Other income was up by 8% to Rs 4.91 crore. Interest costs was lower by 22% to Rs 0.90 crore and depreciation was higher by 1% to Rs 11.54 crore. After providing total tax of Rs 21.03 crore and loss of MI of Rs 16 lakh, consolidated PAT for the June 18 quarter stood at Rs 54.74 crore, up by 21% YoY.

Commenting on the performance and developments, Mr. V Shankar, Managing Director and CEO, Rallis India said,

"I am pleased to report better market performance over last year driven by volume and value growth in· both Domestic and International Businesses. South West monsoon has covered the entire country though the overall deviation is yet to be made up. Sowings are progressing well and we expect that the total acreages will catch up with that of last year. Revision in Kharif MSP brings good tidings and improved farm income will augur well for a strong Kharif crop. We continued with our focus on working capital and placing stocks to align with market requirements.

Rallis Samrudh Krishi ® (RSK) our solution based approach to create value for farmers by enhancing productivity through end –to –end Agri solutions has been an important driver for our revenue growth during the quarter despite market challenges, increased raw material prices with pricing pressure leading to pressure on margins.

Our performance in the International business continues to be better than last year due to improving situation in key markets such as Brazil and strong demand for herbicides. Rallis Samrudh Krishi ® (RSK) intends to create value to farmers through close field level working disseminating the right growing practices, products and information. This leads to a better quality crop along with optimized cost and delivering improved yields.

The use of e-interventions - Drishti, Samadhan & Sampark are key enablers in the execution. Drishti provides Predictive advisory services – accurate pest forecast (critical pest only, where support is a delight factor), samadhan app gives access to farmers for Customized and dynamic package of practices, weather forecast, latest update on crop output prices, flash news on agriculture, can connect with our expert for problem solving etc. Sampark app gives access to our field force on complete crop practices besides full detail on our portfolio of solutions".

Performance for 12 months ended Mar 18

Net sales for 12 months ended Mar 18 stood at Rs 1790.94 crore, up by 8% YoY. OPM was lower by 100 bps to 14.8% resulting in a flat OP of Rs 264.47 crore. Other income was up by 3% to Rs 13.18 crore. Interest cost was lower by 41% to Rs 4.31 crore and depreciation was lower by 3% to Rs 46.31 crore which thus resulted in a 2% increase in PBT before EO to Rs 227.03 crore. There was an EO income of Rs 158.39 crore for 12 months ended Mar 17 relating to profit on sale of land entitlement at Taloja as compared to Nil for 12 months ended Mar 18. Thus PBT after EO was down by 40% to Rs 227.03 crore. After paying total tax of Rs 60.01 crore and MI of Rs 60 lakh, consolidated PAT for the 12 months ended Mar 18 stood at Rs 167.62 crore, down by 44% YoY.