In furtherance to our letter dated, November 01, 2022, please find enclosed the text transcript of Investors Conference call, with regard to financial results for the quarter and half year ended Septe...
Date: November 05, 2022
Listing Department, The National Stock Exchange of India Ltd., “Exchange Plaza”, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra (East), Mumbai – 400051
Listing Department, BSE Ltd., Phiroz Jeejeebhoy Towers, Dalal Street Mumbai-400001
Scrip Symbol: TCIEXP
Scrip Code: 540212
Sub: Transcript of Analyst/ Investors Conference call Regulation 30 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015
Dear Sir/Madam,
In furtherance to our letter dated, November 01, 2022, please find enclosed the text transcript of Investors Conference call, with regard to financial results for the quarter and half year ended September 30, 2022, in compliance with Regulation 30(6) read with Schedule III and other applicable provisions of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.
The transcript of the call has been hosted on the website of the Company and can be accessed at https://www.tciexpress.in/investor-analyst-corner.aspx?invid=16. We request your good office to take the above information on records.
Thanking you,
Yours faithfully, For TCI Express Ltd.
Priyanka Company Secretary & Compliance Officer Encl: As above
Website: www.tciexpress.in Corporate Office: TCI House, Plot No. 69, Sector 32, Institutional Area, Gurugram - 122001, India Tel.: +91-124-2384090-94 • Email: info@tciexpress.in • CIN: L62200TG2008PLC061781 Registered Office: Flat Nos. 306 & 307, 1-8-273, Third Floor, Ashoka Bhoopal Chambers, S. P. Road, Secunderabad – 500003 • Tel.: ++91 40 27840104
91 40 27840104
PRIYANKADigitally signed by PRIYANKA Date: 2022.11.05 16:12:03 +05'30' “TCI Express Limited
Q2 FY2023 Results Conference Call”
October 31, 2022
MANAGEMENT:
MR. CHANDER AGARWAL - MANAGING DIRECTOR - TCI EXPRESS LIMITED
MR. MUKTI LAL - CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER - TCI EXPRESS LIMITED
MR. PABITRA MOHAN PANDA - CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER - TCI EXPRESS LIMITED
Page 1 of 22
Moderator:
Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the TCI Express
TCI Express Limited October 31, 2022
Limited Q2 FY23 Conference Call hosted by PhillipCapital (India) Private
Limited. This conference call may contain forward-looking statements
about the company which are based on the beliefs, opinions and
expectations of the company as on the date of this call. These
statements do not guarantee the future performance of the company
and it may involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. 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 “*” and then “0”
on your touchtone telephone. Please note that this conference is being
recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Vikram Suryavanshi
from PhillipCapital. Thank you and over to you, sir.
Vikram Suryavanshi:
Thank you Inba. A good evening and a very warm welcome to everyone.
Thank you for being on the call of TCI Express Limited. We are happy to
have the management with us here today for question-and-answer
session with
the
investment community. The management
is
represented by Mr. Chander Agarwal – Managing Director; Mr. Pabitra
Mohan Panda – Chief Operating Officer and Mukti Lal – Chief Financial
Officer. Before we start with the question-and-answer session, we’ll
have opening comments from the management. I will hand over the call
to Mr. Chander Agarwal for opening comments. Over to you sir.
Chander Agarwal:
Thank you. Good evening everyone and welcome to Q2 FY2023 earnings
call of TCI Express Limited. I would like to thank you all for joining us
here today. To start with, I will give you an overview of the Industry and
Business for the quarter and then will hand over the call to our CFO, Mr.
Mukti to brief on our financial performance for the quarter. Our
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TCI Express Limited October 31, 2022
Earnings Presentation has been uploaded on our website and stock
exchange; and I hope you all had a chance to peruse it..
The first half of the FY2023 continued to see recovery in our overall
macro-economic scenario guided by strong government initiatives to
stimulate the economy. The recovery trend was visible in many
economic indicators like Index for Industrial Production, GST collection,
stock market indices and report from external rating agencies. During
the quarter, we saw an overall improvement in the output for the
month of July with marginal decline in August primarily due to decline in
manufacturing and mining sector. The E-Way bills generation is another
factor that indicate the performance of the logistics sector. Overall, the
E-Way bill generation for September ended on a strong note, reaching
7.6 crore driven by ensuing festive season demand ie., a growth of 152%
over pre-Covid period (October 2019-February 2020). Given this strong
economic environment, the logistics sector continues to experience a
recovery trend. TCI Express, being the market leader in express logistics,
delivered highest quarterly revenue of Rs. 312 crores, registering a
growth of 13.2% y-o-y and 6.8 % on sequential basis. The top line
growth was primarily driven by SME customers, higher volume across
the services. Automation of the sorting centres substantially increasing
the daily capacity by reducing parcel handling time, vehicle halting time
and labour involvement resulting enhancement of overall operational
efficiency and strong sustainable margin. EBITDA for the quarter was Rs.
54 crores with strong margin of 17.2% as compared to 15.3% previous
quarter. The EBITDA and margins growth was primarily on account of
higher capacity utilization and operational efficiencies. Coming to
business update, during the first half of the year, we have incurred a
total capex of Rs.50 crores which has been primarily spent towards land
purchase in Kolkata for setting up automated sorting centre and
network expansion by adding 22 new branches to serve a growing
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TCI Express Limited October 31, 2022
market. The ongoing automation and digitization will enable us to be
much more efficient in delivering superior customer experiences and
enhance operational efficiencies in the long run which enable us to
deliver industry-leading performance. By leveraging our asset light
structure with automation and digitization, we continue to enhance our
competitive position as a leading provider of logistics services. Our
newly launched services are going strength to strength. We expect the
service offerings to contribute productively to the top line in the
forthcoming quarters enabling us to deliver higher margin levels..
From a balance sheet perspective, we continue to maintain strong
capital structure providing us the financial flexibility. We continue to
focus on balanced capital allocation and strengthening of our network.
In view of our strong performance in the first half of the year, I am
pleased to announce that the Board of Directors have recommended an
interim dividend of Rs. 3 per share with a pay-out of 150% on the face
value. Looking ahead, the industry remains poised to grow strong as the
growth of the logistics sector is fully aligned with India’s economic
growth potential. The recently launched ‘PM Gati Shakti National
Master Plan’ by our Prime Minister for multimodal infrastructure
connectivity to economic zones will get further boost with the launch of
the National Logistics Policy. The policy will help significantly in
transportation, warehousing, and inventory management. With major
policy push aided by strong economic recovery, we remain confident in
our ability, and our superior product offering will further help us to
benefit from the growing opportunities. With our customer first focus,
and innovation-driven asset light business model, we remain confident
of our superior value-added service offerings and to retain our
leadership position. With this, I would now like to hand over the dais to
Mr. Mukti to talk about our financial performance for the last
quarter.Thank you.
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TCI Express Limited October 31, 2022
Mukti Lal:
Thank you Chander Sir. And now, I would like to discuss
the financial performance of the company. During the last quarter, our
Revenue from operations stood at Rs. 309.9 crores for Q2 FY23 as
compared to Rs. 290.4 crores in Q1 FY23 and Rs 273.4 crores in Q2
FY22. The Total income for the quarter was Rs. 312.2 crores as
compared to Rs. 292.4 crores in Q1 FY23 and 275.8 crores in Q2 FY22
translating into a sequential growth of 6.8% and 13.2% year on year.
This significant growth is attributed to multiple factors like growth in
demand from SMEs, improvement driven by automated sorting centre,
higher capacity utilization, increased demand from rural areas, and
festive season. Overall, the Total Income for the first half of the year
stood at Rs. 604.8 crores as compared to Rs. 500.4 crores last year
posting a strong year on year growth of 20.8%. We witnessed a strong
improvement in EBITDA and margins as well and, the EBITDA stood at
Rs. 53.7 crores with margins of 17.2% (15.3% margins in previous
quarter). I am happy to report that for the first half of the year our
EBITDA was Rs. 98.5 crores as compared to Rs. 81.3 crores for the same
period last year. The Net Profit for the company in Q2 FY23 was Rs. 37.8
crores with margins of 12.1% as compared to Rs. 31.0 crores and
margins of 10.6% in Q1 FY23 and Rs. 34.0 crores and margins of 12.3%
in Q2 FY22. Overall, the Net Profit for the first half was Rs. 68.8 crores
with margins of 11.4% registering year on year growth of 19.0%.As far
as our future focus is concerned, we will continue to invest in
technology and automation to drive a more efficient operation and
provide a superior customer service. We invested a capex outlay of
Rs.50 crores during the first half of the year, towards the above. The
ongoing automation and digitization will enable us to be much more
efficient in delivering superior customer experiences and enhance
operational efficiencies in the long run which enable us to deliver
industry-leading performance. By leveraging our asset light structure
with automation and digitization, we continue to enhance our
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TCI Express Limited October 31, 2022
competitive position as a leading provider of logistics services Going by
the festive demand trend, government’s push in improving the overall
connectivity across the country, I am highly optimistic of higher capacity
utilization, better contribution from our new offerings like Pharma Cold
Chain, C2C Express and Rail Express. The impact of these changes will be
reflected in our financial performance in the forthcoming quarters..
Thank you very much and now I would like to open the floor for
question & answer.
Moderator:
Thank you very much sir. Ladies and gentlemen we will now begin the
question-and-answer session. First question is from the line of Amit
Dixit from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Amit Dixit:
I have couple of questions; the first one is on the tonnage, what was the
tonnage in Q2 FY23. And the second question is on working capital, so
net working capital days if we see they were higher in this quarter,
possibly due to higher receivables, do you see the possibility of the
reversing and if so, what could be the net working capital days by the
end of FY23. These are the quick questions sir.
Mukti Lal:
Well, so tonnage numbers in this quarter is 2,47,000 tonne. And in half
year it is 4,77,000 tonne. And second question, you asked for the
working capital days, yes, that has increased by almost nine days. And it
is a very temporary because what happened in the last month of this
quarter was the highest revenue we have achieved. That’s why it is a
temporary impact on that and other aspect of that, in sundry creditors,
we have paid some vendors early due to this festival season. So one
schedule we have made on some early payment to them. So that’s why
it’s like a temporary impact in sundry creditors days and debtors’ days.
So it will be normalized and in Q3 it will be normalized, back to kind of
like 48 to 50 days in receivable days and 35 days in creditor side. So net
working capital cycle will be back to 14 to 16 days.
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TCI Express Limited October 31, 2022
Amit Dixit:
Sir, basically Rs. 29 crores was locked up in receivable in this half year.
So you’re saying that as the year goes by this also will be normalized?
Mukti Lal:
Yes, this will be also normalized, it may be like, your rightly said this is
increased by Rs. 29 crore, it may be increased by year end and maybe
Rs. 10 crore, Rs. 15 crore max in overall basis over last year.
Moderator:
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Alok Deora from Motilal
Oswal. Please go ahead.
Alok Deora:
Sir, just wanted to understand on the volume trend, how it has been
and how is the festive season shaping up for us, looking at the numbers
it seems it has been pretty good. Just because in some sections of the
logistics segments, we have been hearing of some slowdown in
September so just your thoughts on that?
Chander Agarwal:
I don’t see there’s a slowdown as such compared to other sectors, but
in general the economy is doing quite well. And, in fact, most of the
sector & verticals that we are in, we have not seen any sort of like a
complete slowdown anything of that sort.
Alok Deora:
Sure. And also just wanted a sense on how is the Gurgaon sorting center
has been coming up, because I understand that first couple of quarters,
after the commissioning would have been more of a testing period type,
so just how’s the feedback been?
Chander Agarwal:
So, coming up, it is already up and it is running. We have already done
the maximum, the impact has already been seen of labor reduction of
trucks, that the time it takes for the trucks to, it used to take earlier, the
halting period. But this has to be now extended to other locations to
really get another set of benefits coming in. So, if you look at location A,
B, and C, if you only do this from location A, and then you don’t do it in
B, so you get only half of that benefit. So it’s very imperative that we do
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TCI Express Limited October 31, 2022
that location B also going so that, if the vehicle is halting say 24 hours on
each side. And then that means it’s like almost 48 hours, and we were
able to reduce it to 8 hours. So we had a substantial savings right there
and then. So that sort of benefit will come as we keep going further into
expanding automation into other sorting centers. This Gurgaon has
been performing very well. And I invite all of you whoever can visit
these plant and so you can really see what we are talking about.
Alok Deora:
Sure. And just last question. So how are we looking at deploying the
automation at other centers like Pune and, how are we going to
replicate that to other centers, any update on that, or any strategy we
are about to have?
Chander Agarwal:
So, of course our goal is to cover major 10 to 11 in the next four to five
years. And of course, the learning curve comes down with every sorting
center that we automate. But the bureaucracy with the land and with
the land acquisition and all of that, it is something that takes it’s own
time. So and then, of course there’s construction, like our Gurgaon
sorting center was slowed for two years unnecessarily, because of the
pollution, norms, and construction has been halted again in Delhi NCR
area. So, these sort of challenges are, it’s always going to be here in
India and we have to deal with that. So looking at that, the four, five
year plan that we have is kind of like quite alright to achieve it.
Alok Deora:
Sure. Just last question, so these margins of 16.5%- 16.6% that’s how
are you looking at that in the second half, would it be at similar levels or
could it further improve from here?
Chander Agarwal:
It will 100% further improve and there is no denial in that. There has to
be always, there is no reason for it to come down. Because, like as I
mentioned the economic conditions and everything, abide the inflation,
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TCI Express Limited October 31, 2022
everything seems to be in order and with that, there’s no reason for the
margins to come down.
Moderator:
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Krupashankar NJ from
Spark Capital. Please go ahead.
Krupashankar NJ:
Just couple of questions from my side, on the automation front,
challenging you have mentioned that the turnaround time of course has
improved with automation coming through new sorting centers, but
with respect to margin improvements so given that our trucks are paid
or vendors are paid on a per kilometer basis. So, the margin
improvement, what would be the key drivers, if I were to understand?
Chander Agarwal:
Sorry, can you repeat last line what you said?
Krupashankar NJ:
So, what are the margins levers for example, you do highlight that the
margins will expand because of automation and that is more or less
translating into a shorter turnaround time. So, what are the key drivers
given that we are paying our vendors on per kilometer basis so the
turnaround time should not matter which will restrict to margin profile.
So, can you explain a little bit more detail on that front?
Mukti Lal:
Yes, well so, basically as Chander Sir mentioned we had a halting time
right now in the range of 20 to 24 hour on both hands, like origin sorting
center and destination sorting center, so supposing they are making a
kind of like seven trip in a month from particular A location to B
location. Now, we have reduced the halting time on location A, that
means their trip will be increased in a particular month. So, they will be
saving on their fixed costs like driver salary, insurance and truck cost,
depreciation and everything they will be saving, and their inflow will be
increased. So, whatever they will be saving, they are sharing with us
like they have done in the time of increase in the axle load in these
trucks and whatever saving they have because then they are fair with
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TCI Express Limited October 31, 2022
us. So, same way we are doing for this one, this is the one aspect.
Second aspect obviously we also are able to reduce the
labor
component on these centers so that is also a part of direct cost and it
will be also reducing on that one. Apart, we are enhancing company
customer satisfaction level and is a low turnaround time, so itself low
turnaround time is doubling the capacity of this existing center, we can
be like process of double, triple cargo in the same centers by managing
the speed of machine because it’s now completely automated one. So,
in a sense it is giving a high efficiency to us like you will be wondering,
we can adjust the speed of cargo supposing on a lien time we can
reduce the speed and in high time we can increase the speed. So,
accordingly cargo will be processed on that.
Chander Agarwal:
In this sense, it is giving a very good kind of efficiency in this system
overall, in the part of like efficiency improvement and also like
reduction in cost also.
Krupashankar NJ:
So Mr. Mukti, order like on Gurgaon is done, then next would be Pune,
then followed by Chennai and then can you just list down what are the
key sorting centers which will be coming up the next two years if at all in
commissioning itself by FY24?
Mukti Lal:
Yes, so basically we are trying to negotiate for now for Pune, then it will
be come for Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, these are in line, and obviously
Ahmedabad. I think by 2025 like three years down the line, we will be
having a five more centres.
Krupashankar NJ:
Understood sir. And with respect to the truck utilization can you just
elaborate your growth step for the quarter?
Mukti Lal:
The load factor in this quarter is 85%.
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TCI Express Limited October 31, 2022
Krupashankar NJ:
Okay. And is there a guidance with respect to or are there a revision in
the guidance with respect to revenue and margin for FY23 and if at all
for FY24?
Mukti Lal:
So, whatever guidance we had given in inception of this year we are still
on the same path, we will certainly achieve 18% to 20% revenue for the
full year and same way we are also looking for FY24, and we obviously
want to improve the margin level. So, margin level in this year, we are
planning to have on full year basis is 17.5% and then next year again in
the range of +18%.
Moderator:
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Sagar Bhatia from
Prabhudas Lilladher. Please go ahead.
Sagar Bhatia:
Quickly just want to understand the cold chain business and what
margins are you looking at over there going forward for the next year?
Mukti Lal:
Yes, so in cold chain business we are just doing the pharma cold chain
business we are not doing other businesses of food or other grocery
items through refrigerated truck. Other thing we are also not doing the
warehousing, we just doing the trucking of refrigerated truck.. So
margin level in these trucks is also in the range of 18% to 20% and we
are doing for the only pharma customer. Next year onwards it will also
the same, we are looking for the same margin level because again if you
see if we carry perishable item we may not have that much margin but
we are just carrying high value medicines, high value vaccines
everything we are carrying high value, that’s why margin level we are
able to intact to in the range of 18% to 20%. Other aspect of that
because we had a big branch network across India. So that’s why again
same way like if we are doing in a surface truck, we are able to fill these
trucks back , supposing one truck has moved from Pune to Delhi, then
we have the cargo for the Delhi to Pune. So that’s where we are able to
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TCI Express Limited October 31, 2022
generate the good margin level, it is also same way asset light model.
We are not owning or not planning to own any truck on our balance
sheet.
Moderator:
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Ravi Naredi from
Naredi Investments. Please go ahead.
Ravi Naredi:
Sir our market share is 7% in India, which you show in investor highlight,
where we can see in next five years this 7%.
Chander Agarwal:
Thank you for your encouragement. Now, I can tell you one thing that
the market is so vast and 7% to 10% is what we say. Now, with the new
policy coming up, this can easily go up to 15% to 18%, but the fact is
that how do we determine that because government doesn’t give the
data for GST collection of 18% versus 5% and all that. So, if you really
see the expectation of course, logically it would mean that we are
getting market share, larger the portion of the economy is becoming
formalized is coming into the GST ambit is when we will see our market
share also increasing in the organized segment.
Ravi Naredi:
Okay. But, you will not be able to quantify, right?
Chander Agarwal:
See, it’s very early because we have to see COVID just got over, the war
just started, war is one year going on.
Ravi Naredi:
Sir war impact is not on India at least.
Chander Agarwal:
But we are getting affected right, by the high fuel prices and that has
also led to inflation not just here but globally. So it’s only and weird, if
India had not done the deal with Russia, then we would be looking at
absurd prices, all prices and inflation. So, there are multiple factors that
we can watch out for.
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TCI Express Limited October 31, 2022
Ravi Naredi:
And sir in Q2 how much volume growth and how much price growth?
Mukti Lal:
Yes, so, volume growth year-on-year basis was 12.5%. So, price increase
hardly is 1% of that.
Ravi Naredi:
Okay. And in buyback we are not offering any share in the market right?
Mukti Lal:
So, we are buying a share from the market regularly.
Ravi Naredi:
Yes, that I know but, promoter is not going to sell any shares, right?
Mukti Lal:
Yes, promoter is not participating in this buyback.
Moderator:
Thank you. We will take the next question from the line of Radha from
B&K Securities. Please go ahead.
Radha:
So, my first question was, so we have reported around 7% Q-on-Q top
line growth, so I believe that auto, pharma and truck goods are the
primary sectors that we deal with. So, what are the underlying sectors
that have shown highest growth in the demand?
Mukti Lal:
So, Radha you rightly said so, auto is a major contributor, auto and retail
sector because this is a festival season, the pre Diwali month has gone.
So, retail and lifestyle products and electronic items, they are major
contributors in that and pharma is slightly kind of flat.
Radha:
Alright. Sir, my next question was that in FY23 we were estimating to
take around 3% price hike and Q1 maybe we were not able to take, but
how much price hike have we taken in this quarter and how much can
we expect more for full year?
Mukti Lal:
So, we have till time we have taken almost 1.5% price hike and by year
end we are targeting to have at least 2.5% to 3% price hike for the
whole year. That is we are planning. So, again it is a very systematic
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TCI Express Limited October 31, 2022
process, these agreements with the customers is renewing in each year,
annual basis it is rollover and wherever it come for the renewal we are
asking for a hike from the customer, and we keep doing that. Radha:
Sir, with respect to price hikes during that we are in an
inflationary scenario and all, so what do you see, how are the peers
performing in this area, are they able to take price hikes as well as you
or is there a gap?
Mukti Lal:
No, so you rightly said sometimes customer is pressurizing not to
increase the price due to their cost has also increased abruptly. So
that’s why we are also very cautious and don’t want to be unnecessarily
pressure the customers. So wherever it’s possible, we are seeing various
aspect, their business volume and which sector they are giving the
volume, whether they are fulfilling our return loads and all, so after
seeing various factors, then we have emphasized price hike.
Radha:
And how much revenue is from value added services for first half FY23?
Mukti Lal:
It is around 16% of overall revenue.
Radha:
And my last question was, previously we were of the thought process
that we will not increase revenue from e-commerce given that they are
not that profitable. So are we still on the same stance or is there some
changes seen in the sector given that some of the peers have raised
concerns with respect to growth in e-commerce, so what is your
perspective on e-commerce as of now?
Chander Agarwal:
Our stand is the same, we will not touch it because we know that it is
not profitable, and it will ruin our B2B business.
Moderator:
Thank you. We will take our next question from the line of Prit
Nagersheth from Wealth Finvisor. Please go ahead.
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TCI Express Limited October 31, 2022
Prit Nagersheth:
So, Chander one question I wanted to ask you is that, you have given
quite an update on the Gurgaon sorting center, but one aspect is that
have you finished all the complete implementation of it or is there
something remaining on the Gurgaon side?
Chander Agarwal:
It’s all done, it’s all complete, the study is done, everything is done. The
opening is for all the investors, there’s a big group coming to see it.
Mukti has a details that will be coming. So you can join them.
Prit Nagersheth:
Okay, would love to. But my question is that have you achieved all the
key objectives that you had with that sorting center?
Mukti Lal:
Yes, And that’s why we have taken a long time because the first time
we have launched this automation in B2B industry in India, so we make
a lot of studies and then finally, we are able to stabilize everything
August onwards. We have stabilized the process of vehicles moment for
like branch to this centre and then this centre to destination sorting
centre, their timings, everything
like
labor reduction or
labor
optimization we had done. We also put a weighing scale there so now
we had a kind of weight management also we had done. So, everything
whatever we have put a component to be made there and we have list
out and then everything has been achieved now.
Chander Agarwal:
Established our ESG goals with it, it is 100% solar light, it has got the,
now we are getting that green certificate for it. So it’s like one of the
most important sorting centers that has come up and we will make 10
of these like that.
Prit Nagersheth:
Okay, that’s great. So, Mr. Chander the reason I was saying, setting this
up was because basically this means that this was your first launch. So
now that all your SOPs are in place, and all the learnings are in place,
would you say that the next center that you’re building for Pune, you
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TCI Express Limited October 31, 2022
would be able to achieve what you did with Gurgaon in much lesser
timeframe?
Chander Agarwal:
What will be sorry?
Prit Nagersheth:
Whatever you’re looking to achieve in Pune, you will be able to achieve
it in lesser timeframe than what you did with Gurgaon?
Chander Agarwal:
No, because it’s not Gurgaon it’s Pune, it has its own challenges. It has
its own micro and macro environment. So everything is vary our
country is very dynamic. So East is different, West is different, North is
different, Central is different.
Prit Nagersheth:
Sure. Chander any insight on the C2C and the Rail Express, how is the
traction on these two?
Chander Agarwal:
No, B2C is average, there’s nothing we are doing in that, there are
better companies than us in B2C who are doing and Rail Express is doing
very well for us.
Prit Nagersheth:
I meant C2C, like how are we doing with the C2C side?
Mukti Lal:
Yes. So, C2C it is again a niche segment and we are doing well and this
business is increasing, like if you talk about in this quarter so it is
increasing around 14% and this is growing well and it is also like giving
the similar kind of margin to us.
Prit Nagersheth:
Okay. And what about Rail Express, is the attraction going, have you
started new routes as you’re planning to?
Mukti Lal:
Yes, so we have actually given the update in our earning presentations
also. So that route has increased, number of customers has increased.
Now various number of customers are repetitive in the nature, so they
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TCI Express Limited October 31, 2022
are again and again using this service, so this is getting attraction, and
it’s going fantastically well.
Moderator:
Thank you. We’ll take our next question from the line of Ash Shah from
Elara Capital. Please go ahead.
Ash Shah:
So, first question was that Chander Sir you had mentioned that we have
added 22 branches in this quarter. So, how many branches are we
planning to add in FY23 and 24. Also, if you could provide any particular
geography that we are concentrating on?
Mukti Lal:
Yes, so basically in this half year we added 22 branches in North and
West, majorly one in the West and then North and the remaining six
months we are planning to be open in the range numbers around 50. In
FY24 again we want open 100 number. So, basically we are expanding
wherever we can. Before opening up any branches we do the study
there whether it is a viable to open the branch and oversee another
aspect like we had to see it has to be on a particular route where our
existing truck is going go so additional cost should not be incurred on to
carry the material from that branch to nearby sorting center and vice
versa. So, these various aspects we are seeing and then opening up the
branches.
Ash Shah:
So, basically we are going to add 72 branches in FY23 which is lower
than 100 that we were targeting. So, any reason for the deviation or
something?
Mukti Lal:
No, nothing is, it’s a as usual thing we making the study and then
opening up some time is not possible, sometime it’s possible.
Ash Shah:
Okay. Next on, can you just give us the contribution of retail SMEs and
large accounts for this particular quarter, and what are the targets that
we are planning to achieve on that front?
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Mukti Lal:
Basically, in this quarter particularly it is a 52% to 48% ratio, 52% is from
TCI Express Limited October 31, 2022
SME and 48% from the big customer. And for the whole, this half year it
is around 51% and 49%. So, always our endeavor to be maintained to
50% though, it is very easy to increase the business from the big
customer because they’re giving the big volumes, but we have to be
balance out both thing to maintain our margin level and fulfill factor in
trucks. So that’s why we are taking a very balanced approach always.
Ash Shah:
Okay. And last question, so after this Gurgaon center we are planning to
build a Kolkata center. So, how long will that take, the land acquisition
has been completed and could you give the timelines for the other
sorting center also like Nagpur, Chennai and Mumbai?
Mukti Lal:
Because Kolkata we just bought the land it will take the time to start the
construction because Eastern sector there still has some more
challenges than other parts of India for approval and everything. So,
Chennai will be first come to that, and then subsequently Kolkata will
become and
then Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Nagpur will be
operationalized.
Ash Shah:
Okay. So Chennai will come in FY23 or FY24?
Mukti Lal:
It will be mid of next year, FY24.
Moderator:
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Mayur Parkeria from
Wealth Managers (India) Private Limited. Please go ahead.
Mayur Parkeria:
Sir, again on the Gurgaon center actually, when I joined there was a
question already going on. So, I may have missed a part of it, I had the
question on the same side. The parameters which you must have said
earlier, so some of the benchmarks and milestones. Is there any major
changes in which where your expectations have not been met as per
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TCI Express Limited October 31, 2022
what we had earlier anticipated in terms of either efficiency or in terms
of cost structure, just as an experience?
Mukti Lal:
So, not really but we are facing challenge, because this is a vice-a-versa
also like we sending the truck to other destination there, they do not
have any automation. So, sometimes they get delayed the things to
unload and load the things. So, subsequently this truck will also then
reach late. So, we are putting a parameter that what time they should
reach and must be carrying like priority there on these center, so it will
reach back to my this center back. So, these challenges we are just
testing and putting some strict SOP to fulfill by all the other centers
basically, that’s the challenge we have otherwise we already met all
parameters and it is running very smooth.
Mayur Parkeria:
Okay. Sir, I know it may be a little directional statement, but just to we
want to get a little more clarity on that, FY25 we said around Rs.+2,000
crore turnover is our target, we are at a Rs. 1,200 crore run rate on an
annual basis, you said FY24, we can still target 20% but the ask rate then
for FY25 would be substantially higher at 40% is that the best way to
read or because from Rs. 1,200 to Rs. 2,000 is a +30% ask rate whereas
for FY24 if we are at only 18%, 20% then FY25 ask rate will be much
higher is it because more centers will come up or is there a directional,
just a clarification that’s it.
Mukti Lal:
Basically this is not the correct numbers what you are saying. In this
year this run rate in this quarter was Rs.310 crore and next six months
we’ll be getting around 675 crore kind of revenue we will get in next
two quarters. If you see the trend we had the Q4 is the highest revenue
quarter. So we are targeting like Rs.1,275 crore or Rs.1,300 crore
revenue and that subsequently you will be that rate will get reduced like
20% in next year then it will become 1600 crore and then obviously
20%, 25% will become Rs.2,000 crore and why we are saying because
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TCI Express Limited October 31, 2022
we already have, we are ready for the next growth level. Like we
launched the services in last year only and they are maturing now,
customer we are finding new customer we already for the different,
independent team to we get businesses in this new streams or new
services we have launched like Rail, C2C, and cold chain pharma and we
are also like adding up the branches. Now, this automation is also
obviously helps us to get the good customers experience on that. So, if
you put together all things we are on right path obviously and apart
from that we also will be taking the price hikes also from customer,
supposing in next year inflation is not so high. So, we will be able to take
slightly more price hikes from the customer. So all depends, but yes we
sincerely making the effort to become a Rs. 2,000 crore company by
2025 with the EBITDA margin level of 20%.
Mayur Parkeria:
So, I had just one last question for Mr. Agarwal, little a strategic
question from a broader term. Sir we have increased our total services
now if you look at whether it’s a normal B2B Express, C2C now added,
Rail added, cold chain added, Rail, so many the segments are, more and
more segments are increasing. So from a management perspective, do
you think that it will be from a customer standpoint is it an integrated
service offering and hence there is no need to add segment or SBU level
precedent kind of our senior management or do you think that at some
point of time we will have to require key heads to lead each vertical
because they will have an independent offering and need to be driven
independently. From a structure perspective how do you foresee as the
scale is also improving?
Chander Agarwal:
You got that right. As the business volume and the business itself grows,
there will be definitely independent head running their business.
Mayur Parkeria:
Okay. And do you see that foreseeing in the next two years or will it be
faster on it?
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TCI Express Limited October 31, 2022
Chander Agarwal:
See, we are not the kind of company that we will just add man power
just for the sake of adding it. So we will see how the business grows and
then you will do it.
Moderator:
Thank you. Our next question is from line of Sumit Jain from ASK
Investment Managers. Please go ahead.
Sumit Jain:
Just wanted to know what is the margin differential between our SME
business and large corporates?
Mukti Lal:
So, it is actually significant difference in retail and big customers. It is
almost a gap of 25% to 30% in general sense I’m saying though, because
again depending on sector-to-sector, segment wise like, engineering
goods is giving higher margin in comparision to retail business. So,
various dynamic factors are also there but in general sense yes, it is
almost 25% to 30% difference is there.
Sumit Jain:
Okay. And when you said 58% is the mix, this is by volume or by value?
Mukti Lal:
I said it’s 52%.
Sumit Jain:
52% by value?
Mukti Lal:
Yes.
Moderator:
Thank you. Ladies and gentleman that was the last question. I now hand
the floor back to the management for closing comments. Over to you,
sir.
Chander Agarwal:
Thank you all for participating in tonight’s event. And we are really
excited about the opportunity that awaits us in the next half of the
financial year. And I look forward to speaking to everyone again,
accordingly. Thank you very much, and have a pleasant evening.
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TCI Express Limited October 31, 2022
Management:
Thank you everyone.
Moderator:
Thank you members of the management. On behalf of PhillipCapital
(India) Private Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for
joining us and you may now disconnect your lines.
For more information please contact:
Mukti Lal VP & CFO, TCI Express +91 124 238 4090 - 4094 (Extn. 606) mukti.lal@tciexpress.in
Anvita Raghuram / Bhushan Khandelwal Churchgate Partners +91 22 6169 5988 tciexpress@churchgatepartners.com
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