Marico Q2 net profit up 17.1% at Rs 253 crore

FMCG firm Marico Ltd on Friday reported a 17.12 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit at Rs 253 crore for the quarter ended September 2019.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 216 crore in the July-September quarter a year ago, Marico said in a BSE filing.

Net sales during the quarter under review were down marginally to Rs 1,829 crore as against Rs 1,837 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

"EBITDA margin expanded by 270 bps, as the company actively invested behind capability and brand building during the quarter. As a result, EBITDA grew 16 per cent and PAT grew 17 per cent," the company said in a post earning statement.

Marico's total expenses stood at Rs 1,524 crore during the said period as against Rs 1,573 crore, down 3.11 per cent.

"In Q2FY20, revenue from operations was nearly flat at Rs 1,829 crore, with an underlying domestic volume growth of 1 per cent and constant currency growth of 9 per cent in the international business," the company said.

During the period, domestic sales were down 2.84 per cent at Rs 1,398 crore as against Rs 1,439 crore for the corresponding period of the last fiscal.

Revenue from international business rose 8.29 per cent to Rs 431 crore in the July-September period of FY 2019-20, as against Rs 398 crore a year earlier.

Meanwhile, Marico in a separate filing informed that its board in a meeting held on Friday declared an interim dividend of 275 per cent, which is Rs 2.75 per share of Re 1 each.

Shares of Marico Ltd on Friday settled at Rs 393.40 apiece on the BSE, down 0.32 per cent from their previous close.