Portfolio Check: Murugappa Group fertiliser stock nearly doubles in 1 year

Coromandel International share price: Shares of Coromandel International, one of the flagship companies of Murugappa group, hit a new high of ₹2,338 today

Share price of Coromandel International today

  Shares of Coromandel International, one of the flagship companies of Murugappa group, hit a new high of ₹2,338, surging 5 per cent on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in Friday's intraday trade, after the fertiliser company reported a good set of numbers for the quarter ended March 2025 (Q4FY25).

 

The stock price of the fertiliser company surpassed its previous high of ₹2,295, which it touched on April 29, 2025. In the past one year, Coromandel International's share price has nearly doubled, zooming 95 per cent from a level of ₹1,196.55 on May 2, 2025. In the past two months, the stock has rallied 41 per cent. 

 

 

Q4 results of Coromandel International

 

Coromandel International reported an overall revenue of ₹4,988 crore in Q4FY25, up 27 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y). Nutrient & other allied business revenue grew 28 per cent Y-o-Y to ₹4,320 crore, while crop protection business revenue increased 24 per cent Y-o-Y to ₹698 crore. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) margin expanded 160bp Y-o-Y to 8.5 per cent. Ebitda jumped 56 per cent Y-o-Y at ₹426 crore. Adjusted profit after tax was up 89 per cent Y-o-Y during the quarter at ₹303 crore.

 

The management said Nutrient and Crop Protection segments witnessed robust growth, complemented by encouraging farmer response to their new initiatives like Gromor Drive – Agri drone spraying and Nano fertilisers. The Retail business expanded its footprint with 100 new stores and entry into Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, crossing the 900-store mark.

 

In Crop Protection, capacity enhancements at Dahej and the new plant at Ankleshwar are building scale, while the NACL acquisition will expand the company's product portfolio and market presence internationally. With strong fundamentals and a committed team, the management is confident of sustaining growth and contributing meaningfully to Indian agriculture and the Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision.

 

Acquisition of NACL Industries

 

On March 12, 2025, Coromandel International announced the acquisition of a 53-per cent stake, worth around ₹820 crore, in NACL. This transaction is expected to be completed by the first half of fiscal 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.

 

This acquisition will augment the crop protection business of Coromandel, strengthen its presence in the domestic formulations business, expand existing product portfolio, and help in securing contract manufacturing relationships with NACL's established customer relationships, according to CRISIL Ratings.

 

The government has also demonstrated its financial support to the fertiliser sector via additional subsidies in the past two fiscal years. The announced subsidy of ~₹1.67 trillion for fiscal 2026 should be sufficient to meet the requirement. This, combined with healthy cash accrual and surplus liquidity will be sufficient to fund working capital requirement, thus enabling it to maintain its net debt-free position over the medium term, the rating agency said. 

 

Since a timely disbursement of the entitled subsidy is crucial for the company to maintain its robust financial risk profile, any change in policy support or sustained delays in payouts would remain monitorable, CRISIL Ratings said in its rationale.

 

Sector outlook

 

Going forward, the trajectory of monsoon will be the key determinant of fortunes for agrochemical companies. In H1FY25, rains were in excess, which impacted the demand for agrochemicals. Going forward, analysts at Elara Capital said the monsoon is likely to transition from 'La Nina' to 'El Nino Neutral' conditions, which may lead to lower rainfall than last year. But if the timing and spatial distribution are not impacted, demand for agrochemicals would be better than last year. Seed availability is also expected to improve in Q1FY26.

 

About Coromandel International

 

Coromandel International is amongst India's pioneers and leading agri-solutions provider, offering diverse products and services across the farming value chain. The company's business structure is bifurcated into two segments: nutrient and other allied businesses, and crop protection business. The nutrient and other allied segment includes the manufacturing and marketing of phosphatic fertilisers, speciality nutrients, organic fertilisers and retail. The crop protection business includes manufacturing of bio-based and chemical pesticides.

 

The company has the capacity to manufacture over 3.6 million tonne (MT) of fertilisers and pesticides and 1.0 MT of single super phosphate per annum. Besides this, the company manufactures water-soluble fertilisers, biopesticides and agrochemical technicals and formulations.