SRF declines after Q3 earnings

SRF's consolidated net profit soared 107% to Rs 342.99 crore in Q3 December 2019 as against Rs 165.71 crore reported in Q3 December 2018.

Net sales rose 3.1% to Rs 1,807.45 crore in Q3 December 2019 over Q3 December 2018. The result was announced after trading hours on Monday, 3 February 2020.

Consolidated profit before tax (PBT) jumped 30.4% to Rs 256.58 crore in Q3 December 2019 as compared to Rs 196.73 crore posted in Q3 December 2018.

Consolidated Earnings before Interest and Tax (EBIT) surged 39% to Rs 337 crore in Q3 December 2019 as compared to Rs 243 crore in Q3 December 2018.

Revenue from chemicals business reported an increase of 39% to Rs 812 crore in Q3 December 2019 from Rs 586 crore in Q3 December 2018. The operating profit of the chemical business 87% jumps to ₹143 crore in Q3 December 2019 from ₹77 crore in Q3 December 2018. During the quarter, the specialty chemicals business performed well owing to strong demand from the overseas markets. The fluorochemicals business was hit by the auto sector slowdown, an overall drop in the global prices of refrigerants and reduced prices of certain chloromethane products.

During the quarter, the board has also approved a project to de-bottleneck the hydroflourocarbon (HFC) capacity at Dahej facility in Gujarat at an estimated cost of Rs 65.50 crore. The proposal to set up dedicated facilities to produce intermediates catering to the agro-chemicals segment at an aggregate cost of Rs 238 crore.

Speaking on the Q3 performance, Ashish Bharat Ram, the managing director of SRF, has said that, "It's been a good quarter for the company. The revival of the specialty chemicals business remains on course. The packaging films business benefitted from a favorable demand scenario. We remain reasonably optimistic going forward."

The board on Monday, 3 February 2020 has declared interim dividend Rs 7 per equity share (i.e. 70%) on the paid-up equity share capital of the company. The record date for the payment of dividend is on 11 February 2020.

SRF is engaged in manufacturing of chemicals and polymers, technical textiles and packaging films. As of December 31, 2019, the company has applied for 190 patents, with 8 patents applied during this quarter. It has been granted sixty patents globally till date.

Shares of SRF slipped 3.40% to Rs 3,660. The scrip traded in the range of Rs 3,900 to Rs 3,644.90 so far.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News