Subdued demand and inadequate price recovery saw the world’s largest tea producer, McLeod Russel report a net loss of ₹236 crore, on a standalone basis, in the January-March quarter of FY16. Loss in the year-ago period was ₹208 crore.
“The impact of price rise of ₹2/kg was not sufficient to take care of increased costs,” a company release said. Average selling price in FY-16 stood at ₹173.97/kg ( ₹172.38).
The BM Khaitan group flagship, posted a 76 per cent drop in standalone net profit at ₹15 crore for the full fiscal (FY16). On a consolidated basis, including overseas operations, profits increased by 19 per cent to ₹37 crore.
The company’s Ugandan operation is back in black this year. Rwandan operations showed improved performance, but loss on Vietnam operations widened. The Board has recommended a dividend of ₹2 or 60 per cent on a share of ₹5 face value.
According to the company, a favourable monsoon may help the tea industry to “recover” substantial part of crop losses suffered last year due to dry weather conditions. The company stock closed at ₹184.55, up by 0.54 per cent, on the BSE, on Monday.
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