EID Parry India Ltd.’s standalone net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 2020 contracted 46.71% to ₹68.84 crore on muted sugar prices and a drop in Karnataka cane volumes.

Revenue from operations rose to ₹608 crore (₹563 crore). Income from sugar division increased byrose over 8% and that of distilleries by 7%. “The company’s performance has improved over the last yearin spite of muted sugar prices and a drop in Karnataka cane volumes. Higher realisations from distillery segment and effective cost and cash management has augured well for the firm,” said S. Suresh, MD.

Overall cane crushed during this year stood at 36.72 LMT against 37.18 LMT of last year. EID Parry exported 45,586 MT of sugar as part of the Maximum Admissible Export Quantity quota, it said in a statement.

With regard to COVID-19 situation, one of the largest sugar manufacturers in India, the company said that it was able to complete the crushing of sugar as per schedule during the lockdown period albeit with a slight delay. However, it resulted in delays in dispatches on account of logistical issues. This situation was a temporary phenomenon and had started to improve, the company said.

On a consolidated basis, the performance of the nutraceuticals division remained flat over the last year due to pricing pressure and intense competition in overseas markets. However, on account of better performance in the U.S.A operations, theNutraceuticals division’s revenue increased to ₹61 crore from ₹47 crore. It posted a profit of ₹4 crore against a loss of ₹1 crore in the year-ago period.

The consolidated sugar operations reported an operating profit of ₹170 crore (₹169 crore), while that of farm inputs division stood at ₹372 crore (₹251 crore).