Jain Irrigation posts consolidated loss of Rs 23.6 crore

Micro-irrigation company Jain Irrigation Systems today reported a consolidated loss of Rs 23.6 crore for the quarter ended September 2014 against a loss of Rs 80.7 crore in the same period last year.
The company reported stand alone net loss of Rs 19.4 crore in the September 2014 period as against a loss of Rs 65 crore in the corresponding quarter in the previous year.
Profit after tax (PAT) has been impacted negatively by Rs 8.1 crore due to higher charge of depreciation as per Companies Act 2013, a company statement said here.
The company's consolidated revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 1,293.6 crore, registering a growth of 3.4 per cent in the quarter, the statement said.

Its consolidated revenue for half year ended September 2014 grew by 6.7 per cent at Rs 2,887 crore. The company's overseas business has continued positive growth in current quarter at about 8.79 per cent, the statement said.
The board has approved spinning off its food processing business into a 100 per cent owned subsidiary.

In the statement, Jain Irrigation Managing Director Anil Jain said, "Micro Irrigation (MIS) has done extremely well in the domestic market, despite this being lowest revenue quarter. The onion dehydration business continues to do well".
"Though the fruit business has declined in this quarter due to seasonality (47.7 per cent growth in Q1), with strong orders in hand, we are very confident of good growth in this business for the entire year. The PVC pipe business is also back to growth now albeit with lower margins," he said.

"We facing challenges in the PE pipe business due to uncertainty which is still prevalent in infrastructure sector. The company is getting ready to be a strong player in the solar water pump field. We are taking initiatives to promote micro-irrigation for rice and wheat cultivation, as a proposed project with the Government of Punjab," he said.
"We continuously focus on reduction of receivable levels further. With the stabilising of crude prices at lower band, busy season revenue mix, expected better capacity utilisation, second half is expected to be better than first half," he said.
The company maintained it's medium term target of reaching a debt-equity level 1:1 by FY16 through various actions at the operational efficiency level and corporate level.