UPL slides after reporting dismal Q1 numbers

Revenue from operations rose 1.16% YoY to Rs 9,067 crore in the quarter ended 30 June 2024, driven by 16% increase in volumes, 14% decline in price and a negative 1% Fx impact.

Loss before exceptional items and tax was at Rs 406 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared to Rs 19 crore reported in the same quarter a year ago.

Exceptional items stood at Rs 49 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared to Rs 43 crore recorded in Q1 FY24.

EBITDA slipped 28% to Rs 1,145 crore in the June 2024 quarter from Rs 1,593 crore reported in Q1 FY24. EBITDA margin dropped by 520 bps YoY to 12.6% during the period under review.

Contribution margin tumbled 620 bps on YoY basis to 39.5% in June 2024 quarter as against with 45.7% reported in Q1 FY24.

The company’s revenue from crop protection was at Rs 7,538 crore (up 2.50% YoY) and non agro stood at Rs 597 crore (down 4.47% YoY).

Income from seeds business fell 7% YoY to Rs 1,011 crore, faced headwinds on account of weather challenges that impacted production, created inventory shortages and supply constraints.

UPL's revenue from Europe rose by 13% YoY. Income from North America climbed 42% YoY followed by India, down 9% YoY and Latin America shed 10% YoY during the period under review.

Income from rest of the world rose 3% YoY during the quarter.

During the quarter, net debt increased by $639 million as against to $1,136 million posted in Q1 FY24. The net debt stood at $3.14 billion in FY24, as compared to $74 million recorded in FY24.

Mike Frank, CEO, UPL Corporation, said: “We continue to see strong fundamentals in the global crop protection market, with farmgate demand for our products at or above last year levels in most regions. Herbicides led the growth in North America, driven by glufosinate and clethodim. Our herbicide performance in Brazil also did well. Fungicides growth was led by higher volumes in Europe and North America.

Revenue growth in our Natural Plant Protection (NPP) business was impressive, up 10% versus last year, driven by a strong performance in Europe, among other regions. Our contribution margin compressed by 600 bps vs Q1 FY24. This was primarily due to price decline, and partially offset with lower cost of goods. Increased freight costs and foreign exchange were also headwinds on margins this quarter. From an SG&A perspective, we continue to remain disciplined, and the organization is focused on making improvements in the operating model and driving efficiency throughout the enterprise.

Ashish Dobhal, CEO, and UPL SAS, said: “On our India Crop Protection business (UPL SAS), we continued our efforts to restructure the business through strict credit policies and tighter credit terms, which lead to a postponement of sales closer to season, and the consequent impact on Q1FY25 revenues. However our contribution margins and cash flows have improved and working capital reduced, giving us the confidence that this is the right structural move for us in India.”

Bhupen Dubey, CEO, Advanta, said: On our global seeds platform, Advanta, we saw some headwinds in Q1FY25 on account of weather challenges that impacted production, created inventory shortages and supply constraints, leading to the impact on sales and EBITDA margins.

As we look ahead to FY25, we continue to focus on margins, the benefit of which is expected to get more pronounced in the second half of the year. Our focus on cash generation continues, and we are optimizing our inventories and other working capital items.

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.