Kolkata: Consumer goods maker Emami Ltd on Thursday reported a net profit of Rs60.86 crore in the March quarter, down 26.9% from Rs83.3 crore in the same period last year, as the company stepped up spending on advertising and had to write off a minimum alternate tax credit of Rs14 crore.
The company’s revenue for the quarter was at Rs617 crore, 12% higher than the previous year, but operating profit fell 3% year-on-year to Rs173.3 crore as spending on advertising jumped over three times to Rs19.6 crore, Emami said in a statement.
On Thursday, Emami announced it would issue bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1 subject to approval by shareholders. The company will be paying a dividend of Rs7 per share, distributing around 31% of its cash profit inclusive of dividend distribution tax.
For the full year, the company reported a net revenue of Rs2,540.83 crore, compared with Rs2,527.74 crore in 2016-17, and a net profit of Rs307.14 crore, down 9.7% from the previous year.
With the new goods and services tax (GST) regime stabilising and a normal monsoon expected, consumer goods business is “poised for good growth”, a company statement, quoting director Harsha V. Agarwal, said.
The company’s shares fell 2.05% to Rs1,085.50 each on BSE on Thursday, while the Sensex lost 73.28 points or 0.21% to close at 35,103.14 points.