Brokerage house Antique Broking suggested that the domestic agrochemical industry witnessed double-digit year-on-year (YoY) revenue growth in the April-August period this year on good monsoon activity.
This robust growth could be attributed to the pick-up in monsoon activity in July, which offset the shortfall witnessed in June.
For export-oriented players, the slowdown is expected to continue in the near term, Antique Broking said in its research note.
Moreover, the prices in both domestic and export markets have settled down and are showing signs of revival. The brokerage house believes that the worst is largely over for domestic players and expects a bounce-back in performance in the second quarter of the current financial year.
However, it expects the revival to take time — possibly in the second half of the current financial year (FY 2023-24) for companies relying mainly on exports.
Going by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) data, June ended with a rain deficiency of 10 percent for the entire country, while 5 percent excess rain was seen in July.
Moreover, a weak monsoon spell in August led to a 2 percent rain deficiency across the country as of August 13, as per the IMD.
Overall, August is expected to see below-normal rainfall, with average precipitation forecast to be 254.9 mm, representing 94 percent of the long-period average (LPA).
In July, global chemical companies issued profit warnings, which raised concerns on the operating performance of such players. There was a notable reduction in channel inventory, demand slowdown and pricing pressure globally.
