Tata Chemicals Q4 profit surges 62%, driven by strong soda ash demand

BENGALURU (Reuters) - India's Tata Chemicals Ltd posted a 62% jump in fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped by demand for products such as soda ash, bicarbonate and salt.

The chemical manufacturer's consolidated net profit rose to 7.09 billion rupees ($86.7 million) in the three months ended March 31, from 4.38 billion rupees a year ago.

India, the world's sixth-largest chemical producer, has seen rapid growth, reaping the benefits of many countries and companies looking for alternative sources due to top supplier China's COVID-related supply chain issues.

The basic chemistry products segment, which contributes to more than 85% of revenue jumped 31.7%, while input costs fell 12.1% to 6.30 billion rupees.

Basic chemistry products include soda ash, sodium bicarbonate, salt and marine chemicals, which are widely used in paints, detergents, insecticides, among others.

"We expect (the) sustainability trend will drive the demand for newer applications like solar glass and lithium which will fuel growth," R. Mukundan, the company's managing director and chief executive, said.

Tata Chemicals expects the global demand-supply situation to remain balanced over the medium term, Mukundan said.

The Mumbai-based company reported a 26.6% rise in its consolidated revenue to 44.07 billion rupees.

Rallis India Ltd, Tata Chemicals' agri-input manufacturing unit, posted a wider fourth-quarter loss of 691.3 million rupees due to one-off expenses related to its seeds business.

Tata Chemicals' shares closed up 2.2% at 993.1 rupees on Wednesday ahead of the results. They rose 4.8% in 2022.

($1 = 81.7900 Indian rupees)

 

(Reporting by Anuran Sadhu in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)