AEGISLOG — earnings call
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Prepared remarks
Moderator · Conference Operator
MS. PAYAL DAVE– MUFG INTIME Aegis Logistics Limited August 14, 2026
Questions and answers
Moderator · Conference Operator
Thank you very much.
First question is from the line of Vibhav Zutshi from JP Morgan.
Please go ahead.
Vibhav Zutshi
Congratulations on a very strong performance.
First question is on Distribution segment.
So you mentioned multiple customer signings.
So broader question, is the volume growth surpassing your own expectations?
And obviously, there is some disruption due to the war.
But do you think that these volumes are sticky, these customer contracts are sticky?
And how do you see growth now from the 280 kt levels that we saw in this quarter?
Aegis Logistics Limited August 14, 2026
Murad Moledina
Yes, Vibhav.
So what I can tell you is that we have always had aim to reach 2 million tons in distribution in coming times ahead.
And that's not because of the war, but because of the infrastructure layout that we are executing in LPG business.
Last year, we commissioned 2 very big cryogenic terminals, Pipavav, 48,000 metric tons; 82,000 metric tons, Mangalore, which gives us the flexibility and the ullage to undertake distribution business in addition to catering to our customers, handling the product of our customers.
So it's like if you have ullage and more locations, your distribution geography increases, new customers come on because there is a product which you can make available for the industry.
Of course, it helped that this geopolitics made things more difficult, and we were poised with our partnership and the whole presence in the entire chain, vertically integrated from sourcing, shipping, terminals and the distribution network, we were able to reach products when times were really, really difficult for the industry.
This -- I'm sure the fact that we have increased our presence in geography and the fact that we have delivered when it mattered the most to the industries and the fact that there will be an increase in the usage with industry year-on-year, I think all the 3 facts: increase in demand, delivering when it mattered and ullage and infrastructure layout that we are consistently doing across the geography of India, I think, will always take us ahead in this distribution business doing and growing healthy volumes year-on-year.
And now the fact that we have also commissioned our ammonia terminal add to the gas business by one more product, which we can now handle as we now have the infrastructure to support this distribution business.
So we are very, very excited and positive about this business.
Vibhav Zutshi
Got it.
Great to know.
Just a follow-up here.
So is it fair to say that profitability in terms of EBITDA per ton kind of peaked in this quarter?
But just a commentary where even you talked about Pipavav will become VLGC compliant this year.
So I mean, going forward, there should be considerable freight cost savings as well.
So I mean, you talked about INR6,000 to INR7,000 being a comfortable level.
But how do you think about profitability, say, from a near-term basis and medium term structurally?
Murad Moledina
I think the INR4,000 margin, which we were earning till '24, '25 is history.
We have already said that the blended margins, please do not look at it quarter-to-quarter.
It has to be looked as a year as a whole blended rate.
And we believe the margin of INR7,000 looks sustainable.
Of course, in '25, '26, it was driven and we have achieved probably on account of the geopolitics and the uncertainty and the difficulty that has come in this business because we are vertically integrated and we are in the entire value chain, we have been able to deliver this kind of margin, up from INR4,000, which in the past was a standard margin in distribution business.
But going forward, from '27, '28 because of the volume ramp-ups, because of what we have just said, VLGC Jetty, multimodal evacuation and the ullage that we are creating along will enable us to get procurement efficiencies, which I personally believe that will lead to a more stable margin around 7,000 plus that we have delivered in '25, '26 and expected to deliver with the kind Aegis Logistics Limited August 14, 2026 of performance that we have done in Q1 looks almost a certainty for '26, '27.
So yes, I think we should now look at distribution margin to be in the range of 7,000 plus going forward.
Vibhav Zutshi
Got it.
And second question is on the Logistics segment.
I mean, just related to the KGPL pipeline that you were talking about.
So how should we think about throughput enhancement in basic terms, right?
Like if your throughput is say 70 to 80 tons, how much faster can the evacuation happen in terms of turns or, say, volume guidance, I mean, which give a better sense on your utilization potential?
Murad Moledina
So Vibhav, what we do is we put up the enablers, okay?
So we do the pipeline hookup.
We try multimodal evacuation by filling up lorries, filling up rail wagons, trying to hook up in cross- country pipeline, trying for VLGC compliant jetties.
We do multiple things, and these are enablers.
But mind you, logistics business is that you store for others.
The customers are -- yes, the distribution division is a customer, but then there are other customers who have to then use it.
We believe that year-on-year, we would always clock a worst- case scenario growth in the logistics volume of around 25%.
But if these enablers are delivering on account of customers using these enablers, there would probably be a step-up kind of a growth you will see when customers start using these enablers, assuming that normalcy comes up.
And the geopolitics situation normalizes.
I believe it's very exciting for us.
I don't know -- I can't tell you for sure that this is what we will achieve, but the enablers are what we can put in place, which will deliver step-up growth.
Step-up growth, which is more than the normal 25%, which we always push hard to achieve year in, year out.
Moderator · Conference Operator
The next question is from the line of Yash Desai from Dalal & Broacha.
Yash Desai
Sir, if you could just give us the full year FY '26 because it has been changing quite a bit.
The per unit margins for sourcing, logistics and distribution business, I understand you just mentioned that the distribution business is currently at INR7,000-odd, hence, wanted to have a comparison on a last year basis.
And also in case of the liquid business, how much would be the per unit EBITDA margins?
And then I'll follow up with the question.
Murad Moledina
Yes.
So liquid is very simple.
You divide the EBITDA by the capacity that we have, 2 million, you will get the per CBM EBITDA margin as far as liquid is concerned, right?
If you come to LPG EBITDA, it's very standard that the throughput or the logistics volumes that we do delivers close to INR1,000 EBITDA.
And then what is left, you divide it by the distribution margin, leave out sourcing, sourcing hardly matters as far as EBITDA is concerned, it is a very low contributor.
So then you will get the EBITDA margin for distribution business.
Yash Desai
So sourcing, I believe we used to mention about $85 to $90 sort of a number.
Is that fine to work with?
Murad Moledina
Yes, yes, still fine.
Yes, you can do that.
Aegis Logistics Limited August 14, 2026
Yash Desai
Okay.
And sir, this -- you were mentioning this current distribution margin of INR7,000-odd is sustainable.
Sir, this quarter per se was no doubt, even in the last quarter, you had mentioned around INR5,000, if I'm not wrong.
That was sort of an abbreviation because on account of the geopolitical situation.
But still going ahead with the INR7,000 number, what gives you the confidence on the short- to medium-term period for this, sir?
Murad Moledina
Yash, we have not delivered INR5,000 margin in Q4 and Q1. It is 3x than what you have just stated.
So what we say is when you look at the whole year, it gets blended and then you look at INR7,000.
So we feel because we have delivered much more in Q1 as we had delivered in Q4 of last year, the blended margin will definitely be around INR7,000 plus.
I'm not saying INR7,000, I'm saying INR7,000 plus.
So let's see how we end the year.
And we believe that this INR7,000, which is an upgrade from INR4,000, which we were doing up to '24, '25 is likely to sustain in the years ahead because of the volume growth that is happening in distribution business and that volume growth brings procurement efficiencies by way of shipping, by way of how -- at what rate you procure.
Therefore, we believe that the uncertainty and the difficulty margin that we had achieved in Q4 and Q1 in '27, '28 will get substituted by the procurement efficiency profits that we will be able to get on account of the volume ramp-up that has happened in the 24-month period from '24, '25 to '26, '27.
Yash Desai
Okay.
Good to hear that, sir.
And sir, this year, the overall volume, you did mention about 25% CAGR growth.
Do we -- what kind of an upside do we see to that number?
Or is that an upward cap?
Or how do we see that number?
Murad Moledina
If you're talking of volume, we have already said 25% is the benchmark we always try to push and achieve.
Anything above is a step-up on account of the enablers that we are making -- enablers that we are putting in place.
So let's see how much those enablers help us achieve step- up growth over and above the 25%, which we always strive for.
And we have said that as far as EPS is also concerned, in spite of the larger base, we have already grown from INR6 EPS to INR26 EPS.
Even from this larger INR26 EPS, we expect to continue our CAGR growth, which we have delivered last 10 years, 25% plus.
So yes, we remain positive on that account, and we like to perform and deliver this every year in coming times.
Moderator · Conference Operator
The next question is from the line of Vinith Jain from Siddh Capital.
Vinith Jain
Sir, my first question is on the ammonia distribution.
When do you start the distribution for ammonia?
And what will be your EBITDA per ton on that?
And also, what are the means of delivering ammonia, sir?
Murad Moledina
Immediate.
We commission, we start -- so it might be weeks, maybe a month.
I mean, week and we would start a distribution.
Distribution of ammonia will happen by industrial distribution.
We don't pack it in cylinders nor do we put up gas stations for that.
Aegis Logistics Limited August 14, 2026 So it will only be industrial distribution to begin with.
And we expect to start soonest.
Margins are likely to start with -- in the range of -- I don't think I should be saying anything on that.
Let's start off and then we will start saying that what are the margins that we are delivering when we get into it.
So I think wait for a quarter, and you will see some action on that, absolutely.
Vinith Jain
Okay, sir.
Great.
Sir, on distribution, staying on distribution, has Morbi restarted with LPG distribution or still not?
Murad Moledina
We keep delivering to Morbi wherever we bring value for them.
But Morbi is not be-all and end- all for Aegis.
The market is much bigger.
The geography is the whole of India.
We have been delivering all over the place now.
So I think it's now life beyond Morbi, I think let's get on with life.
Let's not just keep talking about Morbi all the time.
Vinith Jain
So it -- my reason for asking it was a very large market, and it was closed completely in between.
So how is the market?
Murad Moledina
No. It has started, but they also will work on what is -- what energy they can get at the cheapest rate.
They are doing great work.
They are fighting competition world over.
They have to deliver value, right?
So whenever we deliver value, they buy from us or our counterparts, whether it is national oil companies or other LPG players.
And whenever it gives value where they can work with natural gas, they do so.
So I think energy market is big.
It's all over.
And there is place for, I think, everything and everyone.
So we do -- we focus on our customers.
We focus on the value we deliver to our customers.
And we are very, very positive on this business.
Vinith Jain
Okay.
Sir, my next question was on the EBITDA per ton, which you said is very large, much higher than INR7,000.
I understand which figure you're talking about.
But as we get to settle into days, maybe 3 months down or 6 months down, we never know when Iran war stops.
Do you think INR7,000 is the -- you said that you take the average for the year, but what will be the normal EBITDA?
Just to have an understanding, we are targeting 2 million tons as a volume, but to understand the normal EBITDA.
We understand all the things happening there.
Murad Moledina
Yes.
So I've already said earlier that till '24, '25, it was a very standard kind of INR4,000 EBITDA margin business.
But now after 24 months, in this 24 months, the uncertainty margin has come in, right, which has taken up the blended rate to -- blended rate for the year to INR7,000.
We expect this INR7,000 not to come down to INR4,000 again when everything is normalized, say, in '27, '28 onwards.
We expect that this INR4,000 will be topped up by the procurement efficiency gain or margin additional that we will have on account of better shipping cost because the volumes have increased.
So instead of getting it on a medium gas carrier, which has probably a freight of $50, we would get it on a very large gas carrier, which has a freight of, let's say, $15.
So this $35 odd, I mean, I'm just quoting approximate numbers, please don't take me on that.
But then that gives you that top-up of another INR3,000.
And therefore, the INR7,000 margin, we believe will, in the next Aegis Logistics Limited August 14, 2026 year, also sustain riding on the back of increased volumes that we have achieved by more geography, more customers, more terminals that we have commissioned doing distribution from all over the place, from all of our facilities.
Vinith Jain
Will you be able to give the distribution, how much do you supply to industrial and how much -- what percentage you supply to HoReCa?
Murad Moledina
We don't do that.
We give logistics volumes and then we give sourcing volume and then distribution volume all put together.
Vinith Jain
Sir, one last question.
You said the nation -- India at the national level still has a deficit of 15% to 20% to pre-war levels in terms of LPG.
So what stops us from -- because our throughput is much higher than what we are doing.
So what stops us from filling up more or the tanks more because you have ITOCHU as a partner who can do wonders.
So what stops you from doing more?
Murad Moledina
We don't want to be driven by greed.
We don't want to become traders.
We can fill up the tanks and try and sell them, but it's an industry which is very volatile.
We can't take positions where if you are left footed, then you end up really taking a big fall.
So we are distributors.
We do it month-on-month.
We are not inventory -- these are not inventory gains on which we are riding.
We are doing hard core distribution every month.
So the cargoes don't come 6 months in advance in our store just because we have ullage and then try to take price advantage, which you never know may or may not happen.
So again, repeating, we are not the global traders like Trafigura or a Glencore or Vitol.
We are not -- we are distributors.
We get material where we see demand and then we distribute it or reach out to those customers.
It's not taking positions either on inventory or on price or anything else.
Vinith Jain
One more thing on the Mumbai Port.
We have LPG here, which is not cryogenic and a very smaller storage.
Is there a future plan to replace it with a larger cryogenic storage?
Murad Moledina
We already have a cryogenic in Mumbai.
That was the first cryogenic terminal in India that was built in 1997.
Yes, but expansion, always possible if we find the land.
If we are able to find the land, yes.
That's always a possibility.
I never say no to anything.
Moderator · Conference Operator
The next question is from the line of Chirag Vakharia from Budhrani Finance Limited.
Chirag Vakharia
Sir, just wanted to get a sense from you in the distribution segment, sir, don't you think that 25% growth is conservative, the way the volumes are moving?
Murad Moledina
No, no. I've never said 25% for distribution.
Chirag Vakharia
I mean, where I'm coming from is...
Murad Moledina
Logistics piece.
Aegis Logistics Limited August 14, 2026
Chirag Vakharia
So the throughput side, you said that you have 20%, 25% volume can grow.
Wouldn't it be more in distribution side?
Murad Moledina
Absolutely.
It will be more.
Chirag Vakharia
So sir, can you give some insight what...
Murad Moledina
For sure.
But yes, I've already said that it will definitely be more than 25%.
We have ourselves said that we want to reach 2 million in probably next year or the year next.
We are aiming high.
We already, like I said, had delivered from 500,000 to 750,000 in last year.
This year, we had expected to cross 1 million.
Next year, maybe cross 1.5 million.
So the rate is definitely more than 25%, maybe closer to 50% is what we look at.
Chirag Vakharia
Okay.
And this will happen via getting more and more into industrial distribution, correct, with more presence?
Murad Moledina
Yes, you can say that.
Moderator · Conference Operator
The next question is from the line of Kunal Mehta from InCred Equities.
Kunal Mehta
Sir, in the presentation, you have mentioned about liquidity reserves in excess of INR5,940 crores.
I just went through the financial statements of different subsidiaries of Aegis.
So there is -- on the stand-alone, there's a cash of INR2,700 crores; on SEAL, it's INR410 crores.
Aegis Gas, which is a packed cylinder, it is INR840 crores.
Aegis International has about INR306 crores.
So how are we going to be using this cash reserve for the capex that we have planned?
Because it's in different, different entities.
So how are we going to probably...
Murad Moledina
So Aegis Vopak is self-funded.
Aegis Vopak has its own funding, which is by equity.
We have already agreed to dilute so that the funding happens so that the capex happens.
And of course, when the equity comes in, you are also then eligible to borrow more.
And then you do your journey of $5 billion.
So that's there.
We also like to maintain a fortress balance sheet.
This business is a difficult business.
We like to maintain a very healthy cash balance, and that's how INR5,900 crores you can see.
We have even given where exactly in balance sheet it is placed on a consol basis.
Obviously, you will not see this cash balance in AVTL where the capex is happening.
What we also -- by maintaining this cash balance, we are also then looking at ways and means to deploy this, but we are never in a rush.
It is not that we just simply use it.
We like growth, but we don't -- we like growth, which results in profits because we are a very bottom line-driven company.
So as and when we will get opportunities, whether organic or inorganic, other than AVTL because AVTL already has its sources of funds, we will deploy.
Otherwise, we will hold.
Because this is what we believe in a fortress balance sheet, which then enables you to do things which are truly big, huge and remarkable.
Kunal Mehta
Okay.
And any capex in the downstream segment, especially in the, let's say, gas stations or expanding distribution since Aegis Gas has about INR840 crores of cash on the balance sheet?
Aegis Logistics Limited August 14, 2026
Murad Moledina
The best part is that distribution business right is a franchise-driven business.
So the distribution assets is financed by the franchisee.
So the beauty is that there is no capex, hardly any capex in distribution business and also absolutely very low working capital.
So yes, wherever it is required, we will -- of course, we have enough firepower by way of cash to do so, but let the opportunity come.
Kunal Mehta
Sir, what was the INR897 crores of -- INR870 crores of other income in Aegis Gas for FY '26?
Murad Moledina
That is because Aegis Gas had sold off its holding in Hindustan Aegis, probably the capital gains arising on that, but that gets eliminated on consol basis.
Kunal Mehta
Okay.
Okay.
And sir, I think in June, there was an article that I read, which said that U.S. imports were -- sorry, India imports from the U.S. will -- has almost reached 1 million metric tons.
So that shows that there is a mix shift towards long-haul VLGCs.
And I think Aegis also is moving in that direction, making every port compliant.
So does this help us gain market share in terminaling volumes?
Murad Moledina
Yes, because -- you have made a very good point.
So when it comes from U.S., it's very large ships.
So when it used to come and when it comes from Middle East, very large ships as well as small ships.
So there are terminals in India, which can only handle small ships because their static capacity is less.
But we stand in the market with very big capacity terminals, especially at Mangalore and Pipavav.
So there -- and even Kandla for that matter, that we can unload an entire ship in one shot.
So obviously, it helps because then it reduces the waiting time of the ship, it reduces demurrage, the it reduces the freight cost.
Everything adds to the subsidy of the customer in case the efficiencies are not taken into consideration.
Kunal Mehta
Okay.
And sir, this year, I think in Aegis International also, there was a INR40 crores of EBITDA.
Usually, we have around single digit.
So I mean this was probably because of better sourcing and the geopolitical scenario, right?
So going ahead, we should maintain at around INR4 crores to INR5 crores...
Murad Moledina
Yes, do not go overboard, just do standard projections.
Kunal Mehta
And sir, how much is the probably revenue at the Mumbai terminal for liquid and LPG?
If you can give some ballpark number what -- at what terms?
Because it will help us to just probably get a sense of how much Mumbai terminal?
I know it is operating at 95% utilization.
But probably what is the current tariff or the current terms that we get from this?
Murad Moledina
Tariff is the same all over.
We don't give splits and we maintain that.
So yes, we don't do that.
Kunal Mehta
And is it at around 70 tons?
Murad Moledina
No, no. Historically, it has 90-plus tons.
Moderator · Conference Operator
And that was the last question for the day.
On behalf of MUFG Intime, that concludes this conference.
Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines.
Aegis Logistics Limited August 14, 2026
Murad Moledina
Thank you.
Raj Chandaria
Thank you.