Coromandel International, an agri solutions provider, posted its fiscal first quarter profit at Rs 494.03 crore, down from Rs 499.08 crore during the corresponding quarter of last year. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 5,693.39 crore, marginally down from Rs 5,729.10 crore during the first quarter of FY23. The company EBITDA, however, increased by 4.1 per cent on-year to Rs 709.2 crore. Coromandel clocked a total income of Rs 5,737.89 crore during Q1FY24 while the total expenses during the quarter in review stood at Rs 5,072.83 crore.
“Coromandel posted a steady performance in Q1, registering strong volume growth and sustaining its profitability. This was despite the challenging business environment as delayed monsoon onset impacted crop sowings and agri-inputs applications,” said Arun Alagappan, Executive Vice Chairman, Coromandel International Ltd.
Coromandel’s Q1 performance across business segments
For its nutrient and allied business, Coromandel posted a revenue of Rs 5,200.58 crore as against Rs 5,110.53 crore a year earlier. Nutrient and Allied businesses performance was led by robust 18 per cent sales volume growth in phosphatic fertilisers, it said. During the quarter, the company conducted a soft launch of ‘Nano DAP’, a cutting-edge nanotechnology-based fertilizer, developed at its R&D centre. It is expected to introduce the product in the second half of the year. “Major capital expenditure projects like Sulphuric acid and Desalination Plant are progressing as per schedule and are expected to be commissioned in August 2023,” it said.
The crop protection business clocked a revenue of Rs 547.48 crore as against Rs 660.74 crore during the same quarter last year. The segment performance during the quarter was affected by industry headwinds and sub normal rainfall in its key markets. “The business continued to work towards improving its manufacturing efficiencies. It is expanding its product portfolio and plans to launch novel combinations and technical products during the year,” the company said. Coromandel has started the preparatory work for establishing a large scale multi product plant and has acquired 50 acres land at Dahej.
Meanwhile, the Bioproducts business is expanding its non-Azadirachtin portfolio and is working on alternate plant extract-based products. Pilot trials have been successful, and business expects to commercialise the product during the year. Further, as part of its expansion into the Speciality chemicals segment, Coromandel has identified a few complementary chemistries and plans to introduce products in Q2 by leveraging its technical capabilities and existing plant infrastructure.
Going forward, Coromandel said, “With the improved coverage of South-West monsoons across India, we expect the agri inputs consumption to pick up in Q2. We are committed to drive integrated farm management practices and introduce novel technologies that can enhance the efficiency of agricultural solutions and improve sustainability of Indian farms.”
Appointment announcements at Coromandel
The company also announced the voluntary retirement of Rajesh Mukhija as Company Secretary and Compliance Officer, with effect from September 9, 2023. Also, the Board approved the appointment of B Shanmugasundaram as Company Secretary and Compliance Officer of the Company with effect from October 9, 2023.
Coromandel International, a leading agri solutions provider, is in the business of fertilisers, crop protection chemicals, bio products, specialty nutrients, organic fertilizer and retail.