Bajaj Hindusthan Q2 net loss narrows to Rs 91 cr

Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar today said its standalone net loss narrowed to Rs 91.57 crore for the quarter ended September 30, mainly driven by higher income.
Its net loss stood at Rs 137.71 crore in the same quarter last fiscal, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Total revenue increased to Rs 1,543.84 crore in the July-September quarter of the 2017-18 from Rs 946.42 crore in the year-ago period.
However, expenses remained higher at Rs 1,635.41 crore during the second quarter this fiscal when compared to Rs 1,084.13 crore in the same quarter last year.
In the filing, Bajaj Hindusthan explained that its Q2 net loss was lower because the company has deferred the off-season expenses of sugar units for inclusion in the cost of production of sugar to be produced in the remaining part of the year.

This has been done in accordance with industry practice and to present better and meaningful interim results.

"Due to this change, the loss is lower for the current quarter by Rs 45.20 crore and current six months by Rs 75.63 crore. This change does not have any impact on the annual results," it said.
The company also mentioned that its joint lender forum has agreed to proceed with the scheme of sustainable structuring of stressed assets. The resolution plan has been prepared and under the process of finalisation with the bankers and concerned authorities.
Bajaj Hindusthan has 14 sugar mills with cane crushing capacity of 1.36 lakh tonnes per day and alcohol distillation capacity of 800 kilo litres per day.

Besides sugar, the Shishir Bajaj-led Bajaj Group has interests in power, ethanol, real estate, personal care products and infrastructure.
Its shares closed at Rs 14.89 a piece on BSE today.