Edible oil major Adani Wilmar Ltd (AWL) on Wednesday reported a net loss of Rs 79 crore for the first quarter that ended June 30, 2023, owing to a decline in edible oil prices.
In the corresponding quarter last year, Adani Wilmar posted a net profit of Rs 194 crore, the company said in a regulatory filing.
The total revenue stood at Rs 12,928 crore during the period under review, falling 12 percent as against Rs 14,724 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal.
At the operating level, EBITDA fell 71 percent to Rs 130 crore, from Rs 443 crore in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal. The EBITDA margin stood at 1 percent in the reporting quarter as compared to 3 percent last year. EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation.
Adani Wilmar reported 25 percent year-on-year growth, while sales value declined by 12 percent on a year-on-year basis, which is reflective of the steep decline in edible oil prices.
The sale of branded products in both edible oils and foods has been much stronger compared to the overall sales of respective segments. The food and FMCG segment recorded a strong revenue growth of 28 percent year-on-year to record close to Rs 1,100 crore of revenue for the quarter.
The oil and foods continued to grow at a rapid pace in the alternate channels (E-com, MT, eB2B, etc.) and recorded around 50 percent year-on-year volume growth for the quarter, the company said.
"Since the first quarter of the last fiscal year, the price of edible oils has been declining. This trend continued during Q1 FY24 with the price of edible oils experiencing further decline, in the range of 5 percent to 20 percent (Q1’24 vs Q4’23), before recovering as the quarter came to a close," Adani Wilmar said.
"This reduction has been attributed to a combination of factors, including the decline in consumer demand in developed economies, the easing of supply in the Black Sea region, and the robust production of oilseeds globally," it added.
Angshu Mallick, MD and CEO, Adani Wilmar, said the company regained momentum in the edible oil business with the decline in edible oil prices. The soft prices of edible oil are expected to augur well for the industry.
Further, he said the company is gaining a good share from regional brands in the under-indexed customer segments with marketing and sales focus on specific geographies and oil categories. To capture the opportunity in the value-added blended oils, the company is investing in this segment, under the Xpert brand.
Shares of Adani Wilmar ended at Rs 401.65, down by Rs 11.55, or 2.80 percent on the BSE.
First Published: Aug 2, 2023 3:31 PM IST
