BENGALURU, August 1 (Reuters) – India’s Godrej Agrovet reported a 28.3% rise in first-quarter profit on Thursday, helped by falling input costs. Consolidated net profit rose to 1.35 billion rupees ($16.1 million) for the three months ended June 30 from 1.05 billion rupees a year earlier.
During the quarter, which saw parts of the country experiencing heatwaves and floods, prices of food, which account for nearly half of India’s retail inflation, rose more than 8% each month, adding pressure on the spending power of the rural consumers.
Godrej Agrovet’s total revenue from operations fell 6.4% to 23.51 billion rupees while total expenses fell nearly 8%, led by a fall in the cost of materials consumed.
The animal feed business, which includes cattle and fish feed and forms nearly half of the company’s revenue, fell 10%.
Revenue from crop protection and poultry and processed food businesses declined 4.6% and 24.5%, respectively, while dairy and vegetable oil saw a slight uptick. As part of its expansion plans, Godrej Agrovet will set up a new feed plant in Maharashtra state with an initial investment of 1.10 billion rupees. Its shares ended 3.9% lower. ($1 = 83.7070 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Ashish Chandra in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
