Tata Chemicals today posted 46% decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 107.59 crore for the quarter ended
June 30, 2012, due to foreign exchange loss of Rs 100 crore and temporary closure of its fertiliser and ammonia producing plants.
The fertiliser and soda ash producer had reported a net profit of Rs 199.87 crore in the year-ago period, it said in a filing to the BSE.
The consolidated net sales of the company rose marginally by 4% to Rs 3,090.89 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal from
Rs 2,974.48 crore in the same quarter of the 2011-12 fiscal.
The company also reported a forex loss of Rs 100 crore due to trade and borrowings, it added.
"The company was faced with unprecedented challenges during the quarter which adversely impacted the operating performance. While the company
had a marginal increase in turnover, the margins came under pressure due to plant shutdowns," Tata Chemicals Managing Director R Mukundan
said.
In addition to the Rs 62-crore impact of rupee depreciation , this quarter also witnessed Haldia and IMACID plant closure for substantial
part of the quarter due to delay in acid contract finalisation, he added.
Mukundan said that poor monsoons and global slowdown will impact the demand scenario.
"Going forward, we see demand scenario for soda ash and other industrial chemicals weakening due to the global slowdown and farm essential
business faces the challenge of uncertain monsoons," he pointed out.
Two units of di-ammonium phosphate at Tata Chemicals' Haldia (West Bengal) were suspended due to disruption in supplies of phosphoric acid,
the filing said.
During the April-June quarter, operations at the Magadi (Kenya) plant of the company was partially affected due to flooding caused by heavy
rains, it added.
Production at Tata Chemical's Indo Maroc Phosphore S A (IMACID) plant in Morocco was affected on account of non finalisation of phosphoric
acid pricing, it said.
The company's plant at Barbala (Uttar Pradesh) was closed for a month due to maintenance and replacement of ammonia converter, it said.
"All our facilities have now resumed operations in full strength and performing to expected levels," Mukundan said.
Tata Chemicals is a market leader in branded Iodised salt segment in the country. It is the world's second largest producer of soda ash with
manufacturing facilities in India, UK, Kenya and the US.
The company is also a leading manufacturer of urea and phosphatic fertilisers and through its subsidiary, Rallis, has a strong position in
the crop protection business.
Shares of the company today closed at Rs 308.50, down by 0.72% from its previous close at the BSE.