

Management Discussion
& Analysis
The Company has made reassessment of the risks and returns of its product groups, the nature of its businesses, the class
of its customers, etc, and accordingly reclassified its product groups into two segments, namely, Life Science Chemicals and
Performance & Other Chemicals. Generally, products used in Agriculture and Pharmaceutical industries are now a part of Life
Science Chemicals segment and other products are a part of Performance & Other Chemicals segment.
22% of the total. Export sales increased by 22% to
`
152 crores and formed 49% of the total.
World market for crop protection chemicals is
estimated at US$ 44 bn and is growing at about
2%. Indian market for such chemicals is estimated
at US$ 1 bn and is growing at about 5%. There
are about 60 major companies which dominate
the world marketplace, and there are about 10
companies in India having sales of more than
US$ 111 mn.
The main user industry, namely, Agriculture,
is growing well because of the increasing
population on the one hand and improving standard of living
on the other. The Company will participate in this growth by
i) debottlenecking capacities, ii) introducing new products
and new formulations, iii) significantly improving efficiencies,
iv)promotingownbrandsandv)enhancingthepresenceinother
countries,particularlyinAfricaandSouthAmerica.Itwillalsoform
long-term alliances with other companies.
Floods or famines will adversely affect the demand. Registration
costs are high in certain countries. Fluctuations in foreign
exchange will impact sales realizations. Given that some of
these chemicals can be toxic, it is essential to take utmost care
in their manufacture and use.
Crop Protection
Products
Fungicides, Herbicides, Others
Crop Protection product group mainly comprises Herbicides and
Fungicides and are used by Agriculture industry for protection
of crops. The group comprises 9 products and 54 formulations.
Atul is not currently into Seeds product group which is now
becoming an important input for Agriculture industry.
During the year, sales of the product group increased by
25% to
`
308 crores. Brand sales which is currently only in
India increased by 10% to
`
69 crores and accounted for
Segment: Life Science Chemicals
2010-11
2009-10
% change
Sales (
`
crores)
492
384
28
Share in total sales (%)
33
33
-
The performance and other details of the product groups are given below:
24 | 25