Agrochemical major UPL reported a 43 per cent decline in net profits for the March 2023 quarter at ₹792 crore over the same period last year’s ₹1,379 crore, impacted by dip in product prices and delays in planting season. Revenues for the quarter were up 4 per cent at ₹16,569 crore (₹15,860 crore).

EBITDA for the quarter declined by 16 per cent to ₹3,033 crore over corresponding previous quarter’s ₹3,591 crore. EBITDA margin was down at 18.3 per cent as compared to the corresponding quarter’s 22.6 per cent.

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For FY23, UPL reported a 2 per cent decline in net profit at ₹3,569 crore (₹3,626 crore). Revenues for the year were up 16 per cent at ₹53,576 crore (₹46,240 crore). “FY2023 was a tale of two distinct periods, our performance in the first nine months delivered over 20 per cent growth in revenue and EBITDA. The fourth quarter was an unusual one with pricing pressure and delayed purchases by channel in the post-patent space due to oversupply of certain molecules,” Mike Frank, CEO – UPL Global Crop Protection, said in a statement.

“Our focus in the last quarter was to grow share in key markets, liquidating most of our high-cost inventory, closely manage working capital and smartly set-up our inventory position for the next year. As a result, given our lean inventory position, we are well-placed to deal with the challenging market conditions which are likely to persist for first half of FY24, but also to benefit once the market begins to normalise thereafter. Backed by our superior manufacturing and product innovation capabilities, we remain confident of growing significantly faster than the market in FY24 and beyond,” Frank said.

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EBITDA margin

EBITDA margins for FY 23 were down at 20.9 per cent as compared to previous year’s 22 per cent mainly due to weaker-than-expected performance in Q4 impacted by headwinds in the post-patent space, which offset the healthy performance delivered during the first nine months “We delivered a resilient set of results for FY23 despite facing significant headwinds in the final quarter. We reduced our gross debt by over $600 million and net debt by $440 million driven by improved cash flow from operations and a leaner working capital cycle. Going forward, as we look ahead to FY24, we are well-positioned to deal with the market headwinds and deliver better profitability growth. In the longer-term, we remain confident of achieving our growth ambitions and transforming the food value chain with emphasis on sustainability,” said Jai Shroff, CEO, UPL in a statement.

The UPL scrip ended 0.49 per cent higher at ₹718.35 on the NSE on Monday.

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