SEML Q1FY26 Earnings Call Transcript

MANAGEMENT

MR. PANKAJ SARDA –MANAGING DIRECTOR – SARDA

MODERATOR

MR. ANKIT JAIN – STELLAR INVESTOR RELATION

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Sarda Energy & Minerals Limited

August 04, 2025

Moderator

Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to the Q1 FY '26 Earnings Conference Call for

Sarda Energy & Minerals Limited. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes.

Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star, then zero on your touchtone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded.

I now hand the conference over to Mr. Ankit Jain from Stellar Investor Relations. Thank you, and over to you, sir.

Ankit Jain

Thank you Shruthi. Good evening, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. To discuss Q1

FY '26 business performance, we have with us senior management team of Sarda Energy &

Minerals Limited, represented by Mr. Pankaj Sarda, Managing Director; Mr. Padam Kumar Jain,

Director and Chief Financial Officer; Mr. Manish Sarda, Deputy Managing Director; and Mr.

Nilay Joshi, Executive Director.

Before we proceed with this call, I would like to mention that some of the statements made in this call may be forward-looking in nature and may involve risks and uncertainties. The company also undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect developments that occur after the statement is made. Documents relating to the company's financial performance, including the investor presentation have been uploaded on the Stock Exchange and company's website.

I now hand over the conference call to Mr. Pankaj Sarda, and then we will open the floor for

Q&A. Thank you, and over to you, sir.

Pankaj Sarda

Thank you. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

Operational performance

FY '25 marked a significant milestone in our growth journey and Q1 FY '26 performance reinforces the strong foundation and long-term sustainability of our earnings. The earnings mix has also evolved with increasing share of energy business in the total earnings. We achieved record revenue and profit this quarter, driven by better energy prices and higher hydropower generation.

Hydropower generation grew by 37% Y-o-Y, supported by early monsoon. Our IPP thermal power plant achieved significantly improved plant load factor of 90.21% in Q1 as against

71.65% in Q1 FY '25, largely due to ongoing operational efficiency measures. For the quarter ended, the plant stood at 15th rank in Central Electricity Authority ranking of best thermal power plants against 118th rank in June 2024. The pellet plant and captive power plant also reported record production.

We strategically terminated the long-term power purchase agreement executed with CSPDCL for 113-megawatt hydropower project. This now gives us the opportunity to sell power in open market, which we believe will be beneficial over the long term.

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Expansion and project updates. Coal mines. Gare Palma IV/7, we have received consent to operate for increased capacity of coal washery from 0.96 million tons to 1.8 million tons in May

2025. Final approval for increasing coal mining capacity from 1.68 million tons is expected this quarter.

Shahpur West mine development work is progressing as per schedule and production is expected before the end of the next financial year.

Bartunga Hill JV, DPR and mining plans submitted to SCCL forest land diversion approval is in progress.

Power plant. Rehar Hydropower project, 25 megawatt. The commercial operation began on 8th

July 2025. We have entered into long-term power supply arrangement with CSPDCL at generic tariff. Generic tariff for current year is yet to be notified by the regulator.

Kotaiveera Hydropower project, 25 megawatt. The project is in approval stage with work expected to begin in next quarter. Two additional small hydropower projects are in various stages of approval.

Captive solar power, 50 megawatts. Most of the equipment has been delivered and transmission line work is ongoing. Project commissioning is expected in current financial year.

30-megawatt TG set replacement. Work is on schedule with operations expected to begin by mid-FY '27. We'll be taking shutdown of the unit in next quarter.

Financial performance

In Q1 FY '26, we posted record consolidated revenue of INR1,633 crores, up 76% Y-o-Y and

32% Q-o-Q. The Y-o-Y increase partially reflects the inclusion of IPP operations acquired on

22nd August 2024. Improved volumes and realizations in steel and ferro alloys also contributed, especially after maintenance shutdowns impacted Q4 FY '25.

Profitability. Operating EBITDA rose to INR627 crores versus INR382 crores Y-o-Y with the

Energy segment contributing larger share. Consolidated profit after tax grew 118% Y-o-Y to

INR435 crores. Strong price realization for untied up power supported this growth, though prices have softened this quarter.

Debt and liquidity. Net consolidated debt, including working capital loans, fell to ~ INR1,000 crores from ~ INR1,600 crores. Long-term loans repayable within the next year stands at

INR206 crores. Liquidity remains robust with ~ INR1,700 crores in cash and liquid investments, excluding treasury loans. The net debt-to-EBITDA ratio is well below 1.

I now hand over to Shri Manish Sarda to discuss the industry overview and outlook. Over to you.

Manish Sarda

Thanks, Pankaj. India's fiscal deficit is projected to decline to 4.4% in FY '26, down from 4.8% in FY '25. The lower inflation has enabled early rate cuts supported by RBI's liquidity measures.

Infusion of liquidity by RBI has helped in transmission of rate cut to the industry. This will

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August 04, 2025 positively impact corporate earnings and capex. Tax breaks are also expected to boost consumption.

Global steel production declined over 4% year-on-year in Quarter 1 to 466 million tons with

China down 6%. Despite this, Chinese exports surged with net exports exceeding 53 million tons during January to May '25, putting pressure on global pricing. In contrast, India recorded

10.3% growth in crude steel production to 40.6 million metric tons with 8% growth in finished steel demand.

Imports moderated post imposition of safeguard duty and quality control order, but still exceeded exports. Although because of higher growth in production over consumption, the long product steel prices remained under pressure. Lower input costs like iron ore, coal helped improve margins.

The Indian Coal Index declined by 13% year-on-year from 142 to 128. We are focused more on domestic market for sale of ferro alloys due to better realization. As a result, exports in Q1 dropped to 21,500 metric tons from 32,500 metric ton year-on-year.

Outlook.

The Chinese government has recently announced another stimulus of CNY69 billion to tackle consumption bottlenecks and to bolster the domestic market amid global volatility. This will be the fourth batch of stimulus, bringing the total to the annual target of CNY300 billion. This should be positive for metal markets and margins should improve particularly due to fall in input prices. Fall in interest rate will enhance competitiveness and spur capital investments. Increased government spending is expected to support economic growth and credit expansion.

Power demand and solar power prices remain subdued in monsoon season, except for long-term supply contracts, which will have bearing on the performance quarter-on-quarter. However, higher generation from hydropower projects in the quarter will partly offset this. Commissioning of Rehar hydropower project will also add to the performance of second quarter. Lower finance costs are expected to further strengthen profitability.

That concludes our performance and outlook.

Pankaj Sarda

Let us put the floor for Q&A

Manish Sarda

Yes. Okay.

Moderator

The first question is from the line of Mahek from Agility Advisors.

Mahek

So, just wanted to understand, we have taken a resolution to raise up to INR1,000 crores of debt.

So can you please specify, what are the plans of the company with the debt which we are raising?

Pankaj Sarda

Can you come again? We lost you in between.

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Mahek

I wanted to understand we took a resolution for INR1,000 crores debt raise. So can you please explain, what are the plans of the company? Where are we planning to utilize them? And when are we planning to raise the same?

Padam Jain

This is only an enabling resolution. Companies with AA and above ratings are required to part finance their working capital requirement through market listed borrowings. So it is only enabling resolution. We don't have any plan as such to raise any funds. And this resolution has been taken in the past also, but we have not raised the funds.

Moderator

The next question is from the line of Manav from YES Securities Limited.

Manav

Congratulations on the good set of numbers. So my first question is on the update of the Supreme

Court case on the SKS acquisition. Where are we as things stand currently?

Nilay Joshi

So it is on -- as of now, it is listed for 6th August, which is day after tomorrow.

Manav

Okay. Got it. So 6th August is when we expect like -- it's going to be an interim hearing or a final hearing?

Nilay Joshi

So whenever the hearing will happen, it is a final hearing only, but I mean as of now, it is listed for 6. That's all that we can say.

Manav

Sure, sure. So okay. The other thing on 1.8 million tons of the coal mine. So earlier, we were expecting it during this first quarter. Now it's shifted to Q2 FY '26. I mean, if you could just enlighten more on that?

Padam Jain

We already have a permission for 1.68 million tons. And whenever we get during the year, even if we get by December or January, we will achieve the 1.8 million tons during the year. So it is irrelevant whether we get in March, June or September because for the year, we'll be able to achieve. It's in process, in the final stages of approvals. So it will not affect our annual target of

1.8 million tons.

Manav

Got it. Got it. Sure, sir. Sir, my next question is much more for the steel business. How do you see the realizations shaping up for Q2? Because I believe the long products is seeing realizations quite subdued. Do we see any improvements on a quarter-on-quarter basis?

Manish Sarda

So typically, you know that monsoon season is a season where long products prices are always subdued because construction activities practically in many parts of the country gets to a hold sort of thing. So we are hoping that now with consumption pattern going forward with the monsoons getting over, the prices also will improve along and the demand also will improve.

Manav

Got it. And sir, we continue to maintain our position, right, on not taking further expansions on the steel front and focusing majorly on the power story for the company?

Nilay Joshi

Yes. As of now, the expansion is focused on energy and minerals only, yes.

Moderator

The next question is from the line of Rakesh Roy, Boring AMC.

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Rakesh Roy

My first question regarding again realization and volume term. If you see the volume term on a year-on-year basis, our steel volume grew by near by 22%. But at same time, our realization is down by 23%. Any reason for the sudden jump in volume and big drop in realization?

Padam Jain

Realization is not down, 23% in steel.

Rakesh Roy

Overall, sir, because if I -- your number, steel number is revenue divided by the volume, like iron ore pellets, sponge iron and this one, totals comes nearby how much?

Nilay Joshi

Please refer to our presentation, which has been uploaded on the Stock Exchanges. So if you refer to Slide number 9, you will get all the steel and ferro alloys realizations over the quarters, etcetera, all details are there. So you can see for yourself the realization -- I mean, what you are saying is not adding up actually. If you just look at the slide, you'll have clarity.

Rakesh Roy

Okay. Right, sir. Because I have just taken the number from quarter earnings

Nilay Joshi

We disclose realizations every quarter for all the steel products and ferro alloys. So if you have a look at this slide, you'll get clarity.

Rakesh Roy

Okay. Right, sir. And sir, in terms of from Q1, how much is our realization power, sir? How much is the unit per, sir?

Nilay Joshi

That is also given on Slide 6, yes -- 6.16.

Rakesh Roy

Slide number 6. Okay. And sir, last question regarding, sir, any outlook for steel for whole year and power for whole year FY '26, any guidance?

Padam Jain

So far as volumes are concerned, steel volumes will remain more or less same -- slightly here and there. Whatever improvement is there on account of the efficiencies, that will be there.

Otherwise, steel volumes are stable.

Rakesh Roy

Like FY '25.

Padam Jain

Yes, yes.

Rakesh Roy

And regarding power, sir?

Padam Jain

Power also because last year, it was only for the part of the year -- for the whole year, you can assume 80% PLF.

Rakesh Roy

80% PLF. And sir, in terms of margin, margin will improve or margin will sustain this Q1 for next 2, 3 quarters for Q1 margin?

Padam Jain

We have already given details in our opening remarks, and it is subject to the market conditions.

It depends on the market prices.

Rakesh Roy

Okay. So in short term, if you see, sir, in Q2, mostly, I can guess your margin will improve because the coal price is down. Can we assume?

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Padam Jain

There are multiple factors, coal prices, iron ore prices, then steel prices, there are multiple factors. But our outlook, we could say we have already covered in our opening address.

Rakesh Roy

Right. Thank you, sir.

Moderator

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Priyansh, an Investor. Please proceed.

Priyansh

My first question is regarding the hydropower project. So we know that the PPA has been terminated. In this regard, please reply to the following questions. At what rate the power was being sold under the PPA Sikkim project? And at what rate is the company getting now for sale in spot market or to other customers for the sale of this power?

Is the company able to sell the entire 113 megawatts in spot market or some power remains unsold during -- after the termination of this PPA? Also, what was the reason which led to the termination of the PPA? The second question is regarding the steel division. So it has been exceedingly well -- doing well in the past quarter?

Padam Jain

You can ask one by one questions, that will be better. So your question on the hydropower project. So that we'll respond first. We had entered into power purchase agreement with cost plus tariff. So our tariff was going down year-on-year as the interest burden was going down.

As our cost was going down, our tariff was also going down.

And the transmission cost was in our account, on our head. So revenue was going down year- on-year. That's why we decided to terminate this agreement. And we are selling power in the open market. We are able to sell 100% of the power. And annual average of the realization for the time being may remain at the levels what we were getting previously. But yes, in longer term, we will be getting the benefit of the increasing rates of power over a longer period of time.

Priyansh

Okay. And do we have any estimate on the average rate that we're selling per unit?

Padam Jain

Average, it depends season-to-season, it will vary, but it should be somewhere in the range of

INR5 plus/minus.

Priyansh

Plus/minus INR5. Okay.

Padam Jain

Anywhere in the annual average, it should be.

Priyansh

Understood. Okay. Got it. I'll move on to my next question then. So we know that the steel division has been doing exceedingly well in the first quarter '25-26 since the revenue increased by 10% Q-o-Q, but the profit jumped by 100% Q-o-Q. So my question is, is this jump in profitability of the Steel division sustainable in the current quarter or even next quarter or was there any one-off item in the June quarter, which led to this really high jump in profit?

Padam Jain

No, there was no one-off item in the steel division. Yes, volume had also gone up as compared to the March. In the March, there were certain shutdowns in the plant. So Steel division, there is no one-off item, and we should be able to sustain and improve from here.

Priyansh

So we'll be seeing a similar growth is what you are saying?

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Padam Jain

Yes.

Priyansh

Understood. That’s it from my end. Thank you so much for your answer.

Moderator

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Gautam Jain from GCJ Financial.

Gautam Jain

First, congratulations for a solid set of numbers. My question is, can I get the breakup of your

Power business segment revenue, which is like INR939 crores. Can I get the breakup of that into captive IPP and hydro?

Padam Jain

We can provide offline may not be available immediately, but that will be available. That should not be a problem.

Gautam Jain

Okay. In the hydro business -- hydropower business, is it like that your first quarter and second quarter are better than the last two quarters?

Padam Jain

Your voice is cracking. Can you repeat?

Pankaj Sarda

Always in hydro, second quarter is always better than the last quarter.

Gautam Jain

No, I mean the first two quarters are better than the last two quarters on the financial, right?

Padam Jain

Not always. First quarter may not always be better than the third quarter. Generally, second quarter is the peak generation because of the rainy season. Third quarter is a little lesser than that. And first depends upon the incoming of the monsoon. If it is early monsoon, we get good rains and sometimes if monsoon comes in June, then revenues may be on lower side.

Gautam Jain

Okay. And the last question is you said about Chinese stimulus and that will be good for the steel pricing. So are we seeing better price in Q2 versus Q1?

Padam Jain

Manishji?

Manish Sarda

No, Chinese stimulus has just come around right now. We have just recently seen that the

Chinese stimulus is there. We'll have to wait and see. But I'm sure that once the monsoons are over, we'll see better pricing and better demand as well.

Gautam Jain

Okay. May I ask one more question?

Padam Jain

Sure.

Gautam Jain

So with regard to your gross debt and cash level, which is around INR2,700 crores of gross debt and INR1,700 crores of cash in hand. So what are the repayment schedule, if I may know?

Padam Jain

No. INR1,000 crores is the net loan and INR1,700 crores is the cash. Both are opposite. It is not

-- it cannot be combined together.

Gautam Jain

No, I know. I'm saying gross debt is INR2,700 crores and cash surplus INR1,700 crores. So net debt comes to INR1,000 crores. I'm asking is what is the repayment schedule on the gross debt side?

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Padam Jain

Repayment is hardly -- for the current year, it is only INR200 crores for the current year.

Gautam Jain

So what we'll do with the cash in hand because that is substantially rising because of our cash flow is very strong?

Padam Jain

Opportunity, right opportunity. And definitely, our growth plans are going on. We are spending about INR500 crores to INR1,000 crores a year on the expansion projects in different segments, whether it is coal mines, hydropower project and other projects.

Gautam Jain

So may I know total capex for next 3 years, including current year?

Padam Jain

As I told now, every year we have been spending in the range of INR500 crores to INR1,000 crores a year on whatever we have planned for next 2 years, 3 years.

Gautam Jain

Okay. So that will continue even for 2026, '27, '28, right?

Padam Jain

Yes, this is what we have already planned and there may be new opportunities also.

Moderator

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Rajesh Bhandari from Nakoda Engineers.

Please proceed.

Rajesh Bhandari

From your talk we came to know that in steel and ferro alloys we didn’t have an interest in expansion. It's more on power and mining. If it is in mining, we will remain only in India or we will explore outside India also and rare earth also and in power we are running at 600 megawatt and additional which is of 600 megawatt, do we have any plans for expansion of that 600 additional?

Pankaj Sarda

So the infrastructure is there for 1,200 megawatt. We definitely will be going for environment clearances for another 800 megawatt in future. That much land and everything in the infrastructure is there. And what was your another question, sir?

Rajesh Bhandari

My question was that we came to know from the talk that steel and ferro alloys we do not have an expansion plans, it’s more on power and mining?

Pankaj Sarda

Because 800 megawatt itself will take around INR8,000 crores of capex in general.

Rajesh Bhandari

Sir one thing I would like to say that this is the indication that how wise you are proceeding and this will turn the small cap into a large cap company because in steel and ferro alloys so many people are there, power is the best thing where you are going and mining also and many congratulations to you that in this line you are moving with that we will also get some benefit from that. One thing I want to ask in mining outside India is there any plan or is there any plan of rare earth?

Pankaj Sarda

So we have an operating a mine in Indonesia for that expansion planning is going on and God willing we will try to achieve 1 million ton in near future in that mine -- coal mine and wherever opportunities will come we are open for any opportunity.

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Rajesh Bhandari

Second one more thing the loan which you are thinking and you are giving so good results for that QIP there is no problem, people will give thousands of crores. Why only thousands the way other companies are taking?

Padam Jain

We don’t have any plan of fundraise. In immediate future there is no such plan.

Rajesh Bhandari

If I will have more questions I will come again.

Moderator

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Priyansh, an Individual Investor. Please proceed.

Priyansh

My question again pertains to the Sikkim hydropower plant. So what was the average generation of power in the June quarter and what is the power generation in the July month?

Nilay Joshi

So June quarter, the numbers that you see in the investor presentation for hydro, that is largely from Sikkim.

Padam Jain

This is the 100 million units in June quarter.

Priyansh

100 million units. Okay. And in the July month?

Padam Jain

July, we shall have to take separately. We don't have it at hand.

Priyansh

Okay. Maybe I can reach out later to the team then.

Padam Jain

Yes, you can take offline.

Priyansh

Understood. Okay. That’s it. Thank you.

Moderator

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Vedant Sarda from Nirmal Bang PMS. Please proceed.

Vedant Sarda

I wanted to know that what kind of ROCE we are targeting for the capex plans and for overall as a company?

Padam Jain

Return on capital employed will differ project-to-project, but there are certain projects which are related with integration, there are new projects. So there are multiple variables and for different projects because if you go for hydropower projects, ROCE expectation is different because there you have consistency in the profitability. Then if you are going for the steel projects, then ROCE expectation will be different.

So specifying a specific, this is my ROCE expectation, project to project and looking to the market condition and ROCE also you have to see only in the terms, whether market is in the upward mode or downward mode.

In case of steel sector, when you enter into the, when the market is already down, ROCE immediately, if you compare, that may not be very good. So ROCEs totally depends upon the

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August 04, 2025 market conditions, but definitely, it should be much better than our weighted average cost of the capital. That is what is the criteria.

Vedant Sarda

Yes, sir, like we don't have any...

Nilay Joshi

Just to add to that, see, like Mr. Jain already explained, different projects will have different decision-making parameters. But I would suggest that while we don't want to give a ROCE number, but you can go by our past actions, okay? The historical numbers are there for you to see. So normally, that is the decision-making that we are applying. You can go by the past action.

We don't want to put a number to it right now.

Vedant Sarda

We don't have any plans for steel expansion currently. And you also told any kind of opportunity if you see, you would like to grab that. So like if you find any kind of mine or anything, any project you are wishing. So some kind of numbers that if you can give, you are growing a company, you would be continuously doing capex, it seems.

Nilay Joshi

See, there have been multiple large capexes that we have done in the last few years itself, okay, that you would have seen, whether it was SKS Power, it was the hydropower project, etcetera.

So there, you can take the thought process, you can understand the thought process. We don't want to put a number because that becomes restrictive and that is not the only decision-making factor. It is an important decision-making factor, but not the only one.

Vedant Sarda

Okay sir, fine.

Moderator

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Arpit Shah from Stallion Asset. Please proceed.

Arpit Shah

Just congratulations on a very great set of numbers, great acquisition in terms of SKS Power. I just wanted to understand the power that we generated in the quarter 1, quarter gone by, the realization was closer to INR6.16 per unit. So how should we think about this number? I think we were guiding around INR5 per unit earlier on, maybe in the second or the third quarter?

How should we look at this number going ahead? This is a sustainable number? Or this is a number just for quarter one and it just drags down and brings the total annual average to INR5 per unit?

Padam Jain

No. This what we earned in the first quarter may not be the right number for the whole year.

Definitely, generally, first quarter is always better because of the summer seasons. But in addition to that, there are multiple variables which decide the power pricing.

So second quarter always remains subdued, third quarter and all other things, other quarters, pricing depends upon the demand supply, then climatic conditions, how long the rains go on.

There are multiple variables. But yes, first quarter is definitely better for the thermal power pricing, which may not be true for the whole year.

Arpit Shah

So how do we then look at because since you're already operating at 90% load factors, how should we think about SKS power numbers for FY '26? And since you already got a new

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August 04, 2025 hydropower plant operation from November to December, how should we look at the whole of the power segment in terms of EBITDA for FY '26?

Padam Jain

It's already told so far as capacity utilization is concerned, the annual average should be somewhere in the range of 80%, what we gave the guidance.

Arpit Shah

How should we think about the absolute EBITDA number for FY '26 because it's just power plant...

Padam Jain

Absolute EBITDA -- we don't give any specific EBITDA numbers. Last time also we had stated, in general, our power generation from the thermal power project should be in the range of 400 crores plus/minus units. And EBITDA will depend upon the electricity pricing, which is varies in the range and EBITDA may range somewhere about INR2. Plus minus 50 paisa.

Arpit Shah

Got it. And what kind of power generation in terms of units should be for hydropower?

Padam Jain

Hydropower capacity...

Pankaj Sarda

167 megawatt is running.

Padam Jain

About 40% of the power load factor. 148 megawatts.

Arpit Shah

Okay. How much should be in terms of units?

Nilay Joshi

No, 167 megawatt and you take around 40% to 45% maybe of PLF.

Padam Jain

Maybe about 60 crores units you can assume.

Nilay Joshi

But then this is all dependent on rains. See, the right way to look at it, I would say, is your thermal will be very strong in the first quarter. Your hydro will be very strong in the second quarter. And the other two quarters, I mean, third quarter, there is some hydro and thermal will be okay.

So I mean, it will taper off for the third and fourth quarter may be a little weakness in hydro because of the rains not being there. So that's the right way to look at it. Second quarter, we should get support from the hydropower generation, while thermal might be a little weak.

Arpit Shah

Got it. So broadly, what we have to see is in annually, what we have to see we are broadly going to be at about 450 crores odd units combined hydro and thermal. Our EBITDA per unit should be INR2 plus minus .50 paisa. So that comes to about, let's say, closer to INR1,000 crores plus

EBITDA for the power business as a segment. That's how we should think about it?

Padam Jain

I think that could be the reasonable expectation. Rest depends upon the market condition.

Arpit Shah

Got it. Perfect. Thank you so much.

Moderator

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Manav Gogia from YES Securities Limited.

Please proceed.

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Manav Gogia

Thank you for the opportunity. Sir, one question much more on the numbers front. It was for hydropower. Would you be able to provide the average selling price per unit for the quarter?

Padam Jain

We don't have immediately, but it should be somewhere in the range of INR5.

Manav Gogia

More or less INR5 on an average. Got it.

Padam Jain

INR5 plus.

Manav Gogia

Sorry, I could not get you?

Padam Jain

INR5 plus.

Manav Gogia

INR5 plus. Okay. Got it. Got it. Sure, sir. Sir, second question would be on the Power segment, when, like would you be able to specify some ballpark time line of doubling the SKS power capacity?

Padam Jain

Because it's a long-term process of approvals, we have to go for all the environmental clearances and those approvals. So giving any time lines at this stage will be too early.

Manav Gogia

Got it. Got it. And sir, currently, we are doing the Gare Palma expansion from 1.68 to 1.8. And

I believe the company's end goal would be to make sure that, that mine is particularly captive for your SKS power. So how do we see those expansions going ahead post 1.8 million for FY

'26? And then if you could give some breakdown?

Pankaj Sarda

So post that, we are evaluating. I think so we'll take it, again, it totally depends on the environmental clearances in place. We'll try to expand it to 3 million ton plus.

Manav Gogia

Got it. And we'll be applying for fresh ECs for this expansion?

Pankaj Sarda

Yes, fresh EC has to be applied. So all that process will start after we receive 1.8 million ton environment clearance, all the approvals and everything for fresh ECs will be applied.

Manav Gogia

So more or less, we can assume an 18- to 24-month period to have things all on hand.

Pankaj Sarda

Max.

Manav Gogia

Can be a fair assumption, right? Maximum. Sure, sure, sir. And sir, one question on, if you could quantify the landed cost for imported coal for the steel operations just in case you have it handy?

Pankaj Sarda

So RB2 and RB3 coal landed to Raipur. And the freight also changes from time to time from

Vizag to Raipur. So somewhere around INR8,000 per ton to INR10,000 per ton.

Manav Gogia

Sure. So we have seen some benefits on the cost front due to the prices going down in the international markets or they are yet to be accrued probably in the next quarter?

Padam Jain

Manishji?

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Manish Sarda

No, we have been trying to avoid imported coal as much as possible as the domestic coal is also available. And our entire aim of the group is to ensure that we utilize maximum coal from our own mines. And only the shortfall is what we are trying to source from international markets.

And that too many times, we get good quality coal in auction from the Indian mines. So we are trying to maximize that strategy more rather than depending upon imports.

Manav Gogia

Got it. Got it, sir. Sir, one last question I wanted to have. Basically, currently, the SKS Power, we are selling it on IEX, right, if I'm not wrong?

Padam Jain

No, we have a mix. We are selling part of the quantity. But generally, it is short-term, not on a daily basis. We have bilateral contracts for short-term, medium term, both ways.

Manav Gogia

Got it. Okay. And do we plan to have the PPAs for the SKS Power plant in the upcoming months or probably this...

Padam Jain

We have PPAs, but there are some medium-term PPAs. There are certain short-term PPAs. And a part of small quantity, sometimes we sell even on the IEX on daily basis also, it depends. There is -- this is a mixed basket of the PPAs.

Manav Gogia

Got it. Got it. So my main agenda was to just realize that we currently had a realization of around about INR6.16 per unit. So we can expect if more PPAs are in place, this realization number to probably go down a bit in the...

Nilay Joshi

No. See, it is like this. On the PPA, our strategic thought process is clear. We had outlined it in the last call also that over -- I mean, we are -- the idea is to enter into a stable PPA -- long-term

PPA. So tie up a significant part of the capacity in long-term PPA and the balance take the benefit of the market forces. So that is the broad idea. We are trying -- we are in the process of executing that.

Moderator

The next question is from the line of Rakesh Roy from Boring AMC. Please proceed.

Rakesh Roy

Yes. Hi, sir. Sir, one question regarding the margin front. As you mentioned nearby 76% of revenue comes from -- EBITDA comes from the power sector. And same our steel business, steel minus this EBITDA number from your power revenue, our steel EBITDA will get what is

18%, sir. So what is your outlook? And how is the Q4, Q1 FY '25 margin for steel business?

Padam Jain

Q4?

Rakesh Roy

Q1 FY '25? For this quarter, our steel margin is nearby 18% as per your data, sir. We have given data. In Q1 FY '25, how much our steel margin, sir?

Padam Jain

Q1 FY '25?

Rakesh Roy

Yes.

Nilay Joshi

Please look at historical data presentation for Q1 FY '25. You will get it on the exchanges.

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Rakesh Roy

Overall margin because it includes hydro also, sir, in Q1 FY '25. So I'm saying the only steel margin, sir.

Nilay Joshi

No, no, we disclose segment-wise EBIT. You can refer to our past results and check for whatever quarter you want to.

Rakesh Roy

Exactly, sir. I'm asking about not EBIT, EBITDA number.

Padam Jain

Last year, it was definitely much better than as compared to the fourth quarter and first quarter

'26. First quarter FY '25 was better than current year. Sorry, what is your question? Can you repeat your question? First quarter, what do you want to know?

Rakesh Roy

My question is, sir, this quarter, our steel margin is 18%, okay? Same last year's Q1, how much our steel margins sir? EBITDA number.

Nilay Joshi

If you go to Slide number 6 of the presentation, you will get Q1 FY '25 total EBIT broken up into the various segments.

Rakesh Roy

Exactly, sir. But this is for EBIT number. I'm asking about the EBITDA number, sir?

Nilay Joshi

That you can write to us, we will provide you. We don't have off line.

Rakesh Roy

Okay, sir. And sir, same thing, sir. Can you assume this number will improve from here onwards,

18%?

Nilay Joshi

It should. I mean there's a lot of discussion already part of it. We have given enough details

Rakesh Roy

Okay. And sir, EBITDA still in any chance in August or September, you will get any price hike because as you say, the price will increase or price will rise after monsoon. Any idea how much you are going to take and how is the market condition at that time? Do you have any -- can you give me a light on this?

Padam Jain

No. These are hypothetical questions. I don't think we will be able to give anything on that.

Whatever outlook we could say we have already given in our opening address, rest depends upon the market conditions.

Rakesh Roy

Right. And sir last question, as you...

Moderator

Sorry to interrupt, Rakesh sir, may we request you to join the question queue? The next question is from the line of Jayesh Gandhi from Harshad Gandhi Securities Private Limited.

Jayesh Gandhi

Congratulations on good set of numbers. Sir, I have two questions. First one is what is our average realization for SKS in July?

Padam Jain

July, we'll be able to provide you off the line. We don't have in the hand immediately.

Jayesh Gandhi

Okay. But is it INR5 plus or we should think about lesser than INR5?

Padam Jain

It should be in the range of INR5.

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Jayesh Gandhi

Okay. And my other question is apart from whatever commissioned...

Padam Jain

INR5 plus only. I think INR5 plus only. It will be INR5 plus only.

Jayesh Gandhi

Okay. And my second question is apart from whatever capacity we have shown, which is commissioned for power, is there any additional capacity that we can think about getting commissioned this year?

Padam Jain

No. There is no other capacity which is getting commissioned this year, except 50-megawatt solar power plant that will get commissioned during the current year.

Jayesh Gandhi

That will be for captive consumption, right?

Padam Jain

Yes. That will be for captive consumption.

Jayesh Gandhi

That’s all from my side, sir. Good luck.

Padam Jain

25-megawatt already commissioned in July.

Moderator

The next question is from the line of Mahek Talati from Agility Advisors.

Mahek Talati

So wanted to understand so we have a hearing in the next days. And we are planning to post a capex for the SKS as well. So, can we assume that the INR 1,000 crores debt resolution can be used here for the capex as well?

Padam Jain

Even if we start getting approvals, at least for the next one and a half to two years, there won't be any capex on that particular SKS project. So this resolution what we have taken will not be applicable for the SKS power project.

Mahek Talati

Okay.

Padam Jain

It is valid only for a year.

Nilay Joshi

It is just an enabling resolution

Mahek Talati

Understood.

Nilay Joshi

What we clarified is, it is just an enabling resolution [] which we have been taking every year.

Mahek Talati

No, sir. That I understood. And sir, second question was, did we see any price drop for the coal, which we are acquiring for SKS power plant or they have been flat?

Padam Jain

SKS power plant, we are getting coal at the notified price.

Mahek Talati

Okay. So no change in the acquisition cost, right?

Padam Jain

There is no, yes.

Moderator

The next question is from the line of Rajesh Bhandari from Nakoda Engineers.

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Rajesh Bhandari

Sir, I have one point. The results that you show on the BSE site are actually standalone results, sir. So, if there are consolidated results, that is better because most of the companies, they give consolidated results. Ours comes as stand-alone results.

Nilay Joshi

Both come, sir. You see once. Both come. Both are there in the presentation and in the results, sir.

Rajesh Bhandari

No. Not the presentation. No, sir. The one that comes on the page, sir, that one is not consolidated. That comes only this. Rest, if there is something in the details, then it comes consolidated. But normally, people see only on the first page of BSE. So, most of the companies, they give consolidated. This is just a request. Yes, sir.

Padam Jain

In the presentation, all the results are there. Standalone is also there and consolidated is also there. Sir, maybe there will be something in the front and back page.

Rajesh Bhandari

This is the only thing. Yes, sir. Please.

Moderator

As there are no further questions from the participants, I now hand the conference over to the management for the closing comments. Over to you, sir.

Padam Jain

Yes. Thank you. The performance improvement measures at our IPP are clearly reflected in the results of the quarter one. We remain confident of delivering record results for the financial year

'26 despite sectoral challenges in steel. Our strategy of reinvesting surplus cash into diversified future-ready projects continues. The company continues to reinvest surplus funds in diverse projects to ensure long-term sustainable growth.

FY '26 will benefit from full year operations of the IPP power plant, increased coal production and the commissioning of three new projects, which are 25-megawatt Rehar hydropower plant, which commissioned in July 2025, mineral wool plant and 50-megawatt captive solar power plant. Thank you for joining us today. Please feel free to reach out to us or our Investor Relations team with any further queries. Thank you.

Moderator

Thank you. On behalf of Sarda Energy & Minerals Limited, that concludes this conference.

Thank you for joining us and you may now disconnect your lines.

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