Marico Q2 net up 18% to Rs 218 cr

FMCG firm Marico Thursday posted a 17.95 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 218.26 crore for the second quarter ended September.

The company that makes Parachute oil, had reported a net profit of Rs 185.04 crore in the year-ago period.

Its revenue from operations in the quarter under review stood at Rs 1,836.82 crore, compared with Rs 1,536.29 crore in the same period last year, a statement said.

Advertising and sales promotion spends stood at 9.6 per cent of sales at Rs 175.82 crore, against Rs 158.50 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

The company's FMCG business in the country achieved a turnover of Rs 1,439 crore, a growth of 20 per cent over the same period last year, it said.

"Volume growth during the quarter was 6 per cent, lower than the medium term aspiration, largely due to a significant decline in CSD (canteen store departments) sales. Volume growth ex-CSD was 7 per cent. Value growth for the quarter was driven by price hikes taken in the core portfolios to counter the input cost inflation over the last year," the firm said.

The international business posted a constant currency growth of 11 per cent, led by volume growth of 8 per cent, backed by healthy growth across regions. Vietnam, which was lagging for over a year, bounced back to double-digit growth on a constant currency basis.

"In addition to the healthy topline and bottomline growth, we are enthused by the distinctive new products launched during the quarter," Marico managing director and chief executive officer Saugata Gupta said.

"While we continue our efforts towards broad-basing the growth in the domestic business, the international business is also showing signs of a stable upturn. With the innovation engine revving up, we are committed to stepping up the investments behind building our brands and enhancing capabilities especially in the area of premiumisation and new channels," he said.

Meanwhile, the company's the board of directors Thursday declared an interim dividend of Rs 2 per share on its paid up equity share capital of Rs 129.09 crore.

The company stocks closed 0.17 per cent higher at Rs 320.30 apiece on the BSE, against a marginal 0.03 per cent decline in the benchmark.