 "Tobacco, Cigarette, chai")
Tobacco maker Godfrey Phillips India reported higher third-quarter profit on Monday, driven by growth in its core market and easing expenses.
The company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 212 crore (~$26 mln) for the quarter ended Dec. 31, up 6.6% from last year.
Total revenue from operations rose 34% to Rs 1,488 crore, with the company's core cigarettes segment registering a growth of 37%.
During the two quarters in FY24, Godfrey saw its cigarette segment's revenue grow 17% and 29% each, while larger rival ITC posted a growth of 9% and 12%.
Godfrey Phillips manufactures and distributes Marlboro-branded cigarettes under a licence agreement with US-based Philip Morris International. The company did not specify how much it impacts Godfrey's revenue.
The growth in the cigarette segment was led by the Marlboro Compact, which is priced at 10 rupees apiece, said analysts at Centrum Institutional Research.
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It competes with India Kings and Mini Gold, the cheaper options produced by ITC in a similar price range.
Analysts also said the company's core markets - Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan - have seen growth in demand.
The cost of materials consumed rose 18%, tugging the total expenses up more than 37%.
However, its smaller retail segment, which operates round-the-clock convenience store 24Seven and contributes 7.5% to the revenue, accrued a loss of Rs 15.86 crore compared with a loss of Rs 20.82 crore a year earlier.
Larger rival ITC beat profit estimates, helped by price hikes, with revenue from its cigarettes business rising around 4%.
Godfrey shares closed 1.7% higher ahead of the results.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
