Bayer CropScience posts Q4 net profit of Rs 31.5 cr

Bayer CropScience Ltd on Friday reported a net profit of Rs 31.5 crore in the fourth quarter of 2019-20 fiscal on strong revenue.

The company had posted a net loss of Rs 57.1 crore in January-March quarter of the last fiscal, a regulatory filing said.

Total income rose to Rs 458.7 crore during the quarter under review from Rs 252.2 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

Expenses also rose to Rs 422.2 crore as compared with Rs 356.9 crore a year ago.

For fiscal year 2019-20, the company's net profit increased to Rs 474.5 crore from Rs 337.1 crore in 2018-19.

Commenting on the performance, Bayer CropScience CEO and Managing Director D Narain said a good monsoon in 2019 ensured sufficient water reserves for rabi sowing.

This, coupled with stable commodity prices, favourable climate and strong portfolio performance in corn and horticulture, helped in achieving the strong growth in Q4, he added.

"However, COVID-19 developments in late March and the ensuing lockdown led to short-term disruption in consumption for crop protection products," he said.

According to the company, 2019-20 annual results reflect synergies from the integration of Monsanto India Ltd with Bayer CropScience Ltd, which was completed on September 16, 2019.

"The integration is well on track and as of March 31, 2020, the company has started seeing good first contributions arising from the consolidation of employee talent, product portfolios and business operations to meet mid-term synergy and one-time cost targets," it said.

On outlook for the future, Narain, said, "With the ongoing COVID-19 situation, the external business environment remains uncertain in the short term. However, agriculture and food production will continue to be essential for good health and nutrition."

The transformational agri-reforms announced by the government will help India become more self-reliant and food secure. It will also enhance livelihoods and incomes of millions of smallholder farmers, he said.

Going forward, Narain said, "We will focus on new business models and value chain collaborations to expand the reach of our agri-solutions, support scale-up of farmer producers organisations (FPOs) and digital farming solutions."

The company said its board has recommended a dividend of Rs 25 per equity share for the financial year ended March 31, 2020, subject to shareholders' approval.

In June 2018, German chemical and pharma major Bayer AG had announced completion of the USD 63 billion mega-deal to acquire US-based biotech major Monsanto to create the world's biggest agrochemical and seed company.

Bayer Group has been present in India since 1896, and has two divisions -- crop science and pharmaceutical.

The group has one listed entity in India -- Bayer CropScience Ltd.