Profit before tax slipped 12% to Rs 13.88 crore as against Rs 15.78 crore posted in the same quarter previous year.

Operating EBITDA declined 8% to Rs 15.78 crore in quarter ended 30 September 2022 from Rs 17.14 crore reported in Q2 FY22. Operating EBTDA margin decreased to 22% in Q2 FY23 as compared with 30% recorded in Q2 FY22.

The company said that operating EBITDA and EBITDA margin declined due to increased market development cost in animal health (driven by market expansion and new launches) and launch of the new Petcare division. EBITDA and margin also decreased due to increase in finance cost due to increase in borrowing and foreign exchange fluctuation costs, it added.

The company's revenue from Poultry Healthcare division was at Rs 35.45 crore (down 14% YoY) while revenue from Animal Healthcare segment stood at Rs 36.55 crore (up 140% YoY) during the quarter.

On consolidated basis, the company's net profit tumbled 40.7% to Rs 6.60 core in Q2 FY23 from Rs 11.13 crore in Q2 FY22. Revenue from operations rose 16.7% to Rs 73.15 crore in Q2 FY23.

Hester is one of the leading poultry and animal healthcare companies in India. It is the second largest poultry vaccine manufacturer in India. It currently has a 75% market share in PPR vaccines for Sheep and Goat, across the world. In addition, the company has a health products portfolio comprising of therapeutics, feed supplements and biosecurity.