Tata Chemicals Q4 results: The 3rd-largest producer of soda ash in the world has reported a ₹841-crore net loss in the quarter, as per a filing. The net loss stemmed from a one-time loss from its UK operations. In the same period, a year ago, the company had announced a ₹692 crore profit. Notably, this was the first quarterly loss reported by the company in 9 years. It has also declared a dividend of ₹15.
It has been reported that the company, for the fiscal ending March 31, 2024, has recognised a non-cash write-down of assets. These add up to ₹963 crore. This has been declared as an exceptional loss in the UK soda ash and bicarb operations.
Other statistics showed that in Q4, the company’s revenue dropped 21.1 percent to ₹3,475 crore. In the year-ago period the same was ₹4,407 crore.
Tata Chemicals EBITDA was reported at ₹443 crore, which had dropped from ₹965 crore in the year-ago period and EBITDA margin was also down at 12.8 percent versus 21.9 percent in the year-ago period.
The company said that the reason behind this performance was the drop in soda ash demand in Europe and low pricing outlook.
The break up for the amount of ₹963 crore comes from the write down (non-cash) of the cash generating unit and also spans property, plant and equipment that add up to ₹821 crore. To this has been added ₹122 crore for capital work-in-progress, ₹4 crore for right-of-use assets and finally ₹16 crore for other assets, linked to the UK group.
Tata Chemicals: Headwinds affecting performance
Tata Chemicals is experiencing reduced demand for soda ash (mainly used to reduce the melting point of silica to produce glass, along with the soap and detergent industries) which constitutes two-thirds of its total sales volume. This decline is attributed to the increasing attractiveness of caustic soda in the silicate market due to falling prices. Consequently, the company has reduced the prices of its soda ash products at least five times since April 2023.
Emkay Research has revealed that prices of soda ash have fallen by 21% in Q4 from a year ago.
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