Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to Coromandel International Limited Q1 FY 2027 earnings conference call. 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 the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star then zero on your touch-tone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Manish Mahawar from Antique Stock Broking. Please, thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thank you, Shruti. On behalf of Antique Stock Broking, I am pleased to host today's earnings call of Coromandel International. Today, we have Mr. Sankaras ubramanian S. as Managing Director and CEO, Mr. Deepak Natarajan, CFO on the call. Without further ado, I would like to hand over the call to Mr. Sankar for opening remarks, post which we will open the floor for Q&A. Thank you, and over to you, Mr. Sankar.
[audio distortion] an overview of business environment experienced during the quarter and provide an update on Coromandel's operational performance. Thereafter, I'll request Deepak to take you through the financial performance. On the agriculture side, India witnessed 23% of deficit rainfall on the long period average, with most of the regions reporting lower rainfall. We have moderated fertilizer offtake as well in the current month. June was one of the driest months, and we have seen some recovery in the last few days, especially in Gujarat and central regions, and this deficit has moderated to 17%. All India reservoir levels stood at 34% of capacity versus 57% last year, and southern reservoirs have come down to 28% versus 65% last year. On crop acreages, the picture is slightly mixed.
While there is a drop in pulses by 15%, oilseed by 6%, and cotton by 6%, paddy acreages have come back to normal, aided by early monsoon in paddy belt. With monsoon activity improving during July, sowing momentum has picked up, and we expect the acreages gap to narrow further over the coming weeks. Overall, farmer sentiment remains relatively cautious, influenced by uncertainty around monsoon and variability in agri commodity and input prices. On the regulatory side, government was quite active with a lot of policy announcements during this quarter. The government has approved National Investment Policy for Urea, which could potentially facilitate 9 million- 10 million tons of additional domestic urea capacity over the next eight years across seven proposed projects.
In parallel, the announcement of INR 37,500 crore coal and lignite gasification scheme is expected to support the development of domestic syngas-based feedstocks and progressively reduce India's dependence on imported ammonia and other energy input over the medium term. The government has also initiated the pilot implementation of national [audio distortion] framework, introducing QR code-enabled traceability across fertilizer transactions by integrating farmer, land, and sales data. If scaled effectively, this initiative can be very transformative for the sector, enabling a shift from conventional distribution system to more transparent, data-driven, and nutrient stewardship-based farming systems. The quarter was characterized by challenging operating environment for the phosphatic sector. Global prices of key raw materials including phosphoric acid, ammonia, and sulfur remained elevated, driven by continued geopolitical uncertainties and supply disruptions.
On the subsidy front, the government announced increase of about 10% in subsidy rates across nitrogen, phosphatic, and sulfur nutrients under the NBS regime. This rate has been announced without factoring the Middle East crisis situation. These rates do not fully compensate for the increase in global raw material costs, which happened subsequent to Middle East crisis. The industry continues to engage closely with the Department of Fertilizers on the need for a review, and we remain hopeful of a positive outcome on this front. Actually, this sort of subdued subsidy rate, especially for NPK fertilizers, have impacted production in ports during the quarter, which were down by 28% and 13% respectively.
On the demand side, consumption remains stable, especially farmers picking up lower MRP stock in the first quarter, and the industry maintained the same volume of phosphatic fertilizer in the first quarter as compared to last year. Globally, there has been some impact on shortage of raw materials and production cuts announced by major manufacturers due to Middle East conflict, and t his has led to lower availability of key raw materials like sulfur, acid, and ammonia, resulting in surge in prices. However, the fortunate point is that industry inventories remain comfortable despite lower production and imports. In fact, urea and DAP stocks are reasonably comfortable, and NPK stocks are also comfortable at this point of time to see through this Kharif season, but i t is very critical the industry continues to sustain production imports in the next two months to ensure that the carryover inventory into Rabi is augmented for the smooth completion of Rabi season as well.
On the crop protection sector, domestic market was very muted. It's the early part of the Kharif season. Demand was impacted due to delay in crop sowings. However, the export markets have shown improvement, although the market remained cautious and is waiting for price stabilization. There has been a shift in biological products globally as well as in India, and we continue to witness healthy growth driven by increased adoption of sustainable agriculture practices. In this backdrop, very happy to note that Coromandel has reported a resilient performance, e specially fertilizer business delivered very strong numbers in spite of a lot of headwinds that prevailed during this quarter.
We have taken a conscious call to moderate production to 6.9 lakh tons compared to 8.4 lakh tons, roughly representing 72% of capacity utilization as the business prioritize inventory optimization amid volatile raw material markets. Phosphoric production also got moderated to 1.2 lakh tons, more or less in line with last year. Ideally, we should have grown with the commissioning of a new plant, but higher sulfur prices, we have optimized the usage of sulfur and operated sulfuric acid plants at a moderate capacity to extend the availability of sulfur for a longer period. Elevated sulfur prices during this quarter, the company took a conscious call to moderate phosphoric production and ensure that the prices of sulfur reaches reasonable level to be competitive on sourcing, and also looked at various other options to secure sulfur, both from domestic and global markets.
Fertilizer business margins are under pressure due to sudden spurt in key input raw materials like ammonia and sulfur. These rates have not been factored in the subsidy rates announced by the government, as these rates are prior to the Middle East crisis. The government has remained seized of this issue, and we hope we get the updated NBS rates for the current season, and this should help to improve the viability for NP and PK fertilizers. As you're aware, phosphoric acid prices for Q2 have been settled at $1,700 as compared to $1,350 prevailed in Q1, reflecting a sharp increase in line with the increase in international price of DAP and other raw material inputs.
On the project front, Coromandel has commissioned a sulfuric acid plant and phosphoric plant. Operations have come and got stabilized, and sulfuric acid has achieved the rated capacity, and also generated power as designed. Phosphoric operations are getting stabilized, and we are embarking on the new technology implemented here to ensure optimum utilization of rock. Commissioning of these plants has been at a very opportune time, and this has ensured that we continue to produce and make phosphates available to farmers when industry is facing shortage of key raw materials. Happy to note that granulation project is progressing well, and as planned, we are on track for commissioning this in Q4 of this year. In terms of sales, these are all yearly part of the season. Volumes have been moderated by 9% to 10 lakh tons as compared to corresponding period last year.
Despite this, the company has strengthened its market position, increasing the primary market share to 22% compared to 18% in the last year. Consumption has been increasing due to lower MRP stocks in the channel. The point of sales increased by 13% to 7.9 lakh tons, resulting in market share improving to 16%. SSP business continued its strong growth trajectory, with volumes increasing by 19%, and we have been focusing on differentiated products like Gromor Urea SSP, which constituted more than 50% of the total SSP sales, highlighting the success of company's strategy to drive premiumization and improve product mix. At our Senegal operation, the rock phosphate mining project produced over 1.1 lakh tons for this quarter, broadly in line with our plan.
Building on the strength of this backward integration, the company is evaluating establishment of SSP facility at Senegal to cater to international markets and unlock additional value from its phosphate resources. Speciality nutrients and organic business delivered a very strong performance in Q1, aided by higher uptake in organic and micronutrient segments. We are seeing increasing adoption of these products by farmers, particularly given their ability to improve soil health and help crops withstand stress conditions in an increasingly volatile climate. The business strengthened its innovation pipeline with the launch of three new products across water-soluble and sulfur nutrition segments. As highlighted earlier, we are building manufacturing capability to support long-term growth and reduce dependence on external sourcing. Our strategic project of setting up a key MAP plant at Kakinada and seaweed granulation plant are progressing well and will enhance our ability to offer differentiated crop solutions.
The crop protection business delivered a record performance in Q1, driven by strong growth in exports and B2B sales despite softer demand environment in the domestic formulation segment. Revenue grew by 20% year-on-year to INR 870 crore while EBITDA increased 44% to INR 159 crore, reflecting improved product mix, traction for its key molecule, and the ability to pass on higher raw material costs in the export market. Share of sales in the new products in the domestic B2C stands at 32% as compared to 23% last year. We also introduced three new products during this current quarter. Operationally, the business continued to make steady progress on its strategic priorities. Capacity expansion of key molecule is on track and is expected to be commissioned by September, centering our ability to support future growth.
We are in the process of advancing our chlor-alkali capabilities and are establishing a launch facility to support product development and scale-up opportunities. Further progress was made on our CDMO strategy through engagements with the leading global innovators, while long-term raw material security was enhanced through strategic sourcing and supply arrangements. Our innovation pipeline continues to strengthen with new product registrations, novel combinations, and patent filings. We remain focused on bringing differentiated solutions to the market and plan to introduce several new products over the coming months. We'll also be focusing on strengthening our market presence in dynamic end markets to ensure that the market for our key molecule remains robust for the coming quarters. On subsidiary, NACL Industries improved its performance, and EBITDA has moved up by 9% to INR 41 crore, with margin improving to 11% from 8%.
These are in line with what we envisaged at the time of acquisition. Lower export volumes and price pressure has impacted export revenues and overall revenues were moderate at INR 383 crore. The business is strengthening its product portfolio and launched three new products during the quarter and is planning to accelerate new product introductions in the coming months. The company is closely engaging with MNC customers on development of AI intermediates in its current facility. The bio product business delivered a steady performance in Q1, supported by decent growth in domestic and export markets. The business is strengthening its innovation pipeline and developed two new products in the biostimulant and microbial categories, specifically designed to address the requirements from the retail business.
The white label products in the retail business, which hitherto sourced from outside, will be now manufactured by bio business, providing huge opportunity and complete capturing of value chain right from manufacturing to marketing these products through our own captive retail outlets. In addition, a number of products are progressing through various stages of development and regulatory approvals. Bio business will be one of the key focus areas for us to grow both in domestic and global markets, and the company has invested in direct retailing of bio products by having their own sales team besides the retail outlets. The team is also actively exploring collaboration opportunities in adjacent segments such as feed additives, while continuing to build capabilities in plant extracts and microbial space.
The retail business delivered an outstanding performance in the current quarter, benefiting from strong farmer engagement, expanded store network, and higher sale of fertilizers, speciality nutrients, and organic products. Revenue on a standalone retail increased by 85% year-on-year, reflecting improved scale, operating leverage, and profitability across the network. 76% of the stores were profitable during the quarter compared to 61% in the corresponding period last year. The business deepened its reach through additional 22 new stores, taking the network to over 1,200 outlets, while also expanding its digital and omni-channel capabilities through e-commerce and the farmer engagement initiatives. The nano business delivered stable performance, with sales volume growing 2% year-on-year, supported by sustained demand for Nano DAP and a market leadership position with nearly 60% of market share.
The business also initiated exports during the quarter and sees increasing opportunity to expand its presence in international markets, supported by registrations secured in few markets. There has been a ban on some of these products by fertilizer companies in the state of U.P. and Maharashtra, which industry has been representing, which has moderated the growth of these volumes. In this current global crisis, it's very pertinent to note that these alternate fertilizers can make a huge difference to the farming community and also can save precious subsidy bill for the country. The industry has been approaching state governments towards the same. Coromandel has been pursuing drones spraying services continue to gain traction during the quarter, reflecting increasing farmer adoption of precision agriculture solutions.
We are also evaluating introduction of higher capacity drones capable of fertilizer applications, which can significantly expand the addressable market and enhance the value proposition of our farm mechanization services. Our drone subsidiary, Dhaksha, while pursuing the defense orders, has focused on agri-drone platform and has come up with variants on agri-drones based on the inputs provided by the Coromandel agri team and has also applied for the certifications of new type of drones, which can improve efficiency and increase the battery life of drones. The business has consolidated its operations in its new integrated facility and is actively pursuing growth opportunities across various verticals while continuing to expand its technology and product capabilities through collaborations. Happy to share that Coromandel achieved a significant sustainability milestone during the quarter with the receipt of Responsible Care certification, reflecting our commitment to the highest standards of health, safety, environment, and operational excellence.
We are also setting up a corporate research center at IIT Madras Research Park, which will focus on developing next generation platform technologies in nano, biological, and advanced chemistry, strengthening our innovation pipeline and supporting long-term growth. Overall, we have delivered a resilient performance in a challenging operating environment marked by delayed monsoon, elevated raw material costs, and pressure on fertilizer margins. The strength of our diversified portfolio, disciplined execution, and strong growth across non-fertilizer business has helped us to offset the market headwinds which we have witnessed in fertilizer business and enabled us to deliver a healthy performance during the quarter. Now, I request Deepak to cover the financial performance.
Thank you, Sankar. Good afternoon, everyone. During the quarter, company recorded a consolidated total income of INR 8,215 crore as against INR 7,126 crore in Q1 of last year, registering a growth of 15%. The increase in revenues has been mainly on account of higher realization in fertilizers, combined with growth in the non-subsidy business. It's pertinent to note that last year's Q1 results does not include the NACL numbers, as it became a subsidiary effective 8th August 2025 onwards. The revenue share from subsidy business stands at 77% during the quarter. As far as profitability is concerned, consolidated EBITDA for the quarter was INR 761 crore against INR 782 crore last year, registering a degrowth of 3%. The decrease in EBITDA is mainly due to higher input cost on account of the ongoing West Asia crisis. This input cost inflation has not been fully commensurate with the revision in the NBS rates.
The EBITDA share of subsidy business stands at 48% during the quarter. Net profit for the quarter was INR 382 crore in comparison to INR 502 crore last year. With regard to subsidy, during the quarter, the company received INR 1,392 crore towards the subsidy claims, compared to INR 1,300 crore last year in Q1. Government has been prompt in clearing the subsidy dues. As of today, we have received our subsidy claims till the third week of June. Subsidy outstanding as on 30th June was about INR 3,254 crore. We have received additional subsidy of INR 568 crore in the month of July. As far as forex is concerned, during Q1, the rupee traded in a wide range of INR 92.59- INR 96.83. Coromandel continues to hedge its exposures on a conservative basis. Thank you for the continued interest. We look forward to these interactions. I will now hand it over to Manish.
Thank you very much. We will now begin the question- and- answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touch-tone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question is from the line of Ankur Periwal from Axis Capital. Please proceed.
Yeah. Hi, sir. Thanks for the opportunity. First question, on the overall on ground scenario. You mentioned a relatively lower utilization for us in this quarter, and presumably, the imported fertilizer will also be lower. More importantly, urea and DAP there. Is there any structural shift that you are seeing higher demand for NPK there? Or there is some shortage of fertilizers on the ground, and how are you looking at the on ground scenarios?
Ankur, there is no shortage per se. Sufficient stocks of urea and DAP is available in the market. In the yearly part of the season, farmers have picked up low MRP bags, and hence, there was an advance purchase ahead of the season. But with the slowdown in the monsoon, and improved availability, there has been a slowdown in purchase as well. I think, currently, the uptake is more to do with the monsoon than availability or challenge.
Sure, sir. But given the subsidy, and there is no further revision in subsidy rates, is the situation on the ground still comfortable from a Kharif demand supply perspective?
See, the industry has taken some price change. At this point of time, it's the maximum the industry can do. Beyond this has to come through subsidy. That is what we have represented to government, and hopefully, it should come through. As long as we don't correct it further, of course, the demand portion is intact.
Sure, sir. Second bit on the crop protection and the export side. Congratulations for a strong show there. Your thoughts on the bioproducts or the product registration for the formulation ones, both in the domestic and the export market. What could be the timelines that one can think of in terms of a revenue ramp-up here? A second part of that question on the Mancozeb capacity expansion. How is the demand pricing situation there as well?
In the domestic formulation, our new product introduction, the action has been initiated two, three years before. We have been getting new 9(3)s, three to four products coming through every year. That trend will continue. We have lined up the product pipeline with a clear visibility for next three to four years. On the export front, especially on Mancozeb, we have the broad-based sale of Mancozeb across various continents. We don't depend on one particular geography. Our presence in Latin America is fairly less at this point of time. Post completion of this project, we have planned to increase our volume in Latin American markets. There, we are trying to see how best we can come up with combination products, and how do we have physical presence on the ground through some collaborative support to ensure that there's a long-term demand for Mancozeb.
At this point of time, we are quite comfortable on the offtake, but it's very important for us to build this portfolio for long-term through combination products, and that is what we are working on.
Sure, sir. That's helpful. Just one last bit, if I may. You did allude it towards the CDMO opportunity for us, and earlier also, we had mentioned on the industrial chemical side. How do you look at it from a capital allocation perspective, given that, will you prefer to expand into industrial chemical, CDMO, et cetera, here, which we have been sort of talking for last couple of years? Or there is scope for more getting backward integrated on the fertilizer side, whether it is BMCC or maybe possible further backward integration into PA and SA in India?
No, these two are separate track. We'll continue to pursue this opportunity with the commissioning of new PA/SA plant, 60% of the acid requirements are taken care, and we are reasonably comfortable at this point of time. We'll continue to keep some option open for imported acid as well. On the CDMO side, we are trying to do it in an organic way. It calls for huge investments for various fluorination-based derivatives to be manufactured. Before we make that investment, we wanted to ensure that we have the proper products and customer fits are met. Hence, we are looking for a launch plant, which we'll be doing it at our own pace. Once we succeed here, then we will look at the sectors in which we will develop these products. Currently, we are focusing on fluorination-based chemicals for our agrochemical use.
Once we succeed there, then, we'll look for other sectors as well to cater from. That's our game plan on CDMO right now. We are also trying to look at various other intermediates. Along with NACL, we are trying to see how best we can provide intermediate support to global MNCs. Instead of finished agrochemicals, which requires registration, it's a long registration project. Intermediate does not require registration. We are trying to see how best we can leverage our capacities to produce those intermediates. Discussions are underway. We are having a multi-pronged approach to introduce some new products under this category as well.
Sure, sir. That's helpful. Thank you, and a ll the best.
Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, in order to ensure that the management is able to address questions from all participants in the conference, please limit your questions to two per participant. The next question is from the line of [Himani] from ICICI Prudential. Please proceed.
Sir, hi. I wanted to ask on this safety business. On the crop protection, you said that [audio distortion]. Just wanted to understand how much percent of your gains is coming from foreign currency. Like foreign currency gains.
I'm not able to hear you clearly. Can you please repeat the question?
Can you hear me now, sir?
Hello?
Yes, sir. Am I audible?
Yeah, now it's better.
Yeah, sorry. I just wanted to understand when our export business on the CPC side has done well, so how much percent of gains is because of foreign currency gains?
See, we follow the netting principle. We have a net exposure. To that extent, the overall margins, the EBITDA, what we reported, not more than 5%-6% can be attributable to foreign currency.
Okay. Thank you, and just another question. Based on our NACL acquisition in last year, do we have any plans to increase our shareholding in the company?
I wish we can do that.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Somaiah from Avendus Spark. Please proceed.
Yeah. Thanks for the opportunity, sir. My first question is on the medium-term CapEx or capital allocation. Now that the PA plant and SA plant is commissioned and the granulation is also about to get commissioned, so w hat are the options that we have? Whether we can add further NPK capacity from import substitution angle and land availability. In terms of priorities, which will be the one that we'll be evaluating closely, and when can we expect any plan for the next couple of years? That's my first question.
Yeah. On fertilizers, we are just completing the investments, and we want to ensure that we generate cash out of these investments. Meanwhile, we have this ingredient crisis, which is impacting in terms of margins. We may not add any capacity immediately in fertilizers. Our game plan as of now, post-commissioning of this new plant, we will be going up to 4 million tons of fertilizers and 1 million ton of trading, predominantly DAP. We have a fair visibility of 5 million tons at this point of time, plus a 1 million ton of SSP, plus organic, plus urea and imported DAP. We have fair visibility of 8 million-9 million tons of nutrients. That, I think, will see us through for the next two years because we want to ensure that whatever money we have invested, we generate the cash, whether it is [audio distortion] , sulfuric acid, or finished fertilizers.
In terms of the land, we always been looking for additional lands for the future growth and opportunities. That investment can happen. We have been working with Andhra Pradesh Government for securing additional land for the future expansion. This is as far as nutrient business is concerned. But of course, we are looking at other opportunities like MAP plant, which we are putting up in [audio distortion] our speciality nutrient business. We said that we are also evaluating purified phosphate for the base chemicals. These projects are under evaluation. If we see commercial viability, we will explore those opportunities. In crop protection business, we are just completing the capacity expansion. Here, again, we wanted to focus on generating the cash. We are also trying to see how best we can realize value out of any investment.
We may not be adding capacities for [audio distortion] because we have spare capacities available in NACL. Hence, we will try and leverage the capacities between the both the plants on the AI side. In crop protection business, the investment will be more towards marketing, brand building, channel network creation, rather than focusing on any asset creation. That is what we are looking at this point of time. Within just retail, we are expanding our network, which doesn't cost us much in terms of the CapEx. It's more towards the creation of network and providing additional supply chain support.
Got it, sir. Also, on NACL, this time, we have seen margin improvement in NACL. We are more or less, this is the intended level of margin, or this is kind of we'll be stabilizing at this level, or we see further scope for improvement in NACL margins? Second, related to NACL, this time in our own crop production, we had a very strong revenue growth. You had alluded to exports. What in terms of product portfolio or the difference that's leading to a decline in NACL versus a strong growth for SMR, a standalone business?
I think with the current product portfolio, what we have got, I think we have reached the reasonable level of EBITDA. If you remember in the time of acquisition also, we talked about the EBITDA, which has fallen to 3%, 4% in the first stage, will move to 7%, 8%, and then we'll move it to 10%, 11%. I think the product portfolio, some molecules always keep going up, some comes down. Unless we introduce new products, which again will take two, three years time, sustaining this margin at this level is the best we can do for NACL. That's the reason we are looking at investing in intermediate capacity creation, give more opportunities. Those are other value generation we can do to improve the EBITDA margins. Also, we continue to pursue efficiency improvement, cost reductions. Those things are yet to play out.
Those things can take extra 1% or 2% margin, but any significant improvement to align that requirement will call for additional investments and new products to come in, which will be little time consuming.
The other part was on the revenue front, where standalone, we had quite strong exports . But NACL, we had an impact there. Just want to understand the difference what's.
Sorry, I didn't get that. Again, can you please repeat?
In the standalone crop protection, we had a very strong revenue growth, which you alluded to the exports part. NACL had a decline. Just wanted to understand, I think in the comments, you also mentioned about NACL exports was a bit impacted. Just want to understand the region or molecules or what was that causing the difference there.
There has been some price moderation in one of their molecules, which we are selling it to global MNCs, and that has moderated the revenue per se. Whereas, in the case of Coromandel, our ability to pass on the input cost increase or prices helps us to realize better pricing. That is why you see a doubling growth in Coromandel whereas there has been a marginal reduction in NACL. It goes with the product mix between the two companies.
Sure, sir. Just one last, your thoughts on sulfur. We were expecting at a point in time sulfur can come, at least come out slightly, but it's still continuing to hold high. Your thoughts on this.
Yes, sulfur is actually against our initial expectation. Sulfur is holding high. It is quite unfortunate. In fact, in the revival of Middle East situation, the way it is playing out now, I think s ulfur may likely to remain high for some time, but it is not sustainable. If you recollect, sulfur used to be a disposal issue for most of the oil companies, and s uddenly, the price has gone up, and this is not the correct position to be in while there are structural shifts happened in terms of demand from EV batteries for nickel leaching, and that is why the uptake of sulfur has moved up from Indonesia and other countries. We feel that these are all exorbitant levels. It could come down, but it may take a while.
That is where, as Indian fertilizer sector, we are ready to stay out at these price points, doesn't make economic sense. We strongly believe the prices should soften. These are not sustainable levels to be in.
Got it, sir. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Vivek from DSP Mutual Fund. Please proceed.
Sir, sorry, I joined the call a little late. I have just one question. You said that you're going to exploit the capacities you've added for the next one to two years. Have you given a CapEx target, sir, in terms of what you'll see for the next one, two years in terms of rupees crores?
See, these things change. If there are opportunities, definitely, we do invest in CapEx. But at this point of time, we wanted to realize value of the investments what we have made. In fact, last three to four years, we have invested close to INR 7,000 crore, both for organic and inorganic opportunities. It's very important for us to get the returns on those investments before we embark on further CapEx. I would put a normal sustainable CapEx of INR 300 crore would be the number we'll look at. Having said that, if there are good opportunities and there are any reasonable return projects coming, we'll not be averse to look at that.
Well put, sir. Thank you very much, and wish you all the best.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is on the line of Riju from Antique Stock Broking. Please proceed.
Yeah. Hi, sir. Congratulation for a decent set of numbers amid challenging environment. My question regarding the industry levels shift, if I look at in terms of NPK at a farmer level, prices that are much, much higher compared to last year. While if I look at the DAP prices at the farmer level, that is roughly at INR 27,000 per ton. Do you see this shift in terms of NPK to DAP again in this year? Or, like, how is the consumption level market share of DAP and NPK overall the non-urea overall consumption as of now?
No, the shift is not happening, but i f it continues to remain like this with long period of time and if subsidy is not corrected for NP and PK, we can't correct MRPs beyond certain level. This will have a challenge of farmers looking for cheaper alternative. DAP, which is a high- P product, is available at INR 1,300 per bag. Whereas a low- P product like 20:20 is going at INR 2,100. It doesn't reflect the balanced nutrition need of the crop. I hope, as and when the subsidy revision happens, it will bring some normalcy. Current artificial pegging of DAP price is also impacting at this point of time. Farmers understand this balanced nutrition, and I don't think the reverse shift will happen. Also, it's also a function of availability.
DAP is not available beyond certain volumes, and government also is encouraging farmers to look for alternates like SSP, organic fertilizers. I don't think the need for NPK will remain, but too much of price can lead to demand restriction. That is what we have been presenting to the government as well.
Understood. Sir, in terms of the BMCC, I think the ramp-up during the quarter was robust, so i f you could highlight that thing as well. Also, if I look at in terms of the depreciation overall, depreciation overall this quarter was much, much higher on a sequential and on a YoY basis. If you could allude to why that is the case. Also, adding to that, if you could give us a sense that due to the commissioning of sulfuric acid and phosphate capacities in 4Q, how much additional depreciation that you have booked during this quarter?
See, this additional depreciation also includes for the consolidated company, the amortization of mining costs. That actually, as per the accounting standard, some of the mining cost of overburden needs to be grouped under depreciation. The spike in depreciation what you're seeing is not because of additional CapEx. Only an account of additional CapEx, the increase is around INR 16 crore-18 crore, not more than that. The rest of them is only amortization expenditures in mining operations. Plus, when we do the consolidated financials, as per the merger accounting, we have to amortize the, what you call, amortization of the intangibles. That is close to INR 20 crore, INR 21 crore. This is a combination of [audio distortion] of INR 16 crore, and amortization of NACL intangibles, INR 20 crore, and rest is coming mainly from mining charge towards overburden.
Sorry, sir. How much was for the mining?
Mining would be INR 30- odd crore.
Okay. Sir, [audio distortion] BMCC in terms of overall mining capacities or mining activities, and also, how BMCC has helped us in terms of the overall improvement in the fertilizer business EBITDA? If you could quantify that thing.
See, mining operations are to be seen in two contexts. One is what is the margin we capture in the whole BMCC entity . That is only one aspect of it. Suppose if we have 500,000 ton of rock phosphate produced there at a net EBITDA of even $30, 500,000 t on, that's a minimum number we are talking about accruing year after year. That is a value what we captured in that company. But what it makes a difference is the rock gets converted into acid, and we create value gap in acid. It's to be seen as a raw material security for our new project at Kakinada, plus the value gap on phosphoric acid, which we accrue as compared to imported phosphorus. It can't be seen in isolation.
More of a strategic investment to ensure supply security, capturing value on rock side as well as on the acid side.
Understood. Sir, one last question in terms of the CP business. If you could provide us the mix of export and the domestic CP business, including the NACL numbers.
Can I ask my team to get back to you on the specifics, sir, on the business breakup? I'll get back to you on this.
Yeah, sure, sir. Sure.
Yeah.
Thank you. The next question is on the line of Ranjit from IIFL. Please proceed.
Yeah. Thank you, sir, and congratulations for a good set of numbers in a challenging environment. My first question is on your commentary that you shared that the fertilizers are now being sold through a QR code. If you can shed more light on the dynamics that are playing out on ground for the government's policy. Are these to be taken as in parts and pieces that may eventually lead to an ideal DBT implementation? That's my first question.
Well, it may be, sir, as well, Ranjit. If that happens, actually, it's quite effective. I have witnessed myself the pilot operations in one of our retail stores. The QR code scans the person when he gives the Aadhaar number, it links to his farm holding type of crop, and accordingly, what dosage of urea, DAP, and NPKs are required. It is linked to the retailer. Retailer has to take this QR code into his POS machine and accordingly deliver the bags what has been mentioned there. The farmer has to restrict the purchase to that many number of bags. It does two things. Overuse of state fertilizers like urea and DAP is restricted. That can bring about huge savings for the government in terms of subsidy. It helps the farmer to ensure that the overuse of N is taken care.
It also takes away the arbitrage available to the channel because of urea demand. I think it's a win-win situation for all the stakeholders, and I wish if this function , if it gets replicated all across, it can bring about some sanity in balanced fertilizer usage and ultimately can lead to direct benefit transfer to the farmers, and they can decide what is good for them for their crops.
Right, sir. Some guidance of how much is this being implemented. It's on a pilot basis. In which states or districts it's been started?
Same, right? They're trying to do it in 10-12 states, two, three districts in each state. I will get back to you in specifics. That is what my understanding is. Of course, it has been picked up for Medak district in Telangana and one more district in Telangana. That is where we have witnessed, but I'm very impressed with the way the system is functioning.
Sure, sir. Thank you. The second question is just trying to understand the difference. If you do consol [audio distortion] standalone, the EBITDA that we see, the remaining part has seen quite a bit of a jump. I understand that a part of it is due to NACL consolidation and some growth in the base business. But it's still not able to reconcile that figure. There is a gap of INR 30-odd crore, INR 40- odd crore. Is this attributable to BMCC profitability?
That's what I was telling. In the mining cost, it comes below EBITDA under depreciation. The previous caller also has been asking for the reason for 14 depreciation numbers. That includes amortization of mining expenditure, which comes below the line. To that extent, the BMCC increase in the consolidated financials is showing up in EBITDA. But after providing for this amortization, the net impact comes down. That is INR 30- odd crore which has got included under amortization.
Right, sir. One request from our side is that now, the non-subsidy business is kind of gaining scale. In yesterday's press release, we also started highlighting or at least mentioning the crop protection EBITDA. If you can also try and give a bit more KPIs on the non-subsidy front. The subsidy EBITDA and non-subsidy, at least to monitor them going forward would be helpful from our side, and that would help us to understand the company a little bit more in detail. That's the request from my side. Thank you.
Sir, we should do that, definitely. We'll try and put those numbers. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Tarang from Old Bridge. Please proceed.
Hi. Am I audible?
Yes.
Hi. Couple of questions, one on crop protection and the other one on fertilizers. First on fertilizer. Stepping into Q1, from an industry vantage, the industry already had excess inventory, a sizable inventory. You did call out that there was some element of pre-buying because there were lower MRP packets that were sort of available. In that context, the real impact of high cost inventory would have probably impacted only the latter part of this quarter. Just wanted to understand, over and above the subsidy, what is the broad pricing trends, pricing actions that the industry has taken? Number two, g iven that now, the inventory that would be in the system would be fairly expensive and at least sowing seems to have caught up now, how should we look at Q2 on this business and for the fertilizer business? That's on the fertilizer. On crop protection, I'll probably ask after the first question's response. Thanks.
You're right, actually. We need to wait for whatever we could do in terms of the price increases already happened in the [audio distortion] in the price increase. Beyond this, it has to be supplemented with the subsidy correction. That's the exact reason why we are insisting upon the need to update the NBS rates for Kharif. We hope for the Rabi, the revision will happen, but what we are seeking correction is for the ongoing Kharif season. We don't want to increase MRP beyond the current level. Having said that, there has been correction in some of the global raw material prices. The urea having gone up to $900 has come down. Ammonia has started softening, and sulfur is only eluding. It's a matter of time before it comes off. The industry has been very cautious in building up inventories, and there has been a lack of supplies as well.
Most of us have calibrated our purchases and production to avoid any carryover of high-cost inventories. Further increase is not doable. It has to come from subsidy. Let's hope it happens.
How much has been the price increase on a broad basis for this quarter?
25%, 30% across the range that happened.
20%- 30%, is it?
25%- 30%.
Okay. Got it. Okay. On the crop protection business, your opening commentary, your commentary on domestic crop protection consumption or even on international markets for the broader market was slightly soft. Despite that, the standalone business has grown 20%. Just trying to understand what part of that business has really grown. Is it B2B technicals, B2C branded? Is it really your export technicals or your export B2C franchise? If you could give slightly granular sense on what part of this business really did well because w hat we understand is technical prices broadly have come off again, which is also sort of visible on NACL prices. Secondly, given how fertilizer prices have inched up globally, just wanted to understand what is the pattern, what is the demand pattern that's emerging from farmers both in India as well as abroad for crop protection. Thanks.
You're absolutely right. Global commodity prices are softening. Wherever it has not gone up, whether it is corn or maize. To that extent, the farmers' affordability has come down. Farmers are looking for cheaper alternatives, and the specialties were getting pushed back. That is where some of molecules, active ingredients, what we are dealing with, are gaining some traction. Fortunately, these molecules are not the ones which China is in. China has kept artificially active during the low prices and keeping their intermediates at a higher level. There are certain markets which can take this sort of a price increase, so we could pass on the input cost increase to the markets for these AIs what we are dealing with. This may sustain because of the nature of the molecule.
Currently, we are focusing on B2B exports, but our aim is to see how best we can get into B2C. Right now, we are not having B2C presence. We are exploring opportunities to create specific brands and also combination products based on our AIs. That effort is underway for the long-term sustenance and demand for these molecules.
Okay. Thank you, sir.
It is much better than what it was. Thank you.
Sorry, sir.
It was much better than what it was earlier in terms of AI pricing. There's been a slight improvement, so I wouldn't say it's that bad what we witnessed a year before.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Dhruv from Edelweiss AMC. Please proceed.
Yeah. Thank you so much. Sir, looking at the NPK production data for the industry, it seems it has come off significantly in 1 Q. Probably 4 Q was also a bit lower, and imports have also come down. Now, is it fair to understand that the subsidy policy by the government will be key for this number to probably go up? Is that a fair way to think of this?
100%. Otherwise, it doesn't make economic sense for the people to produce, and domestic capacities cannot afford to produce at the high input prices of sulfur and ammonia. It's very critical for the subsidies to get revised if the production has to come through, otherwise, it can have an impact in Q2 as well.
Got it. Sure. Sir, secondly, given the market dynamics currently, are we seeing any change in the adoption of DAP Nano Urea? Probably more entrenched, at least in the foliar application where it probably works well.
Ideally, it should happen, unfortunately, some of the state governments like U.P. and Maharashtra have banned these products. That has put the lid on the demand for these products. Had it not been for this, definitely, the volume will pick up. We have seen a very good response. We strongly believe in these products. In fact, globally also, we have received good response. We started exporting nano products last quarter. Coming quarters, we'll be focusing on how do we improve our international business on nano products once the registration comes through. Our Nano DAP is working very well, and we are very confident, and we have been very diligently promoting this across various geographies, and the response has been pretty good.
Thank you.
Am I audible?
Yes, sir. Thank you. The next question is from the line of Prashant from Elara Capital. Please proceed.
Yeah, thank you for the opportunity. Sir, while in Q2 we will have benefit of higher production and just wanted to get a sense of, to maintain the same level of EBITDA per ton, supposedly, how much increase in subsidy would one seek?
Prashant, I don't count six months average. If subsidy comes, we'll deliver the EBITDA, otherwise not.
Right. Sir, regarding [crosstalk].
I wanted to just be serious on this. A very valid question. What we have been asking government is to give us what is due to us. Policy envisages six months average rates to be applied for NBS. That's all we're asking for. If that is restored, see, the subsidy rates for the last two, three years has seen a marginal 10% increase. In this global environment, no plant can sustain this sort of cost increase and try to achieve EBITDA. What we are seeking help from the government is to provide the six months average, the rest we'll take care because fortunately, NP and PK prices are not controllable.
Yeah, sir, that is what I was asking for. I mean, how much is due to the industry and how much has the government not given yet?
It varies for the nutrient. N is a very significant steep correction is required, and P will also require a steep correction because t he six months average price for, even in April, if you have to go back and put these numbers, what prevailed the six months prior to April, what we got has got no relevance to the numbers prevailed even with or without the price.
Right. Sir, secondly, on this QR code-based selling of fertilizer. Sir, if this is applicable pan- India, then there could also be some rationalization in fertilizer sales, whosoever are using it on an excess. Would that understanding be right?
Of urea and DAP, definitely.
And this is.
It is not happening on NP and PK. Ideally, it should increase the demand for NP and PK fertilizers.
Okay. For NPK, consumption is not in excess, but for DAP it is there, is what you are trying to say?
Overuse of N and P, both urea and DAP may get curtailed.
Right. Sir, as per your annual report and also from the data that you shared.
Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Prashant. May we request you to join the question queue again for your follow-up question as there are other several participants waiting for their turn.
Okay.
Thank you.
Sir, can he complete the question?
Okay.
You may go ahead, Prashant.
Prashant, please go ahead. Yeah, we may extend the call later. We'll just go to the next caller.
Yeah. Sir, on the [audio distortion] part, we are already running above capacity. If you can share some expansion plans which you might have there. On BMCC side, if you can repeat what you told in the opening remarks regarding the CapEx.
On the BMCC currently, we are operating the plant closer to the target volumes of high-grade rock phosphate production. That is going as per plan. Besides that, we wanted to invest in a single super phosphate facility. It doesn't cost much. It may be $5 million- $6 million of investment to create 150,000 tons of SSP. But it provides a huge opportunity because we'll be using the reject rocks to process and produce the SSP for the domestic market as well as for the export market. It provides a value addition of rock phosphate in Senegal, and also, we can export to other countries from there. Once we succeed in the smaller capacities, then we may look to expand the capacity so that we can capture the value in Senegal itself. That's what we are looking at.
Besides supplying rock to India, we can also look at capturing value there.
Sure. Thank you so much. I'll re-join the queue.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Darshita Shah from DSP Asset Managers. Please proceed.
Thank you, sir. My first question was regarding the delay in the incremental subsidy announcement. We've been waiting to hear back on this since the last quarter. If you could just throw some light on what's causing the delay from the government's end.
Obviously, there is a pressure on overall subsidy bill across various product categories. With the gas price, urea subsidy is going up. With the DAP being compensated fully, there is a reasonable amount of allocation happening for DAP as well. Hence, t here is a pushback on NP and PK, which we have represented to the government. More of a subsidy bill which is causing this delay.
Okay. Got it. Sir, secondly, with the incremental capacity coming in the fourth quarter of this year, what are we doing with respect to entering the new markets? We've spoken about it a little in the past, but if you could just share with us what are the key new markets that you're looking at, and any key markets where you feel that we may be able to gain incremental market share, maybe somewhere like Maharashtra or something on those fronts.
The capacity is 750,000. 50% of the volume we wanted to sell through our own retail outlets. We are increasing our footprint in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and also we're increasing number of retail outlets in Andhra, Telangana. In the current markets where we have significant presence, we will be maximizing our sale through, our own retail outlets. The balance 50% selling the 350,000- 400,000 tons, we don't see a challenge. We have already developed a few markets in U.P., Rajasthan, M.P. that is good. These markets can absorb the balance volume. I don't see any challenge in taking the additional volume.
All right. Okay, sir. That's all. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is on the line of Naushad Chaudhary from Aditya Birla Mutual Fund. Please proceed.
Yeah, hi. Thank you for the opportunity. Just one clarification, sir. Based on our calculation, looking at the price hike industry has taken, still there is a substantial, could be historic high requirement from the government in terms of fertilizer budget, which I think our industry have not experienced any time in the past. Looking at the different commitments government has on their [audio distortion] side, could this be the year where everybody from farmer to companies and government, everybody has to take the share of the hit which the sector may face?
I understand, but what we are seeking is what is in line with policy. We are not asking for any additional ad hoc subsidy which has been given to DAP or for urea to absorb the additional gas price. What NP and PK fertilizer, which is currently produced predominantly in India, Atmanirbhar, government is also promoting. What we are seeking is the average six months rate, which anyhow defined under the policy. We are not asking for anything higher. I think which is a fair expectation and hopefully, it should be met.
Perfect. All right, sir. Thank you and all the best.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Nirav from Anvil Wealth. Please proceed.
Yeah, sir. Thanks for the opportunity, sir. Two questions. First on the CapEx part, like in last five years, we have invested close to around INR 7,000 crore. Let's say, given the steady state and this CapEx, which we have generally invested towards the backward integration and the strategic part, so o n a steady state basis, how much of the EBITDA this [audio distortion] CapEx could generate over next two, three years given the kind of ramp up we are seeing in terms of the strategic investments as well as the backward integration projects?
I did talk about this sometime back. Our average EBITDA, which used to be INR 5,000, need to go up to INR 6,500 per metric ton.
Correct.
That is the improvement we are looking for as far as the nutrient business is concerned. Rest of the CapEx are towards acquisition or towards chemical operations or towards new capacity creation in crop protection business. The way the margins are accruing to crop protection business, we see the payback of less than three years in some of these CapEx what we have invested in the first two years and hope we continue to recover the money.
Correct. I think we have also expanded the capacity on the bentonite sulphur side, where we have doubled our capacity taking the total speciality nutrients capacity to close to around 88,000 tons. If you can give us some sense in terms of how much the speciality nutrient business would have contributed in that INR 3,100 crore of EBITDA, which we have generated in FY 2026.
We don't put out the separate number for specialties, but what we can say is we have been continuously growing the top line of speciality nutrients business by 25%-30% with EBITDA margin of 20%. Of course, the sulfur expansion has not really helped due to the current situation, what we are facing, but these are temporary. Once things are normalized, we should be able to inflate the capacity. But we are looking at MAP, which is again, a strategic investment for raw material sourcing as well as for trading opportunities and will come up after one year or so. And granulation of speciality nutrients and organic fertilizer, which also helps us to diversify the product portfolio towards seaweed granulation, gypsum granulation, and other micronutrient granulation. These things are gaining good traction from the farming community, and they are high- margin products, and doesn't cost much.
The speciality nutrient business is growing really well. With this stress on crops, definitely, farmers will use water-soluble grades in the drip irrigation system, and we hope we are able to take advantage of this opportunity.
Clarification on the SSP side. Like you mentioned in your opening remark that now 50% of our volumes are the specialty ones. Let's say on a steady state basis, what one should assume now in terms of per metric ton contribution from the SSP business?
INR 2,500-INR 3,000.
Correct. Thank you so much, sir. Wish you all the best.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is on the line of Vipul Kumar from Sumangal Investments. Please proceed.
Hi, sir. Thanks for the opportunity. Can you give some figures regarding Dhaksha, our drone company?
Once I put some numbers there, I will talk about it. At this point of time, we are focusing more on agri- drones, which is gaining good traction. In fact, Coromandel purchased close to 100, 150 drones this quarter, and we are trying to expand the fleet to 500 drones during the year. Dhaksha will be mainly catering to agri-drones, and until we get the defense orders, we'll be focusing on agri verticals. On defense orders, we are in the final stage. As and when it materializes, we should be able to scale up the volumes. There are numerous opportunities available in this sector. We'll continue to pursue them. We are trying to also ensure that how do we strengthen the supply chain, how do we develop the complete ecosystem. We are working on it. It's still work in progress.
It's too early stages for me to comment on those numbers specifically.
But are they a big drag as far as the EBITDA level is concerned? Or at least?
It's not very significant. It's very insignificant in the overall number. It doesn't impact much. See, these are all startups. We need to deal with them and ensure that we create a future value. That way it's been helpful for us. We will try to create a value out of it of some kind.
Okay, sir. Lastly, you said due to this backward integration, our EBITDA in NPK will move to INR 6,500. That is what I heard. Is that correct, sir?
Yeah. That is what we have always been telling. Once we commercialize the plant in a steady state, we should generate that kind of a revenue. Don't ask me this number for this quarter. It doesn't happen this way because of the spurt in input prices. I said in a normal situation, we should realize that kind of an EBITDA. But these are all abnormal trades. Once they are normalcy restores, we should realize that value.
Yeah. It means all things being equal, it should reach there, right, sir?
Yes, absolutely.
Okay. Thank you, sir, and all the best.
Thank you very much.
Thank you. The next question is on the line of Sandeep Mukherjee from SKP Securities. Please proceed.
Sir, thanks for taking my question. Sir, initially, I wanted to know at what levels of pricing of sulfur do you think optimal backward integration kicks in? Just for understanding, sir.
At the guaranteed, given phosphoric at the price of $ 1,700, at least we want $800 of sulfur.
$800. Okay. Thank you.
That's good.
Thank you. Thank you, sir.
Thank you. Due to time constraints, that was the last question. I now hand the conference over to the management for the closing comments. Over to you, sir.
So, thank you very much. Thanks for raising some insightful questions, and we strive to do our best and hope the situation improves and the uptake improves, and we also improve on the subsidy realization from the government. Thank you for your interest in Coromandel. Thank you, Manish.
Thank you. On behalf of Coromandel International Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines.