Britannia swats demonetisation woes; net profit up 5% in October-December

Highlights:

1. The company's consolidated net profit for the October to December quarter of FY17 jumped by 4.6% to Rs 220.49 crore as against Rs 210.81 crore in the October to December quarter of FY16

2. Its total income from operations during the period under review rose by 6.11% to Rs 2,355.27 crore as compared to Rs 2,219.59 crore in the year-ago period 

3. The company's total expenses during the quarter increased by 7.04% to Rs 2,072.99 crore as against Rs 1,936.57 crore in the year-ago period

Britannia Industries reported a nearly 5% increase in the consolidated net profit for the third quarter (Q3) of fiscal year 2016-17 (FY17) ended on December 31 last year.

"The food products maker's consolidated net profit for the October to December quarter of FY17 jumped by 4.6% to Rs 220.49 crore as against Rs 210.81 crore in the October to December quarter of FY16," cited Britannia Industries in a filing to the BSE on Monday.

The company's total income from operations during the period under review rose by 6.11% to Rs 2,355.27 crore as compared to Rs 2,219.59 crore in the corresponding period of previous fiscal.

Its total expenses during the quarter increased by 7.04% to Rs 2,072.99 crore as against Rs 1,936.57 crore in the year-ago period, it said.

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"This quarter has been really tough considering the way things panned out on the economic front. The positive market growth momentum witnessed in the second quarter(Q2) aided by good monsoon and flow through of 7th Pay Commission benefits was impacted with implementation of demonetisation in November 2016. The impact in terms of liquidity crunch was felt by our consumers and channel partners, thereby  impacting our revenues with sales dropping in November 2016 sequentially over October 2016 by more than 10%,"  Britannia Industries managing director Varun Berry, said in a press release. 

"We took requisite measures to tide over the situation by providing credit to select business partners and improving our sales efficiency. Lower dependency on wholesale channel and our continued focus on enhancing direct reach also helped us during this time. With these steps and increase in availability of cash in the economy, our revenues in December 2016 improved on sequential basis but is still lower than what we would have expected it to be," Berry further added.

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On Monday, the stock of Britannia Industries closed up 1.15% or Rs 37.25 at Rs 3,273.00 on the BSE. 

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