The Chatter: Underneath the Noise
Edition #24
Welcome to the 24th 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 21 companies across 9 industries, along with some international features.
Engineering & Capital Goods
RIR Power Electronics Ltd
Inox Wind
Everest Kanto Cylinder
Garden Reach Ship
Astra Microwave Products
M&B Engineering
TD Power Systems
Finolex Cables
Cummins India
FMCG
Hatsun Agro Products
Sarveshwar Foods
Chemicals
Deepak Nitrite
Retail
Campus Activewear
Healthcare
Glenmark Pharma
Tourism & Hospitality
IRCTC
Real Estate
Ahluwalia Contracts
Financial Services
Embassy REIT
Multi Commodity Exchange
Logistics
Western Carrier
International
Harley-Davidson
Honda Motor
Engineering & Capital Goods
RIR Power Electronics Ltd. | Small Cap | Engineering & Capital Goods
Ruttonsha International Rectifier Ltd is a leading manufacturer of Power Semiconductors including Phase Control Thyristors, Standard Recovery Diodes, Fast Turn-Off Thyristors, Fast Recovery Diodes, Power Modules, Bridge Rectifiers, and Water Cooled Assemblies.
[Concall]
The company is positioning itself around government-backed growth themes like Vande Bharat trains and defence, while also diversifying into renewables and electric mobility:
“…in terms of Vande Bharat, we are also making devices that would go into Vande Bharat application, defense sector, as well as grid and renewables, including heavy-duty diesel trucks and so forth, including electric cars. We are also building partnerships and collaborations to accelerate innovation, technology adoption, and market access. We have sustained investment in R&D, which are critical to our operation because of the fact that I want to be second to none globally in technology.”
— Dr. Harshad Mehta, Chairman and Director
INOX Wind | Small Cap | Engineering & Capital Goods
Inox Wind is engaged in the business of manufacture and sale of Wind Turbine Generators (WTGs). It also provides Erection, Procurement & Commissioning (EPC), Operations & Maintenance (O&M) and Common Infrastructure Facilities services for WTGs and wind farm development services.
[Concall]
The management highlighted that the government’s newly notified ALMM and DCR framework for wind projects is a structural tailwind for domestic players, leveling the playing field against Chinese imports and strengthening self-reliance in the sector:
“The recently notified DCR for wind through ALMM is a very strong boost for local manufacturing. [As bringing in a level playing field between the domestic manufacturers and certain Chinese players who were importing components today. This is a very positive move at the right time and we believe that India's supply chain is self-sufficient to cater to the incremental demand coming due to this policy.] Inox Wind, having a largely domestic supply chain, expects to be a substantial beneficiary of this policy.”
— Sanjiv Agarwal, CEO, Inox Wind
Everest Kanto Cylinder Limited Small Cap | Engineering & Capital Goods
Everest Kanto Cylinder (EKC) manufactures various industrial cylinders for gases like oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, among others, as well as allied products. EKC also produces CNG cylinders for vehicles and beverage cylinders.
On new growth areas, management highlighted strong momentum in biogas due to government incentives and early traction in semiconductors through new product introductions:
“Biogas in India, a lot of activity is going on by government incentives to set up more and more biogas plants for waste management. This is a sector that is growing quite aggressively from the last 2-3 years. We continue to see good growth in that. And semiconductor is a completely new segment, you know, we have introduced some products in the semiconductor industry. We are hoping this sector also to grow quite well in the coming future.”
— Puneet Khurana, MD
He added that while both biogas and semiconductors are at a relatively early stage, customer engagements and visible investments are creating strong future potential:
“We are supplying products in the sector. Only thing is, these are new sectors. So, like everything new begins, small, but we see a great potential future in this also. The thing is that there was a lot of discussion going on for years, but nothing was happening. Now, we can see biogas plants are coming, semiconductor industry investments are coming in a large way. Definitely, we feel that this kind of thing is going to give us an advantage going forward.”
— Puneet Khurana, MD
Garden Reach Ship | Small Cap | Engineering & Capital Goods
Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd is a premier shipbuilding company in India under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence, primarily catering to the shipbuilding requirements of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard.
GRSE expects to conclude the ~₹25,000 crore Next-Gen Corvette contract within FY26.
“As I had mentioned, the contract negotiations for the next‐generation corvette project is currently in progress with the Ministry of Defense and Navy. And this is going to be a high‐value order. The order value is expected to be to the tune of around ₹25,000 crores. And I expect this contract to be concluded during the current financial year.”
– P. R. Hari (CMD)
Export momentum—GRSE plans to sign an additional four Multipurpose Vessels for its German customer by mid-September.
“I am also happy to inform you that GRSE is currently executing an order for eight Multipurpose Vessels for the German client. And we intent concluding a contract for another four Multipurpose Vessels. The contract is expected to be signed by mid‐September; within a month we should be signing this contract.”
– P. R. Hari (CMD)
Capacity rising from 28 to 32 by 2026, aided by a new Kolkata dry dock and a West Bengal greenfield facility starting production within a year.
“Just to give you the perspective, about three years back our shipbuilding capacity was for concurrent construction of 20 platforms. In 2024, through revamping and revitalizing some of our facilities, we have increased the shipbuilding capacity to 24 ships. And now we have a capacity to build 28 platforms, 8 large and 20 medium and small platforms. And with the kind of modernization that we are currently progressing, by 2026, we intend increasing this capacity to 32 ships. As part of our expansion plan, we intend acquiring one more dry dock in Kolkata from the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port. In addition, we are planning to set up a Greenfield Shipbuilding Facility and we intend commencing production here within a year.”
– P. R. Hari (CMD)
Astra Microwave Prod | Small Cap | Engineering & Capital Goods
Astra Microwave Products Limited (AMPL) specializes in designing, developing, and manufacturing RF and microwave sub-systems for defense, space, meteorology, and telecommunication sectors. With a robust R&D background, the company focuses on reducing production lead times by transitioning equipment from labs to production. They offer end-to-end solutions, from concept to product realization, leveraging their in-house engineering capabilities. AMPL's milestone includes producing hardware for Indian satellites, showcasing their engineering prowess and commitment to excellence.
JV ARC targets three contracts totaling ~US$100m by March 2026, calling the win likelihood “100%.”
“As we mentioned in the opening remarks, this year, before March ’26, we should have 3 major contracts in place and 3 contracts put together is close to approximately around $100 million. We have not considered the Make-II program, which is likely to complete, because we have competition there. These three programs are single-party tenders. We are going to get them with 100% probability.”
– Management
Astra plans to deliver at least three fully in-house radars within 12 months to target global and Indian markets.
“On the totally 100% Astra radars, I am laying much hopes on the promise of our R&D team that they will deliver at least 3 new radars this year, which have a massive market, both globally as well as within India over the next 12 months. This adds to our product portfolio significantly as 100% Astra products, right from the PCBs to the software to the RDP to the software which integrates it all. Everything will be through our own supply chain which we shall create for our own products, and that is when we hit the global market with our solutions.”
– Atim Kabra, Director – Strategy & Business Development
M&B Engineering Ltd. | Small Cap| Engineering & Capital Goods
M&B Engineering specializes in providing turn-key solutions for Pre-Engineered Buildings (PEB), structural steel, self-supported steel roofing, and related components. They offer comprehensive services including project design, engineering, manufacturing, and erection tailored to industrial and infrastructure sectors.
On the company’s work for Vande Bharat depots, management explained how their self-supporting roofing system is well-suited for maintenance sheds and is already embedded in upcoming tenders:
“See, Vande Bharat, as everyone is aware, they are expanding the Vande Bharat trains across India. So for Vande Bharat, they are putting their pit line shed, their maintenance shed everywhere across India. And we have done extensive work in Mumbai, in Ahmedabad, around Delhi. So being a self-supporting roofing system, we do not need any trusses and purlins. And this Vande Bharat depots are an open structure, meaning because the trains have to go inside, the ends are open. So with the added advantage of our system where there is no area for birds to sit, it becomes a very good system for such kind of shed. So Vande Bharat, they have already, many tenders are out and where a self-supporting roofing system is already a part of the contract, a part of the tender which will in the coming times be awarded to the EPC contractors. And in all probable chances, we being the largest self-supporting roofing system company in India, same will come as an inquiry and ultimately as an order in the coming quarters and years.”
— Chirag Patel, Joint MD
He further highlighted another large opportunity with Indian Railways around replacing level crossings with RUBs, where the company’s quick-install, zero-maintenance roofing solution is already approved:
“The second largest opportunity, yes, I will complete on railways. So the big opportunity that also we are seeing is for the RUBs, which Malav earlier said, there are about 20,000 level crossings and Indian railways have decided to convert these level crossings with an RUB in rural areas. In city areas, there will be flyovers, like flyover will be at least 50-100 times more expensive than an RUB. So that also our system has been approved. Again, same benefit that it is a quick installation, zero maintenance, no area for bird sitting. So that has also been appreciated by the Indian railways and many tenders are under process to be awarded to the EPC contractors.”
— Chirag Patel, Joint MD
TD Power Systems Ltd | Small Cap| Engineering & Capital Goods
TD Power Systems Ltd. (TDPS) is one of the leading manufacturers of AC Generators in the world with products in the output range of 1 MW to 200 MW for prime movers, such as steam turbines, gas turbines, hydro turbines, diesel engines, gas and wind turbines. The company also manufactures special application generators for Geo Thermal and Solar thermal applications.
The management explained that despite tariffs rising from 25% to 50% on US exports, they do not expect cancellations or delays, as most orders are secured through OEM routing:
“As I said, there are two segments. So one is that 75% of our exports to the US is actually routed through the OEMs, which will go to Europe and then there will be value addition done over there and then from there, it gets re-exported. The second part is the 25% which is direct exports, which, and for all the pending orders also, we will start now trying to convert as much as possible to redirecting that through our Turkish operation. And our customers are committed towards still continuing with the order inflow from us, because is not easy for them or for us right now to backtrack from the commitments which already have been made. Most of these orders are already signed with the end users. And our name is there on those contracts.”
— Nikhil Kumar, MD
He added that the company is working to keep costs within the earlier expected 25% tariff band, with customers fully aligned to this strategy:
“So, we have to find a way to ensure that the cost that we deliver finally to the end users is within the range of what we discussed earlier, which we had all expected to have a 25% tariff range. So we have to make sure that even if we deliver through a third country because we manufacture in the third country, then the overall additional costs are not going to exceed that 25%, which is what we are planning to achieve. So our turbine customers are fully aware of these calculations and fully aware of this, because we've been talking about this for quite a while. Ever since the first round of tariffs took place, say, about two weeks or three weeks ago, when the first 25% hit, I expected the worst, and we told our customers let's expect the worst. If things get better, it's great. But now the worst case situation has happened and people are fully aware and people are fully aligned with our plans. So, yes, to answer your question, in a very, very long way, we don't expect any order delays or cancellations.”
— Nikhil Kumar, MD
On India’s current data center market, management noted that demand is mostly for small backup power, met by diesel engines from established players, leaving TDPS outside this segment:
“Data center market in India is also there. I mean, it's quite a big market at the moment. But you have to look at it from different segments. It's a data center market where you have storage of data. That's what the Indian market is right now where it's a big business. It's a huge business actually, but those are limited to smaller size backup power where you have 10-megawatt or 5-megawatt, maybe larger ones, the 15 megawatt, which is mainly met through diesel engines, which are supplied by Cummins or Caterpillar, those kind of machines, with TDPS is not in this market.”
— Nikhil Kumar, MD
He added that India will become a meaningful market once large AI server farms emerge, creating demand for 50–100 MW power requirements where TDPS can play, while the US and Europe remain the hottest markets today:
“If India gets into putting in large AI server farms and things like that, then the power demand will go to 50-60 megawatts, even 100 megawatt per server farm. That's when our business will then kick in for the Indian market. It's going to happen. At some point of time, India also is going to make investments in AI, having the servers located in our country. So at that point of time, of course, the demand will go up. Those kind of 50-60 megawatts or 100 megawatts cannot be met by diesel engines, people will have to go for larger sized gas engines or gas turbines. And that's where we will then come in. But at the moment, the hottest market is the US market, I would say, followed by Europe and India is right now still in the talking stage.”
— Nikhil Kumar, MD
Finolex Cables | Small Cap | Engineering & Capital Goods
Finolex Cables Limited, established in 1958, is India’s largest and leading manufacturer of electrical and telecommunication cables. It has recently diversified into the fast-moving electrical goods (FMEG) segment with the aim of becoming a complete electrical products company. The company is principally engaged in the manufacturing of Electricals Cables, Communication Cables & other electrical appliances.
Identifies emerging growth opportunity in data centers, which could drive future cable demand:
“There will be a requirement for power cables there besides the data cables. Quite a few of the data center announcements have been seen but similar to construction activity, the center has to be structurally ready before the cable part of it gets in there, so I think there is scope for increasing our power cable sales.”
“Typically, the data center numbers that they talk about, they talk about in terms of how many megawatts of power they would be consuming that's how they describe their investments. It will be a combination of both high voltage and extra voltage cables there on the power side. And of course, you will have LAN cables and other data cables being required. Not able to translate that into size.”
— Mahesh Viswanathan (Deputy CEO and Chief Financial Officer)
Management explains their cautious but recent shift toward higher-risk DISCOM/utility projects to improve cable capacity utilization:
“On the cable side, we have not substantially increased our investment from what it was, let's say, a year ago. But our utilizations have improved and that means that we have stuck our neck out in a few projects and have taken orders. We were a little reluctant in the past to take an exposure on the utility side.”
“We have been a little careful, and we have taken some exposures on the utility side over the last 2 quarters, and those have resulted in these numbers. Our capacity still is available. We can, can still improve the numbers by another 30% - 40% with the present investment. The question more was what kind of a risk you would like to take when you are being exposed to the DISCOMs or the some of the transmission utilities. That was always the question in our mind. I don't know if it answers your question fully, but this is what I have.”
— Mahesh Viswanathan (Deputy CEO and Chief Financial Officer)
Chinese fiber dumping is one of several challenges plaguing the optical fiber business, alongside slow government program execution and long announcement-to-execution delays:
“The issue with this segment has been it's largely dependent on government programs. And while huge amounts are announced as part of the government programs, the execution part has always been very slow. Announcements have preceded the execution by substantial amounts of time. If you were to look at the National Optical Fibre Network, it was announced sometime in 2010, and we are in '25, and we are now starting on Phase 3. Originally, all this was supposed to have been completed by, I think, 2013 or '14.”
“Money deployment into these programs have been slow so at times when there has been a lack of money deployment, yes, it has impacted the business. Unfortunately, the cycles on fiber also have coincided with the periods when large investment deployment from the government sector has been less. For example, right now, fiber prices have been depressed and the reason for that is large-scale availability of fiber from China, which is getting dumped globally. Government of India did take action in terms of bringing antidumping duties but still, whatever had already come in was enough to spoil the market.”
— Mahesh Viswanathan (Deputy CEO and Chief Financial Officer)
Cummins India | Large Cap | Engineering & Capital Goods
Cummins India Limited is a leading manufacturer and seller of engines and related products. It is a part of the Cummins Group in India and operates in three main business units - Engine, Power Systems, and Distribution. The Engine Business focuses on engines for various vehicle and equipment markets, while the Power Systems Business specializes in high horsepower engines for different applications.
Addresses investor concerns about BESS potentially cannibalizing genset sales, positioning it as complementary rather than competitive technology:
"The risk, as you mentioned, of cannibalization, as far as possible, we don't see this. We do see our customers wanting a mix of energy capabilities. So while genset is for their backup power, there is a mix -- a good mix -- energy mix that battery energy storage provides, especially for customers who might also have solar power in their premises."
— Shveta Arya (Managing Director)
Management highlighting specific growth drivers within their broad-based Powergen segment growth, with quick commerce (e-commerce delivery infrastructure) being one of several key verticals they're actively targeting:
“Powergen growth in this quarter was very broad-based, but I'll throw some light on the segments that did well for us. So I have shared this that we've been focusing on quick commerce, and that is one growing segment, and we saw that segment growing in this quarter as well.”
“And then the mission-critical segment, which is also broad-based where you can include government infrastructure spend-based segments like roads, hospitals, airports, we saw some growth from those segments as well as manufacturing and pharma. So these were some of the key segments, but I will still say that the growth is very broad-based. These are just some of the key segments that I'm highlighting for you.”
— Shveta Arya (Managing Director)
FMCG
Hatsun Agro Product Ltd | Small Cap | FMCG
Hatsun Agro Products Ltd is India's largest private sector dairy company, known for its advanced milk collection and processing infrastructure. They utilize innovative technologies like Bactofuge to produce clarified liquid milk. Offering a wide range of products including ice cream, milk products, beverages, and dairy ingredients, they are a prominent player in the industry.
The Chairman emphasized that high GST rates are crippling competitiveness in dairy exports and limiting farmer incomes, arguing that a uniform 5% GST rate could unlock growth and global potential:
“See GST reduction will help in a big way to the industry for growth for two reasons. India is a country with 240 million tons of production but still our exports are hardly 1 million versus 20 million tons of New Zealand. New Zealand accounts for 35%. World trade is only 60 million tons and this is only 25% of India's production. The biggest problem what we have been facing is we are heavily taxed. For example, 12% gain. It has been almost it is finally ultimately preventing better payment to the farmer. It is almost 108 rupees for a liter of sorry 108 rupees tax versus 888 the farmer gets if you are converting it to ghee and also SNP. If you take ice cream, for example, if we are paying about 888 almost 73% is paid as GST to the government. If we are reducing it, we can be a world power in exports and farmer will also be benefited and the urban rural gap will be bridged in a big way and farmer ultimately will start spending on other commodities once when the cash flow improves. That is my working and in my opinion all dairy products have to be considered at 5% instead of the slab of 5 12 18 and all that including ice cream. That's my opinion.”
— R. G. Chandramogan, Chairman
On demand impact, he stressed that GST cuts would meaningfully boost consumption while supporting farmers, helping India emerge as a dairy export powerhouse:
“100% meaningfully. It will just increase because today as I said if 100 rupees a farmer is getting 73 rupees taxation goes for ice cream and this is hurting the payment to the farmer. A better payment can be definitely given to the farmer. This will initiate him to do better production and we can be a power house on exports. We were importing French fries. We are now exporters. We have been exporting Basmati rice. We can also do it in dairy in a big way. And the country has got all the scope.”
— R. G. Chandramogan, Chairman
He also linked GST reforms with trade negotiations, suggesting cuts would improve cost competitiveness, while warning that imports—particularly from New Zealand—pose a larger threat than the U.S.:
“Definitely it will be a positive in that direction. Actually in India we have a sizable vegetarian population. We require animal fat in anyway. This consumption locally will also stimulate better production with let GST cuts. This will give more money to the farmer's hand and farmer will be benefited to produce more. Ultimately we can be cost effective in the world and we can keep on exporting in a big way and we can be a powerhouse in the near future. The second half can be better and the next year can be glorious I can say.
I am doubtful about the US entry of dairy products into India. The type of feeding what they do is different and consumer here is vegetarian and they have their own reservation for any US product. It is not the case of New Zealand. New Zealand will be a bigger threat if imports are going to take place. I don't expect US to be that. But even US they are into dairy products and probably definitely this will be hurting the local farmer in a big way. And we are having farmers who are sizable in numbers and we have to protect the interest of the farmers.”
— R. G. Chandramogan, Chairman
Sarveshwar Foods Ltd | Micro Cap | FMCG
Sarveshwar Foods Limited specializes in processing and selling branded and unbranded basmati and non-basmati rice globally. Services include procurement, milling, packaging, and distribution. Product range features white raw rice, steam rice, broken rice, brown rice, parboiled rice, and organic varieties.
Contingency Planning for Tariff-Related Export Pressure
“There are a lot of thoughts in our mind, but basically let's see what will happen in the next coming two, three weeks. We hope that maybe the government of India will do smart work and the tariff may be reduced to earlier tariff of 25% or maybe more or less. But instead, if it will not come down, we have other options also. Like we have non-Basmati products, which we have a very strong relationship in Vietnam and Thailand. And in other parts also like Myanmar, there is rice in Vietnam. And for the Basmati segment, though it's tough at the present, we have to tell you. But as we are more focused on the organic side, and for the organic side India has 85% to 90% of the market share in the Basmati segment, and the other player is Pakistan. So, we have a strong thought that as only this country, India is the main monopoly in the Basmati, we will cover this US tariff pressure.”
— Rohit Gupta, Chairman
Current Global Market Presence
“In the global space, I am telling that we are already having a market in US and Europe. Majority, we are doing a lot of private levels in the US. And we are doing a private labels in the Europe also. But we are selling in the brand also in the US and in the Europe also.”
— Rohit Gupta, Chairman
Future Expansion and Focus on Organic Himalayan Products
“But majority my thought is, in the global space we are thinking of starting our own depot in the coming future in these areas in the western countries, so that we have done a very strong relationship with the farmers and we have a very strong organic products in the Himalayan side of northern part of India which are very, very much well acceptable to the western consumers. So, we want to serve these specialty Himalayan rare products to the western consumers. And for this, we have all the backend program from last so many years. We have already planned with the Costco social compliance. We are doing business with the good American companies. And we are certified at the SODEXO. We are BSE certified. We have done all the tough food certifications of the world. And we are eligible in lot of companies in these western countries. So, space is big there.”
— Rohit Gupta, Chairman
Healthcare
Glenmark Pharma | Mid Cap | Healthcare
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited is an Indian multinational pharmaceutical company specializing in generic drugs, branded formulations, and innovation through its subsidiary IGI. The company operates across India, North America, Europe, and emerging markets with a focus on respiratory, dermatology, and cardiac therapeutic areas.
Company aims to restart Monroe commercial manufacturing within CY’25, pending FDA resolution.
“With regards to Monroe, as you know, we had 5 observations from our last inspection. We've responded to that, and we are waiting -- we are working with the FDA to resolve that. We are hoping that this year we will restart commercial manufacturing. That's our view on Monroe.”
– Glenn Saldanha (CMD)
U.S. focus is inhalation and injectables with ~10 product launches a year via in-house and partnerships.
“I think strategically, we are primarily focused in 2 areas in the U.S. One is the respiratory products going forward, and the second is injectables. So I think longer term, if you look at us in the next 3 to 5 years, we should have a strong injectable portfolio, which is evolving in the U.S. along with a number of respiratory products, which is filed and getting approved in the next 3 to 5 years.”
“But that's in-house, In addition, we do all these partnerships. So typically, we will launch about 10-odd products a year. That's the minimum run rate you should expect.”
– Glenn Saldanha (CMD)
Chemicals
Deepak Nitrite | Small Cap | Chemicals
Deepak Nitrite Limited is a rapidly growing Indian company known for manufacturing Phenol, Acetone, and Iso Propyl Alcohol (IPA) at its advanced facility in Dahej, Gujarat. Trusted by leading downstream companies worldwide, it offers a diverse product portfolio for various industries with sustainable operations and a focus on meeting evolving customer needs.
New dyes/cosmetics and co-manufactured products (built on existing assets) should turn commercial from Jan-2026.
“By implementing strategic initiatives, we have successfully expanded our product portfolio, which is expected to generate incremental annualized revenue. This growth will be driven by the commercialization of a new value stream integrated product for the dyes and cosmetics segment and the launch of a new product through a long-term co-manufacturing agreement. Overall, these targeted efforts will enhance our market presence, including untapped geographical opportunities, thereby creating new avenues for sustainable growth. This is, by the way, done with existing assets and negligible investment. And while we may have launched these products in the middle of the year, they are going to be tested by customers for stability, and then we will be able to supply commercial volumes when the next contractual cycle begins. This is expected to be in the beginning of CY2026, meaning January 2026.”
– Maulik Mehta, Executive Director & CEO
Trial runs have begun at the new hydrogenation plant, expanding capacity and integrating with existing fluorination assets.
“Building on our extensive expertise in hydrogenated aromatics and non-aromatics, we have started trial production at our new hydrogenation facility, significantly expanding our group's production capacity. This strategic move directly supports the expansion of our product portfolio and better positions us to meet with growing global demand for high-value specialty chemicals. This new facility will not only enhance our operational scale, but also our position as a key player in this critical segment, while integrating well with our already commissioned fluorination assets.”
– Maulik Mehta, Executive Director & CEO
U.S. tariff risk is limited (2.5–3% exposure); Deepak plans to offset via market diversification and a greater India focus.
“Potential U.S. tariffs are expected to have a moderate impact on our business given that our exposure to the U.S. is limited to 2.5% to 3% at a consolidated level. We are taking proactive steps to negate this by expanding into new markets. Additionally, we're maintaining close communication with our customers and closely monitoring this unpredictable environment. More importantly, this will help increase our exposure to Bharat in line with the Viksit Bharat initiative.”
– Maulik Mehta, Executive Director & CEO
Tourism & Hospitality
IRCTC | Mid Cap | Tourism & Hospitality
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) is the exclusive provider of catering services, online ticketing, and packaged water for Indian Railways. Established to enhance hospitality and catering services, it manages services at railways, trains, and strives to boost tourism in India.
RBI payment aggregator license expected in ~12–18 months, enabling monetization beyond ticketing.
“See, we are already into this business. And with the license which we are trying to get from RBI, in-principle approval we have already got and 6 months' time have been given by them to submit our paper. And then it will take around 6 to 8 months in getting a license. So total from now, if we say, it may be around 12 to 18 months. We'll be able to get this license. And that will help us in capturing business of -- other than our ticketing also.”
– Sanjay Kumar Jain, Chairman & Managing Director
Board has approved Rail Neer capacity expansions at Danapur and Ambernath, with additional plants in the pipeline and ~1+ year build times.
“Actually, we are only -- our Board of Directors already approved the expansion of our 2 major plants, one at Danapur and another at Ambernath. And there are a few plants in the pipeline at Prayagraj, at Ranchi, Bhagalpur, Mysuru. So we -- tendering process, we are already on to finalize the tender -- start the tendering process. And then it takes around a year and plus.”
– Sanjay Kumar Jain, Chairman & Managing Director
Internet Ticketing grew 9.1% to ₹360 cr with 87.78% booking share and 84% segment EBITDA.
“Now I come to segment-wise highlights. The first segment is Internet Ticketing. This segment continued to be solid revenue driver for the company. Revenue from this segment has stood at INR360 crores, marking a 9.12% growth on year-on-year basis. 87.78% of total reserved tickets on Indian Railways are now booked through our portal. This segment is the most profitable. EBITDA of this segment in this quarter is 84%, which is better than that reported last year in the same quarter. Last year, it was 83%.”
– Sudhir Kumar, Director (Finance) & CFO
Retail
Campus Activewear | Small Cap | Retail
Campus Activewear Limited is the leading sports and athleisure footwear brand in India. Established in 2005, the company offers a wide range of lifestyle-oriented products for all age groups. Their consumer-centric approach involves utilizing digitization for sales to enhance demand forecasting and reduce time to market.
New raw material warehouse lifts issuance capacity to ~200k pairs/day, de-bottlenecking the supply chain.
“So far, we had three warehouses for raw material issuance to basically all the plants and our fabricators. And these three warehouses had a combined capacity of not more than 80,000 pairs a day. And that is the maximum we have ever done from these three. Now, the new warehouse gives us a capacity of, in a mature state and a high-throughput state, we can easily go up to 200,000 pairs a day. So, it is basically doubling of the capacity of the throughput. And what this does is this de-bottlenecks the entire supply chain where we can now comfortably and, we can also do a lot of advanced issuance of the material to the respective plants wherever required.”
– Nikhil Aggarwal, Whole-Time Director & CEO
Imports of fakes and non-branded shoes have fallen sharply and management does not expect BIS norms to reverse.
“Basically our biggest competitor were, two lines of thought here. One is the fake goods, the fake brands that would come into India from China. That was a very big volume that was being brought here and that sort of also disrupted our market so that piece has really shrunk completely more or less. And then there was of course other importers, the non-branded ones. So, on both fronts we have seen significant decline in the imports into the country. So, I do not see any reason why the government would want to reverse this. BIS would be very beneficial for the entire industry.”
– Nikhil Aggarwal, Whole-Time Director & CEO
Logistics
Western Carrier | Micro Cap | Logistics
Western Carriers is in the Logistics sector with a M.Capof 1248.00 Cr and a PE ratio of 21.9.
Shows the dramatic 267% increase in freight costs and supply chain disruption affecting logistics companies globally, indicating sustained margin pressure:
“Container freight to Gulf ports like Jebel Ali kept on climbing sharply through the crisis, from $150 per 40 feet to around the $550 range. Exporters are seeing compressed margins and disrupted supply chains because of this. Ships are increasingly having to reroute through the Cape of Good Hope instead of Suez Canal and Red Sea, adding almost 10 to 20 days in transit.”
— Kanishka Sethia (CEO)
Shows how geopolitical events can dramatically impact business within a quarter:
“We internally were looking at our numbers. We saw we had excellent numbers coming in in the months of April and May, but June 10th or 11th, when the Iran-Israel crisis came into the front foot, again, there was some pressure from the shipping-related EXIM businesses that we had to rework out."
— Kanishka Sethia (CEO)
Management is strategically working on route optimization to reduce empty runs, which directly improves margins:
“First part is the revenue generation. Obviously, the more service consolidation that you do, the more revenue you're going to extract from that zone. East obviously is dominant because that's where most of the metals are, but after a weak quarter one in North, we are seeing some resurgence of demand starting from North, obviously anchored by Hindustan Zinc, Chanderia, like I said. And we're also seeing growth from other industries.”
"Second part of the question with regards to empty running, see any time that you avoid empty running, be it rail, be it road, be it shipping, anything, that adds to your margins. The amount of empty runs, empty hauls that you do is basically extractive of the margins. So we are very consciously working on trying to optimize our routes and triangulate our cargo and customers in such a way that we can start reducing this empty haulage."
— Kanishka Sethia (CEO)
Real Estate
Ahluwalia Contracts | Small Cap | Real Estate
Ahluwalia Contracts (India) Limited is a prominent Civil Contractors company in the Construction Industry. With years of specialized experience, they offer construction services including planning, scheduling, and project completion.
Fundamental strategic pivot driven by increasing public sector competition:
"Today, nearly 63% of our order book comes from the private sector. And this has been a conscious effort... This is a conscious direction that we took about two years ago, to start moving from public sector to private sector, because we foresaw that there would be increased competition in the public sector."
— Shobhit Uppal (Deputy Managing Director)
Management acknowledging market concerns about residential slowdown but providing ground-level perspective that demand for quality contractors remains strong:
“While there is talk of slowdown, but we have not seen this on the ground as far as our interaction with our clients, primarily the developers for whom we are doing residential projects is concerned. Having said that, we are at about 40% of our total order book, which is residential at the moment. We have slowed down in our intake of projects in this sector. As far as slowdown is concerned, we are actually there are a lot of clients existing or otherwise who are after us to take up their jobs and we are virtually refusing a job a week.”
“So if projects are being launched, slowdown, maybe there is a slowdown in the pricing in the sense that pricing is not nosedive or come down, it's plateaued off. But there doesn't seem to be any slowdown on the projects being executed on the ground.”
— Shobhit Uppal (Deputy Managing Director)
Provides context for margin expectations and explains why Q3-Q4 performance will be more indicative of the company's true potential:
“Q1, we feel that we've factored in all these issues when we had made our projections. And I think Q1, we've done fairly all right. In fact, we've done better than what we had expected. What I had mentioned in our last call was that Q1 and Q2, which traditionally H1 is always lower than H2. H2 we do, this industry performs much better because the labor shortage season is over; the monsoon is behind us. So we are on track to get that 15% to 20% growth in our topline.”
“Third and 4th Quarter, as I said earlier, would be the ones where we'd really be taking off. Q2 would be similar to Q1 because rains have been unusually heavy this time, especially in NCR. So that has impacted our performance, especially in the month of July and August."
— Shobhit Uppal (Deputy Managing Director)
Financial Services
Embassy REIT | Micro Cap | Financial Services
Embassy Office Parks REIT is India's first publicly listed Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) and Asia's largest official REIT by area. They own, operate, and invest in income generating real estate and related assets in India, focusing on properties that generate rental income.
On the tariff issue, the CEO said it is too early to draw conclusions, as US trade policy is often deal-driven rather than zero-sum:
“Just look, I think very frankly, it is too early to call. I think these conversations on tariffs generally point to the fact that the US administration is always looking to make a deal. And it does not necessarily always pan out that it tends to be a zero-sum game. There clearly is a lot of noise in the market, but I think the market is also learning to deal with that. And it is something that we do not expect to subside over the coming quarters or even the coming year in this administration.”
— Ritwik Bhattacharjee, CEO
He added that fears of US companies halting hiring in India are overstated, as shareholder returns and competitive economics continue to drive offshoring:
“It is not the first time that we have thought about the fact that, look, could US companies be subject to sort of some kind of conditions about not hiring jobs in India and moving it overseas? I mean, these are also capitalistic corporations, right? I mean, they deliver returns for their shareholders. And I do not think it is sort of just such a binary outcome that you stop hiring. The economics of competitive advantage simply do not lend themselves to that. So, I think it is just, frankly, while there are tariffs, while tariffs do have consequences, and they will obviously cause inflation and at the same time could even lead to sort of a slowdown in economic activity and output. I do not think necessarily that it just means that people are going to stop hiring in India.”
— Ritwik Bhattacharjee, CEO
He further highlighted that global GCC migration into India is accelerating across geographies and sectors, providing a natural hedge to US risks:
“And the other thing is that effectively what we are seeing in our portfolio is that there is massive migration towards GCCs and companies from other parts of the world. We have got Australian banks, we have got Danish healthcare companies, we have got Japanese companies, and we have British companies as well. There is a whole host of, GCCs worldwide and across sectors looking to hire in India simply for the talent. So, I think there is an incredible hedge that we have in the portfolio against sort of some of the risks to the US part of the portfolio. But even there I think there might be some degree of rationalization in some form, but that I would say is normal course rationalization and not sort of structural, sort of fleeing off labor by US companies.”
— Ritwik Bhattacharjee, CEO
Multi Commodity Exchange of India | Mid Cap | Financial Services
Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited (MCX) is India's first listed exchange offering online trading of commodity derivatives across segments like bullion, industrial metals, energy, and agriculture. It allows for price discovery and risk management, and is known for introducing innovative products like commodity options, bullion index futures, and base metals index futures.
Explaining two key points: (1) the lower premium-to-notional ratio in bullion options is due to lower volatility compared to energy products, and (2) the options launch has been genuinely additive to the business:
“Premiums are a function of volatility, and that is why you are seeing a lower premium to notional in bullion as compared to energy products. Having said that, there is no cannibalization of futures due to increase in options if you observe. The futures volumes have also increased while options volumes have increased. So, I think it is the trend, shows that both futures and options grow at the same time and have that potential."
— Rishi Nathany (CBO)
Electricity futures are attracting significant corporate hedging interest, potentially opening a massive new revenue stream given energy's large share of industrial costs:
"In any industrial setup, nearly 30% to 40% of their expenses is energy and electricity. So, I think we are finding a lot of commercial corporate participation interest and nearly 50% of our current participation also is from that space."
— Praveena Rai (MD & CEO)
International
Harley-Davidson, Inc.| International
Harley-Davidson, Inc. manufactures and sells motorcycles in the United States and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Harley-Davidson Motor Company, LiveWire, and Harley-Davidson Financial Services. The Harley-Davidson Motor Company segment designs, manufactures, and sells motorcycles, including cruiser, trike, touring, standard, sportbike, adventure, and dual sport, as well as motorcycle parts, accessories, and apparel, as well as licenses its trademarks and related services.
[Concall]
Tariff headwind cut to $50–$85m for 2025 (from $130–$175m), with heavy U.S. manufacturing and ~75% U.S. sourcing.
“In the first half of 2025, the cost of new or increased tariffs was $17 million. … With that in mind, we estimate our full-year 2025 impact from the direct cost of new or increased tariffs to be in the range of 50 to $85 million. This has been reduced from 130 million to 175 million at Q1 release on May 1st. … Harley-Davidson is a business very centered in and around the US. … We also have a US-centric approach to sourcing with approximately 75% of component purchasing coming from the US and all of our core products sold in the US are proudly assembled in the US.”
– Jonathan Root, Chief Financial Officer
Sees relief from a new EU trade step and U.S. lawmaking interest on new U.S.-built bikes tax-deductible (up to $10k), which should aid demand.
“The fluid global tariff environment and negative consumer sentiment remain a challenge for the business. However, our ongoing engagement with various governments gives us cautious optimism that future trade agreements may help limit the overall impact on our operations. The EU agreement announced this past weekend looks to be a positive step forward. … Additionally, following productive engagement with the US administration, we are pleased that Harley-Davidson motorcycles have been included in the recently signed automotive tax deduction legislation … Under the new law, interest paid on loans for new US-built motorcycle purchases up to $10,000 annually is tax-deductible… We believe this will have a positive effect and stimulate demand as the tax incentives takes hold in the market.”
– Yoken Zites, Chief Executive Officer
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. | International
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. develops, manufactures, and distributes motorcycles, automobiles, and power products in Japan, North America, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Motorcycle Business, Automobile Business, Financial Services Business, and Power Product and Other Businesses.
[Concall]
US–Japan auto tariff cut to 15% is positive; Honda will lean into U.S. production shifts and localization of hybrid components.
“between the states and Japan. Concerning that point for our business the change from 25 to 15% means that it should bring us a positive impact, and also for the customers and we do have a lot of non-Japanese shareholders. So for our company of course this agreement for reducing the tariff is a positive, and then it's just that what has not been established is now clearly identified which is a good turn of events. So our stance is to produce where there is demand. That has been our ongoing uh approach. We might change it to a three-shift operation in the States. The motor, battery and EC uh ECU, how we can localize the production there will be the critical point.”
– A. Fujimura, Director, Managing Executive Officer & CFO
Asia faces tougher competition (notably from Chinese OEMs), and hybrids are lagging in some markets; focus is on the U.S., Japan, and India while reassessing Europe.
“for Asia, Chinese OEM have participated into some of those markets and then we are struggling in some of those countries. When we try to come up with the hybrid models … we have not been able to launch … So in ICE we are losing against Toyota for example. For automobile business in general we are putting a lot of efforts into markets like US, Japan and India. We still do need to revisit internally what we want to do with the European market.”
– A. Fujimura, Director, Managing Executive Officer & CFO
On reported Nissan tie-up, nothing is decided; multiple collaboration formats with Nissan/Mitsubishi are being explored.
“when it comes to the talks with uh Nissan, yes, I am aware that a lot has been reported but nothing has been decided and nothing has been announced by ourselves. We are exploring the different formats of a collaboration of a Nissan Mitsubishi motor. That is something we are continuing to discuss.”
– A. Fujimura, Director, Managing Executive Officer & CFO
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Quotes in this newsletter were curated by Meher, Prerana & 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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