UPL Ltd.'s stock slumped over 5% to a low of Rs 585 even as revenue rose for the first quarter of financial year 2027. UPL reported 10% year-on-year (YoY) revenue growth to Rs 10,181 crore, while contribution increased 15% to Rs 4,607 crore.
However, the company announced some management changes that may have soured investor sentiment. UPL said Jai Shroff, Group Chairman and CEO, will lead the Global Crop Protection business. This came after Mike Frank's decided to step down as Chief Executive Officer of UPL, effective Aug. 31, 2026.
Senior management like Sameer Tandon (President, APAC, Africa, and Europe) along with Ashish Dobhal (President, Americas) will help Shroff take the helm, with expansion of global mandates.
The company's Ebitda stood at Rs 1,500 crore, with the margin improving to 14.7%, supported by pricing actions, better capacity utilisation and a favourable product mix.
UPL described it as its seventh consecutive quarter of revenue and EBITDA growth and its strongest first-quarter net income performance in three years.
Foreign brokerage Jefferies has lowered its target price on UPL to Rs 715 from Rs 810 after the agrochemical company's June-quarter earnings fell short of its expectations.
Jefferies said revenue for the quarter was broadly in line with its estimates, but EBITDA fell around 7% short despite inventory gains in the crop protection business, while the company reported a net loss against its expectation of a break-even quarter.
As of 11:40 a.m., UPL's shares traded 4.8% lower at Rs 590.25 apiece on the NSE. This compares to a 0.86% decline in the benchmark Nifty index. The stock has fallen over 26% year-to-date, and 17.35% in the last 12 months.
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