GNFC reports Rs 781 crore CWIP and four projects under execution

GNFC reported Rs 781 crore of capital work in progress at September 30, 2026 and listed four Bharuch projects under execution: 50 KTPA of ammonia, 200 KTPA of weak nitric acid, 163 KTPA of ammonium nitrate and a 180-200 MT/HR steam boiler.

What projects is GNFC executing at Bharuch?

GNFC is executing four projects at Bharuch: an ammonia expansion, Weak Nitric Acid-III, Ammonium Nitrate-II and a new circulating fluidised bed combustion, or CFBC, steam boiler. The ammonia expansion is sized at 50 KTPA, or thousand tonnes per annum, Weak Nitric Acid-III at 200 KTPA and Ammonium Nitrate-II at 163 KTPA.

The fourth project is a CFBC steam boiler with a stated capacity of 180-200 MT/HR, or metric tonnes per hour. GNFC lists all four assets as under execution, while its expansion-plan schedule displays financial years FY 26-27 through FY 30-31 without disclosing project-specific commissioning dates, completion percentages or individual capital costs.

The listed nitric-acid and ammonium-nitrate additions have combined capacity of 363 KTPA, compared with 50 KTPA for the ammonia expansion. The capacity figures indicate that the WNA-AN, or weak nitric acid-ammonium nitrate, additions are the largest disclosed production additions in the Bharuch execution list, although GNFC does not state their expected start dates.

What does GNFC's Rs 781 crore CWIP represent?

GNFC's Rs 781 crore capital work in progress, or CWIP, at September 30, 2026 mainly represents the Weak Nitric Acid-III plant, the Ammonium Nitrate-II plant under construction and a urea-reactor replacement. The balance-sheet disclosure connects a substantial part of CWIP to two projects in the 363 KTPA WNA-AN expansion, but does not allocate the Rs 781 crore between projects.

CWIP declined by Rs 119 crore from Rs 900 crore at March 31, 2026 to Rs 781 crore at September 30, 2026. Over the same period, net fixed assets increased by Rs 433 crore to Rs 3,314 crore from Rs 2,881 crore, but GNFC does not provide an asset-level reconciliation between the CWIP movement and the fixed-asset increase.

GNFC's total assets were Rs 11,937 crore at September 30, 2026, compared with Rs 11,225 crore at March 31, 2026. Cash and bank balances and deposits increased by Rs 694 crore to Rs 1,805 crore, while investments declined by Rs 298 crore to Rs 1,260 crore and borrowings stood at Rs 109 crore.

What benefits does GNFC expect from the Bharuch projects?

GNFC says the 50 KTPA ammonia expansion is expected to improve the reliability of its existing ammonia loop and provide some energy-cost saving. This is a management expectation rather than a quantified target because the presentation does not give a projected energy reduction, annual saving or incremental revenue figure.

GNFC says the 200 KTPA weak nitric acid and 163 KTPA ammonium nitrate projects are expected to strengthen market share and increase revenue and results. The presentation does not disclose a market-share objective, sales target, margin estimate or expected financial contribution date for the combined 363 KTPA WNA-AN projects.

GNFC also expects the 180-200 MT/HR CFBC boiler to improve operating reliability and reduce energy costs. During Q2 FY 26-27, imported coal cost Rs 15,000 per metric tonne, up 28% quarter on quarter, while oil cost Rs 68,000 per metric tonne, down 7%; GNFC does not quantify how the boiler would change fuel use or cost.

How do the projects fit GNFC's current operating performance?

GNFC's chemicals segment recorded revenue of Rs 1,631 crore in Q2 FY 26-27, up from Rs 1,569 crore in Q1 FY 26-27 and Rs 1,162 crore in Q2 FY 25-26. Chemicals segment result was Rs 177 crore in Q2 FY 26-27, below Rs 425 crore in Q1 but above Rs 158 crore a year earlier.

Management attributed the sequential decline in chemicals segment performance to lower realisations and higher fixed cost, partly offset by higher volume. For H1 FY 26-27, chemicals revenue increased to Rs 3,200 crore from Rs 2,167 crore in H1 FY 25-26, while segment result rose to Rs 602 crore from Rs 294 crore.

The fertilizers segment generated Rs 1,117 crore of revenue in Q2 FY 26-27, against Rs 649 crore in Q1 FY 26-27, but reported a Rs 38 crore segment loss. Its H1 FY 26-27 loss narrowed to Rs 123 crore from Rs 135 crore in H1 FY 25-26; GNFC attributed the change mainly to higher complex-fertiliser realisations and lower energy norms in Neem Urea, partly offset by higher input costs.

GNFC does not assign the 50 KTPA ammonia expansion, 200 KTPA weak nitric acid capacity or 163 KTPA ammonium nitrate capacity to a reported segment-revenue line. The presentation therefore shows current chemicals and fertilizers results separately from the projected operational aims of the Bharuch projects.

Which GNFC projects remain under consideration?

GNFC lists three projects as under consideration rather than under execution: 150 KTPA of BisPhenol-A, or BPA, at Dahej; 100 KTPA of polyols at Dahej; and 350 KTPA of acetic acid at Bharuch. These proposals are separate from the four Bharuch projects in execution and should not be treated as committed construction based on this presentation.

The 350 KTPA acetic-acid proposal is the largest consideration-stage project by disclosed capacity, followed by 150 KTPA of BPA and 100 KTPA of polyols. GNFC's Q2 FY 26-27 acetic-acid spread was Rs 21,000 per metric tonne, compared with Rs 12,000 in Q1 FY 26-27, but the presentation does not link that spread to an approval, cost or commissioning decision for the proposal.

Conclusion

GNFC has Rs 781 crore of CWIP at September 30, 2026 and four Bharuch projects under execution. The 50 KTPA ammonia expansion and 180-200 MT/HR boiler are intended to improve reliability and lower energy costs, while the 200 KTPA weak nitric acid and 163 KTPA ammonium nitrate additions are expected by management to support market share, revenue and results.

The disclosed plan horizon runs from FY 26-27 to FY 30-31, but GNFC has not provided commissioning dates or project-level spending for the four execution-stage assets. The next items to watch are disclosures on those milestones and the status of the 350 KTPA acetic-acid, 150 KTPA BPA and 100 KTPA polyols projects still under consideration.