The Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd (FACT), one of the oldest central PSUs in Kerala, has scripted a new chapter in corporate history by achieving the biggest market capitalisation of ₹30,000 crore among the public sector fertilizer companies in India.

From a company saddled with losses a few years ago, FACT has moved into the black in a remarkable turnaround and has climbed to the third position in sales volumes among the fertilizer PSUs.

When Kishor Rungta, the key architect of this success, took over as Chairman and Managing Director in 2019, the share price was below ₹40. In the last four years, it registered a 1,200 per cent increase, reaching ₹466 as of Thursday morning.

The beleaguered fertilizer company witnessed a change in the fortunes during the period as production and turnover galloped, enabling it to post robust profits. The production stood at 10 lakh tonnes and the company garnered a net profit of ₹613 crore on a turnover of ₹6,198 crore in FY23-24.

Rungta attributed the success to streamlining of raw material production, corporate governance, fast decision-making process, proactive and timely marketing efforts, all of which helped the company to turn the corner. He went on to add that co-operation of employees also played a significant role in achieving the milestone. “We have proved that a PSU can also perform. A corporate culture has been introduced”, he said, adding that FACT has applied for Mini Ratna status. 

FACT is going ahead with its new plant to produce an additional five lakh tonnes of different grades of fertilizers at an investment of ₹630 crore. The facility is expected to be commissioned by June-July next year, taking the production capacity to 15 lakh tonnes. With the commissioning of the new plant, he said the turnover is expected to cross ₹8,000 crore.

The consistent subsidy schemes from the government also helped to streamline the financials. The sale of 450 acres to Kerala government is another factor that helped the company to wipe out all its accumulated losses, he added.

It currently produces Factamfos, Ammonium Sulphate and Caprolactam and also imports Muriate of Potash, which has a high demand in the domestic market.

As part of making its presence felt across the markets, the marketing activities have been extended to the eastern and western part of the country. During the last four years, FACT managed to sell its entire production and all the plants are operating at 100 per cent capacity.

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