Bosch Limited

FY2025 Q2

2025-11-11 Transcript PDF
Pramod Amte

Hi, thanks for the opportunity. So, while I check on this consumer division even though it is relatively smaller for you? What is leading to such a slow growth day one? And whereas the profit damages seems to be much severe, where profits have come down from Rs. 40 crores to Rs. 12 crores. Is it more one-off or you feel you need to take some major action to bring it back?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

: Okay, if I understand right, the question was on the consumer goods business which grew marginally. So, I think there has been a slightly lower than expected growth in our consumer goods business. We do not see this as anything structural internally. We have an extremely good product mix and a product range. We see a reduction mainly on account of adverse exchange rate moments resulting in slightly higher material cost. We also see again a little bit of initial slowdown on account of GST reforms and then now after that ramp up again. So, we do not see this as a major dip and we should see this picking up again moving forward.

Pramod Amte

And second one is with regard to the automotive, even though the sales t raction has definitely improved, there is still a lot of wobbliness in terms of purchase goods. How to see it is one? And second, there seems to be better participation now in the four -wheeler EV side. Is it a time to call out how the EV penetration is improving automotive for you or you feel it's too early?

Karin Gilges

I would answer first to the part of the material cost. So, yes, you are fully right. We have improved in the material cost. So, one reason is we had a favo rable product mix and we could also the share of manufacturing goods was quite good in this quarter. That means our strategy of further localization is now coming through and this is then finally resulting that we made a good progress in the material costs.

Guruprasad Mudlapur

On the EV, yes, I think we made steady progress and we will soon update you on some of the bigger updates that we have in terms of business opportunities. But at this point of time, I can assure you that the progress has been steady and we are moving towards a better business in the EV side. The margin pressure will remain. It is a tough entry business right now. But we will see how to make this better as we go along.

Pramod Amte

Sure. Thanks and all the best.

Annamalai Jayaraj

Next, Mr. Pramod Kumar, you can unmute and ask your question.

Pramod Kumar

Thanks, Jagat sir. My first question is regarding the ABS for two wheelers. If you can just help us understand at the group level, how are we positioned on the ABS bit and also what is your expectation on the ABS mandate? Apparently, today there's an important meeting in Delhi to discuss this mandate. And what we pick up from medi a is that the government is not very keen to kind of relate significantly. So if you have broad thoughts on the industry level preparedness to comply with such a norm and what could be the time for complete localization of the entire capacity. So if you can just help us understand that at the macro level, sir?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

: Yes. So as you're probably aware, our sister company is one of the market leaders in ABS for two-wheelers and we do quite a lot. We are not, I mean, the two-wheeler division sells it for us. In terms of capacities, we are very well prepared to handle the increased demand that's likely to come out of changes in legislation. On the legislation itself and on the thinking, we will leave it open for the right authorities to decide. And we'll only hope that it comes out good for the industry and for the users as well. So right now, I do not want to get into a speculation on which way the mandate will go. But if the mandate gets implemented as in the draft, we are very well prepared to handle that.

Pramod Kumar

Good to hear that, sir. My next two questions are on the non-ferrite motors and on hybrid systems. On non-ferrite motors, some of your competitors have also talked about breakthroughs on the non-ferrite motors. Just want to understand Bosch Group's preparedness on the same. And at the same time, the last question is hybrid systems on the passenger vehicle side. We are seeing more and more pull for hybrids in the marketplace. And even players who were earlier not very keen on doing hybrids, talking about extensive launch pipeline or foray into the technology. So given your dominant position in Europe, if you can just help us understand how are we placed in the Indian context? Any existing relations that we have on the hybrid systems or the pipeline, if you can just share some broad thinking there, sir.

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Yes. So on non-ferrite motors or motors without air magnets, there are multiple options here. We are currently exploring all options. And we're working. We have certain non-heavy rare earth magnet motors already prepared for the Indian market. But of course, we will also look at non- ferrous magnets as well as we go forward. So this is currently a work in progress for us. And there is a good feeling that we will have something ready very soon. On hybrids, our position is quite clear. We have a lot of technology for the hybrid segment. We offer this to several OEMs globally. And we are very open to doing that in the Indian market as well. And we are in discussion with all the OEMs locally.

Pramod Kumar

And sir before I go, any update on Xperia? Because it seems to be fixing itself the issue. Any update you want to provide there?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

: Yes, I mean, it's still a little tentative. But at this point of time, as you've probably read in the newspapers and many other reports, the issue is resolving well. And we hope to have a good resolution on this. And this applies to be back to normal. But at this point of time, we would like to play it very cautiously because it's still touch and go in terms of supplies. So we need to play it very cautiously.

Pramod Kumar

Thanks a lot, sir. I wish you all the best. Thank you.

Annamalai Jayaraj

Thanks, Pramod. In the meantime, I'll read some questions from the chat box. So first question is, what will be the growth levers for both automotive and the consumer segment s going forward?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

: Okay, so we've discussed this several times in the past. This is a pretty generic question in that sense. In the auto, we've largely been led so far by growth in, I mean, growth due to legislations. I think we're moving from that phase into growth based on features and comfort and many other factors, safety, for example. So this is something that's an ongoing exercise for us. Content per vehicle will increase. Of course, electrification is an area. Additional clean fuels, hybrid, hydrogen, flex fuels, these are all new areas where we are likely to see growth. And we are very positive about the growth opportunities. In addition to general volume increase, which is expected to be on a very good track now that the GST reforms also help us in a positive way. On the consumer side, I think the large amount of demand has always been due to the excellent growth in infrastructure activities in India. And both construction and mining and many other activities have contributed significantly to demand in our consumer goods division. And power tools growth in this context has continuously increased. And we hope to keep this momentum as we go forward.

Annamalai Jayaraj

Okay sir. The next question is, what are the regulatory norms which we could see impact in the short to medium term for us?

Karin Gilges

So perhaps in the norm, what was, of course, a very important norm for us was from 1st of April onwards, we have the OPD-2. But we also see in the very good growth in the two-wheeler , we expect this is going ahead for the next two quarters and then it is normalized. Let's say this was a very important implementation for us. And, of course, Guru, perhaps TREM V, you would like to add.

Guruprasad Mudlapur

TREM V is something which is on the horizon for quite a while. So let's hope that , that comes through. I think in terms of other push, it could be electrification. Growth in electrification is anyway on the cards, not necessarily regulation related, but due to clean mobility kind of a requirement. So there we see some additional growth coming in.

Annamalai Jayaraj

And next question is, with CAFÉ norms coming up, is there any further improvement expected on GDI technology?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Yes. I mean, the GDI technology is quite mature already and fully compliant with the norm.

Annamalai Jayaraj

I think the question is whether we expect more traction on GDI with CAFÉ norms coming up.

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Yes, sure. I think that's a trajectory that will continue. I think not just CAFÉ norms, performance, clean emissions, all put together, GDI is a good track to be on.

Annamalai Jayaraj

Next question is on the exports. On the exports, are we witnessing any traction now? And in between, we shifted some lines also. So any more traction on exports?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

At this point of time, I would again be a bit cautious on exports. There is a lot happening in the geopolitical space, also connected to tariffs, landed costs and so on. So we are assessing the situation. Our commitment to increase exports in the long run still is very much valid. We want to do that. But at this point of time, we need to watch this space very cautiously on how this overall situation plays out and how competitive we will be from India towards exports to various geographies. Of course, tariffs directly impact US, but there are other geographies which are relevant for us too. So we will look at this carefully and continue to work on it.

Senthil Manikandan

Good evening, sir. The first question is on your answer to the growth levers, so where you mentioned that the growth will come more from the future led and safety comfort led. So if you can provide further details in terms of where Bosch is looking to play in these areas?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Yes, I mean, we have, see, the overall trajectory of how mobility shifts gives a broad idea for you on how the path will be for additional content per vehicle. And there we see new technologies coming in, new feature additions happening, a lot of changes happening in vehicle technologies. And in addition to the topics we normally have on changes in emission norms, there is more focus by the consumer on safety and of course, on personalization. So all these play a role and there is certainly an improved, increased content per vehicle from a tier I on account of that. And that's the focus for additional growth opportunities.

Senthil Manikandan

Okay. Any particular component or products do you want to highlight in these areas?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

No, not really. I want to highlight something specifically now. We are working on a wide range of technologies around this and we are in discussion on many of these with OEMs.

Senthil Manikandan

Second question is on the electric two -wheelers. So now we have seen the market has been consolidated among the top four players. If you can just throw some insight in terms of how Bosch is being positioned among the top four players and how we are looking at the growth from the e-two-wheeler side?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

So on the electric two-wheelers, we are working with a couple of the bigger two-wheeler makers. Currently, it's largely the scooter segment that's on and we are supplying our components to them. And we will continue to engage with all two-wheeler makers and support them and provide our components on full range to all of them.

Senthil Manikandan

Okay sir. So last question is on the hydrogen ice engine. If you can share some timeline and the progress that being made on the hydrogen ice?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

So see this, I think we've said this in the past as well. This is currently a sort of a technology maturity phase. The pilot vehicles with our technology are built and OEMs are testing the vehicles. Now, either in the labs or on the road in different cases. And this is the current phase of this. And for hydrogen technology to be actually implemented in the field, there is a lot more than vehicle technology alone, which matters. You also need the ecosystem to develop the generation at the right price and then distribution to happen. And we expect between 8% to 15% market penetration by around 2030. So that's the sort of expectation we have on hydrogen in heavy commercial vehicle segments.

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Yes, I think you have the numbers. I don't have the numbers off the top of my mind right now, but we can provide you the numbers.

Senthil Manikandan

Okay, sir. Thank you.

Annamalai Jayaraj

Sir, I can go in the question chat box. So, now already government is, I mean, to some extent working on this flux engines. Many OEMs are also talking about it. So, are we associated with OEMs or the flux engines?

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Yes, I mean, we work with OEMs on all technology options, including this. So, we certainly are working with OEMs.

Annamalai Jayaraj

I think, no more questions, sir. Yes, no more questions in the chat box, sir. So, on behalf of B&K Securities, we thank all the participants for joining the call. And special thanks to Bosch Management for taking time out for the call and giving us the opportunity to host the call. Have a good day.

Guruprasad Mudlapur

Thank you.

Karin Gilges

Thank you. Bye-bye. NOTE This document is a transcript and may contain transcription errors. This transcript may not be 100 percent accurate and may contain misspelling and other inaccuracies. While the transcript has been edited for clarity, the Company takes no responsibility for such errors.