Britannia shares zoom 4% as profit grows 19% in Q2

Shares of Britannia Industries surged as much as 3.68% to hit an intraday high of ₹4,569.05 apiece on the BSE after the company reported a 19.5% increase in consolidated net profit to ₹586.50 crore in the July to September quarter of FY24. The FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) major had reported a net profit of ₹490.58 crore in the September quarter last year.

The scrip opened higher at ₹4,521.35 on Thursday, up 2.68% as against the previous closing price of ₹4,521.35 crore. At 12:20 pm, the share price of the FMCG company was trading 2.13% higher at ₹4,494.65 in line with the broader BSE Sensex, which was trading 301.64 points or 0.47% higher at 63,892.97.

At present, the share price of the company is trading 14.6% lower than the 52-week high of ₹5,268.55, which the company touched on July 6 this year. The share price of the company is trading 21.17% higher than the 52-week low of ₹3,710.35, which the company touched on November 3 last year. In the year-to-date period, shares of Britannia Industries have given 4.82% in returns.

During the session in early trade on Thursday, the market capitalisation of the FMCG company stood at more than ₹1.08 lakh crore with 20,213 shares exchanging hands on the BSE, as against the two-week average of 0.15 lakh shares.

In the September quarter, the company's net revenue from operations stood at ₹4,432.88 crore, up 1.2% as against ₹4,379.61 crore in the Q2 of FY23. The company’s sales during the quarter under review, surged marginally by 0.75% to ₹4,370.47 crore as against ₹4,337.59 crore in the same period last year. According to the company, the 24-month sales growth stood at 23%.

"We delivered a good performance in a challenging environment on the back of 2 years of high inflation. Our innovation this quarter was led by Jim Jam Pops and 50-50 Golmaal, delivering a robust performance. We also launched differentiated cheese formats this quarter making focused inroads to retail shelves. Our potential in rural continues to remain high and hence, expansion in rural distribution continued despite a reported rural slowdown," says Varun Berry, vice chairman and MD, Britannia Industries.

According to Berry, the company’s recovered its market share in the September quarter owing to strategic pricing corrections in some of the key brands. "With the ongoing strife in the Middle East & Russia, the global commodity prices remain volatile. We are being watchful of the situation and its impact on our business. Our strategy will remain focused on driving market share while sustaining profitability," says Berry.