Indian rice seller KRBL's quarterly profit drops on higher expenses

KRBL

06/02/2025 11:34

Feb 6 (Reuters) - India's KRBL  KRBL.NS  reported its
sixth straight quarterly profit fall on Thursday as a rise in
expenses more than offset the impact of strong sales of its rice
products.
    KRBL, which makes the 'India Gate' brand of basmati rice,
reported a 1% year-on-year fall in consolidated net profit to
1.33 billion rupees ($15.2 million) in the third quarter.
    This was KRBL's slowest profit drop in six quarters. 
    The company's revenue from operations rose 17% to 16.82
billion rupees, led by a 17% jump in its agricultural business,
which includes all types of rice apart from seed and bran.
    Revenue from exports more than doubled to 5.63 billion
rupees. 
    Total expenses also rose by 17%. 
    India eased almost all curbs on non-basmati and basmati rice
exports late last year as part of its efforts to reduce surging
inventories and to regain market share. India accounts for
around 75% of global basmati production.
    The government also removed the so-called floor price, or
minimum export price, for basmati rice to help thousands of
farmers who complained about a lack of access to lucrative
overseas markets such as Europe, the Middle East and the U.S.
    Basmati is not widely consumed in India, and the government
does not buy the variety to build state reserves, leading to
producers exporting a majority of their stock.
    Rival LT Foods  LTOL.NS  reported a lower quarterly profit
on higher costs.


($1 = 87.5560 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K
and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
 ((Kashish.Tandon@thomsonreuters.com; 8800437922;))