Clariant Chemicals India, a specialty chemical company, has recently announced its first-quarter financial results for the quarter ended 30 June 2020. The company reported profit before tax of Rs 4.1 crore (approximately US $ 0.55 million) for the quarter ended June 2020, as compared to profit before tax of Rs 10.5 (US $ 1.40 million) for the quarter ended June 2019 – witnessing a drop of 61% caused by the impact of Covid-19 outbreak and subsequent continued nationwide lockdown.
The company reported a decline in sales of 39%, at Rs 128.9 crore (approximately US $ 17.23 million), for the quarter ended June 2020 as against Rs 209.8 crore (approximately US $ 28 million) for the corresponding quarter in the previous year.
“We closed our offices and laboratories across the country on 16 March, well before the national lockdown, as we wanted to be abundantly cautious with managing the Covid-19 risk at the workplace. Subsequently, we closed our plants as well. However, we started manufacturing gradually to bolster the essential services sectors to support the country to cope with the pandemic. The financial performance of the company was impacted in the first quarter (April to June) 2020-21 by this disruption caused by Covid-19, although there were definite signs of recovery towards the end of the Q1FY20-21. Our continued strong focus on excellence in execution has given us the resilience to stay profitable, reduce costs and manage cash to prepare us to weather this storm,” said Adnan Ahmad, vice chairman and managing director of Clariant Chemicals India.
The sales relating to continuing and discontinued operations is as below (in crore):
| Particulars | 3 months ended 30 June 2020 | 3 months ended 30 June 2019 |
| Sales from continuing operations | 128.9 | 209.8 |
| Sales from discontinued operations | 42.4 | 86.0 |
| Total | 171.3 | 295.8 |
Headquartered in Thane, Clariant Chemicals India is a Switzerland-based specialty chemicals manufacturing company. The main business activity of Clariant Chemicals India involves manufacturing specialty chemicals for domestic and industrial use. It manufactures and markets textiles, leather, paints, plastic, printing inks, and agrochemicals products in India.
