Agro-chemical firm UPL Q1 2023-24 profit down 81% to Rs 166 cr

New Delhi, Agro-chemical firm UPL on Monday reported 81 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 166 crore for the first quarter of this fiscal year on lower income. Its net profit stood at Rs 877 crore in the year-ago period.

Revenue from operations also dipped 17 per cent to Rs 8,963 crore in April-June 2023-24 from Rs 10,821 crore in the same period a year ago, according to a regulatory filing.

Mike Frank, CEO - UPL Corporation Ltd, said, "The global agrochemical industry has been going through a challenging phase over the last two quarters as distributors prioritized destocking and focused on tactical purchases amid high channel inventories."

Additionally, he said, the market is witnessing pricing pressure due to higher base effect and aggressive price competition.

"Given this backdrop, our revenue and profitability were also impacted by these headwinds in line with the rest of the industry," Frank said.

India revenue fell marginally by 1 per cent to Rs 2,054 crore in April-June from Rs 2,067 crore in the same period last year.

Revenue from Latin America fell 14 per cent to Rs 2,965 crore in the first quarter of this fiscal from Rs 3,464 crore in the year-ago period.

In Europe, revenue fell 27 per cent to Rs 1,259 crore from Rs 1,728 crore.

Revenue in North America declined 52 per cent to Rs 870 crore from Rs 1,796 crore.

However, the turnover from the rest of the world rose 3 per cent to Rs 1,814 crore in April-June 2023-24 from Rs 1,765 crore in the year-ago period.

UPL is one of the largest agriculture solutions companies worldwide. Its portfolio consists of biologicals and traditional crop protection solutions with more than 14,000 registrations. The company is present in 138 countries.