NACL Industries Ltd Q2FY26 | ₹457 Cr Revenue, ₹16 Cr Profit — The Agrochemical Underdog Just Got a New Boss (Coromandel!)
1. At a Glance
NACL Industries — formerly Nagarjuna Agrichem — is the small-town agrochemical story that just got adopted by a corporate heavyweight. After decades of family ownership, Coromandel International Ltd (Murugappa Group) stepped in as the new promoter with a 53% stake, instantly transforming NACL from a struggling standalone to a potential integrated agrochem powerhouse.
The numbers, though, are still warming up. Q2FY26 revenue came in at ₹457 crore (+3.8% YoY), while PAT at ₹16.1 crore marked a sharp rebound from last year’s losses. That’s the first quarterly profit in nearly a year — fittingly under its new parent.
But the road ahead is steep: FY25 saw ₹86 crore full-year loss, ROE -25.8%, and debt of ₹502 crore. Yet the stock’s up nearly 300% in one year — proving that the market loves a good turnaround story, especially when it’s powered by the Murugappa Group.
2. Introduction
NACL Industries is an integrated agrochemical company that manufactures both technical-grade active ingredients (AIs) and formulations — basically the chemical engines and finished sprays that protect crops. It caters to both domestic retail (farmers) and global B2B clients, supplying over 50 products across insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, and plant growth regulators.
Founded as Nagarjuna Agrichem in the 1990s, NACL quietly served as a contract manufacturer for global giants — including Japanese and European agro majors — until its balance sheet started wheezing under margin pressures and global price swings.
Then in August 2025, the Murugappa Group’s Coromandel International swooped in, buying 53.13% and launching an open offer for another 26% at ₹76.70/share. Since then, everything has changed — new management, auditors, directors, and a massive turnaround plan that aims to turn NACL into Coromandel’s backward-integrated technical manufacturing arm.
The message is clear: Coromandel didn’t buy a loss-maker; it bought a missing link.
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
NACL operates a three-vertical model:
Domestic Retail – sells branded crop protection products directly to farmers through a network of 55,000 counters across India.
Institutional (B2B) – supplies technicals and formulations to large agrochemical players, including multinationals.
Exports – sells technical-grade actives and branded products to over 30 countries, spanning Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
They produce:
Insecticides – 48% of revenue (Profenofos, Lambda-Cyhalothrin, Imidacloprid, etc.)
The company runs 4 manufacturing facilities in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, with combined capacity of 63,000 TPA, plus formulation lines for liquids, powders, and granules.
Geographical Split (9MFY25):
Domestic: 78%
Exports: 22%
So, it’s still largely India-focused, but exports are rising — especially in Southeast Asia and Africa, where NACL is registering its own brands for direct play.
4. Financials Overview
Source table
Metric
Latest Qtr (Q2FY26)
YoY Qtr (Q2FY25)
Prev Qtr (Q1FY26)
YoY %
QoQ %
Revenue
₹457 Cr
₹440 Cr
₹448 Cr
+3.8%
+2.0%
EBITDA
₹44.7 Cr
₹40.8 Cr
₹38.0 Cr
+9.5%
+17.6%
PAT
₹16.1 Cr
₹14.9 Cr
₹13.0 Cr
+8.0%
+24.0%
OPM
9.8%
9.3%
8.5%
—
—
Commentary: Margins are finally stabilizing. A year ago, OPM was negative amid price crashes in technicals and China oversupply. Now, as raw material costs ease and export orders resume, profitability is trickling back.
However, debt still pressures the P&L — interest cost of ₹13 Cr a quarter eats ~30% of operating profit. Expect that to improve once Coromandel refinances debt under its AAA-rated umbrella.
5. Valuation Discussion – Fair Value Range (Educational)
(a) EV/EBITDA Method: TTM EBITDA = ~₹-17 Cr (loss) but expected normalized FY26E = ₹150 Cr Agrochemical midcap peer average = 15–18x EV/EBITDA Fair Value Range = ₹2,200 Cr – ₹2,700 Cr EV → ₹170 – ₹210 per share
