Jain Irrigation on Tuesday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 39.68 crore for the third quarter of this fiscal due to poor sales.

The company had clocked a net profit of Rs 25.88 crore in the same quarter last year, it said in the BSE filing.

The performance took a beating as net sales declined to Rs 1,258.12 crore during the quarter ended December 2014, as against Rs 2,352.37 crore in the year-ago.

“We have had a weak quarter due to extreme weather events and significant decline in oil prices and consequent reduction in polymer prices. This coupled with lower agri-commodity prices has resulted in lower demand in rural India,” Jain Irrigation Managing Director Anil Jain said.

However, things are looking up forward due to stable polymer prices now and some pick up in infrastructure investment. “We expect current quarter to be positive growth quarter with stable margins,” he said in a separate release.

The company’s receivable cycle is improving every quarter for last couple of years. The company expects debt reduction cycle to start in the current year and hope to maintain momentum thereafter, he said.

Jain further said that “we have reduced our capex compared to plan at the start of the year due to weather and demand uncertainties. With stable currency and expected lower interest rates next year looks more benign.”

The company said that the demand for micro irrigation systems were muted in the third quarter due to lower area under cultivation, untimely rain in Maharashtra and other states and pressure on agri-commodity prices.

Besides micro irrigation products, revenue from PVC pipes and sheets, solar products and tissue culture plants also fell and export of these items also saw a decline, it added.

The company’s share closed firm at Rs 49.10 a piece on the BSE today.

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