Can it be a case of perception or loop hole in GST laws which keeps it open for interpretation? The tax payer will pay GST based on his/her understanding of the GST laws and will wait for the Tax body to identify the gap. These cases eventually go to courts and may land up with settlements.

I am also tracking the demerger news. afaik , they are waiting for approval from NCLT and demerger agm will be held on 28 feb 2024. dont want to miss demerger opportunity like mirza and redtape . However the only difference is the cyclicality of raymonds lifestyle

@Sameer_Upadhyayula , I really dont understand the news fully. Tax related news came a month back, Now news includes part on non-KYC.

PB Fintech is a facilitator of insurance and loan products. So there should be a joint responsibility of PB Fintech and lender/insurer for KYC. If there is deficiency in KYC from PB Fintech then these lenders/insurance orginators should go back and ask for documents. If PB fintech is at fault then most likely it will percolate to originators as well.

I dont know of the implications. One thing which i dont understand is that the news links kyc with tax also. I understand that PB fintech is not profitable so tax liability shall not arise. I am not sure if this more on GST side of survey which many of the insurers already received notice for same. – HDFC Life faces ₹942 crore GST demand | Mint, ICICI Lombard: ICICI Pru Life gets GST demand notice of Rs 270 cr – The Economic Times, Bajaj Finserv shares in focus as insurance arm gets Rs 1,010 crore GST notice. Details here – BusinessToday. And there are many more – Disguised Payouts: Banks, Insurers Face Gst Notices | Mumbai News – Times of India, .

Lets see how this pans out. Other stocks did not react much or came back post these notices.

I have significant position and I bought today also so please take my reading with pinch of salt. Biased.

Astral Limited Q3 FY-24 Earnings Conference Call January 30, 2024

Plumbing Business:

• In Q3, the demand scenario is very robust, and we can deliver 15% volume growth in Q3 and 24% volume growth in the first nine months of FY24 in the plumbing business

• In the plumbing business we can deliver an EBITDA margin of 16% in Q3 and 17% on a nine-month basis against our guidance of 15% to 17% EBITDA margin.

Pipe Business:

• As communicated in the last concall due to robust demand in pipe verticals Company has decided to aggressively move into expanding its capacity. As communicated earlier we are putting in three new plants, and all are going as per schedule

Guwahati Plant:

• A 22,000 metric tonne plant already started production on the water tank last quarter, and from January, we have already rolled out our pipes, so we are expecting some sales in the last quarter from this plant

Hyderabad & Kanpur Plants:

• A 70,000 metric tonne and Kanpur plant 60,000 metric tonne, expansion activities are going on in these two locations in full swing. Hyderabad first phase of construction is almost over by March and in Q1 we will be starting to put machines and by Q2 end commercial production will start. The Kanpur plant layout is in progress and shortly the construction work will be started.

• During the first nine months we have increased the capacity from 2.9 lakh metric tonnes to 3.29
  lakh metric tonnes, 30,000 metric tonnes increase in the capacity.

Adhesive and Sealant:

• Our state-of-the-art plant at Dahej is in operation and giving good results in terms of energy saving, and cost reductions what we originally planned and what we have reflected in numbers is going to be exactly seen in the coming quarters after one or two quarters as the plant gets fully functional at the scale and the inventories of different plants which has already been there and made at the older locations are sold in the market

• Our Indian adhesive operation has given excellent growth in Q3, with top-line growth of 17%, and on a nine-month basis 15% in value terms. In volume terms, it is much higher due to the fall in chemical prices. Even EBITDA for the quarter was very healthy at 16.5% in Q3 and on a nine-month basis it was 16%.

• Our UK adhesive top line has grown by 9% in value terms, and in volume terms, it is growing much faster, but in EBITDA terms it has given a negative 3% EBITDA in the last quarter mainly due to inventory loss and heavy FOREX loss due to the fluctuation of GBP and US dollars

Paint Business:

• In the paint business we are getting ourselves ready with lots of new products at the plant and various systems and MIS in the back office at the same time we are creating a team to launch the Astral brand in a few states from Q1. So, in Q1 we are coming out with our launch of Astral brand products, and we will be addressing a few markets, at Phase-1 of it and slowly and steadily increasing the reach to different markets and almost completing our reach to the entire country in coming one to two years with the new brands, new products and new complete range of product line.

• Due to this we are confident that in Q1 next year we will see a substantial improvement in the numbers and presence of brand Astral in the market. We are in the last leg of production which will be done in the Q4 post and we are foreseeing a continuous journey of growth, and the paint business has always been in a positive EBITDA number and whatever the sales have been happening and happened is always in a positive EBITDA number

Bathware:

• Compared to last quarter’s sales of Rs. 17 crores this quarter the Q3 sale was (+20) crores, which is very healthy and continuously improving. Since this is a new segment for us, we don’t want to rush and we want to grow slowly, steadily with steady and consistent growth

I am looking at investing in Waaree Energies through Planify. Anyone has done their research on the company and can share their notes? Will be super helpful. The stock has doubled in the recent time in the unlisted market and hence any thoughts on the valuation will also help.