Godrej Q4 PAT up 59% to Rs 6 bn; consolidated sales rise to Rs 99 bn

Sales during the quarter under review were at Rs 24.94bn. In the year-ago period, it stood at Rs 24.80 bn

Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) on Tuesday reported a 59.26 per cent jump in consolidated profit after tax at Rs 6.17 billion for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2018.

The company had posted a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 3.87 billion in the year-ago quarter, GCPL said in a BSE filing.

Sales during the quarter under review were at Rs 24.94 billion. In the year-ago period, it stood at Rs 24.80 billion.

GCPL said sales for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 is net of Goods and Service Tax (GST) which was implemented in July last year and hence not comparable with the year-ago period.

The company further said it had exceptional items that included Rs 1.94 billion on account of change in earnout liability of a subsidiary for the quarter and year ended March 31, 2018; besides restructuring costs incurred by certain subsidiaries of the company amounting to Rs 11.8 million for the quarter and Rs 154.3 million for the year ended March 31, 2018.

Consolidated PAT for the year ended March 31, 2018 was at Rs 16.34 billion as against Rs 13.07 billion in the previous fiscal, a growth of 24.94 per cent.

For the year, consolidated sales were at Rs 99.36 billion. In the previous fiscal, it was at Rs 96.08 billion, GCPL said.

GCPL Executive Chairperson Nisaba Godrej said in the fourth quarter the company had a mixed performance with relatively softer sales growth.

"Our India business delivered a competitive 7 per cent comparable growth, driven by a volume growth of 6 per cent...The performance in our international portfolio was relatively muted due to the weakness in Indonesia and Africa. However, we expect to see a strong turnaround in growth rates in fiscal year 2019," she added.

For the full year 2017-18, Godrej said, "Our focused strategy and balanced portfolio enabled us to deliver competitive, profitable growth, despite tough operating conditions in a few of our categories and geographies."

She said the company continued to make "healthy investments in strengthening our brands and enhancing our capabilities for sustainable future growth".

"We are planning for significant new launches and go-to-market initiatives across clusters. Overall, we are confident of delivering a stronger performance in fiscal year 2019," she said.

Shares of GCPL were trading at Rs 1123.70 apiece in afternoon trade, up 2.14 per cent from the previous close on BSE.