Britannia Industries Q4 Results: Profit Rises But Higher Commodity Costs Hit Margin

Britannia Industries Ltd.'s fourth-quarter profit rose, meeting estimates, even as higher costs of commodities and packaging materials hurt margin.

Net profit of the maker of Good Day and Tiger biscuits rose 4% year-on-year to Rs 379.87 crore in the quarter ended March, according to an exchange filing. That compares with the Rs 378.76-crore consensus estimate of analysts tracked by Bloomberg.

Britannia Industries Q4 FY22 Highlights (YoY)

• Revenue rose 13% to Rs 3,550.45 crore, against the projected Rs 3,457.8 crore.

• Operating profit jumped 9% to Rs 549.68 crore, compared with the forecast of Rs 526.51 crore.

• Operating margin contracted to 15.5% from 16.1%. Analysts had pegged the metric at 15.2%.

• Cost of materials consumed rose 21.2% to Rs 1,858.67 crore.

• The board of directors recommended a dividend of Rs 56.5 apiece.

Volume growth stood at 4% against 8% a year ago.

“The economy was impacted by global geopolitical factors, which caused a further surge in inflation this quarter,” said Managing Director Varun Berry. “We continued to take price increases judiciously and remained aggressive on cost front. We shall further take calibrated price increases and drive cost leadership to manage profitability.”

The biscuit maker has hiked prices by 10% in the quarter under review.

The company also said growth in organised trade channels remained “robust”, wherein revenue from e-commerce “doubled” over a year earlier. The company said it has launched products such as Good Day Harmony, Jeera Marie and Nutrichoice Seeds & Herbs, and new variants in croissant and wafers to strengthen its adjacent categories.

Britannia, according to Berry, continued to accelerate its rural journey with focus on enhancing reach. “[This is] evident in the consistent market share gains over the years.” The company expects its new dairy greenfield factory to be up and running in the next few months. “We are also in the process of setting up three greenfield units in Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Bihar.”

In comparison, among the fast-moving consumer goods makers that have reported March-quarter results so far, Hindustan Unilever Ltd., the country's largest, posted flat volume growth. Its net profit and revenue, however, rose.

Nestle India Ltd. saw a drop in net profit as sustained inflation pressures offset benefits from price hikes.

Marico Ltd., in its quarterly update, said it expects “marginal growth” in bottom line as consumption trends remain subdued, while Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. expects operating profit to fall year-on-year due to input inflation and volume growth to remain “flat”.

Shares of Britannia closed 0.57% down before the results were announced.