Jyothy Labs Q4 net plunges 57% to Rs 12 crore

Moneycontrol Bureau

Consumer goods maker Jyothy Laboratories' fourth quarter standalone net profit plunged 57 percent year-on-year to Rs 12 crore due to rising expenses. Net sales of the maker of Ujala and Henko detergent was up 24 percent to Rs 272 crore in Jan-March. Jyothy's total expenses in the quarter increased 37 percent to Rs 255 crore. Other expenses in particular soared 58 percent to Rs 39 crore. The company's employee costs rose 49 percent to Rs 23 crore and raw material costs were up 11 percent to Rs 89 crore. Its finance costs last quarter also rose to Rs 18 crore from Rs 13 crore. The company also had tax expense of Rs 7 crore in the year ago quarter. The Bombay High Court via its order dated April 12, 2013, approved the merger of Jyothy Consumer Products (formerly Henkel India) with Jyothy Labs, with effect from April 1, 2012. Jyothy Labs said both intangible assets (Rs 303.66 crore) and godwill (Rs 143.39 crore) are amortised over 10 years, resulting in additional charges of Rs 44.71 crore in FY2013. Jyothy Labs shares closed at Rs 174.80 on NSE, up 3.7 percent on NSE. The results were announced after market closed. Also Read: Symphony says no signs of a slowdown in sales in India