Marico's net profit rises 1.63 pc to Rs 317 cr in Dec quarter; revenue jumps 13.4 pc to Rs 2,407 cr

FMCG firm Marico Ltd on Friday reported a marginal increase of 1.6 per cent in its consolidated net profit to Rs 317 crore for the third quarter ended December 2021.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 312 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago, Marico said in a BSE filing.

Its revenue from operations during October-December 2021 jumped 13.43 per cent to Rs 2,407 crore, compared with Rs 2,122 crore in the year-ago period.

Marico's total expenses in the December 2021 quarter stood at Rs 2,022 crore, up 15.4 per cent as against Rs 1,752 crore a year ago.

Revenue from the domestic market jumped 11.68 per cent to Rs 1,817 crore as against Rs 1,627 crore a year ago.

However, during the quarter, Marco's volume growth in the Indian market remained flat and the rural market was lagging behind urban.

In India, unabated inflation across the consumer basket led to the moderation in consumption patterns and the share of wallet of staples, while discretionary and out-of-home categories fared better, owing to some degree of pent-up demand, said Marico in a post-earnings statement.

''As a result, overall FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) market volumes witnessed a drop in the third quarter, with rural visibly lagging urban,'' it said.

Marico's revenue from international sales rose 19.19 per cent to Rs 590 crore, compared with Rs 495 a year.

''The International business posted another stellar quarter with sustained profitable growth. The business delivered 18 per cent constant currency growth with each of the Bangladesh, Southeast Asia and MENA businesses (Middle East and North Africa) clocking high double-digit growth,'' it said.

Marico MD and CEO Saugata Gupta said, ''Despite ongoing input cost pressures, we consciously stepped up investments to protect the long-term health of our brands, thereby leading to robust market share and penetration gains across our portfolio.'' The international business had another stellar quarter with all markets playing their part.

''With commodity prices cooling off, we expect profitability to pick up in the forthcoming quarters.

''We will continue to drive consistent and profitable growth over the medium term through premiumisation in core categories, scaling up of new growth engines, sharper go-to-market, aggressive cost management and optimal brand-building investments,'' the company said.

Meanwhile, in a separate filing, Marico said its board in a meeting on Friday declared a second interim equity dividend of Rs 6.25 per equity share of Re 1 each for the financial year 2021-22.

On the outlook, Marico said it holds its ''medium-term aspiration of delivering 13-15 per cent revenue growth on the back of 8-10 per cent domestic volume growth'' and double-digit constant currency growth in the international business.

''The company will aim to maintain operating margin above the threshold of 19 per cent over the medium term,'' said Marico.

Shares of Marico Ltd on Monday settled at Rs 471, up 1.75 per cent from the previous close.