UPL’s March Quarter Profit Misses Estimates On Higher Tax Expenses
UPL’s net profit for the March-ended quarter fell below analyst estimates.
Agrochemicals maker UPL Ltd.’s net profit missed analyst estimates as tax expenses rose in the quarter ended March.
Net profit fell 0.7 percent to Rs 736 crore as compared to the same quarter last year, the company said in a stock exchange filing. The bottom line fell short of the Bloomberg consensus estimate of Rs 772 crore as tax expenses rose threefold to Rs 166 crore and the effective tax rate increased to more than 17 percent from 7 percent last year.
Revenue rose 6.5 percent to Rs 5,690 crore in the same period, but missed the Bloomberg consensus estimate of Rs 5,905 crore. Revenue for the agrochemicals segment rose 5.6 percent while that of the non-agrochemicals segment rose 7.5 percent on a yearly basis.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 36.8 percent to Rs 1,421 crore on a year-on-year basis. The Ebitda margin expanded 570 basis points to 25 percent during the same period.
Other Highlights
- Raw material costs rose 5 percent to Rs 2,902 crore year-on-year.
- Finance costs jumped 92 percent to Rs 410 crore.
- The company reported a forex gain of Rs 203 crore versus a loss of Rs 88 crore last year due to rupee depreciation.
Shares of UPL closed 0.5 percent higher at Rs 754.3 prior to the earnings announcement.