Colgate-Palmolive India arm posts surprise drop in Q3 profit on costs, dull demand

Colgate-Palmolive (India)

24/01/2023 09:23

BENGALURU/CHENNAI, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Colgate-Palmolive
(India) Ltd  COLG.NS  reported a surprise fall in third-quarter
profit on Tuesday, as inflation-hit consumers tightened
spending, while higher costs weighed.
    The Indian arm of the U.S. consumer goods major's net profit
slipped nearly 4% to 2.43 billion rupees ($29.82 million) for
the quarter ended Dec. 31.
    Analysts, on average, had expected profit to rise to 2.66
billion rupees, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
    The toothpaste maker's total expenses climbed 3% to 9.75
billion rupees.
    Packaged goods makers have globally raised prices of
products from toothpaste to coffee as the Russia-Ukraine war and
supply snarls led to an increase in the price of commodities,
including palm oil, cocoa and crude oil.
    The price hikes forced lower-income consumers and the rural
population to tighten their budgets as they struggled to recover
from the economic impact of COVID-19.
    "Oral care consumption continued to be weighed down in the
quarter by adverse macro factors," Colgate-Palmolive India
Managing Director Prabha Narasimhan said in a statement.
    Revenue from operations increased nearly 1% to 12.81 billion
rupees, with many analysts attributing it to price increases.
   The company's shares, which had climbed nearly 4% last year,
fell as much as 2% to 1,460.25 rupees after the results were
announced.
($1 = 81.4975 Indian rupees)
 (Reporting by Varun Vyas in Bengaluru and Praveen Paramasivam
in Chennai; Editing by Sohini Goswami)
 ((varunvyas.hebbalalu@thomsonreuters.com;))