Sugar firm Balrampur Chini Mills on Monday posted 40 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 72.50 crore for December quarter 2019 on higher expenses. The company had clocked a profit of Rs 120.93 crore during October-December period of 2018-19, according to a regulatory filing.
Net income increased to Rs 1,202.60 crore during the third quarter of this fiscal from Rs 962.68 crore in the year-ago period.
However, expenses remained higher at Rs 1,118.10 crore compared with Rs 808.46 crore in the said period.
The company said it commissioned its zero discharge effluent waste distillery with a capacity of 160 kilo litres per day at its Gularia unit in Uttar Pradesh in January this year.
Commenting on the performance, Balrampur Chini Mills Managing Director Vivek Saraogi said the company has delivered stable performance during the quarter and nine months ended December 31, 2019 despite the challenging environment prevailing in the sector.
"The sugar segment delivered a strong performance on the back of steady realizations. The distillery segment delivered muted performance on account of lower volumes and increase in transfer pricing of molasses," he said.
Saraogi also said the new distillery facility at Gularia is expected to drive the segment's performance in the coming sugar season.
On the country's total sugar production, he said it is estimated to decline in the current season due to lower cane acreage and yield especially in Maharashtra and Karnataka.
"So while the sugar inventory in India remains high, the demand-supply scenario is expected to be more balanced going forward. This combined with various initiatives such as incentives on exports announced will lead to an overall improved operating environment in the coming quarters," he added.
Balrampur Chini is one of the largest integrated sugar companies in India. It has ten sugar factories in Uttar Pradesh having an aggregate sugarcane crushing capacity of 76,500 tonne per day, distillery and co-generation capacity of 360 kilo litres per day and 163.2 MW, respectively.
Shares of the company closed 4.01 per cent lower at Rs 162.85 apiece on the BSE on Monday.
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