Tata Chemicals net profit jumps to Rs 1,210 crore in Q4

Tata Chemicals on Friday reported an over 3.5 times jump in its consolidated net profit to Rs 1,210.19 crore in the quarter ended March 31, 2018 as compared to Rs 343.02 crore in the year-ago period.

Its revenue from operations, on a comparable basis, during the quarter under review was at Rs 2,555.08 crore, up by 1.7 per cent from Rs 2,512.07 crore in the corresponding period of 2016-17.

The jump in the net profit was attributed to "exceptional gain" on account of divestment of its fertiliser businesses.

The board of directors has recommended a dividend of Rs 11 per share for the financial year 2017-18 and a special dividend of Rs 11 per share to reflect one-time income on account of sale of the fertiliser business.

"We are pleased to share a good overall performance despite some challenges. The overall operational efficiency continued its upward path and performance was on expected lines across all geographies. The Indian Chemicals business registered a robust performance," company's Managing Director R. Mukundan said.

On the global front, he said its North American and Kenya operations are now performing well. The UK showed steady performance despite operational disturbances earlier this year.

For the financial year 2017-18, the company reported income from operations on a consolidated basis at Rs 10,345 crore, with net profit at Rs 1,560 crore, up by 39 per cent.

In the speciality business, the company seeded two businesses, a nutraceuticals and highly dispersible silica business.

"Our agrochemicals subsidiary, Rallis registered steady performance and the seeds business in Metahelix continues its growth trajectory. We have successfully completed our first stage of transformation with the exit from fertiliser business... Our future growth drivers are going to be the consumer and speciality businesses," he added.

--IANS

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