UPL: Strong traction in Americas led by continued firmness in pricing drove 21% YoY growth in Q3

UPL Ltd. (NSE: UPL & BSE: 512070, LSE: UPLL), has reported financial results for the third quarter of FY23 (Oct-Dec 2022).

Financial Performance Update

• Witnessed continued growth momentum in the crop protection businessin Q3 FY23 (+22% YoY) along with robust growth in Advanta Seeds (+31% YoY) to reach INR 13,679 crore. The growth in revenues was continued to be led by marginal increase in volumes (+1%) higher realizations (+13%) and favorable exchange rate (+7%)

• Q3 FY23 EBITDA grew by 14% YoY to INR 3,035 crore mainly driven by robust topline growth. Higher SG&A investment to strengthen customer relations and build capabilities to drive differentiated & sustainable portfolio led to marginal compression in EBITDA %. For 9M FY23, however, EBITDA margins improved by 37 bps led by strong growth and improved product mix.
  

Commenting on the performance, Mr. Mike Frank, CEO – UPL Global Crop Protection, said ″We continued to see solid traction in Q3 FY23 following strong first half performance. The product prices remained firm leading to a healthy uptick in realizations. Grower margins remain strong due to elevated agriculture commodity prices, providing a good backdrop for the overall market. We also continued to invest in strengthening our customer relationships & farmer connect and towards building capabilities to drive differentiated and sustainable portfolio leading to higher SG&A in Q3. However, despite higher SG&A expenses, we have delivered a healthy 14% YoY growth in EBITDA.

Having said that, our priority remains on delivering profitable growth. In-line with this strategy, for the first nine months of FY23, we focused on achieving quality growth with better product mix and proactive pricing actions. This has enabled us to improve our margins and deliver robust 24% YoY growth in EBITDA.

Going forward, as we look ahead to the fourth quarter, the demand for agrochemicals continues to be strong, especially in the Americas. While there is some channel de-inventorying taking place, we expect strong volume growth in Q4. Given the positive backdrop, we are confident of ending FY23 on a strong footing and meeting our revenue and EBITDA growth guidance as well as the stated reduction in net debt to US$ 2 Bn by March 2023.″

Regional Performance Update

Other Developments for the Quarter

• Creation of pure play platforms of UPL SAS and Advanta Enterprises and investment by KKR in Advanta Enterprises successfully completed. Investment by ADIA, TPG and Brookfield in UPL SAS to be completed in the current quarter

• ‘UPL’ ranked as the highest performing top-tier global crop protection company for third year in a row by Sustainalytics in its 2022 ESG Risk Rating. UPL’s score in 2022 marked an 8% improvement on last year’s index, highlighting the company’s significant progress on ESG front
  

• UPL won the CII Industrial IP Award 2022 for the fourth consecutive year. The company was awarded ‘Best Patents Portfolio’ and ‘Best Trademarks Portfolio’ in the Life Science and Agriculture in the Large Enterprises category

• Advanta Enterprises and Bunge signed an agreement to acquire a 20% stake each in the Brazilbased SeedCorp. This deal will not only expand UPL’s market access in Brazil but also strengthen the product portfolio as SeedCorp is Brazil’s third largest Soybean Germplasm company