Chambal Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited — Q4 FY25 earnings call

Call held 9 May 2025

Management summary

Chambal Fertilisers delivered a robust FY25 performance characterized by strong profit growth and a significant scale-up in its high-margin Crop Protection (CPC-SN) segment. Despite temporary plant shutdowns in Q4, urea volumes remained resilient. Management is pivotally focused on diversifying revenue through the upcoming TAN project and expanding its P&K trading portfolio, supported by a healthy subsidy collection environment.

Highlights

  • Full-year FY25 PAT grew 24% YoY to ₹1,657 crore, while EBITDA rose 17% to ₹2,838 crore.

  • Q4 standalone revenue stood at ₹2,449 crore with a PAT of ₹100 crore, representing 16% growth.

  • CPC-SN business achieved a 25% CAGR, with FY25 revenue reaching ₹926 crore and contribution of ₹247 crore.

  • Urea production remained strong at 34.61 lakh metric tons for FY25 despite plant shutdowns at Gadepan-I and III.

  • Technical Ammonium Nitrate (TAN) project is on track for January 2026 commissioning with ₹650 crore spent to date.

  • Subsidy outstanding significantly reduced to ₹265 crore as of March 31, 2025.

  • Company maintains a strong balance sheet with negative net debt as of fiscal year-end.

Key financials

2 periods

Headline

  • EBITDA (Full Year)
    ₹2,838 Cr
    YoY +17%
  • PAT (Full Year)
    ₹1,657 Cr
    YoY +24%
  • Urea Sales Volume (Full Year)
    34.71 lakh mt
    YoY +6.6%

Standalone Q4

  • Revenue
    ₹2,449 Cr

What they filed

Q1 FY27: revenue down 11.8%, net profit down 4.6% against the same quarter last year.

₹ Cr · quarterly
Line itemQ2 FY25Q3 FY25Q4 FY25Q1 FY26Q2 FY26Q3 FY26Q4 FY26Q1 FY27
Revenue4,346 4,918 2,449 5,698 6,413 +48%5,898 +20%2,785 +14%5,027 −12%
EBITDA790 778 163 761 842 +7%821 +6%255 +56%826 +9%
Net profit536 534 130 549 649 +21%586 +10%169 +30%524 −5%
How to read this

₹ crore, as filed. The percentage beside a figure is the change against the same quarter a year earlier — never the quarter before, which would make every seasonal business look like it collapses and booms each year.

Segment breakdown

SegmentRevenueProfit
CPC-SN (Crop Protection & Specialty Nutrients)——
Manufactured Fertilisers (Q4)₹2,243 Cr₹79 Cr
Complex Fertiliser Trading (Q4)₹166 Cr₹9 Cr

Guidance & targets

Capacity

  • TAN Project Commissioning Capacity · FY26 · High confidence January 2026
    As far as technical ammonium nitrate is concerned, as you know, our commercial operation or production date is somewhere in January '26.

    — Abhay Baijal, Managing Director

  • IMACID Phosphoric Acid Capacity Capacity · by 2027 · High confidence 7 lakh metric tons

    From 5 lakh metric tons today

    IMACID is increasing its phosphoric acid capacity from about 5 lakh metric ton to 7 lakh metric tons, and this should be available in time frame of 2027.

    — Abhay Baijal, Managing Director

Capex

  • Total Capex FY26 Capex · FY26 · High confidence ₹1,200 crore
    See, the total CAPEX in '25-'26 will be of the order of Rs. 1,200 crore.

    — Abhay Baijal, Managing Director

Volume

  • NPK Trading Portfolio Growth Volume · FY26 · Medium confidence 250%
    My guesswork is that this year we will have much larger portfolio of NPK, possibly doubling it or growing 250% on that.

    — Abhay Baijal, Managing Director

Risks & concerns

  • China Supply Volatility

    medium

    China is diverting phosphoric acid to EV batteries, making them an unreliable supplier for P&K fertilisers.

    Management acknowledged

  • Plant Operational Risks

    medium

    Q4 saw a 36-day shutdown at Gadepan-III and a 14-day boiler issue at Gadepan-I, impacting production volumes.

    Both acknowledged

  • Geopolitical Uncertainties

    medium

    Global supply dynamics for P&K fertilisers remain uncertain due to geopolitical tensions and regional monopolies.

    Management acknowledged

Areas of evasion (2)

  • Specific operating margin numbers for the upcoming TAN project.
  • Details on 'other options' for future projects currently under evaluation.

Q&A highlights

3 direct
DAP Import Viability and Strategy Direct
The Government has made suitable adjustments and have gone to a kind of cost plus model... Almost 1,30,000 tons has been contracted till date.

Confirms that the trading business is back to being viable under the new subsidy regime, allowing for volume growth.

Asked by Jignesh Kamani

Low Profitability in Complex Fertilisers Q4 Direct
We had actually built up the stock... naturally the value of stock will get in... that will flow in terms of benefits when we make the sales in the Kharif season.

Explains the temporary margin compression in trading due to tactical inventory buildup for the upcoming season.

Asked by CA Ashok Jain

Sourcing Risks from China Direct
China... has now become an off and on kind of party... they may be diverting some part of their phosphoric acid capacity into battery manufacturers for electric vehicles.

Highlights a structural shift in global supply chains and the need for Indian companies to diversify sourcing to Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Russia.

Asked by Deekshant

2 min read 5 chapters

Detailed narrative

CPC-SN Segment Emerges as Growth Engine

The Crop Protection Chemicals and Specialty Nutrients (CPC-SN) business continues its strong trajectory, achieving a 25% CAGR. In FY25, revenue reached ₹926 crore compared to ₹760 crore in the previous year, with contribution increasing to ₹247 crore. Management introduced 12 new products during the year and plans to launch 18 more in the upcoming Kharif and Rabi seasons, focusing on weedicides and biologicals.

TAN Project Progress and Financial Outlay

The Technical Ammonium Nitrate (TAN) project is progressing according to schedule, with commercial operations expected to commence in January 2026. The company has already spent ₹650 crore of the estimated ₹900 crore project cost. For FY26, the total capex is projected at ₹1,200 crore, which includes the remaining TAN spend and routine maintenance, all to be funded through internal accruals.

Strategic Shift in Fertiliser Trading

Management is aggressively expanding its P&K trading portfolio following favorable government policy adjustments to a cost-plus model. The company expects to double or even grow its NPK trading volumes by 250% in the coming year. Despite a tactical buildup of inventory in Q4 (segment assets rising to ₹1,601 crore), management is confident this will translate into higher sales and margins during the Kharif season.

Operational Resilience Amidst Shutdowns

Despite significant shutdowns at Gadepan-III (36 days) and Gadepan-I (14 days), urea production for FY25 reached 34.61 lakh metric tons, surpassing the previous year's 33.83 lakh metric tons. Q4 production numbers were specifically cited as 2.4 lakh tonnes for Gadepan-I, 2.57 lakh tonnes for Gadepan-II, and 2.11 lakh tonnes for Gadepan-III, showing efficient recovery post-maintenance.

JV Performance and Capacity Expansion

The IMACID joint venture showed improved performance with production rising to 5.25 lakh tons from 4.35 lakh tons in the previous year. Sales also increased to 4.35 lakh tons. A significant capacity expansion is underway at IMACID to increase phosphoric acid capacity to 7 lakh metric tons by 2027, which will further secure raw material supply for Chambal's complex fertiliser business.

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