Leading tea grower firm McLeod Russel today reported 29.15 per cent fall in net profit at Rs 56.98 crore for the December quarter due to rise in expenses.
The company had posted a net profit of Rs 80.43 crore in the year-ago period.
Total income from operations rose to Rs 510.28 crore in the third quarter of the current financial year from Rs 481.08 crore in the year-ago period, the company said in a regulatory filing.
The company's expenses increased to Rs 446.87 crore from Rs 391.18 crore, while its financial cost rose to Rs 28.51 crore from Rs 19.84 crore in the same period last fiscal.
The company is one of the largest tea plantation companies in the world and produces around 100 million kg of tea a year from its estates in Assam and West Bengal and other estates in Vietnam, Uganda and Rwanda.
Shares of the company today closed 0.27 per cent down at Rs 146.05 on the BSE.
