Bayer Cropscience posts Rs 84.8-cr net profit for Dec quarter

Bayer Cropscience Ltd has reported a net profit of Rs 84.8 crore in the third quarter ended December 2021, despite unseasonal rains, crop infestations and a challenging corn season.

The company had posted a net loss of Rs 45.1 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

Net revenues rose to Rs 999.9 crore during the third quarter of the financial year 2021-22, compared with Rs 936.5 crore in the year-ago period.

In a statement, the company said it has earned a profit of Rs 58.5 crore from the sale of its seed business to crystal crop protection on December 1, 2021.

Expenses remained higher at Rs 940.6 crore, against Rs 830.4 crore in the said period.

The company said it has incurred expenses in relation to the separation of employees arising from restructuring measures due to the amalgamation of Monsanto India Ltd with Bayer CropScience.

Commenting on the performance, Bayer CropScience Executive Director Simon-Thorsten Wiebusch said the revenue has grown in the third quarter despite unseasonal rains, crop infestations and a challenging rabi corn season.

"Growth was largely driven by our crop protection portfolio that witnessed a surge in demand with double-digit liquidation growth sustained by our strategy of prudent channel management and demand generation," he said.

The overall profitability was impacted by higher input and operational costs, which included building out new business models for increasing market reach to smallholders, corn seed returns and obsolescence effects, offset by the exceptional income arising from the sale of the business of mustard, cotton, millet and sorghum seeds, he added.

He further stated, "Enhancing real-time agronomy advisory, farm collectivisation efforts and driving market linkages through farmer producer organisations (FPOs) and digitalisation are important drivers to transform Indian agriculture."

Bayer stands committed to maximising its efforts to benefit smallholder farmers, expanding the base of its Better Life Farming centres, creating gender smart interventions, doubling down on its sustainability efforts, and making Indian agriculture competitive, he added.

During April-December 2021, Bayer had conducted drone trials for spraying purposes as an agriculture industry-first. Bayer's Better Life Farming (BLF) global value chain initiative also entered into multiple strategic alliances to support over five lakh smallholder farmers across the country.