Emami Q1 profit soars nearly two-folds on robust sales

New Delhi, Aug 2 Homegrown FMCG major Emami Ltd on Monday reported a nearly two-fold jump in consolidated profit after tax to Rs 77.79 crore in the first quarter ended on June 30 driven by robust sales amid disruptions due to COVID-19 second wave. The company had posted a consolidated profit after tax of Rs 39.58 crore in the same period of last fiscal, Emami Ltd said in a regulatory filing.

Consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 660.95 crore as against Rs 481.34 crore in the year-ago period, it added. The second wave of COVID-19 pandemic surged across the country from mid-April onwards leading to lockdowns and restrictions in various states, severely affecting both urban and rural regions, the company said.

"While the initial weeks of April witnessed sustained growth momentum, subsequent increase in covid cases led to a challenging phase over the month of May," it said adding personal care products were impacted and demand for health and hygiene products was also muted compared to the first wave phase. Commenting on the performance, Emami Ltd Director Mohan Goenka said, "We are very happy that despite challenges, we could post one of our most profitable quarterly results. Our profitability was not only higher than the base quarter, which was impacted by the nationwide lockdown, but also much superior to the normal first quarter of FY20."

The overall demand since early June has once again been showing improvement with the Covid positivity rates dropping to pre-second wave levels, he added. Emami Ltd Director Harsha V Agarwal said the company would continue to invest and focus on its healthcare portfolio, which has been consistently performing well with a growth of 59 per cent during the quarter.

"We recognise that e-commerce today has become the channel of choice for many which led to us launching our exclusive e-commerce business, Zanducare, that is growing at a rapid pace with more than one crore sessions since its launch last year."