Jain Irrigation Q4 net profit jumps 3-fold to Rs 976 crore; debt pared by Rs 2,683 crore

Jain Irrigation on May 26 reported a more than three-fold jump in its consolidated net profit to Rs 976.89 crore in the March quarter of FY23 and also reduced debt by Rs 2,683 crore post-merger of its global arm with Rivulis.

The company posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 279.06 crore in the year-ago period, according to a regulatory filing.

Its total income increased 27.14 percent to Rs 1,745.41 crore during the fourth quarter of 2022-23 from Rs 1,372 crore in the year-ago period.

For the year 2022-23, the company's net profit more than doubled to Rs 831.94 crore from Rs 328.63 crore in FY22. The total income increased to Rs 5,761.80 crore from Rs 4,749.94 crore in the said period.

"The company is back on track. Overall, it has been a good quarter. We have successfully completed the merger of International Irrigation Business with Rivulis (MergeCo) (backed by Singapore-based Temasek Group). This transaction has helped reduce the company's debt by Rs 2,800 crore," Jain Irrigation CEO and Vice Chairperson Anil B Jain said in a virtual conference.

The transaction proceeds have been utilised for repayment of debt of International Irrigation Business and Jain International Trading, along with other liabilities, he told reporters.

The company's consolidated debt, which stood at Rs 6,404.9 crore as on March 31, 2022, came down to Rs 3,721.9 crore as on March 31, 2023.

"We plan to bring down the overall consolidated debt by Rs 600 crore from our internal accruals by next fiscal year," he said, adding that debt will be reduced by improving the working capital cycle and higher revenue.

Post-merger, the CEO said, the company holds an 18.7 percent stake in the merged company valued at $137.5 million and has the option to increase its holding up to 20 percent.

Jain said the company will continue the growth momentum in FY23-24 as well and aims for a 30 percent increase in revenue, banking on strong rural demand.

At present, much of the company's business comes coming from western and southern India and it is also seeing good demand from north India, he said, adding, there won't be a negative impact on the business due to the India Meteorological Department's forecast of El Nino in the short term.

The company had a consolidated order book of Rs 2,355 crore as on March 31, 2023, he added.

The Jalgaon-based company is into manufacturing micro-irrigation systems, PVC and HDPE pipes, plastic sheets, agro-processed products, renewable energy solutions, tissue culture plants, financial services and other agricultural inputs.