Jyothy Labs Q1 net up 2-fold to Rs 29 cr

Company posted net profit of Rs 14 cr in the April-June quarter of 2012-13 fiscal

Operational efficiency and strong performance in various business verticals helped FMCG firm Jyothy Laboratories post two-fold increase in net profit at Rs 28.70 crore for the first quarter ended June 30.

The company had posted net profit of Rs 14.10 crore in the April-June quarter of 2012-13 fiscal.

"Various steps taken by new management team to improve operational efficiency for all our brands have helped us improve our margins in the present challenging economic environment," Jyothy Laboratories Ltd Chairman and Managing Director M P Ramachandran said in a release today.

Net sales of the company during Q1, 2013-14 rose to Rs 318.18 crore, as against Rs 281.21 crore in the year-ago period, an increase of 13.14%.

"The new brand building exercise was started in the last quarter and we expect this to benefit the company in the quarters to come. We are confident of achieving the targets set by us for the current financial year," Ramachandran said.

The company markets various brands, including Ujala, Maxo, Exo and Henko.

The soaps and Detergent business, which includes brands like Ujala, Henko, Margo, Mr White, stood at Rs 253 crore during the quarter, compared to Rs 217 crore as on June 30, 2012, up by 17%.

Home Care, which includes mosquito coils, aerosol and Exo scrubber, saw revenues for the quarter at Rs 58 crore as against Rs 59 crore during the same period.

Others, which includes brands like Fa and Neem saw revenue growth of 80% at Rs 7.8 crore during Q1, as against Rs 4.3 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

The company scrip closed at Rs 168.20, up 4.34%, on the BSE.