The Chatter: Infosys, Adani, Tata Motors, Canara & More
Q4FY26 | Edition #65
Welcome to the 65th edition of The Chatter — a weekly newsletter where we dig through what India’s biggest companies 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 10 companies across 7 industries.
Software Services
Infosys
Trading
Adani Enterprises
Auto Ancillary
Tata Motors
Financial Services
Canara Bank
Aadhar Housing Finance
FMCG
Jyothy Labs
Engineering & Capital Goods
KEI Industries
Amber Enterprises India
Dhruv Consultancy Services Ltd
Healthcare
Q-Line Biotech Ltd
Software Services
Infosys | Large Cap | Software Services
Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, facilitating clients worldwide in their digital transformation journey. With over 40 years of experience, Infosys leverages cloud and AI technologies to empower businesses with agile digital solutions and continuous improvement.
[Concall]
Nandan Nilekani directly addressed investor concerns that AI could reduce the need for traditional IT services companies.
“Now, more than 3 years after the launch of generative AI, Infosys is more relevant than ever before and well-positioned for the decade ahead.”
“AI will not replace companies like ours; it will amplify those who move with purpose and adapt with speed.”
— Nandan Nilekani, Chairman
Management believes AI is accelerating spending on core technology transformation projects.
“The AI revolution has made legacy modernization urgent in a way nothing else has, and clients are moving to retire the technical debt accumulated over decades.”
— Nandan Nilekani, Chairman
One of the most important market opportunity disclosures in the AGM.
“We recently unveiled our AI-first value framework to help global enterprises unlock AI value at scale.”
“This positions Infosys to tap into an AI-first services opportunity of $300 billion to $400 billion by 2030.”
— Nandan Nilekani, Chairman
A strong indicator of AI adoption across the existing client base.
“We are already collaborating with 90% of our top 200 clients on their AI journeys.”
“Increasingly, they see Infosys as a trusted partner to unlock AI-led value across growth, efficiency, and innovation.”
— Nandan Nilekani, Chairman
One of the most important AI monetization disclosures.
“In Q3 of last year, we shared that approximately 5.5% of our revenue was in AI services, which is approximately $1 billion annualized.”
“This is growing at a fast pace.”
— Salil Parekh, CEO & Managing Director
Management identified where client spending is currently concentrated.
“The fourth is modernization of technology using agents; we see this as one of the largest areas today where clients are looking to Infosys for help.”
— Salil Parekh, CEO & Managing Director
Management highlighted the gap between experimentation and large-scale deployment.
“The AI deployment gap in our large enterprise clients is real, and closing that gap is where the work is.”
— Nandan Nilekani, Chairman
A direct rebuttal to the bear case around AI-led reduction in services demand.
“The preference will be to build versus buy for software.”
“All this creates even larger opportunities for us.”
— Nandan Nilekani, Chairman
Management does not see AI reducing fresher hiring requirements.
“We expect the overall volume of work to expand as humans work with AI agents.”
“We plan to recruit similar numbers of college graduates this year.”
— Salil Parekh, CEO & Managing Director
Infosys sees execution, not demand, as the biggest AI risk
“Execution risk is our ability to reorient offerings to AI, align sales and delivery teams, transform talent, and adopt new pricing models like outcome-based pricing.”
— Salil Parekh, CEO & Managing Director
Management disclosed the breadth of AI activity underway.
“We have over 4,800 AI projects and 600 agents.”
“We have 16 leadership rankings in the AI space.”
— Salil Parekh, CEO & Managing Director
Management explained where long-term value creation lies.
“The value for a large enterprise is to take its own data and populate the model so it results in better intelligence for the enterprise to benefit.”
— Salil Parekh, CEO & Managing Director
Nandan explained that value creation will not come from foundation models alone but from integrating them into mission-critical enterprise software.
“The defining opportunity lies in integrating intelligent AI systems with mission-critical enterprise platforms.”
“The greatest value will come from combining the world of models and agents with traditional transaction systems that continue to underpin enterprise operations.”
“That convergence is where the next wave of opportunities will emerge.”
— Nandan Nilekani, Chairman
One of the less-discussed AI themes from the AGM.
“The fifth is physical AI, which involves manufacturing and putting software into those manufacturing elements, whether in medical, automotive, or other areas.”
— Salil Parekh, CEO & Managing Director
A key assumption behind management’s long-term optimism.
“Productivity improvements enable clients to reinvest savings in new IT spending, expanding the addressable market.”
— Salil Parekh, CEO & Managing Director
One of the few sector-specific outlook comments in the AGM.
“We expect acceleration in Financial Services and Energy in FY27.”
— Salil Parekh, CEO & Managing Director
Trading
Adani Enterprises | Large Cap | Trading
Adani Enterprises is a multifaceted company involved in integrated resources management, mining services, and trading activities. It serves as an incubator for emerging businesses in sectors such as new energy, data centers, airports, roads, copper, and digital space.
[Concall]
Gautam Adani described the recent rights issue as much more than a capital raise, framing it as a vote of confidence in the Group following heightened scrutiny.
“Just one example of this belief was our ₹25,000 crores rights issue earlier this year. This was more than a capital event. I saw it as a referendum on our credibility.”
“It was one of the largest rights issues in the history of India Inc. and your response was very clear. At a time when some tried to create doubt, you answered with conviction. You responded with participation and you provided us the mandate to help keep building India.”
— Gautam Adani, Chairman
One of the biggest capital allocation disclosures. Management highlighted the scale of investment relative to India’s overall private-sector capex.
“In FY26, we made a record capital investment of more than ₹1.5 lakh crores in hard infrastructure.”
“To put that in perspective, this represented over 30% of India’s total new private sector capital expenditure for the year.”
“For us, this is more than a financial number. It is a statement of belief.”
— Gautam Adani, Chairman
Management reiterated one of the country’s largest announced power expansion plans.
“At Adani Power, we are implementing India’s largest-ever private sector power capex program of over ₹2 lakh crores, with a target of reaching 45 gigawatts of capacity over the next 5 years.”
— Gautam Adani, Chairman
Gautam Adani provided additional details on the recently announced nuclear energy entry.
“Our entry into nuclear energy through Adani Atomic Energy is another confident step towards securing India’s long-term energy future.”
“With land identified and a 10 gigawatt targeted capacity by 2035, we are positioning ourselves early to serve the growing national demand for clean, round-the-clock power.”
— Gautam Adani, Chairman
Management outlined its ambitions to build one of India’s largest AI and cloud infrastructure platforms.
“In digital and industrial infrastructure, our data center business is firmly on the path to building a 3 gigawatt platform by 2030.”
“The binding MOU for a gigawatt-scale data center with Google in Visakhapatnam reflects both the scale of the digital demand ahead and the confidence that global technology leaders such as Google, Microsoft, Uber, and Flipkart are placing on us.”
— Gautam Adani, Chairman
Management highlighted the scale of Adani Ports’ growth ambitions.
“Adani Ports handled over 500 million tonnes of cargo in FY26, setting an unmatched benchmark for the nation and creating a clear pathway to 1 billion tonnes by 2030.”
— Gautam Adani, Chairman
The AGM contained one of the clearest articulations of Adani’s aerospace ambitions.
“Our partnerships with Leonardo and Embraer are helping lay the foundation for integrated helicopter and regional aircraft manufacturing ecosystems in India.”
“We are building a national aerospace platform that spans manufacturing, MRO, services, and pilot training.”
— Gautam Adani, Chairman
Gautam Adani framed the Group’s long-term strategy around two converging themes.
“The theme of my address this year focuses on accelerating infrastructure and leveraging intelligence.”
“These are no longer two separate priorities. They are the twin global engines that must shape India’s strength.”
“Infrastructure gives a nation muscle. Intelligence gives a nation mastery.”
— Gautam Adani, Chairman
Management argued that its integrated infrastructure portfolio gives it an advantage in supporting AI-led growth.
“We are now one of the very few global companies that are not reacting to the future but are prepared for it.”
“We have been positioning for this day for years.”
— Gautam Adani, Chairman
Gautam Adani explained why the Group believes its business model is difficult to replicate.
“Our strength lies in the way our infrastructure pieces connect.”
“From mining and power generation to transmission and distribution, to ports and logistics, to data centers and fulfillment centers, and roads to water, we have the ability to connect every critical layer of infrastructure.”
— Gautam Adani, Chairman
Gautam Adani closed the strategic section by emphasizing continued investment through volatility.
“We built when it was hardest to build.”
“We believed when it was hardest to believe.”
“And we proved that resilience is a way of life for us.”
— Gautam Adani, Chairman
Gautam Adani described the structural changes shaping the Group’s long-term investment decisions.
“We saw early that the world was entering a new era where geopolitical fault lines would deepen, supply chains would fragment, and energy security would return as a strategic priority.”
“We saw that the race for technological leadership and sovereignty would be constrained not by ambitions but by infrastructure.”
— Gautam Adani, Chairman
Management explained why it is investing simultaneously across physical infrastructure and digital infrastructure.
“The first engine, infrastructure, consists of the roads, ports, airports, transmission lines, power plants, renewable parks, gas networks, logistics platforms, cement capacity, water systems, and industrial ecosystems that make national growth possible.”
“The second engine, intelligence, involves data centers, the use of AI, automation, predictive systems, digital platforms, real-time analytics, and machine-led decision support to make every one of these assets more responsive.”
— Gautam Adani, Chairman
Management highlighted the scale of growth in Adani Energy Solutions.
“At Adani Energy Solutions, our transmission order book rose to ₹72,000 crores.”
“We secured several major projects including the Khavda south-east part HVDC line, reinforcing our position as India’s only private sector player with a proven HVDC capability.”
— Gautam Adani, Chairman
An unusual comment from an infrastructure developer on supply-chain relationships.
“We will build deeper, more stable partnerships where their growth is supported, their margins are protected, and their interests are aligned with ours to help us deliver projects with greater speed, quality, and ownership.”
— Gautam Adani, Chairman
Auto Ancillary
Tata Motors | Large Cap | Automobiles
Tata Motors Limited is one of India’s largest automobile manufacturers, with a strong presence across commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles, electric mobility, and global export markets. In this interaction, Girish Wagh discusses how the Middle East crisis disrupted supply chains and exports, the resulting commodity cost pressures, and why the company believes demand in the region remains intact as logistics gradually return to normal.
The company continues to face commodity cost inflation due to higher raw material prices and rupee depreciation, although management expects these pressures to gradually ease.
“The residual impact remains in the form of commodity cost inflation... whether it is on commodities or also it is due to rupee depreciation. I think the impact on commodity cost is still there. I think as we go ahead it should kind of flatten out.”
— Girish Wagh, Managing Director & CEO, Tata Motors Limited.
The Middle East, which normally contributes around 20% of Tata Motors’ international business, saw demand collapse temporarily before beginning to recover as shipments resumed.
“Our Middle East used to contribute... depending upon the month, 20 odd% of our total international business demand and in the first two months it came to zero. There were no shipments there, no movement happening there. But I think over the last month or so and this month, the business is getting back on track.”
— Girish Wagh, Managing Director & CEO, Tata Motors Limited.
Despite the disruption, management believes underlying demand in the Middle East remains intact and logistics have largely normalized following the reopening of the Strait.
“This month, for example, we will be shipping vehicles to Middle East... the underlying demand is still there. Meanwhile we tried to use some alternate route for reaching vehicles to UAE... Fortunately, because the Strait has opened now, we don’t have to do that.”
— Girish Wagh, Managing Director & CEO, Tata Motors Limited.
Management had to utilize more expensive and indirect shipping paths to maintain their market presence in the UAE during the crisis. These higher logistics costs likely weighed on the profitability of the international business segment during that period.
“Meanwhile, we used alternate routes to reach the UAE. Those routes were longer, more circuitous, and involved higher costs.”
— Girish Wagh, Managing Director & CEO, Tata Motors Limited.
Financial Services
Canara Bank | Large Cap | Public Sector Bank
Canara Bank is one of India’s largest public sector banks, headquartered in Bengaluru with a significant domestic and international presence. The bank offers a comprehensive range of financial services, focusing heavily on its Retail, Agriculture, and MSME (RAM) segments to drive sustainable growth.
[Concall]
While the bank saw strong overall profit growth, its core interest margins faced some pressure over the last year. Investors should monitor how the bank balances its growth in lending with the rising costs of deposits.
“When we talk about profitability, the bank grew its net profit by 12.69% year-over-year to 19,187 crores in financial year 2025-26, which is very good, with operating profit growing by 5.19% year-over-year to 33,019 crores. The net interest margin of the bank declined by 22 basis points to 2.51% in March 2026 from 2.73% in March 2025.”
— Brajesh Kumar Singh, MD and CEO
The bank is increasing its investment in technology to stay competitive with digital-first private banks. Higher tech spending should improve customer retention and lower operational costs over time.
“To Hiranand Kotwani, innovation is constant for us. We spend 7-8% on technology and aim to increase this to 10% to enhance customer experience, cyber security, and digital platforms.”
— Brajesh Kumar Singh, MD and CEO
The bank has built a massive gold loan business but is keeping risks low by lending only a fraction of the gold’s value. This conservative approach protects the bank if gold prices suddenly drop.
“Our gold loan portfolio of 2.45 lakh crores represents 18% of our total portfolio, which avoids concentration risk. We maintain a conservative Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio of around 65%, providing a 35% margin.”
— Brajesh Kumar Singh, MD and CEO
Management expects its interest margins to bottom out and start improving slightly in the coming year. This forecast is important for investors as it directly impacts the bank’s core earnings power.
“For Mr. Bhide, our NIM was 2.51% last year. While repo rate changes reprice 50% of our book quickly, deposits have a lag. Our guidance for NIM is 2.52% to 2.60%.”
— Brajesh Kumar Singh, MD and CEO
The bank is actively rebalancing its loan book to favor retail and small business loans over large corporate debt. This shift is designed to create a more stable and higher-yielding portfolio.
“To Mr. Saha, our RAM mix is currently 59%, with 41% corporate. We aim to tilt this more toward RAM for better risk mitigation.”
— Brajesh Kumar Singh, MD and CEO
Aadhar Housing Finance | Small Cap | Financial Services
Aadhar Housing Finance is a major player in low-income housing finance in India, catering to the home financing needs of the underserved. It focuses on enabling millions to own their first homes by providing a variety of mortgage-related loan products for residential and commercial properties.
Responding to concerns about reports showing weakness in affordable housing sales, Rishi Anand explained that most industry reports fail to capture the company’s core customer segments, such as self-construction and resale homes, making them an incomplete indicator of demand.
“There have been multiple reports highlighting a reduction in the supply side of affordable housing. However, when we talk about low-income housing, the situation is quite different. Around 35% of our customers build their own homes through self-construction, and another 35% buy resale properties. These reports generally don’t capture either of these segments. The remaining 27–28% purchase low-ticket, newly constructed properties. Therefore, I don’t believe that the low-income housing segment—particularly homes priced below ₹15 lakh—can be assessed purely through supply-side reports.”
— Rishi Anand, MD & CEO
Asked whether the monsoon could affect housing demand and collections, management explained that self-construction is seasonal, with excessive rainfall having a greater impact than moderate rainfall.
“Self-construction is inherently seasonal. Both insufficient rainfall and excessive rainfall can have an impact, although heavy rainfall affects construction activity more significantly. Moderate rainfall is generally positive for self-construction, while excessive rain slows construction. Similarly, during hotter months, self-construction tends to increase because builders need more time for structures to dry. So, excessive rains would have a greater impact on self-construction, whereas moderate rainfall should be beneficial.”
— Rishi Anand, MD & CEO
Responding to concerns about borrower stress amid geopolitical uncertainties, management said that collection indicators remain healthy across both salaried and self-employed customers.
“When we talk about stress today, there are two common concerns. One is the potential impact of the West Asia situation. However, the first metric we monitor is the trend in bounce rates. Fortunately, over the last eight quarters, our bounce rates have remained extremely stable across both salaried and self-employed customers. As of today, we are not seeing any signs of stress.”
— Rishi Anand, MD & CEO
Management explained why potential changes in interest rates are unlikely to materially affect profitability.
“Our current expectation is that rates may rise by around 25 basis points during this financial year. However, about 75% of our borrowings and 75% of our assets are on floating rates. Therefore, any movement in rates gets passed through to customers. When rates fall, we pass on the benefit—as we did in February this year by reducing rates by 15 basis points. Likewise, if rates rise, the increase is passed on.”
— Rishi Anand, MD & CEO
Asked about margin sustainability, management reiterated that current NIM levels remain the company’s comfort zone.
“We closed the year with NIMs of around 9.18%. That remains our comfort zone, and we expect to operate around those levels during the current financial year.”
— Rishi Anand, MD & CEO
On the Loan Against Property (LAP) portfolio, management said the current mix is appropriate and well within regulatory limits.
“As a regulated housing finance company, 60% of our balance sheet must comprise individual home loans. Effectively, that translates into a 70:30 mix. Today, our LAP portfolio is around 27%. We believe this is the right level and don’t intend to move closer to the regulatory threshold. We expect LAP to remain around 27–28% during the current financial year.”
— Rishi Anand, MD & CEO
On the company’s FY29 target of ₹50,000 crore AUM, management clarified that growth will remain diversified across states.
“We operate across 22 states through about 626 branches, and we plan to add another 50 branches. From a risk management perspective, we want to maintain a balanced geographic presence. Across our top three metrics—AUM, disbursements, and distribution—we don’t want any single state to contribute more than 15%. Therefore, we expect our geographical mix to remain broadly stable even over the long term.”
— Rishi Anand, MD & CEO
Asked about digital sourcing and AI, management explained that while internal processes are fully digital, customer adoption will be gradual given the company’s target segment.
“Our customers are low-income borrowers at the bottom of the economic pyramid. We don’t expect them to go online and apply for home loans directly. However, every customer who comes to us is processed digitally. We no longer create physical files. Everything is managed on a technology platform. Internally, we are technologically ready. We can issue a loan sanction within 30 minutes. The customers, however, may take a little longer to adopt fully digital processes.”
— Rishi Anand, MD & CEO
Management explained why physical distribution continues to be central to its business model, while expressing optimism about gradual digital adoption.
“Even today, around 6–7% of our customers do not own smartphones and still use keypad phones. That’s the customer segment we serve. Therefore, our extensive branch network remains critical. Having said that, I’m very optimistic. We are already seeing early signs that our customers are becoming increasingly tech-savvy. We have a customer app through which customers are beginning to submit requests digitally. From a pure digital sourcing perspective, however, we’re still some distance away. That said, we already use digital platforms extensively for lead generation and sourcing. Direct customer-originated digital applications will take some more time.”
— Rishi Anand, MD & CEO
FMCG
Jyothy Labs Limited | Mid Cap | Household & Personal Products
Jyothy Labs Limited is a leading Indian consumer goods company with a strong presence in fabric care, dishwashing, and personal care segments. The company is widely recognized for its indigenous power brands like Ujala and Exo, alongside a significant manufacturing and pan-India distribution network.
[Concall]
The company has immediately ceased all business activities related to two major licensed brands following a non-renewal notice. Investors should prepare for a significant hole in the revenue stream starting from the first quarter of fiscal year 2027.
“As instructed by Henkel, from 1st June 2026, Jyothy Labs has stopped manufacturing, marketing, selling, and distribution of Pril and Fa. The company will follow the exit process in line with the provisions of the agreements.”
— M. R. Jyothy, Chairperson and Managing Director
To counter the loss of the Pril brand, the company is shifting its entire marketing and production focus to its in-house brand, Exo. The success of this pivot is critical for maintaining the company’s market share in the high-growth dishwash liquid segment.
“Within the Dishwash portfolio, Pril has historically been the anchor brand in liquids, while Exo has been the stronger franchise in bars. Exo Dishwash Liquid has been part of the company’s portfolio since 2005-2006 and is now being scaled up with renewed focus and investment.”
— M. R. Jyothy, Chairperson and Managing Director
Management is warning that profitability will likely decline in the coming year as they reorganize their product mix and marketing spend. This indicates that fiscal year 2027 will be a period of consolidation rather than aggressive earnings growth.
“The company recognizes that FY 2027 will be a transition year for Dishwash Liquids. Near-term margin softness is expected during this phase.”
— M. R. Jyothy, Chairperson and Managing Director
Management indicated they are looking for acquisitions to fill the revenue gap but will not overpay out of desperation. This suggests a disciplined capital allocation strategy despite the pressure to replace lost volumes quickly.
“As far as inorganic growth opportunities are concerned, Manoj, as you are aware, the company has been looking at various opportunities simply because Pril and Fa have departed, wouldn’t put us in a situation where we will take any rash decision. So, our fundamental approach to inorganic growth opportunities remains the same.”
— Pawan Agarwal, Chief Financial Officer
The legal dispute involves more than just money; it covers the transfer of assets and how the transition is managed. Investors should watch for updates on this arbitration as it could impact how smoothly the brand handover occurs.
“The core issue is the proper treatment of end-of-term consequences under the license agreement framework, including the business transfer of Pril and Fa brand valuation consideration, associated transition matters, etcetera. So, it’s a combination of a few issues.”
— Pawan Agarwal, Chief Financial Officer
Engineering & Capital Goods
KEI Industries | Mid Cap | Cables & Wires
KEI Industries is one of India’s leading manufacturers of wires, cables, and EPC solutions, serving infrastructure, real estate, industrial, and power sectors across domestic and international markets. In this interaction, Chairman & Managing Director Anil Gupta discusses the company’s FY27 growth outlook, export recovery amid Middle East supply chain challenges, and why the rapid expansion of data centres could become a major long-term growth driver for the wires and cables industry.
Management is projecting more than 20% revenue growth for both the current quarter and the full fiscal year, reflecting confidence in business momentum despite volume numbers still being finalised.
“Revenue growth should be more than 20%, both for the quarter and for the full year. Volume growth will be determined only after the month is completed.”
— Anil Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director, KEI Industries Limited
Export order bookings have recovered despite ongoing shipment and supply chain disruptions in the Middle East. Management expects exports to remain a key growth driver over the full year.
“Export order bookings have recovered and we expect very strong growth for the full year. I can’t comment quarter-on-quarter because shipment and supply-chain challenges in the Middle East still exist, although dispatches have resumed and the situation is improving every day.”
— Anil Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director, KEI Industries Limited
Management believes metal price volatility has only a limited short-term impact on profitability, with pricing mechanisms helping normalize margins over the full year.
“We don’t bet on metal prices. They move up and down all the time. Our margins do not depend on metal price movements. There may be a temporary impact of around 0.5% to 1% in a quarter because of inventory, but over the full year these effects normalize.”
— Anil Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director, KEI Industries Limited
KEI believes it is well positioned to benefit from India’s data centre buildout, supplying nearly the entire range of wires and cables required for these facilities.
“We have been supplying to data centres across the country for several years. We believe we cater to nearly 90% of the wires and cables requirement for a data centre, from extra high-voltage to low-voltage cables, copper flexibles and specialty cables. Given the number of data centres being announced, this represents a massive opportunity over the next eight to ten years.”
— Anil Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director, KEI Industries Limited
Management estimates its current data centre business at around ₹400–500 crore annually and believes it has the potential to grow multiple times over the next decade.
“We haven’t quantified it precisely, but it is roughly ₹400–500 crore annually at present. Over the next eight to ten years, this could grow by as much as ten times from current levels.”
— Anil Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director, KEI Industries Limited.
Amber Enterprises India Limited | Mid Cap | Consumer Durables
Amber Enterprises is a prominent original equipment manufacturer for the Indian room air conditioner and consumer electronics industry. The company is strategically diversifying into mobile phone manufacturing and electronic components to reduce its reliance on seasonal cooling products.
[Concall]
The company is entering the mobile manufacturing space to balance its high-volume assembly business with its existing high-margin components segments. This move is specifically designed to generate steady revenue throughout the year and offset the seasonal nature of their air conditioner sales.
“This is also fully consistent with our stated strategy of maintaining the right balance between high-margin value-added businesses and asset-light high-volume low-margin businesses. This collaboration meaningfully diversifies our revenue profile and importantly reduces the seasonal concentration inherent in our room air conditioner business.”
— Jasbir Singh, Executive Chairman and CEO
Amber is utilizing a subleasing model for its new mobile production facility to avoid complex regulatory hurdles and high upfront costs. This asset-light approach allows the company to enter a new market without significantly increasing its capital expenditure.
“On the facility side, the manufacturing will be carried out at an existing facility under a sublease arrangement with Oppo India. This structure does not require any Press Note 3 approval. On the capital outlay, consistent with the asset-light nature of this collaboration, capex requirements are very, very minimal.”
— Jasbir Singh, Executive Chairman and CEO
The company has set clear volume targets for its new mobile collaboration, aiming for significant growth within just twenty-four months. Reaching 15 million units would establish Amber as a major player in India’s mobile manufacturing ecosystem.
“On the scale side, we expect to begin with around 8 million units in year one, followed by a calibrated phase-wise ramp-up. If everything goes as scheduled, we expect to touch the volumes of around 13-15 million in the second year of operations.”
— Jasbir Singh, Executive Chairman and CEO
Management clarified that while revenue accounting might vary between gross or job-work models, the actual profit generated will remain consistent. Investors should focus on absolute profit figures rather than total revenue when evaluating this specific segment.
“The arrangement is on the bottom-line side, basically not on the top-line side. We have flexibility on the top-line side. It will depend on the Oppo India team. Some models may come on the gross side and some on the other, but the bottom line on the absolute numbers will remain intact.”
— Jasbir Singh, Executive Chairman and CEO
Amber has consolidated its position as India’s leading printed circuit board manufacturer through strategic acquisitions and expert leadership. This dominance in electronics components provides a strong foundation for their expansion into mobile phones and other high-tech sectors.
“The whole PCB division will be headed by Mr. Santosh. He has 25 years of experience in the printed circuit board category. He was earlier heading AT&S, which was previously the largest PCB company. Now Amber has become the largest PCB company with Ascent and Shogini in our fold.”
— Jasbir Singh, Executive Chairman and CEO
Dhruv Consultancy Services Ltd. | Small Cap | Civil Engineering
Dhruv Consultancy Services provides engineering design and project management services for highways, railways, and airports. The company is currently expanding into the wayside amenities sector and international markets to diversify its revenue streams.
[Concall]
A new government rating system has ranked the company as the sixth-best consultant in India for highway projects. This high ranking significantly improves the company’s ability to win future contracts at better pricing levels.
“Recently NHAI has allotted ratings to consultancy firms and based on those ratings, they have revised the eligibility and allotment criteria for projects in the present and future. I am happy to announce that we are number 6 in India among 57 consultants, scoring almost 70 marks out of 100.”
— Pandurang Dandawate, Chairman
The firm is diversifying into managing highway rest stops, which include fuel stations and food courts. This shift moves the business model toward long-term ownership and maintenance rather than just design services.
“This is a bit of a diversification of the business from our core sector of consultancy. For the first time, we have submitted our bids for the wayside amenity business, which is on a BOT or PPP mode with a concession period of 15 years. Basically, we have to invest and develop the wayside amenity and also maintain it.”
— Pandurang Dandawate, Chairman
The new wayside amenity projects will generate consistent income from fuel sales and retail rentals. Management expects high traffic volumes on these routes to drive significant recurring revenue.
“We have four types of revenue streams. The first is from the sale of fuel and commissions. Estimated fuel sales are 50 crore per annum on that highway, as it is a busy highway with high commercial traffic connecting South India to North India through Maharashtra.”
— Pandurang Dandawate, Chairman
The majority of the company’s business comes from major central government highway authorities. This provides a steady pipeline of large-scale infrastructure projects though it maintains a high client concentration.
“Broadly, our main client is NHAI, so 70% of our revenue is from NHAI plus MoRTH. MoRTH handles two-lane and four-lane highways, whereas NHAI handles six-lane highways, expressways, and iconic projects.”
— Pandurang Dandawate, Chairman
Dhruv is targeting the government’s ambitious plan to build hundreds of regional airports. Securing these contracts would allow the company to expand its expertise beyond the highway sector.
“I should mention that in this third phase of the NDA government, they have decided to develop 250 plus airports in tier 3 and tier 4 cities across India. We are eyeing significant business starting with DPRs for these small airports and airstrips.”
— Pandurang Dandawate, Chairman
The company is investing in advanced design technology to win higher-value contracts in the Middle East. Success in Saudi Arabia would provide a lucrative new source of international revenue.
“We have increased our software bank and provided training to our professional design staff. We have submitted quotations for two or three private assignments in Saudi Arabia and hope to secure at least 50 crore in business there in the next 6 months to 1 year.”
— Pandurang Dandawate, Chairman
The company is focusing its global expansion on projects backed by reputable international financial institutions. This strategy helps ensure payment security and reduces the risks of working in new foreign markets.
“For the last 2 years, we have tried hard to enter the international market, but that turnaround time is about 3 years. We are specific in bidding for projects funded by the ADB, World Bank, or African Development Bank.”
— Pandurang Dandawate, Chairman
Healthcare
Q-Line Biotech Ltd. | Small Cap | Healthcare - Diagnostics
Q-Line Biotech is an Indian in-vitro diagnostics company that develops and manufactures diagnostic reagents and automated laboratory instruments. The company follows a razor-and-blade business model where an expanding installation base of equipment drives high-margin, recurring reagent sales.
[Concall]
Management is moving production to a larger new facility to handle more complex diagnostic categories like molecular testing. This transition to Unit 4 is intended to drive higher margins through improved production scale and a more advanced product mix.
In the manufactured reagent category, our gross margin is about 60% to 65%. As Unit 4 ramps up, in phase one, we will be shifting all clinical chemistry reagents from our old facility in Delhi to Unit 4 in Lucknow. This is phase one. In phase two, we will be adding rapid, molecular, and other streams.”
— Ajay Kumar Mahanty, CEO
Each diagnostic analyzer the company sells or installs has the potential to generate ten times its initial value in recurring reagent sales over its decade-long lifespan. This calculation highlights why growing the installed base of machines is the primary driver of long-term investor value.
The question on lifetime value—shortly, it takes approximately 25,000 of average reagents per machine per month, which is about 3 lakhs annually. Through the economic life of about 10 years, that is almost 30 lakhs. That is the kind of revenue potential we have per analyzer.”
— Saurabh Garg, Chairman and Managing Director
The company is looking to diversify its income by manufacturing products for other global companies and expanding its presence in international markets. This shift towards contract manufacturing could provide a new, high-margin revenue stream starting in late FY27.
The revenue was around 1.2 crores, but we are expecting more than 5 times that in FY27. Regarding the CDMO business, we have negotiations going on. That will be additional business. We expect traction in CDMO in Q3 and Q4.”
— Ajay Kumar Mahanty, CEO
The business currently relies heavily on government contracts and a single large distributor, which poses a concentration risk. Management plans to reduce this dependency by expanding their private trade business and growing in new geographical regions.
About 65% is Business-to-Government (B2G) and 35% is trade. Our large distributor is based in UP, so we bill everything to them, but they further supply to Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, and Haryana. By the end of FY28, we expect the concentration between B2G and others to be 50-50.”
— Meenal Gupta, CFO
The company has successfully localized the manufacturing of a complex European diagnostic instrument and is now planning to export it globally. This move validates their technical expertise and opens up a massive global distribution network through their European partners.
Successfully re-engineering it here gave us the confidence to export it back to the principals. We are in advanced negotiations with them to sell across the 55-plus countries where they operate. We have three to five more instruments in the pipeline through tech transfer and our own R&D.”
— Ajay Kumar Mahanty, CEO
High utilization of installed analyzers is crucial for the company’s profitability since the profit is made on the volume of tests run. These utilization figures suggest that their machines are being placed in high-traffic medical facilities where testing volume is consistent.
At this moment, we have covered more than 1,500. Based on track records and hospital workloads, we expect 100 to 150 samples per day. Per instrument, the average consumption would be 25,000 to 30,000 per month.”
— Ajay Kumar Mahanty, CEO
Brad Setser on the dollar and the world’s trade imbalance
The role of the dollar, and its influence on global trade, is a complicated story that has constantly changed over time. To make sense of all this, we spoke to Brad Setser, Most of Twitter knows Brad is one of the sharpest voices on all things balance-of-payments. He is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He also served at the US Treasury and the National Economic Council.
We recorded this conversation while the Iran war was unfolding and oil markets were watching the Strait of Hormuz, and not long after Trump and Xi had met in Beijing to negotiate a trade deal. We used the moment to ask him about the things he thinks about most: why the dollar is really strong, what an AI bust would do to it, how the manufacturing surpluses of China, Korea, and Taiwan quietly finance the American deficit, and what China would have to do to rebalance.
Watch the full podcast episode below, where Brad breaks down the sources of dollar demand and the future of global trade imbalances
You can also listen to the full conversation on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. The full transcript of the podcast is below if you prefer to read.
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, Shahid, & Srusti.
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.
In the age of information overload, this newsletter still feels like a lengthy read. I guess a more concise version or different way of presenting quotes could make it easier for readers to quickly absorb the information.