India's Bikaji Foods posts Q3 profit rise on strong demand for packaged sweets, snacks

Bikaji Foods International

02/02/2024 10:43

BENGALURU, Feb 2 (Reuters) - India's Bikaji Foods International
 BIKA.NS  reported a 14.4% rise in third-quarter profit on Friday, driven by
strong demand for its packaged sweets and snacks.
    Consolidated net profit stood at 466.2 million rupees ($5.6 million) for the
three months ended Dec. 31, compared with 407.4 million rupees a year earlier.
    Increased purchases of snacks and sweets during the festive season, which
typically spans from October to November, helped bolster the company's bottom
line.
    The ethnic snacks segment, which offers crispy, deep-fried snacks and
Bhelpuri — a savoury, spicy and crunchy mix, constituted about 63% of the total
revenue and grew 15.4% year-on-year. 
    The surge in ethnic segment spurred revenue from operations up 23% at 6.24
billion rupees.
    Meanwhile, the packaged sweet segment logged the highest growth during the
quarter, increasing nearly 83% and outshining ethnic snacks.    
    "The festive season played a significant role, alongside improvements in our
operational efficiencies and advantageous pricing of raw materials," Managing
Director Deepak Agarwal said in a statement.
    Shares of Bikaji rose 12.6% during the quarter, outpacing the 10.4% increase
in the Nifty FMCG index  .NIFTYFMCG .
 
 

($1 = 82.8850 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Navamya Ganesh Acharya in Bengaluru; Editing by Sohini Goswami)
 ((Navamya.GaneshAcharya@thomsonreuters.com; +91 8805175330 ;))