Coromandel Fertilisers Limited — Financial results

Chennai, July 20, 2005: The unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended June 30, 2005 were approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting held today.

Sales turnover during this period was Rs 125.89 crore, as against Rs 192.43 crore in the corresponding period last year.

The gross profit before depreciation and taxes for the 3 months period is Rs 15.26 crore as against Rs 23.82 crore during the same period last year which included interest on income tax refund amounting to Rs 11.29 crore (current year first quarter Rs NIL). Depreciation provided is Rs 8.48 crore (as against Rs 8.34 crore last year); provision for taxation is Rs 3.10 crore (net of deferred tax credit) (corresponding 3 months period last year — Rs 5.47 crore).

The net profit for the period is Rs 9.88 crore, as against Rs 21.01 crore during the corresponding three months period last year. The profit for the previous quarter was arrived at after taking credit for the interest on income tax refund and a further amount of Rs 11.00 crore towards excess provision for taxation relating to the earlier years no longer required.

The fertiliser business being seasonal in nature and the first quarter being the off-season months, the results are not indicative of the overall performance of the Company for the year.

A copy of the advice to the stock exchanges giving the highlights of the unaudited financial results approved by the Board of Directors of the Company on July 20, 2005 is attached.

About Us
Coromandel Fertilisers Limited is part of the US $ 1.5 billion conglomerate Murugappa Group. The group is one of India's largest family promoted, professionally managed corporates with over 28,000 employees. A pioneer and market leader in several fields with over 40 manufacturing operations across 12 states in India, the Group has a strong presence in abrasives, engineering and cycles, bio-products, sanitaryware, plantations, sugar, farm inputs, finance, general insurance and nutraceuticals.

For further information, please contact:
M R Rajaram
Company Secretary - CFL
Tel: 040 - 27704219
Email: RajaramMR@gfcl.murugappa.com

K.S. Susindar
Murugappa Group
Manager - Group Corporate Communications
Tel: 040 - 25346535
Email: SusindarKS@corp.murugappa.com