Kaveri Seeds reported a net profit of Rs. 240 Cr.
Kaveri Seeds reported consolidated revenue increased by 9% YoY to 690 Cr., led by higher cotton acreage and improved volumes. The EBITDA, at 250 Cr., improved by 18.3% YoY, while PAT grew 19.1% YoY to 240 Cr. The EBITDA margin improved to 37.1%. Cotton volumes increased by 8.3% YoY while revenue fell by 3.8%. The non-cotton volumes improved by 9.8% while revenue increased by 10% YoY. The company intends to improve volume and revenue for the rest of FY23 with double-digit growth in this segments.
Volume growth aids the topline:
The use of illegal cotton seeds has come down as organised players have gained market share in the cotton seed segment, which has also led to an increase in revenue. The new product launches continued in the quarter as the company introduced newer products across all segments. The new products in the North American market include KCH111, VIPLAV, Money Maker, and KCH 9333. The selected rice volumes grew by 15.2% in FY23. Hybrid rice volumes increased by 6.1% and revenue by 1.0%. The introduction of new hybrids such as the 425, 471, 729, and 473 fueled the segment’s rapid growth. The vegetable seed sales volume increased by 25.9% while revenue decreased by 2.5%. The company is expecting double-digit growth in maize, sunflower, vegetables, and rice in the second half of the year. Farmers’ sentiment has also been influenced by the delay in the onset of the monsoon across India until mid-June.
The company continues to see encouraging growth in vegetable seed acreage, revenue growth, and volumes. The overall exports of KSCL have contributed to 19 Cr. in revenues. The management expects exports to contribute a significant share in the next year. The high market shares and cotton prices drove increased cotton acreage during the current year. Increased competition in the cotton segment led to muted growth due to smaller companies with low realisations crowding the market, which will eventually result in lower overall realisations and higher discounts given during the quarter. The price of cotton per packet was up by 40 YoY.
The company remains confident that discount reversals will happen next year due to lower illegal BT cotton share and overall better market sentiment, despite not being able to realise prices. There is a decrease in acreage due to rain shortages. The higher prices will result in more acres in the cotton crop, which is a major risk for the company.
KSCL’s earnings seem to have normalised and are likely to improve for the rest of FY23. The contribution from the non-cotton segment is improving, and the division is expected to post double-digit growth. The leadership position, R&D focus, healthy product pipeline, presence across crop categories and strong distribution network will act as key levers for growth over the long term. The increasing contribution from the higher-growth projected non-cotton segment will aid the performance. There is a decrease in acreage due to rain shortages. The higher prices will reduce acres in the cotton crop.
Valuations:
In June 2022, the EPS was Rs. 41.27, compared to Rs. 33.44 in June 2021. The ROCE and ROE were at 17.1% and 16.3%, respectively. The stock was trading at a P/E ratio of 10.9x. The company is debt free, and the asset turnover ratio was 0.48x. The scrip is trading at Rs.461, down by 3.05% on Friday.
