UltraTech Cement Ltd Q2 2021 Earnings Call Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Ritesh Shah - Investec Bank plc, Research Division - Analyst : Congratulations on good set of numbers. Sir, would it be possible for you to provide some color on white cement and putty market? Specific [counts] on market share and profitability will be quite useful. And some color on the RMC margin, please? So that's the first question.

Question: Ritesh Shah - Investec Bank plc, Research Division - Analyst : Sir, would it be possible for you to quantify the market share or the volume that we have lost this quarter or in first half? So the sense that I have is basically, we have lost some market share over here. Please correct me if I'm wrong. And if that was the case...

Question: Ritesh Shah - Investec Bank plc, Research Division - Analyst : Hello?

Question: Ritesh Shah - Investec Bank plc, Research Division - Analyst : And sir, putty?

Question: Ritesh Shah - Investec Bank plc, Research Division - Analyst : Putty together, okay. Okay. And sir, in the initial comment, you did indicate a sweeter opportunity knocks the door, and we are holding a good sense of treasury. What is the thought process, sir, over here? Like we have done a phenomenal job on balance sheet side. You did indicate year-end leverage ratio that we would end up on net debt-to-EBITDA. But from a capital allocation point of view, how should one look at it? Is it like we are saving growth or should one expect a higher dividend payout going forward? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. OCTOBER 21, 2020 / 10:30AM, ULTC.NS - Q2 2021 UltraTech Cement Ltd Earnings Call

Question: Gunjan Prithyani - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Just 2 questions from my side. Firstly, just trying to understand this volume outperformance a bit better. Is it that you saw the nontrade markets also recovering in this quarter and that could position us in a better position? Is there anything to read in terms of trade, nontrade market share out here? And if you can just give the mix also, what is it now for UltraTech?

Question: Gunjan Prithyani - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Sorry, sir, I missed that remark. It is versus last quarter, how is it?

Question: Gunjan Prithyani - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Okay. So it could be that... REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. OCTOBER 21, 2020 / 10:30AM, ULTC.NS - Q2 2021 UltraTech Cement Ltd Earnings Call Unidentified Company Representative But it is better than last year.

Question: Gunjan Prithyani - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Okay. Got it. But looking at the outperformance, it could also be that nontrade has come back, which is, in a way we were kind of ready for any demand that came to the market?

Question: Gunjan Prithyani - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Okay. The second question I had was on the cost side. Now clearly, there are some pressures building up on the fuel -- on the diesel and the pet coke. I just want to understand, is there any inflation that reflected in quarter 2? If not, what kind of increase we should work with for second half, both on a pet coke and the freight side?

Question: Gunjan Prithyani - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Okay. So the shift would happen towards international coal?

Question: Gunjan Prithyani - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Okay. So 10% on power and fuel, and on the freight?

Question: Gunjan Prithyani - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : But the diesel may...

Question: Gunjan Prithyani - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : Okay. Got it. Okay. Just last clarification on the pricing adjusted. On the pure cement business, can you give a sense on a Q-on-Q basis how much was your realization down for the cement business?

Question: Gunjan Prithyani - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst :

Question: Gunjan Prithyani - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Analyst : It is 2% to 3% down?

Question: Ashish G. Jain - Macquarie Research - Analyst : My first question is on pricing. Can you just share how your regional prices moved on a sequential basis? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. OCTOBER 21, 2020 / 10:30AM, ULTC.NS - Q2 2021 UltraTech Cement Ltd Earnings Call

Question: Ashish G. Jain - Macquarie Research - Analyst : Okay. And sir, on the cost front, so in the last quarter you had indicated like a decline of INR 500 crores, INR 550 crores and now like you indicated INR 450 crores of that has been achieved. So going ahead, will this start reflecting in other expenses in a material way? The context I'm asking this is also from a repair and maintenance cost point of view. How much of that have you actually done in first half? And could that be a big driver of how costs move in the second half?

Question: Ashish G. Jain - Macquarie Research - Analyst : Sir, actually, that was the context of my question. Unidentified Company Representative Some kilns will come back.

Question: Milind Raginwar - Centrum Broking Limited, Research Division - Analyst : I have some -- initially to start with some bookkeeping questions. One is in September '19 quarter in the 17.77, we did something like 0.3 -- 0.32 of white. So what would be that number for 19.21 this time?

Question: Milind Raginwar - Centrum Broking Limited, Research Division - Analyst : Yes, sir, in terms of... Unidentified Company Representative Volume of white cement is 3.3 lakhs.

Question: Milind Raginwar - Centrum Broking Limited, Research Division - Analyst : Okay. Yes. And sir, if I have heard it correctly, did you mention that the RMC and white cement numbers were 4.34 billion -- INR 434 crores, INR 435 crores each. Is that the right understanding? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. OCTOBER 21, 2020 / 10:30AM, ULTC.NS - Q2 2021 UltraTech Cement Ltd Earnings Call

Question: Milind Raginwar - Centrum Broking Limited, Research Division - Analyst : Each, right?

Question: Milind Raginwar - Centrum Broking Limited, Research Division - Analyst : Correct. Correct. Okay. Right. Sir, I mean, just understanding despite the RMC business coming back strongly on a sequential basis, the logistic cost on a per tonne basis is still more or less same. So -- and the diesel prices also...

Question: Milind Raginwar - Centrum Broking Limited, Research Division - Analyst : Okay. Okay. Maybe for a better understanding, I may take this off-line. Right. Yes, sir, actually, this was 3, 4 line item question that I wanted to understand.