Note: This is a preliminary transcript and may contain inaccuracies. It will be updated with a final, fully-reviewed version soon.
LT Foods Ltd (NSE: LTFOODS) Q4 2026 Earnings Call dated May. 15, 2026
Corporate Participants:
Ashwani Kumar Arora — Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Sachin Gupta — Chief Financial Officer
Analysts:
Meet Jain — Analyst
Abhishek Mathur — Analyst
Amit Doshi — Analyst
Damodaran Narayanan — Analyst
Unidentified Participant
Presentation:
Operator
Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the LT Foods Q4FY26 earnings conference call. 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 call is being recorded. I now hand the conference call over to Mr. Meat Jain from Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
Thank you. And over to you.
Meet Jain — Analyst
Thank you Steve. Good afternoon. Thank you everyone and a very warm welcome to Healthy Foods 4QFY 26 post results earnings call hosted by Mother Financial Services Limited on the call today we have the management team being represented by Mr. Ashwini Kumara Roda MDN CEO Mr. Shacheen Gupta CFO Ms. Monica Chawla Jagia Chief Corporate Development Officer. We will begin the call with three thoughts from the management team. Thereafter we will open the floor for Q and A session. I would now like to request the management to share their perspective on the performance of the company this quarter.
I thank you and over to you ma’. Am.
Ashwani Kumar Arora — Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Thank you Meath for the introduction. So along with other team members we have Mr. Ritesh Arora today also on the call. He is the CEO for the India and Paris business. So good afternoon everyone and thank you for joining us today. On behalf of the management team, I welcome all our investors and valued shareholders to discuss the performance of LT Foods Limited for the fourth quarter and full year ended March 31, 2026. Please note that any statement made or discussed during this call which reflects our outlook for the future or which could be construed as a forward looking statement must be reviewed in conjunction with the risk that the company faces.
A detailed disclaimer in this regard has been included in the investor presentation that has been shared on both stock exchanges, I.e. NSE and BSE. The result documents are available on our company’s website as well as stock exchanges. A transcript of this call will also be made available on the investor section of the company’s website. Financial year 26 had been a year of strong execution, resilient growth and continued transformation into a global branded FMCG company. Despite a dynamic external environment, we have delivered solid financial performance while continuing to invest aggressively in the brand innovation and global expansion.
I’ll just cover industry tailwinds and headwinds in the financial year 26. Before I dwell into our performance in detail, let me briefly touch upon the broader industry context, the global rise and the Specialty food industry continues to benefit from structural tailwinds. The Indian SMCG market is expected to grow at 11% CAGR driven by increasing consumption and improving retail penetration. The global Basmati and specialty rights market is witnessing steady growth of 7 to 12%. Across geographies we see rising premiumization trends along with increasing global demand for the ethnic cuisine especially in North America and Europe.
We have experienced expansion of South Asian diaspora which is driving sustained international demand. In addition, consumer preferences are evolving towards health and organic products, convenience led food categories such as ready to heat and ready to cook, traceability, sustainability and premium branding. These macro tailwinds strongly align with LT Foods long term strategy, but there were a few headwinds as well such as geopolitical issues, U.S. Tariff, increased freight and increased input cost.
Now I cover the financial performance of the company. Coming to our financial performance, the revenue including other income grew to 11,023 crore which is up by 26% on year. On year basis gross profit increased to 3,692 crores. The normalized gross profit is around 35.3%. Excluding US tariff and change in the shipment term, EBITDA rose to 1,236 crores. Profit after tax stood at 625 crores. It is important to note that the normalized revenue growth was 19% and EBITDA margin moderated to 11.8% excluding US tariffs reflecting higher brand investments and strategic spending.
We continue to strengthen our financial discipline with our working capital days improved to 176 days versus 196 days last year. Net debt remains controlled with net debt EBITDA at 0.66 and net debt equity at 0.16. In financial year 26 for the fourth quarter the revenue grew to 2,938 crore, EBITDA stood at 300 crores and PAT was around 136 crores. The reported margins for financial year 26 and Q4 26 have been affected because of the US tariff pass through brand and marketing investment. LT Foods UK being an investment phase and organic segment under remodeling our core business.
Now I’ll cover the segment and geography performance so our core business continues to perform strongly with basmati in the specialty rise contributed 88% of the revenue delivered a 29% revenue growth in financial year 26 normalized rose 21% excluding the US tariff with revenue in tune of rupees 9,742 crore. Reflecting the enduring strength of our strong brand equity and deepening trust consumer place in our products across the world. The segment maintained a healthy ebitda margin of 12.3%. We observed strong growth across India, North America and Europe.
We continued and gained our leadership position as number one brand Basmati brand in North America with a strong share in the U.S. Imports and Canada. Our organic foods and ingredients segment grew by 9% and crossed rupees 1016 crores in the revenue in financial year 26. Building on over 30 years of pioneering Indian organic exports. With over 1 10,000 hectares of certified organic farmland, 80,000 farming family association and a global partner base spanning 25 countries, this business represents both a significant commercial opportunity and a profound expression of our commitment to to responsible sourcing.
We’re glad to share that we hold 12% share in India’s export of organic food. However, this business segment is under stress and we have strategically remodeled it for the next phase of the growth in which we have built the capacity which will take time to get fully utilized and also entered into the CPG business. Further, the EBITDA is also currently under stress due to currency fluctuations and commodity price pressure. Our Ready to Heat and Ready to Cook segment business has grown 2.5x over the last five years reaching 187 crore in financial year 26.
As consumers increasingly seek convenient and healthy meal solutions at home, innovations like Biryani Kit, Kappa Rice Royal Ready to Heat range are resonating strongly with Timecrest flavor forward consumers in India and internationally. The demand momentum across key markets remains strong. However, certain growth opportunities could not be fully serviced due to capacity constraints. Strength in RTH platform the enhanced capacities are expected to become operational from quarter two of financial year 27.
Our India business continued its strong trajectory ending the year with 10% value and 12% volume growth. A testament to the resonance continues to build with Indian consumers. What is particularly encouraging is the quality of this growth. Our quick commerce and E commerce channel grew in excess of 45%, firmly cementing our leadership on key digital platforms. The premium segment grew at 2x the pace of the overall consumer portfolio, reflecting the power of the premiumization trend that is reshaping India’s food landscape.
Space premiumization drove a significant increase in gross margin which was reinvested in the further strengthening of our strong brand equity enabling us to scale our marketing budget by 2x versus last year. Our household reach in India rose to 64.4 lakhs as per the Kanta, a 22.8% expansion over the last 15 months. Our market share in India stands at 23.7% as per the Nielsen report. Besides the new innovative offerings like Dawat I’m Organic Range, the limited edition of Dawat Saffron Basmati and Dawat Green Curry rice cakes are gaining strong traction with our consumer.
Our investment in the new facility in Raichur, Karnataka further strengthens our value chain from farm to fork as we deepen our regional rights play. Also the North America it remains our largest market contributing 48% of our revenue mix in financial year 26 and delivering 53% growth. 9% is the normalized one excluding the impact of the US tariff. Our flagship brand Royal commands over 60% market share and Golden Stuff continues to be number one. Jackson Rice brand in USA Europe continued its growth journey delivering 34% revenue growth in financial year 26 and advancing meaningfully towards our five year target of 100 million pounds in UK revenue.
LT4 Europe was conferred with the new NFET Award for its expansion to the UK market at the 15th annual Department of Business and Trade Investment Awards. Separately Extra Long Basmati recognized as a Product of the Year Tawas Extra Long Basmati recognized as Product of the Year in UK and honour driven entirely by the UK consumers. We are building the foundation for a sustainably large European business and we remain focused on brand building, distribution expansion and portfolio diversification across the region.
In the Middle east we continue to further strengthen our position. We would like to highlight that despite the ongoing geopolitical conflict in Middle east, including the heightened tensions arising from the Iran situation, Equiforts has demonstrated business resilience with no material disruption to our supply chain. During the year we expanded our presence in Saudi Arabia with rupees 53 crores in revenue in financial year 26 and successfully launched Maza Basmati Rice in Saudi Arabia. Apart from this, we are witnessing some near term pressure arising from US imports tariff related developments.
While the input cost has increased, we have to see how it’s going to impact in the near future. Going ahead Premiumization category expansion route to market excellence will continue to be engines of our growth while brand in India. While brand investment, distribution, expansion, innovation will drive our international performance, our strategy going forward remains very clear and focused. Strengthening our core business by expanding our global market share in Basmati and the specialty rise and drive premiumization and pricing power accelerating new categories by scaling rth, RTC and other such products.
We shall remain focused on margin improvement by focusing on operational efficiencies, cost optimization and build economies of scale improve mix towards premium and the branded offerings. Technology and digital transformation remain at the core of our capability building agenda. As we scale towards our next phase of the growth, we are committed to building a smarter, more agile and future ready organization that leverages technology as a competitive advantage. We expect for the future we expect continued double digit growth supported by global demand and new product launches.
Distribution expansion margins are expected to gradually improve as brand investments normalize. Scale benefit come through rph, RTC and Organic segments will continue to outpace overall growth. Now I would like to open the floor for question answers please.
Questions and Answers:
Operator
Thank you Ma’. Am. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press Star and one on your touchdown telephone. If you wish to withdraw yourself from the question queue you may press star N2 participants are requested to use handset while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question comes from Abhishek Mahathir with Systematics. Please go ahead.
Abhishek Mathur
Yes, thank you for the opportunity. Just wanted to check what for FY26 what was our volume growth in the US and also for the in the US geography and also for the Basmati and specialty rice segment volume growth for FY26 and what do you think was the extent of impact on this due to the U.S. Tariffs? That’s my first question.
Amit Doshi
The volume in the overall basmati in the specialty segment in this year on year basis grew by almost 19% this year. And as regarding the in the US as such the US volume increased by. That to also increase if we include the golden Star, Golden Star revenue that also increased by 30% 35%.
Abhishek Mathur
And sir, what do you think was the impact on this volume growth, if any from the US tariffs?
Sachin Gupta
So this was an opportunity for us being, you know, the company which has on ground operations and with a better service level, we have been able to acquire a more consumer, more customer by giving them, you know, the service level. So the idea was to in this whole disruption which was a big destruction for us, the idea was to keep the service level robust and that has really helped us to grow our customer and consumer base. Although you know it has impacted on our margin because partly we have consumed and partly we have passed on, but broadly acquiring consumers, acquiring customer was a big achievement for us.
Abhishek Mathur
Right. And secondly you have indicated a higher stepped up investment in your UK business where we have a five year target of scaling up. So just wanted to check today how much is UK salience for Europe as a percentage of revenue and on the domestic side just wanted to check what Is our distribution reach now? I believe it was about 170k in December. But what is that number now
Sachin Gupta
Sachin can add into this? This year UK is roughly 45 million pound revenue. Correct. And the goal is in. By 2030 we will scale it to 100
Operator
Million.
Ashwani Kumar Arora
So
Operator
India distribution is flat at 172. So flattish hasn’t grown much in the last quarter. But we’ve seen improvement in our market share compared to last year, same quarter.
Abhishek Mathur
All right. And lastly, just a bookkeeping question if I may. When I look at our revenue growth for FY26 for India and UK which are. Sorry, India and US which are together about about 80% of the business, it’s at 10% for India and about 8 to 9% for the US. But our FY26 revenue growth for the Basmati rice segment which is about 90% of the business is at 21%. Both normalized. These don’t seem to be adding up. Is there something I’m missing here?
Amit Doshi
So you need to. There are two kind of accounting treatment that we did this year. So one was if we normalize that the one was the tariff, the custom tariff and the second was the golden star. Because the last year the golden star we had a JV. This year we have acquired that 49%. Now it is a fully owned subsidiary. So both the numbers, if you tie it up because there in the. In the. In the US one, in the US one we had normalized the Golden Star as well as the tariff. Whereas in the Basmati segment the tariff was there.
So once you do both the things it will tag.
Abhishek Mathur
Understood, sir. Thanks. Thanks and all the best.
Operator
Thank you. The next question comes from Saurabh Bhariya with Samiksha Capital. Please go ahead.
Sachin Gupta
Hi. First of all, congratulations for the great set of numbers. I wanted to just have guidance on the margins
Operator
Part. So say going forward in FY27, what are the gross margins should we expect considering the rise in the input cost and also the margins.
Amit Doshi
So if you talk about the gross margins, the gross margins will be more or less in the lines. What we have done in the 25, 26. Because this, the gross margins, the movement of CIF to cni that will remain in this year as well. So that will be there. Yes, somewhat the tariffs and other things. Because now the tariff has normalized from 50% it has gone to 10%. So we expect the cross margins to be within the range of what was there in the last year.
Operator
But last when I checked your FY26 gross margins remains different from FY25. So on an absolute basis, if you can give me a number of the range that would be more helpful.
Amit Doshi
So if you look at my gross margins in 2425 it was almost a 24.5, 24.6% it it reduced on the 100 basis point. And this reduction in the 100 basis point was mainly because of the U.S. Tariff and the movement from CNF to C and I. So this margin range of 33.5 or 33% will remain in the next financial year as well.
Operator
Okay, Perfect. Okay. And the beta margins,
Amit Doshi
EBITDA margins. Because this year there were certain the tariff was there and there was certain passing of the timing and other things were there. The tariff had an effect on EBITDA margins. Likewise there was the organic range. One of the organic the inventory build up and the other the spends were there. So if these things because there are certain kind of dynamic environment and dynamic situations that might differ, these situations relatively are not there and things remain such, we will surely improve on the EBITDA margins by almost on that level.
Sir, we were at 12% in the previous year so we are eyeing that level.
Sachin Gupta
Whatever the disruption has come, we have counted for till time as Sachet said, you know, we are confident that you know we will be in the range of 12%. But you know, as we are living in a very disrupting world. So we are confident that we will be in this range perfect. And
Operator
Another question lies around the growth guidance. If you can guide a number for different geography wise and your overall basmati segment wise and also market share for say going forward if the Masmate industry grows by say X percent. So what of the total geography? What percentage of market share does LP sees of the global
Sachin Gupta
That we have tried and to put all the information on the presentation. So if you go through the presentation you will find these numbers
Amit Doshi
And and the guidance for the growth that we maintained at the guidance for the growth. So we are eyeing at a 10 to 12% of growth on the on the long term basis that we are eyeing and we remain to that growth levels organically we should grow in that levels.
Damodaran Narayanan
Thank you.
Operator
Thank you ladies and gentlemen. If you wish to ask a question, please press star and 1. The next question comes from Pooja Sanghvi with Incred. Please go ahead.
Unidentified Participant
Congratulations on a good set of surprise. I want to ask that what is current with your inventory by age and how much of your inventory today is ages like 12 months or more. What is the relatively threshold?
Amit Doshi
So inventory aging also it depends upon the different, different products which we sell. And all my premium products, if you talk about premium and certain other, other range that we have. So my average inventory levels, if you talk about the average inventory is around 190 days to 200 days of inventory which we hold. So there are certain premium where we age more than 18 months and two years of inventory aging that is required. So there are on these, on the various products, we age accordingly.
Unidentified Participant
Right. So I just wanted some clarity on how much of the volume is aging beyond two years.
Sachin Gupta
Yeah. Can you be specific on your question? So may, may not be. We have the answer right now, but you can mail it to, you know, the Investor nation.
Unidentified Participant
Yeah.
Sachin Gupta
Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Chris Lula, an individual investor. Please go ahead.
Unidentified Participant
Hi. Thank you for the opportunity. My question is on table days I am seeing from FY21 we had trade table days at 45 days. Now it is such in almost around hundred days. I wanted to know what’s the reason for it and is the hundred trade payable days now the normal payable days for the future or is it going to reduce like it reduced to 101 in FY26.
Amit Doshi
So these payable days of 100 or 100 days which, which is there at the financial numbers. So these will remain as such. So we have made certain arrangements because our practice of buying is 60 to 70% we buy in the season and 30 to 40% we buy apart on the other seasons. So the payment days and when we buy in 30 to 40% in the other part of the season, that differs. So having said so, this painful days of hundred days will remain in the future as well.
Unidentified Participant
Okay, thank you.
Amit Doshi
Thank you.
Operator
The next question comes from Amit Doshi with care pms. Please go ahead.
Meet Jain
Yeah, thank you sir. We will be the ready to heat health and convenience segment. So while of course the discontinuation has impacted the sales growth, but overall looking at the number, the size our growth number do you think is fairly low or, or what is our internal target? That’s
Sachin Gupta
One and second on the same RTH and RTC segment, our gross margins are in the line of 32 33% which is similar to basmati and specialty rice. So considering
Operator
That it’s a
Sachin Gupta
Convenient
Operator
Segment, should it have a higher gross margin or if there’s anything on that, if you can add.
Sachin Gupta
Basically RTH segment is led by our US geography which is very big in this category. The rest of like India is a very small for ready to heat and bigger and ready to cook where we are, you know putting all our efforts which is. And you know, so that’s. We are getting good response. So as far as RTH is concerned, you know our plant got delayed and that’s why you know the growth is little disruptive. But we are confident that by July the production will start. We will be back on the track of growth.
And as far as margins are concerned you are right. We are in the range of 35.
Amit Doshi
That too and that too is basically on basis of accounting treatment because you know initial period you do the more of sampling and sales promotion there is more, more spend on that and that needs to be netted off and you, you need to have the net sales. If you remove that our overall GP margins in this segment on the, on the basis of what we are making the sales it is almost 40% plus in this segment if we remove the sales promotion and other sampling expenditure.
Sachin Gupta
The filter is whichever, you know, RTH or rt the segment we should get into the filter is it depends on the size of opportunity. It will be in the range of 30 to 40%.
Operator
Okay. Okay. And what’s our internal, I mean you know, growth target of this segment and you know when do we have a breakeven target?
Sachin Gupta
So as far as you know the, the internal aspiration we have set for this business. So RTH is very big in USA and this year you know we have done 15 million. So another plant has been set up which is late. So in the next two years we will be 30 million which is 300 crore and on the ready to cook which is India that you know on the size of we are expecting by 2030 we have set up 100 and 120
Operator
Crores of revenue by 2030. So in India we are already the category leaders when it comes to biryani kit. We have more than 60 to 65% market share on different platforms. And so over here the the investments are going on for category creation. So we are therefore very bullish on building this category up.
Meet Jain
Okay. Okay. So in
Operator
Breakeven target that you would want to add
Sachin Gupta
It will
Amit Doshi
Be in next two years. So Ashmi is told in the whole of the category, our break even target that remains the same. Achieving a 400 crores in this segment will make us break even in this segment. So that’s our target. Yes, one one year because of the capacity constraint our target has moved. But otherwise we are online with achieving that target.
Operator
Okay, okay. Okay. Overall our inventory days are down. So have we purchased less this year as Far as our inventory is concerned.
Amit Doshi
Not really. Not really. We have not reduced our inventory. Yes. As we compare with the inventory days, it is, it has reduced by 28 days. So somewhat it represents the tariff aspect because the tariff impact and other things were there. But overall, the, overall, the inventory, we have maintained that inventory levels of almost 250 days of inventory, which I am sitting at as on March 31st.
Operator
Okay,
Meet Jain
Okay. Okay. And any, any, any general comment on El Nino and outlook of Basmati rice production for the upcoming season, Anything on that, you know, paddy prices for next year, Anything, any comment on that would be helpful.
Sachin Gupta
Yeah. So as far as, you know, farmers economics point of view, last year the paddy price were very high. So we expect that, you know, the farmers will throw more. As far as, you know, the impact of El Nino. You know, let’s say we are, we are watching, but historically, you know, basmati is mainly grown in the, in the region where, you know, there is other way of irrigation also. So in the last 40, 50 years, we have not seen any impact of the rainfall shortage on the Basmati. Rather farmer prefer than coal basmati because it consumes lesser water.
And so we are, we are positive that the production of basmati will grow this year, but I think we will be more clearer in one and a half months.
Meet Jain
Okay. Okay. Okay. And on the Middle east front, while of course Saudi has contributed to around 50 crore revenue this year, new market, other than that, our Middle east is not growing. Is that correct? Understanding?
Sachin Gupta
That’s correct. You know, that’s a very tough market, very strong entry barriers. And we have chosen our route to market where, you know, we should not lose money. We will be, or I will say not invest money much on that, but we are finding other ways of growing Middle East. Hopefully that should work.
Meet Jain
Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thank you and wish you all the best.
Sachin Gupta
Thank you, sir. Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. Participants, if you wish to ask a question, please press star and 1. The next question comes from the line of Unni Investment Ltd. Please go ahead.
Damodaran Narayanan
Hi, am I audible?
Sachin Gupta
Yes, son. Yes.
Damodaran Narayanan
Yeah. Hi, sir, I would like to know about what the. What is the revenue contribution of Golden Star specifically and their margins.
Amit Doshi
So as regarding the revenue contribution, it is almost contributing my 10% of the overall revenue in this segment. So currently we are not tracking its EBITDA margins as such because it is, it has been merged with my financials. But the margins of this this year is as we Compare is relatively 1 or 2% lower than that of the last year.
Damodaran Narayanan
Okay, so like in Q4 what, what will be the revenue of like what for Golden Star?
Sachin Gupta
Very you know proportionately divided. So 25 million which is 250 crore.
Damodaran Narayanan
Okay, okay. One more question sir. Like what will be, what is the current situation of raw material prices
Sachin Gupta
So for the coming crop?
Damodaran Narayanan
Yeah, yes, yes.
Sachin Gupta
So it’s very early because in one and a half months we will be clear, you know what is the kind of production being forecasted and what will be the you know impact on this, this disruption which is happening in the Middle East. So I think one and a half month we will be more clear but broadly if you ask me the prices will not come down much.
Damodaran Narayanan
Okay so for Q4 what, what was the situation
Sachin Gupta
In terms of prices?
Damodaran Narayanan
Yes, yes, yes.
Sachin Gupta
The prices have gone up very high. You know from the base level. If I talk about whatever was the opening price roughly 25 to 30% prices have gone.
Damodaran Narayanan
Okay, okay, okay, okay sir, thank you.
Operator
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Damodaran with accurate as capital. Please go ahead.
Damodaran Narayanan
Thank you for the opportunity. Just one question from my side on capex I see that you spend around 3060 crores. Can you just
Operator
Give me a breakup of this capex? Yeah, that’s that’s so messy.
Amit Doshi
The capex spend in the last year is almost 350 crores and in that, in that the major capex that has went is basically in the, in the lines of the US we have purchased the land and we have invested in the RTH facility. So in the US that’s the major capex that has went up in the last year.
Sachin Gupta
Land we are building in a big warehouse in Houston.
Operator
Okay so the 360 crores is entirely for that.
Amit Doshi
A major one is this in that rest is in the UK one the packaging facility because we have, we are in the growth phase and we are installing that additional packaging facility in that and rest are certainly in India. India we have purchased certain portion of land and to build new warehouses in the Indian region. So that has gone in that capex.
Unidentified Participant
Okay.
Sachin Gupta
Mix
Amit Doshi
Of foreign territory
Sachin Gupta
But major is which is such is explained on the Houston land purchase and RTH.
Operator
Sure got it. And what, what’s the outlook for FY27 or the CapEx spend that’s gonna,
Sachin Gupta
Will be in the similar lines we are investing to create certain more capacity in India and then you know the land has been purchased and warehousing and some you know asset we are building in Europe on packaging and all this. But major is in India and usa.
Operator
Sure. Okay. And just One question on that green acquisition which kind of fell through. Will we be looking at it now considering the change, the changes of circumstances
Sachin Gupta
As a strategy? We always look for opportunity which has a, you know, strategic in nature as far as LT Foods framework is concerned. So we, we keep on looking that kind of opportunity.
Operator
Okay. And just, just one question on the consumption side, specifically on us, are you seeing any impact in terms of consumption at the retail level or of the war and inflation thing like that?
Sachin Gupta
As far as demand side is concerned, we have not seen an impact. And historically also because being the food and us, you know, whatever the income is, that’s the last thing to get impacted.
Operator
Sure.
Meet Jain
That’s. That’s hardening to know. Thanks. Thanks and all the best.
Sachin Gupta
Thank you. Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to ask a question to the management, you may press star N1. The next question comes from the line of Eklavya, an individual investor. Please go ahead.
Unidentified Participant
Hi guys. Congratulations for the good set of numbers. So my question is that in this particular top 10 growth budget, top 10 growth for this year in USA as well as the sales growth for this year.
Sachin Gupta
Can you repeat your question please?
Unidentified Participant
I just wanted to understand the sales growth in USA for this year, financial year 26 and as well as the volume growth in the USA.
Amit Doshi
So otherwise it is stated in my investors. Tech uploaded one. The USA in the value terms is grown by almost 53% but that includes the tariff as well as the golden star Indus and in the volume term father stated it, it is a 38 growth in the US that was there in the volume and if I, if I reduce the golden star there is a growth of volume times 8%.
Unidentified Participant
Okay, so there’s a discrepancy in the volume and the sales growth. So the. Does the sales growth also include the forest. Forest gains as we have seen that the dollar appreciated a lot in the last one year. So does the sales file include that also or the contract used to take place at the very initiation of the year how it used to take this.
Amit Doshi
No. No. Yeah. So the. Yes, it has a dollar impact. Dollar depreciating because we are reporting in the Indian rupees and Indian rupee has almost appreciated last year. So it has an impact in the rupee terms currency. Okay, so you’re importing
Unidentified Participant
In the U.S. In the INR, not in the U.S.
Amit Doshi
Yes, so we are reporting in the rupee terms now in India. So it is a list of contracts used
Unidentified Participant
To take place in the U.S. Right in the U.S. Dollar. Whatever you’re selling the U.S.
Sachin Gupta
We do a yearly transfer pricing with USA and as a policy we hedge ourselves by 50 to 60%, you know, every time. So there is a little bit gain which was, you know, unhedged and we have, you know, we have the gain in this of forex.
Unidentified Participant
Okay, just the follow up question. If that application of dollar hasn’t been happened that much so what could be the, the impact in the sales volume growth as well as the sales value?
Sachin Gupta
So normally what happened, you know as a strategy, international strategy, we cover the raw material also roughly 70, 80% what we have seen, you know, if rupee depreciate then the local cost also you know, goes up. So inflation also cover that more or less. You know if you see, you know in if your question is around that, you know, if this rupee has not depreciated then the profit remained the same. So the answer is then inflation in the commodity also have not come.
Unidentified Participant
Okay, fair enough. Thank you for answering.
Operator
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Yogesh and individual investor. Please go ahead.
Damodaran Narayanan
Hi, good afternoon everyone. Thanks for giving me the opportunity. So I was trying to find a mention about the freight cost, the
Operator
Recent impact in the last quarter. So my question specifically is by how much percentage has the price increased for the freight from Q4FY25 to Q4FY26? Has there been any disruptions in shipping through the conflict zone?
Sachin Gupta
Mainly the disruption such as you can add into the Europe has been the most disrupted. The prices have gone up in US another market at the moment, you know, that’s not much disruption in freight as compared to last year. But Middle east which is not our big business, the prices have gone by 1015 times.
Operator
1015 times?
Sachin Gupta
Yeah, like you know, Dubai was $200 now 2200 dollars. Jeddah was 7, $800 now $2600. So it depends, you know and there is a big disruption in the, in the delivery also in the Middle East.
Operator
Understood. Sir, another question if I may please. Yes,
Sachin Gupta
Sure, sure.
Operator
In percentage terms, how much is the change in the realization per kilogram of our main brand Dharat in India and then the Royal brand separately in the U.S. I am asking this in context of pricing power
Sachin Gupta
Can tell that, you know, what is the quantitative growth and what is the value growth.
Operator
So in last year both the quantitative and the value growth is almost at par. But we’ve seen improvement in our product mix. Premium, most premium SKU saw 2x growth compared to, you know, the whole consumer pack business. So from that perspective we Are working on improving our product mix which drives better gross margins.
Meet Jain
Okay, thank you. That’s all from my side and my good wishes and very best luck to the company.
Operator
Thank you. A reminder to all participants that you may press star and one to ask a question. The next question comes from the line of Anubhav Mukherjee with Precision Capital. Please go ahead.
Sachin Gupta
Thanks for the opportunity. Sorry I was slightly late in joining the call and. And this might have been discussed. Sir, can you share what is the trend of
Operator
Sizing or realization in the international market? Like is there a price increase we have seen for Bhaskoti?
Sachin Gupta
So as far as you know domestic price are concerned that has gone high from season 20 to 25%. But as far as international price is concerned that the deal is all are done. 85% in the season only. So whatever the 10, 15% left, you know trading is left that has seen you know 15 to 20% higher prices than the season price. I hope that answer your question.
Operator
Yes sir, very much answer. The domestic price like you mentioned has seen a significant increase 25%. So will that be like like will that only suffice to like take the hit from maybe higher procurement price this year or will we be able to like improve our cost margin because of that?
Sachin Gupta
If I incorrectly. So prices of Paddy has gone up. That’s the.
Amit Doshi
Yes. Okay. Cost has gone up. So there will be further improvement in the gross margins in the coming years.
Sachin Gupta
In absolute term the gross margin will be more. Yeah. Okay. Okay, thanks. That’s all.
Operator
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Yogesh and individual investor. Please go ahead.
Damodaran Narayanan
Hi everyone. Again I re queued myself to ask another question which I forgot earlier regarding the
Operator
Insurance case. That was going on in simple terms because I’m an individual investor. I don’t understand the nuances of the the legal terms. But in. In simple terms if rupees hundred was expected to be received including the interest over the years for the Bhopal case how much is it already on the books and how much more is expected and likely when.
Sachin Gupta
Okay, I will certainly. So the. The lower court and as well as high court and supreme court has asked insurance company to give us money against bank guarantee. So that we have got. We have given the bank guarantee but in accounting you know no accounting has been done. Whatever the gain is, you know like our books 136 is outstanding with the insurance company where we have got 250. But we can’t do the accounting till you know the final verdict will happen which is in The June. I hope that.
Operator
Yes sir, it greatly does answer my question. So you mean to say that sir, is the amount in an escrow account?
Amit Doshi
So it is. We in fact not in an escrow account, we have that money. So it is a code that has asked for the bank guarantee against that amount. So we have that amount because the bank guarantee was to be given. We have deposited a FD amount equivalent to the bank guarantee amount. So that is basically a FD account. So that is.
Operator
Yeah, very well understood.
Sachin Gupta
Thank you so much.
Operator
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Sarah Bhedia, Samuksha Capital.
Sachin Gupta
Thanks for the opportunity again. I just wanted to have some guidance on the going forward capex. So if you can guide me
Operator
Net asset turn figure or say capex as a percentage of sales figure because as we keep on growing at a rate of say 14, 15% so we’ll have to have more capex. Right. So going forward can you give me a capex guidance?
Sachin Gupta
Yeah. So this year we have spent 330 odd crores and next year also will be in the same range. So this, this is the broader guidance from the capex. So we don’t calculate on the percentage of the revenue, we calculate on the, you know, the production tonnage. So
Operator
If you can guide me a net asset turn on a gross asset ton number
Amit Doshi
Basically what we are telling keep this year, this year or the coming forward year because there was certain one off build up of the spend. So on a year, on year basis you can’t tie up with that number because my capex for this year might service for the next two, three years. So that way it goes like that on a, on a conservative or a basis and tie up with the amount of depreciation what we have that will be invested in the capex. So almost on a, on a long term trajectory itself a two hundred and fifty crores of capex each year that will be done.
So this year, this year or the previous year we invested because we are building a capacity for next four, five, three four years. So that will be there.
Operator
Okay, perfect. Thank you.
Sachin Gupta
You know just say every year we grow by 60,000 tons and there is a formula that being crore rupee per ton.
Operator
Oh what, what, what did you see?
Sachin Gupta
Every year we grow 50 to 60,000 ton of rice. So if we build rice capacity, so the thumb rule is, you know it’s a.
Operator
Okay. And currently what is the total capacity done wise which we have.
Sachin Gupta
Okay. So we have in terms of milling paddy to rice we have capacity.
Operator
Okay.
Sachin Gupta
Roughly again.
Operator
Okay. Okay,
Damodaran Narayanan
Thank you very much. Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. The next question comes from Abhishek Mathur with Systematics. Please go ahead.
Abhishek Mathur
Yes. Hi sir. Thank you for the follow up opportunity. Just wanted to check in the domestic market. This regional rise is an opportunity that we have talked about in the past. Can you give an update on that? You know what is now the sales level that we have from this segment? How is it growing? That would be helpful, thanks.
Operator
So it continues to grow in the last financial year at a higher double digit growth. So it’s Approximately now around 170 odd crores in revenue which comes out of our regional rice portfolio. And it will continue to remain our focus and we will continue to grow this in the future as well.
Abhishek Mathur
All right. And lastly, just a clarification. The normalized margins that you have presented for the full year, they don’t incorporate the impact of your higher spending on A and P brand building or the higher level of UK investments. Right. They are only adjusting for the US tariffs and the the accounting adjustment. Is that correct?
Amit Doshi
Correct. You are absolutely right. That accounts for only the tariff. And
Abhishek Mathur
So. So sir, therefore the slight 40 basis point reduction in the operating margin that we see from FY25 to FY26, that would be on account of the higher NP and the UK investment
Amit Doshi
And partly because of the tariff as well. The tariff. If I talk about the passing of a tariff to the end consumers and building up of the inventory and UK and organic, that is the reasons for lower margins, reduced or 40 basis change in the margins.
Abhishek Mathur
Got it, sir. Thanks and all the best.
Operator
Thank you. As there are no further questions, I would now like to hand the conference over to the management for closing comments.
Ashwani Kumar Arora
On behalf of the management, thank you. On behalf of the management of NTF Limited, we sincerely appreciate your participation in our post earnings call. We hope you have been able to address your queries and provide clarity on the performance and outlook. For any further questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to me or our investor relations partner, Ernst and Young. The team will be happy to connect with you offline and assist with you any additional information you may require. So now you may please close the call.
Thank you. Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. On behalf of Motila Rochel Financial Services and LT Foods. That concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us and you may now disconnect your lines. Thank you.