by Suhani Adilabadkar
Based out of New Delhi, APL Apollo Tubes Ltd (APL Apollo) is among the leading manufacturers of branded steel products in India. The largest producer of electric resistance welded (ERW) steel pipes and sections in India and one of the largest players in the world, operating through eleven manufacturing facilities with a total capacity of 2.55 million MTPA.
Quick Takes:
· APL Apollo Tubes is the largest producer of electric resistance welded (ERW) steel pipes in India.
· The company reported sales volume growth of 29% at 3.9 lakh metric tons in Q1FY20.
· Revenue from operations increased 24%, operating profit jumped 15% YoY and PAT grew 11% YoY reported at Rs. 52 crore in Q1FY20.
· The company has acquired Taurus Value Steel & Pipes and Apollo Tricoat, enhancing its total installed capacity to 2.55 million MTPA.
· APL Apollo management says it is confident of delivering a sales volume growth CAGR of 20% in FY20 and FY21.
June Quarter FY20
APL Apollo Tubes started FY20 on a strong note, reporting sales volume growth of 29% YoY at 3.9 lakh metric tons in Q1FY20 driven by healthy pick up in the demand environment, increase in market share and strong contribution from value-added products. Revenue from operations increased 24% from Rs. 1,677 cr in Q1FY19 to Rs. 2,072 cr in Q1FY20. Operating profit stood at Rs. 125 cr in Q1FY20 higher by 15% compared to Rs. 109 cr the same period previous year. Operating margin was reported at 6.03% declining 45 bps YoY in Q1FY20.
PAT jumped 11% YoY at Rs. 52 cr against Rs. 47 cr the same period previous year impacted by depreciation cost increasing 30% YoY due to the commissioning of new capacities and higher taxation. The company generated a strong operating cash flow of Rs. 72 cr and has total debt of around Rs. 762 cr in Q1FY20 rising mainly due to the acquisition of Shankara manufacturing unit.
India has become a global manufacturing hub for steel pipes
Driven by construction, transmission and distribution sectors, global steel tubes market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5-8% by 2020. India has become a manufacturing hub of ERW steel pipes and tubes globally. ERW pipes utilized mainly for transportation of oil, water and gas is driven by government capex in infrastructure. Auto sector and real estate is expected to grow by 10-12% every year. Domestic ERW steel tubes market size is around $6 bn or Rs. 40,000 crore with domestic demand of about 8 million TPA.
APL Apollo Tubes largest producer of ERW steel pipes and a prominent player in steel tube market with overall market share of 18% reported at a CAGR of 23% and 20% for revenue and PAT respectively over the past five years. The company has multiplied investor wealth phenomenally, 5 times or roughly more than 360% since 2014. APL Apollo tubes has seen strong investor interest over the past one year, recovering strongly since its subdued numbers in Q3FY19 impacted by inventory losses due to steep fall in steel prices. The company has reported strong growth momentum and numbers both in March and June quarters with stock price gaining 48% from its 52-week low of 1000 levels which struck last year.
Amid a slowing economy, the company is on a strong growth path fuelled by its two acquisitions, Taurus Value Steel & Pipes, subsidiary of Shankara Building Products and Apollo Tricoat. Shankara unit has enhanced its product portfolio by high-margin products, namely GI ( used in water supply) and GP steel tubes (used in power, refineries etc) while through Apollo Tricoat, APL Apollo has brought in its fold new technology enhancing its product basket with niche, high-value coated pipes, in-line galvanizing (ILG) and hybrid pipes augmenting its total installed capacity to 2.55 million MTPA. The company is targeting 1 lakh tonne of productioneach from both these acquisitions by the end of FY20.
Another growth driver has been direct forming tube (DFT) technology used for making hollow sections of superior quality and finish adapting to customer requirements, first introduced by APL Apollo in India in 2018. Mainly utilized in infrastructure projects such as airports, bridges, DFT sales volumes have almost doubled between April 2018 and March 2019 as earlier domestic customers had to completely depend on imports for DFT. Catering strong demand from companies like L&T, APL Apollo has slashed 4-5 month waiting period for DFT to few days. The company currently has 8 lines of DFT with a total capacity of around 6 lakh tonnes and its utilization is expected to go up to 80%-85% in the near future.
The firm has strong high margin and high growth value added product portfolio which are contributing significantly to current growth trajectory, namely pre-galvanized tubes, ILG, door frames, tricoat pipes and cold rolled steel. The company has increased its capacity by 50% to 0.5 million tonnes for pre-galvanized tubes while ILG capacity stands at 0.05 million tonnes, DFT capacity enhanced to 0.6 million tonne and door frames to 0.06 million tonnes. In addition to the value-added products, growth is also coming from structural shift of wood and cement which has been substituted by steel tubes leading to higher demand of hollow sections and GP pipes as steel is a cheaper and sturdier material than wood.
The company is also working on backward integration plan of 2 cold-rolling mills and in this respect, Mr Sanjay Gupta, Chairman, APL Apollo Tubes said, “The capacity of both the lines is almost 4 lakh ton per annum and the cost saving on this line is I think close to Rs. 1,500 per ton. We are paying almost Rs. 3,000 per ton to our suppliers. Now, our cost is reduced by Rs. 1,500 per tonne”. APL Apollo is already the lowest cost producer in the country and endeavours to become the lowest cost producer across the globe.
APL Apollo will operate its first-ever international warehousing facility, under its wholly owned subsidiary ‘APL Apollo Tubes FZE’, incorporated at the Jebel Ali Free zone in Dubai to augment its international sales across the high potential Middle East market complementing its strategy to boost exports which is currently just 4-5% to total products in the coming years.
Strong investment plans of the government are the biggest growth drivers for the company dependent on infrastructure, construction and auto sector growth. Government has announced an investment of $110 bn for improving ports and shipbuilding industry by 2020, spending Rs. 8,500 billion for modernization of railways in the next five years, investing Rs. 4 lakh crore for establishing about 100 airports in the next 15 years leading to robust long-term growth prospects for the APL Apollo Tubes and the industry as a whole.
Despite uncertainty in the broader market, the management says it will deliver a sales volume growth CAGR of 20% and bottom line of 25% in FY20 and FY21.