Murugappa’s Coromandel International plans Rs 2K cr investment by 2025

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Coromandel International, an agricultural solutions company, said the government’s One Nation, One Fertilizer scheme launched last year had not impacted its sales and expects volume to increase by 6-10 percent in FY24.

Murugappa Group plans to invest around Rs. 2,000 crore within two years in various sectors, including specialty chemicals. The government scheme is marketing fertilizers in the country under the brand name “Bharat”. Accordingly, fertilizer bags across the country have a uniform design as Bharat Urea, Bharat Dab, Bharat Mob and Bharat NBK.

“This initiative has not affected our turnover. We expect (sales) to be in the range of 6-10 percent during the current financial year,” Jayashree Sattagoppan, (company) President and Chief Financial Officer of Coromandel International, told Business Standard. In fiscal ’23, the company saw its fertilizer volume increase 10 percent and manufacturing production grow 14 percent, along with capacity utilization increased by more than 90 percent. Coromandel deals in Fertilizers, Crop Protection Chemicals, Bio Products, Specialty Nutrients, Organic Fertilizers and Retail.

“For the current year, we are looking at around Rs 2,000 crore investment approval and the cash flow can happen over the next two years,” said Satajoban. The company earlier announced that it will invest Rs 1,000 crore in the next two years to expand operations in crop protection chemicals and enter into contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business.

The company recorded a net profit of Rs.2,013 crore in FY23 compared to Rs.1,528 crore in FY22. Total income in FY23 increased to Rs.29,799 crore as compared to Rs.19,255 crore in FY22.

“For the first time we have crossed the Rs 2,000 crore mark in net profit. We have grown not only in terms of revenue. In our main fertilizer business, MRP is driven by raw material prices. Owing to the significant hike in raw material prices, this year we have seen significant growth in revenue. When Raw material prices go down, we may see a reversal.You also need to look at the volume terms.She said fertilizer volume growth was 10 percent.

The government is looking to reduce reliance on imports and replace them with locally produced nano fertilizers by 2025. Coromandel Nano-Phosphate DAP (Diammonium Phosphate) will be launched for this fall season.

“Nano DAP is something that our team has developed in-house. This too has been approved by the government. We will also launch it for the fall season and we will also set up a factory for Nano DAP in Andhra Pradesh for approximately Rs 100-120 crore,” said Satagopan.