Annapurna Swadisht Limited

Q&A

Q1: How are you planning to achieve your target of 1,000+ crores in revenue by FY28, and what is the expected contribution of each of your business segments?

A: The company expects to reach this top-line milestone through a mix of its established and high-growth segments. The core Fryms and Namkeen businesses are both operating at a 250 crore annual run rate, contributing a combined 500 crores. The newly acquired Madur confectionery business is planned to deliver 250 crores, while the remaining 250 crores will come from growth categories: Andre Agro is projected to reach 120 crores, noodles around 80 crores, and biscuits about 40 crores.

Q2: Madur Confectionery has historically stagnated around the 100 crore mark. As the new management, what specific strategies are you implementing to scale this business to your 250–300 crore target?

A: Management has initiated several operational and product changes to drive growth. First, chocolate confectioneries have been introduced to the product mix, which did not exist under previous management. Second, factory operations have been optimized by moving from a single 8-hour shift to double shifts. Third, packaging sizes have been modified to increase volume; for example, the carton size for the "Rose" brand was increased from 24 to 30 pieces, yielding an automatic 25% increase in volume. Along with a 1.5% to 2% price realization increase, these changes are expected to push Madur's revenues from 108 crores in FY26 to 145–150 crores in the current fiscal year, paving the way for 250–300 crores in the near future.

Q3: Will the newly introduced chocolate molding line require significant capex, and how do you plan to finance it?

A: Scaling the chocolate facility will only require a small capex of not more than 5 to 7 crores, which is mainly for importing a few specialized machines from China. The existing infrastructure already has ample physical space to accommodate this machinery. This expansion will be funded entirely through internal accruals, meaning the company does not need to raise any additional debt for it.

Q4: The company has around 180 to 200 crores of debt on its balance sheet. How comfortably are you servicing this, and what is your plan for debt reduction?

A: The current debt stands at approximately 180 crores, and the company's operating revenue comfortably services this obligation. The rapid growth from 13 crores to 520 crores over six years was capital-intensive and required heavy debt and equity financing. Now that the business has reached a stable scale with healthy internal accruals, and because there are no immediate major cash-draining capex requirements, excess liquidity will be deployed to systematically repay outstanding debt.

Q5: What are the short-term loans and advances of 48 crores and long-term loans and advances of 15 crores on the March 31st balance sheet?

A: These advances, which combine for 63 crores, represent payments made to landowners and land aggregators for a major 30-acre land acquisition in Siliguri. Once the remaining balance is settled and administrative paperwork is finalized, the land registration will be completed. A portion of these advances also includes security deposits for leased warehouse facilities.

Q6: What is the total projected cost of the Siliguri integrated expansion, and have you secured shareholder approval for such a large project?

A: The land and site development costs are estimated to be around 70 crores, with the total project cost expected to fall in the range of 150 to 500 crores. The company will formally seek shareholder approval at the upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM). The proposal will be officially placed before the board and shareholders once the Techno-Economic Feasibility Report (TEFR) being drafted by SBI Caps is finalized.

Q7: How do you justify a massive 500 crore capex project when the company's entire market capitalization is only around 320 crores?

A: This capital expenditure is a long-term plan that will be phased out gradually over four to five years, rather than deployed all at once. Because the company packs snack products, the physical volume of packaged air is immense, making storage and logistics a major bottleneck as production scales. The project is designed to build a back-to-back integrated facility (covering flour milling, besan milling, extrusion, frying, packaging, and lamination) modeled after Balaji Wafers' successful model in Western India. This high degree of backward integration will slash production costs, enable a 2,000 crore revenue capacity at a high 15% EBITDA margin, and allow the company to recover the entire capex within 1.5 to 2 years of the facility's operation.

Q8: Are you attempting to transition into a diversified FMCG giant like ITC, and is this business model sustainable against such massive competitors?

A: The company is migrating from a pure snacking firm into a miniature version of ITC by using a single, robust regional distribution network to push multiple ready-to-eat (RTE) and ready-to-cook (RTC) categories. The goal is to reach a 1,500 to 2,000 crore top-line by having six to seven product verticals that each generate a manageable 250 crores annually. The company is not trying to compete directly with giants like ITC or Bikaji. Instead, it is disrupting unorganized local manufacturers by offering superior, standardized product quality at more competitive prices, which yields better cash flows for local distributors.

Q9: What is the revenue contribution of your low-value 5-rupee and 10-rupee products, and are you planning to focus more on premiumization?

A: The 5-rupee price point remains the mainstay, accounting for 90% to 95% of the core portfolio's revenue. While the acquired Madur brand has a different SKU structure, Annapurna's top-line is heavily anchored in the 5-rupee segment. However, the company is actively expanding its pricing architecture by introducing 10, 20, and 40-rupee SKUs, particularly in the noodles vertical, to capture higher-margin premium segments.

Q10: The company's operating cash flows have historically been negative over the last four to five years. When will this trend reverse?

A: The negative operating cash flows were a direct result of aggressive growth strategies. To establish deep rural penetration and win over top-tier distributors from entrenched competitors, the company historically provided generous credit terms of up to 90 days. Having reached critical mass, management is systematically reducing distributor credit terms from 90 days down to 30 days over the next two years. This credit reduction, combined with streamlining raw material and lamination inventory across multiple plants, will release substantial working capital back into the business.

Q11: Your debtor days (50–70 days) are significantly higher than established snack peers who operate at 8 to 10 days. Why does this discrepancy exist?

A: The company started as a virtually unknown brand in 2020, competing against dominant regional players like Pratap and Akash. Giving distributors credit was a deliberate tactical tool to lower their risk, build trust, and incentivize them to stock our new products. Now that the intense, multi-category launch phase is complete, the company is shifting to a consolidation phase. Debtor days are projected to drop to roughly 60 days by the end of FY27, with a structured plan to bring them down to a standard 15 to 30-day range over the subsequent year.

Q12: There is a very high level of promoter pledge on the company's shares. What is the plan to reduce this?

A12: The promoter pledge has already been successfully reduced from its historical peak of 86%–87% down to 70%. The unpledging process is actively running in the background, and management expects to bring the promoter pledge down to zero by the end of September (the half-year ending).

Q13: How is the brand endorsement deal with Sourav Ganguly performing, and what kind of traction are you seeing on your premium "Offside" brand?

A: The endorsement has been highly successful; placing Sourav Ganguly's image on the packaging has established a strong, trustworthy brand identity and helped eliminate widespread local product counterfeiting. The healthy snacking brand "Offside" (which focuses on 10-rupee plus packs) was launched four months ago and is already generating a steady 2 crores of revenue per month. The company expects "Offside" to scale to 5 to 10 crores per month over the next year.

Q14: By when can investors expect the company to achieve positive operating cash flow?

A: The company expects to generate positive operating cash flow (excluding free cash flow) by the end of the current financial year. This milestone will be achieved through the working capital improvements currently underway, including tighter inventory controls and shortened distributor credit cycles.

Strategic Outlook

1. Strengthening brands remains a key priority as the company seeks to deepen consumer engagement and build sustainable consumer franchises across its diversified FMCG portfolio.
2. ASL plans to further expand its distribution footprint, supporting deeper penetration across its existing markets and improving access to its products in rural and underserved markets.
3. Continued investment in manufacturing capabilities is expected to support future scale, improve production capacity and enable the company to meet growing demand across its expanding product portfolio.
4. Portfolio diversification through acquisitions and new product categories is expected to provide additional avenues for growth and strengthen the company's presence across the broader food-products segment.
5. The migration to the NSE Main Board is expected to improve market visibility, broaden institutional and retail investor participation and enhance liquidity, providing a stronger platform for long-term growth initiatives.
6. Going forward, management remains focused on sustainable and profitable growth, operational excellence, transparency, governance and regulatory compliance while pursuing opportunities that support long-term stakeholder value creation.

Business Strategy

1. The company is focused on expanding its manufacturing capabilities and leveraging a combination of owned facilities and white-label partners to support scalable, large-volume and efficient production.
2. ASL aims to strengthen its consumer brands while broadening its product portfolio through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions, enabling it to address a wider range of food consumption categories.
3. The company is pursuing wider market penetration by expanding its distribution footprint across Eastern and North-Eastern India, while continuing to increase availability across other Indian markets and internationally.
4. Strategic acquisitions remain an important growth lever, with the acquisition of Madhur adding chocolates and candies and the controlling stake in Andri Agro Foods expanding the portfolio into products such as soya chunks and pasta.
5. ASL is building a scalable FMCG model by combining manufacturing expansion, portfolio diversification, distribution reach and brand-building initiatives to strengthen its competitive position and create sustainable stakeholder value.
6. The company intends to maintain a focus on operational excellence, sustainable growth and strong corporate governance while pursuing new opportunities across its food businesses.

Key Highlights

1. Annapurna Swadisht Limited is one of the fastest-growing FMCG companies in Eastern India, focused on making affordable food products accessible across the rural heartlands of Eastern and North-Eastern India.
2. The company successfully migrated from the NSE EMERGE SME platform to the NSE Main Board, with trading commencing from August 12, 2026, marking a significant milestone in its growth journey.
3. Since its SME listing, ASL has strengthened its business fundamentals through manufacturing expansion, product diversification, strategic acquisitions, wider market penetration and continued investment in consumer brands.
4. The company operates state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities across Asansol, Siliguri, Gurap, Dhulagarh and Indore, supported by five white-label partners for large-scale and efficient production.
5. Its diversified portfolio spans snacks, namkeen, biscuits, cakes, sweets and confectionery, with the acquisition of Madhur adding chocolates and candies to the product portfolio.
6. Annapurna's products are available across 20 states in India and international markets, supported by a robust distribution network focused on regional taste, trusted quality and value.

Performance

Q1 FY27:

1. Revenue from operations: ₹126.76 crs (↑17.48% YoY)
2. EBITDA: ₹20.55 crs | EBITDA Margin: 16.21% (↑38 Bps)
3. PAT: ₹9.81 crs | PAT Margin: 7.74% (↓45 Bps)

FY26:

1. Revenue from operations: ₹520.08 crs
2. EBITDA: ₹72.41 crs | EBITDA Margin: 13.92%
3. PAT: ₹31.38 crs | PAT Margin: 6.03%