Manoj Ceramic — Q4 FY25 earnings call

Yes, we are an asset light company and we focus on outsourcing our production, in the tile division and tile and asset at the moment. Tomorrow, as the past has given us the instances of the aggressive investment’s requirement for the massive, innovative tiles that have recently come up, we do not see ourselves in getting into backward integration in the tiles manufacturing, because of the innovation that is very quickly seen in the very short term in the past 5, 7 years.

Clarifies the company's core asset-light strategy and rationale for not pursuing backward integration in tile manufacturing, highlighting agility in a fast-evolving product market.

Asked by Agastya Dave

When you talk about advancing your technological products means requires a lot of heavy investments for the manufacturer to turn around their product quality... Whereas, so they have to heavily keep on investing, for improving their production capacities, production qualities when it comes to MCPL as a contract manufacturer.

Explains how the asset-light model, by outsourcing manufacturing and focusing on distribution, allows MCPL to avoid heavy R&D and capital investments, thus maintaining higher margins compared to integrated manufacturers.

Asked by Gunit Singh

So they, we have tied up with them, on a contract basis for requirement of supplying from project-to-project basis, like how we have been doing it in, Uganda, not adding on to our fixed cost but on the yearly cost, counting, their requirement. And that is how we have tied up with Burundi, not only with Burundi but other countries state as well like Senegal, Sudan in the similar manner.

Reveals a significant B2B government contract win in Africa, indicating a new revenue stream and strategic market entry without adding fixed costs.

Asked by Ashvath Rajan

It depends on the -- okay, so it depends upon the product size requirements. Like if it is an exclusive product range on premium size and bigger formats, then we, there is less of oversupply. And when we talk about running products wherein the volumes are maximum, yes, we do definitely get the benefit upon the payments like we get major discounts upon paying them in advance or maybe they're overstocking of any particular design or model.

Details how the company navigates market oversupply, benefiting from discounts on high-volume products or focusing on premium segments less affected by oversupply, showcasing supply chain flexibility.

Asked by Ashvath Rajan

So if we are sourcing it up, if the end user goes and buys it up directly from the manufacturer, we can buy that same product for 105, 107, Whereas MCPL can buy the same product with the volume requirement and the volume that we offer to the factory, we can buy the same product at 95 or 97, 98.

Quantifies the pricing advantage MCPL holds due to its volume-based procurement, explaining a key driver of its higher margins compared to direct consumer purchases.

Asked by Ashvath Rajan

So such kind of involvement or maybe, if the war breaks down on a massive scale with or maybe there's a whole war, then yes, the entire export market gets affected. Like recently, the transit time from the Red Sea that was affected. So that the export pricing for the shipments had gone up, gone up by three times of sea freights. So at that time also, we had reduced the India had, reduced down on the exports, for the entire tile industry. But see, whatever happens, happens for everyone in common, not just with MCPL.

Acknowledges significant external risks but frames them as industry-wide challenges rather than company-specific, implying resilience and adaptability based on past experiences like the Red Sea crisis.

Asked by Bhuvan MG

So our current focus is, on the export segment and setting up the retail chain of networks. The retail chain of networks will give me better margins and exports will give me better volumes as well as better margins, both of them. So this is where my priority is at the moment.

Clearly outlines the company's strategic investment priorities, focusing on export growth and retail network expansion for both volume and margin benefits.

Asked by Adarsh Singh

Alright. So one request, sir. It's also you can take it as a solution as well. If you will start coming up with quarterly numbers, that would be very helpful. You may not have, like, proper numbers, but just, like, some basic write up, a little bit of commentary about what you see during the quarter and really basic number numbers like what were your working capital days, like what was the revenue number and how was the EBITDA impact number. That's it. Four-point numbers will be more than sufficient, sir. ... Dhruv Rakhasiya: Sure. Agastya, yes, I'll note it down the request. I will definitely look into it what this can be.

Highlights an analyst's request for more frequent and detailed financial reporting (quarterly), which management has agreed to consider, indicating potential for improved transparency.

Asked by Agastya Dave