Britannia on Friday reported a 6.7 per cent rise in profit before tax at Rs 497.15 crore for the third quarter. The net profit for the period grew 23 per cent to Rs 369.88 crore on year-on-year basis. However, revenue grew at 4.9 per cent YoY at Rs 2,982.68 crore, reflecting slowing demand on the face of weak consumer sentiment. Similarly, volume growth for the period stood at 3 per cent, which is in line with Street estimates, falling short of historical numbers

Commenting on the company’s performance, Britannia Industries Managing Director Varun Berry said, “we had a decent quarter in the face of an economic slowdown...We chose to focus on strengthening the building block of the business rather than pushing sales in the face of a low offtake scenario.” The company continued to expand the width and depth of distribution but additionally focused on improving distributor health and keeping the supply chain efficient, he added.

Further, Berry said,” during this phase of sluggish demand, we continued to invest in enhancing our brand equity through focused product campaigns. As a result of our efforts, we continue to strengthen our position as a dominant market leader

On the cost front, he said there was moderate inflation in the prices of key raw materials for the bakery business.

"There was a significant increase in milk prices which impacted our dairy business. Our accelerated drive on cost efficiencies, reduction in wastage and leverage on fixed costs helped us improve the shape of our business and deliver highest ever operating profits in the quarter on the back of a previous best quarter," Berry said.