Shares of Godrej Agrovet fell more than 4% on May 10 after the company reported disappointing March quarter results. The food and agriculture company’s net profit fell by 83.21 per cent to Rs 23.47 crore.

The company’s operating income was almost flat at Rs 2,088.8 crore in the quarter, compared to Rs 2,075.62 crore a year earlier. On the operational side, EBITDA fell 60% to Rs 87 crore.

Regarding segment performance, revenue growth in Animal Feed, Dairy & Poultry & Processed Foods was offset by Crop Protection and Palm Oil declines.

The company said consolidated profitability was adversely affected, primarily due to lower operating margins in the crop protection business.

“High levels of channel inventories, unfavourable weather conditions and price adjustments have severely impacted the profitability of crop protection businesses, mainly Astec Lifesciences,” said B. S. Yadav, Managing Director, Godrej Agrovet.

Government price controls and commodity price volatility with limited pass-through impacted margins in the feed business. Yadav added that milk procurement costs for Creamline Dairy continued to rise but could not be fully passed on.

The stock was quoted at Rs 417.70 on the NSE at 9:35 am, down 4.7% from its previous close. The trading volume is 3.5 times the 20-day average trading volume. The stock has fallen more than 17% over the past year.