Pidilite Industries reports 29% rise in Q3 net profit at Rs 446.43 cr

Pidilite Industries on Thursday reported a 28.99 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 446.43 crore for the third quarter ended December 2020.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 346.11 crore in the same quarter previous fiscal, Pidilite Industries said in a regulatory filing.

Its revenue from operations rose 19.33 per cent to Rs 2,299.02 crore during the quarter under review, as against Rs 1,926.59 crore in the year-ago period.

"Profitability was higher due to the benefits of input costs and lower discretionary spends. However, with significant inflation in input costs, margins will be under pressure in the coming quarters," Pidilite Industries Managing Director Bharat Puri said.

Its revenue from the 'Consumer & Bazaar' segment stood at Rs 1,848.89 crore, while business-to-business registered Rs 475.08 crore.

"The Consumer and Bazaar (C&B) segment registered volume and value growth in excess of twenty per cent during this quarter. Robust growth was registered across all verticals driven by continued demand momentum in rural areas and a strong recovery in urban, including metros. Due to resurgence in industrial activity, healthy volume growth has been registered in the Business to Business (B2B) segment too," the company said.

The overseas subsidiaries have also performed strongly, reporting double-digit constant currency revenue growth as well as robust earnings growth, the company said.

Pidilite Industries total expenses increased 13.63 per cent to Rs 1,719.75 crore, compared to Rs 1,513.47 crore.

Over the outlook, Puri said: "Our focus will be on driving volume growth through investment in our brands, sales and distribution as well as consumer-relevant innovation. Going forward we remain cautiously optimistic on continuing robust demand conditions".

Shares ofPidilite Industries on Thursday settled at Rs 1,716.40 apiece on BSE, up 0.35 per cent from the previous close.