(Reuters) -Agrochemicals maker UPL swung to a profit in the second quarter from a loss a year earlier, boosted by strong demand in the Americas and raised its full-year margin forecast for a key profit measure to 12%–16%.
The had earlier forecast an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization margin of 10%-14%.
Consolidated net profit came at 5.53 billion rupees ($62.9 million) for the three months ended September 30, compared to a loss of 4.43 billion rupees a year ago.
Persistent rainfall, particularly the 115% above-normal showers in September, led to a significant drop in agrochemical consumption. However, global agrochemicals demand stayed resilient and growth was led by volumes, analysts said.
UPL’s growth was mainly led by strong fungicide demand in Brazil, and a recovery in Argentina driven by crop protection and healthy herbicide volumes in North America, the company said.
The company reported a 13% revenue growth in its largest market, Latin America, and a 63% surge in North America, driven by strong demand.
Overall revenue from operations rose 8.4% to 120.19 billion rupees.
Shares of UPL were trading 0.6% higher after the results.
(Reporting by Yagnoseni Das in Bengaluru;Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
