India's P&G Hygiene and Health Care posts dip in Q2 profit as costs jump

Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care

31/01/2023 14:39

CHENNAI/BENGALURU Jan 31 (Reuters) - India's Procter &
Gamble Hygiene and Health Care Ltd  PROC.NS  on Tuesday reported
a drop in second-quarter profit, hit by higher cost of
commodities and a slowdown in the broader fast-moving consumer
goods (FMCG) sector in the country.
    Demand for health and hygiene goods has slowed from COVID
lockdown-highs, while customers are also snubbing big brands for
cheaper consumer goods in the face of high living costs, Dalal
Street analysts have said.
    FMCG giants including toothpaste maker Dabur India  DABU.NS 
and Parachute coconut oil seller Marico  MRCO.NS  have in recent
quarters struggled due to lower demand in rural regions, which
are only beginning to show signs of recovery.
    Meanwhile, Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care said in
an exchange filing it operated "in a challenging cost and
operating environment".
    Total expenses for the company rose about 7% to 8.65 billion
rupees and profit fell nearly 2% to 2.07 billion Indian rupees
($25.33 million) for the three months ended Dec. 31.
    Shares of the company closed nearly 3% lower in January amid
broader weakness. They fell about 6% last year.  .BO 
    Revenue from operations for Procter & Gamble Hygiene and
Health Care, which houses sanitary napkin brand Whisper and
aftershave maker Old Spice, rose 4% to 11.37 billion rupees in
the quarter, compared with an about 7% growth a year earlier.
    The company declared an interim dividend of 80 rupees per
equity share.
($1 = 81.7220 Indian rupees)
 (Reporting by Dimpal Gulwani in Bengaluru and Praveen
Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
 ((Dimpal.Gulwani@thomsonreuters.com;))