United Phosphorus reported PAT of Rs1.02bn, 35% below Bloomberg consensus estimates, primarily due to 12%/2% declines in revenue in the US and Europe on account of adverse weather conditions. EBITDA margins declined by 200bps, reflecting inability to retain savings from a decline in raw material prices. However, continued to derive revenue growth of 12% from the rest of the world (constitutes about 25% of total sales). Management guided for revenue growth of 10% and EBITDA margins of 19% for FY10E.
The crop protection demand environment (particularly in the US and Europe) should continue to remain uncertain in the near term, (more…)