GNFC shares plunge 7% post Q1 earnings; down 27% from 52-week high

Shares of Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals (GNFC) fell 7 per cent in Thursday’s trade after the fertilizer manufacturer posted a 29.66 per cent year-on-year (YoY) fall in consolidated net profit at Rs 83 crore for the June quarter compared with Rs 118 crore in the year-ago period.

The GNFC stock fell 7 per cent to hit a low of Rs 506.70 on BSE over its previous day’s closing of Rs 545.10 per share. At 10:05 am, the scrip was trading 6.32 per cent lower at Rs 510.65. At this level, the stock is down nearly 27 per cent from its 52-week high of Rs 707.50. 

The shares of GNFC have been a performer, rising over 10 per cent in the last three months. Among technical indicators, the scrip is trading lower than its 5-day, 10-, 50-, 100-, 150-day and 200-day simple moving averages (SMAs).

For the June quarter, GNFC reported a 20.8 per cent decline in revenue from the operations at Rs 1,601 crore against Rs 2,021 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Commenting on the earnings, Dr T Natarajan, Managing Director, said, “In view of the annual turnaround at Bharuch complex during April 25 and its consequential impact on revenue and profits, the financials of Q1 FY25-26 are not comparable.”

Natarajan also highlighted the annual turnaround impacts financials in terms of: (a) lower volume, (b) unproductive costs, and (c) higher fixed cost mainly repairs & maintenance. “The change in other comprehensive income is attributable to improvement in the fair market value of both quoted and unquoted investments,” Natarajan said.

Meanwhile, the company, established in 1976 is a joint sector enterprise of Government of Gujarat and Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals (GSFC). The company operates primarily in the Industrial Chemicals and Fertilizers segments, with a limited presence in IT services. It is engaged in the manufacturing and sale of key fertilizers such as urea and nitrophosphate, in addition to neem de-oiled cake.