Tata Chemicals Q3 profit down 45% to Rs 130 crore

NEW DELHI: Tata Chemicals today reported 45 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 129.94 crore for the quarter ended December 31, on lower sales and higher finance cost.

It had posted net profit of Rs 238.12 crore in the October-December quarter of last fiscal, 2014-15, according to a regulatory filing.

Income from operations fell by nearly 4 per cent to Rs 4,637.35 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal, 2015-16, from Rs 4,816.86 crore in the year-ago period.

Finance cost increased to Rs 159.64 crore during the quarter under review, from Rs 119.41 crore a year ago.

Tata Chemicals, a part of the over $100 billion Tata Group, is into manufacturing of fertilisers, salt and soda ash among other products. It also sells branded pulses and spices.

The company, through its subsidiary Rallis, has a strong position in the crop protection business.

Tata Chemicals currently is the world's second largest producer of soda ash with manufacturing facilities in Asia, Europe, Africa and North America.

"Adverse climatic conditions, weaker yields and lower prices of key crops impact Rallis India performance," the company said.

"US volumes impacted due to production outages and extreme weather conditions. European operations stabilized, post commissioning of the steam turbine. The financial performance was adversely impacted by the marking to market of hedging contracts for future gas purchases, supporting soda ash production," the company said.

Tata Chemicals also informed that sales of banded pulses were up 54 per cent over the previous year, while branded spices have been successfully launched in seven states; Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan.