Bayer CropScience Q4 net profit drops 39.43% on lower income

New Delhi: Bayer CropScience Ltd, the Indian unit of German crop science group Bayer AG, has reported a 39.43 per cent slump in net profit to Rs 96 crore for the fourth quarter of the 2023-24 fiscal, hurt by lower income.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 158.5 crore a year earlier, a statement said.

Its total income for the fourth quarter declined about 18 per cent to Rs 821.1 crore from Rs 1,003.2 crore in the year-ago period.

For the full year ended March 2024, the net profit dropped 2.33 per cent to Rs 740.5 crore, while total income dipped marginally to Rs 5,184.2 crore from Rs 5,203.6 crore a year ago.

"Despite weather challenges and lower reservoir levels affecting crop protection volumes, our performance remained resilient," said its managing director and chief executive officer Simon Wiebusch.

While revenue took a hit due to lower prices of its roundup herbicide and inventory management initiatives, the company's corn seeds business continued to grow, Wiebusch added.

Prudent spending helped the company keep operational expenses flat during the quarter, the company said.

Its Chief Financial Officer Simon Britsch said the firm's strategic focus on managing inventory and cost controls helped bolster its bottom line for the year.