Thank you.

Ms. Anjali Bansal, I believe, is not able to attend this meeting. Mr. Arun Adhikari.

Good afternoon. I'm Arun Adhikari, Independent Director, attending this AGM from Mumbai.

Thank you, Arun. Mr. Saurabh Agarwal is traveling overseas, and he's not able to attend this AGM. Other participants attending this meeting through video conference include Mr. Jitender Verma, the CFO of the company; Mr. Varun Malhotra, Company Secretary; representatives of statutory auditors and secretarial auditors. I thank all the members for joining us today. In order to facilitate a wider participation of shareholders from different locations other than Mumbai. The conscious decision was taken to conduct this AGM by video conferencing for this year as well. This is in compliance with the directive issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The company has taken the requisite steps to enable members to participate and vote on the items being considered at this AGM. A live streaming of this meeting is also being webcast on NSDL's website. Since there are -- there is no physical attendance of shareholders, the requirement of appointing proxies is not applicable. The company has received 4 authorized representations along with Board resolutions from corporate shareholders authorizing representatives under Section 113 of the Companies Act 2013, in respect of INR 10,02,53,480 equity shares, representing 30.30 of the paid up equity capital. The registers as required under the Companies Act 2013 are available for inspection. Notice of this meeting and the link of the annual report was sent to shareholders, who have registered their e-mail IDs. I'm happy to note that more than 94% of the shareholders have registered their e-mail IDs with us. With your permission, may I take the notice as received and read. Since there are no adverse observations, qualifications or comments by the statutory auditors and secretarial auditors. Their reports are not required to be read. Before I call upon the speakers who have registered to speak, I would like to make a few observations which are relevant to Voltas. As many of you know, Mr. Varun Malhotra will superannuate in April next year, from the services of your company. Having served as its Company Secretary and the voice of shareholders since 2000. On behalf of the Board and myself, I'd like to place on record, a sincere appreciation for the valuable contribution made by Varun, during all these years. India, with a GDP of $3.75 trillion is now the fifth largest economy in the world. In its monetary policy committee meeting, the RBI projected India's GDP growth at 6.5% in the current fiscal. India's growth outlook remains solid on strong domestic fundamentals, and India will continue to be the fastest-growing major economy for the third consecutive year. The consumption growth is expected to remain healthy, supported by a sustained recovery in consumer services, coupled with higher purchasing power with moderating inflation. Your company has a diversified business portfolio comprising room ACs and other unitary cooling products, including commercial refrigeration and commercial air-conditioning, apart from engineering products and services and electromechanical project services offered in India and the Middle East. The last financial year has been a mixed bag with some wins, but certain significant setbacks as well. Your company has established itself, as a leader in India in cooling products and is the country's leading room air conditioner and commercial refrigeration brand consistently delivering high-quality products to its customers. In addition to retaining market leadership in room air conditioners, this is the first time that we have crossed the milestone of INR 10,000 crores in aggregate revenues across all our businesses. I'm also happy to share that the Commercial Refrigeration business, the commercial air-conditioning business, as well as VoltBek are all INR 1,000 crore plus businesses now. The strengthening of these businesses makes us stronger and more resilient. However, our international projects business suffered major setbacks during the year, which I will talk about in more detail later. During '22, '23, despite increased competition, lower consumer sentiments towards discretionary spend and unseasonal rains your company has achieved a 22% growth in sales volume on room ACs, and a growth of 33% in turnover as compared to the previous year. In 2023, we sold 1.43 million room ACs, including over 1 million inverter split ACs, maintaining our leadership position. In order to have better and direct contact with customers and address the changing dynamics of the market, your company is focusing on rapidly increasing our own brand shops and exclusive brand outlets. Voltas has 260 exclusive brand shops and experience centers across the country, and aspires across the 500 mark during the current financial year. Maintaining our leadership position in room ACs will remain our prime focus, a wide product range and distinct brand positioning an extensive general network will enable your company to capitalize on several trends forecasted to shape the industry's future. With the current penetration of only 7% in India, the room AC market has a huge potential and is expected to grow annually at around 18%. We are well poised to take advantage of this through our reach and distribution network and by focusing on organized retail as well as e-commerce platforms. Your company is also setting up a backward integrated manufacturing facility for 2 million split ACs in South India. This facility would benefit from the government's production-linked incentive scheme introduced for promoting its Make in India initiative. Regretfully, the joint venture earlier proposed with highly International Limited for manufacturing of inverter compressors for air conditioners could not materialize. However, the company is pursuing and evaluating other options. The air cooler segment is a key product line extension, strengthening Voltas' positioning in the cooling products industry. As an alternate to air conditioners, air coolers are popular amongst the growing lower middle class, which allows your company to compete in a high-growth market segment in India. The air cooler business achieved a growth of 27% during the year, under review over the previous year, with sales volume of close to 2.5 lakh units during '22, '23. Voltas with a market share of over 7% in air coolers is one of the top 3 brands in the air cooler industry. With the expansion of existing manufacturing capacity at Pantnagar, the Commercial Refrigeration products business continues to maintain market leadership and achieved 26% growth in volume with a turnover of approximately INR 1,000 crores. Your company has entered into a technology license agreement with Westra Solutions, Denmark, to develop, manufacture, sell and service, medical refrigeration and vaccine storage equipment, such as ice line refrigerators, vaccine freezers, and ultra-low temperature freezers for the Indian market. Your company is also a prominent player in the commercial air-conditioning segment. This business includes sales of various cooling systems such as variable refrigeration flow, VRF, chillers, ducted units, light commercial units for comfort cooling, vapor absorption machines, LTR systems for process cooling in addition to customer care and our retrofit business. Commercial air-conditioning units are generally used in offices, stores, cafes, restaurants, schools, gyms and other commercial properties to maintain a comfortable temperature and air quality for consumers and employees, in summer as well as in winter. This business has reported a 27% growth in turnover over the last year, and has also crossed the milestone of INR 1,000 crore turnover. The home appliances segment is one of the largest categories in the Indian market with the size of approximately INR 4 lakh crores in 2023. Our joint venture, VoltBek, with Arçelik for the Voltas Beko brand of home appliance products, provides a comprehensive one-stop solution for all customers under one roof. Since its launch in mid-2018, Voltas Beko is one of India's fastest-growing home appliance brands and has sold over 3.3 million units up to March 2023. In addition to leveraging Voltas' distribution network, VoltBek is focusing on organized retail and e-commerce markets by developing a wide range of Made in India products, and aspires to manufacture 1 million refrigerators this year to optimize its existing capacity at its Sanand factory. VoltBek has also recorded a turnover in excess of INR 1,000 crores and sold around 1.2 million units during '22, '23. There has been a steady growth in its share of refrigerators to around 3% and over 5% in washing machines in March 2023. The long-term prospects of VoltBek remain buoyant. The performance and profitability of the international projects business group was significantly impacted during 2023, primarily due to provisions made on account of encashment of bank guarantees issued by your company for 2 overseas projects, including termination of a subcontract in the UAE. Your company made a provision of INR 244 crores towards the in cash bank guarantee amounts and other money is receivable from the main contractors, and the said provisions have been reflected as exceptional items in the financial statements. We have, therefore, taken a conscious decision to exercise caution and limit our overseas projects going forward by strengthening and tightening the terms under which we do business. This would be suitably taken up with clients, main contractors at the time of bidding. While the possibility of us losing out some contracts cannot be ruled out this hard stance would help to safeguard the overall interest of the company and the shareholders. In order to have better emphasis on sustainable and profitable growth, with increased focus on B2C and B2B business verticals, the Board of Directors of your company had in the year 2021, approved the proposal for transfer of domestic businesses relating to MEP, HVAC and water projects, our mining and construction equipment business and our Textile Machinery division to its 100% wholly owned subsidiary, Universal MEP Projects & Engineering Services Limited. The transfer was subject to certain conditions precedent, which have since been completed. This has resulted in a more focused management of the business and execution of projects under 1 entity. Similarly, for the international business, the Board of Directors have recently at its meeting held on the 26th April 2023, also approved the proposal for transfer of overseas branch offices of the company in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah in the UAE, Doha in Qatar and Singapore to it stepped down 100% wholly owned subsidiary, Universal MEP Projects Private Limited, incorporated in the Republic of Singapore. Subject to satisfactory completion of conditions precedent and such other compliances and procedures as applicable in the respective local jurisdictions. This restructuring process is expected to get completed by December 2023. This restructuring will allow your company to focus on the products business and the projects businesses independently of each other, and expand their respective growth. It would also provide flexibility to your company to expand its product business further in the B2C space. You'll be happy to know that the air-conditioning of the new parliament building has also been done by a company through UMPESL. The growth of the economy and the government's focus on infrastructure development are expected to provide ample opportunities to UMPESL for water, electrical and infrastructure projects. The company has reported consolidated total income of INR 9,667 crores with revenue from operations at INR 9,399 crores for the year ended 31st March 2023. Profit before exceptional items and tax was INR 551 crores. But due to extraordinary items, net profit was significantly lower at INR 136 crores. On a stand-alone basis, the company has reported total income of INR 7,850 crores with profit before tax of INR 1,528 crores. This includes exceptional income of INR 975 crores due to the transfer of domestic businesses to UMPESL. Net profit after tax was INR 1,405 crores. Based on the company's overall performance and keeping in mind the shareholders' interest, the Board of Directors has recommended a dividend of $4.25 per equity share of INR [indiscernible] 425% for the year '22, '23. The dividend, if approved by the shareholders, would result in cash outflow of INR 141 crores. This payout works out to 32.69%. The dividend will be paid on or after the 27th of June 2023, subject to deduction of tax at source as applicable. On behalf of the Board and myself, I would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation and gratitude to all the stakeholders, including our shareholders for their trust, understanding and constant support. I would also, like to convey our appreciation and thanks to the employees of the company and our JV partners for supporting the company in these difficult times. I wish to inform that over 98% of the company's equity share capital is held in demat mode. As transfer of shares and issue of share certificates in physical form have been discontinued by SEBI. I urge the shareholders holding shares in physical form to consider converting their shareholding into demat form. The shareholders can contact our Secretary team or TSR, The Company's Register, for any assistance they require in this matter. I also take this opportunity to thank shareholders who have registered their e-mail IDs with their depository companies registrar thereby supporting the green initiative program of the government for receiving the annual reports and other documents electronically. Accordingly, soft copy of the Voltas AGM notice and annual report was sent to around 2.79 lakh shareholders, out of a total of 2.95 lakh shareholders. I would now, like to invite the shareholders who have registered themselves to speak, and express their views or comments on the annual report, notice of the AGM. We have a list of 23 speakers, and I would call upon the speakers one by one. Since, we have a large number of speakers registered, I would request all of you to please stay within the 3 minutes time. And in respect of all the other speakers who would like to speak. Thank you. Our first speaker is Dr. Arunkumar Boppana.

Good afternoon, sir.

Good afternoon, Arun.

[indiscernible] Good afternoon, everybody. AGMs are all fun to share our experiences and expectations. The success is due to the secretary and admin teams of Voltas. They have many hands to support with one mind to lead, thanks to Varun and his team for arranging this VC. My question is, what a company plans on the latest air purifiers after COVID, any plans for mechanical sanitizers after COVID for protection. So actually, after sales service has become a big issue, people do not appreciate regardless of what service we give, will Voltas enhance this perception. What are your plans for new geographies, domestic and international? Any investment in start-ups? If so, how much and what is the status as on date? Will Voltas has turned ideas into research and research into implementation to develop and promote energy efficiency, air-conditioning systems for sustainability. And what is the R&D budget to create eco-friendly cooling technologies to lower global warming potential develop systems powered by renewable energy sources. And today, we have the HR challenges, issues and solutions. Globally, there is a shortage of people with right skill serve. People see jobs is temporarily challenged, how does Voltas recruit and retain? Any budget to report to fill the skill mismatch with new age courses like coding, air, robotics, et cetera, and for the IoT smart home technology controlled by smartphones for convenience and energy optimization. What is the status? What strategy is Voltas playing in volume price opportunity availability? Lastly, sir, you said Varun is superannuating in April 2024. Varun, who serve as very keen, Varun will be retiring soon, Varun as a person is adorable, Varun in friendship is memorable. Varun always had a twinkle in his eyes. Varun, I always found him wise. Varun will always just full of zest and I wish him all the best when he retires. Varun, thanks so much for everything all these 20 years. In conclusion, sir, I wish you identify new opportunities in emerging economies and increased job because that is going to be a major problem even for law and order in future by the country. And with this, I wish you all the best. Thanks for keeping the smile on sir.

Thank you, Arun. The next speaker is Mrs. Ashalata Maheshwari.

[Foreign Language]

Thank you, Mrs. Maheshwari. Thank you very much. The next speaker is Mr. Vinod Agarwal.

Yes. I unmuted myself. I may start my video, sir. Starting my video, sir. Respected Chairman, Mr. Noel Tataji; MD, Pradeep Bakshiji; our CFO, Jitender Verma; and Company Secretary, Varun Malhotraji. Sir, good afternoon to everyone, such. I fear that you're holding that 3-minute time limit, which I had requested you last time, sir, in the AGM. I'm very pleased with this mile also, sir. Then 2 or 3 [ allution ] from the annual report. The consolidated turnover has increased only by 1800 crores compared to the stand-alone, sir. But the cost of material consumption is up by about INR 1,200 crores. The profit margin, it is -- when you see the cost of material consumption, percentage-wise, it is much in the consolidated side. Apart from the loss which has been occurred due to the main contractor backing off and taking a bank guarantee and then a part, sir, the profit has come down or there's also. But in the subsidiary part, the consolidated budget the cost of materials has jumped from INR 3,000 something to INR 4,600 that we have to look into, sir. And sir, I'm pleased with the INR 122 crores that you have invested in Volt Beko, which are things we have sold 3.3 million units of washing machines, the dishwashers, the microwave and also, I'm happy with that, sir. And you're making INR 450 crores investment for the 200 million air conditioners, sir. And I'd like to know, what would be the impact of the coolest very summer it was -- it never went up from 35 degree centigrades this year. It was coolest summer, they call it Delhi summers in May are 45, 46 degrees, only 35-degree that was the highest temperature recorded in Delhi this year, sir. So any impact of that on our sales during the first quarter of the current year, if you would give us on these things, sir. And I'm pleased with the performance of the company. We have sold 75% of your ACs as inverter ACs. And when you've done this thing at best for, sir, for medical units and all, sir. Are we likely to go into dust-free rooms, which are required for medical units because that also is processing of air-conditioning only, sir. Those medical facilities don't need production facilities have to be dust-free, sir. Are we in that segment? Or are we likely to go into it, sir?

No, no.

Okay. Okay, sir. I get your answer. Sir, I wish the company all the best. Thank you, sir.

Thank you, Mr. Agarwal. Thank you. The next speaker is Ms. Lekha Shah. Moderator, if Ms. Lekha Shah is not available, we can come back to her later on.

So I think Ms. Shah has a technical problem, so we could go ahead into the next speaker.

Yes. The next speaker is Ms. Lili Pradhan.

Am I audible?

Yes, ma'am.

Okay. Okay. Very good afternoon. Okay. Very good afternoon. Respected all chair -- respected all chair persons and all viewers. Myself, Lili Pradhan from Kolkata. I am very happy to know that the company's performance is developing a lot, which is sustainable growth, but share price is deteriorated. I have some specific questions in business situation. So what is the aim and object of future development in all of our; one, like as globalized business. What is the CSR activities on challenging persons? Please say micro analysis of CSR activities on challenging persons. Must be micro analysis audit of cash flow management. While targeted analysis, top line and bottom line growth, please consider the planned visit. Thank you. Thank you so much. All the best. Please always support to women empowerment -- always support women environment. All the best.

Thank you. Thank you very much. The next speaker is Mr. Yusuf Rangwala.

Sir, this is the 69th General -- Annual General Meeting. I'm very thankful to our Malhotra Sir, for giving me giving [indiscernible] sending my balance sheet. Balance sheet is around 400 pages. 394 pages. [Foreign Language] same products, same business. What competition we are facing with these 3 companies. We [indiscernible] Voltas, [Foreign Language] how many new color you are introducing this year? How many new [indiscernible] and semi AC, semi auto. And as you mentioned, we're having a government order, so this -- our own company, and I'm very proud to be excellence of [indiscernible] dividend, INR 4 which is a very good [indiscernible] dividend [Foreign Language] that is a very good. Keep it up, sir. Nothing more to add. I request for a factory visit, and I wish our company good luck and also one more thanks our Malhotra Sir. We have [indiscernible] person and very hard working. We are very lucky to have [indiscernible] companies. Thankful to sir. [Foreign Language] Thank you very much [Foreign Language].

Thank you, Mr. Rangwala. Thank you. The next speaker is Mr. Anil Parik.

Am I audible, sir?

Yes, we can hear you.

How are you doing, sir?

Very well. Thank you. Please ask your questions.

Okay. Chairman, Sir, Board of Directors and all fellow shareholders. Sir, my name is Anil Parik from Bombay. First of all, I would like to thank our secretarial team, especially with Mr. Malhotra and Arun Kawde and all the people at Secretarial team. They are extending very good investor services and every time a timely call is from them to attend and help us to attend this meeting. So thank you, Mr. Arun, Mr. Malhotraji. I hope you both are safe and sound at your respective end. Chairman, sir, I'm deeply touched the way we are working it's excellent performance year-after-year, and I'm really delighted to see that in our balance sheet. Sir, on Page # 11, our turnover has rose to 19% from INR 8,124 crores to INR 9,667 crores, and also profitability has gone -- gone up. But sir, there was a significant provision of INR 244 crores for the termination of contract and encashment of bank guarantees for 2 overseas projects, Dubai and Qatar. Sir, what was the reason for termination of the project, I would like to know. On Page 14, [indiscernible] our 100% subsidiary, UMPESL won multiple project orders valued at INR 3,762 crores, including solar power project. Can you elaborate us in detail, if possible, on this project orders. Sir also, we have won INR 942 crores project at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for Qiddiya Water Theme Park, when it will be completed? And what kind of this Qiddiya Water Theme Park, I would like to know from you. Sir, apart from these, I have a few more questions. On Page 17, if you see from 2021 to '22, '23. Our market share is going down from 25% to 21%. Sir, what is the reason that our market share is going down? Sir, on Page 20, we completed successfully some projects in Dubai, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and others...

Mr. Parik, may I request you to conclude as soon as possible, please.

It's not possible. It's not possible because, see, we get chance of only once in a year, and you cannot curtail us. Please allow me for a few more minutes. Saudi Arabia, we have quite a few projects have achieved growth in the giga projects, including [indiscernible] development and all that. I would like to understand from that also. Apart from that, sir, my last grievance is, sir, why we are continuing with the VC conference. MCA did not give you mandate that compulsorily you have to go for VC conference. It's optional. You can have a physical meeting and we are deprived of our fundamental right to attend the physical meeting. Sir, kindly see to it that next year, it should be a physical meeting since everything is crowded, trains, buses, marriages, our offices, everything, why shareholders are deprived? That is my question. Thank you for present hearing. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Parik. The next speaker is Mr. Manoj Kumar Gupta. If we have difficulty with Mr. Manoj Kumar Gupta, we can move to the next speaker.

Yes, so we could move to the next speaker and come back to him later, sir.

The next speaker is Mr. Bimal Kumar Agarwal.

Yes. Good afternoon to everyone. First of all, thank [indiscernible], also the management and also the co-host [indiscernible]. And now I come to my questions. The company has reported higher revenue during FY '23, so the profit has declined. There has been significant rising cost of material consumed. I request the management to provide insight into the steps taken, to prove margin, please provide us insight into the business opportunities available for the company for the next 1 year -- what is the impact of China factor on the company business prospect. Please provide the details of CapEx line over the next year. And you always have the meeting online only. It's easier to join -- wherever we are we can't join. And outside people also get chance to join the meeting. It is online only that's a better chance for everyone to join. Thank you very much, that's all.

Thank you, Mr. Agarwal. The next speaker is Mr. [ Shailesh Mahadevia ].

Respected Chairman, distinguished directors, management team and the members present. Sir, let me first congratulate the entire Board of Directors for achieving excellent results during the year as a result of your great efforts. Sir, the working during the year has been well produced in the annual report, which also includes the integrated report and BR and SR report also, because that gives us a considerable information important from the shareholders' point of view. Sir, you also gave in your statement in great detail the working of the company during the year and the problem which we have faced as a result of which we have [indiscernible] -- so these things happen, and you can't expect growth year after year for years to come. So, we accept your explanation. Sir, with a view to [ appreciate ] my understanding and the working of the company, I wish to put some questions as under. Sir, number one, let me tell you that I'm one of your original consumer of air conditioner as old as 1954, it was purchased for the first time by my father, when we were living at Matunga and it was a novel thing. And the service of Voltas has continued even today. Sir, I was also happy to note that for the parliament building, Voltas has provided the air-conditioning facilities. Sir, then I would like to refer that the business responsibility and sustainability report has been prepared on a stand-alone basis. Sir, this report should always be prepared on the basis of a consolidated report. Otherwise, it will not give all the information, particularly the investment of the company. Sir, my next question is regarding CSR work, which has been done by the company, which is excellent. We have spent about INR 15 crores. Sir, my question and suggestion is that we should make economic study effect of -- economic effect on the society as a result of our expenses on CSR. There is a multiple effect. We have spent INR 15 crores but the effect of the society is much more by a great multiplier, the [indiscernible], and this is now measurable. Sir, my suggestion is we should give such measure result for the society, the shareholders and everyone will get the correct impression. Sir, my next question that our name Voltas originated from our original contribution between Volkart and Tata, sir, Voltkart are no more wherein existence with us. So why can't we change the name of our company suitably. However, we may continue to use the brand name of Voltas for all of our businesses because it has become very popular but the change in name may be considered for our quest. And sir, my last question is that [indiscernible] climatic conditions in the current year, and it has given very unfavorable results in some cases, I believe, as a result of which we lost some business of air conditioners during the real summer time. Sir, further [indiscernible] is likely, [indiscernible] this is my last question. And it is likely to have its effect over a period of 3 to 5 years. So may I know how do you foresee the effect of [indiscernible] in our business. With this, I wish our organization all the best for all things. Thank you.

The next speaker is Mr. Gautam Tiwari.

You can see me and you can listen to me, sir?

Yes. Yes, Mr. Tiwari. Please go ahead.

So nice to see you, sir, once again. So it's a very, very good special afternoon to you, sir, and industrialist par excellence [Foreign Language] and sir, good afternoon to our MD, CEO and all eminent Board of Directors along with the team Voltas, myself Gautam Tiwari are participating at this AGM from Mumbai. So dear sir, Volta has signed a technology license agreement with Vestfrost Solutions, Denmark. Let us know about the future of these business plans whatever you have got in store, which you said. Sir, very, very good compliments. In fact, a lot of compliments and congratulations over having them the air conditioning work for our new Indian parliament building in May 2023. [Foreign Language] We are very proud after seeing these slides speaks volumes about it. Sir, thank you very much for giving 425% during [Foreign Language]. But we look for better dividend and I'm very sure you will do the needful. Sir, next is on Page 27 to 29, we have seen various awards and accolades that the company has been awarded with along with the last year's report, also, thank you, [indiscernible] for this -- congratulations for this. Sir, investors -- [Foreign Language] sir, very, very happy new -- Parsi New Year and the best wishes and compliments for your health always all the time, right from the depth of our heart. And sir, Investor [indiscernible] department headed by Varun for all these from the year of Millennium, along with [indiscernible] this year has been very good. and exceptionally outstanding [Foreign Language] even Webex team, technical team [Foreign Language] along with [indiscernible], we thank you very much for selecting such mobile service providers. Sir, [Foreign Language] Varun is going in April 2024. [Foreign Language] next year AGM, would you be conducting in the month of April 2024 since he's going in April 2024, sir. Of course, I support all the -- support all the appointments, the appointments of directors and all relations and I voted then beforehand. Sir, few questions, small questions also with you. Sir, why dropping Voltas market price shares. It is a big drop, right, from so many years because [Foreign Language] I'm very sure you have got all the expertise, all the talent [Foreign Language] where do we lag actually from our competitors like Blue Star and all those people. I'm very sure but in the days to come, you will make it up and you will make shareholders [Foreign Language]. Sir, what is the target for room AC, and where we stand in #1, sales volume in FY '23, '24 where we stand, #1. Sir, we have got 260 numbers of brand shops. What is the target for current year? Sir, what is the target for cold room business? Where do we stand in this business at present as Blue Star is #1 in cold room business at present.

Mr. Tiwari, could you kindly conclude at the earliest?

Yes, half a minute, sir. Sir, what are your future plans for Voltas [indiscernible]. I don't want to give you trouble for so many questions. And sir, our international project business, as you state, supported a lot this year. So what is the status of this business in your hands for this year-end ahead? Sir, as usual, we have a total trust, confidence and plate in the management. [Foreign Language] And once again, sir, I thank you very much all the way and all the -- thank you, god bless you [indiscernible].

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Tiwari. The next speaker is Mr. Bharat Shah. Yes, we can hear you. Yes, we can hear you.

[Foreign Language]

We lost you. No, we lost you. We can't hear, we can't hear. No, we can't hear you properly. I can't hear you properly. I suggest you send your questions to the company if we -- if you haven't -- have any more questions. Thank you. The next speaker is Sunita Shah.

[Foreign Language]

Thank you, Ms. Shah. The next speaker is Mr. Sharat Kumar [indiscernible] Shah.

Sir, Mr. Sharat Shah has not joined in. We could move on to the next speaker, sir.

The next speaker is Mrs. Celestine Mascarenas. Mrs. Mascarenas. Yes, we can hear you. Please ask your questions.

So there must be a technical problems so we could come back to Mrs. Mascarenas later, sir.

The next speaker is Mr. Peter Mascarenas. I think they're both on the same -- they're both going to have the same problem.

Yes, sir. There is a problem with Mr. Mascarenas and Ms. Mascarenas are both on the same.

We could move on to the next speaker and come back to them, sir. Yes. Mr. Manjit Singh is the next speaker. Yes, we can hear you.

Good afternoon, sir. [Foreign Language]

Thank you. The next speaker is Mr. Sarvjit Singh.

Yes. Chairman, can you hear me well?

Yes, we can hear you.

Chairman, sir, first of all, good afternoon to you, all the Board of Directors and all the staff of Voltas Limited and my co-fellow shareholders. [Foreign Language] Thank you, Chairman, sir, or thank you sector department for giving me a time to speak in your AGM.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Singh. The next speaker, Mr. Asfi Bhesania.

Sir, Mr. Bhesania has not logged in, sir. We could move on to the next speaker.

The next speaker is Mr. [ Kirti Shah ].

Mr. Shah, could you kindly unmute your microphone and speak, sir? So we appear to be having a technical problem. We could move on to the next speaker.

The next speaker is Mr. [ Sanjay Banik ].

Mr. Banik, if you could kindly unmute your microphone, sir.

Hello, am I audible?

Yes, we can hear you, Mr. Banik. Please go ahead. Ask your questions.

Sanjay Banik from Kolkata. At the outset, I would like to say that MD sir, Pradeep Bakshi's, message from MD's desk is very elaborative, lucid and informative. My previous shareholders made some good points regarding the performance of the company. Now my points are: Using the recycled plastic in finished products you set a good and radical step by our company. Next, sir, if we go through the financial of the company, the compounded sales growth in the last 10 years is just 6% and profit growth is merely 2%. Can we see a double-digit growth in the next 10 years? What is your guidance regarding this? Next, sir, MD sir mentioned that our company is [indiscernible] the Metro project hospital, et cetra. Sir, if you can name of some big and iconic project, then will also be informed regarding this? My next point is the annual report. I have not seen -- in the annual report, I have not seen any facts and figures regarding the capacity utilization numbers. So if you can elaborate it like capacity utilization in consumer durables and industrial projects like consumer durables in ACs, refrigerators in such cases, it will be very helpful for us. Now sir, as you were stressing making India theme, you can tell us the percentage of raw material in terms of indigenous raw material and imported raw materials in Consumer Durable segment. Next is that India today mostly rely on the imported semiconductor to manufacture products. I want to know that what is the percentage of cost component of semiconductor, like PCB, [indiscernible] and other consumer [ durable ] of our company. So going forward, what is your outlook when our supply of semiconductor is affected from the foreign country. Sir, our company is not in the business of manufacturer of water purifier, it manufactures only water cooler and [indiscernible] water dispenser. So my suggestion is that the company should also observe the opportunity of the water purifier segment like [indiscernible] and HUL of the existing -- like existing players? Lastly, my last point is that in this year of blockbuster summer, I have hardly seen any TV advertisement of our company's product in popular TV channels, why sir? It should be more in order to penetrate more in the market like AC and refrigerators. So this is my suggestion, sir. Thank you for giving me opportunity to present here and talk in front of us like a renowned management team. Thank you, sir.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Banik. The next speaker is Mr. Ronald Fernandes.

Hello? Can you hear me? me?

Yes, Mr. Fernandes.

Good Evening Chairman and Managing Director and media shareholders. My name is Ronald Fernandez. I did outsider and foremost service in the company Secretary and Security and the management staff of all to remitted for senior [ Technical Difficulty ] We have tied a very good [indiscernible ] but the problem is [indiscernible] 325% and 100% with one bonus share because VAT 69 is what value-added tax and you have to have a celebration because your main person Varun Malhotra is going to go from the company. So as you keep a balance sheet open for 6 months and then you have a next balance sheet of 9 months because I know that in the month of December or something he will be retiring from the company. So we can have a fairwell him with all the shareholders, followed by get together and annual seeding. What I mean to say nothing is a [ cocktailed in a ] parties. So at least that celebration will be in mind as you remember for him because it has been a very, very experienced person in handling the shareholders and especially a person like first no doubt we send the annual report on time, everything for me after having [ support within ] and of course, you have so we will do this with who is there is very well controlled on the system of the [indiscernible] shareholder staff. Looking at itself, I was I think he is 22nd [indiscernible ] and you signed a balance sheet on 22nd September 2022. And then you have the date of meeting is 22, so everything is 22nd, because 2 plus 2 is 4 and 2 multiplies 2 is 4 also. And 2 divided by 2 is 1 and 2 minus 2 is 0. So total comes to 9. I think my number was 9 for the trend meeting, which held as a speaker, but this time between 22nd, I don't not know what hold because I may be registered later on. So can you put out 400 pages pull out of the annual report and 16 pages of that, that again become 416%. So 4 plus 1 plus 6 is 11. And the other 1 is 425% dividend. So again, 4 plus 2 plus 5, 11 and 11 22. So 27 speaker, 22nd [indiscernible]. Sir, secondly, I would like to know the projects that you are handling, you have invested heavy investment for it. I would like to know, will it be profitable? And what is the total number of sales of ACs done in this particular period? Because 36 degrees and 38 [indiscernible] it was very, very hot. So I think a lot of people want us for the thing. Of course, no doubt, looking forward to one. Well, [indiscernible] being appointed and all that. So maybe we'll try to take over as a [indiscernible] sector and all that. But you don't forget about Malhotra as put him on the Board of Directors at least for the time being because he is capable enough of doing something. No, not like that, but you did for the MM [surti] by trending in how we are tracking with them and keeping in touch with him. Of course, no dout sir, your name is Noel Tata. Noel, it reverse the [alphabets] to Leon. So you're the management of the company, you can decide on doing what you did, which is put all the resolutions and thank the management for patient [indiscernible] -- thank you.

Thank you, Ronald. Thank you very much. The next speaker is Mr. Anil Mehta. This is the last.

Mr. Anil Mehta hasn't logged in, sir.

Okay. Are there any other speakers that you wish to rejoin or should we -- is this the last speaker.

So we did have 4 speakers with technical issues who couldn't speak. So Mr. Manoj Kumar, that's #8, #15, #16 and #20.

Okay. So that concludes the speakers. Thank you very much for your questions. I'm going to attempt to answer all the questions that you have post. Obviously, some questions have been asked by several shareholders, so I'll try and answer them only once. Bear with me for that. I'm sorry that 4 shareholders, we could not -- due to technical reasons, we could not hear you. And therefore, if you want to send your questions in to the company in writing. I'm sure Varun and his team will answer the questions. One of the main issues has been holding this meeting through virtual means as you've heard, there are several shareholders who prefer physical. There are also some shareholders who prefer virtual. Many of the shareholders who have spoken today are from Calcutta and outside Bombay, they prefer a virtual means because they don't want to travel to Mumbai, I think we will be guided by [SEBI] and the other -- and the authorities into which way we can hold our meetings. Another point which was raised by many shareholders was the cost of goods and I think this needs to be answered in also, if you recall, last year, there was a huge increase in raw material prices over the last 2 years. In the last year, we had an overhang of raw material prices with us and an extremely competitive market, in which to sell them. And therefore, you notice the cost of materials having gone up because the market itself was also very, very competitive, and we had to retain -- work towards retaining our market share. And we had muted sales during the festival season as well. Some 2 or 3 shareholders spoke about the drop in our market share. It is a concern to the management as well as to the Board -- and it remains, as I've mentioned in the [indiscernible] statement, it remains a focus area for us in this year where we will try and improve our market share over last year by any means possible. Just coming to individual shareholders Mr. [Boppana], you spoke about air purifiers. We are offering that. We do sell air purifiers. They are standalone products through our dealers across the country. You spoke about ultraviolet based products, and these are offered in through our commercial air conditioning business for offices and residences. You asked us about international. We're already in the Middle East, in the UAE, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain. And we've recently picked up some very large orders in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia at the moment is into a real investment phase, and we expect a lot of opportunity in Saudi Arabia going forward. You spoke about HR challenges and how does Voltas retain talent. I think the focus on retaining talent at Voltas from the last year has been really to mentor and to train our existing staff to be really look at their careers and see in which way we can continuously help their careers. And for those who have performed continuously help them to grow within the company. And this has obviously this will obviously stand us in good stead. Ms. Asha Maheshwari, you asked about the INR 244 crores. These are bank guarantees and which have been in cash. We don't believe there was justification for these, and these will be fought in -- obviously, there will be litigation, and we will fight this on 1 -- in 1 case, the contractor has gone bankrupt, and we are hoping that we will be reinstated with a new contractor coming on board. We've noted your request for an extension for Varun, but I don't think that's possible in with the -- with our company rules. Mr. Vinod Agarwal, you spoke about the cost of consumption and I've already spoken about that. You spoke about a coolest summer on the impact of sales. All I can tell you is that we've had quite a good April, May and half of June. We are ahead of where we were last year. And hopefully, our sales will be much better than last year. You spoke about the investment in Chennai. In fact, several of our shareholders have spoken about this. So let me spend a minute on this. With the Government of India's Make in India policy, it's very clear that sectors like air conditioning can no longer survive with imported -- fully imported products. And therefore, really, our company is looking at perhaps the biggest change for over 20 years where we relied on outside suppliers. We now are going to become an end-to-end supplier and manufacturer ourselves. And the Chennai factory is perhaps the biggest investment that Voltas has made in manufacturing over the last 20 years. We believe it's warranted. We believe it will help us address future growth that we see in this market, and therefore, we're going ahead with it on that basis. The next person was Ms. Lilly Pradhan. Yes, I must acknowledge that our share price has fallen. We're not very happy about it, but it reflects the intense competition that exists in this sector over the last 12 months. It also reflects the adverse weather conditions at some of the -- and the sales loss due to this over the last year. We hope that this year, we will be able to reverse that trend going forward. Mr. Yusuf Rangwala, you spoke about competition, Samsung, LG. Not only Samsung, LG, today, there are 65 brands in the air conditioning category, all vying for market share. But we are confident that we will be able to sustain and maintain our leadership position by offering best-in-class products and services. We're also diversifying into adjacent categories like air coolers and on the products side, increasing our sales in washing machines and refrigerators. And this will continue and help us increase our revenue growth. Mr. Anil [Parik], you spoke of the INR 244 crores provision, and I've already given this answer. You asked about the [indiscernible] themepark. This is a project that we have received from the Saudi government, and it's part of the huge investment program that the Saudi government is making in infrastructure in Saudi. You spoke about our market share being 21 and having gone down. And I think I've already answered that question. We're not happy with the drop in share price. And in the market share, we will do everything possible to get it back up again. Mr. Shailesh Mahadevia, thank you for being one of the -- one of our first consumers of -- our customers of air conditioners. I'm amazed that in 1955, you were already a Voltas customer. Thank you for that. And I hope you have changed your AC since then, and you now have the more efficient and long-lasting products and better technologies. You mentioned erratic climate conditions. Indeed, these are changing. But at the same time, we all know and it's something which [have] spoken all over the world. The earth is getting warmer. And there will be overall a higher and higher requirement for cooling products all over the world. And in fact, we see that even places like Europe and the U.S., which North America, which previously didn't require air conditioning solutions, we see more and more people looking for those given the high temperatures in those areas. Mr. Gautam Tiwari, you asked about details of technology on West [frost]. It is very much a high-tech company with very, very specific products like vaccine, freezers, which are very, very low temperature and similar products. And it's a small, but nevertheless, profitable market, and therefore, we are addressing that part of the market through our technical collaboration with West Frost. The technology that they bring, I think, will also help us in some of the other products that we are making, the more commercial products that we are making. You asked for a target for room ACs. Our target is to try and achieve a 2 million AC sales this current year, and our team is making every effort to achieve that number. Future plans for Voltas Beko. Our sales have been excellent over April, May and the first half of June. And if we continue that we will see a really improved sales performance. If this carries on, we will see a really improved sales performance throughout the year. As mentioned earlier, the categories in which [ Voltas Beko ], the home appliance category is a massive opportunity in our space, and we are extremely bullish on this going forward. Mr. Bharat Shah, you spoke of -- you asked about bonus. It isn't really the right time this year and next year will not be the right time to consider a bonus. Voltas is in a consolidation phase. Voltas is a company that's changing and really turning itself upside down with the new production, et cetera, that we're going to look at, but certainly, at the right time, the Board will obviously consider a bonus thing. Ms. Smitha Shah, you spoke about what products are selling well. Well, inverter ACs continue to rule the market. They've taken over and today, nearly 75% -- more than 75% of ACs are inverter ACs. These are air conditioners where the compressor is an inverter compressor. It delivers 20%, 30% savings in electricity over conventional air conditioners, it -- they have taken over air conditioners across the world. And I think Indian consumers are also moving in that way. The other big product that has caught everybody's attention is semi-automatic watching machines, which in a very short period, have achieved a 9% market share in their particular category. Mr. Manjit Singh, you spoke about the reorganization and how it will help. The Voltas has had -- has very -- 2 very separate businesses which require very, very different management skills and attention span. We recognized this a couple of years ago and decided that our projects business and heavy industrial business should move to a subsidiary company where it could get the fullest of attention, which would leave Voltas to pay full attention to our B2C and B2B air conditioning and refrigeration and our home products business. It was a very complicated move. It's taken us a bit more time than we thought. But I -- all I can tell you is that this will hopefully take -- finish in another couple of months, and then there will be clarity of management as well in Voltas. You spoke about advertising. Yes, indeed, we had not -- we have not spent a lot of money on advertising, but I must inform you that we restarted again this year in a big way on hoardings. And I must also tell you that advertising is moving away from TV, more into social media, where we remain very strong. You spoke about R&D and about winter products. You may not be aware, but we have products, which do both heating and cooling maybe you should go to one of our dealers, and you'll be able to see products there and those products are what we call all-weather products and sell throughout the year. In terms of water harvesting, it's something which we would be doing at all our factories. Mr. Sanjay [ Bhane ] you spoke about sales growth of 6% and profit growth about of 2%. Indeed, these have been below our expectations, and we will work to improve these. You spoke about capacity utilization. Our capacity utilization of our factories has been close to 100% in all our factories. We also purchased finished products from the outside and that's where we move our capacity up and down. Having said that, with the new Chennai factory coming up, we will mostly be manufacturing most products in-house only. You asked about the semiconductor as a percentage of product cost. It's about semi 17, our PCBs are about 17% of the total product costs [indiscernible] in the inverter category. And you spoke about TV advertising. I've already addressed that. Ronald Fernandes, you spoke about AC investments in the AC project in Chennai. I've already responded to that. We really believe it's something that we need to do and become a fully integrated manufacturer in sales of AC. It's going to be the largest backward integrated plant in India. Pradeep mentions to me. So I think with that, I hope I've answered all your questions. If you feel that there's a question that's been left out, please reach out to Varun, and we will answer that question directly to you. Thank you. I now authorize the company's Secretary to conduct the voting procedure and conclude the meeting. [ Ms. [indiscernible] Bhatia and Associates, practicing company secretaries have been appointed as scrutinizer for this meeting. I also authorized the company's Secretary to accept, acknowledge and countersign the scrutinizer's report and declare the consolidated voting results on receipt of the scrutinizer's report. The e-voting facility will remain open for the next 15 minutes to enable shareholders to cast their vote. The results will be announced within 2 working days of the conclusion of this meeting and the same would be intimated to stock exchanges thereafter. I would like to thank all our shareholders for attending this meeting and for their continued support to the company. With your consent, I and the other Board members would now like to leave the meeting. Thank you very much. Have a nice evening. [Voting]

Good evening, shareholders. The e-voting facility was kept open for 15 minutes as mentioned by our Chairman. We now close the e-voting. The requisite quorum was present throughout the meeting. Results of the Annual General Meeting will be announced by the company on or before 26th of June 2023. With this, I declare the meeting as concluded. Thank you.