UPL Ltd., a global provider of sustainable agriculture products and solutions, today reported financial results for the second quarter ended September 30, 2024.

The company posted 9 per cent YoY growth in revenue at Rs. 11,090 crore in Q2 FY25 compared to Rs. 10,170 crore in Q2 FY25. Revenue for the second quarter was driven by 16% increase in volumes, 7% decline in price and near flat Fx.

EBITDA in Q2 FY25 was Rs. 1,576 crore with a margin of 14.2 per cent compared to Rs. 1,573 crore in Q2 FY24 with a margin of 15.5 per cent.

During Q2 FY25, UPL posted a net loss of Rs. 443 crore compared to loss of Rs. 187 crore in Q2 FY24.

For H1 FY25, UPL loss widens to Rs. 827 crore compared to a loss of Rs. 23 crore in H1 FY24. Revenue in H1 FY25 was at Rs. 20,157 crore compared to Rs. 19,133 crore in H1 FY24. 

According to the company, differentiated and sustainable portfolio continued to outperform; share of this portfolio as % of crop protection segment increased from ~39% in Q2FY24 to ~42% in Q2FY25. SG&A impacted by $16 million due to ECLs and write-offs, mainly in Latin America. Seeds business had a margin accretive growth this quarter, driven by favorable pricing in grainsorghum and corn. The strategic investments we have made are expected to yield favorable results in the second half of the year. Meanwhile, net debt increased by $627 million in Q2FY25 vs year end March 24. The corresponding increase last year was $1,639 million.

Commenting on the Q2FY25 performance, Jai Shroff, Chairman and Group CEO, said: “Our volume growth continues, and we are on the path to achieving our EBITDA and net debt guidance levels. With our fundamentals intact, we saw robust volume growth in our global crop protection business. In India, there was an overall positive momentum. Pushing sales closer to application season has optimized our working capital requirements and minimized likelihood of sales returns. We will continue to focus on enforcing stricter credit and inventory norms to enhance cash flows.

“On our global seeds platform, Advanta, we are back on track after some headwinds in Q1. Our growth this quarter was margin accretive, driven by favorable pricing in grain sorghum and corn. The continued business momentum is expected to yield favorable results in the second half of the year.”

Commenting on the Q2FY25 performance, Mike Frank, CEO, UPL Corporation Ltd., said: “The fundamentals in the global crop protection market continue to remain strong. We continue to see robust dealer and farmgate demand across most regions for our products, as seen in our 13% volume growth this past quarter. Leading this growth was our fungicide segment, led by mancozeb products globally, as well as other premium fungicides in Europe.

“We had continued growth in our BioSolutions NPP business, which grew 10%. Specifically, our biocontrol offerings in Latin America and Europe have received strong customer demand. Additionally, NPP was supported by biostimulant volumes in Brazil.

“Aligned with our strategy, we continue to improve product mix from differentiated and sustainable segments, which has increased from ~35% last year to ~37% now. Contribution margin compressed by ~150 bps vs Q2FY24, primarily due to pricing pressure, as well as foreign exchange impact in key countries, such as Brazil. On SG&A, we faced challenges related to ECLs and write-offs impacting our EBITDA for the quarter, whichcame in 9% lower than last year Q2.”

UPL continues to maintain an overall positive outlook for FY25 and expect accretive margins in the second half of the year. The focus remains on overall cash generation, and we are optimizing our inventories and other working capital items.