{"id":183285,"date":"2026-05-18T01:22:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T05:22:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/sterling-tools-limited-stertools-q4-2026-earnings-call-transcript\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T01:24:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T05:24:48","slug":"sterling-tools-limited-stertools-q4-2026-earnings-call-transcript","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/sterling-tools-limited-stertools-q4-2026-earnings-call-transcript\/","title":{"rendered":"Sterling Tools Limited (STERTOOLS) Q4 2026 Earnings Call Transcript"},"content":{"rendered":"

Note:<\/strong> This is a preliminary transcript and may contain inaccuracies. It will be updated with a final, fully-reviewed version soon.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sterling Tools Limited (NSE: STERTOOLS) Q4 2026 Earnings Call dated May. 18, 2026<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Corporate Participants:<\/h2>\n

Atul Agrawal<\/strong> \u2014 Managing Director<\/em><\/p>\n

Jaydee Wadhwa<\/strong> \u2014 Business Head<\/em><\/p>\n

Analysts:<\/h2>\n

Madurati<\/strong> \u2014 Analyst<\/em><\/p>\n

Payal Shah<\/strong> \u2014 Analyst<\/em><\/p>\n

Ravi Gupta<\/strong> \u2014 Analyst<\/em><\/p>\n

Presentation:<\/h2>\n

Operator<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to Q4 and FY26 earnings conference call of Stalling Tools Limited. This conference call may contain forward looking statements about the company which are based on the beliefs, opinions and expectations of the company as on date of this call. These statements are not the guarantees of future performance and involve risk and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. 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.<\/p>\n

Should you need assistance during this conference call, please signal an operator by pressing Star then zero on your touch tone phone. Please note that this conference is is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Atul Agrawal, Managing Director of Storling Tools Ltd. Thank you and over to Mr. Agarwal.<\/p>\n

Atul Agrawal<\/strong> \u2014 Managing Director<\/em><\/p>\n

Thank you, thank you and good morning everyone. Welcome to Sterling Tools Limited Q4 and FY26 earnings call. I’m joined today by Mr. Jaydee Wadhwa and Mr. Anish Agrawal who head our SEM and STML businesses respectively as well as Strategic Growth Advisors, our Investor Relations Advisors. Our earnings presentation has been uploaded on our website and the stock exchanges and I hope everyone has had the opportunity to go through the same. I would like to begin with the industry overview. The Indian automobile industry witnessed a strong recovery during FY26 supported by improving affordability, lower financing costs, GST 2.0, implementation of stronger implementation and stronger consumer sentiment.<\/p>\n

Passenger vehicles recorded their highest ever annual sales of 46.4 lakh units growing at 7.9% year on year while Q4 26 itself delivered robust growth of 13.2% year on year with record quarterly sales. The two wheeler segment also has achieved its highest ever annual sales at 2.17 crore units growing 10.7% year on year and surpassing the earlier peak earlier peak achieved in FY19. Similarly, commercial vehicles and three wheelers posted healthy double digit growth of 12.6% during the year supported by improving economic activity, infrastructure spending, fleet replacement demand and rising mobility requirements across urban and semi urban regions.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, the industry outlook for FY27 remains constructive, supported by healthy domestic demand, continued infrastructure investments, improving affordability and sustained momentum in vehicle electrification across all segments. However, uncertainties arising from the West Asia crisis, particularly around crude oil prices, commodity inflation, currency fluctuations and potential disruptions in global shipping routes remain key monitorable factors for the automotive sector. In our standalone fastener business, FY26 was a strong year of execution.<\/p>\n

The business continue to demonstrate its structural strength through consistent market outperformance, healthy profitability expansion and strong cash flow generation. Despite a dynamic operating environment, our continued focus on customer diversification, value added product offerings, operational efficiencies and deeper OEM penetration enabled us to grow meaningfully ahead of the underlying automotive industry. Our standalone fastener business delivered a robust performance during FY26. Total income grew by 11.4% YY to 725.9 crores while EBITDA increased by 17.1% YOY 211 crores with EBITDA margins improved to 15.3 compared to 14.5 last year.<\/p>\n

Profit for exceptional items grew by 27.6% YOY to 74 crores supported by better operating leverage, favorable product mix, increasing share of value added products, improved gross margins, continued operational efficiencies and financial discipline. Our balance sheet has also strengthened further during the year with continued deleveraging, lower long term borrowings and reduction in finance costs. Cash flow from operations from the standalone fastener business stood at 83.3 crores during FY26. Looking ahead, we expect capex for the fasteners business in FY27 to be around 75 crores primarily towards capacity expansion, operational enhancements and future growth programs.<\/p>\n

Importantly, our stand alone partner business continues to remain strongly cash generated and net debt free providing a solid financial foundation to internally support our long term investments across EV and technology led growth initiatives. During FY26 we significantly strengthened our OEM relationships through our new customer additions and increased wallet share with existing customers. We entered the Tata passenger vehicle segment during the year which further strengthens our long term growth visibility.<\/p>\n

Over the years our strategy has remained focused on increasing content per vehicle, strengthening our presence in critical partners and expanding our premium and value added product portfolio which offers better margins and stronger customer stickiness. During FY26 we secured approximately 64 crores of business acquisitions which further strengthen future revenue visibility. While steel and energy prices have witnessed inflationary pressures in recent months and near term impact could flow into Q1 FY27, we remain focused on mitigating their impact through operational efficiencies, value engineering, disciplined cost management and pass through arrangements.<\/p>\n

We therefore believe the overall impact on profitability should remain manageable in our EV business While electrification continues to remain a long term structural opportunity, EV adoption across segments has progressed at a slower pace than earlier industry expectations. As a result, the broader EV opportunity timeline has shifted by nearly three to five years and therefore may differ our targeted EV and non EV business aspirations by about a year. However, we remain committed to building a strong position in this space and have continued to proactively invest in product technology, localization, engineering capabilities and customer programs.<\/p>\n

Alongside product and customer diversification, we have also significantly strengthened our technology ecosystem through multiple global partnerships which we believe has further enhanced our long term positioning in the EV ecosystem. Over the last few years, SEM has evolved from being primarily a motor control unit player into a comprehensive EV powertrain and power electronic solution platform. Today our portfolio includes integrated motor and controller systems, D DC DC converters, onboard chargers, off board chargers and rare earth magnet free motors.<\/p>\n

The EV market is increasingly moving forward, moving toward integrated power electronics architecture such as 4 in 1 and 5 in 1 systems where multiple components including motor control units, DC DC converters, auxiliary drives and PDUs are integrated into a single compact system system. In line with this trend, we are actively expanding our capability in integrated motor and controller solutions to address next generation EV platform requirements. Today, SEM is engaged across more than 28 active customer programs spanning two wheelers, three wheelers, buses and trucks.<\/p>\n

Customer diversification is progressing well with meaningful traction now across LCV and HCV segments. We are particularly encouraged by the increasing opportunities emerging in commercial vehicle electrification, especially electric buses and trucks driven by government led electrification initiatives. Our OBC and DC DC production lines are expected to be commissioned by end of Q2FY27 and commercial supplies are expected to commence from Q3FY27 onwards. Recently we also expanded into advanced rider safety solutions through our partnerships with Nanjing Houhang or Advanced Rider Systems or aras.<\/p>\n

Specifically designed for two wheelers, ARAS solutions function primarily to adas in passenger vehicles and use sensors, software and control systems to provide real time alerts and assist riders in avoiding potential hazards. Under this collaboration, Sterling Tools will lead local engineering, manufacturing system adaptation and commercialization of ARAS products for the Indian market by combining Houhang’s proven technology platform with the understanding of Indian road conditions and OEM requirements.<\/p>\n

We believe this partnership strategically positions Sterling Tools within the intelligent mobility and automotive safety space while addressing a critical safety gap in India’s two wheel industry. Coming to Sterling Tech Mobility limited Or stml, we continue to make steady progress in HVDC contactors and relays business, customer value. And commercial sorry to<\/p>\n

Operator<\/strong><\/p>\n

Interrupt you, sir, we lost your order in between. Can you repeat the last statement once again?<\/p>\n

Atul Agrawal<\/strong> \u2014 Managing Director<\/em><\/p>\n

Yeah. Coming to Sterling Tech Mobility or stml, we continue to make steady progress in the HPDC contactors and relays business. Customer validations, laboratory testing and tailwind engagements are progressing well and commercial production for serial orders is expected to commence from July August 26 onwards. While supplies for brand label products have already started. The current Indian market opportunity for HVDC contactors and free charge relays is estimated at approximately 300 crores and expected to grow to over 750 crores by the end of this decade.<\/p>\n

Driven by increasing electrification across two wheelers, passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, charging infrastructure, solar and battery energy storage applications. As an early entrant in the segment, with a strong localization strategy and technology partnership with Kunshan glbac, we believe STML is well positioned to benefit from this large import substitution opportunity. Our fully automated Bangalore facility has been designed to manufacture safety critical high voltage components with global quality standards and we continue to engage closely with customers across automotive and industrial applications.<\/p>\n

Overall, while EV adoption timelines have moderated in the near term, our continued focus on technology partnerships, localization, product diversification and engineering capabilities positions us for strong long term growth. Supported by a strong balance sheet, healthy cash flows and deep customer relationships. We remain confident in our ability to create sustainable value across both conventional and next generation mobility technologies. Thank you. We may now open the floor for the Q and A session.<\/p>\n

Thank you again.<\/p>\n

Questions and Answers:<\/h2>\n

Operator<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin with the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press Star and one on their touchstone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and 2. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. Participants, you may press Star and one to ask a question. Ladies and gentlemen, you may press Star and one to ask a question.<\/p>\n

The first question is from the line of Madurati from Counter Cyclical Investments. Please go ahead.<\/p>\n

Madurati<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sir. Thank you for the opportunity. Sir, I wanted to understand regarding this 21 crore loss at our subsidiary level that we have taken during Q4. So what is this regarding? And. Yeah.<\/p>\n

Atul Agrawal<\/strong><\/p>\n

Okay. Jaydeep, you want to take that?<\/p>\n

Jaydee Wadhwa<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes. So. Good morning. Thank you for joining the call. Actually, you know, in terms of operating ebitda, we haven’t. Or operating a pbt, we don’t have as severe a problem as seems apparent. We have however, taken a provision, a bad debt provision in line with prudent accounting standards. Even though we think there’s a high chance of, there’s a high probability of recovering the dues just to be, just to like I said, be very prudent in our financial statements.<\/p>\n

Madurati<\/strong><\/p>\n

So this is regarding to the customer that for which the business had lost earlier.<\/p>\n

Jaydee Wadhwa<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is, this is. Yeah, this is from one of our bigger customers.<\/p>\n

Madurati<\/strong><\/p>\n

Got it. So now coming out to our fasteners business, sir, I wanted to understand is there a price reduction contracts with the, with the OEMs in this segment? And you mentioned that due to steel and energy prices there should be some margin impact. But what kind of margin pressure are we speaking about with all the initiatives that we have taken?<\/p>\n

Atul Agrawal<\/strong><\/p>\n

Is this for the fasteners business? Any specific? Yes. So you know, so we have a pass through for our steel purchases. So and it’s a lag of a month or two but it’s a straight pass through. But this year there’s been an unusual pressure on inflation. For example chemicals, plastics, you know, energy, you know, energy costs have all gone up. So there’s been a tremendous pressure on that. I think like I said in my earlier talk that we should be able to mitigate that through internal efficiency improvement.<\/p>\n

Plus at the same time we will be working with the customers to get compensation for this unique or a very extreme scenario the industry is going through. So it will be combination of both the things. So there will be pressure this year, like I said, Q1 will be special pressure because it will be, this will be an adjustment quarter between combination of costs and customer price increases, operational efficiency improvements. But I think this is an industry level issue, not only impacting automotive industry but pretty much everybody across the board.<\/p>\n

Madurati<\/strong><\/p>\n

Right. So we expect that there should be some price hike by the OEMs from Q2 onwards based on our discussions.<\/p>\n

Atul Agrawal<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, we are quite hopeful of that, yes.<\/p>\n

Madurati<\/strong><\/p>\n

And do we have annual price reduction contracts for these fasteners across these OEMs?<\/p>\n

Atul Agrawal<\/strong><\/p>\n

No, we don’t have any price reduction contracts nowhere<\/p>\n

Madurati<\/strong><\/p>\n

Remain<\/p>\n

Atul Agrawal<\/strong><\/p>\n

Constant. They are negotiated on different competitive and cost scenarios. But no reduction contract.<\/p>\n

Madurati<\/strong><\/p>\n

And what would be our market share in the fastener segment in India and how much of our revenue currently comes from non automotive customers? And I think you mentioned previously that we were trying to get into real and some other industry industrial applications for these fasteners. So what is the progress on that?<\/p>\n

Atul Agrawal<\/strong><\/p>\n

So I think pretty much all our, I would say dominant revenue comes from automotive industry and I. There’s no, there’s no hard published data on market shares in India. Our estimations are that for the automotive industry, pure automotive segment, we are anywhere between 25 and 30% of market share in the country. And that also depends. I’m talking about the domestic buying. You know a lot of fasters are currently being imported as well. From a domestic manufacturing perspective, that’s where we stand.<\/p>\n

Madurati<\/strong><\/p>\n

Got it Anshar. So is the import cheaper than us or is import more competitive than us? From a cost perspective,<\/p>\n

Atul Agrawal<\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s not cheaper. I think these OEMs are all international OEMs. They’ve been importing for a number of years. But some of the OEMs have not localized them to Indian manufacturers and that’s an opportunity. As and when the OEMs localize, the opportunities will come to us. So it’s not a commercial issue, it’s more of a strategic issue at the customer end.<\/p>\n

Madurati<\/strong><\/p>\n

Got it. And on the non auto fastener segment, any progress on any new railway or industrial applications?<\/p>\n

Atul Agrawal<\/strong><\/p>\n

So I think we’re going to build capabilities around the railway segment early days as yet I don’t see that railway opportunity turning into any meaningful revenue for the next two years.<\/p>\n

Madurati<\/strong><\/p>\n

Got it. Now sir, coming out to our the EV component segment, I see that we are doing a lot of interesting JVs but these are not picking up and we are going forward and we’ve added mobileye for your driver safety segment. What is our vision for this segment and where do we see this business scaling up realistically over the next two to three years? Do we see? So right now it’s a margin decorative kind of a segment for our business. So where should we see this segment maybe over the next two to three years.<\/p>\n

Atul Agrawal<\/strong><\/p>\n

So let me just step back for a moment. We started our journey in the EV component space about five, six years ago and five, six years ago EV was a big buzzword internationally. There was a lot of momentum and we thought that the penetration in India will be much faster than it has happened. I think, I think two wheeler present penetrate 5, 6, 7% and I think the passenger vehicles have only gone up this year to up what, 4, 5% of penetration. But these numbers are much behind the expectations the industry had, the government had and we had where we should be in FY26.<\/p>\n

The penetration levels expected were much higher by FY26 but and by defy 30 and I think for various reasons it could be government infrastructure issues, subsidy issues, technology issues. The industry has not been able to create that demand for electric vehicles for various reasons. But having said that, despite this delay in penetration, we are still quite optimistic about our future we are building our future today. We are continuing to invest into a future of electric vehicle components. Like I spoke about the different products coming in SEM moving from an MCU maker only to a 4 in 1, 5 in 1 a solution provider and power electronics.<\/p>\n

And we’re doing safety components in DC contactors. We are targeting advanced rider automotive system that are ADAs, radar, etc. We are building products which are here for the future. They may not give us revenue for the next two, three years but we want to be the first mover in those spaces acquire customers. Revenue may be small initially but hopefully over a three to five year time frame we’ll be ahead of the system in terms of those product lines. And yes, you’re right, currently they’re all value decretive.<\/p>\n

But we are not looking for the short term, we are building our future. Like I said, medium and long term.<\/p>\n

Madurati<\/strong><\/p>\n

Right? Sure. But if I’m thinking from a capital allocation standpoint. So we are investing. Yes sir,<\/p>\n

Atul Agrawal<\/strong><\/p>\n

Can you repeat that question again?<\/p>\n

Madurati<\/strong><\/p>\n

Capital allocation standpoint, how should I look at this business? Because we are investing into capacity, we are investing into manpower. But this won’t maybe pick up over the next two to three years. Very small, not meaningful revenue. So how should I look at from a payback or IRR perspective on these investments that we are making? And sir, what is our right to win versus Sorry sir, please go ahead, I’ll ask the question later.<\/p>\n

Atul Agrawal<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah. So you know our capital allocation for this new product line is more strategic. You know when you’re building capabilities, when you’re diversifying and increasing new product lines. We have to go through a phase which is valuable margin decretive which is capital needs, building capabilities for technologies for products which are not currently available in India. These are all first time products being made in India for a new segment for electric vehicles. So we are very conscious of that and we still believe very strongly in our future, in what we are trying to do.<\/p>\n

Based on our customer interaction, based on customer needs, based on customer engagements and the technology partners we have, we believe we are on the right track. Short term there’s a lot of pain. Like we have seen pain last year, in the next year or two. But we strongly believe in our future.<\/p>\n

Operator<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you Madhura. I’ll request to come back for a follow up question. Participants, you may press star and one to ask a question. Next question is from the line of Payal Shah from Brilliant Securities. Please go ahead.<\/p>\n

Payal Shah<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hello, good morning. Am I audible?<\/p>\n

Operator<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, yes, go ahead.<\/p>\n

Payal Shah<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, so I have a couple of questions. First, my first question is, see with the EV penetration scaling slower than earlier anticipated and industry timelines are also getting pushed out by three to five years. So is your expectation from SEM achieving, regarding achieving EBITDA breakeven also shifted accordingly or do you expand product portfolio and upcoming OBC DC ramp up still keep you on track for the operating break even over the medium term?<\/p>\n

Atul Agrawal<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jerry?<\/p>\n

Jaydee Wadhwa<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, good morning, Paul. So a couple of things you see in as far as SEM was concerned. You know, we till FY25 we were, you know, we were profitable both at the EBITDA and at the PBT level due to, you know, due to certain conditions that we faced and you know, which we could have probably done a better job of handling. But you know, we’ve had setbacks in FY26 and we will possibly not be, and we will not be profitable in FY27, but there is no reason for us not to be profitable in FY28. So yes there is.<\/p>\n

The penetration is lower than what we had anticipated. But it’s a very, very dynamic industry. Right. And it is a very dynamic situation. With the current crisis in West Asia, actually you’re seeing much more. You’re seeing renewed interest in EVs and in pushing EVs the government is in terms of, in the areas that they can influence directly, which is essentially the bus and truck platforms. They’re pushing very hard on this. If you’re aware of the number of tenders that have been issued both at the central level and at the state level, it’s a very significant number.<\/p>\n

So yes, the penetration is slower and there are reasons for that, like Atul said, the charging infrastructure, the subsidy, the limited subsidies that were provided, etc. But it continues to grow, at least as far as the SEM business is concerned. We expect to be back to profitability next year. The other businesses again will have different timelines for profitability depending on when they start, but we don’t. I think one of the things that Atul alluded to was that when we had put out a target that we wanted 50% of our revenue to come from non plasma businesses and that is getting pushed back because as penetration is not coming up, then our ability to scale these businesses to that level is compromising.<\/p>\n

Again, we are talking about not only electrification, not only EVs but we are talking about autonomous connected electric because the businesses that we’ve started with ADAS and ARAS are in the autonomous space rather than the pure EV space. And so that’s the timeline that gets Pushed back. Otherwise, you know, profitability, like I said, depends on, you know, when the business is startup, there’s typically a gestation and we’ll, we’ll be on track with, with that. In the case of SEM, we had some unique circumstances and we are on track to regain profitability.<\/p>\n

Payal Shah<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sure, sir. So my next question is, my next question is like you had highlighted an increased strategic focus on the commercial vehicle electrification opportunity within the M MCU business. So have you onboarded any new CV customers or platforms recently? And also how large do you see the addressable market opportunity for Sterling in the E bus and E truck MCU segment over the near term?<\/p>\n

Jaydee Wadhwa<\/strong><\/p>\n

So to answer your question, we have onboarded customers. We don’t show that in our, you know, in the presentation yet because we haven’t started supplies. As we mentioned in the presentation, in quarter three this year our lines will get commissioned and that’s when production supplies will start. But even today we are actively working on testing and validation and homologation of our products. So yes, we are engaged with a number of customers on their platforms, on the lcv, sorry, on the bus and truck platforms.<\/p>\n

In terms of numbers, you know, we think that the industry should ramp up to about 10,000 units a year kind of numbers in the coming years for buses alone. Trucks is still, you know, truck is doing very well in certain applications like mining. And now I think we are seeing traction coming in in applications like garbage trucks which are again have a closed loop operating cycle. But the numbers on those are not fully understood.<\/p>\n

Payal Shah<\/strong><\/p>\n

Okay, that’s helpful sir. Thank you so much.<\/p>\n

Operator<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you. Participants, you may press star N1 to ask a question. Next question is from the line of Ravi Gupta from Incred Capital. Please go ahead.<\/p>\n

Ravi Gupta<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, thank you. Can I, can you hear me?<\/p>\n

Operator<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, yes,<\/p>\n

Ravi Gupta<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sorry I joined late. I don’t know if they. You have covered this. So with many joint ventures and tech partnership, what proportions of the EV content per vehicle they cover in let’s say two wheeler car. Or maybe you can talk about CV as well and what gaps in tech can be covered in next two, three years that you are in envisage.<\/p>\n

Atul Agrawal<\/strong><\/p>\n

You know this is a very high level question. There’s not, not, not enough data to do that. We have to map all the product lines, volumes, etc. You know Ravi, this is, this is a very, you know, I won’t use the word difficult. I don’t think there’s data to give an answer to this question. Jaydeep, Anish, you guys want to comment on this?<\/p>\n

Jaydee Wadhwa<\/strong><\/p>\n

So I’ll Try and talk about. And I’ll then request Anish to talk about the ADAS ARS portfolio. Typically, you know, in a two wheeler, in a two wheeler platform. Let me just, I think across the board with our current portfolio we are looking at anywhere but you know, for the smaller vehicles up to 10% of the pack price or the vehicle price and in the bigger platforms up to 5%. So I’ll give you, I’ll give you a data point. You know the, a multifunction unit for a bus will sell, depending on configurations, etc.<\/p>\n

Will sell for three to three and a half lakh rupees.<\/p>\n

Operator<\/strong><\/p>\n

Right.<\/p>\n

Atul Agrawal<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think, I think Ravi’s question was what percentage of the spend of the vehicles? I think that’s a difficult one. We know our price points but<\/p>\n

Jaydee Wadhwa<\/strong><\/p>\n

I mean the vehicles are selling for about a crore anywhere between. I mean it’s difficult. And what Atul saying is very true because people are not selling buses as much. I mean they actually the tenders call for operating leases, right. Where the person like companies like Sweden or the others are actually operating these buses and are charging the government per kilometer. So it becomes a little bit more complicated. But if you look at the capital component of that, like I said, it could be, you know, 70 to a crore and we are about three and a half lakh rupees for multifunction unit,<\/p>\n

Ravi Gupta<\/strong><\/p>\n

Three to three<\/p>\n

Jaydee Wadhwa<\/strong><\/p>\n

And a half<\/p>\n

Ravi Gupta<\/strong><\/p>\n

In terms of two wheelers and folders.<\/p>\n

Jaydee Wadhwa<\/strong><\/p>\n

So we are not in the passenger vehicle space in the two wheelers. Again, you know, the motor control units that we started with, obviously the market’s moving tremendously. But two in one motor and a motor control unit will typically be upward of 10,000 rupees. And you know, people who’ve been following this industry will recognize that there’s a lot of efficiencies that have come in, a lot of cost reductions that have come in over a period of time. We started off selling just a motor control unit at 10,000 rupees.<\/p>\n

Now a motor and motor control unit together are say depending on the size, you know, 14,000 or somewhere there integrated unit. Yeah,<\/p>\n

Ravi Gupta<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanks that, that helpful. Thanks.<\/p>\n

Operator<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you. Participants, you may press star and one to ask a question. Next question is from the line of Vanshi Shah from EVN Advisors. Please go ahead.<\/p>\n

Payal Shah<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hi sir, thank you for taking my question. Am I audible? Yes. Yeah. So sir, my question is regarding. So given the ongoing West Asia led supply chain disruption and the recent increase in steel and energy costs, could you elaborate on the extent of the pass through arrangements available with oem? Also should we expect some moderation in standalone EBITDA margins From the current 15% levels in the near term? And what would you believe is the sustainable steady state margin profile for the fast north business?<\/p>\n

Atul Agrawal<\/strong><\/p>\n

So Manjit, like I said earlier and you know I’ve been saying that steel is a straight pass through, okay, There may be a lag or a month or two or three, but it’s a straight pass through other value added, other cost centers like energy, like chemicals, plastics. Then all of the. This has been a very extreme scenario in the last three, four months. So there are no norms for that. Since this is an extreme scenario, we hope to mitigate that through a combination of price increase with the customer and improving internal efficiencies.<\/p>\n

So to go to the second part of the question, there may be short term pressure on our margin structure but long term, our steady state margin, like I’ve been saying in calls over the last few quarters as well, we are confident that we’ll be able to maintain our ebitda margins around 15% plus.<\/p>\n

Payal Shah<\/strong><\/p>\n

Okay sir, thank you so much.<\/p>\n

Atul Agrawal<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you. Yeah, thank you.<\/p>\n

Operator<\/strong><\/p>\n

Participants, you may press star N1 to ask the question next follow up question is from the line of Madhurathi from Countercyclical Investments. Please go ahead.<\/p>\n

Madurati<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you for the opportunity. Once again sir, for for the fasteners business, what kind of growth should we expect? As we have already a decent market share. So is there an import substitution opportunity or the growth will follow like the volume growth for the automobile industry going forward.<\/p>\n

Atul Agrawal<\/strong><\/p>\n

So we believe that we’ll be able to grow faster than the automotive industry as a whole in India which is what’s happened last year. Our customer profile, our product mix, our capabilities, our resources we have built all India bases are extremely well positioned to leverage and the opportunity there is and give us the revenue growth we expect. So let me just say that unless there’s an extreme black swan event which is currently the best Asia crisis, FY26.7 looks to be promising on top of a good FY26 and we hope to grow faster than the industry as a whole.<\/p>\n

Import substitution is a very slow process driven by the OEMs themselves. If they drive it hard enough, we are in a great place to localize the components as well. But that’s a very slow opportunity.<\/p>\n

Madurati<\/strong><\/p>\n

Right? And then with the 75 per hour capex, what kind of asset turns can we expect? And so basically I’m trying to understand the revenue potential for this segment. Once we are done with the 75 crore capital, when will that commercialize?<\/p>\n

Atul Agrawal<\/strong><\/p>\n

So the 75 crore will all be commercialized last quarter of this financial year. Q4FY27 some will happen early, some will happen down the line depending on the kind of equipment there is. This capex is done on various One is pure capacity increase, second is balancing of capacity and lastly is improving in operational efficiencies, quality improvements, engineering capabilities. So it’s a combination of all that a lot of our asset turns what we invest this year crystallizes in full revenue 12 months later or 24 months later.<\/p>\n

Since these are being this capex is being invested in our current facilities the turnaround could be as low as maybe 24 months. So our asset turns if you look at a greenfield facility go up to five years time but we are quite since like I said we are investing in our existing facilities if the market supports us we should be able to turn that around 24 months.<\/p>\n

Madurati<\/strong><\/p>\n

And sir in terms of revenue potential for our asset base of the fastener segment with core desk capex.<\/p>\n

Atul Agrawal<\/strong><\/p>\n

So like I’ve been saying in calls earlier our current based on the current CapEx we have current capacities we have we can do a revenue about 800 odd crores. 800 crores plus with the capex we are doing this year and there’ll be some additional capex coming in next year we are building our capabilities to take it up to about 900 to 1000 crores.<\/p>\n

Madurati<\/strong><\/p>\n

Got it. So 2x so is it fair to assume that there is a two time asset turns for the fasteners business for the CapEx that will do this year and maybe next two, three, four years down the line.<\/p>\n

Atul Agrawal<\/strong><\/p>\n

So you know a two time asset turn in our business is very good. Since these like I said this is being invested in our current facility the asset turns are faster and more value creative. You know we can turn them two times around. Yeah I think anywhere from 1.8 is very good. According to benchmarks we have we see competition in India and worldwide. It’s a good number to work with.<\/p>\n

Madurati<\/strong><\/p>\n

Right answer. Just a final question from men sir on this OBC and DCDC components that we are planning to supply to the planning to supply from Q3 of this year how is the vendors vendor selection strategy by the OEMs? Is it that 100% of so will we be the single source suppliers or there will be multiple vendors on whose products these platforms will be created? So on that front<\/p>\n

Jaydee Wadhwa<\/strong><\/p>\n

To start with we will be 100%. You know that’s typically the way it goes. Once volumes pick up it is possible that they may want to get another customer may want to get a second source in to ensure business continuity in case of any post mature or other events that may happen with one supplier but typically when the volumes are in the few thousand units, they typically go with one, with one supplier. And as of today we are single source. Where we are, where we are supplying. I won’t say supplying, that’s the incorrect word.<\/p>\n

Where we are working with these companies on their contracts.<\/p>\n

Madurati<\/strong><\/p>\n

Right. And sir, what would be a right to win in these? So we have our existing clients but for new customers what would be a right to win? Win? Is it based on the technology partner or the gvs? Is it based on their market share gain in their foreign respective market because of that will be able to win in the domestic market or how should I look at the right to win in the segment?<\/p>\n

Jaydee Wadhwa<\/strong><\/p>\n

So I mean I have to say that, you know, it’s not one, it’s not one factor. Definitely the credibility of our partners in the markets that they play in is very important. Our technical support capability, our responsiveness, our ability to develop the supply chain, these become very important. It’s similar to how it is with the motor control units for two wheelers. The customers, you know, you’re talking about a very new industry, an industry that’s moving very rapidly. So customers are always looking for partners who can support them technically and meet their commercial requirements.<\/p>\n

But technical support is crucial to this and the ability to have the infrastructure to have the ability to meet their customer requirements, to meet, to resolve problems, to continue to adapt becomes very important. We have, and I just give you a little bit more detail, I mean maybe boring technical, but customers are looking for higher and higher integration because that reduces cost and makes development of vehicle integration easier. So that’s why we started off first with the motor control unit.<\/p>\n

Then the customer said, well can we have additional features in addition to the motor control unit in the same box? Now our partners GETEC were working with a company called land world for OBC and DCBCs to create these multifunction units. So we also tied up with Land World. So now we have the ability to provide these 3 in 1, 4 in 1, 5 in 16 in 1 units. Right? So that becomes, that gives us, so I mean that gives us an edge because we are not only just giving them, you know, one product like you know, one, one motor control unit, we’re giving them a solution that cuts down all the cabling that goes on inside a vehicle.<\/p>\n

That cuts down cabling, also adds to failure routes. So it reduces cost. It reduces complexity. And that becomes important because not everyone can provide these multifunction units, especially in India, because of the technical issues and the volumes.<\/p>\n

Madurati<\/strong><\/p>\n

Got it. So that was from my end. Thank you so much and all the best.<\/p>\n

Operator<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you very much. Is there no further questions? I’ll now hand the conference over to the management for closing comments.<\/p>\n

Atul Agrawal<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you, Karan Nitin, for organizing this for us. Thank you everybody who had questions and for people who joined, if you guys have any further questions, queries or questions, we are happy to take them up. Karan and Nitin, I appoint people to just forward it to them and we’ll come back to you. Thank you once again and look forward to talking to you very soon.<\/p>\n

Operator<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you very much on behalf of Sterling Tools Ltd. That concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us. And you may now disconnect your thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Note: This is a preliminary transcript and may contain inaccuracies. It will be updated with a final, fully-reviewed version soon. Sterling Tools Limited (NSE: STERTOOLS) Q4 2026 Earnings Call dated May. 18, 2026 Corporate Participants: Atul Agrawal \u2014 Managing Director Jaydee Wadhwa \u2014 Business Head Analysts: Madurati \u2014 Analyst Payal Shah \u2014 Analyst Ravi Gupta […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2377,"featured_media":147581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6349],"tags":[10169,9175,9104,9092,14492,10089],"class_list":["post-183285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-transcripts","tag-earnings","tag-earnings-call","tag-earnings-conference","tag-earnings-transcripts","tag-financial-results","tag-quarterly-earnings"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Transcript-thumbnail.jpg","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":65860,"url":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/key-highlights-from-infosys-infy-q1-2021-earnings-results\/","url_meta":{"origin":183285,"position":0},"title":"Key highlights from Infosys (INFY) Q1 2021 earnings results","author":"Staff Correspondent","date":"July 15, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Infosys (NYSE: INFY) reported earnings results for the first quarter of 2021 today. Revenues declined 0.3% to $3.12 billion. Net profit after minority interest was $558 million while diluted EPS was $0.13. The company expects revenue growth in the range of 0-2% in constant currency for fiscal year 2021 while\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AlphaGraphs"","block_context":{"text":"AlphaGraphs","link":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/category\/infographics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Infosys reports Q1 2021 earnings results","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Infosys-Q1-2021-Earnings-Infographic.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Infosys-Q1-2021-Earnings-Infographic.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Infosys-Q1-2021-Earnings-Infographic.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Infosys-Q1-2021-Earnings-Infographic.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Infosys-Q1-2021-Earnings-Infographic.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":41715,"url":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wipro-limited-wit-q2-2020-earnings-snapshot\/","url_meta":{"origin":183285,"position":1},"title":"Wipro Limited (WIT): Q2 2020 Earnings Snapshot","author":"Toby","date":"October 15, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"-- Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT) reported second-quarter 2020 earnings of $0.06 per share, in line with Wall Street projection -- Revenues grew 4% to $2.14 billion, vs. $2.13 billion expected. -- In Q2, IT Services revenue grew 2.5% to $2.05 billion. -- Wipro expects IT Services revenue to be $2.065\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earnings"","block_context":{"text":"Earnings","link":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/category\/earnings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Earnings Update by AlphaStreet","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Earnings-Coverage-5.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Earnings-Coverage-5.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Earnings-Coverage-5.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Earnings-Coverage-5.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Earnings-Coverage-5.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":109778,"url":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/infosys-limited-infy-q4-2021-earnings-call\/","url_meta":{"origin":183285,"position":2},"title":"Infosys Limited (INFY) Q4 2021 Earnings Call","author":"Sahil Anand","date":"April 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Infosys Limited (NYSE: INFY) Q4 2021 earnings call dated\u00a0Apr. 14, 2021 Corporate Participants: Sandeep Mahindroo\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Vice President, Financial Controller & Head \u2013 Investor Relations Salil Parekh\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Pravin Rao\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Chief Operating Officer and Whole-time Director Nilanjan Roy\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Chief Financial Officer Analysts: Ankur Rudra\u00a0\u2014\u00a0JPMorgan \u2014 Analyst Diviya Nagarajan\u00a0\u2014\u00a0UBS \u2014 Analyst\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earnings"","block_context":{"text":"Earnings","link":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/category\/earnings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Infosys-Limited-Q4-2021-Earnings-Call.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Infosys-Limited-Q4-2021-Earnings-Call.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Infosys-Limited-Q4-2021-Earnings-Call.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Infosys-Limited-Q4-2021-Earnings-Call.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Infosys-Limited-Q4-2021-Earnings-Call.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Infosys-Limited-Q4-2021-Earnings-Call.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":179469,"url":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/esaf-small-finance-bank-limited-esafsfb-q3-2026-earnings-call-transcript\/","url_meta":{"origin":183285,"position":3},"title":"ESAF Small Finance Bank Limited (ESAFSFB) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript","author":"News desk","date":"February 3, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"ESAF Small Finance Bank Limited (NSE: ESAFSFB) Q3 2026 Earnings Call dated Feb. 02, 2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earnings Call Transcripts"","block_context":{"text":"Earnings Call Transcripts","link":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/category\/transcripts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Transcript-thumbnail.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Transcript-thumbnail.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Transcript-thumbnail.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":141713,"url":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/vijaya-diagnostic-centre-limited-vijaya-q3-fy23-earnings-concall-transcript\/","url_meta":{"origin":183285,"position":4},"title":"Vijaya Diagnostic Centre Limited (VIJAYA) Q3 FY23 Earnings Concall Transcript","author":"IRS_INDIA","date":"February 15, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Earnings Call Transcripts"","block_context":{"text":"Earnings Call Transcripts","link":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/category\/transcripts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Earnings Conference Call Transcript","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Transcript-thumbnail-e1657213425955.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Transcript-thumbnail-e1657213425955.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Transcript-thumbnail-e1657213425955.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":47378,"url":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/infosys-reports-8-6-revenue-growth-for-q3\/","url_meta":{"origin":183285,"position":5},"title":"Infosys beats Q3 earnings estimates; revenue comes in line","author":"Staff Correspondent","date":"January 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Infosys (NYSE: INFY) reported better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter of 2020 while revenue matched forecasts. Shares were up 6.5% in premarket hours on Friday. Total revenues increased 8.6% year-over-year to $3.24 billion, coming in line with estimates. Revenues increased 9.5% in constant currency. Net income was $627 million, or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earnings"","block_context":{"text":"Earnings","link":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/category\/earnings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Earnings Update by AlphaStreet","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Earnings-Coverage-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Earnings-Coverage-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Earnings-Coverage-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Earnings-Coverage-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Earnings-Coverage-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2377"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183285"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":183286,"href":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183285\/revisions\/183286"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alphastreet.com\/india\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}