The company reported a loss after tax of 135.9 million rupees ($1.64 million) in the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared to a profit after tax of 157.8 million rupees a year ago.

Revenue from operations fell 7.9% to 6.68 billion rupees.

For further results highlights, click

KEY CONTEXT

The world's second-largest sugar producer, India, logged a 7.6% fall in sugar production in the October-December quarter due to poor monsoon rains, with key producing states Maharashtra and Karnataka taking the biggest hits. The two states together account for more than half of the country's total sugar output.

India's monsoon rainfall in 2023 was its lowest since 2018 as the El Nino weather pattern made August the driest in more than a century.

The government extended its restriction on sugar exports beyond October in its efforts to bring down domestic prices.

Peers Dalmia Bharat Sugar and Industries and Dhampur Sugar Mills also reported declines in third-quarter profit.

OCTOBER-DECEMBER STOCK PERFORMANCE

PEER COMPARISON

Valuation (next 12 Estimates (next 12 Analysts' sentiment

months) months)

RIC PE EV/EBIT Price/S Revenue Profit Mean # of Stock to Div

DA ales growth % growth % rating* analysts price yield

target** (%)

E I D-Parry 33.68 36.66 Null 5.15 30.61 Strong 1 0.98 1.24

(India) Ltd Buy

Balrampur 13.84 8.91 3.59 11.79 5.61 Buy 4 0.81 1.07

Chini Mills

Ltd

Dhampur Sugar 8.19 NaN 3.60 Null Null Null 0 0.77 1.92

Mills Ltd

Dalmia Bharat 9.47 5.37 Null 14.43 Null Buy 1 0.84 1.03

Sugar and

Industries Ltd

* Mean of analysts' ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell, and Strong Sell

** Ratio of the stock's last close to analysts' mean price target; a ratio above 1 means the stock is trading above the PT

-- All data from LSEG

($1 = 83.0499 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Ashish Chandra in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)