India's Venky's posts Q3 loss on subdued oilseed business

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Venky's (India) reported a third-quarter loss on Thursday, hurt by the subdued performance of its key oilseed business, sending its shares down by 6%.

The company reported a net loss of 79.4 million rupees (nearly $957,000) in the three months to Dec. 31, compared to a profit of 165.3 million rupees a year earlier.

Pune city-based Venky's sells edible oil obtained from processing oilseed such as soya, while the by-product de-oiled cake is sold or used as poultry feed. It also sells poultry and animal health products.

The oilseed business, which accounts for about 48% of the total revenue, was impacted due to weak demand and lower realisations.

Realisations were affected by lower edible oil prices, which also led to a decline in profit for oil maker Adani Wilmar.

The oilseed segment's revenue fell more than 16%, while revenue from poultry and poultry products - which accounted for 46% of the total - was flat.

As a result, total revenue fell 8% to 9.53 billion rupees.

Realisations in the poultry segment were lower from sales of day-old chicks and adult broiler birds, which are reared for consumption.

Shares of Venky's are on track for their worst day since early August 2023.

Rival Godrej Agrovet, a farm feed producer, reported a decline in third-quarter profit.

($1 = 82.9725 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Varun Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)