Agrochemicals

Agrochemicals firm Best Agrolife Ltd on Friday reported a flat consolidated net profit of Rs 94.65 crore for the quarter ended September 2024. Its net profit stood at Rs 94.86 crore in the year-ago period. The total income declined to Rs 747.61 crore in the second quarter of this fiscal from Rs 808.35 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding year, the company said in a regulatory filing. Vimal Kumar, Managing Director, Best Agrolife Ltd, said, "Best Agrolife has delivered a strong performance in Q2 FY25, capitalising on favourable market conditions and executing our strategic shift toward branded soles". "Our commitment to enhancing brand visibility and expanding our market presence has yielded positive results, contributing significantly to both top-line and bottom-line growth," he added.

Agro-chemicals firm Coromandel International on Wednesday announced the acquisition of an additional 8.82 per cent equity stake in Senegal-based rock phosphate mining company BMCC through its wholly-owned subsidiary. With this, the company's overall shareholding in Baobab Mining and Chemicals Corporation (BMCC) will increase to 53.8 per cent. "Coromandel will invest USD 3.84 million (Rs 32 core) in BMCC, besides a loan infusion of USD 6.5 million (Rs 54 crore) to fund expansion projects and meet working capital requirements," Coromandel International said in a statement. Rock phosphate is a critical raw material for manufacturing Phosphoric Acid, an intermediate used for Phosphatic fertiliser production. BMCC, incorporated in 2011, has a renewable exploitation permit for processing phosphate ore and Coromandel acquired a 45 per cent stake in September 2022. The company has since stabilised mining operations and is currently commissioning a fixed processing plant to optimise rock ..

India's agrochemical exports could increase to over Rs 80,000 crore in the next four years provided the industry is facilitated with conducive environment, according to a report by AFCI and EY. A report by Industry body Agro Chem Federation of India (ACFI) and EY titled 'Indian Agrochemical Industry: The Story, the challenges and the aspirations' noted that the exports of agrochemicals stood at Rs 43,223 crore in the 2022-23 fiscal. "India's Agrochemical exports outweigh the domestic consumption of the same. The Indian exports by agrochemical industry have witnessed commendable growth in recent times," said the report which was released at the 7th AGM of ACFI held recently. ACFI said that the government must focus on facilitating a conducive environment which includes streamlining licencing norms and improving infrastructure for storage and sale, incentivise biopesticide production, streamline registration process for new molecules, enter trade agreements with countries with more ..

Companies tapping younger workforce to bring senior colleagues up to date with GenAI, social media and consumer trends

Brokerages have downgraded earnings estimates for a few companies and expect only a gradual recovery over the next couple of quarters

Prices of corn, soybeans, and wheat are now at their lowest since Covid and are down 20-30 per cent Y-o-Y

The chemicals industry has been grappling with high inventory and destocking for the past few quarters, leading to continuous pressure on volume and margins, according to analysts

Higher demand and improved volumes are expected to help the companies liquidate excess inventory

India Pesticides is a chemical manufacturer engaged in agri chemicals business, primarily including manufacture, sale and distribution of insecticides, fungicides

Within agrochem, herbicides emerge as big export driver

Coromandel International, which is mainly in the fertiliser business, will invest Rs 1,000 crore to set up a plant to produce phosphoric and sulphuric acid at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. In a regulatory filing, the company said it has "commenced the project activity to set up its Phosphoric Acid-Sulphuric Acid complex facility at Kakinada". The company's Executive Chairman Arun Alagappan participated in the groundbreaking ceremony on April 26. "With an estimated outlay of Rs 1,000 crore, the project is expected to be commissioned in two years' time. The proposed 650 tonnes per day (tpd) phosphoric acid facility is designed with advanced DA-HF (Dihydrate Attack-Hemihydrate Filtration) process technology and automated DCS system," it said. This will enhance backward integration capacities and provide stable supplies of phosphoric acid for its fertiliser manufacturing by replacing more than 50 per cent of the Kakinada plant's imported acid requirement. The company also plans to set u

Revenue from operations fell about 28% to Rs 3,913 crore, making it the company's fourth consecutive quarter of decline

Agrochemicals manufacturer GSP Crop Science is eyeing Rs 1,800 crore in revenue in 2024-25, following its domestic as well as overseas market expansion, a top company executive has said. "In 2022-23, our annual revenue was at Rs 1,600 crore. We are looking at Rs 1,800 crore revenue in FY25. Overall our target is to reach Rs 2,500 crore in next 3-4 years with the addition of overseas business especially in Brazil," GSP Crop Science Managing Director Bhavesh Shah told PTI. Shah said the company is working towards reducing its dependency on China for raw materials and planning to produce intermediaries needed to develop crop solution products. "In order to reduce our raw material dependency on China, we are planning to gradually produce intermediaries needed for manufacturing our products. We are setting up our third manufacturing unit in Dahej in Gujarat with an investment of Rs 100-110 crores. In this unit we will initially produce 4 intermediaries," he added. The company is focusin

Overall, the revenues were down 19 per cent on the back of lower agrochemical prices and inventory destocking

Agro-chemical firm UPL Ltd on Monday posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 189 crore for the second quarter of 2023-24 as global channel destocking' drove revenue decline. The company had clocked a net profit of Rs 814 crore in the same quarter previous fiscal, according to a regulatory filing. Total income in the quarter under review was Rs 10,170 crore. In the year-ago period, it was Rs 12,507 crore. From India operation, the company's revenue was Rs 1,387 crore during the quarter. In the year-ago period, it was Rs 1,809 crore, the filing said. The global agrochemical industry continues to go through a difficult phase with prices coming off significantly vis--vis the high base of the previous year amid the elevated channel inventory levels and intense price competition," UPL Corporation Ltd CEO Mike Frank said. Against this backdrop, the distributors prioritized destocking, and focused on purchases at lower prices to bring down their average inventory cost. In particular, destoc

Global agrochemical business expected to remain subdued throughout CY23

Street remains cautious about the sector due to lower price realisations and fears about El Nino's impact on the monsoon

Robust order book, product pipeline will ensure steady growth of agrochem player

Agrochemical players are likely to witness 15-17 per cent revenue growth this fiscal, mainly driven by strong global and domestic demand, according to a report. Revenue is expected to grow by 10-12 per cent in the next 2023-24 financial year as India continues to benefit from the China+1 strategy of global players and key molecules going off patent, Crisil Ratings said in a report said on Monday. Higher operating leverage will help sustain operating margins at 15-16 per cent in the current fiscal and FY24, despite input prices remaining elevated, it added. Capital spending will continue at similar levels as in the past, but elongation in the working capital cycle will result in higher borrowings, as per the report. "Export revenue is seen rising 18-20 per cent this fiscal, with the US dollar appreciating 9 per cent so far and volume growing as global players continue to de-risk their China dependency. "Next fiscal, exports will likely grow 12-14 per cent as players keep up capex w

It raised Rs 216 crore by issuing fresh equity in the IPO