Coromandel International posts 15% YoY drop in Q4 PAT amid rise in costs

BENGALURU (Reuters) – India’s agrochemicals maker Coromandel reported a 15 percent drop in its quarterly profit on Monday as rising costs offset surging demand.

Consolidated net profit after tax for the quarter rose to 2.46 billion rupees ($30.08 million), compared to 2.9 billion rupees a year earlier.

Revenue from operations increased by around 30% to Rs. 54.76 billion, but was outpaced by a 32% increase in total expenses.

why does it matter

Coromandel has reported an uptick in quarterly earnings in the past four quarters, as increased crop sowing and firmer crop prices boosted demand for its products.

While the fertilizer segment saw channel inventories rise in the fourth quarter driven by slight demand growth and cooling raw material prices, lower pest infestations led to lower pesticide consumption, according to analysts.

Last week, UPL Ltd reported a 42% drop in its fourth-quarter profit, hit by higher raw material costs.

Peer comparison

Rating Analyst

(Next 12 (Next 12 sec

months) months) Sentime

NT

Average Revenue Earning RIC PE EV/EBI Number of Shares to Div

TDA Growth Growth Rate * Analyst Price Return

the goal ** (%)

Coromandel 14.01 9.78 -19.33 1.18 Strong 10 0.80 1.24

Buy International Limited

UPL Ltd 10.76 6.05 6.75 19.37 Buy 23 0.74 1.47

Sumitomo Chemical 31.64 21.47 15.89 23.00 Strong 8 0.74 0.25

Buy India Ltd

SRF Ltd 30.32 18.62 12.76 11.61 Buy 25 0.87 0.28

* Average benchmark analyst ratings for a Strong measure of Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell and Strong Sell

** Percentage of the stock’s latest close price to the average analyst price target; A ratio above 1 means the stock is trading above PT

Inventory performance in January – March

– All data from Refinitiv

– 1 dollar = 81.78 Indian rupees

 

(Reporting by Keshish Tandon and Hritam Mukherjee)