Agri-inputs maker SML Ltd is evaluating a stock market listing within the next two to three years to fund the development of new chemical entities (NCEs), according to Managing Director Bimal Shah. As reported by PTI, the debt-free company expects greater clarity on the timeline within the next one to two years, though no final decision has been made yet. Shah emphasized that the company is among a handful of Indian companies developing NCEs - proprietary new molecules rather than generic formulations - with one new molecule expected to reach the market soon and others in the pipeline. The listing deliberations come as SML pushes deeper into three business lines beyond its traditional sulphur fertilizer base: crop nutrition, crop protection and biologicals, with crop nutrition likely to be the fastest-growing segment over the next three years.
Bringing a single NCE to market can cost $70 million-$80 million, Shah revealed, and the company has so far self-financed the research. According to the PTI interview, SML has been working on NCEs for the last three years, with the proprietary new molecules requiring substantial investment. "We are working on NCEs, new chemical entity in the last three years. We have a new molecule coming up very soon. ... NCE is a very important focus for us. Of course, this requires a lot of investment," he said. These considerations may eventually lead the company toward listing, but no decision has been made yet; it's still evaluating, Shah said, adding that he expects to have a 'clearer sense of direction this year or next', since further steps will depend on related groundwork being completed.
SML Ltd holds roughly ₹450-470 crore in cash on a near debt-free balance sheet, funds that could be deployed toward acquisitions, regulatory assets or strategic tie-ups alongside the NCE program. As reported by PTI, the company pointed to its earlier increase in ownership of Rotam India, an active ingredient manufacturing facility, as an example of the kind of backwards-integration deal it could pursue again. Shah said the company has maintained a stable balance sheet over the years, and this accumulated fund is intended for the right opportunity - potentially an acquisition, strategic tie-up, or backward integration. The company's international business, spanning more than 80 countries, generated roughly ₹600-700 crore last fiscal year, with SML targeting ₹700-800 crore this year and ₹1,000 crore within two years, though it flagged continued tariff and shipping-related uncertainty.
SML has lowered its revenue target for the current fiscal year to about ₹1,600 crore, from an earlier goal of ₹1,800 crore, citing weaker monsoon rainfall, US tariffs and shipping disruptions tied to ongoing geopolitical conflict. According to PTI, that would still mark an increase from roughly ₹1,200-1,300 crore a year earlier, aided by price increases of 15-20 per cent across its product range. Roughly 70 per cent of SML's export revenue comes from crop-protection products, including insecticides and fungicides using microencapsulation and water-dispersible granule technologies. The company's international business, spanning more than 80 countries, generated roughly ₹600-700 crore last fiscal year, with SML targeting ₹700-800 crore this year and ₹1,000 crore within two years. Capacity utilization at SML's production facilities stands at roughly 50-55 per cent, with full utilization expected by 2028-29.
SML has 30-40 per cent market share in India's roughly 150,000-200,000 tonne specialty sulphur-fertilizer segment and aims to lift this to 50-60 per cent by 2030 through expanded field demonstrations and dealer outreach. The company recently launched seven new products across crop protection and crop nutrition, with Shah expecting at least an additional ₹100 crore this year from these new products/technologies, with crop nutrition potentially contributing even more depending on market reach and consumption growth. Separately, SML unveiled cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar as its brand ambassador, betting his national profile can accelerate farmer adoption of its sulphur-based fertilizers, with the company estimating only a small fraction of India's farmland currently receives adequate sulphur nutrition. The company, which competes with larger rivals including Coromandel International and Deepak Fertilizers, said its patented micronized sulphur and sulphur-zinc formulations carry a higher per-unit cost than conventional sources such as gypsum and ammonium sulphate but require substantially lower application rates.
