India's Pidilite Industries beats Q2 profit view on tepid input costs

Pidilite Industries

23/10/2024 15:09

Oct 23 (Reuters) - India's Pidilite Industries  PIDI.NS 
beat second-quarter profit estimates on Wednesday, helped by a
slower rise in input costs.
    Pidilite reported a consolidated net profit of 5.35 billion
rupees ($63.7 million) in the quarter ended Sept. 30, up 18.8%
from a year ago.
    Analysts, on average, were expecting a profit of 5.29
billion rupees, as per estimates compiled by LSEG.
    The adhesives and sealants maker, which has brands such as
Fevicol and Dr. Fixit under its belt, reported a 5.2% rise in
revenue to 32.35 billion rupees. 
    Total expenses rose 3.3% to 25.66 billion rupees with the
cost of materials, which makes up more than half the expenses,
rising 1.7%. 
    Prices of vinyl acetate monomer, a key raw material for
adhesives, declined 11% during the quarter, Jefferies said in a
pre-earnings note.
    That, combined with a 7% rise in net consolidated sales,
pushed up its bottom line.
    Revenue in the consumer and bazaar segment, which accounts
for almost 80% of Pidilite's topline, grew 2.9%, while revenue
from its business-to-business segment rose 14.3%.
    "Input prices remained benign, resulting in expansion of
gross margin by 281 bps over the same quarter of the previous
year," the company said in a statement.
    Shares of Pidilite Industries closed 1.2% lower ahead of the
results.
    
   
($1 = 84.0550 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Ashish Chandra in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane
Venkatraman)
 ((ashish.chandra@thomsonreuters.com; +91 7982114624;))