Godrej Posts A Mixed Set Of Q4FY13 Numbers

The FMCG major Godrej Consumer Products has reported a mixed set of numbers for the quarter ended March 2013. The results have been in line with the street expectations. Although the topline has exceeded street expectations, the bottomline has been disappointing. The topline witnessed a growth of almost 30% on a YoY basis to stand at Rs 1719 crore for Q4FY13. This was mainly aided by the volume growth of 4% as against 6% reported by HUL and the industry average of 1%.

The bottomline of the company for Q4FY13 stood at Rs 334 crore which is a growth of 73.4% on a YoY basis. However, this growth is aided by an exceptional gain of Rs 128.90 crore, deducting which, the net profit stood at Rs 205 crore, posting a gain of a mere 6.42%.

The EBITDA for the company moved up to Rs 275 crore for Q4FY13 from Rs 250 crore on a YoY basis. The operating profit margin declined by 290 basis points YoY to 16% in the quarter, which was expected at 18.2%. This was primarily due to an increase in the ad expenses which went up by 48% on a YoY basis for Q4FY13. The foreign exchange loss in the fourth quarter was Rs 5 crore.

The company has declared a fourth interim dividend of Rs 2 per share taking the total dividend payout of Rs 5 per share for FY13. At the current market price of Rs 834.50, the dividend yield comes to 0.59%. The stock rallied 3% soon after the earnings were announced, but soon erased all its gains over a weak operational performance to trade below by 2.49% from its previous closing on the BSE.