By: ICN Bureau
Last updated : August 17, 2020 2:12 pm
Sales was down by 39% YoY to Rs. 128.9 crore.
Clariant Chemicals (India) Limited reported a decline in its profit and sales during first quarter of the current fiscal year.
The company reported profit before tax of Rs. 4.1 crore for the quarter ended June 2020, as compared to profit before tax of Rs. 10.5 crore for the quarter ended June 2019 - witnessing a drop of 61% caused by the impact of COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent continued nationwide lockdown.
Sales also declined by 39% YoY and stood at Rs.128.9 crore, for the quarter ended June 2020 as against Rs. 209.8 crore for the corresponding quarter in the previous year.
Revenues were down for both the key business segments during the quarter whereby its sales from plastics and coatings segment dropped to Rs.116 crore YoY from Rs.189 crore last year. Sales from its specialty chemicals segment also dropped to Rs.12.28 crore from Rs.20 crore in 2019.
"We closed our offices and laboratories across the country on March 16, well before the national lockdown, as we wanted to be abundantly cautious with managing the Covid-19 risk at the workplace. Subsequently, we closed our plants as well. However, we started manufacturing gradually to bolster the essential services sectors to support the country to cope with the pandemic. The financial performance of the company was impacted in the first quarter by this disruption caused by COVID-19, although there were definite signs of recovery towards the end of the Q1FY20/21. Our continued strong focus on Excellence in Execution has given us the resilience to stay profitable, reduce costs and manage cash to prepare us to weather this storm," said Adnan Ahmad, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Clariant Chemicals (India) Limited.