The Chatter: Bottlenecks & Breakouts
Edition #36
Welcome to the 36th edition of The Chatter — a weekly newsletter where we dig through what India’s biggest cBottlenecks & Breakoutsompanies are saying and bring you the most interesting bits of insight, whether about the business, its sector, or the wider economy. We read every major Indian earnings call and listen to the interviews so you don’t have to.
We’re always eager to improve—please share your ideas on how else we can innovate “The Chatter” format to better serve your needs.
In this edition, we have covered 16 companies across 8 industries, along with an international features.
Metals
Ashapura Minechem
Chemicals
BASF India
Engineering & Capital Goods
Mahindra EPC Irrigation
Titagarh Rail Systems
JD Cables
Solarium Green Energy
Logistics
Allcargo Logistics
Paradeep Parivahan
Aviation
GMR Airports
Auto Ancillary
Gabriel India
Exide Industries
Consumer Durables
LG Electronics India
FMCG
Globus Spirits
International
Novavax
GoPro
Foxconn
Metals
Ashapura Minechem | Small Cap | Metals
Ashapura Minechem Limited is a leading multi-mineral solutions provider with a global footprint, having a wide network of operations Pan-India and in many other countries. The company is engaged in the mining, manufacturing and trading of various minerals and its derivative products and related services. From soaps to steel, energy to edible oils, metal to medicine and cement to ceramics, the company offers multi-mineral solutions across several industries.
Despite monsoon challenges, Ashapura Minechem’s Guinea bauxite exports doubled year-on-year in Q2 FY26 due to improved operational planning and logistics.
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“In 2nd Quarter, which is normally is always affected with the monsoon season but however, in this quarter, we have done export of 1.33 million tons of bauxite which is almost double when compared to the previous corresponding quarter of last financial year.”
– Chetan Shah, Promoter Director
Ashapura Minechem has secured long-term logistics agreements for Calendar Year 2026 to ensure smooth operations and prevent past marine logistics issues.
““Last year, our biggest challenge was the logistics... To overcome this kind of issues, we have entered into a long-term arrangements... for the coming quarters or you can say the calendar year 2026, so that we will not face any such problems related with the barging, transhippers or the ocean-going vessels.”
– Chetan Shah, Promoter Director
EBITDA per metric ton for Guinea bauxite remained largely stable at $8.9 despite a 3% price correction and stronger local currency, thanks to improved internal operational efficiency.
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“Despite an approximate 3% correction in bauxite prices and a stronger local currency, EBITDA per metric ton of Guinea bauxite has dropped very slightly. It was USD 8.9 per metric ton compared to USD 9.3 per metric ton in Quarter 1, supported largely by improved internal operational efficiency”
– Ashish Desai, Chief Financial Officer
Ashapura Minechem believes bauxite prices will remain stable, or potentially see a slight increase, due to its nature as a less volatile commodity compared to others.
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“Broadly, our view is that bauxite is not a very volatile commodity and prices are generally stable when you compare it to iron ore or other such more volatile commodities. Our in-house view is that prices should be at least stable over here or may even increase a little bit from here. This is our view as on date. But mostly, we expect it to remain stable at the very least.”
– Manan Shah, Promoters Group
Improving US-China relations are identified as a potential positive catalyst that could contribute to an increase in both bauxite and aluminum prices.
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“I think that as we can see that US-China relations are, for example, slowly improving, but slowly. This kind of improvement could definitely contribute to the increase in bauxite prices and aluminum prices.”
– Manan Shah, Promoters Group
The majority of Ashapura Minechem’s bauxite production costs are attributed to road, sea, and transhipment logistics, with mining costs forming a smaller proportion.
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“Currently, on this call, I will not be able to provide a detailed costing. However, most of our costs are related to the logistics, both road and sea logistics and transhipment logistics. So, most of our costs are actually built from logistics and mining is a smaller part of the cost.”
– Manan Shah, Promoters Group
Ashapura Minechem’s significant bauxite investment is justified by Guinea’s growing status as the preferred global bauxite source, especially for Chinese demand, positioning the company as a strategic long-term supplier.
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“Guinea is increasingly emerging as the most preferred destination to source bauxite from... many of them would like a partner like us, a proven mine owner from which they would want to buy bauxite from over the longer term. So, the opportunity actually comes that we provide a very good source of Guinea and bauxite to many Chinese companies as a strategic supplier to them and as well as the fact that Guinea will be the world’s predominant destination for bauxite even in the medium term to longer term.”
– Manan Shah, Promoters Group
Electric vehicles and solar panels are identified as key emerging demand drivers for aluminum and bauxite, contributing to the industry’s overall growth.
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“So, definitely, I think the adoption of electric vehicles does help because there is more aluminum used in electric vehicles and also many of these solar panels. In India, you can see there is a huge growth of solar for example. So, all the base panels of solar are made out of aluminum.”
– Manan Shah, Promoters Group
Global bauxite supply has shifted to Guinea as Australia reduced exports, Indonesia implemented a complete ban, and India’s exports decreased due to duties and quality issues, making Guinea the most reliable source.
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“Australia has reduced the volume for many reasons, but currently they have reduced the volume of exports. So, Australia is now exporting only 30 million tons to China. Indonesia has completely banned the export of bauxite. And same way the Malaysia is doing very small volume... India was also one of the prominent exporters to China. But since the government of India has imposed the 15% duty on export of bauxite, and at the same time, the quality of Indian bauxite was not so high, so that India is also gradually dropped from the race. So, currently you can say the dependable source of the bauxite is only remain the Guinea.”
– Chetan Shah, Promoter Director
The Guinea government cancelled over 180 inactive mining licenses, mainly for gold and rare earth, to prevent speculative holdings, reassuring that genuine bauxite operations remain unaffected.
“Actually, you can say that Guinea government has cancelled more than 180 mining licenses. Primarily, it is related with the gold and rare earth and few different minerals, and not too many from the bauxite mining. So, because people have obtained the license, have not been doing any activities for a very, very long time... Those who are doing the genuine business of this thing, they are not affected by this cancellation policy.”
– Chetan Shah, Promoter Director
Chemicals
BASF India | Small Cap | Chemicals
BASF India Limited, a leading company in the chemical sector, offers a wide range of products in segments such as Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care, and Agricultural Solutions. Its products cater to diverse industries including leather, textile, paints, construction, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and more, making it an essential player in the market.
Geopolitical risks and industrial overcapacity in China are creating significant pressure on the chemical industry.
“Nonetheless, geopolitical risks have been amplified with US tariff actions and especially China. Industrial overcapacity continues to put pressure specifically on the chemical industry.”
– Alexander Gerding, Managing Director
Despite higher sales volumes, revenue declined by 5% due to a significant 7% drop in price realization.
“Sales is down by 5%. By 5%, mainly due to. Higher volumes but lower price realization. Yeah, volumes are high by 2%, whereas prices are down by around 7%.”
– Narendranath J. Baliga, Chief Financial Officer & Whole-time Director
The Nutrition and Care segment is a strong performer with both 8% volume and 4% price increases, a rare and positive combination.
“star in the whole game is nutrition and care. Like I already mentioned, both volumes and prices have gone up for nutrition and care. Volume up by nearly 8% and prices also up by 4%, which is very rare combination where you have increased volume at a higher price.”
– Narendranath J. Baliga, Chief Financial Officer & Whole-time Director
BASF and Carlyle have agreed to create a standalone global coatings company, with BASF retaining a 40% stake, and the transaction is expected to close by Q2 2026, with an assessment for BASF India Coatings Private Limited underway.
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“The BSF and Carlyle. A. Private equity firm have reached a binding transaction agreement on the coatings business to create a leading standalone company. Globally, BSF will reinvest in the coatings business, holding 40% equity stake in the new global coating stand alone company under Carlyle. The global transaction is expected to be close by a second quarter of calendar year 2026.”
– Alexander Gerding, Managing Director
The agricultural solutions business faced difficulties due to soft commodity prices impacting farmer investment and excessive rains leading to reduced applications and channel inventory.
“The last season was a very difficult one, starting with a soft commodity prices. Yeah, especially in very intensive crops like Chile. And Chile, you know, there’s a lot of applications that happen in this crop and the Chile acreage, but also the price has substantially reduced. Less applications. Of course, has led to some channel inventory right that had to be consumed and that impacted certainly new sales into the channel.”
– Alexander Gerding, Managing Director
The company is cautiously optimistic about the upcoming Rabi season due to good reservoir levels and healthy inventory and accounts receivable positions for BASF.
“The Rabi season which is coming the the reservoir levels are in a very good stage. Yeah. So there should be a good rabi season coming, and I would say we’re in a quite healthy place when it comes to inventory inventories in the channel. At least for BSF and also. Our accounts receivable situation so. So I’m cautiously optimistic that. The momentum that we have been having with our portfolio. Measures will yield also moving forward in this in this space, yeah.”
– Alexander Gerding, Managing Director
Overcapacity in China, exacerbated by geopolitical tariffs, is expected to maintain significant pricing pressure in the upstream chemicals industry, with no immediate relief foreseen in 2026.
“The overcapacities that have been put in China. The. Are clearly visible in that and. And to be honest, it’s very, I mean, I don’t. Nobody has a crystal ball, but. Even going into 2026, I mean it’s, it’s the overcapacity situation in China, especially with a geopolitical tariff. Unless there’s something massive changing there, I think that will continue to be. A difficult element on the upstream chemicals. Pricing situation in in the industry in India. I see.”
– Alexander Gerding, Managing Director
The plastic additives business within industrial solutions faces persistent pricing pressure due to global overcapacities and Chinese competition.
“The other business in performance chemical is plastic additives, mainly the antioxidants and UV stabilizers for plastics. And there we see that. With Overcapacities globally also lot of push from China we see that the pricing is under pressure and there we see that this this pricing pressure will continue. “
- Anil Choudhary, Whole-time Director & Head of Manufacturing
Engineering & Capital Goods
Mahindra EPC Irrigation | Nano Cap | Engineering & Capital Goods
Mahindra EPC Irrigation Limited was incorporated in 1981 having its registered office in Nashik, India. It is engaged in the business of Micro Irrigation Systems such as Drip and Sprinklers, Agricultural Pumps, Greenhouses and Landscape Products.
India is facing severe water scarcity, with agriculture being the primary consumer, highlighting the critical need for efficient water management.
“Agri culture alone consumes over 80 % of India ’ s freshwater withdrawals. As per current estimates, per capita water availability in India is expected to drop from 1,545 cubic meters in 2011 to 1,140 cubic meters by 2050, classifying India as a potentially water - scarce nation.”
– Ramesh Ramachandran, Managing Director
Micro irrigation has a vast untapped market in India, with only 18% penetration of the identified potential, which could double with full utilization of surface water.
“We see only about 18 % penetration of the total identified potential for micro irrigation of about 72 million hectares. This estimated potential of 72 million hectares is based mostly on groundwater availability and some portion of surface water. If, however, most of the surface water available in India is also assumed to be available for Agri culture, then the potential for micro irrigation doubles from 72 million hectares to about 144 million hectares.”
– Ramesh Ramachandran, Managing Director
The Indian government aims to significantly expand micro irrigation coverage by targeting 2 million hectares annually for the next five years.
“Given all this, the government of India has therefore set an ambitious target of 2 million hectares annually, aiming to cover 10 million hectares over the next five years.”
– Ramesh Ramachandran, Managing Director
Unseasonal and extended monsoon rains severely impacted micro irrigation demand and installation in H1 FY26, particularly Q2.
“The incessant rains from May to as late as October impacted micro irrigation demand as well as installation. Hence, Q2F26 was affected.”
– Ramesh Ramachandran, Managing Director
The company has significantly increased its non-subsidy business contribution to 37.8% of total revenue in H1 FY26, up from 3% in FY20, by strengthening capabilities in new segments.
“We have strengthened internal capabilities to address the non - subsidy segments, such as the thin - wall business, institutional sales, and small, mid - sized irrigation projects. In fact, you will be happy to note that we have reached a 37.8% contribution of the non - subsidy business to the total business in H1 FY26, compared to a mere 3% contribution in FY20.”
– Ramesh Ramachandran, Managing Director
Non-subsidy business currently has lower margins, but the company expects margins to improve as the brand gains establishment, similar to the subsidy business.
“Now, coming to your point specifically in the non - subsidy business, our margin is lower. But, we believe that as the brand gets established in the non - subsidy business, like it has in the subsidy business, we will start commanding a better price and better margins.”
– Ramesh Ramachandran, Managing Director
Mahindra EPC is crucial for M&M’s environmental and water-positive aspirations, providing a strong strategic reason for its presence within the group despite its smaller size.
“The fact that I would like to emphasize is the contribution that Mahindra EPC makes to the group when it comes to some of the environmental - related aspirations of M&M is unparalleled within the group and it has the most significant impact on M&M ’ s water - positive aspirations, which is a very powerful reason for a responsibly - minded company like M&M to be in this business.”
– Ramesh Ramachandran, Managing Director
The company estimates a revenue impact of approximately 15 to 30 days due to excess monsoon in the first half.
“So, I would probably say that, it is better to look at the impact on revenue by days rather than by rupees crores. So, perhaps 15 - days to 30 - days would be our estimate of the impact on revenue.”
– Ramesh Ramachandran, Managing Director
Mahindra EPC leverages M&M’s international tractor business relationships for export opportunities in regions like Africa, and is seeing double-digit revenue growth in new domestic states like UP, prioritizing stable foundation before aggressive expansion.
“We work with the M & M international team to identify opportunities and those help us fill our pipeline. In UP, our revenues are now in double - digits and we expect them to grow further. We would obviously want our foundation to be well established before we go aggressively in the new states.”
– Ramesh Ramachandran, Managing Director
Titagarh Rail Systems | Small Cap | Engineering & Capital Goods
Titagarh Wagons Limited is a public limited company incorporated and domiciled in India. The Company is mainly engaged in the manufacturing and selling of Freight Wagons, Passenger Coaches, Steel Castings, Specialised Equipments & Bridges, Ships, Heavy Earthmoving and Mining Equipments, etc. The Company caters to both domestic and export market.
The long-standing wheel set availability issue, which impacted production for several quarters, has been resolved, allowing the company to return to a normalized monthly production rate of 800-850 wagons.
“one month of this quarter was impacted by the wheel set availability and then the wheel set availability, which was primarily impacting the company for the last 2 or 3 quarters, has been resolved. We have started getting normal wheel sets from the month of August 2025. Now, the wheel set availability is normal and we are back to a run rate of around 800 wagons a month and we intend to continue between 800 and 850 wagons per month going forward.”
– Umesh Chowdhary, Vice Chairman and Managing Director
The upcoming joint venture for wheel set production in Chennai, operational by Q1 FY27, is expected to permanently eliminate the persistent wheel set supply issues for the wagon industry.
“the wheel set problem should be behind us as the joint venture of ours along with the Ramakrishna Forging to produce wheels in Chennai will get operational by Q1 of next financial year. So this should be a problem that has perennially been causing trouble to the industry, to the wagon industry. This should be a problem of the past.”
– Umesh Chowdhary, Vice Chairman and Managing Director
The company is establishing full in-house manufacturing for Aluminium coaches in India, with production expected to begin in Q1 FY27, shifting away from imported flat packs.
“As far as the Metro or the passenger train rail segment is concerned, the sooner as you know we have already supplied, we have got the option that will be starting in 2 years’ time. We have a delivery period of starting from 2 years to be ended in 2-1/2 years because that is an Aluminium coach and we have already received the machines for making the Aluminium coaches entirely in India. They are under installation. They will be getting into production sometime in Q1 of FY ‘27.”
– Umesh Chowdhary, Vice Chairman and Managing Director
Despite a higher capacity of 1,000 wagons, the company plans to maintain a production rate of 800-850 wagons per month to ensure even workflow while awaiting new tenders.
“Yes, on an average, yes, approximately 800 wagons we should consider for the plans of execution, although our capacity is 1,000 wagons, but in order to wait for the new tenders to come in and till that time to have an even workflow, we are planning to do between 800 - 850 wagons.”
– Umesh Chowdhary, Vice Chairman and Managing Director
Acknowledging persistent supply chain challenges, the company is implementing significant backward integration for passenger coach car bodies to achieve 100% in-house production by March, mitigating future supply risks.
“In terms of supply chain problems in our industry, supply chain problems is almost like goes hand in hand with existence. So we will continue to have that problem somewhere or the other, and the bottleneck keeps on shifting. So that is exactly where we have been prepared for and we have geared ourselves up for to be able to address all these issues as they come along... A lot of backward integration in terms of making of these coaches. So all supply chain that we were dependent on for making car bodies within this financial year, in March this year, we will have almost entirely, 100% will be in-house with us.”
– Umesh Chowdhary, Vice Chairman and Managing Director
The company is leveraging its established shipbuilding capabilities and government’s “Atmanirbhar” policy to focus on specialized vessels (100-160 meters in length) for defense and research, moving beyond bulk ships.
“So as far as the shipbuilding is concerned, over the last few years, we have delivered more than 35 vessels to the Indian Navy, to the Coast Guard, to the National Institute of Ocean Technology, to GRSE. We have also exported a vessel to Guyana. So we have developed a great deal of capability over the last 5 - 7 years that we have been in this business... We will concentrate only on the specialized shipyards, apart from some very few bulk ships... our focus is going to be on specialized vessels. We will focus on vessels which are between 100 - 150 meters or 160 meters in length.”
– Umesh Chowdhary, Vice Chairman and Managing Director
The shipbuilding segment has an order book of approximately Rs. 500 crore and a strong pipeline of inquiries, driven by government focus on indigenous vessel manufacturing.
“So ship building, we have already declared. We have about Rs. 500 odd crore order book. And we have a very healthy pipeline of enquiries. We have been seeing a lot of announcements from various ministries about their requirement of vessels.”
– Umesh Chowdhary, Vice Chairman and Managing Director
The company expects high EBITDA margins (20-30%) from comprehensive supply-plus-servicing contracts, which are becoming the market standard, highlighting a lucrative future revenue stream.
“Service is traditionally a high margin business. And the overall trend of the market is to go for comprehensive contracts, which means supply plus servicing... globally, the service business is always a much better margin business. And depending on the type of the product and the age of the product, this can give anything between 20 % - 30% EBITDA levels.”
– Umesh Chowdhary, Vice Chairman and Managing Director
The company expects to achieve an operating leverage break-even point of 150-200 coaches per year, reaching this run rate by Q4 of the current fiscal year.
“we believe that when we are able to, so the break - even point or the cut - off point to be able to get to this operating leverage is approximately 150 - 200 coaches a year, where we should be able to reach the run rate from Q4 this year.”
– Umesh Chowdhary, Vice Chairman and Managing Director
The shipbuilding business targets a capacity of 15-18 specialized vessels annually, with each vessel potentially generating Rs. 100-250 crores and an expected EBITDA margin of 15-17% for the segment.
“the shipbuilding, as we have given in our presentation, the capacity that we are planning is for 15 - 18 vessels per year. And each vessel, depending on the intricacy of the vessel and the nature of the vessel, sells anything between Rs. 100 - Rs. 250 crores per vessel... the industry gives about 15 % - 17 % EBITDA margin.”
– Umesh Chowdhary, Vice Chairman and Managing Director
The shipbuilding business is being spun off into “Titagarh Naval Systems” with an initial capital injection of Rs. 50 crore, enabling it to operate independently and raise its own capital to leverage significant market opportunities.
“So as we have explained that we are looking at doing this in a separate vehicle with strategic / financial partner and this company, we would like to grow and develop on its own. The parent company, which is Titagarh Rail System, does not want to keep this as a part of Titagarh Rail System because of the opportunity size being so high... The other one is the marine or the shipbuilding side which is being spun off to Titagarh Naval Systems wherein we will induce about Rs. 50 crores of capital from the company. And this company can then raise its own capital debt, etc., to build up the capability and the capacity.”
– Umesh Chowdhary, Vice Chairman and Managing Director
JD Cables | Nano Cap | Engineering & Capital Goods
JD Cables Limited, established in 2015, manufactures and supplies ISO certified power and control cables, along with a range of aluminium-based conductors used in electricity transmission. Its modern manufacturing facility serves state electricity boards across India.
JD Cables reported robust financial growth in H1 FY26, with double-digit increases in total income, EBITDA, and net profit, alongside margin expansion.
“The first half of financial year 2026 has been an encouraging period for JD Cables where we saw total income grew 13% year-on-year basis to Rs. 121.44 Cr. EBITDA increased 25% year-on-year basis to Rs. 19.24 Cr. with margins expanding to 15.85%. Net profit rose 16% year-on-year basis to Rs. 11.92 Cr. maintaining strong profitability at 9.82%.”
– Piyush Garodia, Managing Director
JD Cables is strategically entering the EPC projects segment, establishing a new division to leverage forward integration and expand its business model.
“We are aggressively expanding our presence in EPC projects and have created a dedicated EPC division headed by Mr. Rajesh Jhunjhunwala, our Whole-Time Director, which will provide a strong forward integration advantage.”
– Piyush Garodia, Managing Director
The company primarily supplies to EPC contractors but is also actively pursuing direct government tenders for cable supply, diversifying its customer base.
“First of all, we are majorly supplying to EPC contractors and we are also participating in direct government tenders also. We are aggressively participating right now in government tenders for supply of cables also.”
– Piyush Garodia, Managing Director
JD Cables plans to double its current production capacity by March 2026 and aims for a substantial 4-5x expansion within the subsequent 2-3 years.
“capacity within March 2026, we will be doubling our present capacity. It will be 2x our current capacity. And after that, we are targeting around 4x to 5x expansion within the next 2 to 3 years.”
– Piyush Garodia, Managing Director
The company anticipates achieving an 80% utilization rate of its expanded total capacity by September of the next fiscal year.
“I think by the end of September, we will be like 80% capacity, you can say it will be in 80% capacity within September, like next September.”
– Piyush Garodia, Managing Director
Despite introducing new, advanced cable and conductor products, the company expects its margins to remain largely stable.
“I think it will, it will remain more or less same only because going forward, we are also adding new products also in that facility, like HTLS conductor, MVCC, AL-59 conductors, and module 11kV cables HT cables, etc. We will be adding new products also in that unit.”
– Piyush Garodia, Managing Director
The company sets ambitious revenue targets of Rs. 500-600 Cr for FY27 and Rs. 1,000 Cr within two years, while maintaining similar PAT margins.
“So, we are targeting at least Rs. 500 Cr. in the next financial year Rs. 500 Cr. to Rs. 600 Cr. and Rs. 1,000 CR in the next two years with more or less same PAT margins.”
– Piyush Garodia, Managing Director
The company plans to diversify its product portfolio by exploring opportunities in data center and solar cables, alongside its existing transmission and distribution products.
“There is a lot of opportunity in the data center as well. We will definitely like to explore data center and solar cables in the near future, very soon And yes, our products are being used for electrification only for transmission and distribution.”
– Piyush Garodia, Managing Director
JD Cables intends to enter the house wire segment in the near future, leveraging a distributorship model similar to larger industry players.
“House wire is again a completely different sector. There we are planning to enter through distributorship like all the big companies are doing and we have plans to enter house wire segment also in the near future.”
– Piyush Garodia, Managing Director
The presence of price variation clauses in major government tenders largely mitigates the risk of raw material price volatility for the company.
“First of all, all the major projects which are going on have PV, price variation clauses in the government tenders because it’s not possible for the contractor to work at the same price for the next upcoming 18 months or 24 months. So, normally all the major contracts are having price variation clauses.”
– Piyush Garodia, Managing Director
The company anticipates needing additional equity funding within the next 6-12 months to support the capital-intensive nature of its expanding EPC projects.
“We need equity in the further six months or one year. Because we are expanding to like EPC contracts as well, where there will be a fund requirement. And if we will win, like say a good sizable amount of order, we will be needing a sizable amount of capital for executing those projects.”
– Piyush Garodia, Managing Director
Solarium Green Energy | Micro Cap | Engineering & Capital Goods
Solarium Green Energy offers comprehensive Turnkey Solar Solutions for various projects, including Residential rooftop, Commercial and Industrial (C&I) rooftop, Ground Mounted, and Government Projects. Their services cover design, engineering, procurement, construction, testing, commissioning, transmission system, and Operation & Maintenance (O&M) of solar power plants.
Delays in trade receivables from defense-linked government projects were a one-off issue caused by specific geopolitical events (Operation Sindoor/India-Pakistan war), not a systemic problem.
“So we experienced some, sort of, delays more specifically in the trade receivables from the government-linked projects. And within the government-linked projects also it was a delay from a defense-linked project specifically. I can put it very, very transparently that because most of our trade receivables were from defense-linked projects from BSF and MES... because of Operation Sindoor. We experienced the India-Pakistan war there. So most of the people were not reachable during that time. So it is more specific one off reason, I would say, which has been there.”
— Himanshu Garg, Chief Financial Officer
Despite market concerns about increased module manufacturing capacity and price volatility, the industry faces ongoing supply challenges and robust demand, suggesting module prices are not solely driven by overcapacity.
“So this is not the first time when the solar industry has seen such sort of volatility in terms of the module pricing... But to go more deeper into the details, how the things are happening at this point in time, right? So the module capacities, which people are talking about, say, 100 gigawatt, 130 gigawatt, X, Y Z, but still, the module supply time lines remain challenging... the utilization is anywhere between 70% to 75%... the demand side continues to go aggressively and go up aggressively and create a very, very strong foundation to grow next year more than what it has grown last year, not only in absolute terms, but also in percentage terms.”
— Himanshu Garg, Chief Financial Officer
Solarium Green Energy achieved strong financial performance in H1 FY26 with significant year-on-year growth in revenue, gross margins, EBITDA, and profit after tax.
“Solarium delivered robust results with a 43% year-on-year increase in revenue, a 65% rise in gross margins, and 36% improvement in EBITDA, while profit after tax expanded by 22%.”
— Ankit Garg, Chairman and Managing Director
H1 FY26 revenue growth was slightly impacted by adverse monsoon conditions and temporary demand/supply delays due to the GST 2.0 rollout.
“Although the revenue growth remained strong, it was moderated by prolonged and excessive monsoon conditions across India, as well as demand/supply postponement caused due to rollout of GST 2.0 in September 2025.”
— Ankit Garg, Chairman and Managing Director
Logistics
Allcargo Logistics | Micro Cap | Logistics
Allcargo Logistics Limited is a global leader in LCL consolidation and India’s largest integrated logistics solutions provider. They create innovative services to meet supply chain needs and specialize in designing special logistics solutions for challenging projects in difficult terrains using high-end expertise.
Robust domestic demand, infrastructure investments, policy reforms, and stable inflation create a favorable macroeconomic environment, serving as significant tailwinds for the domestic logistics sector.
“The country’s strong momentum is being driven by robust domestic demand, sustained infrastructure investments and ongoing policy reforms that continue to enhance manufacturing competitiveness and also the ease of doing business. Inflation has also eased within the RBI’s target band and fiscal discipline is on track, all reflecting a stable and resilient macroeconomic environment, all working as a tailwind to the Express and consultative Logistics space in the country.”
— Mr. Ketan Kulkarni, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Customer concentration significantly differs, with the top 10 customers contributing over 50% in Consultative Logistics but only around 20% in Express Logistics.
“The percentage contribution of top 10 customers would vary in the Express logistics space and the Consultative logistics space. It would be much higher in Consultative logistics, about 50% plus, whereas in the Express it would be in the 20% range, the top 10 customers.”
— Mr. Ketan Kulkarni, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Domestic Express and Consultative Logistics businesses are now fully integrated into Allcargo Logistics, simplifying the reporting structure into a single operating listed entity.
“Effective 1st of November, the businesses of Express and Consultative Logistics also got merged into Allcargo Logistics, thereby eliminating the entire holding structure. And going forward, it would be reported under one single operating listed entity with no step-down structure for this combined integrated business.”
— Mr. Ravi Jakhar, Director - Strategy and Group Chief Financial Officer
The Express business achieved its highest-ever quarterly revenue and volume, concurrently growing market share, a unique feat among the top five players.
“Our Express business has delivered the highest ever quarter in the company’s history, both in terms of revenue and volume and is also the only Express company in the top 5 to grow market share in Q2 over Q1.”
— Mr. Ketan Kulkarni, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Paradeep Parivahan | Nano Cap | Logistics
Paradeep Parivahan is a company specializing in cargo handling, port operations, intra-port transportation, and handling of port import cargo. They also excel in in-plant shifting of bulk raw materials, hazardous cargo, railway siding operations, crusher operations, special attention cargo handling, and earthwork.
The company achieved significant revenue growth across multiple logistics segments in H1 FY26.
“During H1 FY ‘26, we achieved total revenue of INR 178 crores, reflecting a robust 29.4% year-on-year growth. This growth was bold based across our transportation, stevedoring, cargo handling, equipment, supply, and in-plant logistic businesses.”
– Dr. Khalid Khan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Paradeep Parivahan is strategically diversifying into civil and maritime construction with new contracts.
“During the period, we also made strategic progresses in diversifying our offering, expanding into civil and maritime construction. We have a contract with Boulder Transportation and Reclamation, again using for breakwater wall, Paradeep, along with L&T, Larson, and Turbo Paradeep.”
– Dr. Khalid Khan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Significant government and industrial investments, including an IOCL naphtha cracker plant and refinery expansion, are planned for the Paradeep region, indicating strong future demand for logistics.
“Fortunately, the government of Odisha recently has given approval for proposals close to 1.3 trillion. Since the last discussion, I think IOCL has again signed an MoU with the government of Odisha for a naphtha cracker plant wherein the investment is close to INR 61,000 crores. Apart from this, they are also expanding their refinery from a present capacity of 15 million tons to 25 million tons per annum. For this expansion, they will need close to 1 lakh crores of investment.”
– Mr. Abdul Basith Shaikh, Vice President
Paradip Port plans extensive modernization by 2030, with substantial investments in green hydrogen and ammonia projects, signaling future growth opportunities.
“Apart from this, Paradip Port itself has made a vision for them that they will be undergoing complete modernization and mechanization by 2030. There are plants that are coming up for green hydrogen and ammonia wherein the investment is again close to INR 50,000 crores.”
– Mr. Abdul Basith Shaikh, Vice President
The company expects further margin improvement in H2 due to seasonal factors and its H1 being a traditionally slower period.
“So, if I have to tell you about the ceiling, so according to our prediction, they should. Yes, there is some more scope for improvement that we have because see, for us, H1 is usually the slower part of the year. We have some seasonality. So, H1 is slower than H2. So, considering that, we are expecting a little bit more in the half year that is supposed to follow.”
– Ms. Bushra Khan, Non-Executive Director
The company is strategically diversifying into construction, chemical trading, and commodity trading to mitigate inherent risks of being in a single sector.
“So, right now, we are diversifying into construction. We are diversifying into chemical sector. Along with that, we are also diversifying into trading sector, which is trading of cement and trading of commodities. We are exploring those options and our diversification is a strategic decision that we have taken. Being in one sector, there is always a risk which is inherent.”
– Mr. Abdul Basith Shaikh, Vice President
Despite concerns about US exports, overall cargo handling at Indian ports, especially overseas cargo and fertilizer imports, has increased significantly, showing no negative impact on operations.
“There has been no impact. Rather, if you check the numbers, the cargo handled at all the ports in India has increased by 5% when compared to the last H1. So, this majorly came from the handling of overseas cargo. Increasing handling of overseas cargo, coastal shipments have increased and there has been a steep increase in fertilizer imports. And this percentage is close to 108% when compared to last fiscal year.”
– Mr. Abdul Basith Shaikh, Vice President
The company’s strategic diversification initiatives are a direct response to consistent investor feedback and demand for growth beyond its core business.
“So, one of the things that we had heard from all of our investors, potential investors, right from the time the idea of the IPO came about, so in all our roadshows, in all the investor calls is, why aren’t we diversifying? So, this is actually one of the things that we had really listed down and put on pen and paper that if this is what the investors want to see or if this is what everybody is questioning us about, maybe it’s about time that we take it seriously.”
– Ms. Bushra Khan, Non-Executive Director
Future growth will be driven by continued strength in logistics and transportation, new ventures in civil/maritime construction, chemical trading, equipment rental, and expansion into other ports like Haldia and Vizag.
“And I think to summarize the drivers, I think it will be civil and maritime construction along with the parent business would again be logistics and transportation. Along with this, we will venture into civil and maritime and chemical trading and, you know, equipment rental. And also, we are planning to expand our businesses at other ports.”
– Mr. Abdul Basith Shaikh, Vice President
The H1-H2 revenue split, with H1 being slower, is primarily due to IFFCO’s factory shutdowns in May-June and operational challenges during the monsoon season.
“So, H1 is lower because as you know, IFFCO is one of our major clients. It contributes to at least 60% of our revenue, 60% to 70%. And they undergo a very planned, let’s say, clean up or whatever you would want to call it, of their factories in the month of May and June. And usually, that is one of the biggest reasons why our numbers are a little bit, they don’t pick up as much as they pick up in H2. And the second also being seasonality, you know, because it’s the monsoon season.”
– Ms. Bushra Khan, Non-Executive Director
Aviation
GMR Airports | Large Cap | Aviation
GMR Airports, a global infrastructure conglomerate, specializes in designing, building, and operating airports in India and overseas. Operating under the brand ‘GMR AERO’ and with Groupe ADP as a strategic partner, the company offers innovative aviation solutions and a range of aero services such as Duty Free, Retail, and Cargo. Through its Aerotropolis concept, GMR Airports develops airport cities with top-tier real estate developments in South Asia.
India’s growing status as a major global aviation market indicates strong underlying demand for GMR Airports.
“India continues to rise as a global aviation powerhouse, now the world’s 5th largest aviation market.”
– Saurabh Chawla, Executive Director, Finance and Strategy
IndiGo’s strategic expansion and large aircraft order reflect strong long-term confidence in the Indian aviation market’s growth potential.
“IndiGo’s expansion into long-haul and business class segments further signals confidence in sustained growth. Their recent order of 30 additional Airbus 350s doubling their wide-body fleet underscores the long-term optimism in Indian aviation.”
– Saurabh Chawla, Executive Director, Finance and Strategy
Despite geopolitical disruptions, GMR Airports views recent demand slowdowns as temporary, expecting a strong rebound in Q3.
“From regional tensions to isolated incidents, these disruptions have tested the resilience of travel ecosystem, yet what we have witnessed is not demand slowdown but a temporary pause. As we enter Quarter 3, historically the strongest quarter for travel and tourism, we remain confident in the sector’s trajectory.”
– Saurabh Chawla, Executive Director, Finance and Strategy
GMR Airports reported significant Q2 income and EBITDA growth, primarily due to revised Delhi airport tariffs, integration of duty-free and cargo businesses, and Hyderabad airport’s sustained performance.
“Momentum in total income continued with Q2 at INR37.5 billion, up 45% year-on-year driven by revised tariffs at Delhi airport which has been effective from mid-April, takeover of Delhi duty-free and cargo businesses by GMR Airports and sustained growth at Hyderabad airport translating to EBITDA growth of 59% year-on-year to INR15.3 billion.”
– Saurabh Chawla, Executive Director, Finance and Strategy
GMR Airports has fully taken over Delhi and Hyderabad duty-free operations, expecting a full quarter’s positive financial impact in Q3 FY26.
“After taking over Delhi duty-free concession on 28th July, GMR Airports also took over the operations of duty-free at Hyderabad airport and started operations from 10th September. GMR airports financials have already started reflecting the upsides from the above transactions and the full quarter impact will be seen in Q3.”
– Saurabh Chawla, Executive Director, Finance and Strategy
GMR Airports has successfully internalized various non-aero businesses like duty-free, cargo, carpark, and F&B, which are now generating revenue directly for the standalone entity.
“So, Mohit, I think as you would have noticed in the last two and a half, three years, we have been in the process of sourcing non-aero businesses to be done as part of GMR Airports. And the result of that is now started reflecting in our financials as we have started operating these businesses. As Saurabh just mentioned, Delhi duty-free from 27th of July midnight, Hyderabad duty-free in September 2025, Cargo, we took over in May. And likewise, Carpark, F&B, part of retail business. So, these are the businesses as independent business platforms, which we are now carrying out as part of GMR Airport. And that’s what is also reflecting in our revenues.”
– Rajesh Arora, Senior Management
Hyderabad Airport, nearing full capacity, plans a significant INR14,000 crore expansion including a new terminal and runway, with development expected to commence in calendar year 2027.
“Yes. The Hyderabad airport has already touched last year 29 million. This year, we are expecting about 33 million, close to full capacity. So, we are proposing for an expansion with INR14,000 crore. So, there is a proposal which basically consists of going for a new terminal on the northern side along with the runway and cross taxiways and also other infrastructure facilities. So, the proposal is now there and we have also included in our tariff determination process. In all probability, the master planning is going on and we are expecting that it should kick on in the CY 2027.”
– GRK Babu, Senior Management
Delhi Airport’s concession renewal after 30 years is expected to be smooth and automatic, similar to Hyderabad, with no renegotiations as long as ASQ scores are maintained.
“Just to highlight over here, the precedence is already there in Hyderabad Airport for everybody to see. Okay. It’s a very smooth affair. There’s a contract in place. And as long as we are maintaining our ASQ scores, the renewal is pretty much given. So, there are no specific renegotiations that can be opened as per the concession agreement, as per OMDA. So, I think you need to allay these concerns in the minds of the investors that there will be a fresh set of negotiations that will happen upon or just prior to the expiry of the first 30 years. I think that’s the moot point over here I want to highlight.”
– Saurabh Chawla, Executive Director, Finance and Strategy
Delhi Airport’s increased aero yield per pax in Q2 was due to new, higher parking tariffs designed to reduce congestion, with revenues expected to normalize to INR360-365 per pax by Q4 FY26 as airlines adapt to faster turnarounds.
“Basically, as you know, that DIAL new tariffs have been implemented from 15th April 2025. So, this time what we did, and regulators also accepted, in case of parking charges, which used to be flat after 2.5 hours, we have now made it a multiplier. So, for 2 hours and up to 4 hours there is a particular rate, and beyond 4 hours up to 8 hours is double of it and beyond 8 hours it is 4x. So we wanted to dissuade the airlines not to park the aircraft for long because it will be creating congestion. As a result of that, the parking charges have substantially gone up and the revenues, because there are so many aircrafts which have been parked, now they are slowly, slowly taking out and they are doing much more faster turnaround. So, in the initial 3 to 6 months, they have now learned it. Going forward, that additional revenue we may not generate, but because of the parking charges, additional revenue has come and the yield per pax has gone up. However, as per the tariff determination, it is INR360 yield per pax, that will continue to be there. So, in the next quarter also, we may have a little more because of parking, maybe by fourth quarter onwards, we may come back to 360 or 365. So, this is basically because of the parking charges, which airlines are now understanding, they are now doing much faster turnaround of aircrafts.”
– GRK Babu, Senior Management
Auto Ancillary
Gabriel India | Small Cap | Auto Ancillary
Gabriel India Ltd is a producer and supplier of high quality Ride Control Products for the Indian Automotive Industry participating in all segments i.e. Passenger Cars, Utility Vehicles, Commercial Vehicles and Two Wheelers.The company has overseas markets at Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia Pacific, China, Russia and Far East.
Gabriel India is aligning its product portfolio with the market shift towards premiumization, focusing on high-performance products like inverted front forks and mono shocks with better realizations.
“On the premium models, yes, we see a clear market shift towards premiumization, while the overall numbers are increasing. So, the market is moving towards premiumization. And so is sort of our product portfolio also moving towards that because I just also shared, I will share an example of 2 - wheeler, I think the market is clearly moving towards the inverted front forks, the upsi de down front forks, mono shocks, where the products are far su perior in terms of performance. Obviously, the realization is also much better there. So, the market is moving towards that. Gabriel has also been significantly moving towards that.”
— Atul Jaggi, Managing Director
The sunroof business is currently operating at significantly lower utilization due to underperforming models, leaving substantial idle capacity.
“The capacity utilization continues to be exactly at the same level, and we have practically sort of idle capacity available, almost, I would say, a line, the second line is not utilized currently because of these 2 models not doing so well. So currently, w e are at a much lesser utilization.”
— Atul Jaggi, Managing Director
The Rs. 1,000 crore revenue target for the sunroof business by 2030 is likely to be delayed by one to two years due to current market conditions.
“I think a more realistic number is that -- the aspiration continues to be the same, but I think we may see a year or a two - year delay into achieving that number... There can be a delay of one or two years.”
— Atul Jaggi, Managing Director
The EV segment experienced 13% year-on-year growth, indicating a consumer shift towards cleaner mobility driven by product expansion and infrastructure improvements.
“The electric vehicle segment recorded a strong Y - o - Y growth of 13% with volumes now reaching 5.8 lakh units. This is being driven by expanding product portfolio across the segment and improving charging infrastructure, showing a shi ft in the consumer preference towards cleaner and more cost - efficient solution.”
— Atul Jaggi, Managing Director
The overall auto industry showed healthy 9.5% year-on-year growth in Q2 FY26, driven by domestic and export demand.
“For the Q2 FY ‘26, the automobile industry delivered a healthy performance, growing by 9.5% Y - o - Y with volumes reaching 8.8 million units. This was supported by steady domestic demand and strong export growth, particularly for Africa, Latin America and Middle East.”
— Atul Jaggi, Managing Director
Gabriel India has formed a joint venture with SK Enmove to diversify into lubricants and e-fluids, aiming to expand beyond its core suspension business.
“The company entered into a joint venture with SK Enmove Co., Ltd, a leading Korean corporation to undertake the business of engineering, manufacturing and marketing of comprehensive range of automotive and industrial lubricants, including engine oils, e - fl uids, shock absorber oils, greases and thermal management fluids. With Gabriel India holding a 49% stake in the new joint venture, this partnership marks a strategic step towards expanding our presence into newer product segments that complement our core business and support the evolving need of sustainable mobility.”
— Atul Jaggi, Managing Director
Exide Industries | Small Cap | Auto Ancillary
Exide Industries Limited is a global leader in manufacturing and distributing lead acid batteries, offering a wide range of storage solutions for various energy applications. Their products cater to automotive, power, telecom, infrastructure, computer, railways, mining, and defence sectors worldwide, backed by cutting-edge technology and unparalleled services.
Q2 degrowth was primarily due to distributors and retailers destocking and delaying purchases in anticipation of new stocks with reduced GST prices, indicating a temporary market disruption rather than a fundamental demand issue.
“The company started the year on a strong note with Q1 registering about 5% growth, but showed a 2.1% degrowth in Q2, overall resulting in a modest 1.3% growth during H1. Even Q2 started on a strong note with double-digit growth in trade business in July. However, we suddenly saw a shift in momentum once the GST rate cuts were announced on 15th of August. Our distributors and retailers started destocking and postponed their buying in anticipation of receiving new stocks with updated prices.”
– Avik Roy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Exide temporarily halted price increases despite input cost pressures to pass on GST benefits, but may implement further price corrections from Q4 to manage input cost inflation.
“The company is yet to fully pass on the input material price impact to the market. ... However, once the GST rate cut was announced, we decided that we will put a stop to our price correction of the market because that sends a wrong signal to the market... Going forward, we will see how much input cost inflation we can absorb. And possibly in the next quarter, we can think -- at least in quarter 4 beginning, we can think whether we can go ahead -- looking at the input cost, we can go ahead with further correction of the prices.”
– Avik Roy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
The export business, impacted by geopolitical tensions, is expected to see an uptick from Q4 onwards due to successful expansion into new geographies and portfolios, diversifying market dependence.
“Tariff uncertainties have heavily impacted the export business for the second consecutive quarter... However, as informed to you in the last call, we were making major active strides to new geographies and new portfolios where our dependence on US and other countries reduce. Those activities are very much in place. And Q4 onwards, we will report you again, an uptick in the export business because we have found out additional markets, additional portfolios.”
– Avik Roy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Exide’s lithium-ion cell manufacturing project has received substantial investment, is nearing equipment installation completion, and is on track to commence production by the end of FY’26.
“Moving on to lithium-ion cell manufacturing project. We have invested about INR580 crores in H1 in FY ‘26 and further INR65 crores, we have already invested in the month of October. With this, the total equity investments made into Exide Energy, which is our 100% subsidiary, till date stands at INR3,947 crores. Equipment installation and commissioning works in Exide Energy is nearing completion. The company expects to start production towards the end of FY ‘26.”
– Avik Roy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Exide’s initial lithium-ion production will target 2-wheeler OEMs with NCM cylindrical cells, and the company is actively engaging with major players for early customer relationships.
“So as we mentioned earlier also Vibhav, that we will be starting with our first line, which is basically for 2-wheeler application. This is the NCM line, with cylindrical cells, which we will be commissioning first. And we are talking to large OEMs for the offtake already. This will be for 2-wheeler OEMs, I would not like to name them at this point. So they are going to be the first customers of us.”
– Avik Roy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
While focusing on achieving high utilization rates of 80-90%, Exide aims for its lithium-ion business to achieve margins comparable to its current lead-acid business at a steady state.
“Regarding the margins, I have been telling you that it’s not the right time to talk about margins. What we are focused on is utilization. We want to ramp up the utilization to 60%, 70%, 80%. And then at 80% or 90% utilization level, we’ll definitely do our mathematics one more time. But if you look at global benchmarks, that’s the only benchmark available. In India, we do not have an industry benchmark on this. But if you look at global benchmark, I think on a steady-state level, the margins will still be similar to our current lead acid margins. That’s our aim.”
– Avik Roy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
The Q2 production cut and revenue decline were attributed to a temporary “one-time hit” in inverter and solar businesses due to extended monsoon and GST 2.0 announcements, with a strong expectation for demand recovery in Q3.
“But we have some businesses where we were very strong, where we had competitive advantage in terms of portfolio and market. Those businesses in this quarter did not grow. For example, inverter batteries and solar. They were heavily impacted both by extended monsoon as well as the announcement of GST 2.0. ... So from 35% in Q1 to minus 5% in Q2, you can imagine that this is a onetime hit which we had to take because of the circumstances. And I’m very confident that in Q3, all these pent-up demands or the deferred purchase decisions will come back and we will bounce back because the demand is there.”
– Avik Roy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Lithium-ion cell pricing will involve negotiation, factoring in a premium for “Make in India” cells over imported alternatives and anticipated government policies to support domestic manufacturing.
“The first question is on pricing of the cells . pricing of the cells , obviously, will be a mix of both, depending on how we end up into negotiation with the customers. Of course, we expect that the customer to give value to “Make in India” cells over import Chinese cells. right? We also hope that the government will structure the imports in a way that it promotes local manufacturing of cells as well because people have put up such heavy investments.”
– Avik Roy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
The lead-acid aftermarket replacement segment demonstrated strong double-digit growth in H1 for both 4-wheeler and 2-wheeler categories, with anticipated robust H2 OEM growth signaling a future aftermarket boom.
“In the replacement market, Kapil, our growth for subsequent two quarters were all strong double-digit. In 4-wheeler, we are still double-digit. ... both 4-wheeler and 2-wheeler at around 10% to 11% in Q2. And on a half year level, I would say it’s 12% and 11%. So you see the aftermarket replacement growth is quite strong. What was not growing in H1 was the automotive OEM market, as you know. But now – as I have just mentioned, the October numbers of OEMs. We feel H2, the OEM growth will be good, and I would say, robust. And therefore, this gives me confidence that 2 years down the line, my aftermarket demand will also boom.”
– Avik Roy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
While passenger and commercial EV lithium-ion batteries are largely OEM-focused due to their lifespan, a substantial aftermarket opportunity exists in 2-wheelers and 3-wheelers due to their high usage and shorter replacement cycles.
“lithium-ion business, primarily in EV, it’s a B2B business, OEM business. For the simple reason, the life of the battery is more than the life of the car in general... But it has an aftermarket opportunity in 2-wheelers and 3-wheelers because of the applications because those are used for a lot of commercial purposes within the city shuttling. They run much more and there is an opportunity for aftermarket as we see in 2-wheeler and 3-wheeler.”
– Avik Roy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Exide expects improved core business margins from ongoing automation and technology investments, such as the full transition of motorcycle battery manufacturing to Punched Grid technology, which enhances cost efficiency and quality.
“you are absolutely right. And we have been running these projects for the last 1 year on various automation and the kind of productivity we are seeing in the motorcycle, in commercial vehicles, wherever we have invested. ... by end of December calendar year, our full motorcycle manufacturing will move to Punched Grid technology. This has multiple leverages on cost side, material cost, labor cost as well as quality.”
– Avik Roy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Exide is largely unaffected by China’s recent lithium-ion export restrictions on technology, equipment, and raw materials, as the company secured necessary inputs and know-how before the restrictions fully materialized.
“Now regarding the first two, as you know, we are already with all the machineries and we have already received the know-how. We are lucky. On the third, raw material, as you know, they have already announced, , they have relaxed -- delayed the import restriction by 1 year, to November ‘26. So until November ‘26, we should not worry. ... But we are lucky, Aditya, that we got all our equipment and all our know-how before all the geopolitics started.”
– Avik Roy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Exide has started incurring new, regular costs for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) compliance, with expectations to eventually pass these expenses to customers, possibly via a premium for recycled products.
“Yes. A good observation, Raghunandhan. You know, we had to comply with the new battery waste management regulations, which was not there last year or the year before last. And yes, we had made accruals to fulfill the obligations in quarter 2. ... But going forward, this is becoming a cost for us, regular cost. ... So we firmly believe that at some point of time, we should be able to pass on this increase to the product and customers who are buying a 100% recycled product from a customer -- from a manufacturer should be able to give that X percentage premium once we market it as a 100% recycled.”
– Avik Roy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Consumer Durables
LG Electronics India | Large Cap | Consumer Durables
LG Electronics India Ltd, a leading home appliances & consumer electronics manufacturer since 1997, serves B2C & B2B markets in India and abroad. It offers diverse products, installation, and repair services, with strong distribution, manufacturing units, and extensive service centres.
The company aims to increase its localization rate from 55.8% to around 70% over the next 3-4 years, continuing its annual 2-3% improvement.
“So, our current localization rate is around 55.8%, and in the last three fiscal years, we improved it 2% to 3% every year. And our target is to continue this 2% to 3% localization further in the next coming three to four years, and we want to take it to around 70%.”
— Sanjay Chitkara, Chief Sales Officer
The B2B segment contributes about 6% of sales, facing pressure from US tariff changes affecting IT and display solutions, but the company maintains a strong win rate and pipeline.
“Our B2B business is contributing roughly 6% of our business, and it is majorly driven by IT and information display panel and HVAC. Currently, we have seen there is a pressure on this segment due to U.S. tariff changes that led to the budgetary allocation and key segments like IT and display solution. But our win rate is very strong . And we will continue to maintain a healthy pipeline.”
— Sanjay Chitkara, Chief Sales Officer
LG India is a significant global production hub, contributing 5-6% of its revenue from exports to 54 countries and is central to LG HQ’s Global South strategy.
“Exports to 54 neighboring countries, including Nepal, Bangladesh, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, contribute to 5% to 6% of LGEIL’s revenue. With our strong manufacturing capabilities and operational excellence, LGEIL has emerged as a global production hub for LG.”
— Dongmyung Seo, Whole Time Director & Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
LG India maintained its leadership in washing machines and increased its market share in refrigerators, demonstrating continued strength in core appliance categories.
“In washing machine category, our market share stood at 33.4%, maintaining our absolute leadership in the category. In refrigerator, we stood at 29.9%, an increase of 1% compared to YTD September ‘24.”
— Aditya Bhasin, Head Investor Relations
LG India is entering the data center cooling market, leveraging India’s robust IT infrastructure as a global hub for data center expansion.
“In particular, as global IT companies expand their data centers worldwide, India’s strong IT capabilities make it a key destination where LGEIL is tapping into the data center cooling market.”
— Dongmyung Seo, Whole Time Director & Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
FMCG
Globus Spirits | Small Cap | FMCG
Globus Spirits Ltd was incorporated in 1993-94 (erstwhile name Globus Agronics Limited). The company caters to four important segments of the alcohol industry - Indian Made Indian Liquor (IMIL), Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), IMFL Bottling and Bulk Alcohol.
The company is studying the rapidly growing Tequila category for potential future entry, despite its Geographical Indication restrictions requiring production in Mexico.
“The Tequila category has been showing a lot of growth rates in the last few quarters in the recent times. Tequila, of course, has a GI restriction where it must only be manufactured in Mexico. It is a category that we are studying and hopefully we will give you announcements about that in the near future.”
— Shekhar Swarup, Joint Managing Director
Raw material prices are decreasing due to increased FCI rice availability, but the company maintains a long-term strategic EBITDA margin guidance of 5-7% for the manufacturing business, expecting higher profitability periods to normalize.
“Himanshu, you are right about that. The raw material prices have been coming down in October and November, and it is largely due to a very significant amount of FCI rice that is going to get available for all of us to use to make ethanol. But that said, I do foresee our long-term strategic guidance for the manufacturing business is that 5% to 7% EBITDA margins. There are going to be periods of higher profitability, but those will get corrected over time either through pricing action or something else.”
— Paramjit Singh Gill, Chief Executive Officer, Consumer Division
Delhi’s excise policy is set for amendments by April 2026, which are expected to enhance premium and luxury consumer experiences, a positive development for Globus Spirits irrespective of the final policy structure.
“The latest understanding that we have is that obviously the current Delhi excise policy will get its share of amendment from April ‘26. And regardless of the model, the Delhi excise ends up with, they definitely have very clearly outline that they also see an opportunity of allowing the consumer premium and luxury experiences, they also see the need of making the whole purchase experience much more convenient and pleasurable for the consumer. And for me, those are the key takeaways.”
— Paramjit Singh Gill, Chief Executive Officer, Consumer Division
Uttar Pradesh offers significant growth potential, particularly in the Prestige & Above category, with the ability to add hundreds of thousands of cases annually due to its vast market size.
“Just to add to that, the really exciting thing about UP is that you could be adding a couple of hundred thousand cases every year over there for a while, especially in the P & A category. Given the size of the state, there is such a large headroom for growth and that is why the excitement.”
— Shekhar Swarup, Joint Managing Director
The Prestige & Above category achieved robust 55% year-on-year revenue growth in H1 FY26, is approaching break-even, and is already profitable in three states, signaling improved operational efficiency.
“Prestige & Above category revenues grew by 55% year-on-year to almost 80 crores in H1 FY26. The category’s profitability continues to improve with volume growth, and we are now in touching distance of break-even and we are happy to share that three states amongst the business states are already profitable.”
— Paramjit Singh Gill, Chief Executive Officer, Consumer Division
International
Novavax | International
[Concall]
Novivvax has met all 2025 milestones with Sanofi, securing $225 million, and has transferred lead commercial responsibility for its COVID vaccine to Sanofi, discontinuing its own sales efforts.
“In our partnership with Santa Fe, we have achieved all milestones expected for 2025, securing a total of $225 million for the year from the BLA approval for new and including $50 million from the successful transfer of our marketing authorizations in both the US and the EU. We also completed the transfer to Sophi of lead commercial responsibility for the US allowing us to fully discontinue our own sales and marketing efforts this year for Newaxiv.”
– John Jacobs, President and CEO
US COVID vaccine market down approximately 20% year-over-year due to more restrictive ACIP recommendations for under-65 age groups, representing a market reset.
“So beginning with the COVID season, as folks know especially in the US, we had a policy update this year, certainly more restrictive in the below 65 age groups. When we look at the year-over-year and I think folks know we started one week late, so if you adjust for that, the season in terms of RXs are down about 20% compared to last year. That’s fairly consistent at least with our internal analytics and expectation for how ours and actually others in this market, how their labels have been altered. So when you think about the label for COVID then in the US, it’s beginning to become far more aligned to Europe and global markets. So when we think about the COVID market this year and its go forward expectations, there’s just a bit of a resetting occurring in the US and then our expectation is you build from there with sound footing.”
– Jim Kelly, Chief Financial Officer
Novavax secured $1.1 billion in non-dilutive funding over eight quarters while expanding partnerships with Sanofi on pandemic flu and renegotiating Takeda terms for Japan market.
“To date, we have made significant progress on this strategy. For example, over the past eight quarters, we’ve achieved approximately $1.1 billion in non-dilutive cash flow to the company, including $800 million from our partnerships in the form of upfront payments and milestones earned to date. We also just recently expanded our Sanofi partnership to include use of our Matrix-M adjuvant in their pandemic flu vaccine candidate for which Sanofi received a US BARDA grant. We renegotiated our agreement with Takeda which enhanced our revenue opportunity from their activities with Nuvaxovid in Japan, one of the world’s largest healthcare markets.”
– John Jacobs, President and CEO
Vaccine confidence can swing 50-60% year-over-year in the same markets, suggesting current US vaccination headwinds may reverse as global vaccine market grows to $75 billion by 2030.
“Vaccine confidence is a leading indicator of vaccination rates and varied worldwide, influenced by political, historical, cultural and socioeconomic factors, with highs and lows sometimes varying as much as 50 to 60% in the same region or country year to year. This is something we have seen in the flu and other vaccine markets over the years, and to some degree more recently in the United States with RSV, shingles, measles, COVID-19 and other vaccines. So it is reasonable to expect that vaccination rates could improve in the future. Additionally, many recent reports such as those from McKinsey and others have estimated that the global vaccine market could steadily grow at an average annual rate of 6 to 8% to reach a size of over $75 billion US by 2030.”
– Dr. Alexandra Draia, Head of R&D
GoPro | International
[Concall]
CEO Woodman personally investing $2 million equity to back company’s commitment to $40 million EBITDA target amid tariff uncertainty.
“As Brian will detail, we’ve amended our second lien credit agreement to address volatility in tariff rates. Given our commitment and expectation to achieve the minimum $40 million in trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA by year end 2026, I’m personally backing our commitment with a $2 million equity infusion into the company.”
– Nicholas Woodman, CEO
GoPro pivoting from single flagship “Swiss Army knife” strategy to multi-product diversification as consumer preferences shift toward specialized camera solutions.
“It’s clear that the opportunity for growth is in diversification and meeting more of the specific needs of the market, not through one SKU. You know, traditionally the Hero camera, the product that GoPro was built on, was a bit of a Swiss Army knife that did it all for everybody. And that was terrific for a time, but as consumer and professional demands have grown and become more specialized, we’ve seen the end customer want to not have a do-it-all Swiss Army knife as much as they want additional tools, multiple tools, multiple cameras that help them achieve more specifically the solution for whatever capture scenario they’re solving for.”
– Nicholas Woodman, CEO
GoPro confirms active development partnership with AGV on tech-enabled motorcycle helmets with integrated camera capabilities.
“Our tech enabled motorcycle helmets initiative is progressing and collaboration with AGV is already underway. Both teams are working closely to deliver innovative safety and performance features combined with the fun of effortlessly capturing immersive GoPro video while riding. We look forward to providing updates as development progresses.”
– Nicholas Woodman, CEO
Foxconn | International
Foxconn aims to be the most complete AI hardware solutions provider by expanding vertically into key components and data center construction beyond just AI servers.
“Our goal is to provide customers with comprehensive, end-to-end solutions. Beyond AI servers, we are moving upstream to develop key components and downstream to collaborate with partners in data center construction, positioning Foxconn as the most complete AI hardware solutions provider.”
– Young Liu, Chairman and CEO
AI server shipments surged 300% QoQ in Q3, hitting NT$1 trillion cumulative revenue milestone ahead of schedule; Q4 to see high double-digit sequential growth.
“In the third quarter, overall AI server shipments grew 300% quarter-on-quarter, hitting our target. And cumulatively by the third quarter, AI server revenue has already exceeded the ‘NT$1 trillion scale’. This is a milestone we had originally only expected to achieve later in the year. As automation and testing systems continue to improve, mass production of next generation AI servers is expected to scale up quickly. For 4Q25, AI server shipment volume is projected to grow by a high double-digit percentage QoQ, consistent with our expectations for revenue growth in this segment.”
– James Wu, Spokesperson
Industry AI rack shipments expected to double from 30-50K in 2025 to 50-100K in 2026; Foxconn expanding US capacity across Texas, Wisconsin, California, and Ohio.
“Based on market estimation, this year’s total AI rack shipments are around 30,000 to 50,000 racks, probably toward the lower end. Next year, that number is expected to double to 50,000–60,000 racks, which we believe is still a conservative estimate. We see that some forecasts even suggest it could reach 100,000 units. To meet this accelerating demand for AI infrastructure, over the past year, we have significantly expanded our AI server manufacturing capacity across our U.S. sites in Texas, Wisconsin, California, and Ohio. This is to better support the urgent needs of our major customers.”
– Young Liu, Chairman and CEO
Foxconn anticipates an “Outsourcing Breaking Point” in the EV industry, creating significant opportunities for its CDMS business model in contract manufacturing and design services.
“We believe that the EV industry’s own “Outsourcing Breaking Point” will emerge in the near future, when the EV contract manufacturing market approaches an inflection point. Opportunities for contract manufacturing services, and even contract design and manufacturing services, will continue to expand rapidly. Our CDMS business model is built precisely for this moment.”
– Young Liu, Chairman and CEO
Foxconn is expanding AI server manufacturing capacity in the U.S., Taiwan, and Japan, targeting a “local for local” strategy where local capacity serves local consumption.
“So, we will build up capacities in these areas that I just mentioned. The trend that we see, is local for local. Local capacity for local consumption. So, that would be our target.”
– Young Liu, Chairman and CEO
That’s it for now! Your feedback will really help shape how The Chatter evolves. Drop it down in the comments below!
Quotes in this newsletter were curated by Meher & Vignesh.
Disclaimer: We’ve used AI tools in filtering and cleaning up these quotes so there maybe some mistakes. Now, if you are thinking why we are using AI, please remember that we are just a small team of 5 people running everything you see on Zerodha Markets 😬 So, all the good stuff is human and mistakes are AI.
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