Jindal Drilling And Industries Limited (NSE: JINDRILL) Q3 2026 Earnings Call dated Jan. 30, 2026
Corporate Participants:
Raghav Jindal — Managing Director
Analysts:
Unidentified Participant
Varatharajan S — Analyst
Siddharth Chauhan — Analyst
Saket Kapoor — Analyst
Amit Agicha — Analyst
Mehul Panjuani — Analyst
Mehul Panjuani — Analyst
Presentation:
operator
Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon and welcome to the Jindal drilling and Industries Limited Q3FY26 earnings conference call hosted by Antique Stock Broking 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 this conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star then zero on your touchstone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Varitharajan Sivasankaran from Antique Stockbroking Limited. Thank you. And over to you, sir.
Varatharajan S — Analyst
Thank you, Supnali. A very good afternoon to everyone. It’s my pleasure to welcome all the participants and the management of Jindal Drilling to this results conference call. We have with us Mr. Raghav Jindal, Managing Director. And Mr. Kaushal Bandani, WGM Industrial Relations and Finance. I would like to hand over the call to Mr. Raghu Jindan for the initial comments. The floor is yours, sir.
Raghav Jindal — Managing Director
Good afternoon shareholders. Thank you for joining our earnings call. The Results in the third quarter of FY26 on an operational level were broadly in line with what we had communicated earlier. And there has been no major change in the performance on a quarter to quarter basis. The key variation which has happened in the second and third quarters is on account of other income. In the previous call we had highlighted that there was a old litigation with ONGC which had favorably concluded and we had made a gain of around 100 crore rupees on the original receivable of 66 crore rupees.
This gain was on account of interest and forex and was suitably accounted in the other income line item. However, since that point in time the favorable award of the Bombay High Court was appealed in the Supreme Court. And the matter has again become subjugates. Due to this development, our auditors and board were of the view that till this matter is concluded in finality we should reverse the income which has already been booked in the earlier quarter. And therefore the other income line item is negative in the third quarter. I would like to stress that there has been no change in the operational performance of the company.
But the the bottom line looks to be much affected only on account of the Other income and no other line item. I think that is the key development which shareholders would want clarity on. And therefore I would request Mr. Varatharajan to open for questions.
Questions and Answers:
operator
Thank you very much. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press Star and one on the Touchstone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press Star and two participants, you are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. We have the first question from the line of Siddharth Chauhan from Bhatiwala and Karani securities. Please go ahead.
Siddharth Chauhan
Hi sir. Thank you for the opportunity. I have two questions. The first is that you have three rigs whose contract will be ending in FY27. So what is the expected dry dock expense for FY27?
Raghav Jindal
The expenditure for refurbishment is not booked when it is incurred, but it is amortized over the duration of the contract. Normally depending on the condition of the rig, the expenditure can be between 50 to 100 crores per rig.
Siddharth Chauhan
Understood? Understood. And the second question was that, you know, even G shipping storage are due for repricing in FY27. So just wanted to understand. In this scenario will there again be a squeeze in rig rates or do you see ample demand, let’s say from. ONGC in the series, how do you. See the environment panning out?
Raghav Jindal
So NGC should be taking out a couple of tenders. We are including one today and they are expected to come out with another tender very soon. For four rigs. They have been in shortfall of rigs in the past, but hopefully in the coming 10 times they should build up on their account. We don’t see any major challenge coming up.
Siddharth Chauhan
Understood. And just to follow up, you know, any developments in the Andaman basin, are you seeing more tenders which they would want for the Andaman side of things? Or do you not see the demand.
Raghav Jindal
As of now, today, not for the. Current year or at least nothing out in the open year.
Siddharth Chauhan
Perfect. Thanks a lot sir. And all the best for the future.
operator
Thank you. A reminder to all the participants, you may press Star and one to ask a question. We have the next question from the line of Saket Kapoor. From Kapoor. Go. Please go ahead.
Saket Kapoor
Yeah. Namaskar sir. Hope I’m audible.
Raghav Jindal
Yes, yes.
Saket Kapoor
Thank you sir. Firstly Dindasa, if you could just give us the the global landscape in terms of the rig counts and with the current uptrend that we have seen in the crude oil Prices as well as the the the natural gas pricing. How what would be its implication in the short term and going ahead with the type of geopolitical sc what should be its impact on the regrade your expectation and the global landscape?
Raghav Jindal
You know the rigrates really got a hit when Saudi Aramco had terminated a few contracts. Now it has resumed those contracts back and most of them are back in back into drilling in Saudi Aramco which is a very very positive global trend. I would say the prices are still in excess of 100,000 globally. But the rates in India were affected due to competition in the last tender. Hopefully in the coming tenders we should be aiming at a higher level because obviously those rates were something which were not flat feasible. And globally the demand of rigs are also going up since Saudi Aramco has taken back its rigs and the rigs suited to the Indian market are very less.
So we don’t see much international competition entering the market for ongc.
Saket Kapoor
Okay.
Saket Kapoor
And sir, currently as the earlier participant also mentioned about the dry dock rigs of your competitor G Shipping also now available for the current tender process. So what is in the bid for how much how many rigs have ONGC bit requirement is and the availability in the Indian waters.
Raghav Jindal
Currently they have come out with a 4 extender out of which we are getting Jindal Pioneer back into India and we will be bidding that that’s happening today and in the coming few weeks or months we expect fewer more tenders coming out from ongc. Where will we will bid the other rigs that will be de hiring this year. I can’t really talk about the competition as to what they will be doing. But our aim is to get the rigs as in when they get de hired and get a contract for them.
Saket Kapoor
When we look at in your presentation Kaushalji, you have mentioned at order book for Q4. So this is what the trajectory revenue trajectory is likely to be. That is what is being eluded by mentioning order book for Q4 of 237. I think.
Raghav Jindal
Yes.
Saket Kapoor
Okay. And a small point sir, in the presentation also we have alluded to the fact of rented and owned rig by the company. And and in your earlier conversation also you people have expressed your views about getting more rigs or more assets into directly into the company thereby improving the profitability. So in that width in that aspect where are we sir, in terms of adding more rigs which are still rented or are owned by your your group companies. Because it was earlier also mentioned that a thought process was Given to. To. To buy out or to get some arrangement with for the rigs with MSL also Maharashtra seamless.
So are we again in the process? Since now the demand and the dynamics have also changed. And we have cash on books also. What should we expect? Sir, going ahead.
Raghav Jindal
There is no update on that. And we have not received any communication from Maharashtra singers.
Saket Kapoor
Okay sir. Right sir. I’ll join the. Thank you.
Raghav Jindal
Thank you.
operator
Thank you. A reminder to all the participants. You may press star and one to ask a question. We have the next question from the line of apurvo an individual investor. Please go ahead.
Unidentified Participant
Yeah. Hi sir. Thank you for the opportunity. Sir, I just want to know the the regrets what all factors does it depends on? I think it is one of one would be the crude oil and rest. You can tell us. Thank you.
Raghav Jindal
So crude oil is one factor which is there Crude rates, the drilling costs. Everything is increasing by the day. So all that really matters and more so matters what the competition is and what the worldwide scenario is. Like I said, with Aramco taking back its rigs and not expecting too much of international competition into the Indian tenders we should be able to increase rates gradually, not substantially. Because obviously ONGC will not be ready for a big jump. So hopefully in the coming few tenders, step by step we should be able to increase the rates. Like how it’s seen in the future in the past.
Unidentified Participant
Sure. So also sir, like for the FY 2029 still we have to go for the tenders, right? So. So like by how much time before do we move the tenders? Like is it by FY27 end we would be going for the FY20 29 tenders or maybe in next few quarters.
Raghav Jindal
We the ONGC has a schedule wherein it requires minim months before the rigs. If a rig is getting de higher in the next three months we can bid for it. And so there are different different calculations for that. So we will aim to bid the rigs as and when the tender comes out for ONGC and hopefully secure its position. After rig gets dehired it takes about three to four months for refurbishment as well. So we have to take everything into consideration before we bid those rigs.
Unidentified Participant
One last. One last question. So I was going for like some other country for the companies as well. There’s something called tennis tax where the government pushes the company to to pay tax less and reserve that money to acquire more vessels. It’s generally in the shipping sector. So just want to know like is there something in this industry as well?
Raghav Jindal
We Pay an edge tax as well. But it is a very nominal amount. It is maybe less than. Less than few lakh rupees. It is not a significant thing per week.
Unidentified Participant
Okay, got it. Thank you. Thank you, sir.
operator
Thank you. A reminder to all the participants. You may press star and one to ask a question. We have the next question from the line of Amit Agitja from HG Hawaiian company. Please go ahead.
Amit Agicha
Yeah, good afternoon sir. I’m audible. Yes, thank you for the opportunity. So my question is like related to the industrial cycle view. Like where do we stand in the offshore drilling cycle? Like early mid or peak. And like how should investors think about cycle length and sustainability this time versus the previous cycle?
Raghav Jindal
No one can predict oil cycles. So it will not be appropriate for us to comment. We are a strong company. We are debt free. We have cash on the books. We have rigs available with us. All of our rigs are deployed. And we are working on getting rigs redeployed as and when they get de hired. We do not think in terms of oil cycles because then it leads to speculative ideas which we do not want to engage in.
Amit Agicha
Like would the management be considering the buybacks or dividend policy. If you can just put some color. Since we are cash rich now.
Raghav Jindal
We are cash rich. But you should also bear in mind that in calendar year 2026 three of the rigs are getting DE hired. Therefore they will go into refurbishment. So we are conserving cash for the refurbishment exercise. In addition to that there is also dues to the vendor from whom we have acquired Jindal Pioneer. Therefore, cash is meant for operational purposes and we want to conserve it. However, we have also noted the concern of the shareholder. Therefore we have doubled the dividend which was paid out in the previous financial year from the level it was in the year before that.
Amit Agicha
Thank you sir. All the best for the future.
Raghav Jindal
Thank you.
operator
Thank you. A reminder to all the participants, you may press star and one to ask a question. We have the next question from the line of Pawan Nahar, an individual investor. Please go ahead.
Unidentified Participant
Yeah. Thank you. So my first question is for Kaushal. You mentioned right now that there is an amount due to the vendor from which we purchased the previous rent. Can you please mention the amount you.
Raghav Jindal
$35 million approximately.
Unidentified Participant
So ballpark that will make us like that will take away almost the entire net cash that we have right now. Hello.
Saket Kapoor
Yes.
Raghav Jindal
No, because every year we are earning more cash.
Unidentified Participant
Sure, sure, sure.
Raghav Jindal
We will be doing 350 crores of EBITDA in the Current year, slightly more than that. And next year also, I think we will do around 350 crores of EBITDA.
Unidentified Participant
Okay. The second thing is, as Mr. Jintal mentioned, that there are rigs and you also mentioned rigs coming up for de hiring or new contract. So currently our EBITDA does not include any number from General Pioneer. Right. It will. It is yet to add. It is showing in the gross block, but it is yet not contributing. Obviously. I understand that, but. So next year the upside would come from the rig that will get deployed now. 1. Yeah, it is not in the current. And the volatile part would be whether it goes higher or lower, perhaps lower from the rigs that get decommissioned in 2026 or whenever there was three rigs.
Yeah. Is that understanding correct.
Raghav Jindal
For Jindal Pioneer? It is not correct to say that it is part of gross block, but it is not earning. That rig was acquired in March 2025 and it was on a contract at that point in time and it continued to generate revenue till about October of 2025. Thereafter it went into refurbishment. Once the rig goes into refurbishment at that point in time it stops earning revenue. But the refurbishment size is for the subsequent contract which we are expecting, expecting to get in about the next few months. On the other three rigs which are getting dehired, any commentary on earning upside or earning downside would not be appropriate because we don’t know the rates at which they will get rehired.
And this is a market which is almost always in flux. So rates can shoot up very quickly. They can crash very quickly.
Unidentified Participant
Sure enough. So, Mr. Jindal, you mentioned that, you know, you do not expect international competition in the ONGC tenders because maybe what I understood is there is a specific requirement for drilling for rigs in India, which is mostly not there with the international players. And if I were to turn it around, is there like, you know, the Indian rigs, let’s say what we own and if the rates are higher outside versus here, I mean, you know, doing whatever the maths you need to do, are you willing to deploy them outside like you, I believe have one right now in uae.
So are you willing to increase that number further?
Raghav Jindal
Yeah, we would be looking at international contracts and we’re actively working towards that. However, Indian, why I said that the Indian competition would not increase with international rigs is because there are too many. There are not too many rigs with the same specification which ONGC requires. And for them to change it to an ONGC requirement would be a very high cost. And that cost would not be equivalent to the rates that you get in India. So for them it’s better to keep the rigs outside. Whereas you’re correct, we are working on rigs to be deployed outside and we have spoken to a few companies, we’ve registered with a few other clients outside India.
Usually outside India you see smaller contracts and shorter contracts. We prefer longer three years and fiber contracts in India. So hence we bid for that as our first priority. Not to say that we are not looking at national contracts.
Unidentified Participant
Okay. And in one of the earlier calls I saw there was a comment that we are planning or exploring, you know, to get into services business for rigs or for drilling or offshore. Can you please elaborate? Like what are you thinking out there and how would you do it? Would it be organic? Would you acquire? If you can just not.
Raghav Jindal
Not currently. But we do have. We were looking at services of boats and other things, but nothing in the pipeline for this year. As such, we are concentrating on getting back the three rigs that will be de hired and we are working on it. But I don’t have anything concrete to tell you right now.
Unidentified Participant
Okay, thank you. Good question.
operator
Thank you. Participants are requested to press N1 to ask a question. A reminder to all the participants, you may press star and one to ask a question. We have the next follow up question from the line of Amit Agija from HG Hawaiian Company. Please go ahead.
Amit Agicha
Thank you for the follow up. Can like non rig services scale meaningfully like without large capital deployment?
Raghav Jindal
Can you please repeat? I could not understand.
Saket Kapoor
I’m talking about the non rig services. The mud logging and dictionary. Can this can meaningfully without large capital deployment. Will the company be able to give the proportionate like what is the revenue from rigs and non risk?
Raghav Jindal
We’ve already given the bifurcation of the EBITDA that is earned from the non rig segment. Please refer to slide 8 or 9 of our presentation. So segment wise bifurcation has already been given. Although there is no specific requirement, we still give it out just so that interested shareholders are able to gain a better understanding.
Amit Agicha
Slide number eight. Like I think I’m on eight number only. The total revenue is shown a bit and EBITDA margin is shown. Like you are. I think. Sorry, non risk services bifurcation is not mentioned.
Raghav Jindal
Slide 10. It is a very short presentation. I cannot understand why I have to explain.
Amit Agicha
Yeah. Direction. It is on site now. 11 correct? Yes. Rigs and directional drilling and mud.
Raghav Jindal
It is already in public domain. Please go through it.
Amit Agicha
Okay. Okay. Okay. Thank you.
operator
Thank you. We have the next question from the line of mehul Panjuani from 40 cents. Please go ahead.
Mehul Panjuani
Thank you so much for the elaborate details. You mentioned about the in the opening commentary about the Supreme Court, the litigation in the Supreme Court. So what are the timelines to get a final verdict on that one? I mean I know that you know you cannot give exact timelines, but what is the when is the next date? Etc.
Raghav Jindal
In India there is no timeline on legal cases. I will leave it at that.
Mehul Panjuani
Right, sir. Thank you so much.
operator
Thank you. A reminder to all the participants, you may press star and one to ask a question. As there are no further questions from the participants. That concludes the question and answer session. I now hand the conference over to the management for the closing comments.
Raghav Jindal
Thank you shareholders for participating and thank you Mr. Voratharajan for organizing the call. Thank you.
operator
Thank you very much on behalf of Jindal drilling and Industries Ltd. That concludes this conference. Thank you for joining with us today. And you may now disconnect your lines. Sat.