BASF India Limited held an analyst/fund managers meet on 20th May 2025, where the company's performance for the financial year ended 31st March 2025, and related topics were discussed.
Alexander Gerding, Managing Director, highlighted the resilient and robust Indian macro economy with GDP expectations above 6% and stable inflation, but also noted the continued high margin pressure in the chemical sector due to overcapacities in China.
Narendranath J. Baliga, CFO, mentioned that sales remained approximately the same as the last year's quarter at around ₹ 3,300 crore, but profit before tax before exceptional items fell almost by 90% due to higher input costs and product mix.
Yearly sales went up by 11%, contributed by strong volume growth, but lower price realization and higher input costs led to almost 20% lower profitability than last year.
The best sales quarter was September 2024 at ₹ 4,200 crore. June quarter of the financial year 2024-25, sales were at ₹ 3,966 crore.
Profit before tax before exceptional items saw a 90% drop from ₹ 219 crore to ₹ 25 crore compared to the same quarter last year. ₹ 283 crore was the best ever profit in June 2024, while March 2025 was the worst among the eight quarters.
Inventory has increased to around ₹ 7,800 crore, with a significant portion attributed to agro products.
Materials segment contributed significantly to the growth of ₹ 820 crore, reaching ₹ 4,900 crore.
Agriculture solutions saw ₹ 125 crore less profit than last year, with profitability and margins reducing over the past four quarters.
Industrial solutions profit decreased by ₹ 75 crore, and chemicals were lower by ₹ 18 crore.
Receivable days are lower compared to the previous year, despite increased sales.
The company has a cash balance of around ₹ 1,200 to ₹ 1,300 crore as of March 2025.
A dividend of 200% has been recommended, which requires shareholder approval at the AGM.
By April 2025, the cash balance had been reduced by ₹ 500 crore by paying off dues.
The company had a groundbreaking for a new investment in the Celesto business to expand its leadership position in the market.
A new CSR initiative was launched in Pune to skill underprivileged women in car painting and coating.
Alexander Gerding mentioned the company's ambition is to maintain volume momentum and improve profitability, focusing on discretionary spending, working capital, and costs. He also said that the company does not provide any forecast about the future business situation and we also do not comment or give guidance on future results and business outlook