Aditya Birla Nuvo, part of the Aditya Birla Group, has posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 8.2 crore for the quarter ended December, compared with the net consolidated loss of Rs 156.4 crore in the previous corresponding quarter.
Its consolidated net sales during the period grew to Rs 4,053.2 crore from Rs 3,429 crore last year, up 18.3 per cent.
The growth was largely driven by improved profitability in the manufacturing businesses, coupled with reduced losses in the life insurance, business process outsourcing (BPO) and garments divisions.
On a standalone basis, Nuvo registered a 20-fold increase in its net profit at Rs 80.65 crore against Rs 4.1 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
During the quarter, Birla Sun Life Insurance posted a growth of 51 per cent in the total premium income, at Rs 1,466.1 crore. The renewal premium rose by 43 per cent, whereas AUM almost doubled to Rs 14,734.7 crore. Net loss in the insurance business came down to Rs 142.8 crore from Rs 165.8 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
Meanwhile, Aditya Birla Nuvo plans to infuse Rs 800 crore in the life insurance arm over the next 15 months.
The net profit of the telecom division, Idea Cellular, dipped to Rs 170.1 crore against Rs 219.5 crore last year, on account of higher depreciation on expansion. On the other hand, Aditya Birla Minacs, Nuvo's BPO arm, turned positive, with a net profit of Rs 1 crore against a loss of Rs 37.8 crore last year.
Higher sales in the garment segment, which grew 20 per cent, helped it post an operating profit of Rs 10.1 crore against an earlier loss of Rs 39.5 crore.
