Exide Industries Ltd
Q1 FY23 Earnings Call Analysis
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fundraise: No informationcapex: Yesrevenue: Category 2margin: Category 3orderbook: Yes
💰fundraise
Any current/future new fundraising through debt or equity?
- No explicit mention of any new fundraising through debt or equity in the transcript.
- The company states it has a strong balance sheet with zero debt equity and positive cash flows.
- Capex plans include INR 500-600 crores for lead acid business and ongoing investments for lithium-ion, especially Phase 1 expenditure of around INR 4,000 crores.
- No direct reference to raising funds via new debt or equity issuance was made during the discussion.
- The company seems to be funding its growth and expansion through internal accruals and planned capex without indicating external fundraising.
🏗️capex
Any current/future capex/capital investment/strategic investment?
- Lead acid battery business capex for FY '24 is about INR 500 to 600 crores.
- Lithium-ion business is placing orders for equipment, with capex expected in late FY '24 or FY '25 as part of the total Phase 1 investment of around INR 4,000 crores.
- Lithium-ion plant is a turnkey project involving initial collaboration with 300-400 experts and aims at becoming competitive globally.
- The company has invested INR 715 crores so far in the lithium-ion project.
- Digitalization and Industry 4.0 initiatives are ongoing for cost optimization and margin expansion.
- No specific future strategic investments mentioned beyond ongoing lithium-ion plant expansion and lead acid business improvements.
📊revenue
Future growth expectations in sales/revenue/volumes?
- Exide Industries expects steady growth in both automotive and industrial verticals, with broad-based double-digit sales growth across most sectors.
- The company is positive about near-term and medium-term demand drivers, anticipating high demand in automotive vertical due to rising personal mobility and connectivity.
- Industrial vertical demand remains upbeat, especially in industrial UPS, solar, traction, and telecom segments, with past growth rates of 20-30%.
- Lithium-ion business is growing, with INR600-700 crore orders for the next 12-15 months and expected sales of INR400-500 crore in FY '24 from this segment.
- The outlook for lead-acid business remains strong despite electrification trends, as multiple energy chemistries coexist due to varied applications.
- Market estimates for lithium-ion demand are being revised upwards, with forecasts increasing from 100 GWh to as high as 150-200 GWh by 2030.
- Expansion in exports and new geographies like Russia are expected to support growth.
📈margin
Future growth expectations in earnings/operating earnings/profits/EPS?
- Exide Industries reports broad-based double-digit sales growth across sectors, with FY '23 sales and PBT both growing 18%.
- Industrial segment growth was strong, with 20%-30% growth driven by industrial UPS, traction, telecom, and solar sectors.
- Lead-acid business outlook is positive with sustained demand expected due to growing economy and energy needs.
- Margins currently pressured by material cost volatility but cost optimization and digital initiatives are expected to improve margins gradually.
- Lithium-ion business is expected to contribute significant turnover (~INR400-500 crore in FY '24) with EBITDA on par with lead-acid batteries.
- Once lithium-ion cell plant reaches optimal utilization (70%-80% in 3 years), ROIC is expected to be around 20%, similar to lead-acid business.
- Overall, management anticipates margin expansion and sustained profit growth driven by new products, market expansion, and operational efficiencies.
📋orderbook
Current/ Expected Orderbook/ Pending Orders?
- Exide Industries has received orders worth INR 500-600 crores for lithium-ion products, already disclosed in their notes (Page 15).
- Another mention cites the company having won INR 600-700 crores worth of orders to be executed over 12 to 15 months for lithium-ion business (Page 5 and Page 15).
- Sales from these orders are expected to contribute around INR 400-500 crores in FY 2024 (Page 8).
- The orders primarily relate to Nexcharge and lithium-ion cells and modules for various OEMs, though specific customer names are under NDA (Pages 10 & 15).
- Discussions with OEMs show a high conversion rate from conversations to actual orders (Page 15).
- The company is confident about reaching optimal capacity utilization for its upcoming lithium-ion cell factory based on these orders (Page 5).
