Bayer CropScience Limited has announced its results for the financial year 2020 and quarter ending March 31, 2020). In FY 2019-20, the Company registered Revenue from Operations of Rs. 36,094 million, compared to Rs. 31,673 million in the previous year. Profit Before Exceptional Items and Tax stood at Rs. 7,133 million, compared to Rs. 4,800 million in the previous year. The results for the FY ended March 31, 2019, include results of erstwhile Monsanto India Limited from June 7, 2018, (the date on which Monsanto Company, USA was acquired by Bayer AG) and are therefore not comparable.
In Q4 of FY 2019-20, the Company registered Revenue from Operations of Rs. 4,587 million, compared to Rs. 2,522 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Profit Before Exceptional Items and Tax for the quarter stood at Rs. 543 million, compared to Loss Before Exceptional Items and Tax of Rs. 950 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Commenting on the Q4 results, D. Narain, CEO & Managing Director of Bayer CropScience Limited, stated, "A good monsoon in 2019 ensured sufficient water reserves for Rabi sowing. This coupled with stable commodity prices, favorable climate and strong portfolio performance in corn and horticulture, helped us achieve strong growth in Q4. However, Covid-19 developments in late March and the ensuing lockdown led to short-term disruption in consumption for crop protection products."
The FY 2019-20 annual results reflect synergies from the integration of Monsanto India Limited with Bayer CropScience Limited, which was completed on September 16, 2019. The integration is well on track and as of March 31, 2020, the Company has started seeing good first contributions arising from the consolidation of employee talent, product portfolios and business operations to meet mid-term synergy and one-time cost targets.
Sharing an outlook for the future, D. Narain, said, "With the ongoing Covid-19 situation, the external business environment remains uncertain in the short term. However, agriculture and food production will continue to be essential for good health and nutrition. The transformational agri-reforms announced by the government will help India become more self-reliant and food secure. It will also enhance livelihoods and incomes of millions of smallholder farmers. Bayer will continue to support Indian farmers through access to seeds & crop protection inputs, product innovation and crop advisory. Going forward, we will focus on new business models and value chain collaborations to expand the reach of our agri-solutions, support scale-up of FPOs and digital farming solutions."
The Board of Directors have recommended a dividend payment of Rs. 25/- per equity share of Rs.10 each for the financial year ended March 31, 2020, subject to shareholders' approval.
