UPL Ltd.'s profit declined in the first quarter, missing analysts' estimates.
The company's net profit fell 81% year-on-year to Rs 166 crore, according to an exchange filing on Monday. This compares with a Bloomberg estimate of Rs 468.5 crore.
UPL Q1 FY24 Highlights (Consolidated, YoY)
Revenue down 17.17% at Rs 8,963 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 10,429.3 crore).
Ebitda declines 40.68% to Rs 1,273 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 1,940.26 crore).
Margin at 14.20% versus 19.83%.
Net profit down 81% at Rs 166 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 468.5 crore).
“The global agrochemical industry has been going through a challenging phase over the last two quarters, as distributors prioritised destocking and focused on tactical purchases amid high channel inventories," said Chief Executive Officer Mike Frank.
"Additionally, the market is witnessing pricing pressure given the high base of previous year and aggressive price competition we have seen from the Chinese post-patent exporters."
While they expect demand to remain subdued in Q2 FY24 as well, their performance should be sequentially better, he said.
"We are optimistic of demand recovery in H2 FY24 as the channel inventory approaches a new normalised level. Overall, led by improved demand and cost optimisation efforts, we expect our revenue and Ebitda growth to turn positive in H2 FY24, with full-year revenue growth to now be in the range of 1-5% with Ebitda growth at 3-7%."
Shares of UPL fell 0.18% to Rs 624.05 apiece, as compared with a rise of 0.58% in the benchmark NSE Nifty 50 on Monday at 3:11 p.m
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