FMCG major Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) on Wednesday reported 38.88 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 199.23 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, on account of healthy volume growth in core categories.
The company had reported a net profit of Rs 143.45 crore in the corresponding period last year, GCPL said in a BSE filing. During the period under review, the company's total income from operations stood at Rs 2,097.66 crore, up 11.07 per cent, against Rs 1,888.51.01 crore last fiscal.
Godrej Group Chairman Adi Godrej said, "We continued to strengthen our leadership position across our core categories. In the first quarter, our India business branded net sales grew by 13 per cent. This was driven by a healthy volume growth of 13 per cent."
"GCPL's international business (in organic constant currency terms) too grew by 13 per cent, despite the macro challenges and slowdown in a few of our larger markets," he added. On the outlook, Godrej said, "We are seeing early signs of consumer demand picking up in India. We remain optimistic that as the economy continues to gain pace, the growth in the FMCG sector this year will be better than last year."
However, he also added that though the macroeconomic environment in some of GCPL's international markets remains challenging, the company is confident of delivering ahead of market, profitable growth in these geographies.
"We will accelerate the pace of new launches and enhance our go to market infrastructure. We will also continue to manage our costs prudently in the near term, while investing for the future. Overall, we will strive to deliver a stronger operating performance in fiscal year 2016," he said.
Meanwhile, in a separate filing GCPL informed that its board in a meeting held on Wednesday approved acquiring the remaining 40 per cent stake in Cosmetica Nacional, a market leading Hair Colorant and Cosmetics company in Chile. It also informed that its board in a meeting held on Wednesday declared an interim dividend of Re 1 per share for FY2015-16.