Tata Global Beverages Q4 net up 40% at Rs 71.56 cr

Tata Global Beverages today reported a 39.98 per cent year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 71.56 crore for the March quarter, led by growth in the firm's branded business.

The maker of Tetley and Tata Tea had posted a net profit of Rs 51.12 crore in the same period last year.

"This is driven by good performance, primarily in the branded business. All the brands did well. The India branded business did well and overall we had good cost management," Tata Global Beverages chief financial officer L Krishnakumar told PTI.

The profit for the branded business segment grew by 19 per cent, he said.

Krishnakumar said the company exited the loss making businesses in Russia and China in the financial year, which resulted in higher profitability.

He further said because of the strong performance by the branded business and good management of liquidity, the company was able to negate the performance of its subsidiary Tata Coffee that reported lower profits.

Total income of the company stood at Rs 1,714.12 crore for the fourth quarter, against Rs 1,692.24 crore in the same period last year.

"We have come out of some businesses, so it is not comparable, plus there is an impact of currencies. In underlying terms, the revenue was 4 per cent higher in the quarter," he said.

Advertising expenses during the quarter under review was Rs 135.28 crore, down 18.44 per cent from Rs 165.86 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

"It is partly because we exited Russia and we had some advertisements there which are not being repeated. It is not a pull back of advertisements. We continue to advertise in major markets. It is restructuring in smaller markets," he said.

For the year ended March 31, 2018, the company posted a net profit of Rs 556.50 crore, compared with Rs 454.80 crore in the previous year.

Total income stood at Rs 6,909.50 crore in 2017-18, compared with Rs 6,862.65 crore in 2016-17.

For the year, operating profits from the branded segment was 18 per cent higher, while profits from the non-branded segment were lower than the previous year.

"Performance of the non-branded business was adversely impacted by abnormal and extreme weather conditions, resulting in lower coffee crop harvested. This was further accentuated by lower commodity prices," the company said in a release.

The company's scrip ended 0.63 per cent higher at Rs 287.30 on the BSE, against a 0.82 per cent increase in the benchmark today.