Dharmaj Crop Guard Limited, one of the fastest-growing agrochemicals company, announced its financial results for Q1FY25. The company posted revenue of Rs. 255.3 crore in Q1 FY25, reflecting a YoY growth of 62 per cent. During Q1 FY25, PAT stood 4 per cent higher at Rs. 15.1 crore YoY.

Commenting on the results, Rameshbhai Talavia, Chairman and Managing Director, said: “Dharmaj has commenced the financial year with a strong performance, marked by significant growth and strategic advancements. Our Revenue from Operations for the first quarter reached an impressive Rs. 255.3 crore, representing a 62% YOY increase. This growth is attributed to the solid performance of our existing Formulation operations and the successful introduction of our new Active Ingredients vertical, which contributed to our revenue for the first time this quarter. Our Gross Profit margins have improved, on both YOY and sequential basis.

“Due to the commissioning of the new plant, fixed operating expenses, such as an increase in employee headcount and subsequent employee benefit expenses, and other operating expenses, have caused a marginal contraction in our EBITDA margins. Additionally, our depreciation and finance costs have risen due to the plant commissioning. As the capacity utilization ramps up, we expect these expenses to normalize a percentage of revenue.

“The domestic agrochemical industry has started the season on a positive note. Although rainfall has not entirely met initial expectations, it has been adequate, and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasts improved rainfall between August and September 2024, which is promising for the agricultural sector.

“Our Institutional Formulations business remains a cornerstone of our growth, continuing to strengthen and drive our overall performance. In the Branded Formulations vertical, our growth has been partially offset by lower realizations in our generic portfolio as compared to Q1FY24, thus resulting in lower growth rate from this vertical.

”We have also strategically discontinued certain low-price products and focussed on high value products. Within Branded vertical, our 'Focus Portfolio' has performed better, and we anticipate improved results as we move forward. The performance of our Institutional Formulation Exports was sluggish in April and May, affected by delayed orders from certain customers & unexpected lumpiness. However, we have observed a positive shift in demand July onwards.

“In the Active Ingredients vertical, following the commissioning of our Saykha unit in the previous quarter, we have begun to see commercial scaling at the plant, with external sales reaching Rs. 55.6 crore in the first quarter. We have a healthy order book for the upcoming quarter. While the scale-up has started, the financial benefits are yet to be realized due to the rebasing of operational expenses and depreciation & finance costs associated with the project. These costs have impacted short-term profitability but are expected to normalize as revenues from Unit 2 increase.

“On the operational front, we have launched 7 new products this quarter, including 3 in the new Plant Health vertical, which focuses on micronutrient products. Additionally, we have added 4 products to our existing B2C portfolio. Our workforce has expanded with the addition of 10 sales and marketing personnel and cumulative 88 new hires at the company level, primarily for Unit-2 at Saykha. Efforts in product registrations and commercialization are ongoing, with the Saykha plant producing 9 molecules, including 1 intermediate, in the first quarter. We are poised for further commercializations as we continue to scale up production at Unit-2.”