Signpost India Ltd (SIGNPOST) Q2FY27 Concall Transcript - Sep-2026 Qtr
Moderator: Ladies and gentlemen, please stay connected. The Signpost India Limited call will begin shortly. Thank you.
Moderator: Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to Q2 and H1 FY '27 earnings conference call of Signpost India Limited. This conference call may contain forward-looking statements about the company, which are based on the beliefs, opinions, and expectations of the company as on the date of this call. These statements are not the guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during this conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star then zero on your touchtone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. From the management, today we have on call with us Mr. Shripad Ashtekar, Managing Director; Mr. Rajesh Awasthi, Executive Director; Mr. Syed Haseeb Arfat, Chief Business Officer; Mr. Nalin Kumar Somani, Chief Financial Officer; Ms. Kinjal Mistry, Company Secretary and Compliance Officer and colleagues from SGA, their Investor Relations Advisors. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Shripad Ashtekar, Managing Director of Signpost India Limited. Thank you and over to you, sir.
Shripad Ashtekar (Signpost India Ltd): Hey, thank you so much, Shweta. Good afternoon everyone. Thank you, each of, each one of you for joining us for the Signpost India earnings call for the second quarter and first half of 2027. I would begin with a brief review of first half of the fiscal year, before turning to what I believe in this more significant story. The business we have built over the past years, and what sets it apart in Indian out-of-home media space. Our first half performance was more or less influenced by two external factors: the timing of the festive calendar this year and measured approach to spend among multinational or global clients. As the Navratri begin on 11th of October this year, vis-a-vis 22nd September last year, that moved a significant share of budget or wallet to the Q3 of this year. At the same time, the multinational and the large corporate advertisers, they are careful because of the global scenario and the cost of fuel which has challenging most of the consumers to sustain. With the second quarter budget, that was felt most with the agency-led businesses which are more aligned businesses or intermediaries which connects with us as a business partners. Despite this headwinds, revenue from the half year has grow by
Shripad Ashtekar (Signpost India Ltd): The number 286.8 crore is what we achieved. PAT rose by 11% to 34.5 crore. The operating cash, which was a struggle, now has tripled to six point- 61.4 crore. Of greater significance, however, in this direction in which the business is moving, our core strength of digital media now accounts for a 1/3 of our revenue compared with a quarter or a year ago. The direct advertiser relationship by Syed Arafat and a team for about last three quarters has grown. Together, these shifts make our revenue more measurable, more sustainable, more durable, and less reliant on the intermediaries' businesses. As you all know, our listing journey started in 2024. We were present in around four to eight cities. Today, our footprint has grown beyond 30 cities. Over the same period, the share of digital in our revenue has grown from 19% to 26% in 2026, and now it is accounting in this year around 34%. We have secured the long-term concessions across multiple transit plus multiple media covered under out of home advertising, which which are mostly the street furniture projects or the projects which are consumer convenience around. The CRISIL has upgraded our long-term rating and first time Signpost India has qualified for a A family, which is A minus stable, is itself a recognition of our improving cash generation and balance sheet discipline. Scale, however, is only part of the story. Expanding inventory is not in itself a differentiator. What sets Signpost India apart is that we are building a company at the intersection of three disciplines, which is media, greatly supported with the accuracy of technology, and bridging the culture of every region. This third part, which is about the culture, is is a new thing which we added and we analyzed in last quarters. When we talk about media, technology, and culture, our three strategic pillars for Signpost India, media remains our foundation for communication, for interaction. And as we operate around 10,000 plus display points across the mentioned cities held under long-term tenure, and the spaces as advertising rights where urban India works, shops, travel, and spends its leisure time. So, normally we caption it under WEST, which is work, entertainment, shopping, and transit. Technology is what makes the media measurable, in turn more valuable. And our proprietary planning, proof of display platform, which is growing with the AI learning, gives the internal teams plus the external stakeholders as a verified record of what ran, how it has performed, why, which, every answer is is taken as a learning and and model has been improved by even by the advertisers. Recently, we launched a project in Bangalore with with the existing contract at Majestic Metro Station. Here we introduced what we believe in India's, I would say, India's first experience
Shripad Ashtekar (Signpost India Ltd): As people do not walk to our media or on the panel to look for advertising, they come there for a purpose, for their day journey. When they encounter something genuinely striking in the public space, which enhances the value of public spaces itself, however they carry experience with them. Because as we experienced in in Majestic Metro station, the strike rate with the normal advertising with experiential advertising has humongous traction in in all all the mediums which are we call as UGC. So, they carry the experience, they photograph it, they film it, they upload on their social handles personal handles. The the news media or the news print media or the magazine, everyone covering that space because people are encouraging that this is what we were looking for. The search has grown, which is a out of home advertising basically a model, but has multiply effect or a domino effect with with multiple mediums. Our objective is to make public spaces more open, more breathable, more clutter free, which creates a memory for the consumer or for the commuter. This gives a brand a meaningful role in the life of a city rather than merely a presence on its walls or on the panels. We applied this approach in two projects very recently in Calcutta Park Street project and Bangalore Metro station project, which I have described it in short. In both the responses, we felt very encouraging and a collaborative approach by even by the civic authorities and even by the brands because they saw a significant change of way of communication without imposing anything on any commuter or a or a consumer. This has significantly exceeded our expectations on the model what we always talked about which is a asset light model, which will I'll explain you further. When we connect the case study in action, the case study for Calcutta and Bangalore which will be coming up by December as a with the numbers and with the learnings and with the brand testimonials plus plus whatever we have learned out of it. But overall with the team, internal team assessment, the first project I would like to talk about which is Apeksha Ashoma which is a Durga Puja corridor which is which is the first time in the history of Park Street, Calcutta. We got lucky that our contract started this year and this year the first Durga Puja happened in that geography of Calcutta. Under the our exclusive concession rights around Park Street or Camac Street or Chowringhee or or the area which we covered connecting the flyovers of Maa Maa flyover, we synchronized multiple formats including technology driven, static, and the like overall we treated as as a funnel or a tunnel to decorate it, to add value as a carnival and the communication around the carnival not about the product much, which has integrated approach for every stakeholder and enabled the brand to own the visitors entire journey throughout the festival. It was a clutter free environment and advertisers including like Lloyds, then two-wheeler brand, or a lifestyle retail brand. Over the festival period, the corridor corridor generated surprisingly between a fifth or nearly a third of our Calcutta branch revenue which is typically annual revenue within that 10-days space. The second project is is at Majestic Canvas in Bangalore, which is at Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Majestic Metro Station, which is a hub point for the Bangalore city. It culminates the all the intercity buses plus station plus metro. So, this Majestic Canvas, if you Google or if you check with somebody in Bangalore, it has got a humongous footfall every hour in every day of the week. It is not morning, evening or or the transit
Shripad Ashtekar (Signpost India Ltd): in Bombay or in in some part of the country. Here we we owned the tunnel of around 16,000 square feet platform area where we decorated, symbolized every part of that tunnel. We used Japanese technology which is beyond 8K, which is a 20K projection mapping. It is a permanent projection mapping first time ever any media owner or a or a stakeholder in the asset business has ever experienced. Here we seeded a story of our history of Bangalore through a a project called Stone to Life. Without a civil modification or any structural modification on the platform area, we hosted a curated event which has been participated by art lovers, historians, the civic body heads, and the installation quickly become part of Bangalore's public conversation. Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited has since agreed to permit such projects which are advertising driven, but connecting with the community led public spaces where we add art, culture, and and the the celebration movement, what the city is lacking for. Within a month of launch, Shreyas would be the right guy to tell you, but around 20 plus brands has has invested on that asset, which includes Flipkart, IKEA, Apollo Hospitals, TVS, Zee, then couple of lifestyle brands, real estate. Now this experience is not we are talking about creating an event. As we are saying, a story the city already owns because people are visiting that location not for our event. We are becoming their part of life during the journey. The public spaces has always held our stories. A station concourse or a street corner or a pandal or a food Park Street, people gathered, waited, prayed, and celebrated these places long before any brand has arrived or we have arrived. We do not build events on top of them. We give and stage the ideation and story as a voice. That is why Stone to Life woke Karnataka's mythical life inside the walls of Majestic Metro. That is why Apeksha Aashimara spoke to Kolkata in the language of longing every Bengali home knows. Neither was staged for any audience. The audience was already there. We gave them something worth carrying home. This is a connected Brings the media to life. Every single day when technology meets public space, the wall becomes storyteller, the street becomes the stage. This is what Signpost India's vision statement is about, Signs for Tomorrow, a community-led gathering with purpose, a story they recognize as their own, and a brand woven into it, not stuck onto it. The moment does not stay where it happened. A mother's call from Park Street reached New Jersey, because when you see something great in your in your birthplace or a or a place where we are celebrating, it is a very natural moment for sharing the moment on the Instagram or on the WhatsApp with the with the with the with the community, with the friends, with the family. So, we have seen the a clear-cut direction where people have taken the moment on their smart device and connected Park Street to New Jersey, or even in Shantiniketan, or even in Guwahati, or even in Delhi, which has been carried by the people who felt it is something to share with. As I mentioned, it was covered by news channels, social media, influencers. Print has given dedicated space for attempting this first time in Calcutta. So, no media plan bought here by the CMO or by a brand. It is only a out-of-home space which has triggered all these trend-setting journey. The community chose to make it. This is why every CMO is chasing the communication that further travel
Shripad Ashtekar (Signpost India Ltd): proceeding without a spend, without a performance marketing and the plan across the geographies with the trust of the community behind it. When one medium becomes a connected multimedia user generated platform, the brand stop renting attention and start earning belonging. No, this two experiences are the same, our format would repeat, but the story never does. What I mean to say key the formats what we are talking about will will be repeated on multiple touch points, but everywhere the Stone to Life or Durga Puja will not be repeated. There will be something new which is relevant to the commuter, relevant to the season, relevant to the to the celebration. So, here we are very confident about the the knowledge around the culture with along with the our partnership with the institutions like J J School of Arts or the Art School of Calcutta or Bangalore where we culminate and add value proposition for the understanding of the culture and build the calendar for the people. Second part is the experience which requires technology and media where this evolving technology outgrows the canvas. The creators, the cultural voices, the technology are the right partners with us. That's why we could complete these projects within a timeline and and and experience the a great learning plus the revenue model. Here we say the city where gathers, our story will travel there, and brands will stay with us to connect with this city gathering. We are equally clear about the boundaries of our role. Our focus is on enhancing the city and connecting communities with what they celebrate. We do not operate within religious or sporting, or spiritual, or any venues. Our responsibility ends at the gate of the celebration. By March, we expect to have similar two, three editions which are culture led projects in Mumbai or in Bangalore or in Calcutta with our within our existing signed contracts which are which we are quantifying that this opportunity today what we have learned out of the two plus this couple of more which will be the coming in in this quarter and next quarter, when we can announce our third quarter results, we intend to share the contributions the vertical has made so far and what is the capability to grow at a faster pace. Because here I wanted to make you understand we are not adding any burden of of payout on us. We are utilizing the same space by adding more smarter projects which is outgrowing the opportunity to to reach multiple brands, multiple city gatherings. With this, I think I I should handover this batton to Syed Haseeb Arafat, our Chief Business Officer to take you through the operational and and recent performances of the company. Thank you, over to you, Syed.
Syed Haseeb Arfat (Signpost India Ltd): Thank you, Shripad sir and good evening everyone. I will begin with three areas of our business. The evolution of our client portfolio, progress in activating our newly won assets, and our plans to enhance yield from the assets we already have. I will then take you through our financial performance. So, like I said, let's begin with the client port- portfolio. It has been a more focused, more higher value-based approach. In our previous calls, we outlined our intent to deepen direct relationship with advertisers and move away move away from low yield fragmented bookings. The first half of this year demonstrates this execution at par. Within our direct channel of owned media which excludes agency aligned accounts and traded media, revenue grew 76% year-on-year in the first half. Over the same period, we deliberately reduced the number of active billers, active direct billers by 35% that is from 3.4
Syed Haseeb Arfat (Signpost India Ltd): to 226 while the average revenue per biller rose approximately by 170%. This demonstrates quality over quantity. This performance was underpinned by developments across two client segments. The regional and MSME clients, the number of billers in this category declined from 269 to 155. Yet the revenue from this segment more than doubled, raising 118% and revenue per biller in this category nearly quadrupled in the same period. This reflects a deliberate decision to discontinue ad hoc, single-site rentals, not a loss of customers. Regional advertisers now purchase coordinated packages across our bus shelter networks, metro panels and bus fleets, covering an entire route or cluster rather than a single inventory or a single localized purchase, which has a lesser ticket value. In the second category, we have corporate enterprise clients who align with our nationally aligned media plans. This base remained broadly stable at 71 active clients against 78 a year ago, while revenue grew 40% and revenue per client rose 54% in the corporate enterprise clients category. This was led by multi-quarter commitments from anchor client list such as Amul, Bhima Jewellers, Avaada Solar, Shriram Properties, who provide greater revenue visibility and more consistent occupancy across seasons, giving us a clear hold on our revenue visibility. The benefits are three-fold. A smaller number of larger accounts lowers our servicing workload and invoicing costs, a billing mix weighted towards established corporates carries a lower credit risk because of the hygiene of the payment cycles. And as our network expands, longstanding relationships with brands such as Amul and Hyundai give us scope to increase our share of their spend across multiple cities and across multi-formats that we are actually right now owning and going ahead we will be expanding. The next the next point I would like to highlight is the asset activation. Monetization, monetizing the revenue on what we already own. Several of our recent contracts won are already generating revenue while implementation continues. For example, our Bangalore metro network. Approximately 50% of the assets have been activated. Installation on operational transit infrastructure is limited, installation speed on the transit infrastructure is limited to a window of about four hours every night, which is basically due to the high traffic of the metro trains and we get to work only at post operational hours, which is about 12:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m., which which decides the pace of the rollout. Given that we have already covered 50% of the installation capacity, we are confident of reaching 75% to 100% of the activation by end of March. Similarly, in Kolkata, 40% to 45% of the streetscape media is live and already generating revenue, with early earnings boosted by strong Durga Puja bookings like Shripad sir just pointed out in October. We expect to complete the project by March. This has a clear bearing on our revenue trajectory. A substantial portion of the revenue we have already secured is yet to be fully monetized. As activation increases, revenue from these assets should rise accordingly, without the need of new concessions. The next the next aspect is enhancing yield from existing sites. The third layer is the upgrade of sites already in our portfolio. Our project team has prioritized these upgrades into three groups, and we plan to complete the first, highest priority group before March. The upgrades include digital and technology led formats that allow both existing and new advertisers to do more from the same site. By way of example, we have held a site at a major at the major junction in Bangalore called Corporation Junction for about 10 years. As a conventional format, it currently generates about 33 lakhs a month. Following the upgrade, we expect its revenue potential to increase substantially. Now, this multiplied and applied across the portfolio, this is how we intend to raise yield per square feet
Syed Haseeb Arfat (Signpost India Ltd): Let me take you through our consolidated financial performance for the second quarter and the first half of FY '27. Before I discuss the results, I would like to draw your attention to one change in accounting policy. With effect from 1st April 2026, we have changed our method of depreciation on property, plant and equipment from the written-down value method to the straight-line method over the balance useful life prescribed under Companies Act 2013. As a result, depreciation for the current year is not directly comparable with the corresponding periods of FY '26, and I will highlight its effect where relevant. Turning first to the second quarter. Revenue from operations stood at ₹134.5 crore compared with ₹134 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year. Within this, digital revenue grew by 38% and revenue from direct clients grew by 44%. Gross profit was 51.6 crore at a margin of 38.3 against 41.4 a year earlier. Cost of services, which largely comprises fixed fees on long-tenure media rights, rose 6% to ₹83 crore with the addition of new transit assets. As these costs do not vary within quarterly billings, the margins narrowed as revenue shifted into the third quarter. Coming to the employee costs, which rose to ₹13.9 crore from ₹11.2 crore, reflecting annual increments and strategic hiring ahead of our next phase of growth. Other expenses declined 7% to ₹9.2 crore. EBITDA, at the same time, stood at ₹28.4 crore with a margin at 21.1%. Depreciation was ₹6.1 crore against ₹9.8 crore, primarily reflecting the change in method. Finance costs was ₹4 crore against 3.2 crore, and profit before tax stood at ₹19.7 crore. With a tax expense of ₹3.9 crore against ₹6.9 crore, profit after tax was 15.8 crore at a margin of 11.7%, in line with the previous year. Earnings per share stood at ₹2.96. Now turning to the first half of FY '27, revenue from operations grew 6% to ₹286.8 crore. Gross profit rose 2% to ₹110.4 crore at a margin of 38.5%. Operating EBITDA was ₹62.8 crore at a margin of 21.9% against 24.4% in the first half of last year. Depreciation for the first half was ₹11.6 crore against ₹19.1 crore, again reflecting the change in method. Profit before tax rose 6% to ₹45.3 crore, while profit after tax rose 11% to ₹34.5 crore, representing a margin of 12%. Earnings per share increased to ₹6.45 from ₹5.79. Now, turning to our cash flow and balance sheet. Cash generated from operations tripled to ₹61.4 crore in the first half from ₹20.1 crore a year earlier. This improvement was driven by the working capital. In the first half of last year, working capital absorbed about ₹47 crore, whereas this year it was neutral. Trade receivables declined by ₹44.2 crore to ₹273 crore. Trade receivables declined by ₹44.2 crore to ₹273.1 crore, and part of these collections was used to reduce supplier payables. The steps we outlined in our last call to streamline multi-city billing and approvals are beginning to deliver those results, as seen here. Capital investment during the first half amounted to ₹48 crore, directed mainly at new transit media assets and funded through internal accruals. Fund-based debt stood at ₹195 crore, broadly unchanged from ₹196.1 crore in March, and our debt to equity ratio
Syed Haseeb Arfat (Signpost India Ltd): stood to 0.16 x from 0.68x. Cash and bank balances increased to rupees 35.3 crore from rupees 24. 24 crore and net net worth stood at rupees 321 crore as on 30th September 2026. In April CRISIL ratings upgraded our long-term rating to A- stable alongside our short-term rating of A2+. With that, I would like to hand back to Shripal sir for closing remarks on the business outlook.
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