(Reuters) – Indian dairy products maker Heritage Foods posted a two-fold surge in second-quarter profit on Wednesday, marking the seventh consecutive quarter of earnings growth, as increased rural demand boosted sales.
The company posted a consolidated profit of 486.3 million rupees ($5.8 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30.
Its revenue from operations rose 4% to 10.2 billion rupees, while total expenses remained stable.
For further results highlights, click here.
KEY CONTEXT
Demand in rural India is swayed by the monsoons, which is a key factor for agricultural output and drives the purchasing power of rural consumers.
The September quarter saw stable demand trends for consumer goods, with rural volume growth outperforming urban demand year-on-year for the third straight quarter.
Rivals Dodla Dairy and Hatsun Agro Products have yet to report their results for the quarter.
PEER COMPARISON
Estimates Estimates (next 12 Analysts’ sentiment
(next 12 months)
months)
RIC PE EV/EBI Revenue Profit Mean # of Stock to Div
TDA growth growth rating* analyst price yield
s target** (%)
Heritage Foods 25.48 12.17 12.96 40.86 Strong 2 1.03 0.40
Buy
Dodla Dairy 29.24 18.38 15.10 25.58 Buy 3 0.91 –
Hatsun Agro Product 58.71 24.16 – 39.92 Hold 2 1.08 0.79
Parag Milk Foods 12.50 8.05 – – Strong 1 0.65 0.25
Buy
* The mean of analyst ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell, and Strong Sell
** The ratio of the stock’s last close to analysts’ mean price target; a ratio above 1 means the stock is trading above the PT
JULY-SEPTEMBER STOCK PERFORMANCE
— All data from LSEG
— $1 = 84.0725 Indian rupees
($1 = 84.0700 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto; Editing by Sumana Nandy)
