More Stories

Informist, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025

By Pallavi Singhal and Anand JC

NEW DELHI – UPL Ltd. is focussed on deleveraging its balance sheet over the next 18–24 months, with its short- to medium-term priority supported by stronger cash generation from operations and disciplined working capital management, the management of the multinational agricultural solutions company said in a post-earnings conference call with analysts Thursday.

The company said its leverage ratio is expected to fall to around 2.1 times its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation by the end of the year. As of Sept. 30, this metric stood at 2.7 times, the company said in an investor presentation.

"We will be significantly lower than last year at 2.1 times, on a usual basis, and our short- to medium-term priority is to deleverage the balance sheet in the next 18 to 24 months," they said.

The company said it remains confident about meeting its near-term repayment commitments. "We are well prepared and planned for our immediate repayment obligation of $500 million, and there are no concerns on that," the management said. "As of now, we are quite comfortable with our cash position, quite comfortable on our net debt and leverage ratios." As of Sept. 30, UPL's net debt stood at INR 238.02 billion, aided by improved operating cash flows and tighter working capital management, according to its investor presentation.

The management sees the company's growth in the Oct–Mar period to be almost entirely volume-driven, with pricing expected to remain flat as global crop protection markets stabilise after several quarters of price corrections. "Our growth in H2 will be almost exclusively volume-driven. We expect prices to be roughly flat, maybe down like 1% or so in Q3 (Oct-Dec). But overall, in the second half, we expect pricing to be very flat," it said.

The management noted that while input costs have eased, competitive pricing continues to weigh on realisations, especially in the insecticides portfolio. However, it expects higher capacity utilisation, better product mix, and the contribution from value-added and biological products to support profitability even in a flat-pricing environment.

During the concall, the management said UPL's insecticides portfolio had been impacted by competitive pressure in the Jul–Sept quarter, though it remains confident of a strong performance in Europe in the second half of the fiscal year. The Turkey market was affected by early-season frost in the second quarter, impacting sales there.

The company plans to incur capital expenditure of $200 million to $225 million in the financial year 2025-26 (Apr-Mar).

The company said demand remains robust for its high-value post-harvest products under the Decco brand, which continues to support margins. On the recent US tariff measures on Indian goods, the management said UPL's exposure is limited as most sales for the Apr–Sept period were made from inventory already in the US market, insulating it from immediate impact. "We had already positioned a good part of our US inventory ahead of the tariff implementation, so the near-term effect is minimal," the management said. "We are also reviewing our sourcing and supply chain plans for the next season to mitigate any potential impact if tariffs remain in place," it said.

The company reported a consolidated net profit of INR 5.53 billion for the September quarter, against a loss of INR 4.43 billion a year earlier, on improved margins and a one-time gain of INR 2.4 billion from the reversal of a tax provision related to its operations in Brazil. Revenue for the September quarter was up 8% on year to INR 120.19 billion.

UPL declared its earnings during market hours. The company's shares closed at INR 733.35 on the National Stock Exchange, up 0.3% from Tuesday. Intraday, the shares rose to INR 747.40 while the low for the day was INR 713.40.  End

US$1 = INR 88.61

Edited by Ashish Shirke

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.