FACT Swings To Profit In March Quarter On Fertiliser Gains, One-Time Income

The Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd. posted a net profit for the March quarter, recovering from a loss a year ago, helped by lower expenses and a one-off refund of regasification charges. However, total revenue fell slightly due to a sharp decline in its petrochemicals business.

FACT reported a net profit of ₹707.2 million in the March quarter, against a loss of ₹791.0 million a year earlier. This included a one-time gain of ₹163.6 million, compared with a one-time cost of ₹1.8 billion in the same quarter last year. Sequentially, net profit surged nearly ninefold, led by strong fertiliser sales.

Revenue from operations dipped marginally on year to ₹10.53 billion, marking the smallest decline in sales in nine quarters. On a sequential basis, revenue was up nearly 11%.

Fertiliser revenue rose 15% on year to ₹10.50 billion in the March quarter, with profit before tax and finance costs from the segment jumping to ₹3.48 billion from ₹720.9 million. For 2024-25, though, fertiliser revenue fell nearly 11%, and segmental profit dropped over 25%.

The petrochemicals segment saw a steep decline, with revenue plunging to just ₹1.9 million from ₹1.50 billion a year ago. The segment's loss narrowed to ₹41.0 million from ₹99.6 million. For 2024-25, petrochemicals revenue fell 97%, while the segment loss shrank to ₹474.1 million from ₹1.70 billion.

FACT’s other expenses fell over 6% on year to ₹2.45 billion in the March quarter. Depreciation and amortisation rose to ₹128.1 million from ₹107.5 million, while tax expenses came in at ₹1.72 million versus a write-back of ₹8.64 million a year ago.

The company declared a final dividend of ₹0.20 per equity share for 2024-25.