Sharda Cropchem Limited (NSE: SHARDACROP) Q2 2025 Earnings Call dated Oct. 28, 2024
Corporate Participants:
Ramprakash V. Bubna — Chairman and Managing Director
Shailesh Mehendale — Chief Financial Officer
Analysts:
Manish Mahawar — Analyst
Viraj Kacharia — Analyst
Bhavya Gandhi — Analyst
Darshita Shah — Analyst
Madhur Rathi — Analyst
Himanshu Binani — Analyst
Pradeep Rawat — Analyst
Rohit Nagraj — Analyst
Ronak Chheda — Analyst
Raman K.V. — Analyst
Manish Shah — Analyst
Vivek Rathi — Analyst
Presentation:
Operator
Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to Sharda Cropchem Q2 FY ’25 Conference Call, hosted by Antique Stock Broking. [Operator Instructions] Please note that this conference is being recorded.
I now hand the conference over to Mr. Manish Mahawar from Antique Stock Broking Ltd. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Manish Mahawar — Analyst
Thank you, Nandini [Phonetic]. On behalf of Antique Stock Broking, warm welcome to all the participants on the 2Q FY ’25 earnings call of Sharda Cropchem. Today, we have Mr. R. V. Bubna, Chairman and Managing Director; Mr. Shailesh Mehendale, CFO; and Mr. Jetkin Gudhka, Company Secretary on the call.
Without any delay, I would like to hand over the call to Mr. Bubna for opening remarks, post which we will open the floor for Q&A. Thank you, and over to you, Mr. Bubna.
Ramprakash V. Bubna — Chairman and Managing Director
Thank you, Mr. Manish. Good afternoon and very warm welcome to everyone present on the call. Along with me, I have Mr. Shailesh Mehendale, our CFO; and Mr. Jetkin Gudhka, Company Secretary; and SGA, our investor relation advisors. Hope you all have received our investor deck by now. For those who have not, you can view them on the stock exchanges and the company’s website.
As you are aware, we are engaged in marketing and distribution of wide range of agrochemical products, i.e., herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and biocides, catering to diverse global customer base. We prepare comprehensive dossiers, seek registration in our own name in all the countries where we intend to market our products. We allocate substantial resources to receive the registrations and thus establish our foothold in the market.
Our total product registrations stood at 2,934 as on September 30, 2024. Additionally, 1,034 applications for the product registrations globally are in the pipeline. For Q2 FY ’25, the total revenues have grown by 34% from INR581 crores to INR777 crores, with volume growth at 21% year-on-year, mainly through agrochemical segment with Europe being key contributor. Volumes of agrochemicals grew by 25% year-on-year, whereas non-agrochemical segment de-grew by 23% year-on-year. Gross margins have improved by 250 basis points to 27.6%.
For FY ’25, for H1 — sorry, for H1 FY ’25, the total revenue have grown by 28% from INR1,219 crores to INR1,562 crores, with volume growth of approximately 30% year-on-year mainly through agrochemical segment. Volumes from agrochemicals grew by 36% year-on-year, whereas non-agrochemical segment de-grew by 31% year-on-year. Gross margins are 28.4% which is substantially higher mainly due to stock devaluation done in the first half of last year. We expect gross margins to improve in this financial year with the price expected to increase.
The capex of H1 FY ’25 stood at INR155 crores as compared to INR217 crores in H1 of FY 2025. And we expect the capex to be in the range of INR400 crores to INR450 crores for the full year.
With this brief overview, I would like to hand over the call to our CFO, Mr. Shailesh Mehendale, for discussing our financial performance. Thank you very much. Shailesh?
Shailesh Mehendale — Chief Financial Officer
Thank you, sir. Good afternoon, everyone. Coming to the quarter two FY ’25 performance. Revenue stood at INR777 crores in Q2 FY25 versus INR581 crores in quarter two FY ’24 with an increase of 34% year-on-year. Coming to the split, agrochemical business increased by 44% year-on-year to INR634 crores, whereas our non-agrochemical business increased by 2% year-on-year to INR143 crores. Gross margin stood at 27.6% in quarter two FY ’25 as against 25.1% in quarter two FY ’24, an increase of 250 basis points.
EBITDA for the quarter increased by 125% to INR85 crores versus INR38 crores in quarter two FY ’24 with EBITDA margin at 10.9%. PAT stood at INR42 crores in quarter two FY ’25 from loss of INR28 crores in quarter two FY ’24.
Coming to the H1 FY ’25 performance. Revenue stood at INR1562 crores in H1 FY ’25 versus INR1,219 crores in H1 FY ’24, with an increase of 28% year-on-year.
Coming to the split. Agrochemical business increased by 43% year-on-year to INR1,313 crores, whereas the non-agrochemical business decreased by 18% year-on-year to INR249 crores. Gross margin stood at 28.4% in H1 FY ’25 as against 16.5% H1 FY ’24. EBITDA for the half-year period stood at INR176 crores with EBITDA margin at 11.1%. PAT stood at INR70 crores in H1 FY ’25 from a loss of INR116 crores in H1 FY ’24.
Working capital days stands at 126 days with an improvement by 32 days as compared to — as on March 31, ’24. We remain net debt-free company and have cash, bank and liquid investment of INR656 crores as on September 30, 2024.
We can now open the floor for the questions and answers. Thank you.
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 Viraj from SiMPL. Please go ahead, sir.
Viraj Kacharia
Yeah. Hi. Am I audible?
Operator
Yes, sir, you are audible.
Viraj Kacharia
Yeah. Thank you for the opportunity, and congratulations on good numbers in such a challenging environment. Just few questions. First on the agchem business. When we talk about 25% volume growth in Q2, can you give a color of how the industry in major markets where we participate, how has the industry perform versus the volume growth we have seen in those markets? And any perspective in terms of the inventory and the demand environment which is happening?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
See, what is your good name, because we could not hear you in the initial stages? What is your name?
Viraj Kacharia
Yeah. My name is Viraj, sir.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Viraj?
Viraj Kacharia
Yeah.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Mr. Viraj, it is very difficult for us to give a precise comment on the industry as such, because we form very small part of the industry, and we do not keep track of how the industry is doing.
Viraj Kacharia
Sir, but any perspective we can give how has — have we gained any share in any of those markets, or we have grown in line with what broadly the market would have performed?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
See, Mr. Shailesh has given you a fairly good idea about how we have grown and what have been the figures. Would you like him to repeat the same once again?
Viraj Kacharia
No, that is good enough. Sir, second question was, if you see a 25% volume growth, and in terms of price also we have seen a very healthy 20% price increase in agchem business. And this pricing trend even on a quarter-on-quarter basis, that seems to be sustaining. So question is if you look at a gross margin or the spread, we have seen a moderate when compared to the normal environment where we used to do 30%, 31% gross margin, we are still at 27%. So have you focused on volume and market share versus profitability, or what explains the lower gross margin?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
See, as you may be aware, our industry has passed through a very bad phase in the financial year ending March ’24. And we have not fully recovered from that big fall that we had in that year. So the prices are prices at the rock bottom in last year. The prices are improving and the rate of improvement is very slow. So we hope that the prices would go up, demand and supply would be able to match. And that will give us an improvement in our gross margins.
Viraj Kacharia
But in terms of competitive intensity, is there any change in the competitive landscape?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
In terms of what?
Viraj Kacharia
Competitive landscape in NAFTA and Europe?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Competitive? Can you repeat your question once again, sir?
Viraj Kacharia
So in terms of competitive landscape, is there any change in our key markets of NAFTA and Europe?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
No, there’s not much change.
Viraj Kacharia
Okay. Just last question. See, in the agchem business, hello?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Yes.
Viraj Kacharia
See, we did a capex of around INR155 crores in the full year, and we’ve been talking about INR400 crores to INR450 crores for the full year. Now given the way we have seen an improvement in working capital and the cash level, even post this capex which we’ll be doing, we will still be generating a good — so the cash balance over a period will keep on building up. So any plans for the surplus cash? How do we use it?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
No, we keep ourselves prepared for any upsurge in the requirement of the capital in terms of working capital, credit to the customers, and also for unexpected sudden increase in the capex for the registration purposes.
Operator
Sorry to interrupt, sir. Mr. Viraj, may I request you to join the question queue again for follow-up questions?
Okay. Thank you. The next question is from the line of Bhavya Gandhi from Dalal & Broacha Stock Broking. Please go ahead.
Bhavya Gandhi
Yeah. Hi. Thanks for the opportunity. Sir, can you just help me understand, because I’ve heard a lot of Chinese companies have started taking direct registrations in European region, so if you can help us understand, has the competitive landscape changed?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
So far there’s not much change at all. And not to our knowledge, maybe very small, the Chinese companies have got the registrations. The process of registration is very cumbersome, time-consuming, and requiring high capital requirement. So, so far, there’s not much of an impact of the Chinese companies in the market in European region.
Bhavya Gandhi
No, I mean, sir, I mean, compared to last five years, have you seen that Chinese people are directly penetrating in Europe? That is what I wanted to understand. I understand the intensity might be low at this point.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
They are making efforts.
Bhavya Gandhi
They are making efforts?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
How long will they be successful and how much will they be able to pursue it, that has to be seen.
Bhavya Gandhi
Okay. And in the current scenario, because Chinese people are having extra supply, don’t we have some pricing power in terms of procurement? Because already there is excess supply. So are we not able to procure things at a lower cost? In fact, that should have aided our margins, right, gross margins?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Mr. Bhavya Gandhi, that — we are living in a sort of a technological transparent situation. The prices in China are low. Nobody will give a very big margin in Europe. And this is going to improve, but the pace of improvement is going to be slow. And there’s — at present, the Chinese people have also sold off most of their excess stock, and they’ve started producing. So there’s a fairly good match between the production and the consumption.
Bhavya Gandhi
Okay. Got it, sir. That’s it. I’ll get back in the queue. Yeah. Thank you.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Darshita from Antique Broking. Please go ahead.
Darshita Shah
Yeah. Thank you for the opportunity. Could we get the region-wise volumes for the agrochemical segment?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
One minute, please. See, region-wise volume, in the European region, it is 5.6 million; NAFTA region, it is 2.021 million — sorry, 2.321 million; Latin America, 793,000; Rest of the World, 650,000. Total, 9.35 million. Am I clear?
Darshita Shah
Yes, got it. Could we get the region-wise gross margins?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Region-wise gross margins?
Darshita Shah
Gross margins.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Yeah. The gross margin in European region is 38%; in NAFTA, minus 1.5%; Latin America, 31%; and Rest of the World, 38%. Overall, 29.5%.
Darshita Shah
Okay.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
This is for agro…
Darshita Shah
Right, this is for agro, right. What led to the negative gross margin in the North America region?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Because of the excess stock which was still left over from the previous year and which was purchased at a higher price than the prevailing prices in North America.
Darshita Shah
But in the last quarter, so in the first quarter FY ’25, we did 22% gross margins. And then this quarter, it’s about minus 2%-odd. So what changed your…
Ramprakash V. Bubna
[Speech Overlap] 22% gross margin in NAFTA? I need to check that.
Darshita Shah
I mean, the first quarter FY ’25.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
I don’t have that figure of last year right now in front of me. Give me a few minutes. Let me see.
Darshita Shah
Sure. Okay. And could we get the volume, price, and forex growth number for overall revenue?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Yes. Volume, give me one minute, madam. The volume growth has been approximately 21%, foreign exchange impact is about 3%, price and product mix impact is about 10%, and total growth is about 34%.
Darshita Shah
Okay. Could we get the region-wise registration breakup?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Yes, please. Region-wise registrations: Europe, 1,627; Latin America, 757; NAFTA, 303; and Rest of the World, 247. Total 2,934.
Darshita Shah
Okay. And I had a question regarding the gross margins on a sequential basis. If we are to see, our gross margins have deteriorated on sequential basis, I think which has led to our margins coming down by about 200 bps-odd from first quarter to second quarter. What could be the reason behind this?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Margins have come down?
Darshita Shah
On sequential basis, from first quarter to second quarter, despite the contribution from Europe region increasing, our margins have come down on first quarter to second quarter basis.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Let me sit up. Madam, my team is taking a little time to get down to those figures. Can we have the next question in the meanwhile?
Darshita Shah
Sure. No, that’s all from my end. Thank you so much.
Operator
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Madhur Rathi from Counter Cyclical Investments. Please go ahead.
Madhur Rathi
Sir, thank you for the opportunity. Sir, I have a broad-based question. Sir, as I understand that our business model edge that we get versus our competitor…
Operator
Sorry to interrupt, sir. Can you please…
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Sir, your words are not very clear.
Madhur Rathi
Is it audible right now?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Very well audible.
Madhur Rathi
Yes. Sir, so I understand that a competitive edge that our business has which is our competitor is that in the renewal or the re-registration, the cost is much lower than the initial registration as well as the time that is required is getting extended, so we get a pure-play edge in that perspective. But sir, with climate change and the crops being resistant to the older generation of the molecules, as well as the toxicity content restrictions by various governments, as well as new version of the similar generic molecules that are in the market coming in, sir, so my question is, sir, how has the cost of renewal as well as the data that we need to provide to the authorities has moved over the past few years because with so much — like with so much R&D and development going in, the new molecules as well as the older molecules being changed or newer versions coming in. Sir, so I wanted to understand in that perspective.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
See, the cost of renewal on the older market is not very high. It is mainly — most of the bureaucratic cost and fees and other things. It’s only the newer molecules where the research and development is continuously going on and the innovators keep on adding additional data to the registration which are required to be repeated by any generic who wants to renew their products. So older product renewal, the costs are not very big, and the demand is also going down. Newer products are more effective and more in demand, and there the cost of renewal is also going up.
Am I clear?
Madhur Rathi
Yes, sir. So a follow-up question, sir, so as the older products that we have an edge on, so in new products, sir, considering ourselves as well as some of our competitors, sir, the timeline will be similar for everyone, right? Because the older products are not working, or their effectiveness is reducing, sir. So this makes — so I’m trying to understand how does this make our business kind of prone to competition going forward?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
See, Mr. Rathi, the trends are different from region to region, country to country, and from farmer to farmer. Some farmers feel very comfortable with their older product and they are managing their business also. Some farmers find that the newer products are more effective and more result-giving, they’re using the newer product. It’s a mixed trend, very difficult to classify why this is happening and this is not happening.
Madhur Rathi
Okay. Sir, so I think, I guess, sir, like from a different perspective, sir, so what I understand about going through your previous con-call is, sir, for our older product…
Operator
Sorry to interrupt, sir. May we request that you return to the question queue…
Madhur Rathi
It’s just a follow-up question.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Please ask him to speak a little slowly and loudly.
Madhur Rathi
Yes, sir. Sir, what I understood is from our previous con-calls, is that, sir, if a product is getting — either the formulation is changing or we need to provide some kind of additional data for a newer version of molecule, our cost increases. Is that understanding correct?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Yes, it is correct.
Madhur Rathi
Sir, so won’t the renewal process which is — which was a lower cost for ourselves providing us a competitive edge, won’t that be affected because of all these new molecules coming in or the similar, or due to climate change the molecules not working effectively?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Sir, your question is not very clear to me. And nobody can generalize these things. It depends from molecule to molecule. You cannot say that the trend is a trend for all the molecules or most of the molecules. Every molecule is an individual product, and it has a lot of characteristics which are not repeated in the other molecule.
Operator
Mr. Madhur Rathi, may we request that you return to the question queue for follow-up questions as there are several participants waiting for their turn?
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Himanshu Binani from Anand Rathi. Please go ahead.
Himanshu Binani
Thank you for taking my questions, sir, and congratulations on a good set of numbers, and happy festive season to the management.
So sir, my first question was largely on the outlook for the second half. So as we begin to enter into the second half and which happens to be like meaningful for a company like ours, so now how do you see in terms of the region? And maybe if you can like give any expectation from any regions where you are expecting a good growth which is likely to be there for the second half.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Mr. Binani, we have divided our business only into the four regions: Europe, NAFTA, LATAM, and Rest of the World. And I feel in all the four regions the second half is going to give fairly good results, better results compared to the first half. Also because of the cropping pattern, because the seasonality of the business, the second half is always better than the first half all these years, and this is going to continue in this year.
Himanshu Binani
Got it, sir. And sir, secondly, my question was continuing from the earlier participants’ question in terms of the region-wise gross margin. So what I understand is that Europe reach [Phonetic] we have witnessed somewhere around a 400-basis point improvement on a Y-o-Y basis, while on the Latin American market as well as into the Rest of the World region also, we have like declined. And so maybe if you can like give a reason basically in terms of how to actually look into the margin profile going ahead also, and the reason for — the reasons basically for declining.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
See, I’ll tell you now I have the results of the first quarter and the second half quarter together. In the European region, the gross margins have improved from 35.5% to 37.7% — 37.6% NAFTA, the gross margins have gone down from 22.3% to minus 1.7%. This is mainly because of some stocks had to be devalued and prices have not picked up. Latin America, it is more or less steady from 32.4% to 31.3%. And Rest of the World is also more or less steady, but slight improvement from 37.7% to 38.2%. So there is not much change in all the other three regions except NAFTA. And NAFTA is only because of some specific situations and coincidences. It cannot be termed as a trend. And NAFTA will also improve in the second half.
Himanshu Binani
So sir, this decline in the NAFTA region has got to do with any major decline in any particular product or something?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
I feel it is there due to some products, but not a trend.
Himanshu Binani
Okay. So the inventory overhang, that remains or that is like largely over? And it is like — it is more of a product-specific problem than that of the overall market?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
It is a product-specific problem. The inventory is more or less over.
Himanshu Binani
Got it, sir. Got it. Thank you.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Thank you, Mr. Binani.
Himanshu Binani
And Happy Diwali, sir.
Operator
Thank you.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Pradeep Rawat from Yogya Capital. Please go ahead.
Pradeep Rawat
Yeah. Good evening and thank you for the opportunity. So I have some basic questions. So I just wanted to understand more about our conveyor belt business. So we procure the belts from our supplier and sell it to our customers. So is that understanding correct?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Yes, it’s correct for all the products in the total business. We don’t manufacture neither the agrochemicals nor non-agrochemicals. We procure and supply.
Pradeep Rawat
Yeah. So in agrochemicals, we do provide a value by having those registrations. So in belt business, what kind of value do we create in the value chain? So why doesn’t our customer buy directly from our suppliers?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Mr. Rawat, and everywhere that possibility is there that the customer can buy from the supplier source. But many — most of the time, it does not happen. You do require a service provider between the source and the consumption. And as a service provider we give a good service to the customers. Service in terms of quality check and also timely delivery, which does not happen when the consumer goes directly to the supplier.
Pradeep Rawat
Okay. And what kind of margins do we have in this segment?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
We have margins of about 15% to maybe 20% in this segment also.
Pradeep Rawat
20% gross margins?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Yeah, gross margin is 20%. This is — one minute. Yes, Mr. Rawat, 20% gross margin overall. But in Europe, it is 22.7%, NAFTA is 20.1%, LATAM 17%, and Rest of the World 20%. So more or less on an average, 20.5%.
Pradeep Rawat
Okay. Understood. And my next question is, so we do procure agrochemical from some Chinese player or Indian player. So do we require those suppliers’ facilities to be vetted by regulatory authorities?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
No. The regulatory authorities only vet the product, not the source. But there is a restriction. We have to declare the source to the registration authorities and also provide a document from the source that they will support us and supply that product to us. And once we receive the registration, there’s a binding on us that we can source the product only from that source. We cannot go to any other source.
Pradeep Rawat
So we empanel more than one sources for a particular registration?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Yes, sir. I was about to come to that. We can add an additional source, after having registered our product through first source, we can add two, three, four additional sources which help us to de-risk our business and maintain the competitiveness from the sources.
Pradeep Rawat
Yeah. And sir, can you also highlight on the contribution in revenue from products launched in last five years?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
No, that is very difficult, because, again, we are not bound to the products which are registered five years or six years or three years. We go by availability of the market supply and our margins. If we find that for some product there is excess supply, margins are [Indecipherable], we don’t touch that product irrespective of when it was registered.
Pradeep Rawat
Yes. So I just wanted to understand that if we do a registration today, would it be able to generate revenue post five years or 10 years down the line in the similar manner that it is generating in today’s terms?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
No, sir. No, sir, that does not happen, because if I am registering a product today, the number of competitors will be very few, maybe only the innovator or one or two. But over a period of 10 years they are always a reality that at least two, three, four more competitors come in. So when the competition is more, the margins are hitting, and the prices are also pretty competitive.
Pradeep Rawat
Yeah. Thank you, sir. I will turn back the queue.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Rohit Nagraj from Centrum Broking. Please go ahead.
Rohit Nagraj
Yeah. Thanks for the opportunity, and congrats on good set of numbers. Sir, first thing is on the pesticides pricing, so what is your understanding in the recent months? Have the prices across the board stabilized and now improving on case-to-case basis, or they are still at lower levels itself? Thank you.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Mr. Nagraj, all the three words you said are applicable. One is that the prices — downtrend of the prices have gone away. And secondly, the prices are improving and the margins are also improving.
What was the third word?
Rohit Nagraj
Sir [Speech Overlap]
Ramprakash V. Bubna
There’s a stability in the market, there’s a stability in the market.
Rohit Nagraj
Right. Fair enough. Sir, second question is particularly in case of Europe, how has been the change or increase in registration costs over the last five years for newer molecules? I mean, has it gone up significantly? What is your understanding of the same when we are registering the new products?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
See, first of all there’s no molecule if it is our molecule, but it’s a trend. The cost of manpower, cost of taste, and all the things are going up year after year. So the cost of registrations is also going up. Secondly, the innovators find out a lot of other new techniques, new facts about the products and impurities and their effect on environment, human being, and other things. All those improvements in the technology adds to the cost. And a new registrant, if we had to go through five steps and if the two more steps have been developed since then, then the new registrant have to go through all the seven steps from the day one. So their costs are definitely higher. And that makes it very uninteresting for the new persons to come if — when they find that the costs are so high.
Rohit Nagraj
Right. And just one last question if I may ask. In terms of the high-cost inventory across geographies, have we completely now utilized and probably the low-cost raw material has now started coming with us, and incrementally, that is the positivity from the gross margin perspective? Thank you.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Whatever you said is absolutely true. The high-cost inventory has been sold off, and we started procuring and we are selling at new prices and new costs.
Rohit Nagraj
Sure, sir. That’s all from my side. Thanks a lot, and Diwali greetings. Best of luck.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Thank you, sir.
Operator
[Technical Issues]
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Pardon, we could not hear because aircraft was flying over our building. Can you repeat once again, please?
Operator
Yes, sir. The next question is from the line of Ronak Chheda from Awriga Capital. Please go ahead, sir.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Okay.
Ronak Chheda
Yeah. Hi, sir. Am I audible clearly?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Yes, please.
Ronak Chheda
Yes, sir. Sir, I had two questions. One question was on the LATAM market, so just wanted to get a sense from you in terms of demand, since from September onwards, the crop season is going on. So how has been the market demand for us especially in LATAM region?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
It is gradually growing, but again, they’re still — most of the LATAM countries have huge economic problems, their currencies are depreciating, and a lot of financial and commercial problems in those countries. That is affecting the business. People are not able to pay on time. And in many countries, the governments are restricting them to buy only on a longer credit and even the governments do not permit them give them liberty to pay after the due dates. So a little bit of a complication on this front in the LATAM countries.
Ronak Chheda
Got it. But end user demand is still intact? That is what you’re seeing, sir?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Demand is — it’s difficult to say it’s still intact when they are not able to buy, then the demand has no connectivity with us.
Ronak Chheda
Got it. And sir, just wanted to check on the supply concentration, do we have some number of what would be our total supply from, let’s say, top five suppliers from China or top 10? If you have that number handy, that would be great, sir.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
No, what did you say about supply? What are the possibilities for us?
Ronak Chheda
Sorry, I’ll repeat myself. So what percentage of our procurement from China would be from top 5 players or top 10 players, if you have that number, sir? Just wanted to check the concentration of our suppliers.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
But we are buying from the most good quality and good manufacturing standard companies. And whether they are top or not, it’s difficult to say for us.
Ronak Chheda
No, sir. In our concentration, would it be, let’s say 30% of our buying would be from, let’s say, top five players or five players in the last place from China? Would that be a reasonable number?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
I would say 80% of our procurements are from the top 20 suppliers.
Ronak Chheda
Got it, sir. Got it. Thank you so much, sir, for answering the questions. Happy Diwali.
Operator
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Raman K.V. from Sequent Investments. Please go ahead.
Raman K.V.
Hello, can you hear me, sir? Hello? Can you hear me?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Yeah, we can hear you. Just if you can — yeah. You can wait for one minute?
Raman K.V.
Yeah, I can wait.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Yeah, please.
Raman K.V.
Sir, can you — sir, you’re audible. Can you please say something?
Hello, can you hear me now?
Operator
Yeah, you can — I can hear you.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Yeah.
Raman K.V.
Okay. Sir, I just want to know the guidance for the — with respect to the next quarter as well as for FY ’25.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Yeah, just a minute.
Raman K.V.
Yeah.
Shailesh Mehendale
You are talking about guidance for revenue as well as EBITDA?
Raman K.V.
Yeah. Yes, sir.
Shailesh Mehendale
As informed in the past also in our earlier calls, we will continue to have a revenue band between 15% to 18% and EBITDA band between 15 to 18% for the financial year ’24, ’25.
Raman K.V.
Okay. And EBITDA margin also you are planning to maintain near 15% to 18%?
Shailesh Mehendale
Yeah. It would be slightly more only, but the band will be 15% to 18% both revenue as well as EBITDA.
Raman K.V.
And what about…
Shailesh Mehendale
It would be slightly more, yeah.
Raman K.V.
And what about the volume growth, sir?
Shailesh Mehendale
Yeah. So I think we will be more or less same range on the volume side also.
Raman K.V.
15% to 18%?
Shailesh Mehendale
Yes.
Raman K.V.
And sir, I just wanted to know, and it’s usually that the second half of the year is much better, so are we able — is there any visibility in the demand at least with respect to this past one month, October month?
Shailesh Mehendale
Just one minute. Will you please repeat your questions? Mr. Bubna is back in his seat. Yeah. Yeah? Can you repeat your question, please?
Raman K.V.
Are you asking me?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Yes.
Raman K.V.
Okay. So usually, the second half of the year is much better in terms of the business. So are we able to see any demand growth in the past one month? Like, is the demand growth visible?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Demand is slowly growing.
Raman K.V.
Okay. It’s slowly growing, but not as much as it was anticipated?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
No, this is the trend. I would say it’s not as much. In the normal way, that demand starts growing in the month of September, October, and they reach up to the top by January, February.
Raman K.V.
Okay. Thank you, sir.
Operator
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Manish Shah [Phonetic], an individual investor. Please go ahead.
Manish Shah
Thank you for the opportunity, sir. Sir, my question was regarding the vendors we purchase from China. Of the total agrochemicals, what is the percentage we purchase from China?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
I would say more than 90%.
Manish Shah
And sir, what are the — what is the size of those players? Because when one of the previous participant asked that they can go directly, you told that the cost and other things are very high burden. So what are the sizes of those players so that they can’t compete to compete on those parameters?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Mr. Manish, you have forgotten one very important factor in agrochemical business. That is the registration of the products. So when we register a product, we are restricted to buy it only from the source which we have registered. I cannot buy from anybody else. Similarly, any of my competitors cannot buy from the same manufacturer if it is not registered. You understand me?
Manish Shah
Yeah. Sir, I got your point. But I just wanted to ask the size of the players from which we purchased from China. Approximately what are the sizes?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
What do you call a size? You tell me what are the sizes and I’ll pick up.
Manish Shah
Like a $100 million, $200 million, $300 million company?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
There are many. Many $100 million, $200 million, $300 million companies.
Manish Shah
What is the biggest one from which we purchase?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Maybe a few billions.
Manish Shah
Few billion dollars? That means their size is quite big.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Very big.
Manish Shah
Okay. Still people are purchasing from us and not directly from them. And those people also are not directly going to the developed countries. So I think that question is irrelevant that they can go directly or not, right?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Yes, sir, it’s not a free play here. The plays are very restricted.
Manish Shah
Okay.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
And a manufacturer cannot go to any supplier unless the supplier is registered by him in his registration consumer. And the consumers don’t register the product themselves.
Manish Shah
Yeah. Sir, another question was that, sir, from next three to five years of horizon, where do you see Sharda Cropchem, sir?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
We think that we’ll keep on growing at the same pace that we have grown in the last five years.
Manish Shah
And sir, this margin restructure which happened last year, I think that is gone now for — that will not come back for at least for the next one to two years?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
It is gone forever as far as we think.
Manish Shah
What, sir?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
It has gone forever. Last year’s situation has been witnessed by us for the first time in our lifetime, in the last 35 years. It was not there so bad in the last 35 years. And it cannot remain bad for very long.
Manish Shah
Yeah, sir. In the last con-call, you had told that a lot of suppliers have closed themselves off. And only thing is that the prices can go up from here. So do you think in the next calendar year, there might be some increase in the prices?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
There would be some increase in the prices.
Manish Shah
You are seeing that as a trend possible?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Pardon me?
Manish Shah
That might be possible that it may sustain for the next one year or so?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
I am using the word might be, there will be an increase in the prices and there will be an increase in the margins.
Manish Shah
But I think from the last con-call…
Operator
Sorry to interrupt, sir. Mr. Manish, may I request you to rejoin the question queue for the follow-up questions?
Manish Shah
Yeah. Thank you for answering all the questions. Thank you.
Operator
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Manish Mahawar from Antique Stock Broking. Please go ahead.
Manish Mahawar
Yeah, Bubna ji, just two questions. One, in terms of depreciation, if you look at first half depreciation on a Y-o-Y basis, it’s lower, right? So just how do you see the numbers for this year as a depreciation?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Sir, I don’t think we have studied that — from that aspect. Depreciation is normal. Our depreciation policy is to depreciate all our expenditures over a period of five years. And our expenditure in the last three, four, five years has been in the range of INR400 crores to INR500 crores. So depreciation will also be in the same region.
Manish Mahawar
Okay. But first half, there is no changes in terms of depreciation, because depreciation ideally has to go because we have capitalized around INR155 crores-odd of amount during the first half?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Sir, our — see, depreciation start after we receive the registration. So if we have realized some registrations in this period, the depreciation will start from the next quarter onwards.
Manish Mahawar
Okay. Understood. So basically, the second half run rate should ideally inch up, right?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Yes. Let me — Mehendale explain you.
Shailesh Mehendale
So Manish ji, you can look at our annual amortization or depreciation-amortization pattern and accordingly look at the overall depreciation. So first, you will find more or less same amortization in H2 also.
Manish Mahawar
Okay. Understood. And the second thing, Shailesh ji, I think you’re guided for this year top-line growth of around 15% to 18% on a Y-o-Y basis, right, for the FY ’25. That’s right?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Yes.
Manish Mahawar
If you look at the first half run rate, right, it seems like second half will be bit muted. Your guidance is conservative or you are may be cautious?
Shailesh Mehendale
Yeah. So Manish ji, I have explained to you that we will achieve much more than this. Our guidance is conservative on — between band of both EBITDA as well as top-line of 15% to 18%. But we will achieve more than that.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
To answer your question in your words, Manish ji, we are cautious.
Manish Mahawar
Okay. Understood, sir. Thanks, and all the best, yeah.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Yes.
Operator
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Vivek Rathi [Phonetic], an individual investor. Please go ahead.
Vivek Rathi
Hi, sir. Thanks for taking my questions. [Technical Issues]
Operator
Sir, you’re not audible. Can you please use your handset?
Vivek Rathi
One second. Hello. Am I audible now?
Operator
Yes, sir, you are audible now.
Vivek Rathi
Okay. So just wanted to check if the registration process, we are mostly companies in China which are registered. So don’t we look at any other place like India? And the second question is, this registration once we do, how long does it last? I mean how long we are eligible to continue with that? Thank you.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
See, first of all, let me explain to you that manufacturers don’t register their products in the foreign countries. Very rarely. The manufacturers concentrate on manufacturing in the best possible way and most good quality and other things. They do not spare their capital for registration purposes.
Secondly, what was his next question, sir, I forgot? Hello?
Vivek Rathi
Hello? Hi. Second question was how long does this registration process — I mean, the timing — once we have registered, how long we are eligible for that?
Ramprakash V. Bubna
The products are having a shelf life of five years normally. Some products may be for four years, three years, and some products may for seven years. After that process, that period, the registration has to be renewed. And the renewal process can be also simple, or it may involve some time, and no, some additional cost. But you are allowed to market your product even when the registrations are being renewed. The registrations, I mean, the marketing is not stopped when the registration has stopped.
Vivek Rathi
Okay. Thank you, sir. Thanks.
Operator
Thank you. That was the last question.
I would now like to hand the conference over to management for the closing comments.
Ramprakash V. Bubna
Thank you, everyone, for joining us. I hope we have been able to answer all your queries. We look forward to such interactions in the future. We hope to meet your expectations in the future too. In case you require any further details, you may contact us or Mr. Deven Dhruva of SGA, our investor relations partner.
Happy Diwali, and happy festivities to all. Thank you once again.
Operator
[Operator Closing Remarks]