(Reuters) – Pepsi India bottler Varun Beverages’ third-quarter profit exceeded analysts’ expectations on Tuesday as healthy demand for soda in its international markets helped outweigh a monsoon-hit domestic market.
The company’s net profit rose nearly 24% to 6.20 billion rupees ($73.8 million), beating analysts’ expectation of 5.76 billion rupees, per LSEG data.
Higher-than-normal rains throughout the quarter, which analysts said affected out-of-home beverage consumption in the country, hurt the firm’s domestic volume growth.
During the three months ending Sept. 30, its India volume growth came in at 5.7%, as compared to a “double-digit” percentage jump last year.
Despite the domestic softness, Varun Beverages said healthy international demand helped the company post a near 22% rise in sales volume at 267.5 million cases during the quarter.
“Our global operations, particularly in Africa, are positioned to drive further growth as we capitalize on emerging demand trends and enhance our operational capabilities,” Chairman Ravi Jaipuria said in a statement.
The company’s revenue from operations rose 25% to nearly 50 billion rupees, which included contributions from South Africa-based BevCo that Varun Beverages had acquired in the first half of the year.
Varun Beverages also reported a 26.4% rise in expenses, due to increased spending on raw materials, including sugar, flavourings, glass bottles, and packaging during the quarter.
The company’s shares reversed course after the results and climbed 1.5%. Varun Beverages is the top-performing stock in the broader Nifty FMCG index, which is down 0.3%.
($1 = 84.0730 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Yagnoseni Das in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)
