Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the Q2 and H1 FY27 earnings conference call of Aditya Vision Limited hosted by Monarch Networth Capital Limited. 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. Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star then zero on your touchtone phone. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Rahul Dani from Monarch Networth Capital Limited. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Rahul Dani: Yeah, thank you, Rutuja. Good afternoon, everyone. On behalf of Monarch Networth Capital, it is our pleasure to host Aditya Vision's management. We have with us today Mr. Yashovardhan Sinha, Chairman and Managing Director, and Ms. Yoshita Vardhan, Whole-Time Director. I will now hand over the call to the management for opening remarks, and then we move to Q&A. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Operator: I am sorry to interrupt, sir. We are unable to hear you.
Yashovardhan Sinha: Sorry. Thank you, Rahul. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and a very warm welcome to Aditya Vision's Q2 and H1 FY27 earnings conference call. Before we begin, I would like to extend my warmest wishes to all of you and your families on the occasion of Diwali. May the festival bring happiness, peace, prosperity, and good health to everyone. I am pleased to share that Aditya Vision has delivered its best-ever Q2 performance, with revenue growing 28% year on year to INR 586 crore. This reflects the resilience of our business model, the strength of our customer franchise, and our continued focus on execution. For H1 FY27, revenue grew 27% year on year to INR 1,779 crore, keeping us ahead of our long-term revenue growth aspiration of between 20% to 25%.
Yashovardhan Sinha: The quarter witnessed several headwinds impacting discretionary spending, driven by the prolonged West Asia crisis, disruption in energy supplies, and a sharp rise in global crude oil prices. These developments heightened inflationary concerns and put pressure on central banks to consider interest rate hikes after an extended period of stability. The situation was further compounded by flood and cyclone-related destruction in Bihar, alongside rising prices of essential staples and cooking gas amid the ongoing conflict, placing additional pressure on household budgets and dampening consumer sentiment. Despite these challenging operating conditions, we demonstrated resilience and delivered a strong performance, with EBITDA growing by 32% and translating into an impressive 45% growth in profit after tax in Q2 FY27. Notably, H1 FY27 PAT has already reached over 90% of the entire PAT reported in FY25, reflecting the strength of our operating performance and sustained profitability momentum.
Yashovardhan Sinha: For H1 FY27, EBITDA grew by 37%, with EBITDA margin expanding to 9.6%. Profit after tax increased by 41%, with PAT margin improving to 5.4%, reflecting healthy earning growth and improved profitability. While consumer demand has moderated somewhat, underlying demand remained resilient across our market. Same-store sales growth for H1 FY27 stood at 18%, compared to just 2% in H1 FY26, when unseasonal rains impacted customer footfalls and sales. Our consistent high double-digit SSG reflects sustained customer traction and continued growth across our established markets, supported by deeper penetration and improving store productivity. Our expansion strategy combines deeper penetration in existing markets with entry into new geographies. As of 30 September 2026, our network comprised 214 stores, compared with 188 a year earlier. Our retail footprint expanded by 18.3% to approximately 9.51 lakh square feet.
Yashovardhan Sinha: During this calendar year, 2026, we have entered three new states: Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal. As of yesterday, we have made our
Operator: I am sorry to interrupt. Ladies and gentlemen, please stay connected. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for patiently holding. We have management reconnected. Over to you, sir.
Yashovardhan Sinha: Sorry for the disruption. As of 30 September 2026, our network comprised 214 stores, compared with 188 a year earlier. Our retail footprint expanded by 18.3% to approximately 9.51 lakh square feet. During this calendar year, 2026, we have entered three new states: Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal. As of yesterday, we have made our entry into West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh, opening up additional growth opportunities. We continue to follow a cluster-based expansion strategy, leveraging our logistics infrastructure, vendor relationship, and brand recall to support efficient store ramp-up. Our focus remains on building productive outlets that contribute sustainably as they mature. Alongside expansion, we remain focused on inventory availability and working capital discipline. As of 30 September 2026, inventory stood at INR 865 crore, compared with INR 840 crore at the end of March 2026.
Yashovardhan Sinha: This reflects the stocking ahead of the festive season and competitive pricing due to anticipated price increase across consumer durables. Borrowings stood at INR 293 crore at the end of September 2026, down from INR 331 crore at the end of March 2026. However, borrowings were higher year-on-year, reflecting funding requirements associated with inventory, new stores, and business growth. We see a significant long-term opportunity in India's consumer durable market, particularly across the heartland, where rising disposable income, increasing financing penetration, and the shift towards organized retail create substantial headroom for growth. Our immediate focus remains on ensuring strong product availability, meeting customer demand efficiently, and staying competitive, while continuing to improve store productivity and maintain disciplined inventory management and cost control. When I look at where we stand today, what gives me confidence is that we are not just expanding our footprint.
Yashovardhan Sinha: We are building a more resilient business and reaching a wider set of markets with significant populations and rising purchasing power. Our vision now extends well beyond our established strongholds towards capturing the immense potential of these under-penetrated geographies. Backed by disciplined execution, strong regional understanding, and a customer-first mindset, we believe we are well-positioned to capture this opportunity and deliver consistent, sustainable growth over the medium to long term. With that, I would like to hand over the floor to Mrs. Yoshita Vardhan to take you through the financial highlights in greater detail. Thank you.
Yoshita Vardhan: Thank you, sir. Good evening, everyone. We are pleased to present the financial performance for Q2 FY27 and H1 FY27. For Q2 FY27, revenue increased by 28.1% YoY to INR 586.23 crore. Gross profit grew by 38.8% to INR 95.59 crore, with gross margin expanding by 125 bps to 16.3%. EBITDA increased by 31.6% to INR 45.65 crore, with EBITDA margin improving by 21 bps to 7.8%. Profit before tax grew by 45.3% to INR 24.26 crore, while profit after tax increased by 45.2% to INR 18.47 crore. PAT margin improved by 37 bps to 3.2%. Same-store sales growth for the quarter stood at 18%. As of 30 September 2026, our store network comprises 214 stores, which includes 120 stores across all 38 districts of Bihar, 56 stores across 32 of Uttar Pradesh's 75 districts, 33 stores across 22 of Jharkhand's 24 districts, and five stores across three of Chhattisgarh's 33 districts.
Yoshita Vardhan: Bihar contributed approximately 73% of Q2 revenue, followed by Uttar Pradesh at 15%, Jharkhand at 11%, and Chhattisgarh at 1%. For H1 FY27, revenue grew by 27.3% YoY to INR 1,778.91 crore. Gross profit increased by 34.9% to INR 287.42 crore, with gross margin expanding by 91 bps to 16.2%. EBITDA grew by 36.8% to INR 170.13 crore, with EBITDA margin improving by 66 bps to 9.6%. Profit before tax increased by 41.1% to INR 127.08 crore, while profit after tax grew by 41% to INR 95.69 crore. PAT margin improved by 52 basis points to 5.4%. Same-store sales growth for H1 FY27 stood at 18%, compared with 2% in H1 FY26. Our store network increased by 13.8% to 214 stores, compared with 188 stores a year earlier. We can now open the floor for questions. Thank you.
Operator: Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question-and-answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may please press star and one on the touch-tone telephone. 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. Participants to ask a question, please press star and one now. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one. First question is from the line of Vaidik Bafna from Monarch Networth Capital. Please go ahead.
Vaidik Bafna: Congratulations, ma'am, on this excellent set of numbers. So, ma'am, firstly, I have just two questions. Firstly, I wanted to understand more about our gross margin expansion as to what has led to more than 120, 125 odd bps of gross margin expansion during the quarter. Is it the price hikes which the OEMs have taken, or is there any other change in product mix or such for the quarter?
Yashovardhan Sinha: What is your second question?
Vaidik Bafna: Second question would be on the margin guidance for the full year.
Yashovardhan Sinha: Okay. There was a price hike, of course, but going by the percentage of our sale comprising where there was significant price rise, it was not very significant in our case. Around 75 to 80 bps of margin has come from price rise, and rest, that margin has been through normal trading.
Vaidik Bafna: Okay. Sir, can you brief us down as to which product categories have led to this growth in the current quarter? Also, as we see that during the start of the quarter, we saw extended summer season, so did we see any strong growth in the AC category sales as well? Which all OEMs have contributed to such growth?
Yashovardhan Sinha: In fact, our growth was mainly driven by sale of course, as you said, that extended summer period was there. It was led by AC, followed by mobile and refrigerators. Secondly, what you asked about guidance of gross margin, then our normal guidance will be the same, around 15% to 15.5%.
Vaidik Bafna: But sir, in H1, we have already reported gross margin of more than 16%. So, do we see any kind of gross margin coming down?
Yashovardhan Sinha: Actually, we do not take into account any price hike, which is not a permanent thing to have in your gross margin. So, normal gross margin, when we say about anticipated gross margin, we talk about constant price.
Vaidik Bafna: Okay, sir. And sir, one last question on the store expansion strategy. At present, we are at 214 odd stores. So, where do we see our store count going by the end of FY27, and in the next 2 years, what kind of store expansion strategy are we looking at?
Yashovardhan Sinha: I think we will be closing at around 230 stores in this financial year, and maybe more than 230, it can go up to 235. Then next year, again, we are anticipating an addition of another 35 stores around, so that we will come to around 270 stores.
Vaidik Bafna: Okay, sir. Got it, sir. That is it from my end.
Operator: Thank you. Next question is from the line of Vineet Prasad from Investec. Please go ahead.
Vineet Prasad: Hi, good afternoon, sir. Hi, good afternoon, Yousam. My first question is on demand. Was it a case wherein delayed Diwali would have impacted Q2 demand, number one? Second is, a part of the festive has already passed. How has been the demand so far in the month of October or festive, so to say?
Yashovardhan Sinha: In fact, demand has been slow, I will put it like this. We are expecting that as we come nearer to Dhanteras and Diwali, because Dhanteras is the main festivities around this geography. As we come nearer to the Dhanteras date and Diwali, I think it will pick up.
Vineet Prasad: Understood. Would you want to conclude saying that the growth rates which we have seen in the past, it has come off from those levels as far as SSSG is concerned, is that the right way to understand?
Yashovardhan Sinha: For which quarter? For the current quarter you are asking?
Vineet Prasad: Yeah, for October month.
Yashovardhan Sinha: October month. So, this is what I said that right now sales are slow and very difficult to predict right now what will exactly happen. But growth on sale has been quite slow at the moment, but it is picking up, and we are expecting that as we go into the main festivity, I think demand will start picking up.
Vineet Prasad: Understood. And my second question is on OPEX, which has shot up fairly sharply in this quarter. Was there any element of one-off, or given we were entering into a newer states, and we had to incur higher bit of OPEX, which should normalize in the coming quarters?
Yashovardhan Sinha: But our OPEX was not higher in this quarter, I suppose. It was quite controlled, and it was the same level of, I think, almost same ratio compared to the sale, what we had last time.
Vineet Prasad: No, sir. If I look at indirect expenses, those had increased from INR 17 crore in Q2 of last year to almost INR 28 crore, 64% jump on a YoY basis.
Yashovardhan Sinha: That is right. That depends on the sale also. As you know, as you ramp up your sale, then so many expenses, allied expenses, they also go up. Just like financing cost will go up, credit card cost will go up, CMS charges will go up, freight will go up. Plus, we were adding 30 stores also in the meantime, in the same one-year time.
Vineet Prasad: Understood. Okay, fair enough, sir.
Yashovardhan Sinha: But if you will compare sequentially, then you will find it is a sharp drop, because the factor is the top line.
Vineet Prasad: Mm-hmm. Okay, understood. Thank you so much, sir.
Operator: Thank you. Participants who wish to ask a question, please press star and one. Next question is from the line of Devanshi Kamdar from Axis Capital. Please go ahead.
Devanshi Kamdar: Hi, am I audible?
Operator: Yes, you are. Please go ahead.
Devanshi Kamdar: Yeah. So, sir, could you give us a bit of a flavor geography-wise revenue, how it performed YoY as well, versus the Q2 last year?
Yashovardhan Sinha: We have already provided this, and in my earning call also, in fact, Yoshita Vardhan has also told you, but I will again repeat. Bihar has contributed around 74%, 72% to 74%. So, in Q2, Bihar has contributed 74%, Jharkhand 11%, and UP 15%. Chhattisgarh, since we have opened just now, it has contributed 1%.
Devanshi Kamdar: Okay. And sir, due to the cyclone and those conditions in Bihar, how much was the impact, like the loss of revenue, if you could quantify that?
Yashovardhan Sinha: Yeah, it is very difficult to quantify because of cyclone and other, but this definitely disrupts market. But it is very hard to quantify what loss of sale actually it happens.
Devanshi Kamdar: Okay. And sir, within the new geographies that we entered, can you give us any plan for the next 2 years, like the number of stores that we would be adding in both of these geographies?
Yashovardhan Sinha: Yes, definitely I can give you. In Chhattisgarh, we plan to open another. We have already opened 5 showrooms, 6 showrooms. We plan to open another 9 to 10 stores in Chhattisgarh. In Madhya Pradesh, we plan to open around. Already, we will be opening around 3 stores very shortly, and we plan to add another, let us say, 15 to 17 stores in coming year. In West Bengal, we have already opened 2 stores, and another 2 are work in process. So, we are expecting to add at least 15 stores in West Bengal also.
Devanshi Kamdar: Understood, sir.
Yashovardhan Sinha: Apart from strengthening Western UP as well as certain pockets of Bihar.
Devanshi Kamdar: Mm-hmm. Okay, sir. Would these new geographies, they will be revenue-generating, of course, and also EBITDA-generating from our first year of entering, or would there be sort of a break-even period that
Yashovardhan Sinha: Again, very hard to answer at this time, but whatever we have, in fact, anticipated, what we have been anticipating, we are getting it also. We are hoping to have it, definitely it will break even very soon.
Devanshi Kamdar: Okay. But during the year, do we see any margin dilution due to the new entries?
Yashovardhan Sinha: Actually, what happens, Devanshi, is that whatever margin gets diluted with the new stores, that gets compensated by the older stores which are maturing. So, the whole thing gets balanced more or less. I hope you understand what I am trying to tell you.
Devanshi Kamdar: Yeah. Right. No, definitely. Okay, sir. Thank you. That is all from my side.
Yashovardhan Sinha: Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. Next question is from the line of Bhavya Gandhi from Bajaj Alternate Investment Management. Please go ahead.
Bhavya Gandhi: Yeah. Hi, sir. Congratulations on a great set of numbers. Just wanted to understand the impact of Eighth Pay Commission. Will that be a significant revenue driver whenever it comes? In your past experience, when the Seventh Pay Commission was there, have you seen any manifold growth in terms of demand? Because a large amount will be put in the hand of pensioners, so yeah. Sorry, in the hand of all the workers, so yeah.
Yashovardhan Sinha: Yes, sir. Yes, definitely it is going to give us that will act as a very big, strong tailwind for us, because more money will come in the hands, and discretionary spending will be expected to rise. Everything depends on the macro atmosphere also. We are all hoping, just like entire world is globally hoping, that these disruptions will come to an end very soon. Again, right now also, we are expecting lot of discretionary money coming into the market once things stabilize. If there is any hike to pay commission or something, the money definitely is going to give us a good sale from that.
Bhavya Gandhi: Right, sir. That is it from my end, sir. Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. Participants to ask a question, please press star and one. Next question is from the line of Yash Sonthaliya from Edelweiss Public Alternatives. Please go ahead.
Yash Sonthaliya: Hi, sir. Thank you for taking my question, and congrats on a good set of numbers. Just one question from my end. Basically, you already guided some 70 to 80 bps of gross margin addition this year is because of price hike, and we have some old inventory which is benefiting us. So, how should we also think about our EBITDA margins going ahead? Should our normalized range decline by 30 to 40 bps going ahead because of our re-expanding in newer regions and newer states?
Yashovardhan Sinha: That is all?
Yash Sonthaliya: Yeah.
Yashovardhan Sinha: Yes, EBITDA margin is going to moderate to that extent what extra margin we have been getting. Definitely, it will impact the year by as much as gross margin. We have already, we always give a guidance of EBITDA margin between 8% and 10%, and that is also on an annual basis. We always give a guidance of 8% to 10%, and we are very confident that we will be able to achieve it.
Yash Sonthaliya: Got it, sir. Thank you. Thank you for taking my question.
Operator: Thank you. Next question is from the line of Vijay Jangir from Systematix. Please go ahead.
Vijay Jangir: Sir, my question is on store opening in West Bengal and MP. What will be the average CapEx for a store in both these two states? Is it possible to give average store breakeven level in terms of months? What will be the payback period in these two states?
Yashovardhan Sinha: Both the states are new to us, so it will be again too early for me to give any guidance. But usually, CapEx, we have already disclosed in our investor presentation. The CapEx will be around INR 90 lakh per store. That too because of this inflationary pressure coming around in last one and a half years or something. So, it has gone up to INR 98 lakh per store. And we expect that it will be breaking even in around one year's time.
Vijay Jangir: Okay. Okay, sir. Thank you. That's it from my side.
Operator: Thank you. Participants to ask a question, please press star and one now. Next question is from the line of Vaidik Bafna from Monarch Networth Capital. Please go ahead.
Vaidik Bafna: Sir, one last question from my end. Sir, since we have entered West Bengal now, so can you just talk to us more about the competition present in West Bengal? Who could be our major competitors over there?
Yashovardhan Sinha: There are, of course, national players are there, like you know, Reliance and Croma are there in West Bengal. Local chain is also there, but they are stronger, much more strong in metro rather than in other peripheral districts. As you know, we have been targeting border districts first, which are bordering Bihar, so where we are well-known also. We are expecting that, of course, by the time competition will come and take place, by that time, we will establish ourself there.
Vaidik Bafna: Okay, sir. And sir, any target as to in the next 3 years, how many stores are we looking at West Bengal? Are we looking at around 40-odd stores over there in the next 3 years? 40 to 50 stores?
Yashovardhan Sinha: Not in next 3 years, I'll say, but in next another 4 years, definitely we'll be targeting close to Kolkata also, metro also. So, 40, 50 stores is a possibility.
Vaidik Bafna: Okay, sir. Got it, sir. Sir, any major I mean, sir, see, our major stores at present currently are in Bihar, and now since we are entering West Bengal as well, so sir, is there any CapEx difference? What could be the CapEx difference per store in Bihar versus the new markets which we are entering?
Yashovardhan Sinha: CapEx difference is there because of certain things like freight and other items for vendors also. Since we have got internal vendors, so usually we were opening in this side of the geography, so now we are moving outside it. So, it is around 10%, 15%, that is it.
Vaidik Bafna: Okay, 10% to 15% would be higher than the normal CapEx?
Yashovardhan Sinha: One minute. That can increase by 10%, 15% at best.
Vaidik Bafna: Okay, sir. Got it. Thank you.
Yashovardhan Sinha: But it all depends how big a store you are opening there, and the CapEx depends on that.
Vaidik Bafna: Yeah, yeah. Okay, sir.
Yashovardhan Sinha: Yeah.
Operator: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, due to time constraints, that was the last question for today. I now hand the conference over to management for closing comments.
Yashovardhan Sinha: Thank you. Thank you, everyone. Again, I wish you a very good Diwali. My warmest wishes to all of you and your families on the occasion of Diwali. May the festival bring happiness, peace, prosperity, and good health to everyone. Thank you very much for attending this investor conference call. Thank you very much. Goodbye.
Operator: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Monarch Networth Capital Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines. Thank you.
Yashovardhan Sinha: Thank you.
