Agrochemicals major Rallis India, a Tata Chemicals subsidiary, reported a 15 per cent decline in net profit to Rs.64.68 crore for the second quarter of the financial year 2015-16.
The company had reported a profit of Rs.76.12 crore during the same quarter the previous fiscal.
Net sales slipped to Rs.462.23 crore during the current quarter from Rs.578.42 crore reported over the same period in 2014-15.
“We have seen challenging times in Indian agriculture with back-to-back drought year accompanied with low farmer netbacks and tough market conditions,” said V Shankar, Director and CEO, Rallis India.
Rallis India’s international business had also been under pressure in markets like the USA and Brazil, the latter having also faced its worst drought in 80 years along with a currency devaluation which has impacted demand.
“I am happy that against this backdrop, our new products such as ‘Hunk’ and ‘Origin’ have received excellent response from farmers…we look forward to the market picking up in the latter half of the year,” said Shankar.
Rallis India stock ended at Rs 211.05 down 0.99 per cent on the BSE on Friday.