Biscuits major Britannia is aiming for higher profitability during the current fiscal as the market remains robust and cost pressures are likely to ease.
"We intend to improve the net operating income, or margin, by another 2-4% during the current fiscal," Britannia Director (Health & Wellness) Anuradha Narasimhan told PTI.
In 2010-11, the company's gross and net margins stood at around 21% and 4.3%, respectively, she said.
She attributed the positive outlook to the easing price war in the industry, lower inflationary pressure, healthy demand, focus on value-added and niche products and better cost control.
The niche category includes health and wellness products. The adult health food segment is pegged at Rs 6,000 crore, including healthy cooking oil.
The company said the baked and non-fried snack market, in which Britannia launched two products under the Nutrichoice brand, is worth about Rs 450 crore at present, but is expected to grow sharply in the next two-three years to Rs 1,000-1,500 crore.
Furthermore, Britannia is ready with more breakfast products for expanding its national footprint.
"We have test-marketed oatmeal in Mumbai and recently in Tamil Nadu. We are also test-marketing Poha Upma in these two markets. In the next three months, we expect to take these products to other parts of the country, possibly in phases," Narasimhan said.
The Rs 200 crore oats category has witnessed annual growth of around 25-30%.
In the first nine months of this fiscal, Britannia hiked product prices by 6% to accommodate cost pressures, she said.
However, she does not foresee any sharp hike in the next quarter as food inflation is declining.
Britannia's consolidated sales grew by 22% to Rs 4,605.16 crore in 2010-11 and its net profit was Rs 134.20 crore.
