Edible oil major Adani Wilmar on Wednesday logged an 18 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit to Rs 200.89 crore for the December quarter (Q3), mainly because of lower income amid a fall in prices of cooking oils. Its net profit stood at Rs 246.16 crore in the year-ago period. According to PTI, the company's total income fell to Rs 12,887.60 crore in Q3 from Rs 15,515.55 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year, according to a regulatory filing.
Adani Wilmar sells edible oils and many other food products under the Fortune brand. "We continued to witness the growth momentum in packaged staple foods driven by a shift in consumer preferences for hygienic and quality products," Angshu Mallick, managing director and chief executive officer of Adani Wilmar Ltd, said.
The revenues from the branded products in the domestic market, under the Food & FMCG segment, have been growing at over 40 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in the past nine quarters, enabling the company to close FY24 with an estimated Rs 5,000 crore of revenue in the segment. "We are putting our energies into rapidly scaling up our distribution network for general trade to realise the immense opportunity available in the packaged staple foods. At the same time, we are developing our HORECA and export channels which will continue to witness much faster growth in the near future," he said. The company's strong market share in the alternate channels has given an advantage in the fast-growing rate of this channel, he added.
In the edible oil segment, Adani Wilmar said the volume was flat in the third quarter annually and grew by 8 per cent YoY during the first nine months of this fiscal year. "Branded products have been growing at a faster pace. Branded products grew by 3 per cent YoY in Q3 and 15 per cent YoY in 9M FY24," it said.
The edible oil segment logged a revenue of Rs 9,711 crore in Q3. In YoY terms, revenue is lower by 23 per cent YoY in the December quarter, as product pricing has been lower during the year, in line with lower raw material costs. The growth in the edible oils segment continues to be driven by a strong growth in sunflower oil and mustard oil, which have been growing faster than the industry due to strong brand equity.
During the quarter, the segment revenues grew at 25 per cent YoY, with an underlying volume growth of 17 per cent YoY. In the first nine months of this fiscal, the segment delivered a turnover of Rs 3,653 crore, a robust growth of 26 per cent YoY.