Farm equipment and engineering major Escorts Ltd, on Thursday, reported a 33 per cent sequential decline in net profit for the first quarter ended June 30 at ₹178 crore compared to net profit of ₹265 crore recorded in the quarter ended March 2021.

However, on a year-on-year basis, the company’s net profit grew more than 93 per cent compared to net profit of ₹92 crore recorded in the same quarter last year.

Similarly, the consolidated revenue from operations declined 24 per cent on a sequential basis to ₹1,702 crore in the reporting quarter, from ₹2,229 crore in the previous quarter.

On a year-on-year basis, the revenue rose 56 per cent from ₹1,089 crore.

“Unlocking has helped in building demand, easing transport and logistics and improved supply chain across the farming community to create a positive industry momentum and we certainly hope that with sustained government efforts, tractor and agri-equipment industry and construction equipment industry will be back on a growth path,” said Nikhil Nanda, Chairman and Managing Director, Escorts, in a statement.

While the company is witnessing some encouraging developments in the railway equipment space too, it may take some time to come out of the impact of the current environment and regain the pre-Covid business levels, the statement added.

“We still need to be well prepared and firm up readiness for any further pandemic hit backs. We are aligned and fully supportive to all national efforts to fight the pandemic and believe this shall pass soon…while respective States are gradually activating controlled unlocks, we at Escorts are extremely careful and adhering to all safety guidelines,” Nanda added.

During the quarter under review, the company sold 25,935 units of tractors and 606 units of construction equipment.

Shares of the company closed at ₹1,224.45 apiece on the BSE on Thursday, down 0.77 per cent from the previous close.