Tata Consumer Products reports 81.8% rise in Q1 net profit at Rs 346 cr

Tata Consumer Products Ltd (TCPL) on Tuesday reported 81.78 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 345.55 crore for June quarter helped by increase in demand in some categories.

The company posted a net profit of Rs 190.09 crore in April-June a year ago, said TCPL, earlier known as Tata Global Beverages Ltd, in a BSE filing.

Revenue from operations was up 13.44 per cent to Rs 2,713.91 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 2,392.36 crore in the corresponding period of the last fiscal.

For the quarter, revenue from operations is higher by 13 per cent as compared to corresponding quarter of the previous year led by volume and value growth in branded businesses both in India and International, TCPL said in an earning statement.

The company has acquired 50 per cent stake of PepsiCo India in NourishCo Beverages Ltd, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary with effect from May 18, 2020 and hence TCPL has shown a gain of Rs 84 crore.

Exceptional item for the current quarter represents gain of Rs 84 crore on conversion of a Joint Venture into a Subsidiary and costs relating to the business integration of foods business Rs 21 crore, it said.

Its total expenses were at Rs 2,310.44 crore as against Rs 2,117.69 crore, up 9.10 per cent.

We have recorded good revenue and profit growth in Q1 due to increased demand in some categories, strong marketing campaigns and adopting new routes to reach the end consumer effectively, TCPL Managing Director & CEO Sunil D'Souza said.

The integration of our foods and beverages businesses in India is progressing well and will unlock significant synergy benefits, he said.

TCPL, which along with its subsidiaries continued to manufacture and supply essential food and beverage items in domestic and international markets in the Covid-19 times, said demand for products for in-home consumption was buoyant, whereas business segments in out-of-home consumption were adversely impacted.

Its profit was also impacted due to the impact of Covid-19 on operations of Tata Starbucks.

Tata Starbucks' operations for Q1 were adversely impacted due to Covid-19. As of June 30th 2020, close to 60 per cent of the total 186 stores have reopened, it said.

After merging the consumer products business of Tata Chemicals with Tata Global Beverages, the company was renamed TCPL and now owns brands like TATA Salt, TATA Tea, Tetley, Eight O' clock and Himalayan Water.

TCPL's revenue from its India - Beverages' segment was up 10.99 per cent to Rs 1,000.46 crore as against Rs 901.37 crore.

Its India - Foods business in first quarter of 2020-21 was up 18.94 per cent to Rs 589.06 crore as against Rs 495.22 crore in the year-ago period.

Revenue from International - Beverages' was up 14.99 per cent to Rs 867.38 crore as against Rs 754.28 crore.

In our international markets, we are investing behind our core brands and driving innovations in the tea and coffee segment. We are also strengthening key processes across the organization to scale up capability and build a future ready organization, D'Souza said.

On the outlook, the company said the lockdown conditions will have an adverse impact on out-of-home segments, and may cause supply constraints and result in commodity cost volatility.

Based on the trends observed, there is some tapering off of demand across geographies and significant hardening of commodity costs in India. Impact on future operations would to a large extent depend on how the pandemic develops, it said.

Shares of Tata Consumer Products Ltd on Tuesday settled at Rs449.75apiece on BSE, up 3.63 per cent from the previous close.