UPL slumps as net loss widens to Rs 443 cr in Q2

UPL slipped 7.62% to Rs 515.10 after the pesticides maker reported consolidated net loss of Rs 443 crore in Q2 FY25 as against with net loss of Rs 189 crore posted in Q2 FY24.

Revenue from operations rose 9.05% YoY to Rs 11,090 crore in the quarter ended 30 September 2024, driven by 16% increase in volumes, 7% decline in price and near flat Fx.

Loss before exceptional items and tax was at Rs 439 crore in second quarter of FY25 as compared to Rs 302 crore reported in the same quarter a year ago.

Exceptional items stood at Rs 8 crore in Q2 FY25 as compared to Rs 87 crore recorded in same quarter last year.

 

EBITDA grew to Rs 1,576 crore in the Septembr 2024 quarter from Rs 1,573 crore reported in Q2 FY24. EBITDA margin dropped 130 bps YoY to 14.2% during the period under review.

Contribution margin tumbled 220 bps on YoY basis to 37.7% in September 2024 quarter as against with 39.9% reported in Q2 FY24.

The companys revenue from crop protection was at Rs 9,448 crore (up 9.3% YoY), seeds business income was Rs 1,113 crore (up 3.82% YoY) and non agro stood at Rs 599 crore (up 11.13% YoY).

UPL's revenue from Europe rose by 8% YoY. Income from India climbed 13% YoY followed by North America, up 10% YoY and Latin America was flat YoY during the period under review.

Income from rest of the world grew 29% YoY during the quarter.

During the quarter, net debt decreased to $3,285 million as against $3,696 million posted in Q2 FY24.

Jai Shroff, Chairman and Group CEO, said Our volume growth continues, and we are on the path to achieving our EBITDA and net debt guidance levels. With our fundamentals intact, we saw robust volume growth in our global crop protection business. In India, there was an overall positive momentum. Pushing sales closer to application season has optimized our working capital requirements and minimized likelihood of sales returns. We will continue to focus on enforcing stricter credit and inventory norms to enhance cash flows.

On our global seeds platform, Advanta, we are back on track after some headwinds in Q1. Our growth this quarter was margin accretive, driven by favorable pricing in grain sorghum and corn. The continued business momentum is expected to yield favorable results in the second half of the year.

Mike Frank, CEO, UPL Corporation Ltd., said: The fundamentals in the global crop protection market continue to remain strong. We continue to see robust dealer and farmgate demand across most regions for our products, as seen in our 13% volume growth this past quarter. Leading this growth was our fungicide segment, led by mancozeb products globally, as well as other premium fungicides in Europe. We had continued growth in our BioSolutions NPP business, which grew 10%. Specifically, our biocontrol offerings in Latin America and Europe have received strong customer demand.

Additionally, NPP was supported by biostimulant volumes in Brazil. Aligned with our strategy, we continue to improve product mix from differentiated and sustainable segments, which has increased from 35% last year to 37% now. Contribution margin compressed by 150 bps vs Q2 FY24, primarily due to pricing pressure, as well as foreign exchange impact in key countries, such as Brazil. On SG&A, we faced challenges related to ECLs and write-offs impacting our EBITDA for the quarter, which came in 9% lower than last year Q2.

UPL is principally engaged in the agro business of production and sale of agrochemicals, field crops, vegetable seeds and non agro business of production and sale of industrial chemicals, chemical intermediates, speciality chemicals.

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