Britannia’s March quarter net profit rises 55%
Stable ingredient costs and new launches, supported by higher advertising and marketing spends, helped the firm expand margins
Bengaluru: Biscuits and dairy products maker Britannia Industries Ltd on Thursday reported a 54.7% jump in its net profit in the March quarter from the year-ago period, to ₹ 167.36 crore. Stable ingredient costs and new launches, supported by higher advertising and marketing spends, helped the firm expand margins.
Total income from operations in the quarter rose 14.3% from the year-ago period to ₹ 2,031.83 crore. The firm spent more on advertising and promotions during the quarter to support new product launches and to participate in large marketing events such as the ICC Cricket World Cup. Advertising spends surged 38.7% to ₹ 202.8 crore from ₹ 146.19 crore in the March quarter of fiscal 2014.
“We spent heavily during the quarter to build our brands, so it’s been an exciting quarter overall," said managing director Varun Berry.
Steady prices of wheat and sugar helped the firm boost its margins. “On the bottom line, we’ve been helped by commodity prices," said Berry. The quarter marked the completion of his first year at the helm of affairs at Britannia.
Over the past six months, the company has made product innovation and new biscuit launches its top priority. It launched a more expensive version of its Good Day biscuits called Good Day Chunkies, priced at ₹ 50 for six cookies, in November.
Britannia shares fell 2.01% on Thursday on BSE, while the benchmark Sensex fell 0.1%.
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