New Delhi, May 8 (PTI): Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) today reported a 59.26 per cent jump in consolidated profit after tax at Rs 617.19 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2018. The company had posted a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 387.58 crore in the year-ago quarter, GCPL said in a BSE filing. Sales during the quarter under review were at Rs 2,494.41 crore. In the year-ago period, it stood at Rs 2,480.17 crore. GCPL said sales for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 is net of Goods and Service Tax (GST) which was implemented in July last year and hence not comparable with the year-ago period.
The company further said it had exceptional items that included Rs 194.99 crore on account of change in earnout liability of a subsidiary for the quarter and year ended March 31, 2018; besides restructuring costs incurred by certain subsidiaries of the company amounting to Rs 1.18 crore for the quarter and Rs 15.43 crore for the year ended March 31, 2018. Consolidated PAT for the year ended March 31, 2018 was at Rs 1,634.18 crore as against Rs 1,307.97 crore in the previous fiscal, a growth of 24.94 per cent.
For the year, consolidated sales were at Rs 9,936.99 crore. In the previous fiscal, it was at Rs 9,608.8 crore, GCPL said.
GCPL Executive Chairperson Nisaba Godrej said in the fourth quarter the company had a mixed performance with relatively softer sales growth. “Our India business delivered a competitive 7 per cent comparable growth, driven by a volume growth of 6 per cent…The performance in our international portfolio was relatively muted due to the weakness in Indonesia and Africa. However, we expect to see a strong turnaround in growth rates in fiscal year 2019,” she added. For the full year 2017-18, Godrej said, “Our focused strategy and balanced portfolio enabled us to deliver competitive, profitable growth, despite tough operating conditions in a few of our categories and geographies.” She said the company continued to make “healthy investments in strengthening our brands and enhancing our capabilities for sustainable future growth”.
“We are planning for significant new launches and go-to-market initiatives across clusters. Overall, we are confident of delivering a stronger performance in fiscal year 2019,” she said. Shares of GCPL were trading at Rs 1123.70 apiece in afternoon trade, up 2.14 per cent from the previous close on BSE.