GNFC Q4 net profit drops by over 10%

State-run Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers and Chemicals (GNFC) today posted a little over 10% drop in its standalone net profit at Rs 67.26 crore in the quarter ended March, on account of lower sales.

The Bharuch-based fertiliser firm had registered a net profit of Rs 75.15 crore in the same quarter last year, it said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Net profit was affected due to a decline in fertiliser sales but the company's expenditure was maintained lower at Rs 967.07 crore in the fourth quarter of the 2012-13 fiscal, as against Rs 1037.83 crore in the year-ago.

Total income declined to Rs 1086.66 crore from Rs 1154.30 crore in the review period.

The income from fertiliser sales declined to Rs 586.69 crore in the fourth quarter of the 2012-13 fiscal from Rs 692.80 crore in the same period corresponding year. However, the revenue from chemical segment increased to Rs 490.10 crore from Rs 436.34 crore in the review period.

For the entire 2012-13 fiscal, the company's net profit increased marginally to Rs 273.11 crore as compared with Rs 263.84 crore in the previous year.

Net income increased to Rs 4,252.57 crore from Rs 3,862 crore in the review period.

The company has a capacity to produce 4.45 lakh tonnes of ammonia and 6.36 tonnes of urea annually.

The shares of the GNFC fell by 2.92% to Rs 83.10 on the BSE platform in the afternoon trade.