Emami's Q1 pre-tax profit drops 13.64% to Rs 49 cr due to lockdown curbs

Revenues from operations down 25.79 per cent to Rs 481.34 crore as offtakes of summer portfolio were impacted

Emami Ltd reported a 13.64 per cent drop in profit before tax to Rs 49.06 crore in the June quarter as business was impacted by lockdown to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.

Revenues from operations were down by 25.79 per cent to Rs 481.34 crore as offtakes of summer portfolio were impacted due to the lockdown and weak environment for discretionary products. The health and hygiene portfolio range, however, grew 29 per cent.

Gross margins during the quarter increased by 230 basis points at 66.5 percent and EBIDTA margins by 490 basis points at 25.5 per cent. Profit after tax, was up 1.1 per cent to Rs 39.58 crore and margins increased by 220 basis points.

Emami said, this was possible due to stringent cost control measures and benign raw material prices, which helped improve the margins, despite a decline in the revenues.

During the quarter the company made 12 new launches which contributed five per cent of domestic sales. While traditional channels were impacted due to lockdown and social distancing norms, the e-commerce channel doubled its revenues during the quarter in the domestic business, Emami said. International business was subdued due to the pandemic-led challenges in key geographies which declined by 19 per cent during the quarter.

Commenting, Mohan Goenka, director, Emami said, “We are happy that despite the unprecedented non-conducive business environment due to COVID-19 lockdown which severely impacted our sales in April during the first quarter, we have successfully overcome the challenges to post a high single digit growth in the month of June and double digit growth in July."

The Emami stock closed at Rs 257.65 on Bombay Stock Exchange, up 8.14 per cent.