Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to the Ashoka Buildcon Limited Q2 FY 2024 Earnings Conference Call hosted by JM Financial. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen only mode. There will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during this conference, please signal an operator by pressing star and then zero on your touchtone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. 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 the date of this call. These statements are not the guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Ashish Shah from JM Financial. Thank you, and over to you, sir. Yeah, thank you, Dolan. Very good afternoon to everyone. On behalf of JM Financial Institutional Securities, I welcome you all to the Q2 FY24 Earnings Conference Call of Ashoka Buildcon Limited. Today, we have from the management, Mr. Satish Parakh, Managing Director, and Mr. Paresh Mehta, the Chief Financial Officer of the company. I hand over the call to Mr. Parakh for his opening remarks, after which we will move on to the Q&A. Thank you, sir. Over to you. Thank you, Ashish. Good afternoon, everyone. Hope everyone is doing well. On behalf of Ashoka Buildcon Limited, I extend my warm welcome to everyone joining us today to discuss our business and financial results for quarter and half year ended 30th September 2023. On this call, we're joined by Mr. Paresh Mehta, our CFO, and SGA, our Investor Relations Advisor. Let me start with the sector update. As per the research reports, following are the key highlights of the sector. The execution orders of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is expected to increase by 16%-21%, that is, 12,000-12,500 km. That is 33-34 km a day in FY 2024. This is on the back of healthy unexecuted order book and an increased budget outlay of 25% in FY 2024 budget for MoRTH. Execution increased by 9.8% year-on-year. That is 3,196 km in five months of FY 2024, compared to 2,912 km in five months of FY 2023, and is expected to gain momentum in coming quarters ahead of general elections in next year. However, MoRTH awards of 2024 up to August 2023 declined by 34.8% to 1,756 km from 2,706 km during the similar period of FY 2023. The overall MoRTH awards are expected to fall to 9,000-9,500 km in FY 2024, from 12,375 km in FY 2023. Owing to the likely slowdown in bidding activity before the general elections, which are to be held in May 2024. Previously, during 2023, awards by MoRTH declined marginally by 2.8% compared to 12,731 kilometers. So this year we have seen a decline of 35% in August. Now, on the projects front, I'll give you an update. In the month of September 2023, company has received a letter of award for Power Distribution Infrastructure development projects for 4 circles in the state of Maharashtra from MSEDCL, for an accepted contract value of INR 646 crores. In addition to that, for one more circle at Osmanabad has been awarded for INR 125 crore in the month of October 2023. With this current order book, for the Power T&D stands at INR 6,250 crore. However, we have also been awarded one project in October 2023, for construction of cable-stayed bridge at Khammam, Telangana, for total consideration of INR 146 crore, adding to the current order book of road EPC to INR 5,388 crore. Two of our HAM projects with NHAI has received Certificate of Commercial Operation Dates in the month of September 2023. CoD was received for section of Tumkur-Shivamogga project, that is Karad to Banavara, package TS2 in Karnataka. Another CoD was received in October 2023, for section of Tumkur-Shivamogga project from Banavara to Bettadahalli, package TS3. One of the company's SPV, Abhijeet Ashoka Infrastructure Private Limited, has handed over the Wainganga Bridge project, which was on BOT basis, back to the PWD authority on September 20, 2023. After the expiry of construction period, as per the terms of the construction agreement and arbitration awards. On asset monetization, the company had entered into share purchase agreement with Mahanagar Gas Limited for the sale of 100% stake along with Morgan Stanley Fund, held in Unison Enviro Private Limited, a subsidiary of the company. Also, it has entered into SPA for sale of its stake in Jaora-Nayagaon Toll Road Project and Chennai ORR Project. The company and its subsidiary, Ashoka Concessions Limited, are at the advanced stage in respect of divestment of their entire stake in certain subsidiaries engaged in construction of, construction and operation of road projects on HAM basis and BOT basis awarded by NHAI. Considering high probability of sale getting completed in next 12 months, the assets and liabilities of these subsidiaries are continued to be classified as held for sale. Coming to the order book, as on September 13, 2023, our order book stands at INR 14,795 crores. The breakup of order book for roads and railway projects comprise of INR 7,842 crores, which is 53% of the total order book. Along the road of project order book, HAM projects are to the tune of INR 1,299 crores. EPC orders are worth INR 5,242 crores, and railway is around INR 1,302 crores. Power T&D and others account for INR 6,126 crores, which is approximately 41% of the total order book. The total EPC building segment is INR 789 crores, which is 5% of the total order book, and CGD comprises of around INR 29 crores. We have dropped the Maldives EPC project from the order book, as financial closure could not happen or could not be achieved by the government of Maldives and Exim Bank. Let me reiterate that our focus remains to build sustainable EPC business in segments of highways, railways, Power T&D, and buildings. This is all from my side. I will now request Mr. Paresh Mehta to present the financial performance. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Good afternoon to one and all participants on this call. The results, investor presentation, and the press release have already been uploaded on the stock exchanges and the company website. I'm sure you must have had time to go through the same. Now, I'll present the financial results for the quarter and half year ended on September 13, 2023. The total income for Q2 FY 2024 stood at INR 1,590 crores, as compared to INR 1,310 crores in the corresponding quarter last year, registering a growth of 21%. EBITDA for the quarter stood at INR 172 crores, with an EBITDA margin of 10.8%. The reported PBT stood at INR 95 crores and PAT at INR 71 crores. For H1 FY 2024, the total income stood at INR 3,147 crores, as compared to INR 2,820 crores in the corresponding period last half year, registering a growth of 12%. EBITDA for the period stood at INR 268 crores with an EBITDA margin of 8.5%. The reported PBT stood at INR 117 crores, and PAT is INR 88 crores. Our debt-to-equity ratio stood at 0.38x, as on 13th September 2023. Coming to the consolidated results, the total income for Q2 FY 2024 grew by 19% year-on-year to INR 2,195 crores, as compared to INR 1,845 crores in Q2 FY 2023. EBITDA stood at INR 587 crores for Q2 FY 2024, with a margin of 26.7%. The reported profit after tax is at INR 119 crores in Q2 FY 2024. For half year FY 2024, the total income stood at INR 4,169 crores, as compared to INR 3,761 crores in the corresponding period last year, registering a growth of 11%. EBITDA for the period stood at INR 1,098 crores, with an EBITDA margin of 26.3%. The reported PBT stood at INR 264 crores and PAT at INR 191 crores. Total consolidated debt as on 13th September 2023 stood at INR 7,200 crores, of which project debt is INR 5,932 crores. NCD stood at INR 200 crores at ACL level, 150 crores at ACL level. The standalone debt is at INR 1,118 crores, which comprises of INR 220 crores of equipment loan and INR 898 crores of working capital loan. On hand projects, as mentioned in opening remarks by Mr. Parakh, we have received COD declarations for two sections of Tumkur-Shivamogga projects in September 2023 and October 2023. Post that, the SPAs are now eligible for receipt of annuity payments from NHAI for the operation period of 15 years at the interval of every six months from the date of the achievement of COD, DCOD. Towards our BOT division, during Q2 FY 2024, it recorded a gross total collection of INR 307 crores, as against INR 273 crores in Q2 FY 2022. Whereas in H1 FY 2024, it recorded a gross total collection of INR 624 crores as against INR 550 crores in H1 FY 2023. With this, we now open the floor for question and answers. Thank you. Thank you very much. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touchtone phone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question is from the line of Parikshit Kandpal from HDFC Securities. Please go ahead. Yes, sir. Hi, congratulations on a decent quarter. So my first question is on the three assets monetization, Chennai ORR, Jaora, and also what stage of approval, especially the government- Sorry to interrupt, but the line for you sounds very muffled. Hello, is it better now? Hello. Uh, yes. So my question was, on what stage of government approval have we secured for the Chennai ORR and the Jaora-Nayagaon project? Because it, it involves, governor, the Tamil Nadu governor and the principal secretary and the Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation. So at what stage of progress we have achieved till now on the government side on approving this investment? We have received NOC for Chennai ORR, but we are yet to receive NOC for Jaora-Nayagaon project. So this NOC for Chennai ORR, we got after almost a delay of 1.5 years. Now, this has resulted in, you know, renegotiation with our JV partner on the price to be given to him, and that is now under process. Jaora-Nayagaon, we are yet to get, which we feel we'll get only after these elections are over and new government is formed. Okay. So Chennai ORR, government approvals are in place. Now it's only the partner, where we have to renegotiate, Right. on the valuation. And on... What about those lenders, NOC on this or other approvals? Lenders NOC are in place for Chennai ORR and Jaora. Okay. So Chennai, when do you expect to close the deal and money coming in, when do you think that's possible, both on Chennai and on MGL, if you can, for these two assets, at least you can update us? So we should be able to see something by Q4, and we should be able to... This gas definitely will go from our portfolio by this Q4. And, Chennai also, we are trying to resolve with our partners to see how we can close this asset sale. Okay. And just on the HAM asset sale monetization. So we have been hearing every quarter and the goalposts are now getting shifted. So if you can update us, why is—what is the stumbling block here? And it has been widely reported in media, and it is coming. You also highlighted that H1 should have got closed, at least in Q3. These SP should have got signed. So what's the status on approval there? Where are we in stage of negotiation, and when do we expect to close this deal? So, on this, we are under discussions for the share purchase agreement for with the potential investors. There is a set of 11 projects. It's a 11 project deal, so it has taken some time to close out on the SPA. We are in the process, and we should be achieving it at the earliest. Well, are you looking at the Q3 now, sir, or it will move into Q4 next year? We expect the SPA should happen before Q3. By Q3. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Okay, we'll keep doing this. So can you... The last question on margins. I mean, we have now recovered our margins are now over 9% standalone basis. So is the worst of the margin behind us now, and now we look at, as you had earlier highlighted towards Q4, moving towards double digits. So are we on track to achieve double-digit margins by Q4? Yeah. So as we had indicated in the last call, this couple of quarters will continue with this margins of approximately 8%-9%. And then Q1 FY25, we'll see recovery of these margins when substantial portion of lower margin projects will get over and higher margin projects will take over. So what kind of band you're looking from Q1 FY25? Is it more like 10-11 or it's like 11-12? 10-11. Okay. That is the sustainable margin for us, right? That should be our target, even for our new project. Just lastly, on the BOT asset, sir. So what stage of like, have shortlisted potential investor, like last time you said that maybe, we finalize, on non-binding type of a thing and look at finalizing a couple of investors and proceeding with this. So what stage are we now on the BOT own assets, and when do we expect to close it? On the BOT assets, as indicated, we have received NBO offers, and the potential investors have started diligence on the projects. Some diligence, I mean, just started. We should see some progress by Q3 end on closure of the diligence and then Q4 by signing up some SPA. Okay. Okay, sir, thank you, and wish you all the best, and wish you happy New Year. Those, those are my questions. Thank you. Thank you. The next question is from the line of Mohit Kumar from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead. Good afternoon, sir, and thanks for the opportunity. The first question is, sir, can you please help us with the impact of interest cost which you're providing for the SBI Macquarie in FY25? ...So it's approximately INR 24 crore per quarter. Understood, sir. My second question is on the how is the work progress on this RDSS scheme, especially for the Maharashtra? And what is your scope of work? Is it including buying transformers, SCADA, laying wires, et cetera, et cetera. And, and also if you can help with the, the repayment, the payment profile. Are we getting paid on time? How is the receivables? So Maharashtra and UP, MP, BR, all these are RDSS projects where these are distribution lines and transformer related projects. Nothing to do with SCADA or metering. These are regular distribution projects, which company had been doing last almost one and a half decades. Understood, sir. My last question is, how is the tender... So another on the payment, sir. On the payment, are you receiving payment on time? How is it, you know, your experience with the compared to what it did last, compared to what you used to do earlier? Is it better payment terms? Yeah. All these projects are just started. We have received mobilization advance in almost all the projects, except the last few projects, which were awarded in the last quarter. And billing also, cycle seems to be quite efficient now. My last question is, how is the tender pipeline from NHAI? Are you expecting some increase in BOT tenders? See, NHAI for EPC and HAM, though they have a pipeline, but this is continuously getting extended, because nowadays all approvals are coming from Finance Ministry and finance committees. So this, the ordering is getting delayed. Though we see the pipeline, but continuous extension in the billing dates is not resulting in any of the awards. Understood, sir. Thank you. It remains at, EPC and HAM level. BOT is what NHAI is exploring, and they may come out with certain bids very soon. They've identified around 20 projects. I don't know how many of them will really see the light of the day. Understood, sir. Understood, sir. Thank you, sir. Thank you very much. Thank you. The next question is from the line of Bhavya Shah from Sambhavna Securities. Please go ahead. Hello. Thank you for the opportunity. So I just wanted to know on the three assets sale, that is the Chennai ORR, which Jaora-Nayagaon, and the sale of the Mahanagar Gas. So do you have any specific deadlines in place for closing these transactions? See, no specific deadlines. These are taking their own time. Mahanagar Gas, now the period of, was up to 30th September, that lock-in has been over by 30th September. So we are expecting in the next board meeting, they should clear this. After that, there are some CPs to be completed, and transaction will get completed on Mahanagar. So there we see certainty. As far as Chennai ORR is concerned, we got NOC, but it was delayed by almost one and a half years. Now, since this delay in time lapse, there has been some difference of opinion with the partners. So we have renegotiated their part of the cost, which we have to purchase, and then sell to NIIF. So if this takes place mutually agreed terms, we should be able to close in Q4. As far as Jaora-Nayagaon is concerned, we have still not received NOC, so only the new government will have to pursue it, and maybe Q4 or early Q1, we'll get the NOC, and we'll be able to complete the transaction. Understood. And my second question is on the order books. So when the whole sector is receiving a lot, lot of orders, our order book has been a little lackluster. So are we planning to aggressive bids for more orders in the future? And what kind of order could that be? It will be more of the road EPCs, or we are pivoting towards the power T&D higher margins. So looking at order book, our focus definitely will remain on highways. We would pursue our EPC and HAM projects and may also participate in some of the BOT projects of highways. Now, these orders, we hope that next month onward, they should really pick up, and we will be able to bag good number of orders by March end. As far as, railways is concerned, they are also aggressive in coming out with a lot of projects, and we have a now good foothold in railways, where we have completed our Punjab project, and other projects are also now advanced stage of completion. So railways would be another focus for the company. Power T&D, we have enough of order books in our hand, so we'll not be aggressive in this sector, but if we get at good margins, definitely we'll participation will be there, and we will pick up some good orders. As far as buildings is concerned, this is a new segment. Our SBI project is moving as expected, and we do expect some orders in building segment also in coming future. Got it. Thank you so much, and all the best. Thank you. The next question is from the line of Nikhil Abhyankar from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead. Thank you, sir. Thanks for the opportunity. Can you tell us something about the bidding pipeline that is there till the March of 2024? Because after December, January, most likely there won't be any orders given out. So how are we looking at it, and how much orders in total are we targeting for this year? Yeah. So bidding pipeline-wise, if you see NHAI and MoRTH is going up around INR 75,000 crore, on the book, which is a significant 3,600 kilometers around. And, our target, we are expecting around INR 4,000 crore-INR 5,000 crore to bag all across sectors like roads, railways, power together. Okay. Sir, under railways, are there any more opportunities remaining in station redevelopment? Station redevelopment, we are not participating yet. Okay. Because these are development of projects and connected to real estate projects, so we are not participating in these projects. Okay, okay, understood. Sir, any, any update on the NTPC project? NTPC is moving well. We have almost procured all the modules, and now erection is underway. Payments are also being done by NTPC in time, and they are also paying us reimbursement of custom duty. So NTPC is moving as targeted. So, we should expect to make money in this project? We have already booked loss in this project in last quarter, and this would remain the number. It will remain same. Okay, so no more profits, no more losses on that project? No, no more profits. Okay, understood, sir. Thank you, and all the best. Thank you. Thank you. The next question is from the line of Dr. Amit Vora from The Homeopathic Clinic. Please go ahead. Yeah. Am I audible? Yes, yes. Acha. Sir, about the margins, you said the margins would improve from the fourth quarter or the first quarter of next financial year? Yes, by the first quarter of the next financial year. Next financial year. Okay, any target for this full year? Where do you see yourself in terms of sales? We should be able to grow by around 15%. 15% this year or able for next 2, 3 years? This year, 15%. Next years will, of course, depend on bagging of orders. Okay. Sir, railways is coming out with a lot of big ticket projects, in terms of this, Bombay, Ahmedabad, and many other. So any plans of going for railways projects? Not only bullet train, but other projects of railways. Yes, we are focused on railways, and we are working with various verticals of railways, and railway would be a focus area along with highways going ahead. So one last question about there was just some complaint regarding some bribery. So, can you update us on that? What is the status right now, and how will it affect the company or it will not affect anymore? See, there is a status quo on this issue. Nothing has really moved in last quarter, and it's really not affecting company in any way. Okay, okay. Thank you so much. That's it from my end. Thank you. The next question is from the line of Vishal Periwal from IDBI Capital. Please go ahead. Yeah, sir. Thanks for the opportunity. A couple of questions. One clarification, the previous participant, you mentioned 15% number. So this was regarding what, sir? 15% growth this year is what is the guidance we have given. Turnover, revenue, top line. Okay, sure. And, in the Power T&D, can you give some color, like, you know, what is the execution timeframe for these orders? Are they short cycle order or, I mean, like, similar to what road sector, like little long period order, can you give some color? These, most of the orders are two years timeline. Okay. And, I mean, like, you know, since, I mean, like, you know, we are getting LOAs from that, one should consider a two-year kind of execution for these orders? Yes, yes. These are all from LOA dates. Okay, okay. And, one, color on this, awarding, for the road sector. I think you did mention, like, you know, it has been a bit weak, but even in terms of execution and then, I mean, construction side, are you seeing any stress or probably increase in the receivables? Because there again, like, you know, the role of financially also comes in. So any, any delay on that front are you seeing for us, for, for the sector? See, execution-wise, NHAI is doing well. We are also doing very much with their expectations. So execution-wise, there is no challenge. Payment-wise, there is no challenge as far as NHAI is concerned. They are paying very much in time. Sure, sure. Got it. That, that helps me, sir. Thank you very much. That's all from my side. Thank you. We have the next question from the line of Vasudev from Nuvama. Please go ahead. Yeah. Thank you for the opportunity, sir. So, what are your pending equity commitments, and, you know, how much will infusion through FY 24, 25 and 26? Could not hear you. Could you go again, go again? Sir, I was asking about pending equity commitments and how much do we plan to infuse in H2 of FY 2024 and 2025, 2026? So by the end of 2023-24, our equipment commitment pending is INR 147 crore. for INR 24 crore, INR 25 crore, INR 56 crore. These are for the AM projects. So totally, approximately at INR 200 crore. Okay. Can you help me with the segmental revenue make up for Q2? Yeah. So this being a lean quarter because of rains, the EPC road revenue was INR 872 crore. Power was INR 405 crore. Railways was INR 173 crore. CGD was a small amount, INR 6 crore, and other sector was approximately INR 63 crore. More than about that, RMC business was around INR 38 crore. Okay, sir. So just one clarification. So you said that we are targeting to INR 4,000-INR 5,000 crore of order wins. So that is incremental order wins for FY 2024 or for the full year? That is incremental order we are targeting. Okay. Sure, sir. Just one last question from my side: What is the CapEx that we did in Q2, and how much are we planning for the full year? The CapEx for up to date was around INR 79 crore, and maybe the pending CapEx would be approximately INR 50-odd crore for March 2024. Okay, sure. That's it from my side. Thank you, and see you later. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, to ask a question, you may please press star and one. The next question is from the line of Devam Modi from Ardeko. Please go ahead. Yes, yes, sir. Just, we have seen a high year-on-year traffic, I mean, collection growth rate in Bhandara, Durg, Jaora-Nayagaon, and Sambalpur. If you can just explain the reasons for this, sort of double-digit plus toll collection growth rate in the last couple of quarters in both, in these four projects. So, I mean, actually, this is the impact of economic growth. No specific reason for this growth. Of course, if you see, revenue rise in the Jaora-Nayagaon project was 7%, that is toll rate rise. And in the Bhandara and Durg, this was almost 9%. So, keeping that apart and probably in the and also in the NHAI project, approximately five point three percent. So, keeping that aside, these growth rates are more from the industry pattern, which is there. No exceptional impact. Would it be fair to say that the environment for toll roads in terms of economic environment, in terms of the pace of traffic growth and all those things have been there in the last 1- 1.5 years, plus the kind of multiples these assets are fetching in the private markets or on the... I, I think the first inward for toll roads. One of the, one of the other private inwards for toll roads is also out with its tubes inward. So would it be fair to say that the valuation environment as well as the economic environment, both have improved much more after the cancellation of the deal with KKR? Definitely, there is a lot of interest for looking at BOT projects, toll booth projects. And, traffic for the last two years typically also indicate high growth in the traffic revenue. So interest is there, and also, government also is intending to take out projects, a few on the BOT projects, which we don't know when it will see the light of the day, but there is interest in people to buy BOT assets, toll booth. We understand that in Belgaum, Dankuni, Jaora, and Sambalpur, I mean, what you have shown in the presentation, that we have premiums which are payable. So what would be the current year premium? Because it's a 5% escalation from appointed days in each of the projects. So what would be the current year cumulative premium that you have to pay in all these four projects? One second. Approximately INR 200 crore in Dankuni, and around INR 45 crore- INR 65 crore in Belgaum. The other two would be much smaller, right? That is very nominal. It was, say, approximately INR 1.3, 1.5, 1.8 crores. Okay, sure. And would there be any major threat on the Jaora-Nayagaon traffic from any alternate road or stretch which could be coming up? Because that used to be a big thing, NH3 - NH8 transfer. So now how, how should one look at it and, I mean, what kind of sort of longevity should that road have? Any, any thoughts or flavor you can provide on that front? See, over the years, we have seen that, the traffic, though, there are alternative routes coming in, but traffic has generally been increasing. So, we don't see a significant threat. There will be some shift in traffic off and on, but I think so we should expect a typical growth of 6%-7%, traffic growth. 5%-6%. Sure. And, I understand you gave updates on the sale of Chennai ORR and Jaora-Nayagaon in terms of the status of the NOCs and the probably renegotiation with the partner. Any update on Unison Enviro with regards to the... where the sale is ongoing right now? Yeah. So, we have, the lenders have already cleared the NOC from their side. We are waiting for PNGRB. Their blocking period has already expired on thirtieth September, and, the NOC is also already lined up with the PNGRB board. So we should get that by by the before the month end, then, then we should try to conclude the transaction in the next month, or latest, by Jan. All right, sure, sir. And just an input that we have seen multiple other similar peers to you who have announced transactions of similar kinds of assets, probably higher or lower in complexity, but somehow those transactions are consummated much faster. So any learnings or any particular things that you would like to highlight, why somehow our transactions are taking much longer? Or, anything you feel is affecting our consummation of transactions? I would not be able to compare timelines with any other peer, because everybody starts at a particular angle and closes. I don't know how many actual SPAs have closed at this moment. People are in discussions on LOIs as well as SPA. We believe that our SPA discussions are going on. In view of the 11 transactions, definitely it takes more time, because each project has its nuances, and closing takes some time. So it has overshot our estimate, but I think we conclude in this month. Okay, sure, sir. Thanks. That's it from my side. Thank you. The next question is from the line of Anupam Gupta from IIFL Securities. Please go ahead. Yeah, Anupam, sir. Just a couple of questions. Firstly, on the standalone debt, if we... So during the first half, we actually saw a sharp increase in the standalone net debt, per se. How do you look at it by the end of this year, assuming that, let's say, the MGL transaction is done, but and other two trans... And possibly Chennai ORR transaction is done, what should be the debt we should end up with for this year at the standalone level? We at the standalone levels are approximately at around INR 1,100 crores. Yeah. By the transaction on Unison, which we consider, I think so we should end up with a working capital debt in the range of INR 700 crore-INR 800 crore around. Okay. Okay. And, and then, so this doesn't include any closure of the Chennai ORR project for this year, right? Yeah, I mean, if that comes in approximately another INR 200 crore, we definitely go down. Okay. Okay, understand. And, sir, secondly, on your execution side of things, so 15% growth, is there a risk to that 15% growth? Are any projects running slow, or how do you look at it for this year? Presently, projects are on stream. The power projects, because they started off late, I think, so they will take more steam. So we are probably at this moment. I'll be comfortable in estimating a 15% growth. Okay. Okay, understand, sir. That's all from my side. Thank you. Thank you. The next question is from the line of Vaibhav Shah from JM Financial. Please go ahead. Yeah. And sir, what is the update on the MCGM water treatment project? How is the execution so far? Execution on this project in monsoon was held up. Now it is restarted in post-monsoon, and we should be able to complete in targeted timelines. So it's moving well. Okay. And sir, for the Maldives order, so we have canceled the order, or still we hope for any status update on the project, right? Any progress on the same? We, we have dropped from the order book, but we do not know how the relations between India and Maldives will play out, and this order can get revived. We have not... There is no cancellation or termination of this order, but FC between Exim Bank and Government of Maldives has not taken place. So now the chances have gone a little weak of getting this FC done. But if it's get done, then the order is definitely we already have a work order in place. But for the FC, it's not moving. So if it happens between Exim Bank and Government of Maldives, then definitely we'll, we'll have the order. Otherwise, it will get terminated. As of now, it's still live. Okay. Sir, and lastly, on the Guyana order, we saw a strong execution in second quarter, so we expect the run rate to be maintained in coming quarters? Yeah, this last quarter, they did not have monsoon. Now, this quarter there will be a monsoon, so the progress will be there, but the run rate may little vary. Okay. And, we already received the 10% mobilization advance, right? Yes, yes, we have received. Okay, okay. We are proceeding right. There's no issue. Okay. Yeah, that's it from my side. Thank you. The next question is from the line of Akhilesh B, an individual investor. Please go ahead. Good afternoon. Congratulations on your strong set of numbers. I had a few questions, sir. First question was, what is the kind of margins we will get on the P&D part of our order book? ... 10%-11% is the EBITDA margins, which we expect in the P&D portfolio. Okay. How is the competitive intensity in this segment? Is it, you know, better than the intensity within the roads business, or? We do have competition intensity. There are 8-10 players in every bid. Okay. There is a competition in this segment. Okay. And, sir, second question is, you know, as you also alluded that, the performance of the BOT assets, has been improving, and so we will expect a better valuation this time around when we close the deal. So, ballpark, what kind of valuations are you expecting for the BOT assets, even the HAM assets? No, it's very difficult to specify a number to all this, because negotiations are underway now. Mm-hmm. Okay. Any thoughts on, you know, entering the water EPC space also? That seems to be a segment which has higher margins than our traditional segments. Has management some thought to that? We have not explored this yet. Okay. All right, sir. Thank you, and this is all I had to ask. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Participants who wish to ask questions may please press star and one. The next question is from the line of Faisal Zubair Hawa from H. G. Hawa and Company. Please go ahead. So, I mean, in the road segment, why do you feel, you know, your overall, you know, order inflow or the tendering has been so slow? Is the NHAI facing some kind of a problem in land acquisition or in funds, or is there something more to it than meets the eye? And, what is the kind of, you know, in the HAM projects, do you feel that we are, we can bag, you know, at least INR 4,000-INR 5,000 crore more orders? Does our balance sheet allow that kind of a leeway? So as far as NHAI is concerned, of course, land acquisition has been challenging throughout, and it's the challenge remains as it is. In addition to that, the approvals have now moved from earlier INR 1,000 crore and below were approved at NHAI level. Now they have moved to standing financial committee. So this does get delayed, looking at the priority of project and status of land acquisition. As far as bagging orders concerned, yes, we are expecting good amount of orders to be released by NHAI, which have been continuously extended, but now they'll see the bidding process coming. Definitely, we'll have our share of cake in this. Sir, regarding the opportunity in the water segment, do we have any plans to really, you know, enter it or, you know, kind of? We are already doing one project for Bombay Municipal Corporation. On completion, we'll have our own qualification, and then we can move ahead in this segment as we are moving in other EPC segments. So since the new generation of the family is also taking over the company, is there any plan to, you know, really improve our ROE, ROC metrics so that, you know, finally, we get the market cap that a company which has been in business for almost more than, I would say, three decades, you know, deserves and, you know, kind of, you know, mission-critical work also that we have done. But, you know, the market doesn't recognize that because of our low return on equity metrics. So is there any work that, you know, the new generation is invigorating into the company to really, you know, get that sorted out? Yeah, new generation is there now in business last one and half decades almost, and they are taking care of the entire international business as well as part of the Indian business. As gas was one of the new generation initiative, which they very successfully completed, and we are getting a successful exit also. So there are new ideas which are being explored, and definitely will come to you well in here and see. How will we really improve our ROC and ROE metrics? So on the return expectations and the business of EPC will continue the way it is. Of course, looking at newer sectors, we'll definitely bring in better margins and which would improve the monetization of assets and opportunity available for return of capital to the investors. Again, ROC could get a bump up because EPC business would continue the way it is continuing, and we'll grow over a period of time. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, to ask a question, you may press star and one. The next question is from the line of Bharani Vijayakumar from Spark Capital. Please go ahead. Yeah. Am I audible? Yeah. Yeah. So, in your opening remarks, you mentioned that the March awarding for the full year FY 2024 will be around 9,000-9,500 kilometers, down from earlier year number of 12,375. So essentially, we are expecting a decline total awarding by NHAI compared to last year, and that would be related to the delays and extensions we are seeing. Is that a fair assumption? ... Could you, could you just repeat your question? Yeah. So in your initial remarks, you mentioned, the- Yeah, around 9,000 is what we expect. Yeah. Yeah, down from last year's full year number of about 12,000. So, essentially there will be a dip in awarding activity compared to last year. This is what we feel from the existing numbers. Sure. The delay which is happening in the award. This is our estimate. Yeah, that one. So your estimate. Okay. Okay. Okay. So, will that mean that maybe the spillover would have a positive impact on FY 25's numbers? It should have, because government is focused on building good infrastructure. They have capital allocation, but awarding is a bit slow, which should improve in the next year. Okay. So specifically from- Is there to put up a good amount of infrastructure. Okay. Okay. Specifically from NHAI, how much do you expect of this INR 9,000 or INR 9,500 NHAI component? This is a combination of NHAI and MoRTH together. So NHAI alone, would you have an estimate? No specific estimate, but they have around 6,000 kilometers of pipeline already declared. Sure, sir. Thank you. This is in the award stage. Okay, understood, sir. Thank you. All the best, sir. Thank you. The next question is from the line of Ashish Shah from JM Financial. Please go ahead. Yeah. Sir, I have a question on the operating cash flows and working capital. So, while we have been growing over the last couple of years a little dramatically, and but we've also seen, you know, the working capital and otherwise, the debt levels also go up. So do you think, sir, at some point of time, you know, this working capital starts unwinding? Because then, at some point of time, this, this can put a brake on the growth, right? Because if the debt keeps on increasing with every growth, then at some point, you know, there'll have to be a break on the road. So you think there can be a sizable unwinding on the working capital and improvement in the operating cash flows? Yeah. So there will be unwinding, which will be happening over a period of time, coming two quarters, two, three quarters. Also, in the new businesses which you have started, where payments are back-ended, that unwinding also will happen. So, we should typically come down from these levels to a lower level of working capital requirement for a particular turnover. Yes. Currently, I mean, if you look at your mix of working capital today, which pockets have the maximum working capital and where you are relatively better off? Which segments are relatively higher and which are relatively lower? Definitely, the exposure on the road is the highest from a working capital requirement because execution is higher, and the next comes at power and railway. Right. And that would be true in terms of, like, number of days as well? Is the number of days of working capital more for your road segment versus the power T&D? It is. So I think the roads cycle will be slightly lower than the power. Okay. In terms of days of working capital. Yeah. Okay. Sir, also, you mentioned the equity investments we need to make in HAM. Are the five BOT assets on their own completely, or they also need some additional support in the form of loans? Nothing very significant. Sambalpur was a project which we used to require funding, but today it's already refinanced and, that is taken care of. Okay. Sure. Yeah. So, sir, I think there are no more questions in the queue, so we can end the call. So, on behalf of JM Financial, I'd like to thank everyone for participating in this call. Also, thank you to the management for allowing us to host the call. And, sir, over to you for any closing remarks. We thank all the investors who have joined on this call. We are open for questions, answers, and one-to-one interactions for any queries you have on the financials and the company's operations through us or through our investor advisors, SGA Advisors. Thank you. We wish you all a very happy and prosperous Diwali. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. On behalf of JM Financial- Thank you. That concludes this conference. Thank you all for joining us. You may now disconnect your lines.