Adani Wilmar's overall oil sales volume drop in Q4 on weaker demand

BENGALURU (Reuters) -Adani Wilmar Ltd said on Thursday that its overall oil sales volume was dragged down in the fourth quarter by lower demand from the bakery and frying industry.

The company said that the overall sales value in the quarter ended March 31 declined in high-single digit, pulled down by edible oil, which registered a degrowth in mid-teens.

While branded sales volume of edible oil grew by 4% due to softened prices, overall oil sales volume was dragged down due to lower demand from bakery and frying industry, the company said in an exchange filing.

The company saw smoother supplies of imported edible oils during the quarter with prices cooling off, resulting in higher consumer demand, especially among the rural population.

Inflation-hit consumers in rural India who had earlier switched to unbranded cheaper options during the pandemic, are looking at spending more with the ease in pace of price hikes.

The food business' volume jumped more than 40% in the reported quarter with strong growth in key categories of wheat and rice, said the company known for its Fortune brand.

For the wheat business, Adani Wilmar saw lower competitive intensity in the quarter due to high prices of wheat that led local players to reduce operations in limiting their risk of stocking high-cost inventory.

In the December quarter, the company clocked a 16% rise in quarterly profit helped by higher demand for its cooking oil and packaged foods.

(Reporting by Dimpal Gulwani in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Rashmi Aich)