Godrej Consumer's profit before tax down 48%, volume growth slips 15%

Godrej Consumer (GCPL) on Wednesday reported a 48 per cent drop in profit before tax (PBT) for the quarter ended March 31 to Rs 337.39 crore.This follows an adjustment of one-time expenses to the tune of Rs 73.43 crore in the quarter. Revenue for the period fell nearly 14 per cent to Rs 2,153 crore.

Volume growth in the India business, which contributes 55 per cent to revenue, declined 15 per cent in the period under review. Net profit, too, saw a sharp decline of over 75 per cent to nearly Rs 230 crore in the March quarter, led by tax adjustments in the period.

“The spread of the virus and the eventual lockdown in many geographies of our operations resulted in virtually no sales in the later part of March 2020. This resulted in a weak performance in our India business, although we have continued to gain market shares across categories,” Nisaba Godrej, executive chairperson, GCPL said.