BASF India (BASF) Q4 97/98 earnings summary

Executive summary

• FY98 sales reached Rs 2,942.2m; PBT rose 25% to Rs 191.58m and profit after tax for the year rose 28% to Rs 170.03m.

• Stronger colours and dispersions and crop protection results, lower interest costs, and export growth supported performance; plastics profitability remained under pressure.

Financial highlights

• Sales were Rs 2,942.17m vs Rs 2,653.30m; total income was Rs 2,976.61m vs Rs 2,710.15m, a stated 10% increase.

• PBT was Rs 191.58m vs Rs 152.73m, up 25%; profit after tax for the year was Rs 170.03m vs Rs 132.53m, up 28%.

• After prior-year tax adjustments of Rs 1.23m, final profit after tax was Rs 168.80m vs Rs 161.73m; proposed dividend was 35% vs 30%.

• Gross profit was Rs 522.07m vs Rs 504.14m; interest expense declined to Rs 140.25m from Rs 218.50m.

• Own-manufactured exports reached Rs 369.75m, up 120% YoY; operating cash flow was Rs 247.36m vs Rs 110.01m.

Outlook and guidance

• New superplasticizers for construction and styrene-butadiene dispersions for paper were expected to broaden the local customer base, support exports, and replace imports.

• BASF AG agreed to offer new crop-protection molecules for development in India, creating a pipeline for new products and support for scientific farming.

• Planned R&D priorities included crop-protection research and product and process development in leather chemicals, paper chemicals, crop protection, and dye intermediates.

• Dye-plant capacity augmentation at Mangalore was being initiated after full utilisation; SAP ERP implementation was in its final stage.