Britannia posts 3% decline in March quarter profit to Rs 364 crore

Britannia Industries on Tuesday reported a drop in net profit after seven quarters, owing to higher input costs and the second wave.
 
Consolidated net profit saw a near-3 per cent year-on-year (YoY) decline to Rs 364.3 crore for the three months ended March 31 (Q4), missing consensus estimates by a wide margin.
 
A poll by Bloomberg analysts had pegged Britannia’s Q4 net profit at Rs 416.9 crore.
 
Besides rising input costs, the company also pointed to a brief shutdown in March to implement key digital projects that impacted its bottom line.
 

Consolidated revenue, which includes net sales plus other operating income, rose 9.2 per cent to Rs 3,130.7 crore for the quarter under review against a year ago, in line with consensus estimates that came in at Rs 3,109.2 crore.
 
The company implemented three digital projects in Q4, including S4 HANA, a new online dealer management system and an integrated vendor management system.
 
“Delivery of these projects necessitated shutdown of operations for a few days in March which impacted primary billing for the quarter,” said Managing Director Varun Berry.
 
Costs of key raw material, including palm oil, packing material, and dairy products witnessed a steep increase, while strategic buying helped manage cost hikes better, said Berry. The sstock ended flat on the BSE at Rs 3,540, even as the Sensex rose 1.15 per cent on Tuesday. The company announced its Q4 numbers after market hours.