Coromandel International posts 15% YoY drop in Q4 PAT amid rise in costs

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Indian agricultural chemicals maker Coromandel International Ltd reported a 15% fall in its quarterly profit on Monday, as soaring costs offset growing demand.

Consolidated net profit after tax for the quarter rose to 2.46 billion rupees ($30.08 million), compared with 2.9 billion rupees a year earlier.

Revenue from operations rose nearly 30% to 54.76 billion rupees, but was outpaced by a 32% increase in total expenses.

WHY IT MATTERS

Coromandel has reported a rise in quarterly profit in the last four quarters, as increased crop sowing and firm crop prices bolstered the demand for its products.

While the fertiliser sector witnessed high channel inventory in the fourth quarter driven by slight growth in demand and cooling raw material prices, reduced pest infestations have dented the consumption of pesticides, analysts said.

Last week, peer UPL Ltd reported a 42% fall in its Q4 profit, hurt by rising raw material costs.

PEER COMPARISON

Valuation Estimates Analyst

(next 12 (next 12 s'

months) months) sentime

nt

RIC PE EV/EBI Revenue Profit Mean # of Stock to Div

TDA growth growth rating* analyst price yield

s target** (%)

Coromandel 14.01 9.78 -19.33 1.18 Strong 10 0.80 1.24

International Ltd Buy

UPL Ltd 10.76 6.05 6.75 19.37 Buy 23 0.74 1.47

Sumitomo Chemical 31.64 21.47 15.89 23.00 Strong 8 0.74 0.25

India Ltd Buy

SRF Ltd 30.32 18.62 12.76 11.61 Buy 25 0.87 0.28

* The mean of analyst ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell, and Strong Sell

** The ratio of the stock's last close to analysts' mean price target; a ratio above 1 means the stock is trading above the PT

JAN-MARCH STOCK PERFORMANCE

-- All data from Refinitiv

-- $1 = 81.78 Indian rupees

 

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon and Hritam Mukherjee)