NAIROBI: Tata Chemicals reported a marginal drop in profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 254.94 crore in the second quarter ended September 30 and said an uneven and deficit monsoon impacted its fertiliser and other agri-input businesses.
PAT stood at Rs 257.01 crore in the quarter ended September 30, 2014, Tata Chemicals, which has interests in chemicals, crop nutrition and consumer products, said in a release here. Total income increased by 4 percent to Rs 4,996.92 crore from Rs 4,793.50 crore in the same period of last year. Tata Chemicals Managing Director R Mukundan said, “The quarter saw the chemicals and consumer business portfolio registering satisfactory numbers.
The marked improvement in chemicals business has been a reflection of the improved performance at Magadi (plant in Kenya).” While the steam turbine project has been successfully implemented in the UK, the company continues to remain focused on further opportunities to improve business, he added.
“An uneven and deficit monsoon has impacted fertiliser and other agri-input businesses,” he said. Improved volumes of pulses, which grew by 70 per cent over last year, salt and non-bulk agri business also contributed to the higher turnover, he said.
Better contribution, reflecting reduced energy costs, and overall improved performance of the chemical business, as well as positive performance by all the other businesses took the consolidated revenue to Rs 4,997 crore, up 4 percent over the last quarter of FY14-15.
The consumer products business continued to grow and maintained its leadership position with a market share of 67.3 pe cent in the branded edible salt market, he said. “In line with our focus on expanding the consumer products business, we launched a range of spices in the last quarter, bringing everyday food products, including pulses, under the newly introduced umbrella brand, Tata Sampann.
The nutraceuticals business also grew its reach with our product ‘FOS’ now available across 70 cities in India.” In the fertiliser business, the subsidy outstanding is Rs 1,005 crore as on September 30, 2015, and still remains a challenge, he said. Going forward, the company expects the Indian market to continue the overall growth momentum, and remains positive about expansion across our businesses, he added.
