Significant inflation impacting Britannia’s profitability, says Nusli Wadia

Nusli Wadia highlighted the initiatives taken by the company towards sustainability, technology advancement initiatives and marketing and innovation.

Britannia Industries, after tiding over a tough year which was marred by supply-chain disruptions, is now struggling with sky-high inflation. Speaking at the 102nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company, Nusli N Wadia, Chairman, Britannia Industries, said that while the company’s revenue grew sequentially in the second quarter of the financial year 2022, its profitability remains impacted due to inflation.

“The company is on course to mitigate the impact through calibrated price increases and cost efficiency measures,” he added.

Britannia had reported a 29 percent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 387 crore for the quarter ended June 30. Its total income during the first quarter stood at Rs 3,464 crore.

Besides Britannia, several other FMCG companies have been grappling with inflation, which has impacted their bottomlines for at least two quarters now. Several companies have hiked the prices of their products to offset the impact.

Wadia also spoke about the various initiatives taken by the company, which helped it tide over a difficult year in the wake of the pandemic.

“Notwithstanding the challenges, we were able to ensure availability of products without compromising the safety of its employees. This was made possible by implementing a robust business continuity process, digital sales initiatives and innovative strategies to ensure uninterrupted supply chain operations. These measures helped the company manage operations efficiently and achieve exceptional results in these very trying times,” he added.

Britannia, he said, recorded 12.6 percent growth in FY21, with consolidated revenue reaching Rs 12,883 crores as compared to Rs 11,444 crore in the previous fiscal. “The profit grew 32.9 percent to Rs 1,864 crore from Rs 1,400 crore in the previous year.”

He also highlighted the initiatives taken by the company towards sustainability, technology advancement initiatives and marketing and innovation during the year.

“We undertook a major digital revamp, and implemented three transformational projects -- S4HANA, online dealer management system and, end-to-end integration of vendor processes,” he added.

The initiatives taken towards sustainability, cost-efficiency, distribution expansion, and investments in its people and technology also augur well for the future of the company, said Wadia.