Britannia profits up 13.8%

Britannia Industries Ltd has reported 13.75 per cent rise in profit at Rs 190.2 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2016.  The biscuits and food major had had posted a profit of Rs 167.2 crore in the corresponding quarter in FY15. It also posted 6.9 per cent growth in revenue from Rs 2,092 crore in the reporting quarter in FY15, as it increased product distribution across rural India.

“Our focus on supply chain efficiencies, wastage reduction, accelerated cost-efficiency programme and soft commodity prices helped us expand our operating margin by 360 basis points during the year. We strengthened our back-end with successful commissioning of two new factories in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and reinforced our innovation capability with a state-of-the-art R&D centre in Bengaluru. While the category growths are expected to remain subdued, we are confident of keeping our momentum going,” Britannia Managing Director Varun Berry said in a statement.

The stock closed at Rs 61.15 apiece or 2.04 per cent lower on the BSE on Friday.

For the full financial year (FY16), the company's net profit stood at Rs 806.11 crore against Rs 688.64 crore in the year-ago period. Net sales during FY16 grew to Rs 8,607.06 crore, against Rs 7,775.09 crore a year ago.

In a separate filing, Britannia said its board had recommended dividend of Rs 20 per equity share for the FY16. “In an environment where FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) growth was slow, our double-digit volume and value growth is a vindication of our strategy to offer the best products under our world-class brands...,” Berry added.