Insecticides India A stock with good Opportunity size

While all sounds good (including the R&D, new product launches, positive sales and PAT growth), the red flag at the moment appears to be the generation of ZERO Free Cash Flow by the Company over the period of last 9 years.

If the sales and/or profits are not translating to cash despite revenue growing from 250 crores to 1100 crores+, appears to be a cause of concern.

Moreover, the business is cyclical in nature and depends a lot on normality of monsoon season coz company derives ~40% of its revenue from Jul-Sep quarter. Considering the volatility, working capital is required to maintain inventory which is reflected in the financial numbers of annual reports.

Considering that UPL Limited also caters to crop protection segment, it generates huge free cash flows.

Could not comprehend why Insecticides does not have the same trend.

Disclosure: Not holding

3 Likes

Had been digging more about the finer aspects of the business and found this document apparently provided to BSE for a QIB offer:

Though a bit outdated, gives unique insights into the business including the break-up of sales of ‘navratna’ products and the capacity utilization (as at March 31, 2015).

For ready reference, have jotted down the pointers including the bear case (refer PDF attachment).Analysis - Insecticides India.pdf (484.6 KB)

3 Likes

Agrochemical maker Insecticides India Ltd (IIL) has received an environment clearance for setting up a pesticide manufacturing unit in Bharuch, Gujarat that will entail an investment of Rs 40 crore, according to an official document.

The union environment ministry has given the go-ahead to IIL’'s proposed project after taking into account the recommendations of a green panel.

The clearance, however, has been given with some conditions, the document added.

As per the proposal, IIL wants to set up a pesticide and pesticide intermediates manufacturing unit with a production capacity of 2,500 tonne per month at Dahej in Bharuch district in an area of 52,000 square metre.

The estimated project cost is Rs 40 crore and will generate direct and indirect employment for 150 persons.

IIL has six formulation units in Chopanki (Rajasthan), Samba and Udhampur (Jammu & Kashmir), Dahej (Gujarat). It also has technical synthesis plants at Chopanki and Dahej to make technical grade chemicals.

2 Likes

https://darkhorsestock.wordpress.com/2020/05/31/insecticides-india/ good blog post

What are you trying convey via the image of you can explain would be helpful to all? :slight_smile:

Invested at current levels waiting for bumper results due to very positive commentary by management in the last quarter and also release of new products.

2 Likes

In the first half, company generated profits of 66 crores vs 87 crores in FY20. Debt reduced to 62 crores with Cash & Cash Equivalent of 82 crores. It is available at 870 crores Mcap, 12 PE compared to peers trading at ~20 PE.

1 Like

Q2 21 Concall:

  • Many areas suffered due to floods, heavy rains particularly North eastern areas. Heavy rains also impacted the Central zone. Despite having good rainfall, opportunity to use pesticides was lower
  • Operations were impacted due to lockdown restrictions on travelling(being in touch with customers/distributors/farmers)
  • Total branded sales declined by 15% due to uneven rainfall and less pest infestation. Maharatna sales decreased by 4% while other branded sales decreased by 25% y-o-y
  • Institutional sales increased by 9%
  • During the qtr, company was more focussed on cash sales. Working on Cash & Carry basis, small credit given to certain areas. Credit days were 100-150 days. Trying to reduce this to 120 days. Focusing now on converting into cash sales. More than 50% of business will be in Cash & Carry Model. Debtors will be lower going forward.
  • Focused on improving WC cycle, WC cycle reduced to 115 days in 1H21 vs 184 days in 1H 20
  • 156 crore cashflow generated from operations
  • Debt reduced by 128 crores
  • Interim dividend of 2/share. 20th Nov - record date
  • 10 new products will be launched in the next half. 3 products launched in Q2- Master stroke, dominant and Mahir. These 3 products contributed 10.6 crores to topline during the qtr. Launched 5 products in first half.
  • Lethal Granules received good response
  • Kadaki (partnership from Japan) - will be launched this month. Supremo will come in next 3-4 months time.
  • By next year, loss in Thimet will be recovered by these 3 products i.e Supremo, Lethal and Kadaki
  • Will strengthen manufacturing units at both the plants, also strengthening formulations at all locations
  • 60000+ retail outlets
  • Capex guidance- 50 crores for this year, 50 crores for next year. Expanding majorly at 3 locations. Things will be up in phases. Some plants will be completed this fiscal. Biggest expansion is in Dahej(technical synthesis), it will be completed in next fiscal. Chopanki plant expansion(formulations & technical plant) will get completed in this fiscal. Benefits will start accruing from next FY.
  • Most of the funds generated from operations will be used towards capex, working capital and in registrations.
  • Once registrations are done, will start with trials and be ready for the next Kharif season.
  • Export target of 100 crores, will not reduce the target. 1H 21 exports - 22.2
  • Will be positive in topline and bottomline for FY21.
  • Do not see much improvement in margins. From next fiscal, focusing on bringing new products.
  • Inventory days is on a declining trend as Thimet is completed liquidated and Nuvan inventory will be liquidated by November 2020
  • On 10 crores exceptional item(fraud committed) : Head of business was the main culprit behind the fraud. He was working with the company for 20 years. Made 3 settlements so far, recovery of 4 crores with a discount being given of 60-70 lakhs. Legal process is still going on, would like to close this case as early as possible. Adopted control mechanism, reduced credit period, multiple checks from finance team and from auditors. Certain suggestions given by auditors will be implemented soon. Invoices will be audited and checked on monthly basis.
  • Do not import any technicals from China. Only for exports, company does buy technicals from China. For some major products, working on backward integration for intermediates for 2-3 products. By the time expansion is complete, will make intermediates for 3 more products.
  • Have to pay MSME suppliers within 45 days.
  • 12 patents received, 18 patents pending
6 Likes

Latest management interview (link)

  • Management is upbeat on margins improving in the next few quarters on back of new products introduced

Company has had one of the highest number of domestic launches in their peer group (data below).

Launches FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21
PI Industries 2.00 3.00 1.00 5.00 2.00 3.00 2.00
Dhanuka Agritech 5.00 7.00 8.00 3.00 7.00 6.00
Insecticides India 3.00 2.00 5.00 5.00 8.00 8.00 7.00
Rallis India 3.00 3.00 1.00 3.00 4.00

Exports have also been growing at a very fast pace, having crossed 100 cr. in FY22.

Agrochemical exports (cr.) FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21
Insecticides India 9.00 12.00 34.00 60.00 64.00 61.00

Disclosure: Not invested

8 Likes
3 Likes

Insecticides India usually do 60-65% business in Kharif season

6 Likes

Insecticides India -

Q4 and FY 24 highlights -

Current manufacturing capabilities -

02 Active ingredient plants
06 Formulation plants
01 Biologicals plant
04 R&D centers, Team of 60+ scientists

Capacities -

Active Ingredients ( AIs ) - 15,800 MTPA

Formulations -

Granules - 80,750 MTPA
Powder - 24,770 MTPA
Liquids - 30,900 MTPA

Company is currently making 21 AIs and over 120 formulations

Product wise sales breakup -

Insecticides - 45 pc
Herbicides - 40 pc
Fungicides - 11 pc
Biologicals and PGRs - 4 pc

Segment wise sales breakup -

Branded formulations - 68 pc
B2B sales - 27 pc
Exports - 5 pc

Company is setting up a new AIs + Formulations facility at Behror in Rajasthan. Should go commercial in CY 24

FY 23 saw extreme pressure on profitability due - collapse in export demand ( due overstocking situation ) and inventory write down that company had to take due steep fall in AI and RM prices. Both these factors have reversed to a great extent ( though not fully ) by the end of FY 24

Long term prospects for agrochemical exports from India remain positive - due China + 1. Even the GoI is pushing for increased manufacturing of AIs in India

FY 24 outcomes -

Revenues - 1966 vs 1801 cr, up 9 pc ( new product sales @ 512 cr ie the products launched over last 5 yrs )

EBITDA - 163 vs 122 cr, up 33 pc (margins @ 8 vs 7 pc YoY. Margins in FY 22 were at 11 pc)

PAT - 103 vs 63 cr, up 62 pc

Working capital days @ 150 vs 169

Company has a range of Value Added ( company calls them Maharatna products ) which contribute 60 pc of branded formulation sales. These products grew by 27 pc in FY 24

Total product launches in FY 24 @ 8 products. These products clocked a sales of 50 cr for FY 24

Exports continued to be weak in FY 24 as well. Expecting a recovery in FY 25 as over stocking issues are completely resolved

Aim to take EBITDA margins into double digits inside next 1-2 yrs ( opinion : if this happens, PAT may get a big kicker )

FY 24 volume growth was 20 pc. Topline growth was only 9 pc due price deflation in most products

Aim to take value added sales ( Maharatna products ) beyond 65 pc before FY 26

Company’s domestic formulations mkt share @ 5.5 pc

75 pc of company new product introductions are 9(3) registrations. This improves their pricing power ( incrementally ). Also intend to launch at least 1 product each / yr for next 4-5 yrs in collaboration with Nissan Chemical corporation. These JV products have a gross margins of around 30 pc ( avg of new + old JV products ). Generally, Nissan gives each product to 2-3 players for distribution

Avg gross margins for Maharatna range of products is 35 pc ( varies from 30-40 pc - varying from product to product ). Company level gross margins are currently at 25 pc. Company expects them to inch upto 30 pc - as the agrochemicals mkt recovers in FY 25,26

Seeing much better demands trends in Q1

Disc: initiated a tracking position, hoping for a margin recovery in Q1, Q2. This may provide a 20-30 pc bump in the stock price, biased, not SEBI registered

10 Likes

image
Lot of domestic launches

2 Likes

Insecticides India -

Q1 FY 25 results and concall highlights -

Revenues - 657 vs 640 cr, up 3 pc ( volume growth was 15 pc, lower topline growth is due to fall in RM and end product prices )

Gross Margins @ 27 vs 21 pc YoY ( pure generic products have a GM of around 15 pc )

EBITDA - 72 vs 46 cr, up 57 pc ( margins @ 11 vs 7 pc - massive improvement YoY )

PAT - 49 vs 29 cr, up 68 pc

Product wise sales breakup -

Insecticides - 33 pc
Herbicides - 61 pc ( doing very well vs LY )
Fungicides - 4 pc
PGRs - 2 pc

Channel wise sales breakup -

B2C - 71 pc ( vs 66 pc LY - good improvement )
B2B - 26 pc
Exports - 3 pc

In B2C category, 60 pc of sales in Q1 FY 25 came from premium products vs 57 pc LY vs 51 pc in FY 23 ( company calls them Maharatna and Focus Maharatna products ). These r higher margin products vs pure generics. At the company level, they contributed to 42 pc of sales. Gross margins in these products are > 40 pc vs around 15 pc for pure vanilla generics

The monsoon distribution has been good this season + the reservoir levels are healthy. This makes the Industry outlook positive

Company is working with Nissan Chemicals on half a dozen products ( these tech - transferred products obviously have higher margins )

Products launched after 2020 are already contributing to > 500 cr on the topline ( this is a very encouraging sign )

Q2 looks promising across India. Should exit the FY25 with double digit EBITDA margins

For most of the new products that the company is launching, AIs ( or technicals ) for them are made In-House

At present, company has 11 Focus Maharana products. These r high growth, high margin products ( mostly with Pan India presence ). Aim is to keep graduating more products from Maharatna to Focus Maharatna category. Maharatna products are currently smaller with regional presence

Pricing pressures continue to remain in B2B and Exports mkt. Reversal of this scenario may take some more time

Will be launching 04-05 new products this FY. All these will be differentiated products in the Maharatna category

Company is guiding for volume growth of > 15 pc with a value growth of around 10 pc for FY 25 ( due price corrections in finished products ). Should be able to do an EBITDA of around 220 cr for FY 25

Company’s new Technicals facility at Dahej is expected to start production in 1-2 months time ( awaiting Govt approval ). Company has spent around 150 cr on this plant. This plant has a revenue potential of around 250 cr ( realisable from next FY ). However, if the company chooses to use this plant for captive consumption to lower the costs of its formulations, this revenue potential may come down but the company level margins may increase

Company intends to keep improving the contribution of Maharatna + Focus Maharatna products in its overall revenue pie for the foreseeable future. Hence, there should be continuous margin improvement going fwd - in the medium term

Disc: holding from lower levels, biased, not SEBI registered, not a buy / sell recommendation

7 Likes

Insecticides India -

Q2 FY 25 results and concall highlights -

Revenues - 627 vs 696 cr, down 10 pc
Gross Margins @ 31 vs 25 pc
EBITDA - 90 vs 82 cr, up 9 pc ( margins @ 14 vs 12 pc )
PAT - 62 vs 53 cr, up 16 pc

Product wise sales breakup -

Insecticides - 61 vs 49 pc
Herbicides - 21 vs 34 pc
Fungicides - 15 vs 13 pc
Biologics - 4 vs 4 pc

Sales breakup by segment -

B2C - 84 vs 71 pc
B2B - 14 vs 26 pc
Exports - 2 vs 3 pc

Premium products : Plain generic product sales in B2C segment @ 64 : 36 vs 61 : 39 YoY ( this is a healthy sign )

Manufacturing footprint -

2 - Active ingredients plants
6 - Formulation plants
1 - Biologics plant
4 - R&D centers

Company’s product basket -

Herbicides - 34 products
Insecticides - 51 products
Fungicides - 13 products
Biologics - 11 products

Some of company’s leading brands include -

Lethal - Anti-Termite ( a leading, 37 yr old brand )
Shinwa - Insecticide ( in-licensed from Nissan )
Torry - Herbicide
Hachiman - Herbicide ( in-licensed from Nissan )
Pulsor - Fungicide ( in-licensed from Nissan )
Green Label - Herbicide
Hercules - Insecticide
Mission - Insecticide

Excessive rains in Q2 led to a lot of spraying opportunity losses in Q2. However, the reservoir levels are very healthy which should mean a good Rabi season

At present, company has 11 Focus Maharana products. These r high growth, high margin products ( mostly with Pan India presence ). Aim is to keep graduating more products from Maharatna to Focus Maharatna category. Maharatna products are currently smaller with regional presence. These Maharatna + Focus Maharatna products have gross margins > 40 pc vs 15 pc for plain vanilla generics

Expect to see descent pick up in B2B and Export sales in H2. B2C sales continue to remain strong

Sales return in Q2 was around 40 cr ( mainly herbicides ). Expecting sales return of another 10 cr ( mainly insecticides ) in Q3. Sales return is a normal phenomenon in the agrochemicals Industry

Inventory levels in the Mkt are at normal levels

According to the management, some of the AI prices have touched their 20-25 yr lows. They don’t foresee prices falling any further ( but with the Chinese dumping, one never knows - personal opinion )

In Q2, Maharatna + Focus Maharatna products witnessed a volume growth of 10 pc. Plain Generics witnessed a volume de-growth of 13 pc

As such, company’s focus is on premium products and they intend to keep increasing their share in the sales

Company is confident of growing both topline and bottomline in H2

Guiding for a flattish topline with double digit margins for full FY

LY exports for full FY were at 105 cr. This FY, company has already received orders worth 105 cr. More orders are likely to flow into the company. Basically - exports should do well in H2

Company has received a new exclusive In-Licensed product from Nissan. Likely launch should be in Mar-Apr 25

As the share of pure vanilla generics keep reducing YoY, company’s margins should keep inching up ( IMO - this can be a positive trigger for the company in medium term )

Have lined up 6 product launches for H2. Three of them are going to be Maharatna products

Dsic: holding, added more recently, biased, not SEBI registered, not a buy/sell recommendation

3 Likes

Any sales growth guidance for next financial year given? That’s FY26

Insecticides India -

Q3 FY 25 results and concall highlights -

Revenues - 358 vs 358 cr ( flat YoY )
Gross profit - 129 vs 108 cr, up 20 pc
EBITDA - 31 vs 26 cr, up 19 pc ( margins @ 8.65 vs 7.3 pc )
PAT - 17 vs 12 cr, up 42 pc

WC ( Inventory + Recievables - Payables ) @ 673 cr vs 693 cr YoY ( WC days @ 132 vs 127 days ) - slight deterioration in WC

Sales of premium : Generic products @ 55:45 vs 56:44 LY

B2C:B2B:Export sales @ 82 : 11 : 7 vs 78 : 16 : 6 (LY)

Product wise sales breakup -

Herbicides - 33 pc
Insecticides - 45 pc
Fungicides - 19 pc
Biologics - 3 pc

Manufacturing footprint -

2 - Active ingredients plants ( @ Chopanki and Dahej )
6 - Formulation plants ( @ Chopanki, Dahej - 1, Dahej -2, Udhampur, Samba, Sotanala )
1 - Biologics plant ( Shamli )
4 - R&D centers

Company’s product basket -

Herbicides - 34 products
Insecticides - 51 products
Fungicides - 13 products
Biologics - 11 products

Some of company’s leading brands include -

Lethal - Anti-Termite ( a leading, 37 yr old brand ) Shinwa - Insecticide ( in-licensed from Nissan ) Torry - Herbicide
Hachiman - Herbicide ( in-licensed from Nissan ) Pulsor - Fungicide ( in-licensed from Nissan )
Green Label - Herbicide
Hercules - Insecticide
Mission - Insecticide

At present, company has 11 Focus Maharana products. These r high growth, high margin products ( mostly with Pan India presence ). Aim is to keep graduating more products from Maharatna to Focus Maharatna category. Maharatna products are currently smaller with regional presence. These Maharatna + Focus Maharatna products have gross margins > 40 pc vs 15 pc for plain vanilla generics - taken from Q2’s concall

For 9M FY 25, sales of premium products have reached 62 pc of total sales - this has helped the company boost its margins in last 1 yr. Company aims to take it to to 65 pc by end of next FY

9M volume growth in premium products @ 19 pc, Volume growth in B2C segment @ 12 pc - for 9Ms

Company is confident that another 4 products should be able to graduate to Focus Maharatna category in next 1-2 yrs ( products like - Stroke, Torry Super, Terrox )

Another new product ( in licensed from Nissan ) is going to be launched in the upcoming Kharif season. It will be branded as Altair - a herbicide

Another brand that’s doing really well is Green Expert ( A rice crop herbicide ). Company hopes that this product should also get in to the Focus Maharatna bracket in medium term

Company is going to launch > 6 new premium products over next 12 months

Company is optimistic about all three of its business segments for Q4 ie B2B, B2C, Exports. Govt initiatives are turning out to be really beneficial for the rural economy

Should be able to maintain double digit EBITDA margins for entire FY 25 vs 8 pc in FY 24

In next 4-5 yrs, company expects to reach the 12-13 pc kind of annual EBITDA margin trajectory

Bulk of company’s export business is export of Active Ingredients and not Technicals

Company believes that the prices of RMs and hence formulations have bottomed out. They r seeing gradual price increases in Q4 ( otherwise a lean season ). This reflation in prices augurs well for the Industry

Capex lined up for next 2 yrs ( to expand formulation + technicals capacity ) stands @ 125 cr

The composition of 06 products that company has lined up for launch in next 12 months is - 04 Insecticides, 01 herbicide and 01 fungicide

Company has launched a PGR named Seaweed. It’s a biologic product with excellent results. Company believes, they can scale it upto 50-60 / yr kind of sales in next 3-4 yrs

For a product to be categorised as Focus Maharatna, it has to do an annual sales of > 35 cr with > 35 pc GMs

Company is actively working on a number of Biologic products. These r for company’s future as the Mkt would have moved towards biologics by next decade. Can’t talk much about them to maintain secrecy

Company is going to spend Rs 125 cr over next 2 yrs @ Sotanala to set up the AI + Formulations facility. This facility should have a peak revenue potential of aprox 500 cr

Disc: holding, added recently, biased, not a buy/sell recommendation, not SEBI registered

Insecticides India -

Q4 and FY 25 results and concall highlights -

Q4 outcomes -

Revenues - 359 vs 273 cr, up 32 pc
Gross margins - 36.6 vs 31.9 pc ( massive expansion )
EBITDA - 28 vs 9 cr, up 226 pc ( margins @ 7.9 vs 3.2 pc )
PAT - 14 vs 8 cr, up 85 pc ( LY Q4 had a tax write back of 4 cr )

FY 25 outcomes -

Revenues - 2000 vs 1966 cr, up 2 pc
Gross margins - 32 vs 25.5 pc ( massive expansion )
EBITDA - 221 vs 162 cr, up 36 pc ( margins @ 11.1 vs 8.3 pc )
PAT - 142 vs 102 cr, up 39 pc

Sale of premium : generic products in FY 25 vs FY 24 @ 61:39 vs 59:41

Segmental breakup of sales in FY 25 vs FY 24 -

B2C - 75 vs 69 pc ( very favourable swing )
B2B - 20 vs 26 pc
B2C - 5 vs 5 pc

Manufacturing footprint -

2 - Active ingredients plants ( @ Chopanki and Dahej )
6 - Formulation plants ( @ Chopanki, Dahej - 1, Dahej -2, Udhampur, Samba, Sotanala )
1 - Biologics plant ( Shamli )
4 - R&D centers

Company is going to spend Rs 125 cr over next 2 yrs @ Sotanala to set up the AI + Formulations facility. This facility should have a peak revenue potential of aprox 500 cr

Some of company’s leading brands include -

Lethal - Anti-Termite ( a leading, 37 yr old brand )
Shinwa - Insecticide ( in-licensed from Nissan )
Torry - Herbicide
Hachiman - Herbicide ( in-licensed from Nissan )
Pulsor - Fungicide ( in-licensed from Nissan )
Green Label - Herbicide
Hercules - Insecticide
Mission - Insecticide

At present, company has 16 Focus Maharana products ( vs 12 in FY 24 ). These r high growth, high margin products ( mostly with Pan India presence ). Maharatna products are currently smaller with regional presence. Aim is to keep graduating more products from Maharatna to Focus Maharatna category. These Maharatna + Focus Maharatna products have gross margins > 35 pc vs 15 pc for plain vanilla generics - taken from Q2’s concall

For a product to be categorised as Focus Maharatna, it has to do an annual sales of > 35 cr with > 35 pc GMs

Have lined up 12 new product launches in FY 26

Another new product ( in licensed from Nissan ) was recently launched ( in May ). It is branded as Altair - a herbicide for rice crop. This is the 7th In-Licensed product that the company has launched in collaboration with Nissan Japan, making Nissan as their most important international partner

The expansion work taken up at Dahej AI ( technicals ) plant is nearing completion. Company has spent 150 cr towards the same. Enhanced production should start wef June 25. The upgraded plant now has different areas demarkated for Herbicides, Insecticides, Fungicides manufacturing. Should result in 100 cr of additional revenues from this expansion in FY 26 with a CAGR growth of 50 pc for next 3-4 yrs

Capex lined up for FY 26 @ 100 cr - majority of this shall be spent towards expansion @ Sotanala formulations plant. Rest of the capex would be routine maintenance capex

Have built up inventories in the month of March - in anticipation of good monsoons. Confident of liquidating most of this by July

Rural sentiments are good due - good pre monsoon showers + good Rabi crop

Volume growth for FY 25 @ 10 pc, Price growth @ (-) 8 pc

Volume growth for Q4 @ 40 pc, Price growth @ (-) 8 pc

Aim to clock sales of around 10-15 cr for FY 26 from their new Herbicide - Altair. Confident of ramping it upto 40 cr and more by FY 27. It’s a specialised ( but expensive ) product

Seeing shortages in the mkt wrt a lot of Herbicides - augurs well for the company / industry

Seeing upward price revisions in both RM and Formulation prices in Apr/May - again augurs well for the company

Guiding for a double digit topline growth for FY 26

Company’s subsidiary - Kaeros Ltd made a PAT of 2 cr in FY 25 ( it was acquired by IIL in FY 25 ). Company expects Kaeros to make a PAT of > 10 cr in FY 26. Thereafter ( FY 27 onwards ), should make significant progress

Should launch 4-5 specialised 9(3) products in FY 26

Working with a number of innovator companies for CMO opportunities for export markets. Will declare publicly when significant deals are announced

Three growth drivers for next 2-3 yrs for the company should be - premiumisation of their product portfolio, introduction of new AIs + Formulations, CMO opportunities for export markets

Kaeros should be able to clock > 100 cr sales for FY 26

Product wise sales break up for FY 25 -

Insecticides - 49 pc
Herbicides - 37 pc
Fungicides - 10 pc
Biologicals - 4 pc

Maharatna and Focus Maharatna product sales grew by 13 pc in FY 25 ( which resulted in margin expansion )

Altair - Herbicide in licensed from Nissan is available exclusively to Insecticides India

Did see some disruptions in production at their Samba and Udhampur plants as there was labour shortage during the buildup of Indo-Pak tensions in early May

Should be able to maintain 11 pc kind of EBITDA margins for FY 26. Should be able to improve margins by another 100-200 bps over next 3-4 yrs ( it should be a gradual improvement YoY )

Disc: holding, biased, inclined to add more, not SEBI registered, posted for educational purposes

2 Likes

Insecticides India -

Q1 FY 25 results and Concall highlights -

Revenues - 691 vs 657 cr, up 5 pc
Gross margins @ 29.2 vs 27.6 ( descent improvement )
EBITDA - 85 vs 72 cr, up 17 pc ( margins @ 12.2 vs 11 pc )
PAT - 58 vs 49 cr, up 18 pc ( PAT margins @ 8.4 vs 7.5 pc )

Segmental sales -

B2C @ 75 vs 71 pc ( 52 pc B2C sales came from Maharatna + focus Maharatna products )
B2B @ 23 vs 27 pc
Exports @ 2 vs 3 pc

New product launch in Q1 FY 26 - Altair ( a herbicide for paddy crop - in-licensed from Japan Chemical Corporation, its an on patent product ) - this is their 7th in - licensed product from Nissan. Aim to clock sales of around 10-15 cr for FY 26 from this new Herbicide - Altair. Confident of ramping it upto 40 cr and more by FY 27. It’s a specialised ( but expensive ) product. Its available only to Insecticides India ( at the moment )

Product wise revenue break up -

Insecticides - 49 pc
Herbicides - 37 pc
Fungicides - 10 pc
Biologicals - 4 pc

Manufacturing footprint -

2 - Active ingredients plants ( @ Chopanki and Dahej )
6 - Formulation plants ( @ Chopanki, Dahej - 1, Dahej - 2, Udhampur, Samba, Sotanala )

1 - Biologics plant ( Shamli )

4 - R&D centers

Company is going to spend Rs 125 cr over next 2 yrs @ Sotanala to set up the AI + Formulations facility. This facility should have a peak revenue potential of aprox 500 cr

Some of company’s leading brands include -

Lethal - Anti-Termite ( a leading, 37 yr old brand ) Shinwa - Insecticide ( in-licensed from Nissan )
Torry - Herbicide
Hachiman - Herbicide ( in-licensed from Nissan ) Pulsor - Fungicide ( in-licensed from Nissan )
Green Label - Herbicide
Hercules - Insecticide
Mission - Insecticide
Terrox - Herbicide
Green Expert - Herbicide
Green Label - Herbicide
Pulsor - Fungicide

At present, company has 16 Focus Maharana products ( vs 12 in FY 24 ). These r high growth, high margin products ( mostly with Pan India presence ). Maharatna products are currently smaller with regional presence. Aim is to keep graduating more products from Maharatna to Focus Maharatna category. These Maharatna + Focus Maharatna products have gross margins > 35 pc vs 15 pc for plain vanilla generics ( taken from LY’s concall )

For a product to be categorised as Focus Maharatna, it has to do an annual sales of > 35 cr with > 35 pc GMs

Maharatna + Focus Maharatna products grew by 20 pc in Q1

Products launched LY are doing exceedingly well ( many have entered Maharatna range )

Launched - Sparkle, a broad spectrum Insecticide in Q2 ( in licensed from Cortewa Agriscience )

Investing aggressively behind marketing and farmer education via relentless farmer meets

Dahej technical plant has gone live in Q2. Company expects to clock 100 cr in sales from this plant in FY 26 + 40-50 pc CAGR for next 3-4 yrs from this plant

Wrt Sothanala formulations unit - hope to start production in next yr’s kharif season. Sothanala technical plant should go live by end of next FY

Company aspires to keep improving their EBITDA margins by 100 bps every year for next 2 - 3 yrs ( due to company’s sustained efforts towards premiumisation )

Kaeros ( their subsidiary ) should be able to clock 100 cr in sales in FY 26 and 150 cr by next FY

Seeing very good demand scenario for agrochemicals in July + Aug

Not seeing elevated inventory levels in the market in Q2

B2B sales were slow in Q1. Expecting them to pickup from Q2 onwards

Aiming to grow topline by 10 pc for FY 26 with EBITDA margins > 11 pc for FY 26 ( assumption - on a sale of 2200 cr and 12 pc EBITDA margins, full yr EBITDA should be around 264 cr vs 220 cr for LY )

Company’s sales breakup for Q1:Q2:Q3:Q4 is generally @ 30:30:20:20 ( with some minor variations )

Company generally gets a sales return of 3 pc of sales. Company always makes adequate provisions for the same

40 pc of company’s premium product sales come from South India

Disc: holding, biased, not SEBI registered, not a buy/sell recommendation, posted for educational purposes

1 Like

Insecticides India -

Q2 FY 26 results and concall highlights -

Revenues - 638 vs 627 cr, up 2 pc
Gross margins @ 34.5 vs 31.7 pc ( encouraging )
EBITDA - 89 vs 90 cr ( margins @ 14 vs 14.3 pc )
PAT - 59 vs 61 cr

Channel wise sales breakup -

B2C - 77 vs 84 pc
B2B - 19 vs 14 pc
Exports - 4 vs 2 pc

Breakup of B2C sales -

Premium - 65 vs 67 pc
Generic sales - 35 vs 33 pc

Company’s manufacturing facilities -

Shamli - Biologics Unit
Chopanki - Formulations Unit
Samba - Formulations Unit
Udhampur - Formulations Unit
Chopanki - Active Ingredients Unit
Dahej - 2 X Formulation Units
Dahej - Active Ingredients Unit
Sotanala - Upcoming Formulations + Active Ingredients Unit

Comments from Q1 concall -

At present, company has 16 Focus Maharana products ( vs 12 in FY 24 ). These r high growth, high margin products ( mostly with Pan India presence ). Maharatna products are currently smaller with regional presence. Aim is to keep graduating more products from Maharatna to Focus Maharatna category. These Maharatna + Focus Maharatna products have gross margins > 35 pc vs 15 pc for plain vanilla generics ( taken from LY’s concall )

For a product to be categorised as Focus Maharatna, it has to do an annual sales of > 35 cr with > 35 pc GMs

Maharatna + Focus Maharatna products grew by 20 pc in Q1

New product launch in Q1 FY 26 - Altair ( a herbicide for paddy crop - in-licensed from Japan Chemical Corporation, its an on patent product ) - this is their 7th in - licensed product from Nissan. Aim to clock sales of around 10-15 cr for FY 26 from this new Herbicide - Altair. Confident of ramping it upto 40 cr and more by FY 27. It’s a specialised ( but expensive ) product. Its available only to Insecticides India ( at the moment )

Launched - Sparkle, a broad spectrum Insecticide in Q2 ( in licensed from Cortewa Agriscience )

Dahej technical plant has gone live in Q2. Company expects to clock 100 cr in sales from this plant in FY 26 + 40-50 pc CAGR for next 3-4 yrs from this plant

Wrt Sothanala formulations unit - hope to start production in next yr’s kharif season. Sothanala technical plant should go live by end of next FY

Company is going to spend Rs 125 cr over next 2 yrs @ Sotanala to set up the AI + Formulations facility. This facility should have a peak revenue potential of aprox 500 cr

Comments from Q2 concall -

Q2 domestic demand was adversely affected by excessive rains. Q2 export demand from SE Asia, Latam was particularly encouraging

New launches in Q2 - Patented Fungicide - Amuse, Centran SC - an insecticide, Brahmos - another insecticide, Sparke - an in licensed broad spectrum insecticide ( sourced from Cortewa Agrisciences )

Centran SC is seeing very good demand. Should do well in H2. Other products expected to do well in H2 include - Shinwa ( an insecticide in-licensed from Nissan corporation ) and Torry ( a herbicide )

Focus Maharatna + Maharatna segments did not witness any volume growth in Q2 ( mainly due large sale returns in Herbicides segments due excessive rains ). Sales return in Q2 stood at 150 cr vs 100 cr in Q2 LY. However, this is a normal phenomenon and happens whenever there are extreme weather vagaries

Had earlier guided to bring down inventories down to 600 cr levels by end of current FY. That may not be achievable due a weak season in Q2. Company may close the year with Inventories @ around 800 cr levels

Company was still able to report growth in Q2 due aggressive hiring in sales / field force in the previous FY. Their teams did a lot of good work wrt demand generation / pushing sales

boardstewardship.com

Devendra Kumar Ray Appointed As COO Of Insecticides India – boardstewardship.com

Have hired Mr Devendra ray as new COO ( Ex - PI Industries ) - a good move ( IMHO ) :backhand_index_pointing_up:

Company’s continued focus towards Focus + Focus Maharatna products is move that’s margin accretive in medium to long term ( should keep inching upwards in an increment fashion )

Most of the AIs ( > 70 pc ) that go into Maharatna + Focus Maharatna products are made in house or sourced through their MNC collaboration partners

Exports should hold up well in H2 as well

Backward Integration in AI manufacturing is a continuous process that the company engages in { they keep going back in terms of performing N-1, N-2, N-3, N-4 ( and so on ) steps - in house as the molecule’s traction keeps improving }

Should still be able to clock double digit growth for full FY ( despite going through a tough H1 )

Company believes H2 should be much better than LY due much better situation wrt moisture levels in the soil and higher reservoir levels

Disc: holding, biased, not a buy/sell recommendation, not SEBI registered, posted for educational purposes

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