Sarthak Metals Ltd

As the flagship entity of the esteemed Desraj Bansal Group (DB Group), our roots are firmly anchored in India's steel heartland. The DB Group is a H 490+ Crore business conglomerate with a distinguished legacy spanning over 5 decades, excelling in the metallurgy and energy sectors. With 5 advanced manufacturing facilities and 3 core business entities, the Group exemplifies industrial leadership.

The Group's journey began with the production of industrial oxygen and carbon dioxide, addressing the growing metallurgical demands of neighboring industries. Building on this foundation and driven by a commitment to innovation, we have strategically diversified our portfolio to include advanced metallurgical solutions. Our expansion began with Ferro Titanium under our Ferro Alloy Division and has since grown to encompass cored wires, aluminium flipping coils, wire feeder machines, and the latest addition being welding consumables under the leadership of SML.

All 5 of our state-of-the-art facilities are located in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, providing direct access to some of India's largest steel producers. This strategic positioning enables us to serve industry leaders as their preferred metallurgical partner, ensuring faster delivery, reduced logistics costs, and seamless collaboration.

The DB Group has consistently earned the trust of domestic and global clients alike. With revenues exceeding H 490+ Crore in FY25, we continue to reinforce our leadership in metallurgical consumables supplemented by our energy solutions. Our ability to combine financial strength with customer-centric solutions sets us apart in a competitive landscape.

Our commitment extends beyond profitability to responsible growth. The Desraj Bansal Group actively supports initiatives in education, healthcare, and environmental sustainability. Our people-first philosophy is reflected across all our campuses and project sites, with a steadfast focus on health, safety, and social responsibility.

The year unfolded amid economic uncertainty and persistent headwinds in the industrial sector. Our core businesses — Cored Wires and Aluminium Flipping Coils — faced pressures from a sluggish phase in the Indian steel industry, subdued demand, and increased competition to the steel industry from low-cost imports. Notably, steel imports from China reached a 7-year high, intensifying competition for domestic manufacturers and allied industries. Volatile raw material costs, global supply chain disruptions, and margin pressures added further complexity.

Despite these challenges, we maintained a disciplined approach. We prioritized profitability over volume, exercising commercial restraint where margins were at risk. For example, we strategically scaled down our aluminium flipping coil operations rather than engage in unsustainable price competition. Conversely, in segments demonstrating resilience — such as cored wires and welding consumables — we strengthened our market position and captured additional market share.

In the latter part of the year, we observed early signs of recovery in our core steel-linked businesses. Our flagship cored wire segment saw improved volumes in the second half, supported by recovering demand and renewed customer & industry confidence. Despite intense pricing pressures, our technical expertise and service reliability enabled us to not only maintain but also grow our market share.

While the aluminium flipping coil business was scaled down significantly from FY24 levels, we began to see stabilization in the domestic market, particularly with the shift to local scrap sourcing. With improving price realizations and stabilizing input costs, we are cautiously optimistic about sustainably ramping up volumes in the periods ahead.

A highlight of FY25 was the growing acceptance of our Flux Cored Wires (FCWs) — our inaugural venture beyond core metallurgy into the fabrication and welding sector, an estimated ~Rs 3,000 Crore market in India still dominated by unorganized players. Our FCW business achieved Rs 7.20 Crore in revenue this year. While this is a modest contribution in the context of our overall business size, it reflects progress, with multiple product and customer approvals now secured.

Encouraged by this momentum, we expanded our FCW capacity from 1,200 TPA to nearly 3,600 TPA. Our BIS- certified FCWs, available in carbon steel, stainless steel, and hardfacing variants, are increasingly being adopted across construction, shipbuilding, fabrication, and other industrial sectors. We continue to invest in expanding our distribution network, strengthening technical capabilities, and building enduring client partnerships to establish a strong foothold in this segment.

Our strategic vision is clear: to evolve from a steel consumables supplier to a diversified industrial solutions provider, with Flux Cored Wires marking the first step. We are also investing in the biotechnology sector through a pilot R&D facility in Nagpur, in partnership with CSIR.

Our focus is on developing enzyme technologies for sustainable applications such as bioethanol and biogas production. As we refine our approach in this vertical, we see promising long-term opportunities in the health and nutrition segment — a rapidly growing, export-oriented market. While this initiative is in its early stages and not expected to contribute materially to revenues in the near term, we are laying a strong foundation through IP-driven research, strategic collaborations, and talent development.

Our financial performance this year reflected deliberate strategic choices. With the scale-down in aluminium flipping coil operations, Revenue for FY25 stood at Rs 178.42 Crore, a 42% decline year-on-year. Profit margins were impacted by lower revenues and increased investments in new business initiatives. Nevertheless, we maintained a debt-free balance sheet, ending the year with a cash surplus, ensuring ample flexibility to fund future growth without external borrowing.

In FY25, we intensified our focus on operational efficiency — optimizing inventory levels and optimising raw material utilization. We also had support in energy cost savings by leveraging our 400 KW solar power plant to meet a significant portion of our energy needs captively. This initiative has reduced electricity costs by nearly 50% and supports our sustainability objectives. In our aluminium division, over 75% of production now utilizes recycled scrap, underscoring our commitment to responsible and efficient manufacturing.

While challenges remain — ranging from global steel market volatility and input cost fluctuations to evolving policy landscapes — we are encouraged by recent protective duties announced by the Indian government for the steel industry, early signs of recovery in cored wires, growing traction in welding consumables, and the potential of our diversification initiatives.

Our strategy is to build new growth engines that complement our core strengths, enhance resilience against sectoral cycles, and enable us to serve a broader spectrum of industries and geographies. With a strong balance sheet, disciplined execution, and a new generation of leaders committed to continuity and innovation, we are well-positioned to build a future as enduring as the steel we produce.

As we close FY25, we do so with renewed strength, sharper focus, and a broader vision for the future.

Warm regards,