Debasis Mohapatra
Bengaluru, 28 March 2026
Despite near-term challenges arising from Middle East conflict, Paradeep Phosphates Ltd (PPL) is structurally well-placed to benefit from India’s quest to be self-reliant in different varieties of fertilizers.
According to brokerage firm- Prabhudas Lilladher Capital (PL Capital), as the country takes several initiatives to cut down imports of various fertilizers, Paradeep Phosphates’ strategic expansion will enable the company to cash in the emerging opportunities.
“PPL is positioning itself to capitalize on the import substitution opportunity in India’s chemicals sector, through backward integration, product mix optimization, and capacity expansion. It is expanding phosphoric and sulfuric acid capacity (+57% and +100%, respectively) and targets to achieve full backward integration by FY29,” PL Capital said in the report.
“The company is shifting its portfolio toward high-value complex fertilizers, thus reducing reliance on DAP. PPL is expanding its fertilizer capacity to reach around 5 million tonne per annum by early FY29. Also, the MCFL merger will strengthen PPL’s presence in South India,” the report added.
PPL is one of India’s largest phosphatic fertilizer companies, with an annual capacity of around 3.7 million tonnes across Paradeep (Odisha), Goa, and Mangalore.
The company produces DAP, NPK grades (N-10, N-12, N-14, N-19, N-20, N-28), and Urea, and markets them under brands ‘Jai Kisaan Navratna’ and ‘Jai Kisaan Mangala’.
Currently, the company is undertaking significant expansion of sulfuric and phosphoric acid capacity. The fertilizer company is adding 3 mn tn of capacity to its sulfuric fertilizer capacity and 1 mn tn to its phosphoric acid capacity, which is likely to be completed by FY29.
PPL is also building captive production capacity for sulfuric acid and phosphoric acid, which are critical raw materials for producing these fertilizers.
“With corresponding captive acid spreads at around $29/tn and about $145/tn versus imports, the integration will reduce costs and import dependence and enhance margin visibility,” the report said.
The merger of MCFL (Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd) with itself last year would also help the company to increase its global presence.
“Post merger, PPL’s granulation capacity rose around 23% to about 3.7 million tonne. It plans to add around 1.3 mn tn (1.0mmtpa greenfield + 0.3mmtpa via debottlenecking) by early FY29. The merger provides strong access to southern markets, where MCFL has deep distribution and brand recall. This will increase penetration of higher value NPK grades and market share,” the PL Capital report said.
The company is also slowly moving towards high value fertilizer variants, which is expected to support its growth.
“By moving toward high-value complex fertilizers, PPL is reducing reliance on DAP and expanding its NPK portfolio. After declining from around 28% in FY24 to about 17% in FY25, DAP share is expected to fall further by FY28 with increased focus on trading DAP, while NPK share is projected to increase to around 58% from about 49% in FY25,” the report said.
PPL reported a revenue of Rs 5,779.7 crore in third quarter of FY26 with a net profit of Rs 182.1 crore. The EBITDA margin of PPL stood at 8.23% during this period.
