FMCG firm Marico Ltd on Thursday reported a nearly 10 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 276 crore for the quarter ended December 2019 helped by gross margin expansions.
The company had posted a net profit of Rs 251 crore in the October-December quarter a year ago, Marico said in a BSE filing.
However, net sales dropped by 1.98 per cent to Rs 1,824 crore during the quarter under review compared to Rs 1,861 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.
"Benign input costs in the domestic and Bangladesh businesses led to gross margin expansion of 286 bps on a year- on-year basis. EBITDA margin expanded by 116 bps to 20.4 per cent," said Marico in a post earning statement.
Commenting on the results, Marico MD & CEO Saugata Gupta said, “The Company witnessed a muted quarter in the India business as channel partners grappled with liquidity constraints and consumption trends failed to bring any cheer."
"However, relative offtake growth trends and market share gains in our key portfolios was reassuring. The International business continued to pitch in with a strong performance," he said.
Marico's total expenses were at Rs 1,495 crore as against Rs 1,542 crore, down 3.04 per cent.
During the period, domestic sales were down 4.76 per cent at Rs 1,380 crore as against Rs 1,449 crore for the corresponding period of the last fiscal.
"While overall category growth rates were muted during the quarter, Marico brands' offtake grew ahead of the category, resulting in market shares gains across most segments. The stress in consumption was particularly visible in personal care categories, while foods and allied categories showed resilience," the company said.
Revenue from international business rose 7.76 per cent to Rs 444 crore in the October-December period of FY 2019-20, as against Rs 412 crore a year earlier.
"The International business made another positive stride, delivering 10 per cent constant currency growth, led by strengthening momentum in Bangladesh and healthy growth in exports to diaspora and other markets," it said.
Meanwhile, in a separate filing Marico informed BSE that its board in a meeting held on Thursday has declared an interim dividend of 325 per cent, which is Rs 3.25 per share of Re 1 each.
This is the second Interim Equity Dividend for FY2019-20, it added.
Shares of Marico Ltd on Thursday settled at Rs 338 on BSE, down 1.87 per cent from the previous close.
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