S Chand Group turns Net Debt Free with the Best Working Capital Metrics for Q1 in the company's history

NEW DELHI, Aug. 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --  S Chand and Company, India's leading education content provider, reported its results for the first quarter of the financial year ending 31st March 2024.

Key Highlights from Q1FY24 Results:

1. The company achieved its highest-ever Q1 operating revenues of Rs 1,111 Mn.
2. Q1FY24 marked a historic achievement with the company recording a Q1 Gross Margin of Rs 765 Mn, the highest ever at 69%.
3. The company achieved its highest-ever Q1 EBITDA of Rs 136 Mn.
4. A significant milestone was reached as S Chand became net debt-free by the end of Q1, boasting a net cash balance of Rs 546 Mn.
5. The company sustained its profitability in Q1, achieving PAT profitability for the second consecutive year.
6. Q1FY24 demonstrated exceptional financial efficiency with a record low of 103 Days Q1 Receivables, the shortest in the company's history.
7. The company achieved an unprecedented low of 143 Days Q1 NWC days, underscoring effective working capital management.
8. The company made a strategic investment of Rs 30 Mn in ixamBee, acquiring a minority stake in April '23.

COMPANY TURNS NET DEBT FREE 

S Chand turned Net Debt free in April with a quarter ending Net Cash balance of Rs 546m (vs. Net Debt of Rs 279m in Q1FY23) and Gross Debt: Rs 906m (vs. Rs 1,145m in Q1FY23). 

The figures for net debt at different intervals are as follows:

• June, 2019: 1,723 Mn
• June,2020: 1,793 Mn
• June, 2021: 1,297 Mn
• Jun 9022: 279 Mn
• June, 2023: (546) Mn

BEST Q1 WORKING CAPITAL METRICS IN THE COMPANY'S HISTORY

Working Capital Metrics in Q1FY24 are the best for Q1 in the company's history. The charts below showcase the strength of the Company's Working Capital Management during the year. 

1. Receivable Days: 54% reduction in Receivable Days since FY19

• Q1FY20 recorded Receivable Days of 222 days.
• Q1FY21 saw an increase to 239 days in Receivable Days.
• In Q1FY22, Receivable Days reduced to 233 days.
• The positive trend continued in Q1FY23, with Receivable Days decreasing to 139 days.
• Q1FY24 marked a notable achievement, with Receivable Days reaching 103 days.

2. Net Working Capital Days: 49% reduction in NWC Days since FY19

• In Q1FY20, the company's Net Working Capital Days stood at 280 days.
• Moving to Q1FY21, there was a slight increase to 298 days.
• However, in Q1FY22, a reduction was observed, bringing the figure down to 282 days.
• The trend continued positively, with Q1FY23 experiencing a significant decrease to 162 days.
• Finally, in Q1FY24, there was further improvement, resulting in Net Working Capital Days of 143 days.

3. Inventory Days:  41% reduction in Inventory Days since FY19

• In Q1FY20, the company reported Inventory Days of 329 days.
• During Q1FY21, this figure increased to 354 days.
• However, in Q1FY22, a significant reduction brought Inventory Days down to 295.
• Progressing into Q1FY23, there was a noteworthy decrease to 202 days.
• Concluding in Q1FY24, Inventory Days showed further improvement, reaching 193 days.

Mr. Himanshu Gupta, Managing Director of S Chand and Company Limited, commented on the successful results and said, 

"In Q1FY24, S Chand and Company continued with the strong growth momentum shown in the last quarter. We have crossed a very significant milestone during the quarter of becoming net Debt Free. We have continued our growth trajectory in the current quarter, achieving working capital efficiency and boosting our margins on a YoY basis.

We are proud to say that we have achieved our goal of becoming a net debt-free company in April, 2023 through consistent efforts on working capital management. We look forward to fuel the next leg of growth for our company on back of the National Curriculum Framework announcement in CY2023 by providing high-quality content and expertise to all students in line with our vision."

Mr. Saurabh Mittal, Group CFO of S Chand and Company Limited, commented on the annual results and said, 

"Our consolidated revenues reached Rs 1,111 Mn, EBITDA of Rs 136 Mn and PAT of Rs 11 Mn during the quarter. We achieved the highest Q1 revenues, highest Q1 Gross Margins and highest Q1 EBITDA in the company's history. The biggest achievement for the Group during the quarter was becoming Net Debt free in April, 2023. 

The key highlights of the Q1FY24 company's results were, 1) Continued strong sales momentum, 2) Improving Gross Margins, 3) Best ever working capital metrics for Q1 and, 4) The company had positive cash reserves of Rs 546 Mn at the end of the quarter. 

We remain focused on building sustainable long-term value for all our stakeholders, and we believe that our unwavering commitment towards operational excellence and delivering value to our customers will continue to drive our success in the coming years."

About S Chand And Company 

S. Chand and Company is one of the leading education content companies delivering content across the length and breadth of the country. The company provides content, solutions, and services across the education lifecycle through its presence in three business segments – Early Learning, K- 12 and Higher Education. The company has a strong foothold in the CBSE/ICSE affiliated schools, WBSE affiliated schools with increasing presence in the state board affiliated schools across India. The company develops and nurtures its relationships with customers by developing quality content and educational innovations, and in recent years have increased focus on investing and improving the digital product offerings in each of the business segments. 

The company has more than 11,000 book titles across competitive exams & reference books, technical & professional books, schoolbooks and higher academic books. We have presence and extensive distribution system across India through over 3000+ channel partners. The company also exports print content to over 20 countries and digital content to 5 countries in SAARC, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and other parts of the world. Some of the well-known brands include S Chand, Vikas, Madhubun, New Saraswati House and Chhaya Prakashani and digital brands S Chand Academy, Learnflix, Mylestone, SmartK, Testcoach, Destination Success, myStudygear, Madhubun Educate 360 and Ignitor.