Coromandel Fertilisers—first half turnover up by 17 per cent—net profits up by 44 per cent

October 20, 2004: The Board of Directors met today and approved the unaudited financial results for the quarter ended 30th September 2004.

April - Sept 2004 Performance
Sales at Rs. 163 crore grew at 17 per cent as compared to the year to date (YTD) sales of the previous year (Rs.139 crore), profit before tax at Rs. 22.5 crore grew by 67 per cent as compared to the YTD of the previous year at Rs. 13.4 crore. Net profits at Rs. 15.7 crore registered a growth of 44 per cent as compared to the YTD of previous year (Rs. 10.9 crore).

Second Quarter Performance
The growth momentum of the first quarter was sustained. Sales at Rs. 87 crore were 13 per cent higher than the second quarter of the previous year (Rs. 77 crore). Strong demand from user industries and proactive initiatives taken by the company in specific product lines helped to achieve this growth. The growth in exports was 26per cent.

Profits before Exceptional items increased from Rs. 11.6 crore to Rs. 12.4 crore. The improvement in profits resulted from process improvements and higher power generation at the Hydel Plant which helped to reduce power costs. Net Profits at Rs. 8.4 crore registered a growth of 25 per cent as compared to second quarter of previous year.

Operations from first 6 months
Abrasives, the largest business segment, grew by 21 per cent, Electrominerals at 15 per cent and Ceramics 9 per cent. The growth in the business was mainly due to the good domestic order in both the OEM and mass market segment. Exports saw a major demand pull from countries like - Australia, Canada, UK and Japan.

Abrasives
During the first half the division sales at Rs. 127 Crores saw a growth of 21 per cent. The division had strong order inflow from user industries and channels.

Ceramics
The first half sales at Rs. 26.7 Crores grew by 9 per cent as compared to the first half of the previous year (Rs. 24.5 Crores). There were good project orders in the domestic market from user segments. The division consolidated its position with many overseas customers.

Electrominerals
The first half sales at Rs. 25 Crores grew by 15 per cent as compared to the first half of the previous year (Rs. 21.9 Crores) as a result of the strong off-take from abrasives and specialty markets. This growth has come despite our exit from the low end refractory markets.

Outlook
With positive trends in the economy, we expect the growth trends to continue.

Carborundum Universal Ltd. is part of the over US $ 1.2 billion Murugappa Group. A pioneer and market leader in several fields of business with manufacturing operations across 12 states in the country, the Group has a strong presence in Abrasives, Engineering, Bio-products, Sanitaryware, Sugar, Fertilizers, Pesticides, Finance, General Insurance, Plantations and Nutraceuticals.

For further details please contact:
Mr. P R Ravi
Tel: 044 5221 6132