Balrampur Chini Mills’ third quarter net loss stood at Rs 65.7 crore against loss of Rs 50.8 crore, Y-o-Y. The company’s total income rose by 21 percent at Rs 841.7 crore versus Rs 690.7 crore.
Discussing the earnings and future outlook, Vivek Saraogi, MD, Balrampur Chini Mills, said there is a sugar surplus in India and the country needs to export more. He said the company has been able to reduce debt to a certain extent and is working towards decreasing it further.
"Our interest rate is still at around those PLR levels and we did reduce debt of the past. I don’t have the exact figures of the debt reduced during the quarter but yes, we have repaid certain loans this year and if you remember last year is when we got the interest free loan, I think there is the impact of that also in the current year," he said.
Saraogi feels that sugar should be sold at fair and remunerative prices (FRP) and that the state governments should not intervene.
"Till last year I thought Uttar Pradesh (UP) was suffering the maximum because there was a cane price, which was much higher. Even this year it is higher but this year the Maharashtra sugar industry is getting hurt as well. A fair and remunerative price (FRP) is also not being paid, whereas the UP government has drawn up a much better formula this year. So basically it should be the same price, which is FRP all over the country, there should be no state government intervention in trying to tweak these prices because you can grow cane and buy cane, sell sugar, bagasse and molasses," he said.
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