Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited (CHAMBLFERT) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to the Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Rishab Barar from CDR India. Thank you, and over to you, sir.

Good day, everyone, and thank you for joining us on the Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals Q4 and FY '25 Earnings Call. We have with us today Mr. Abhay Baijal, Managing Director; Mr. Anuj Jain, CFO; Mr. Tridib Barat, Vice President - Legal and Company Secretary; and Mr. Ashish Srivastava, Vice President - Sales and Marketing. Before we get started, I would like to point out that some statements made or discussed in the conference call today may be forward-looking in nature and must be viewed in conjunction with the risks the company faces. Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals does not undertake to update them. The statement in this regard is available for reference in the presentation. We will begin this call with opening remarks from Mr. Baijal. I would now like to invite Mr. Baijal to share his views. Over to you, sir.

Thank you very much, Rishab. Good day to everybody, and a warm welcome to all of you participating in this call. To quickly recap our numbers for the quarter under review, on a standalone basis, revenues amounted to INR 2,449 crores. The company achieved a profit after tax of INR 100 crores as against INR 86 crores, which is a growth of about 16%. For the full year, the company achieved an EBITDA of INR 2,838 crores against INR 2,428 crores, which is a growth of about 17% and a PAT of INR 1,657 crores as against INR 1,331 crores, translating into a growth of 24%. Two of our plants underwent shutdowns, Gadepan-III for about 36 days, and there was a mini shutdown of 14 days in Gadepan-I due to a problem in one of the boilers. Despite this, the company has performed well. We have achieved higher production as compared to the corresponding quarter. For the full year also, urea production volumes continue to be strong at 34.61 lakh metric tons compared to 33.83 lakh metric tons last year. Urea sales for the year amounted at 34.71 lakh metric tons against 32.56 lakh metric tons in the previous year. We have run both Gadepan-I and II efficiently. The advantages accruing out of the energy saving schemes continue to flow in. We continuously monitor the efficiency and plan to implement further energy efficiency projects to reduce it further. Subsidy receipts continue to be timely. As of March 31, 2025, our subsidy outstanding was INR 265 crores, and we are glad to inform you that a large proportion of this amount has been received on time. We continue to see volumes and sales growth in our CPC & SN business. In quarter 4 FY '25, CPC & SN revenues stood at INR 39 crores as against INR 15 crores last year. Contribution at INR 15 crores was higher by about INR 7 crores. This took our total contribution for the business to INR 247 crores against INR 175 crores and our revenues to INR 926 crores against INR 760 crores. We have achieved a compounded CAGR of 25% in CPC & SN business, and we hope to carry this momentum forward as well. During the year, we introduced 12 new CPC products, primarily comprising of weedicides. Today, our CPC product portfolio comprises of 64 products of distinct chemistries covering fungicides, weedicides, and insecticides, which have been well accepted by farmers across India in our territory. We are also working on 18 new products, which shall be introduced in Kharif and Rabi. Our strategy continues to focus on creating partnerships and alliances for introducing better chemistries and increasing the width of offerings in our channel. During FY '25, we also achieved a 8% revenue from biologicals of the total CPC & SN revenue. We continue to strengthen our biological portfolio, biological fungicide and nematicide will be introduced in Kharif '25 and Rabi '25, respectively, to address farmers' pain point for nematodes and disease control, for which internal field tests have been successful. CFCL is now focusing increasingly on technologies which bring benefits in terms of improving farm yields, improve soil health, and provide better product outcomes. As you know friends, during the year, Chambal Fertilisers and TERI, The Energy and Resources Institute, entered into an agreement for research for advanced and sustainable agricultural solutions. This is significant in the backdrop of food security challenges due to an increasing population. We are delighted by the successful launch of UTTAM PRANAAM, bio nano phosphorus liquid fertilizer, an advanced solution designed to enhance phosphorus availability in crops. TERI, as you know, is a pioneer institution in the area, and we'll be doing research under the center of excellence to develop new products, where IP rights are jointly owned between CFCL and TERI and Chambal will have exclusive commercial rights globally on the products, which are developed over a period of next 5 years. We will be introducing hybrid and research variety seeds in Kharif '25, which will substantially complete the agri input products profile. In the nonurea space, our product portfolio approach continues. We have sourced adequate volumes of NPK fertilizers, ensuring preparedness for Kharif season. We are in active discussions with global suppliers to ensure the smooth supply of P&K fertilizers across the year. Our farmer connect Seed to Harvest program is now growing, and our Seed to Harvest program is playing a significant role towards strengthening and expanding our relationships with both the farmer and our channel partners. During the year, Chambal conducted over 9,000 meetings, 11,825 demos, and collected 105 lakh soil samples. The program is being scaled up with digital intervention in newer locations for Kharif '25. Our technical ammonium nitrate is progressing in line with stated timelines. Statutory approvals are in place. And till date, we have spent about INR 650 crores. Our joint venture in IMACID is also performing well, with higher production and better margins. IMACID, as you know, is increasing its phosphoric acid capacity from about 5 lakh metric tons to 7 lakh metric tons. And this should be available in time frame of 2027. With that, we are now happy to take your questions. Thank you so much.

[Operator Instructions] The first question is from the line of Jignesh Kamani from Nippon AMC.

Just want to understand on the DAP imports. So last year, because of the lower subsidies, import was not viable, you can say. So how is -- based on the current subsidies, how is the scenario on DAP import? And in past, we used to do, you can say, close to around 8 to 10 kind of DAP trading. What kind of possibility we can do? Can we go back to that level you can say in 1 to 2 years perhaps because of the better subsidy?

Yes. If I get you right, Jignesh, I think what you're asking is what our stance on DAP imports is likely to be for Kharif and Rabi. So I would say that the government has made suitable adjustments and have gone to a kind of cost-plus mode. We are also participating. Almost 1.30 lakh tonnes has been contracted to date, which includes volumes of TSP as well. And for going forward, I think should this policy continue, we have no hesitation in increasing volumes in this area. Subject, of course, to various geopolitical uncertainties, the facts of the case are that we are in a little uncertain situation today. But nevertheless, we feel that we will be able to surpass our volumes of last year.

Understood. And it will impact the NPK volume because the industry has witnessed very healthy growth in the NPK partly because of the lower availability of DAP. Now, if DAP availability improved, will it impact the NPK?

Not really. There are grades which are very specific to certain crops where there doesn't make much difference, especially high potash grades. There are other grades which are direct substitutes of DAP. Yes, clear to that point, there will be a difference. There are grades which are sulfur, which are in a category of their own. They are priced competitively as compared to DAP. They will themselves sell. You know what I'm meaning 20-20-0-13 is a grade that I'm trying to mention here. So there are various shades in this whole game. And one has to play the supply gaps and availability gaps in order to make money here.

And last one, the urea, how is the channel inventory considering that because the plants were down, if you can say our volume has been down by close to around 5% on our level. So have we reduced the channel inventory, and how is the scenario?

No, I think we carry more or less the same inventory as last year. What it really means is that we could have done better had the Gadepan-I plant shutdown of 15 days, inadvertent, not happened. But that is part and parcel of the game of running these high-tech plants. Sometimes things do happen. However, we are back on stream and full blast from April 1. So that's what I would like to respond on the urea question.

The next question is from the line of [ Vedant Sarda ] from Nirmal Bang Securities.

Hello.

Yes, sir. You're audible.

Am I audible?

Yes, sir.

My question is like we are operating at 99% of the urea capacity. So what would be our growth drivers for next 2 to 3 years? Any capacity expansion plans in urea segment? Or when would the technical ammonium nitrate project would be in operations?

See, there is always a chance to improve capacities through various projects, which we continuously keep examining. There is a pipeline of such energy efficiency projects, which also have knock-on benefits in terms of volume increases because sometimes these projects technically also give margins in machines. And as you know, from previous year to this year, we have actually increased almost 1 lakh tonnes per annum, which is 34 lakh tonnes kind of average, we are going to 35 lakh tonne kind of average. It can increase further. That is one part. As far as technical ammonium nitrate is concerned, as you know, our commercial operation or production date is somewhere in January '26. So that should kick in, in terms of revenues, by the third or fourth quarter of this year. As far as other products and projects are concerned, I think I had made a mention last time that we are looking at various other options, which I'm not at liberty to disclose. And those are making steady progress as we speak.

Sir, does that answer your question? [ Mr. Vedant ]? Due to no response from the current participant, we will move on to the next participant. The next question is from the line of Harmish Desai from PhillipCapital.

Is my voice audible?

Yes, Mr. Desai.

Sir, in FY '25, apart from the TAN CapEx, what was our total CapEx apart from TAN?

I think it is of the order of about INR 300-odd crores.

Okay. And sir, what is the total CapEx that we can expect in FY '26?

That is what I was telling. See, we have almost -- the total CapEx in '25-'26 will be of the order of INR 1,200 crores.

Got it, sir. And sir, we are commissioning our TAN plant in January 2026. So in FY '27, how much -- how fast and to what capacity can we be able to ramp up this new TAN plant?

We all hope for the best. Why would you not -- we would expect it to go to at least 80%, 90%. But as far as our financial planning is concerned, we are more conservative.

Sir, can you help me with the urea volume numbers in Gadepan-I, II, and III for Q4?

Mr. Jain can answer that question.

We have -- for Gadepan-I we have 2.4 lakh tonnes. Gadepan-II we have 2.57 lakh tonnes, and Gadepan-III 2.11 lakh tonnes.

Got it.

And sir, what was the gas price for fourth quarter?

Gas price for fourth quarter is...

Gas price for fourth quarter is around $15.55 [ MCV ] per MMbtu [ MCV ] basis.

And sir, lastly, how much ammonia have we sold in fourth quarter or in FY '25 as a whole?

I think we sold about 1.03 lakh tonnes.

This is fourth quarter. Sorry, this is FY '25, right?

For the FY '25.

The next question is from the line of S. Ramesh from Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities.

So if you look at your performance in Crop Protection, what is the driver for the improved margins? And can you share with us what is the EBITDA margin? You have given the gross margin? So what will be the EBITDA margin percentage terms? And what will drive this 23% in revenue between FY '25 and FY '27? Will it be predominantly the new products? How do you see that?

See, I think we have, over the years, established efficient sales and sale mechanism, which continues to give us so far the margin. Our alliances also help with that. Our direct discussions with various companies who are providing us either the technical or the know-how, or then we are getting it from, made from various formulators and all that. So that is one part as far as the margin is concerned. The second part on margin is the freshness of the products, how many new products that we introduce, whether it is in weedicides, herbicides, fungicides and so on. So there is a strategy working out there in terms of how we place and procure these materials. So far, in the last 3 years are any indication, these have been steady, and we are proposing to also repeat this performance in FY '26. So this continues to work for us. And I think in the last time when we had this discussion, we had made the point that being the bridge between the farmers' pain point and a solution, which we actively pursue and do a lot of research on, I think is the secret sauce that we are looking for.

So if you look at the fourth quarter, in terms of this Crop Protection revenue growth, how much of that will be volume growth? Because other companies are talking about some pricing pressure. So what is it in your case? How much was it driven by volume growth?

It is mostly driven by volume growth, and there are some past catchups also in this. Mr. Ashish can answer this question more fully.

Yes. Usually, the question is right, whatever crops consume crop protection chemicals in quarter 4, basically sugarcane and others, so this is basically volume growth and not much of price issues in that.

Okay. So if you look at your fertilizer trading portfolio, you have seen healthy growth in NPK and DAP. So do you continue -- do you expect to continue this trend? What is the kind of growth you would expect in the trading portfolio in DAP and NPK next year?

See, we did about 5.5 lakh tonnes, plus or minus, in the whole year FY '25, primarily split between MOP, DAP, TSP, and NPKs. My guesswork is that this year, we will have a much larger portfolio of NPK, possibly doubling it or going [ 250% ] on that. MOP could be the same or slightly subdued. And DAP will grow, as I mentioned to the first participant. Given the government's policy, we have no hesitation in stepping in and doing our part, plus the fact that our channel would expect that kind of support from that. So I wouldn't hazard a guess, but I think we are well covered in terms of Kharif. And almost the amount that we did last year, we would do in Kharif itself.

Okay. Sir, just going back to Crop Protection, what is the on-ground [ pre-placement ] demand you're seeing for Kharif, given that the summer crop acreage has shown healthy growth? How do you see that?

So whatever forecast if you're looking at, whether it's IMD or Skymet, we are expecting a normal monsoon again. And whatever inventory pressures were there in the competition of past years, those have also gone out. So we expect a robust growth in the [ CPCU ] segment overall.

The next question is from the line of Tarang Agrawal from Old Bridge Capital Management.

Congratulations on an extremely strong performance, especially in the Crop Protection business. I have a couple of questions pertaining to Crop Protection. One, sir, you spoke about 64 products being active in the portfolio today. These are 64 SKUs or these are 64 unique products? And second, just to get a better handle, how would -- if you could give us a sense on competitive intensity in your portfolio? Are there alternates available for a large part of your portfolio, or not available. Just wanted to get a sense on how unique the portfolio is. That's one. Second, further to the earlier participant, how confident are you to be able to maintain the financial metrics of the trading business apart from growth, everything else going forward in FY '26?

So I'll take the second question first. As far as the financial metrics for trading are concerned, we are pretty confident that having procured strategically and tactically in the first quarter, we are sitting at competitive price levels, I would say, which creates the necessary margin for us. That is number one. And going forward, of course, the market is shifting. It has tightened in terms of prices. But as we said, that we are more or less stocked for Kharif. Going forward, we'll have to see how this plays out in the international market. There are geopolitical issues, but there could be entrants such as China into the market once again that could soften up the general levels because there's the displacement of stock from one place in the globe to the other place of the globe also has knock-on effects. Now as far as the first part of your question is concerned, the 64 SKUs are actually products. There are 64 products as split between weedicides, fungicides, and herbicides, et cetera. And these exactly are the result of our cultivating various alliances and relationships, whereby, as I told you, I think, last time, we are getting superior products than what the market normally gets in this kind of a business. We have those alliances whereby people are giving us generation 1 or generation 1.5x. So we get a competitive advantage. And the sourcing strategy is a very, very important part in this business. So we do work over a period of at least 8, 9 months prior to the business plan to understand what we will need, how do we source it, what alliances do we need, and we create those kind of contacts with people and get that material in time. So this has been going on now for the last 3, 4 years. I'm pretty confident this is a workable proposition in this business.

And uniqueness of the portfolio?

Could you repeat that question, please?

How unique is the portfolio? Like, for instance, some of these products like No Grass and Manconil seem to be fairly generic and not so unique, right? But if I look at something like a Hiroi or a Theo or a WheMo. So just wanted to get your sense on how unique are these. Are there alternatives available? Because then we probably get a better handle on what's actually driving the metrics of this business.

Okay. So these are -- see, 70% of Indian crop protection chemical business is through generics. So only 30% is our patented or niche products. But when you talked about the product uniqueness, we -- as Mr. Baijal mentioned that because of our relationship, now we are getting some of the products in the year of launch. So we don't have to wait for 2 or 3 years for the product to be launched, and then you are getting it. So we are getting -- so that's the uniqueness. So we get some products in the year of launch. Secondly, depending on the soil type and farmer spending behavior, you always have to keep a portfolio. I'll just put one small example, say, for stem borer and leaf folder segment, I sell a Rynaxypyr chemistry, I sell Cartap hydrochloride, I sell fipronil. So they are in different price bands for different soil types. So that is there with almost all companies, so we also do a similar working.

And sir, Mr. Baijal, just last question. From a capital allocation, you've laid out about INR 1,300 crores of outlay. And there are capital projects under consideration. But purely from a size standpoint, what could be the ticket size of the projects that are under evaluation currently?

They are -- I won't hazard a guess, but I mean, they are not small projects. That's all I can say.

All the best and congratulations on a very strong FY '26.

The next question is from the line of [ CA Ashok Jain ], who is an individual investor.

I am [ CA Ashok Jain ] from Mumbai. So my questions are basically from -- if you refer Page #18, that is consolidated segment-wise revenue. So if I see there, I find that the Complex Fertilizer for the quarter 4, the revenue is INR 166 crores and profit is only INR 9 crores. And last quarter also, the profit was very low in this segment. And I see there the stock -- I mean, there is one item, which says segment asset, which is Complex Fertilizers. It has gone from 31st December 2024 from INR 825 crores to INR 1,601 crores. So my question is that in this segment, we are not making profit, and instead we are adding the asset. So it is -- I mean, we must be incurring the [ opportunity ] financial cost. So this is what my question is how to tackle this, and what is this? One is this. And second, I want to know that if I see quarter 4, our revenue from our own manufactured fertilizer is INR 2,243 crores and profit is only INR 79 crores, which is 3.4% as against the last quarter where it is 17%. So can you just clarify these 2 issues, how to handle it, especially Complex Fertilizer is becoming complex for me.

Okay. [ Mr. Jain ], let me just make it clear. We had actually built up the stock. We had purchased tactically, I think I have made this mention. So when you purchase tactically, and you will report the segment asset, naturally the value of stock will get in. This is not a manufactured item. There is no plant and machinery in this. So from last year to this year, there has been an increase in stock. So that is -- and that will flow in terms of benefits when we'll make the sales in the Kharif season. So that is one part. As far as the INR 8 crores and INR 9 crores that you mentioned in terms of that is dependent on the sales that must have been done. In this last quarter, we would have hardly sold 0.5 lakh tonnes or something like that. So that kind of number is possible in small sales that are there. Now let's come to the sales of own manufactured fertilizers and the reduction in margin. See, this follows from the policy principle beyond reassessed capacity when you actually produce beyond reassessed capacity in the policy, the profit metrics are quite different. And they also depend upon the debit of various types of expenses such as repair and maintenance, which are more heavy in this particular quarter because, as I told you, Gadepan-III had a shutdown and there was an annual turnaround. So there is a debit of large amount of repair maintenance. That is one thing. And secondly, there was also a 14-day shutdown of Gadepan-I and a startup expense and shutdown expense also gets debited. So these are the reasons why you find the large variation in the margins.

So can we do make it more rational, something like that? Is it possible in future going forward because it is quite low from 17% to 3.4% seems very low.

So this is the nature of accounting in the last quarter, and that is, if you recognize the cost and revenue as it is for the period. That is the way done since, last I think God knows how many years. And since I've been in this company and other companies of this type, they all do this type of accounting.

Okay. Sir, one last question. The CapEx plan, you are saying that '25-'26, it will be around INR 1,200 crores. So my question is this, how are we going to source it from the internal accruals?

Yes, we will do it from internal accruals.

The next question is from the line of Deekshant from DB Wealth.

Congratulations on a strong set for this financial year. Sir, you have alluded how China can become a risk factor for us in the short to medium term. Could you give us a little bit of more color and explain us how this risk can be seen?

No, it is -- I'm just saying that China, from being a very steady supplier of P&K fertilizers and even urea to some extent, has now become an off and on kind of party for the last 3 years. For whatever reasons, their internal, they may be diverting some part of their phosphoric acid capacity into battery manufacturers for electric vehicles, they could be doing it for geopolitical reasons, whatever it is. But the fact is the global supply from China is now fluctuating to some extent as against being a steadier player in the last 3 to 4 years. So that means that for certain types of P&K products, we have to shift in terms of sourcing to other geographies, which is, let us say, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, or Russia or even U.S., for instance. So the dynamics keep changing. But I am confident that, overall, the supply situation in the world is steady. Although because of the geographical intensity of where the rock or the raw material is found, there are kind of monopolies that get created. So that creates problems in terms of how the trade plays out as compared to, for instance, urea or ammonia, which is much, much more kind of open and many suppliers being there, so it evens out the competitive situation and you get better negotiation capabilities. So that is what it is. That is what I meant in terms of how this will play out. Nevertheless, I think the government and the trade and industry in India have been working assiduously to create backward linkages or to create long-term MOUs with various other countries. So overall, the supply in the world is more or less the same. So from somewhere or the other, you will get the material.

It's very reassuring to know that we have more sources to get this. But does this come at an operating margin cost to us or even PAT level cost to us? Because I'm assuming that China would be more competitive than others. And since we are on a trajectory of improving margins right now, what kind of margin guidance can you give us? Or just any ballpark number of improving margins that we see?

See, I won't hazard a guess on margins. See, margins are dependent on how you have strategically bought. It is a kind of position taking sometimes in this business. And if you have taken a correct position for a particular, margins will be looking very healthy, next year you could have made the mistake of having bought early in a falling market or having bought late in a rising market. So those things are your judgmental call 60% to 70% and how good your judgment is makes the difference. Obviously, Chambal has a very strong balance sheet. Its carry cost is low. It can take positions if it wants. But that is also dependent on a less turbulent policy regime. If you know that in the P&K sector in the past, there has been a lot of turbulence in the policy and discontinuities, which have prevented people or companies like us, for instance, in Chambal, not to take long bets in the market. So that's the reason why you have seen volumes having shrunk to some extent. But as the policy now starts to open and get rationalized, the volumes will spring back.

Sir, out of the INR 1,600 crores of CapEx that we are doing, what kind of revenues can we see this adding up on our top line in FY '26? Even, let's say, full calendar year because we are starting from January. So what kind of -- how could the 4 quarters be if INR 1,600 crores of CapEx has been done?

So first of all, our calendar year -- I mean, our financial year starts from April, not January.

We can [indiscernible].

I think [ what I ] talked about was from April to March '26, it is about INR 1,250-odd crores. Most of it is getting into the TAN project, almost INR 900 crores, if I'm not wrong. And INR 300-odd crores is routine capital expenditure, which is for replacement and for renewal and reliability. So those are the type of products which are -- of course, those types of projects also have some knock-on benefits here and there in terms of either small margin expansions or increase in capacities, because reliability increases, you are able to run number of days increases. So those kind of things also happen. But from the point of view of certain changes, these plants are highly complex and require equipment changes over a period of 15, 20 years. So that is factored into this type of capital expenditure that we are doing. So the benefits that will flow, as I said, are, first of all, in the TAN project, obviously, once the project gets commissioned, it will try and achieve -- we'll try and achieve capacity utilization and EBITDA, et cetera, will flow from that. That is first of all. Secondly, in terms of those replacement capital expenditures or where small margin improvements, or I think reliability will improve the capacities or something to that effect, those are the things that you can expect in '25-'26 and '26-'27.

Sir, I was just trying to get a number on what kind of revenues and EBITDAs can we see once this TAN project is getting commissioned and is being utilized to the appropriate utilization.

You see, TAN project is given as 2,40,000 tonnes of capacity. And you can do the math that currently, I think the product sells at between INR 35,000 to INR 40,000 a tonne, given various types of scenarios that you can face. So you can do a multiple of that. That is on full capacity, what is the number? And what is the -- at 70%, 80%, you can take a guess, being the first year of operations.

What could be our operating margins on this, sir? Any ballpark number?

That you can benchmark with the industry [ average ].

The next question is from the line of Sophiya Masta from Elara Securities.

I just wanted to know where does our net debt stand as of 31st March, net debt or cash?

Ma'am, I'm not wrong. We are actually -- net debt is negative.

The next question is from the line of Sandeep Mukherjee from SKP Securities Limited.

Hi. Thanks for taking my question.

Sorry to interrupt, sir. I would request you to please use your handset.

Am I audible, sir?

Yes, sir. I would request you to be a little louder.

Sir, what is the ammonia sales number in the total sales?

I think I mentioned 1.03 lakh metric tons. And average, I would say we would have sold between INR 40,000 to INR 45,000 a tonne.

The next question is from the line of [ Chandra Gupta ], who is an individual investor.

Hello. Am I audible?

Yes, sir.

Sir, I just have one question. Recently, there was a news report about India, the government giving rights for potash mining in Rajasthan. So would we be interested in these kind of projects, your thoughts on this?

[ Mr. Chandra Gupta ], first of all, well, if the mine is adequately -- the seam is rich, I would say, if the -- what my understanding is that there are small pockets of the potash, and it may require beneficiation to get it to the right quantity. Because when you sell potash in the market as straight potash, it has to be almost 60% KCl. And my understanding is that this is not of that grade. How low it is or how high it is, we will have to check. My initial inquiries showed me that it is a lower-grade material, which will require quite a bit of beneficiation. And one has to also examine the economics vis-a-vis import or other suppliers. Traditionally, you have got potash in the region of $220 to $350 per tonne. One has to do the math to understand from a mining point of view, what will the cost of making this potash available from these sort of low-grade seams or quality or whatever the quality of the mine is. So it's more to do with how you allocate capital in what kind of areas and with what kind of returns expected.

Okay. So we haven't shown any interest in this.

The next question is from the line of Manish Mahawar from Antique Stockbroking.

Yes, sir. In terms of -- I believe government is thinking to, I think, increase the fixed cost reimbursement to the urea players, right? Just wanted to know your thoughts and how are the discussions.

This is a work in progress. I can't say what's going to happen.

Okay. But historically, sir, when this fixed cost has been increased in the -- for the urea as an industry?

See, the last time it was done -- this exercise was done, whether increase or decrease, I don't know, was done in 2002 and '03. And there was in 2014, roughly INR 350 per tonne kind of ad hoc increase given to all people in the industry. So I don't know where they are on this matter. But there are discussions happening and there are a lot of different points of view on this issue. It's a work-in-progress. As and when we come to know, we will keep you informed.

And secondly, sir, in terms of your Crop Protection business, right, what we did almost INR 900 crores for top line. Is it possible to share the number geography-wise, maybe North, South, East, West to understand how our penetration or distribution is strong?

We are selling in all parts of the country.

But any bifurcation in terms of which part is stronger or still.

You see wherever we have our presence by way of fertilizer sale or wherever our locations are, and you know that we have got almost 28, 29 locations. We are in UP, we are in Rajasthan, we are in Punjab, we are in Gujarat, we are in Maharashtra, we are in Bihar, we are in West Bengal, we are in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, everywhere, little or more. This is a product which is a priority for us, and it's doing well, as you see. And then various areas, various crops, various types of molecules, they also have to be -- product market fit is there. So it's a little involved subject to just tell you on this phone.

And secondly, sir, on the Crop Protection business, any basically the intent to go ahead with the export as a market. As I know, right, export needs our plant, our manufacturing to go ahead with. So any intent in the future?

See, I'll tell you what, this is a perennial question which people keep asking me whether export production or formulation by ourselves. We have looked at various opportunities in the past. I would not say that we have not. But most of the time, when you do the math in terms of acquisition cost versus the return that you will expect, the returns come out to be lower than what we would be doing in this mode itself. So there is a big dichotomy or dissonance in our mind is to go about as to how to do this. So that does not mean that we do not look at opportunities. Sometimes you might find a very reasonable asset and an offer could be made and accepted. So I'm never ruling out that possibility.

And last one, sir, in terms of your JV partner, what was the -- basically, the profitability has significantly improved in this year. So can it be possible to share the production number of your JV or maybe this profitability improved on account of spread better spread?

I think they did about 4.90 lakh tonnes, close to that. And I would suggest Mr. Jain to give you a brief ballpark number on that where they are on that.

See, they did about 5.25 lakh tonne of production and about 4.35 lakh tonne of sales.

Okay. And sir, can it be possible to share the last year number, please?

Last year, it was about 4.35 lakh tonne of production and about 3.8 lakh tonne of sales.

[Operator Instructions] As there are no further questions from the participants, I would now like to hand the conference over to the management for closing comments.

So thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen, for your participation in this call. We hope that we have been able to satisfy your queries. In case there is any further requirement of any further information, you can reach out to us. Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Thank you. On behalf of Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines.