Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited: H1 PAT falls 4%

Chambal reported consolidated profit after tax of Rs 1,155.5 crore in H1-FY27, down 4% year on year, although earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 9% to Rs 1,751.6 crore and EBITDA margin increased to 14.56% from 13.23%.

Why did Chambal’s H1 profit decline despite higher EBITDA?

Chambal’s consolidated profit declined as a Rs 28.2 crore loss from its equity-accounted joint venture replaced a Rs 83.1 crore profit a year earlier, while finance cost increased to Rs 39.2 crore from Rs 3.3 crore. These movements accompanied a Rs 148.9 crore increase in EBITDA during H1-FY27.

Profit before tax, or PBT, before the share of profit from the joint venture rose 6% to Rs 1,601.1 crore from Rs 1,512.2 crore. After including the joint-venture result, reported PBT slipped 1% to Rs 1,572.9 crore from Rs 1,595.3 crore. Tax then rose 5% to Rs 417.4 crore, compared with Rs 397.7 crore in H1-FY26.

The difference between operating and bottom-line measures is also visible in the margins. EBITDA margin expanded by 1.33 percentage points to 14.56% in H1-FY27, while profit after tax, or PAT, margin contracted by 0.28 percentage points to 9.61% from 9.89%. The presentation reports the PAT-margin change as a 3% year-on-year decline.

How did Chambal’s revenue and costs change in H1-FY27?

Chambal’s consolidated operational income declined 1% to Rs 12,026.5 crore in H1-FY27, while total expenses fell 2% to Rs 10,274.9 crore. Expenses declined by Rs 232.8 crore, a larger absolute reduction than the Rs 83.9 crore fall in operational income, resulting in higher EBITDA.

This cost-and-income movement raised consolidated EBITDA to Rs 1,751.6 crore from Rs 1,602.7 crore in H1-FY26. Chambal’s EBITDA margin therefore increased from 13.23% to 14.56%. The presentation does not provide a line-by-line explanation for the reduction in total expenses, so the disclosed figures do not identify individual cost drivers.

Other income moved in the opposite direction, falling 7% to Rs 78.2 crore from Rs 83.9 crore. Depreciation and amortisation increased 11% to Rs 189.5 crore from Rs 171.1 crore. Finance cost increased to Rs 39.2 crore from Rs 3.3 crore, narrowing the improvement between EBITDA and PBT before the joint-venture result.

What was the joint venture’s effect on Chambal’s earnings?

Chambal’s equity-accounted joint venture reduced H1-FY27 consolidated PBT by Rs 28.2 crore, compared with adding Rs 83.1 crore in H1-FY26. This Rs 111.3 crore year-on-year reversal accompanied the change from a 6% increase in PBT before joint-venture profit to a 1% decline in total PBT.

The joint venture recorded a loss in both quarters of the half year. In Q2-FY27, net profit from the joint venture was a Rs 3.1 crore loss, versus a Rs 47 crore profit in Q2-FY26. In Q1-FY27, the loss was Rs 25.1 crore, taking the H1-FY27 total to Rs 28.2 crore.

Chambal’s quarterly results show a sequential improvement in PAT during Q2 despite the joint-venture loss. Consolidated Q2-FY27 PAT was Rs 631.9 crore, up 21% from Rs 523.6 crore in Q1-FY27, as operational income rose 39% quarter on quarter to Rs 6,999.5 crore and EBITDA increased 6% to Rs 900.9 crore. Against Q2-FY26, PAT fell 3% despite a 7% increase in EBITDA.

How did Chambal’s consolidated results compare with standalone results?

Chambal’s standalone PAT increased 8% to Rs 1,338.4 crore in H1-FY27, whereas consolidated PAT fell 4% to Rs 1,155.5 crore. The standalone statement reported PBT of Rs 1,755.8 crore, up 7% year on year, compared with consolidated PBT of Rs 1,572.9 crore, down 1%.

Standalone EBITDA was Rs 1,751.7 crore, marginally above consolidated EBITDA of Rs 1,751.6 crore. Operational income was the same in both statements at Rs 12,026.5 crore. The consolidated statement included a Rs 28.2 crore net loss from the joint venture accounted for using the equity method, while the standalone statement did not show that line.

Other income also differed between the two statements. Standalone other income increased 11% to Rs 232.7 crore, while consolidated other income decreased 7% to Rs 78.2 crore. Both statements reported finance cost of Rs 39.2 crore in H1-FY27, while depreciation and amortisation was Rs 189.4 crore on a standalone basis and Rs 189.5 crore on a consolidated basis.

How do Chambal’s H1 figures compare with recent full-year results?

Chambal’s H1-FY27 consolidated EBITDA of Rs 1,751.6 crore was 65% of FY26 EBITDA of Rs 2,678.6 crore, while H1 PAT of Rs 1,155.5 crore was 59% of FY26 PAT of Rs 1,955.3 crore. These are period comparisons rather than forecasts, because the presentation does not disclose a full-year FY27 earnings target.

The H1-FY27 EBITDA margin of 14.56% exceeded the 12.88% reported for FY26 and was close to the 14.92% reported for FY25. H1 PAT margin was 9.61%, above FY26’s 9.39% but below FY25’s 9.91%. For the comparable half-year periods, PAT margin fell from 9.89% in H1-FY26 to 9.61% in H1-FY27.

Total comprehensive income declined 9% to Rs 1,188.9 crore from Rs 1,310.1 crore. Other comprehensive income fell 70% to Rs 33.4 crore from Rs 112.4 crore. Basic and diluted earnings per share also declined 4% to Rs 28.84 from Rs 29.89, in line with the change in consolidated PAT.

Conclusion

Chambal’s H1-FY27 results show higher operating profitability despite slightly lower operational income: EBITDA rose 9% and margin expanded to 14.56% as expenses fell 2%. Consolidated PAT nevertheless declined 4%, with the joint venture moving from a Rs 83.1 crore profit to a Rs 28.2 crore loss, alongside higher finance cost and tax.

The unresolved item to watch is whether the equity-accounted joint venture continues to reduce consolidated earnings after its Rs 28.2 crore H1-FY27 loss. The presentation discloses no FY27 earnings target or outlook, leaving subsequent reported joint-venture results, EBITDA and PAT as the available measures of change.