Tata Chemicals Q2 net profit up marginally at Rs 293 cr

Tata Chemicals today reported a marginal increase in its consolidated net profit at Rs 293.04 crore for the second quarter of the 2016-17 fiscal, on lower fertiliser sales.
The company had posted a net profit of Rs 292.80 crore in the same quarter of the 2015-16 fiscal.
In a BSE filing, Tata Chemicals said its total income declined to Rs 3,496.27 crore in the July-September quarter of this fiscal, from Rs 4,213 crore in the year-ago period.
Revenue from the fertiliser segment fell sharply to Rs 570.95 crore from Rs 1,311.65 crore, while income from sale of inorganic chemicals dropped slightly to Rs 2,123.70 from Rs 2,229.61 crore in the said period.

However, the revenue from sale of other agri-inputs rose to Rs 695.02 crore in the quarter under review, from Rs 595 crore in the year-ago period.
The company said its consolidated net debt has come down to Rs 6,584 crore as on September 30, from Rs 7,686 crore in March 2016.

Tata Chemicals Managing Director R Mukundan said: "The fertilizer business continues to be under pressure with subsidy outstanding at Rs 1,377 crore. However, the normal monsoon has ensured a good performance of the non-subsidy based products and the crop-protection business under Rallis."
All requisite formalities on the sale of the urea business to Yara International are progressing as per expectations, he said.

"Going forward, we will continue to focus on the consumer facing business and non-subsidy based farm business, with consumer products and specialty chemicals being our key areas of growth," he said in the filing.
The consumer product business continues its leadership in the branded salt market.
Mukundan said: "We are happy to see a very encouraging response from consumers for our Besan and range of spices under the Tata Sampann brand, and continue to step up the launch in the western region.
"However, recent government intervention with regard to capping prices for pulses affected margins for the business."
Tata Chemicals is engaged in various businesses including salt, pulses, water purifiers, soda cash, fertilisers and various other chemicals.