India's National Fertilizers posts 73% profit slide in Q3 on shrinking demand

Coromandel International

14/02/2024 11:49

BENGALURU, Feb 14 (Reuters) - India's state-owned National Fertilizers  NAFT.NS 
reported a nearly 73% year-on-year fall in third-quarter profit on Wednesday, hurt by
dwindling demand.
    The company reported a consolidated profit of 1.51 billion rupees ($18.2 million) for the
quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a profit of 5.54 billion rupees a year ago.
    Revenue fell 25% to 75.81 billion rupees, marking the third straight quarter of revenue
decline.
    For further highlights, click  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN3EZ0AX
KEY CONTEXT
The results come at a time when agrochemical companies are grappling with reduced demand for
crop-protection products and declining prices of glyphosate, a critical herbicide, amid
intense competition from Chinese generic varieties.
    India last year experienced its worst monsoon rainfall since 2018, leading to less water
availability for irrigation, resulting in tepid demand for agrochemical products. 
    Peers Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corp  DPFE.NS  and Coromandel International
 CORF.NS  reported quarterly profit declines, while Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals
 CHMB.NS  posted a rise.

PEER COMPARISON  
    
                           Valuation     Estimates (next 12  Analysts' sentiment         
                            (next 12          months)                                    
                            months)                                                      
                 RIC     PE      EV/EBI  Revenue   Profit    Mean    # of      Stock to  Div
                                 TDA     growth    growth    rating  analysts  price     yield
                                                             *                 target**  (%)
 National                                                                             
 Ltd                                                                                     
 Chambal                                                                              
 and Chemicals                                                                           
 Ltd                                                                                     
 Deepak                                                                               
 and                                                                                     
 Petrochemicals                                                                          
 Corp Ltd                                                                                
 Coromandel                                                                           
 Ltd                                                                                     
 
* Mean of analysts' ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell, and Strong
Sell
** Ratio of the stock's last close to analysts' mean price target; a ratio above 1 means the
stock is trading above the PT


-- All data from LSEG
    
    
    
    
  OCTOBER-DECEMBER STOCK PERFORMANCE

    
  
  
    
    
         


($1 = 83.0050 Indian rupees)

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National Fertilizers Dec Qtr 2024 vs Peers    https://tmsnrt.rs/49eijZA
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 (Reporting by Ashish Chandra in Bengaluru)
 ((ashish.chandra@thomsonreuters.com; +91 7982114624;))