Nath Bio-Genes (India) Limited (NSE: NATHBIOGEN) Q2 2025 Earnings Call dated Oct. 24, 2024
Corporate Participants:
Satish Kagliwal — Managing Director
Devinder Khurana — Executive Vice President
Amol Gupta — Chief Financial Officer
Harish Pandey — Business Lead
Venkatesh Kulkarni — Research Lead
Unidentified Speaker
Analysts:
Deepika Sharma — Analyst
Deepesh Sancheti — Analyst
Jinesh — Individual Investor
Avi Agarwal — Analyst
Saket Kapoor — Analyst
Reena Shah — Individual Investor
Presentation:
Operator
Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to Q2 and H1 FY’25 Nath Bio-Genes Limited Conference Call hosted by Go India Advisors. As a reminder, all participants’ lines will be in the listen-only mode and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. [Operator Instructions]. Please note that this conference is being recorded.
I now hand the conference over to Ms. Deepika Sharma from Go India Advisors. Thank you, and over to you, ma’am.
Deepika Sharma — Analyst
Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the Q2 and H1 FY’25 Earnings Call of Nath Bio-Genes Limited. We have on the call Mr. Satish Kagliwal – Managing Director; Dr. Devinder Khurana; Mr. Amol Gupta-Chief Financial Officer; Mr. Harish Pandey – Business Lead; Dr. Venkatesh Kulkarni – Research Lead.
We must remind you that the discussion on today’s call may include certain forward-looking statements and must be therefore viewed in conjunction with the risks that the company may face.
May I now request the management to take us through the Financials and the Business Outlook subsequent to which we will be opening the floor for Q&A. Thank you and over to you, sir.
Satish Kagliwal — Managing Director
Thank you, Deepika, and a warm welcome to all of you. This is Satish Kagliwal, representing Nath Bio-Genes. I take this opportunity to thank you all for joining today’s call.
The agriculture sector is currently riding a wave of huge optimism. The minimum support price, especially Rabi crop have been increased for the 2025-26 marketing season with the government expecting rice to ensure remunerative prices for farmers and promote crop diversification. These timely hikes bring fresh motivation to farmers and open new avenues for growth.
At Nath Bio-Genes, we have always prioritized providing high quality seeds that meet the expectations of our farmers. Our portfolio, particularly in Rabi crops like wheat, mustard and vegetables such as tomatoes, Okra and chili is poised to benefit from this sectoral tailwinds.
R&D has always been central to our growth strategy and will be immense on advancing our efforts in this area. We are [Indecipherable] that are resistant to diseases and pests, [Indecipherable] collection of germplasm. This [Indecipherable] allows us to continue enhancing all the robust product lineup. Cotton remains a core part of our portfolio with hybrid paddy seeds being a key driver for our future growth. Beyond cotton, we maintain a strong focus on maize, bajra, vegetables and plant nutrients, ensuring a well-rounded and resilient product offering.
While we continue to improve the quality of our products, we’re also making strides in expanding our marketing reach, working to establish a well-entrenched distribution network for our brands like Super Surprise Bajra Pack, Nath Sanket, Nath Jumbo, Rana and Hybrid Paddy Dhadak and Dhadak Gold. The momentum we are seeing across these areas supported by the MSP increases, sets the stage for a strong second half of Financial Year ’25.
Building on our solid distribution and product quality, we have made significant progress internationally too, particularly in Philippines and Uzbekistan. In Uzbekistan, our joint venture has seen notable advancements with production of cotton seeds in over 600 hectares of land. Harvesting is currently underway, and we are optimistic about the results. Once successful, we may consider further expansion and extending the same strategy to neighboring countries overtime. In Philippines, after successful trials we are currently preparing for trial marketing for our products in the upcoming season.
Friends, with these developments, we are confident in our ability to maintain a strong product pipeline while keeping a strong financial position and expanding our market presence.
I would like to announce now that Mr. Amol Gupta has taken over the charge of CFO from Dr. Devinder Khurana. Mr. Amol Gupta has been with the company for a few years now and was being mentored for the CFO role as the process of succession plan. Dr. Devinder Khurana will continue to be with the company as Senior Vice President of the company. His role also has been enhanced and will be involved in multifarious activities to help the growth of the company.
At this point. I would like to invite Mr. Devinder Khurana to walk us through the Financial and Operational Highlights for the First Half. Thank you very much.
Devinder Khurana — Executive Vice President
Thank you, sir. At the outset, I would like to inform you that our credit rating has seen a double upgradation from Triple B Minus to Triple B Plus. This is the confirmation of our operational stability.
During the previous communications, I had made a point that our company would continue the cotton story. Hybrid paddy would be emphasized upon, and we would lay enhanced effort on non-cotton, non-paddy, NCP portfolios. The same has been pursued over the last two, three years. The results are evident in the growth in top line as also in the bottom line.
Our diversified product portfolio has once again delivered strong results for H1 FY’25, led by our top performing Cotton Hybrid Sanket and Jumbo, which both have shown growth in volume and value. Cotton saw an 11% increase in value over this period. The cotton and paddy segment also recorded 8.1% year-to-year growth. Although the Paddy volume dropped by 4.5%, the value increased by 5.48% aligning with our focus on hybrid seeds.
Maize had a bumper season with year-to-year value growth of 35.18%. Bajra also performed well with the value of growth of 7.6%. Overall, our field crops grew by 2.3% in volume; however, the value growth was 9.62% supported by better pricing.
Our NCP portfolio also expanded by 7.3% in value with the vegetable segment recording a 12.3% increase in the value. You may wonder that I have not touched upon volumetric growth. Kindly note that we have been strategically working on the product mix to get better pricing with lesser volumes. This reduces the burden on logistics but ensures the top line and margins.
From a financial perspective, H1 FY’25 top line clocked INR276.07 crores, reflecting a growth of Y-to-Y 7% as compared to H1 FY’24. The gross profit margin has been maintained at 51%. The EBITDA for the first half stands at INR42.18 crores and the profit after tax is INR36.78 crores. Our working capital has significantly improved, and we maintain a comfortable position in terms of debt being zero debt.
The operating cash flows remain positive, although we used the cash deposit of INR75 crores as of March 24th for the current Kharif operations. Now, I would also like to hand over the floor to Mr. Amol Gupta to kindly address the gathering. Mr. Gupta?
Amol Gupta — Chief Financial Officer
Hello, friends. Good afternoon. At the first, I am very grateful for the trust the management has placed. I am committed to carry forward the Nath vision and goal while collaborating closely with the team to drive our success. Our success means not only company but the stakeholders also.
Together, we will build on our accomplishments and continue exploring new growth opportunities. Thank you once again, Khurana sir, over to you to continue.
Devinder Khurana — Executive Vice President
Thank you, Amol, and now I would like to open the forum for questions, please.
Questions and Answers:
Operator
Thank you very much. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions]. The first question is from the line of Deepesh Sancheti from Shefali Art. Please go ahead.
Deepesh Sancheti
Hi, am I audible?
Devinder Khurana
Yes, please.
Deepesh Sancheti
Yeah, okay. How has the recent increase in minimum support price for Rabi crops influence the overall strategy and the sales outlook?
Devinder Khurana
What you’re asking is that the MSP if it has been raised by the government, then whether it will effect our seed sale, something like that?
Deepesh Sancheti
Yes, something like that. So, is there any strategy or I mean will that affect the sales?
Devinder Khurana
Okay. So I think we have Mr. Harish Pandey here, who is the business lead, he will answer this question.
Harish Pandey
Yes, definitely it will help us because when government increase MSP, farmer attracts to buy the better seed to get the better pricing at the time of sell; when he goes to the mandi, he will get the better prices, so it’s good for us.
Deepesh Sancheti
Okay. And what specific growth opportunities do you see in this Rabi crop segment, particularly in wheat, mustard and vegetables, given the current scenario tailwinds?
Harish Pandey
Yeah, because the good rainfall has been received, so definitely it will help. It’s not to the Nath seeds, it will help the entire industry, right? And definitely the seed sale will go up and the farmer will get better yield because of the irrigation facilities available across. So, it’s not only one or two states, maximum states are having good rainfall this time.
Deepesh Sancheti
Okay. And can you elaborate on your R&D initiatives, especially the disease and the pest resistance piece, are they giving you a competitive advantage? How are they giving you a competitive advantage? And secondly, is the margin better on them?
Devinder Khurana
Dr. Kulkarni, would you like to address that, please?
Venkatesh Kulkarni
Thank you very much for this question. We are approaching disease resistance in both conventional way as well as molecular marker therapy. Mostly, in rice as well as in tomato we are approaching this into a molecular marker, DNA based marker system, and in other crops we are approaching this with conventional system. This resistance is very important in almost all the crops, especially when the disease is creating big losses. Our seeds which are getting emerged in okra as well as in tomato, are totally resistant. Our company has taken a policy that without appropriate markers, at least two to three markers, we should not reach hybrid. Similarly in rice also, we are ready with two products, and we are going to come to the market. This indicates that we also get a better price for especially in okra and tomato for disease resistance.
Deepesh Sancheti
You said in okra and tomato you get a higher price?
Venkatesh Kulkarni
Yes, higher price on the resistance [Phonetic].
Deepesh Sancheti
Okay. And how much does it contribute to the sales?
Devinder Khurana
That would depend upon the market conditions. The quantifiability cannot be addressed at this particular time; however, kindly understand that we are deeply into research. And any product that goes into the market is basically researched properly through labs or outside the lab in the field. So, the product will demand the price, and the product will also demand the quantity, which is unpredictable at the beginning of the research.
Deepesh Sancheti
Okay. And what are the gross profit margins in the paddy segment, if you can just mention this?
Devinder Khurana
Overall, the company has been maintaining the gross margin of around 51%, 52%. In paddy and in hybrid, we have a good margin goes to 60%-plus, in RS it goes down to around 40%-plus, similarly, cotton has different margins, we have crops coming — vegetables is a better margin than wheat. So, as a result, overall, if you have a look at it, you will find that the company has been able to maintain the gross profit margins of 51%, 52%, 53% depending upon various product mixes and we are always in the process of maintaining and improving upon it.
Deepesh Sancheti
That’s exactly my question is. Despite the fluctuations in product volumes, still you are able to maintain the gross profit margin above 51%. How do you do that? That’s why I wanted to ask?
Devinder Khurana
If you move to hybrid paddy, then your profit goes up definitely with the reduction in volume, right? If you sell something which is INR100 and you get INR70 and if you sell something which is INR100 and you get INR30, that is where the product mix is matter.
Deepesh Sancheti
Okay. Then are we doing something about our debt, I mean how much is the debt and if we can segregate the debt in long term and what is the working capital debt?
Devinder Khurana
I think you need to go through my balance sheet, and you should have also heard when I said that we have zero debt and we have had zero debt for almost about five, seven years now, we don’t have any long-term debt.
Deepesh Sancheti
Okay. And what is the ROE of the company then?
Devinder Khurana
ROE of the company I have not yet calculated the way you’re asking for it. Maybe I can let you know separately.
Deepesh Sancheti
Fine. I will come into the queue then.
Devinder Khurana
Okay. Next, please?
Operator
The next question is from the line of Jinesh, an Individual Investor. Please go ahead.
Jinesh
Good evening, and thank you for the opportunity. As per the result, it shows that the inventory at the end of Q2 is INR150 crores. So, it is fair to understand that this inventory will be liquidated in Q3?
Devinder Khurana
We give you H1 and H2 results purposely because by the end of September, the Kharif season is over, the sales are over. The sales have been clocked and the sales return have also been booked. Now the inventory which is lying at the end of H2 — H1, sorry, also includes cotton, which is going to be sold in next Kharif, because Cotton gets produced only once in a year. Our predicament is that this inventory will get liquidated in H2, not Q3 in any case, H2 is Rabi, the vegetables and maize and certain other crops which go through, yes, but as far as cotton is concerned, it is going to go over to the next year, that’s happening factually year-after-year.
Jinesh
So, out of INR160 crores inventory, how much inventory is going to be liquidated in H2?
Devinder Khurana
Maybe around INR50 crores, INR60 crores.
Jinesh
Okay. And what was our inventory level at the end of Q1?
Devinder Khurana
We don’t work into Q1 because Q1, we have made the sales, inventory is lying into the market, the sales return has not been booked, the rains have not set in, and the returns have not yet come. So I would request — I have always requested the investor community not to judge the company on Q basis, please do it on H basis, it’s much, much, much easier for all of you.
Jinesh
Okay. Sir, what is total available land we have on lease for seed cultivation as on today in India?
Devinder Khurana
We go through seed cultivation through organizers and farmers for our production, and the state we take land on leasehold rights, and it goes to around 15,000 acres, 20,000 acres or even more at times. It depends — it keeps changing with the crop, it keeps changing with the season, it keeps changing with the state.
Jinesh
Okay. Do you have any advance order book as on today for Q3 and Q4?
Devinder Khurana
In seeds, there is nothing called advance order book. Let’s not compare seed industry with manufacturing industry. What we have is advanced booking which comes through advance of sales.
Last year, the advance booking was almost INR70 crores, INR80 crores, which was for the next year. So, there’s nothing called advance book, but that happens only in the manufacturing industry. In the seed industry, we have advance which is received against sales provided your product is good and your market demand is high. And we normally launch our advance bookings scheme from December onwards and by March they are closed for Kharif.
Jinesh
Understood. Sir, who are our major competitors in India?
Devinder Khurana
Now that would also depend from crop-to-crop. I think I’ll let Mr. Harish Pandey handle that.
Harish Pandey
Okay. So, you are asking crop-wise competitors?
Jinesh
No, I am asking a general question the way we have the product mix, who are our competitors in India?
Harish Pandey
Competitors like Rasi is our competitor, Kaveri is our competitor, Nigbud [Phonetic] Seeds is our competitor or you can take Mahyco is our competitor. These are the four, five big companies who are competing with us.
Jinesh
Okay. Are we planning for any inorganic growth in terms of JV with local seed manufacturers as of now?
Devinder Khurana
Not yet. I made the statement about a year-and-a-half back. Let the company stabilize in the kind of growth target that we have set for ourselves. Once we cross INR500 crores top line, then maybe we’ll think of further diversification as of now.
Jinesh
Okay. Sir, you mentioned about Uzbekistan 600 hectares of land where initial trial has been done, post-trial is successful, and this land is used for the crop, for seed cultivation. What can be expected revenue from this?
Unidentified Speaker
I will have to answer this. Uzbekistan as a country had a good beginning. We have started seed production; we have already started research there. And based on the success of this particular initiative, which will be known to us by January, February, next year’s plans will be firmed up. So, all will depend on how next six months we really fare in terms of quality of seed production and demand for seeds and also in sales how you really go through it, how is the initial response, based on that in the month of February, March, we’ll be deciding next year’s plans. If everything goes well, at least we should double the seed production there and also improve the genetics through our research. This is the kind of a plan I can tell you at this stance. Okay?
Jinesh
Sir, what was our spend on R&D last year and this year?
Devinder Khurana
Around INR8 crores to INR10 crores.
Jinesh
For this year or last year?
Unidentified Speaker
No, I think you can open the balance sheet, there is a separate schedule which gives our R&D expenses detail wise for last year also as well as for this year, but we generally maintain around INR9 crores to INR10 crores, which we have been spending on research.
Jinesh
Okay. And sir, what is the contribution of vegetable seeds normally in our revenue if we talk about H1, H2 or entire year?
Devinder Khurana
Entire year we have around 60% coming from cotton and paddy, around 20% coming from other clean crops, around 10% coming from vegetable and around 10% coming from nutrient supplement. Now, this is something which we have been trying to improve upon by reducing the dependence on cotton and paddy and increasing the revenues from other big crop. It is happening, but what happens is that when other field crops grow, the cotton also grows, and paddy also grows. So, as a result the whole thing remains the same. And you had asked for a question on research. Last year it was INR9.37 crores, this year it is INR11.28 crores.
Jinesh
Okay. Sir, the company is filing GST every month or quarterly basis?
Devinder Khurana
Monthly basis please and we file 16, I think 18 GST every month because every branch is registered with GST, and we have 16 branches all over the country.
Jinesh
Thank you for the opportunity here. I will join back in to the queue.
Devinder Khurana
Okay.
Operator
Thank you. [Operator Instructions]. The next question is from the line of Avi Agarwal from Arihant Capital Markets Limited. Please go ahead.
Avi Agarwal
Hi, thanks for the opportunity. I wanted to ask if you can provide more details on the progress made in the Uzbekistan joint venture and how do you plan to scale the cotton seed production?
Devinder Khurana
Mr. Kagliwal has just answered this question. Anything specific in that, Avi, please? It just asked by the last gentlemen?
Avi Agarwal
So sorry, I couldn’t hear it. Maybe if you could give a brief about it?
Devinder Khurana
What he said was that we are into cotton seed production in Uzbekistan. This is the first year on which we have taken 600 hectares of land under cotton seed production. This year, being the first year, we are producing the local varieties there and growing them and selling them back to the public at large basically for seed production. Okay?
And if this goes through properly, which is likely to go through because we are very sure of it and all efforts have been put, next year, we will continue this process by increasing the production as also adding — trying to add our own BT canine varieties in the country because they don’t have that and once that goes through then we’ll set up a plant of our own. Now, this is a long drawn-out process, but over a period of time definitely progressing.
Avi Agarwal
Okay. Got it. Thanks a lot.
Operator
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Saket Kapoor from Kapoor & Co. Please go ahead.
Saket Kapoor
Yeah. Namaskar, sir, and thank you for the opportunity. Firstly, sir, if you could explain to us what goes into the consolidation of our numbers and why are our profits lower on consolidation?
Devinder Khurana
We are consolidating the results with the profit & loss account of Uzbekistan. This is the first year and the sales have not yet taken place although we have taken the production expenses into the inventory for the time being but the salaries and administrative expenses and all the other expenses we lost, so I bear the 90% in my book. That is why there is a reduction in profit of the consolidated results vis-a-vis the standalone results.
Saket Kapoor
And sir, in that JV, we hold what stake, sir? I missed your point.
Devinder Khurana
90%.
Saket Kapoor
90% is held by us. And how much have we invested?
Devinder Khurana
As of September, it was around $7 lakh or $8 lakh.
Saket Kapoor
US Dollars?
Devinder Khurana
Yes, please.
Saket Kapoor
Right, sir. Sir, when we look at our borrowing, we do not have any long term, but we have finance cost to the tune of I think so they have mentioned is INR5 crores, yeah, that is the working capital?
Devinder Khurana
Sorry, I have a working capital of INR105 crores, that carry cost, right?
Saket Kapoor
Right, sir. And you mentioned about our rating being upgraded also. The last rating with CRISIL is dated November ’23. Any further update post that, sir, 28 November?
Unidentified Speaker
I have two rating agencies looking after me. One is CRISIL, of course, and second is India Rating. India Rating has already given their current year results, and they have taken it up from Triple B Minus to triple B Plus, one short double jump. As far as CRISIL is concerned, they are still mulling over the results all those things that we have given. It is expected maybe over next few days. It has gone to the — it is likely to go to the committee this week or next week.
Saket Kapoor
Okay. Sir, looking at the growth aspect, other than the Uzbekistan ventures which we are currently pursuing, what else would lead to growth as you alluded to the fact that we would be first eyeing to stabilize the operation or to reach to that INR500 crores revenue mark. So, what steps are we taking and by when can we think that taking into account the current product profile we will be reaching INR500 crores, what is our endeavor?
Unidentified Speaker
If it was for me to reach, I would have reached last year only, but markets have their own way, products have their own way of selling. We are expecting that if we continue to maintain a general growth of 15% to 20%, say 15% plus, it may take around two to three years.
Saket Kapoor
Sir, taking into account the current product profile only we will be achieving this PAT of 15% to 20% growth?
Devinder Khurana
I would say yes and no, because current profile is also a very flexible profile which has been changed with the help of research and development people. So the moment we get — like Sanket came and suddenly it helped us, Jumbo came, it helped us, Akhand came in tomato, it helped us. So, as a result the product portfolio which is existing well-accepted into the market plus the new products that are expected maybe this year, next year, next year, all this will contribute to the growth of the company.
Now secondly, we have not yet touched Uzbekistan. If that goes through by the end of this year or next year, maybe that will also support. And to add to that, there has been an issue regarding Philippines. I would request M.D. sir to also throw a light on that, because if that happens properly, that will also give an impetus to the top line.
Saket Kapoor
Yes, sir. MD sir will comment on the same?
Devinder Khurana
MD sir? Hello? Okay may be he will come back.
Saket Kapoor
Yes sir. But sir, about the —
Devinder Khurana
But let me tell you, Philippines, we have been burning fire for almost about quite many years and it has been Philippines, Philippines, Philippines. Finally, last year we got our possessions, and the trials were conducted, and things were very well accepted and this year we are trying to sell seed to the government. And if that goes through this year, the next year will become multiple growth.
Saket Kapoor
Okay. And sir, in Philippines, what is our business model there, it is again through a JV only that we have and what have been our business?
Devinder Khurana
See it is only a direct export to the government. If that establishes, then we’ll come to know what is to be done, that’s a little flexible as of now.
Saket Kapoor
Okay. And currently, the last few years, what have been the business we have done with the Philippines government?
Devinder Khurana
Zero.
Saket Kapoor
Okay. So, currently we are only scratching the surface and getting the enrollment and the certification done?
Devinder Khurana
Yeah. So, that in any seed industry, in any country, it’s a long drawn out process. It takes about five, seven years because there are hundreds of tests that has to be done in every country, it happens in India also. But once we have broken that, then the sky is the limit.
Saket Kapoor
Okay. But you were mentioning that we are at an inflection point for them. If you could just complete that part? MD sir is available now?
Devinder Khurana
For the simple reason, because now if this year the sales is given on a larger scale and if that performs as the demonstration trials have performed, then maybe by the time we come to our next con call, we will be able to elaborate much better on that.
Saket Kapoor
Sir, I missed your point. Come again, please.
Devinder Khurana
I said that once the demonstrations are closed and the product reviews are good, the acceptance is okay by the government, then we go for larger production areas. There it is government controls; the government is buying, and the government will sell or plant itself or whatever happens. If that goes through this year properly, then maybe next year we’ll be able to upscale the exports.
Saket Kapoor
Okay. And when we will hear about it sir, what is the timeline?
Unidentified Speaker
Maybe after one crop year, maybe next year.
Saket Kapoor
One more year we have to wait for the government?
Devinder Khurana
Are we looking on Philippines for the company to grow? No, no. I have a domestic sales happening, I have domestic sales itself having capability of going beyond INR500 crores and am I going to only rely up on Philippines to take the company forward? I think there is something missing. It is cherry on the cake. If it happens, it will happen. Definitely it will happen. Let’s not bank upon Philippines for Nath-Bio Genes to grow.
Saket Kapoor
Right, sir. Sir, two small points. H2 generally is seasonally weak quarter as you very well mentioned that we cannot look at our — hello?
Devinder Khurana
H2 is a weak half year. You are trying to say that?
Saket Kapoor
Yes sir, H2 generally traditionally also and also seasonality also the reflection is there in the numbers also. So, as per our understanding how should the second half look for the current financial year?
Devinder Khurana
Generally it is around 70:30. That is the basic seed industry norms until you are very strong in vegetable and supplement, which we are trying to be, not yet. So, as a result I am expecting another maybe around 80 to 100 added in the H2.
Saket Kapoor
Okay, sir. And sir, when you mentioned about the heat resistance to the pesticide, can you elaborate, there is no need of spraying of fungicides or insecticides on the harvest, if you could just give more clarity on the same?
Devinder Khurana
Dr. Kulkarni sir, would you please like to explain?
Venkatesh Kulkarni
Yeah, there is resistance to virus means, the virus will not appear. Otherwise, if the virus appears, there will be losses to the crop, to the tune of 50% to 70%. So, that much of yield is saved to the farmers. For that only, resistance is very important in this. For example, in cotton, BTG in parts resistance to bollworm, otherwise we have to spray for four or five times and in spite of spraying there will be about 40% to 60% losses. So, resistance will bring you that much of recovery from the losses.
Saket Kapoor
Sir, last point I missed about the spraying and what you mentioned.
Devinder Khurana
For example, BT cotton is resistant to bollworm. In case if it is non-BT cotton, then the farmers used to spray about four to six times to control the bollworm. In spite of that, there used to be great losses to the yield. Now, with the introduction of BTG, the cotton is resistant to bollworm, That means to say that 40% of the losses that whatever they used to have that is being recovered and then insecticide spray for balloons is easy, like that.
Saket Kapoor
Okay. So, it will act as a prevention? We need spray but —
Venkatesh Kulkarni
It actually prevents.
Saket Kapoor
Okay. Right, sir. Sir, I will join the queue, sir, for the follow-up. Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. [Operator Instructions]. The next question is from the line of Reena Shah, an individual investor. Please go ahead.
Reena Shah
Hi. Thank you for the opportunity. Just wanted to know how you have diversified your portfolio in maize and bajra and how it can help you to offset the challenges in other crop segments?
Devinder Khurana
Ma’am, diversification is not only in maize and bajra. Our company has a fully diversified portfolio because we are into cotton that is fiber, then we are into seed crops which consists of paddy, maize, bajra wheat, then we are into oil which is mustard, then we are into vegetables which is like tomato, okra and such other vegetables and then we are also into a nutrient supplement segments. All the major five segments of seed industry are covered by Nath Bio-Genes India Limited.
And when I say maize or bajra, it is like promoting, you get good product, you promote maize, it doesn’t set off the losses or anything else of others because every product, every crop is supposed to perform the way it is supposed to perform. There is no setting of every diversification portfolio goes forward, the whole diversified portfolio goes forward. Okay?
Reena Shah
Okay. And sir, how do you see H2 FY’25 panning out in terms of growth?
Devinder Khurana
[Foreign Speech]. Anyway, I am expecting around INR80 crores to INR100 crores.
Reena Shah
80 to 100?
Devinder Khurana
Crores.
Reena Shah
Okay. Thank you. That is it from my side.
Operator
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Deepesh Sancheti from Shefali Art. Please go ahead.
Deepesh Sancheti
Yes, sir. Now I can see from your balance sheet as well as from your profit & loss that you have about INR9 crores to INR10 crores of yearly interest. Now what this interest is being paid only on term loan or is it paying only on the working capital?
Devinder Khurana
I did mention Deepesh ji, that we don’t have a term loan. So, the interest doesn’t work on term loan. We only pay interest on the working capital and at times in between in the season if I need more monies for the time being then maybe I will raise an NCD-2 which gets repaid over two, three months, then the interest is paid on the deposits of the customers that we are holding in our books, all that put together comes to the interest cost, no term loan again.
Deepesh Sancheti
Okay. And who has the company given about INR11 crores of loan in that because there is the asset side, there is the INR11 crores loan pending?
Devinder Khurana
That is a temporary advance which we had put into one of our ventures in Uzbekistan also that is one, because that’s an asset which is showing into my books. Once Uzbekistan starts paying backward, maybe their money will be received.
Deepesh Sancheti
Okay. And sir, wanted to know where will the sales growth actually come from, because I know that the company cannot be seeing quarter-on-quarter basis, it has to be seen in yearly basis, but in the next two, three years for long term investor, where will the sales growth will come from?
Devinder Khurana
Cotton should continue to grow 15% to 20%, paddy should grow by about 10% to 15%, vegetables should grow by about 20%, 25%, supplement should grow, which has fantastic margins, it should grow around 25% to 30%, maize and bajra have been supporting us, mustard this year is also doing very well. So, as a result, the entire basket will contribute towards the growth of the company.
Deepesh Sancheti
And you see approximately, I mean on an average about 20% growth because most of the factors are doing 20%, 25%?
Devinder Khurana
I am a very conservative finance guy. I would always say 15% plus, then wherever even if they give me 25%, I’ll be very, very happy, you and me both.
Deepesh Sancheti
True, okay. And just my last question is actually on overall industry as well as on this. Do we have any scheme like a KUSUM Scheme or we should see this company as a B2C company which only sells it to the farmers, how does the industry work actually?
Devinder Khurana
You see, all the seed companies will sell through the farmers. The seed companies will sell to the distributors who sell to the dealers who sell to the farmers. It’s a CCC effect. Because there are — if I am creating say 15,00,000 packets of cotton and one farmer is taking one packet on a per acre, I can’t be handling 15 lakh or 10 lakh farmers there. So, as a result all seed companies go through distributor lanes. We have around 4,000 or 5,000 distributors all over the country and we just go through them. Every distributor has around 10, 15 dealers and every dealer has around 15, 20, 25, 30 farmers. That’s how the chain goes.
Deepesh Sancheti
Okay. So, there is no government involvement or there is no government scheme which helps the farmers to get these at a better price?
Devinder Khurana
What Harish Pandey ji is telling me is that small companies do sell it to the farmers, but they are like some sporadic product, for those who are not into deep research, and they’re very small in numbers, and small in volume. They can do B2B, but we cannot, we run through our distributors only and it is a time-tested group model. You’re saying something about the government?
Deepesh Sancheti
Yeah. Perfect. I mean I understood the model. I just wanted to know that there is no government scheme in which they procure it and they gave it at a subsidized rate to the farmers, there is nothing like that which we participate?
Devinder Khurana
No, we don’t. We have already burnt our fingers in one or two governments, and we are very, very wary of it, thank you very much, we aren’t going into that route, the monies don’t come.
Deepesh Sancheti
Right. But in the foreign government, what you said that it takes about five years for approval and then you will be supplying it to the government, or you will be following the same distributor model?
Devinder Khurana
No, no, no. When I said five years, it takes — it is a question of testing. You put in 23 and then you get it tested by human being, you get it tested by animals and so many things. That is the testing period. Once that is over, then you set up your module depending upon how strong you are into your product and how strong you are into that nation and what is their system.
Deepesh Sancheti
Perfect, sir. Perfect. Thank you so much.
Devinder Khurana
Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. [Operator Instructions]. The next question is from the line of Jinesh, an Individual Investor. Please go ahead.
Jinesh
Sir, in how many states in India we are present as of now?
Unidentified Speaker
All the states, Pan-India.
Jinesh
All the states. Okay. And can you please elaborate what is the cotton seed market in Philippines as on today?
Unidentified Speaker
Okay. See, cotton, several years ago, we grown in cotton, then, due to several reasons, including climate and including variety, the area and the cotton growing reduced substantially, it is very, very low area now, but the government there is very keen to reestablish cotton as a crop. So, we have been working with the government to sort of promote cotton cultivation into the country.
So, first step was to go with the right varieties, the right technology, which has been done. So, now our task is to bring back the cotton cultivation in Philippines, which was earlier in large area. Now, it will be practically beginning from a very low — practically zero area to a large area. So, as of now cotton growing is not much there in Philippines. Okay?
Jinesh
Okay. Sir, at the end of H1, we have INR160 crores of inventory and as you elaborated mostly this inventory will be sold in next year H1. So, are we planning anything to optimize this inventory year-on-year because this is going to occupy most of our working capital?
Devinder Khurana
Yeah, but please understand there are two ways of doing it. One is you spread yourself then maintain your top line and gain the bottom line. Second is you reduce your working capital dependence, and then you suffer on the top line, and you suffer on the bottom line. I prefer to be on the first line.
Okay? I can have debtors of around INR100 crores spread over 5,000 people, with everybody owing me INR2 lakhs and I can still maintain that because working capital is funded beautifully by my bankers and by the advance booking coming from the market. So, we are heavy on working capital, but we are not suffering because of working capital rather we are gaining because of the spread of working capital. I think we are a good model.
Jinesh
Okay. So, you are going to keep a similar kind of inventory level every year at the end of H1. Is it the right understanding?
Devinder Khurana
If you look into the balance sheet and if you go through the working capital available at the end of March, what an analyst will do is divide that inventory by last year sales, whereas you forget that this inventory like for the next year sale, you expect me to grow by 20%, my inventory would also grow, right, and my debtors will also grow. So, the growth itself will result into enhanced working capital and enhance the debtors. But as long as we have fund at the end of the year to fund that, I haven’t increased the working capital from the bank for us almost about three years now, because we are funding through the advance bookings.
Jinesh
Okay. Thank you.
Devinder Khurana
Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Saket Kapoor from Kapoor & Co. Please go ahead.
Saket Kapoor
Yeah. Thank you, sir, for the opportunity again. Sir, when we look at our property, plant and equipment, the closing balance as on September is INR243 crores. So, what exactly goes into it because it is one time or 1.10 times asset turnover. If you could just —
Devinder Khurana
Kapoor sir, I would request you, please go through my balance sheet of March for the time being. Okay? Just hear me out. Go through the balance sheet of March and you will find, out of these INR243 crores, the major chunk is land and not property and plant and equipment. Now that land is being used by the company for the search operation. I need land because I am a land-based company. So, the fixed assets are hardly INR2 crores, INR3 crores.
The land itself is INR223 crores. To reduce that and you find that we come down [Indecipherable] which is very, very low. Land cannot be compared for the overall ratios. Please remove that and you will find we are very, very comfortable more than that.
Saket Kapoor
And these lands are where the labs are situated or what is the applicability of these huge land banks?
Devinder Khurana
No. The lab is situated in Aurangabad, where our registered office and head office is. It is right behind where I am talking and sitting now. Lands are spread in the field areas. We have almost about 250, 300, 400 acres of land. It’s well irrigated, well cultivated, all our foundation seeds — it is not foundation seeds, pardon. All our breeder seeds and research is carried out on these lands, because I cannot give it to outsiders, otherwise my product will get spill with it.
Saket Kapoor
Right, sir. And which are the geographies where this — we are holding this land bank?
Devinder Khurana
This is basically in Maharashtra.
Saket Kapoor
Okay. And these are at market value, sir, is this current land bank of INR223 crores?
Devinder Khurana
It was made to market value way back three years back or four years back when Ind-AS has set in. So, based on that Ind-AS system it has been taken on the market value at that particular time.
Saket Kapoor
Correct. Sir, on the use of pesticides, fungicides, and insecticides with the quality of seed, the resistance part of the story, which was explained earlier, you are trying to explain that does the dependence on the use of the same goes down or we can also claim that there would not be any use — there won’t be any need of the use of the same to prevent the crop from a particular disease?
Devinder Khurana
Dr. Kulkarni sir, please?
Venkatesh Kulkarni
There is nothing like that. This is a continuous war between plants and diseases or pests. There will be emerging pests and emerging strains of viruses, emerging strains of insects. So, this is a continuous process in agriculture. It’s very dynamic in nature. So, we have to have a continuous this thing. There is no end of chemical pesticides in agriculture. There can be new safe molecules might come, but this war will continue. We will treat diseases, and they become susceptible to the new ratios, new this thing, new biotypes, and then the insecticide use will increase. Again, the cycle goes on boom-and-bust cycle.
Saket Kapoor
Right, sir. So, no, sir, my point was, when we claim that or when we put forward seeds in the market in the hands of farmers putting stress on the point that these are resistant to say X, Y, Z attack of it, does that pertain to no uses of these protective insecticides and fungicides we have that claim on the same?
Venkatesh Kulkarni
No. We will only say that these are resistant to these pests and diseases.
Saket Kapoor
Okay. Right. But as you mentioned that this is a dynamic situation, another category of pests may attack, so we need to continue with the [Indecipherable]?
Venkatesh Kulkarni
In our R&D. Yes, our work we should be continuing.
Saket Kapoor
And sir, depending upon the R&D part, how many other seeds are in the pipeline that we are working with and particularly with reference to maize, we have seen that because of this ethanol blending and I think the country liquor part of the story gaining traction, the requirement for maize crop may be increasing significantly. So, what is our product profile on the maize seed part, if you could just elaborate?
Venkatesh Kulkarni
Yeah, we are present in medium maturity, we are present in early maturity, and we also have a sizeable single cross hybrids. In fact, I have to congratulate Mr. Harish ji because he is putting up a lot of efforts. Probably you might be knowing that our maize sales had good traction this time and had a good jump in back and we expect in maize to grow much faster next year.
Saket Kapoor
Okay, sir. So, we are working with new varieties. That is what you are trying to say?
Venkatesh Kulkarni
Yeah, very new, very new.
Devinder Khurana
All single crops. All single crops.
Venkatesh Kulkarni
Yeah.
Saket Kapoor
When we mention NCP portfolio, can you just elaborate what are we trying to explain?
Devinder Khurana
Sorry, sorry. I just got pre-occupied for a second. NCP portfolio means non-cotton non-paddy portfolio. That means it will consist of field crops, it will also consist of vegetable crops, and it will also consist of plant nutrient supplement. PNS you are aware, vegetable you are aware, when I say other seed crops, it would include mustard, jawar, bajra, wheat, and maize. So that is what — and when you say, you see, what was happening was that CP portfolio has become dominant in overall growth.
We had around 70% plus happening from cotton and paddy and other vegetables and other seeds were not getting the kind of due importance that they were supposed to be given. So, three,, three-and-a-half, four years back, I had mentioned that we are going to maintain cotton and paddy, but we are also going to emphasize on the NCP crops. That is what we mean by that.
Saket Kapoor
Right, sir. And the contribution of plant nutrients and supplements, if you could just elaborate what are we alluding to and how are these sales applicable and implemented?
Unidentified Speaker
I did say earlier that it should be around 10% of the top line.
Saket Kapoor
And these are applied at the time of sowing just to improve the quality of the harvest?
Unidentified Speaker
No, no. Win-Chi-Win that is our main plant nutrient supplement is a photosynthesis product. It is sprayed onto the leaves and through the process of photosynthesis it is taken in and it is used by the plant. You can compare this product with the Revisal. It has all the necessary ingredients and minerals, including some portions of NPK, but it doesn’t go through the roots, it goes through the leaves and photosynthesis. However, we are also introducing GOLI and another product which is going through the root system also. We are trying to diversify even our PNS segment.
Saket Kapoor
Yeah, we are diversifying our seed?
Unidentified Speaker
PNS segment.
Saket Kapoor
Nutrient segment. Okay. Sir, and we can consider this as a value-added product. That is the margins for the plant nutrients, the payments are higher than the gross margins also?
Devinder Khurana
Two, three years back I used to get around 70% on that. However, to enhance our sales and top line, we are passing some margins to the market, so that not only we benefit, they also benefit but it still gives me easily around 60-plus.
Saket Kapoor
Okay. And sir, going ahead, [Foreign Speech] plants, nutrients and supplements? Today, it is 10%. So, going ahead, what are we eyeing and [Foreign Speech]?
Unidentified Speaker
We don’t need any research on this. These are ready-made products. The only research is in the field that when you spray it, if it gives good results, it becomes a research-oriented product, there’s no genetic or lab research involved in that. And secondly, PNS to become 30% and then say that my cotton is reducing, or my field crops are reducing. And like I made the statement earlier the entire diversified portfolio has to grow together. It is a team. We aren’t competing with each other. We are supplementing and supporting each other in each product, each crop.
Saket Kapoor
Correct, sir. Thank you, sir, for all the elaborate answers. And all the best, sir. And Shubh Deepawali to the team, sir. Thank you.
Devinder Khurana
Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Jinesh, an Individual Investor. Please go ahead.
Jinesh
Thank you for giving opportunity again. Sir, what is our — are we planning for any capex on plant and machinery this year or next year?
Devinder Khurana
No. The reason is very simple that capexes are not required. You will find over my last five, seven balance sheets, there are hardly any capexes. The reason is very simple that I can get the processing done from a vendor. There are people with godown, there are people with processing facilities, I don’t need to maintain maize which takes about 15 days, one month to be maintained that plant and machinery for 365 days. So, we are low on capex, we don’t much spend on that. Saves me depreciation, saves me maintenance cost and saves me the breakages.
Jinesh
Okay. And whatever plant and machinery we have, what is our current utilization on that?
Devinder Khurana
We are processing our own vegetables in our own plant, we are processing cotton in our own plant, we are packing Win-Chi-Win a plant nutrient supplement in our own plant.
Jinesh
And what is the utilization as of now of our own asset in terms of plant and machinery?
Devinder Khurana
When it is a season, we work maybe two shifts at a time.
Jinesh
Okay. Thank you, sir.
Devinder Khurana
Welcome.
Operator
Thank you. As there are no further questions, I would now like to hand the conference over to the management for closing comments.
Devinder Khurana
So, once again, I will take the opportunity to thank everybody. It is more than an hour and the interest shown by all of you into our company is heart whelming. It helps us to continue to strive better and grow better. Down the line, we hope that we are able to meet the target that we have set for ourselves, which should be a little more than the target that I keep giving it to you. Thank you and a very, very, very Happy Deepawali to all of you. Let’s hope that this Rabi also gives us the kind of quantum that we are looking for. Thank you and thank you very much.
Operator
[Operator Closing Remarks].