Shares in Makhteshim Agan Group leaped 5% after the maker of generic herbicides canned plans for a $150m cash call, returned to the black and signalled an end to the slump in the glyphosate market.

MA Group, the world's biggest maker of white label weedkillers, reported revenues of $723.1m for the January-to-March quarter, $800,000 higher the same period before, driven by higher sales in Australia and Thailand and expansion into India.

The result was also helped by a "stabilisation" in the prices of "most of" its products after a slide last year – particularly in the glyphosate market – caused by a supply glut which also dented profits at rivals from Australia's Nufarm to US-based Monsanto.

"The demand fundamentals of our products remain solid," Avraham Bigger, the MA Group chairman, said.

Back to the black 

With raw material costs lower, the revenue increase translated into a 7.1% rise to $232.9m in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation.

While after-tax profits slipped by 9.4% year on year to $70.9m, thanks to the impact on financing costs of a recalculated staff benefit packages, the figure was far ahead of the $48m that analysts had expected.

The group reported losses for the two previous quarters. 

"Based on the positive results, the company has decided not to proceed with a previously announced rights issue," MA Group said.

Foreign expansion 

The company added tat it was pressing ahead with expansion plans aimed at "increasing the depth and breadth of our global operating infrastructure".

Erez Vigodman, MA Group's newly-installed chief executive, said: "We will be working to accelerate our penetration into new target markets."

Besides India, MA has been expanding in central and eastern Europe, growth which helped overall European sales rise by 1.3% to $372.5m in the quarter despite a long winter delaying the region's spring sowing season.

MA shares closed up 5.4% at 16.70 shekels.

Citigroup analyst Andrew Benson said: "It would seem to us that MA has been notably aggressive in its marketing efforts to secure improved volumes.

"This has been partly at the expense of price but it does appear to have caught the majors napping."