Profit before tax (PBT) stood at Rs 86.07 crore in Q4 FY20, down by 38.4% from Rs 139.76 crore in Q4 FY19.

The company's net profit declined 14% to Rs 300.58 crore on 15.5% increase in net sales to Rs 6815.77 crore for the year ended March 2020 (FY20) over the year ended March 2019 (FY19). PBT stood at Rs 348.63 crore in FY20, down by 27% from Rs 477.30 crore in FY19.

Commenting on the performance of the 4QFY20 and FY20, B. S. Yadav, managing director, Godrej Agrovet, said: "Our performance had started showing good recovery in the beginning of the fourth quarter, especially in the businesses which were impacted in the first nine months of the year. This was because output prices were improving and input prices started trending downward.

However, in beginning of February 2020, false rumour of coronavirus infection through poultry and its products significantly impacted volume, prices and thereby the profitability in our two businesses - animal feed and Godrej Tyson.

Further, outbreak of COVID-19 in mid-March 2020 in India affected sales in other segments also. This adversely impacted the performance of the fourth quarter.

However, on the positive side, performance in Astec, oil palm plantation and aqua feed was strong which supported the quarterly performance. For the full year, while animal feed and Astec posted strong growth compared to previous year, food businesses and oil palm plantation were impacted by low output prices and high costs. Performance of the crop protection in the standalone business was also modest during the year."

He further said that GAVL operates in agriculture sector and all of the company' businesses are part of essential commodities. The firm resumed operations in April 2020 after obtaining necessary approvals from local authorities. The factories are currently operational and have deployed health and safety protocols across all locations. The company said it is well-equipped to manage the current situation based on the strong business continuity plan put in place.

The demand for our products remains firm and our teams are relentlessly working towards providing uninterrupted supply of our essential products (feed, agrochemicals, dairy products, and poultry and processed food products) for animal husbandry, crop protection and household consumption," Yadav added.

Godrej Agrovet (GAVL) is an agri- business company. It holds leading market positions in the different businesses in which it operates - animal feed, crop protection, oil palm, dairy and poultry and processed foods.