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PPAP Automotive Ltd
NSE:PPAP

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PPAP Automotive Ltd
NSE:PPAP
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Price: 198.55 INR -1.19% Market Closed
Updated: May 6, 2024

Earnings Call Analysis

Q3-2024 Analysis
PPAP Automotive Ltd

Company Targets Exports, Expects Lower Raw Material Costs

The company successfully exported automotive aftermarket products to the UAE and anticipates more shipments this quarter. Additionally, they have commenced exports to the U.S., with future shipments lined up within the current quarter. Macro indicators suggest a downturn in raw material prices, which, alongside supply chain de-risking, is expected to lower costs. Injection molding, 40% of business, has been shielded from material cost spikes due to customer indexing, protecting margins. A 3-pronged approach aims at inflationary cost recovery from customers, enhanced manufacturing efficiencies, and supply chain optimizations. The aftermarket contributes 3% to the top line, aiming for a 9-10% margin this fiscal year. For context, Tata Motors' 40,000 unit per year production plan could translate to an estimated per-vehicle revenue of INR 4,500.

Optimistic Outlook on Raw Material Costs

There's a silver lining for investors as the company anticipates a decline in raw material prices, driven by softening macro indexes. Efforts to derisk the supply chain further support this positive trend, which is expected to lead to reduced raw material costs, potentially enhancing profit margins and contributing to healthier bottom lines.

Strategic Expansion into Export Markets

Exporting has become a key strategic initiative for the company, aiming to diversify and expand its market base. Recently, the company shipped to the UAE and plans to increase export activities throughout the current quarter. This shows a proactive approach to growth, tapping into international markets to offset any domestic fluctuations and represents an exciting opportunity for revenue expansion.

Indexing System Mitigates Raw Material Price Volatility

To combat the volatility of raw material prices, approximately 40% of the company's core business - injection molding, has been safeguarded through an indexing system with customers. This hedging mechanism adjusts product prices in relation to material costs, with a brief lag, thereby providing a buffer against sudden market shifts and protecting the company's margins.

Efforts to Index Costs Across Divisions

The company is diligently working to extend its indexing arrangement across all business divisions, with a goal to insulate itself fully from erratic raw material price movements. While not yet completely implemented, the initiative has been partially successful, with certain customers and materials now indexed, particularly in the rubber extrusion division, enhancing predictability in costs and revenue.

Margin Expansion Through a Three-Pronged Strategy

A focused three-pronged strategy underpins the company's plan for margin growth. First, transferring certain inflationary costs to customers alongside corrections in raw material pricing. Second, through heightened internal manufacturing efficiency and reducing waste to streamline operations. Third is an ongoing initiative to make the supply chain more resilient and economical, procuring better materials at competitive prices with an emphasis on localization.

Steady Growth in Commercial Toolroom Business

With an order book of over 65 tools for the financial year, the company's commercial toolroom business is gaining traction. Although none of the orders is significantly large, the consistency of new orders in alignment with the company's investments and infrastructure indicates a stable and growing segment that could contribute progressively to revenue.

Aftermarket Vertical: A Profitable Niche

The aftermarket segment, although a smaller part of the company's revenue at around 3% of the top line, shows promise for profitability with expected margins of 9% to 10% this financial year. This niche within the broader automotive market offers a stronghold with significant margin potential, which could become a more critical component of the business mix over time.

Battery Business Still in Developmental Challenges

Development in the battery business faces hurdles as the company works through the certification stage for its 50-plus battery designs. These steps are essential for meeting industry standards and customer expectations, though they have prevented scaling up in this third quarter, representing an area for potential future growth once these initial obstacles are overcome.

Anticipation for the Upcoming Tata CURVV Launch

Enthusiasm surrounds the prospective launch of Tata CURVV, a vehicle that promises to debut many of the company's premium products in the market. With an expected manufacturing volume of 40,000 vehicles per year and an approximate revenue recognition of INR 4,500 per car, this project could represent a robust new revenue stream reflecting the company's ability to innovate and capitalize on industry trends.

Earnings Call Transcript

Earnings Call Transcript
2024-Q3

from 0
Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to PPAP Automotive Limited Q3 and 9 Months FY '24 Earnings Conference Call.

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 date of this call. These statements are not the guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict.

[Operator Instructions] Please note that this conference is being recorded.

I now hand the conference over to Mr. Abhishek Jain, MD and CEO, PPAP Automotive. Thank you, and over to you, Mr. Jain.

A
Abhishek Jain
executive

Yes. Thank you, Niro. Good afternoon, everyone. I would like to extend a very warm welcome to all the participants joining us on this call. Here with me are Mr. Sachin Jain, our CFO; and our advisers from SGA. I trust you had an opportunity to review our results and investor presentation, which are available on both the stock exchange and our company's website for easy access.

Before delving into the specifics of our financials, I'd like to provide a succinct overview of some key developments in the industry. India is the largest automotive market globally and is expected to conclude financial year '24 with 4.1 million passenger vehicles, positioning itself as one of the fastest growing markets worldwide in the coming years. Consequently, numerous global OEMs have established manufacturing plants over the past decade or so to tap into this significant market. To expedite their expansions, many global OEMs have now finalized plans to designate India as their global hub for certain models.

In the PV segment, there was a notable demand for SUVs. Passenger vehicle production volumes for Q3 financial year '24 reached about 1.14 million units, marking a 5% year-on-year increase. Noteworthy sales were recorded during the quarter, totaling 1.01 million units, driven by factors such as the festive season, year-end promotions and the introduction of new products. However, sales volume experienced a slight dip compared to quarter 2, primarily due to the Kharmas period characterized by the subdued demand from December 15 to January 15.

In the commercial vehicle sector, sales volume for the quarter ending December '23 reached 2,40,000 units, up from 230,000 units in the same quarter previous year. The growth was spurred by a robust economic expansion and increased construction activities, leading to enhanced fleet utilization rates and cash flows for fleet operators.

Conversely, the tractor segment witnessed a 5% decline in sales volume during the same period, largely attributed to subdued demand from a delayed harvest season. Nonetheless, solid order bookings and positive market sentiment suggest a resilient growth trajectory for the sector.

The 2-wheeler segment saw significant recovery, driven by the festive demand in the previous quarter. The positive momentum continued in December '23 quarter as well with sales volume reaching 4.7 million units, indicating a robust year-over-year growth of 23%. Increased demand was influenced by various factors, including festive [ fervor ], heightened rural sentiments, the wedding season, intensified marketing efforts and anticipation of price hikes in January '24.

We've emphasized that financial year '24 marks a fresh start for our growth, and so far, it's shaping up accordingly. To enhance profitability, we've communicated price hikes to the customers. Many have already committed to it, diligently worked on reducing internal costs with suppliers, and we are still progressing towards internalizing manufacturing efficiencies.

The investments made in the JV company are proving fruitful. Our aftermarket division has established a strong network across India and is now exploring international markets. I'm confident that the company's effort over the past couple of years will yield improved results in the remainder of this year and the next year going forward, strengthening the fundamentals of the company and the growth, thereby creating greater value for all the stakeholders.

Now let me briefly update you on our business segments. The company remains focused on the automotive industry. While witnessing strong demand and sales in this segment, we are continuously developing new products for our customers. The company's capacity utilization stands at 70% in quarter 3 due to seasonal factors and annual maintenance at the OEM level. Despite our products being [indiscernible] for long-term viability, we have managed to secure contracts with customers planning to launch electric vehicles in the future, led by Maruti Suzuki and by Tata Motors. We are actively negotiating with customers regarding composition for inflationary costs, and we have encountered favorable outcomes within this quarter. As we have been mentioning for a few quarters now, our margins are expected to improve once all the costs have gone under control.

Our second vertical for growth, the commercial toolroom, has a strong order book. This year, we have an order book of 65 tools. We are also participating in the Die & Mould India Exhibition, which is organized by TAGMA from 14 to 17 February in the Mumbai Exhibition Centre in Goregaon. I would request you if you have spare time, please visit our stall. We'll be happy to show you our capabilities. We have recently rebranded this vertical [indiscernible] precision molds to bring about more focus on making the molds.

In our third vertical, as announced to you in the last meeting, we started supplies for an export customer, which is the first for the company. In this segment, we are focusing on application engineering solutions in the areas of plastic extrusion, rubber extrusion as well as plastic injection molding. Our product portfolio includes more than 50-plus products in this segment, which are being well accepted by the customer.

In our aftermarket vertical, which is done under a group company called Elpis, our subsidiary, we have a pan-India distribution network, which is for -- which is spread over 125-plus distributors. And in line with adding new SKUs to our product offering for our customers, we've added 200-plus products during this quarter, bringing the total to 900-plus SKUs being offered to the customers.

This segment continues to grow at a rate of 50% this year, and I am quite hopeful that this growth will continue in the future as well. I'm happy to share with you that we have also started exports to UAE and GCC during the last quarter from this company, and we are actively looking at exploring options to leverage the export market for this vertical as well.

Our lithium-ion battery vertical is facing some challenges. Though we aim to build a strong order book and provide solutions to our customers in the future, but it is still taking some time to shape up. We are making all efforts to resolve all the performance parameters so that it starts positive contribution to the [ growth ] sooner than later.

On the sustainability front, we have obtained certification from EcoVadis, voluntary complied with BRSR requirements, and we are also recognized as a Great Place to Work. We strive to enhance our sustainability reporting process to meet the highest standards and to demonstrate our efforts in creating a sustainable value for all the stakeholders. Our latest sustainability report for financial year '23 is available on our website, where we highlight our CSR activities also, which are focused on environment, education and health.

Now let me throw some light on the financial performance of quarter 3 financial year '24. At a stand-alone level, the revenue dropped from INR 124.8 crores to INR 119.7 crores on a quarter-on-quarter (sic) [ year-on-year ] basis. EBITDA has risen by 15% to INR 10.9 crores on a year-on-year basis. Also, the EBITDA margin improved by 116 basis points on a year-to-year basis from 7.5% to 9.1%. The company registered a PAT of INR 0.2 crores, a slight decline from INR 0.3 crores on a year-on-year basis.

Coming to the consolidated financial revenue, decreased from INR 127.1 crores in quarter 3 to INR 122.4 crores in quarter 3, indicating a decline of 3.7%. While EBITDA stood at INR 9.8 crores, indicating a growth of 7.9%, on a consolidated basis, the EBITDA margin improved by 90 basis points from 7.1% to 8%. However, the company suffered a net loss of INR 2.7 crores on a consolidated basis, primarily contributed by the lithium-ion battery business.

Looking ahead in financial year '25, we expect the volume [ surge ], in addition to our improved product mix, lower input prices, cost efficiency measures, should really improve our top line and our bottom line. Our CapEx spending will be aligned with the customers' requirements. Increased capacity utilization and tariff revisions from customers will surely put us in a strong position for growth and profitability in the coming years.

Thank you all for your attention, and we are open to any questions. Over to you, Niro.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] The first question is from the line of [ Rohit Mehra ] from SK Securities.

U
Unknown Analyst

My first question is, could you provide details on the order book for Honda Elevate and the content per vehicle for this model?

S
Sachin Jain
executive

So the Honda [ side ] basically is the domestic volume is approximately 4,000 to 5,000 vehicles per month. And we are also getting the export volume from the customer. So in December month, we have started to export. And it is expected to go around 3,000 vehicles by end of this March. And regarding the content per vehicle, so the value is INR 6,000 for the car.

U
Unknown Analyst

Okay. Got it. And my second question is, are we exploring any export opportunities? And do we anticipate a moderation in raw material cost going forward?

A
Abhishek Jain
executive

All the macro indexes for the raw materials are showing a softening trend. So we do expect raw material prices to come down. Apart from that, we have been working on derisking our supply chain system as well. So both of them should result in reduced raw material prices for sure.

What was the second question you asked?

U
Unknown Analyst

It was, are we exploring any export opportunities?

A
Abhishek Jain
executive

Yes, export opportunities. Export is a very important focus for us going forward. Like I said in the -- in my explanation, our aftermarket business, we've already exported one shipment to UAE in the month of December. And we'll be developing more such shipments in this quarter. In the main company in our industrial products business, we've already sent 2 shipments to -- for the export customer to the U.S., and more shipments are supposed to happen during this quarter.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Next question is from the line of [ Nishit Shah ] from [ Starwell Advisors ].

U
Unknown Analyst

So my question is, are there any considerations or discussions regarding adopting a cost-plus model with OEMs to mitigate the impact of raw material cost fluctuations on margins?

A
Abhishek Jain
executive

[ Nishit ], some of our products that we make, they are basically under the indexing system of our customer, wherein the raw material prices are adequately compensated. So basically, we have 3 business divisions in the company for automotive business: plastic extrusion, rubber extrusion and injection molding. So whatever materials we use in injection molding process, which contributes about 40% of the total business of the company, those are indexed with the customer, and we don't have an impact on raw material price movement that is adequately compensated by the customer maybe on a quarter lag.

So that is one problem. This quarter lag we are trying to remove with the same arrangement with our suppliers as well so that the company doesn't have any impact on it.

The second, plastic extrusion, we are trying to get maximum indexing done from all the customers for all the materials so that going forward in future, we are able to limit the impact of the unprecedented raw material price changes, which have happened, in our case, in the last 2 to 3 years, especially after COVID. So we are trying our efforts to get all the prices indexed with the customers. So some customers have agreed to it. Some materials, they have agreed to it. Overall, we are not there 100% yet.

Rubber side, we are already indexed with the customer. So whatever rubber prices change happens, we are adequately compensated from the customer.

U
Unknown Analyst

Okay. Okay. And I have one more question. Like are we partnership with most major players in the industry? And what are our plans for the margin expansion?

A
Abhishek Jain
executive

Sorry, what did you say about partnerships? I didn't understand that.

U
Unknown Analyst

Are we in partnership with the most major players in the industry?

A
Abhishek Jain
executive

We are supplying to most of the major OEMs in the country. Is that what you're asking?

U
Unknown Analyst

Yes, yes, yes, right. Okay. And what are our plans for the margin expansion?

A
Abhishek Jain
executive

Like I've been saying in all the previous meetings as well, we are working on 3-pronged approach. First is getting certain inflationary cost increases from the customer, raw material prices correction, all those things from the customer. Second is, of course, internal manufacturing efficiency, wastages and all of that, making the operations more leaner, less with the wastages and all. And third, of course, is the derisking of the supply chain, trying to get better materials at better prices and localized to the maximum possible extent.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Next question is from the line of Rajvi Shah from Bright Securities.

R
Rajvi Shah
analyst

I just had a couple of questions. The first one is, what is the status of...

Operator

Rajvi, sorry to interrupt you. Can you speak a little louder, please?

R
Rajvi Shah
analyst

Yes, sure. I just had a couple of questions. The first one is, what is the status of commercial toolroom business? Have we secured any significant orders?

S
Sachin Jain
executive

Regarding commercial toolroom, as we have mentioned that we have the order book of around 65-plus tools for this financial year. And commercial toolroom is very specialized business so that you got a little [indiscernible], but it is not like the [ commercial-type ] business if you develop one tool, then you will start getting the second tool or the same particular tool.

So we are gradually getting the traction from our customer. And continuously, we are getting the order from our customer in this segment. So I would not say that any significant value of orders we have received. However, in line with the investment and the infrastructure which we have created, we are getting the orders.

R
Rajvi Shah
analyst

Okay. I just had one more question. What percentage of our top line revenue comes from the aftermarket vertical? And what are associated margin in that segment?

S
Sachin Jain
executive

So aftermarket side, we are getting around 3% of the top line. And if you talk about the full year margin, so here, we are expecting around 9% to 10% this financial year in the aftermarket.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] The next question is from the line of [ Arodi ] from [ Mass Capital ].

U
Unknown Analyst

I wanted to check, have you seen any scale-up in our battery business?

S
Sachin Jain
executive

So battery side, we are still facing challenges. And we have developed 50-plus batteries, and we are working certain customers with that segment. However, for the customers for whom we have developed the batteries, their product and product is under certification stage. So that's why we could not scale up in this quarter 3.

So that is an area we are working on, where how to grow our order book in that segment and further the financial performance of that company. So in lithium-ion battery segment, there are still challenges.

U
Unknown Analyst

Okay. Okay. My second question was, we've seen a big premiumization trend happening in India. Like are we getting benefit from this trend? Has our ARPU in each of these clients that we have, has it gone up?

A
Abhishek Jain
executive

In line with this premiumization trend, we are ready with our products. If you see this, you must have heard about Tata CURVV, which is supposed to be launched in the market soon by Tata, which was on display in the Bharat Mobility Expo and there's been a whole buzz about it. So this product -- this vehicle will have a lot of our premium products, which we are introducing for the market for the first time.

U
Unknown Analyst

Can you share like what kind of products are these?

A
Abhishek Jain
executive

Basic, possibly is [indiscernible]. We are proactively ready with that kind of a solution before the customer requires. So in line with that, we've developed a lot of premium products for the customers. And when you see this Tata CURVV, you'll definitely notice all the premium products, which are being made by us.

U
Unknown Analyst

Okay. Are you in a state to disclose what are these products?

A
Abhishek Jain
executive

All similar product range what we do for Tata Motors. So the outer belt, the A pillar, the C pillar.

U
Unknown Analyst

Sure. And what kind of revenue recognition we'll be having per car tentatively?

A
Abhishek Jain
executive

So Tata is planning to make, I think, 40,000 vehicles per year. And I think per car value is about [ INR 4,500 ] or something.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Next question is from the line of [ Karan Mehta ] from Mehta Investments.

U
Unknown Analyst

A couple of questions from my end. So just wanted to understand like how do we foresee the demand shaping up in FY '25, if you can provide some insights here?

A
Abhishek Jain
executive

Next year?

U
Unknown Analyst

Yes, FY '25.

A
Abhishek Jain
executive

I think next year is going to be a little challenging for the auto industry because it is the year after elections. So it may be -- of course, growth will happen for sure. But I think growth will not be as similar as what it was in this financial year. So maybe a little less than this year. And for us, we are launching a lot of new products, so that will definitely boost our top line.

U
Unknown Analyst

Understood. And one point on a debt level. So we have seen that our debt has been rising in the past few half yearly [ statements ] if we go through that. So how should we look at debt levels going forward like for FY '24 and beyond?

S
Sachin Jain
executive

So on the left side also last call -- in the con call, we had informed that. On a long-term basis, we try to maintain debt at that level only, not to increase substantially. So that would be minor [ case ] based on the quarterly requirement and half yearly requirement.

So on an overall basis, we try to maintain at INR 150 crore kind of level of -- debt level only. I think unless we have some big projects where we need a substantial funding to fund that project. Otherwise, we will try to keep it that level only.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Next question is from the line of Aditya Sen from RoboCapital.

A
Aditya Sen
analyst

Probably, I missed about the CapEx point. Do we have any CapEx plan for next 2 or 3 years in line?

S
Sachin Jain
executive

So right now, we don't have any major CapEx plan. So mostly, it would be in line with the customer requirement. And we are evaluating the customer project and the [ current ] capacity which we have at the current location.

First, we'll try to align that capacity by shifting the machines, if there is any requirement at particular location like in the [indiscernible] side or [indiscernible] side of Gujarat side. Across India, we have the plant. So first of all, we will try to align our capacity among the plant. And after that, we will think of any large CapEx if very -- these customer projects come up.

A
Aditya Sen
analyst

Right. So can you please share the present capacity utilization?

A
Abhishek Jain
executive

Yes. For the Q3, it was 70%.

A
Aditya Sen
analyst

70%. Okay. So I believe there's room for growth. Do we have any aspirational number in terms of revenue and EBITDA for coming, let's say, 3 to 4 years?

S
Sachin Jain
executive

Yes. EBITDA side, we have also informed earlier also, so 12% kind of EBITDA margin we always look for. And top line also to -- our focus is to improve the current capacity utilization to that. And later on, we can also -- in the aftermarket segment, we want to grow at this pace only. Every year, we try to achieve 50%-plus growth, like industrial products where we have ventured into. So these are 2, 3 areas where growth will come up.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Next question is from the line of [ Ravi Shah ] from Opal Securities.

U
Unknown Analyst

Am I audible?

Operator

Yes.

U
Unknown Analyst

I have a few questions. So previously, there was a discussion that we will be maintaining an EBITDA margin of around 15%. Now it is at 9% for the current period. So just thinking like how we are going to manage that? And considering the decrease in commodity costs and potential price increase from our customers, why is EBITDA not going in line with our price increases?

S
Sachin Jain
executive

Yes. There are 2, 3 reasons for that. So we have -- as we mentioned that 40% of our product is already compensated or indexed with the customer prices. And secondly, on the inflationary cost side, we are working with our customers to some [ success ]. We have the [ deals ], what you see. If you compare with the last quarter -- year-on-year basis, our margin has improved by 160 basis points in spite of there is a drop in top line and increase in the fixed expenses also, like employee cost has increased, certain other expense increased because you need to maintain your manpower and you need to do certain expenses to maintain the facilities.

So in spite of that, our margin has improved. So it has come due to the growth season of, firstly, what is the price improvement from a customer side and softening of the raw material prices. So for the margin side, I would say that the -- we have bottomed out for the margin side, and now it would be only -- it's an upward trend.

U
Unknown Analyst

Understood. I have another question, sir. What will be our strategy to increase the content per vehicle, especially for key OEMs like Maruti and Tata, as you mentioned? So what is our strategy over there? .

A
Abhishek Jain
executive

Strategy basically is to increase our per car value business. So parts are limited to us. We can offer them higher value-added products. So premiumization of products, that is one strategy we are focusing on with all these customers, introducing new technologies to get more business from them. We are regularly conducting technology shows at our customer ends so that we can explain to them about our good manufacturing practices, our good products, our good technology, everything so that they get attracted to us and give us more business.

Outside for all these OEMs, I think currently, initially, we started with only plastic extrusion, then we started injection, then we started rubber molding. We will continue to investigate for more options. But as of now, product category remains the same. What we are trying to do is with all the existing customers, get more premium products in place and also wherever we are not present, try to get the business from them.

So there are 2 customers, mainly which we need to -- which we are focusing on. First is Mahindra, which is completely missing from our portfolio. So from last 1 year, we've been trying to engage with them. I'm pretty hopeful that this -- during this quarter, some good news should come through and we start doing Mahindra business.

Tata Motors, we are continuously engaging with them for all their new platforms so that we are present across their platforms. Hyundai, Kia, we are doing some small business for them from our Chennai plant. But we are in talks with them. You must have heard Hyundai is planning to -- has already acquired the Talegaon plant of General Motors, and they'll be soon customizing that plant according to their requirements. So we are actively in discussion with them to get business from -- for that plant in Pune.

U
Unknown Analyst

Understood, sir. Just one last question would be on the capacity utilization. So in your presentation, you mentioned that there was an annual maintenance. I think I missed it in the -- probably, I must have missed it. So just want to know, how we return to normalized capacity utilization as for this quarter?

A
Abhishek Jain
executive

So the annual maintenance was at the customer's end. We cannot afford to do maintenance once a year. We do it on a daily or a weekly basis. So there's no capacity break for us. We have our machine running at all times. It's only that because customers had maintenance shutdown, they didn't produce that many vehicles. And that's why our -- we had nonproduction days at our end because of that.

U
Unknown Analyst

Understood. So just a one-off event. Understood.

A
Abhishek Jain
executive

Yes.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Next question is from the line of [ Sauran Harsana ], individual investor.

U
Unknown Attendee

I'm audible?

Operator

Yes, sir.

U
Unknown Attendee

So my question is like, if you look at the industry -- passenger vehicle industry, that has grown by 7% for Q3 FY '24 year-on-year basis. And also for 9 months basis, industry [ has grown ] 6% to 7%. But our revenue just grown by 1.5%, almost flat. Like what is the reason for this? Are we losing some market share or what?

S
Sachin Jain
executive

So it is not about losing our market share. So there are 2 reasons. One is the -- in the initial 9 months, we have higher tool sales last year. This year, we have less tool sales. And we -- as we mentioned that we are doing automotive business in 2 -- within 2 companies from the PTI, our [indiscernible] company, and PPAP.

So if we combine both the company's automotive top line, we have grown by around 10%, higher than the market. In PPAP, we have grown only by 2% because there are certain product per value where the production was start from our [ PPAP ] company. That's why it is true that our automotive business top line has grown better than the margin. If we consol both the company's top line, then we have grown by around 10% in the automotive segment.

U
Unknown Attendee

So like, let's say, the consolidated results 9 months basis?

S
Sachin Jain
executive

Yes, yes. Because the [indiscernible] is not consolidated. On PAT, we consolidate. So in top line, that effect does not reflect.

U
Unknown Attendee

Okay, okay. So that means that business with the other [indiscernible] that is like if we are consolidating only PAT, and that is the basically loss-making business because our profit after tax is also -- I mean we are getting most from there.

S
Sachin Jain
executive

Yes. For that company also up to the 2 last year, there was losses. And we have settled the price with the customer, so the price has been corrected.

In this quarter, the loss due to -- there is a -- as we know, we have a contract with the customer for the price indexation, which there is a price reduction in the raw material prices, so customers reduced their selling prices. So for the 9 months, impact has came in this quarter, onetime impact in this JV company. So that's why in this quarter, it was a lot. Previous quarter, it was a profit in Q2 and Q1.

U
Unknown Attendee

So like by then, we can expect there will be a fundament profitable growth from the JV company?

S
Sachin Jain
executive

So that's here onwards because as we mentioned that we are also doing certain activities in the raw material side regarding the source changing and the operational efficiency side. So from next year onwards, there will be significant improvement in the margins, especially in the [indiscernible].

U
Unknown Attendee

Okay. And my next question is only for our battery business, [ PPAP's Tech ] business. Like we are saying that we are facing some challenges for the last 2, 3 quarters. So like to which customer we are talking so that we can get some business? Because if you look at 2-wheeler player, they are all big players now remaining in the market, only small player [ have lost business ]. So like how can we turn around this battery business?

S
Sachin Jain
executive

So we are talking to the operators, similar manufacturers. Their product is in certification stage. Like we are also discussing with some solar energy customers where there is a requirement of battery. Further, we are also -- have been discussing with the customers who need the energy storage system. And also for the other applications also like golf carts and other -- where the battery is being used in the auto vehicle, we use the battery. So that kind of customer we are focusing because we also know that the 2-wheeler customers, who are quite big and they are doing their own operations or manufacturing their own battery. So we have identified our customers, and now we are working with them to scale up the operation.

U
Unknown Attendee

Okay. If I may, one more question, I guess. So let's say, if you look at profitability of our business, consolidated level, we are having, let's say, yearly basis EBITDA of [ INR 50 crores ] based upon last 3 quarters. And if you look at like maybe if we have maintenance CapEx of INR 10 crores, INR 15 crores, after that, we are remaining this INR 20 crores to INR 25 crores of cash. And if you look at balances, our capital employment is somewhere close to INR 400 crores to INR 450 crores. So very, very less profitability. So what is the reason we had this and this is continuing the last approximate 1.5 years? Can you like give something that -- so that when will this profitability will improve?

S
Sachin Jain
executive

Like profitability, now we are improved and as we compare with the last part of previous year also that there was a 7.5%, 9.1% EBITDA margin has been improved. So until -- at current time, we have [ seen ] revenue now. So that we -- you can turn around this quarter, 1 quarter or 2 quarters, it takes time when we go to the customer, [ parroting ] all the automotive -- basically, all the customer is quite cost conscious and cost competitive.

So getting the price increases from the customer is not that easy. So from the last financial year, we are very diligently working on that. And we are also getting some favorable answer from our customer like PTI where our JV company [ is ] able to get the price compensation. And PPAP also, we are able to get some price compensation on the price side. And also the commodity price is also softening. So all those activities would result in the margin improvement in the coming years.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] As there are no further questions, I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Abhishek Jain for closing comments.

A
Abhishek Jain
executive

Thank you, everyone, for joining on today's call and taking time out of your busy schedules to listen to us. Thank you to our Investor Relation adviser, SGA, for organizing this call.

As I requested in my opening remarks, we have our tooling exhibition from 14th to 17th February at Bombay Exhibition Centre, which is called Nesco, in Goregaon. Our tool facility, which we rebranded as Meraki Precision Molds, is showcasing there. I request everyone to kindly take out time and visit there.

If you have any more questions, we'll be more than happy to answer you. You have our e-mail address. You have our Investor Relations' e-mail address as well. So please feel free to reach out to us in case you have any queries. Thank you very much.

Operator

Thank you very much. On behalf of PPAP Automotive Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines. Thank you.