Saroj Poddar, the soft-spoken strategist

In April, when Poddar checked into Vijay Mallya's MCF, Deepak Fertilisers was also eyeing it, but was checkmated

 

It is rare for one to acknowledge one’s competitor to be smart. But Deepak Fertilisers admitted it was once outsmarted by Saroj Poddar, son-in-law of K K Birla and chairman of the Adventz Group. In April this year, Poddar bought a 10 per cent stake in Vijay Mallya’s Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers (MCF), in which Deepak Fertilisers was also eyeing a stake. His soft-spoken nature belies the strategist in Poddar.

A Kolkata-based businessman who had known Poddar for the last 30 years is surprised that Deepak Fertilisers managed to garner a bigger pie of MCF — 24 per cent — from the open market recently. “He (Poddar) is extremely market-savvy,” said the person.

In 2005, he emerged as one of the single-largest promoters of Gillette India, along with Procter & Gamble (P&G), that made a net profit of Rs 75.30 crore in FY13. Even if Poddar now pares his holding in Gillette, where he is a passive investor, he would hardly be a loser. While Poddar has been managing the K K Birla group companies for long, it was only in August 2008, after the demise of his father-in-law, that he slipped into the role of chairman. Since then, Poddar, a gold medalist from the Calcutta University, has been striving to take the $3-billion (Rs 18,000-crore) Adventz Group’s businesses forward. In 2011, Poddar rebranded the companies and brought it under the umbrella brand, Adventz Group.

At present, the group’s major businesses are fertiliser and infrastructure. Around 70 per cent of the group’s revenues come from these. It was with an eye on long-term gain in the fertilser business that Poddar had invested in Mallya’s MCF. It is a different matter that it seems to have gone awry, at least for now.  

Despite the fact that fertilisers have been a rocky road, Zuari Global, an Adventz-owned fertiliser company, has made a comeback into profits in FY13 at Rs 15.85 crore, compared to a loss of Rs 217 crore in FY12.  The net profit of Zuari Agro Chemicals, another Adventz company, for the final quarter of FY13, however, has tumbled to Rs 64.30 crore against Rs 164.42 crore in the year-ago period. “The market has been subdued for all the players and it is not only Zuari that has seen muted demand. The next two quarters will also be challenging and thereafter they might get to see better figures,” said a sector analyst. Increased output of complex fertlisers will help the company in future.

It is Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals, which is the star performer for Poddar. The company, where Poddar is a chairman and a promoter, reported a net profit of Rs 238.52 crore in FY13, compared to Rs 158.31 crore in FY12. “Being a strong player in the urea business has helped Chambal Fertilisers compared to its competitors. The stock price has also risen for the same reason,” added the analyst.  Hettich India Private, a joint venture between Adventz and the Hettich Group of Germany, is another example where Poddar carved out a presence early. The furniture business holds big potential and the company that was incorporated in 2000-01 had seen a top line of Rs 307 crore as of December 2012.