Agrochemicals company UPL announced Q2FY25 results Revenue for the second quarter was up by 9%, driven by 16% increase in volumes, 7% decline in price and near flat Fx. • Contribution margins primarily impacted by overall pricing pressure in crop protection segment. Differentiated and sustainable portfolio continued to outperform; share of this portfolio as % of crop protection segment increased from ~39% in Q2FY24 to ~42% in Q2FY25. SG&A; impacted by USD 16 million due to ECLs and write-offs, mainly in Latin America. Seeds business had a margin accretive growth this quarter, driven by favorable pricing in grain sorghum and corn. The strategic investments we have made are expected to yield favorable results in the second half of the year. Net Debt increased by USD 627 million in Q2FY25 vs FY24. The corresponding increase last year was USD 1,639 million. Jai Shroff, Chairman and Group CEO, said: “Our volume growth continues, and we are on the path to achieving our EBITDA and net debt guidance levels. With our fundamentals intact, we saw robust volume growth in our global crop protection business. In India, there was an overall positive momentum. Pushing sales closer to application season has optimized our working capital requirements and minimized likelihood of sales returns. We will continue to focus on enforcing stricter credit and inventory norms to enhance cash flows. On our global seeds platform, Advanta, we are back on track after some headwinds in Q1. Our growth this quarter was margin accretive, driven by favorable pricing in grain sorghum and corn. The continued business momentum is expected to yield favorable results in the second half of the year.” Mike Frank, CEO, UPL Corporation, said: “The fundamentals in the global crop protection market continue to remain strong. We continue to see robust dealer and farmgate demand across most regions for our products, as seen in our 13% volume growth this past quarter. Leading this growth was our fungicide segment, led by mancozeb products globally, as well as other premium fungicides in Europe. We had continued growth in our BioSolutions NPP business, which grew 10%. Specifically, our biocontrol offerings in Latin America and Europe have received strong customer demand. Additionally, NPP was supported by biostimulant volumes in Brazil. Aligned with our strategy, we continue to improve product mix from differentiated and sustainable segments, which has increased from ~35% last year to ~37% now. Contribution margin compressed by ~150 bps vs Q2FY24, primarily due to pricing pressure, as well as foreign exchange impact in key countries, such as Brazil. On SG&A;, we faced challenges related to ECLs and write-offs impacting our EBITDA for the quarter, which came in 9% lower than last year Q2.” Result PDF
Agrochemicals company UPL announced Q1FY25 results: Revenue growth for the first quarter was flat at 1%, driven by 16% increase in volumes, 14% decline in price and a negative 1% Fx impact. Seeds business faced headwinds on account of weather challenges that impacted production, created inventory shortages and supply constraints, leading to a revenue drop of 7% and EBITDA drop of 30% YoY. Net Debt increased by USD 639 million in Q1FY25 vs year end March 24. The corresponding increase last year was USD 1,136 million. Commenting on the Q1FY25 performance, Mike Frank, CEO, UPL Corporation Ltd., said: “We continue to see strong fundamentals in the global crop protection market, with farmgate demand for our products at or above last year levels in most regions. Herbicides led the growth in North America, driven by glufosinate and clethodim. Our herbicide performance in Brazil also did well. Fungicides growth was led by higher volumes in Europe and North America. Revenue growth in our Natural Plant Protection (NPP) business was impressive, up 10% versus last year, driven by a strong performance in Europe, among other regions. Our contribution margin compressed by ~600 bps vs Q1FY24. This was primarily due to price decline, and partially offset with lower cost of goods. Increased freight costs and foreign exchange were also headwinds on margins this quarter. From an SG&A; perspective, we continue to remain disciplined, and the organization is focused on making improvements in the operating model and driving efficiency throughout the enterprise. Commenting on the Q1FY25 performance, Ashish Dobhal, CEO, UPL SAS, said: “On our India Crop Protection business (UPL SAS), we continued our efforts to restructure the business through strict credit policies and tighter credit terms, which lead to a postponement of sales closer to season, and the consequent impact on Q1FY25 revenues. However our contribution margins and cash flows have improved and working capital reduced, giving us the confidence that this is the right structural move for us in India.” Commenting on the Q1FY25 performance, Bhupen Dubey, CEO, Advanta, said: On our global seeds platform, Advanta, we saw some headwinds in Q1FY25 on account of weather challenges that impacted production, created inventory shortages and supply constraints, leading to the impact on sales and EBITDA margins. Result PDF