Jubilant Ingrevia Ltd Q2 FY23 Earnings Conference Call Insights

Key highlights from Jubilant Ingrevia Ltd (JUBLINGREA) Q2 FY23 Earnings Concall

Management Update:

• [00:10:34] JUBLINGREA expects its 2H23 performance to be better than 1H23, assuming no unexpected adverse events.

• [00:11:06] JUBLINGREA continues the efforts towards improving its revenue mix of Specialty and Nutrition segment to 65% by FY27 from 46% in FY22. Additionally, this is expected to be a key driver for overall margin improvements.

Q&A Highlights:

• [00:16:34] Tarang Agrawal from Old Bridge asked that for the chemical intermediates business if there was any inventory loss in 1H23. Rajesh Srivastava MD replied that acetic acid prices at 1Q23 end was $745, and 2Q23 ended with $620. So there was a reduction of $120 which makes the company’s 20 days stock valuation reduction on a gradual basis.

• [00:17:18] Tarang Agrawal from Old Bridge enquired about the volume growth on the specialties chemicals business for 2Q23. Rajesh Srivastava MD replied that the company has growth volume. More than 65% of the entire growth of Specialty Chemicals is contributed by volume growth.

• [00:27:24] Pratik Kothari from Unique Portfolio Managers enquired about the volume numbers for health and nutrition and intermediate. Rajesh Srivastava MD answered that on Health & Nutrition, Niacinamide volume has de-grown by 40% over last year. On Chemical Intermediates, volumes have grown by almost 10-12%.

• [00:28:54] Pratik Kothari from Unique Portfolio asked about other expenses increasing to INR300 crores. Prakash Chandra Bisht CFO replied that the SEBI format for other expenses is not all fixed expenses. The expenses have gone up primarily on account of freight and also increase in tolling business.

• [00:31:43]  Rohan Gupta of Nuvama asked about the development update of Diketene and CDMO projects. Rajesh Srivastava MD answered that Diketene plant has come out successfully both on capacity, cost and quality. Currently utilization is 40-50% and the company is confident of touching 80-100% capacity in 4Q23 for Diketene.

• [00:33:09] Rohan Gupta of Nuvama asked that with a 40-50% utilization in Diketene, if the company is completely dependent on domestic market consumption. Rajesh Srivastava MD answered that the company has already started export market with great success. However, for now the major volumes are domestic.

• [00:34:25] Rohan Gupta with Nuvama asked about the drivers of strong volume growth in Specialty Chemicals. Rajesh Srivastava MD replied that in Specialty Chemicals, major business is pyridine and pyridine derivatives, except for the Diketene and CDMO business. So the growth is primarily from pyridine and pyridine derivatives.

• [00:37:57] Nitesh Dhoot from Prabhudas Lilladher enquired that on the Chemical Intermediates segment, if the spreads normalized for ethyl acetate and acetic anhydride. Rajesh Srivastava MD said that on anhydride per kg realization is improving. So as volumes increase, overall profitability of chemical intermediates business will improve.

• [00:39:03] Nitesh Dhoot from Prabhudas Lilladher queried about the capacity utilization for anhydride and ethyl acetate. Rajesh Srivastava MD said that on anhydride, the company is in a range of 70-80% overall. However, in the next couple of quarters the utilization is going to significantly improve looking at volumes.

• [00:41:24] Nitesh Dhoot of Prabhudas Lilladher asked about increased net debt levels and when it’s going to peak looking at the capex the company has. Rajesh Srivastava MD answered that the increase is very short term due to profitability being lower and capex being strong. However, H2 performance is expected to improve significantly.

• [00:53:02] Rohit Sinha with Sunidhi Securities asked about the region of maximum traction for acetic anhydride volumes growth and sustainability of it. Rajesh Srivastava MD replied that the increase is across the region.