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Election To Spur Consumption In Rural Areas, Says Britannia 

Britannia expects higher spending capability to drive consumption growth during the election year.

Packets of Parle-G biscuits manufactured by Parle Products Pvt. Ltd and Tiger Glucose manufactured by Britannia Industries Ltd. in a Mumbai store. (Photographer: Vivek Amre/BloombergQuint)
Packets of Parle-G biscuits manufactured by Parle Products Pvt. Ltd and Tiger Glucose manufactured by Britannia Industries Ltd. in a Mumbai store. (Photographer: Vivek Amre/BloombergQuint)

Britannia Industries Ltd. expects an increase in consumption of its products during the election year, thanks to the higher spending capability of consumers in rural areas.

“The election year is usually a year which spurs consumption,” the company’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Varun Berry told BloombergQuint in a post-earnings conversation. “This year with the interim budget...there is going to be more money in the pockets of rural consumers.”

Britannia, he said, has been working towards a rural push that gave the company a growth of about 20 to 30 percent in rural areas.

Election year will be good for products like us.
Varun Berry, managing director and chief executive officer, Britannia Industries

The country’s second-largest biscuit maker reported a double-digit increase in its third quarter revenue and profit on Thursday, but the results still edged slightly below analyst expectations.

Berry said the company witnessed a slowdown in volume growth after the festival of Diwali. He, however, said the volume picked up in the month of January.

Q3 Result Highlights (YoY)

  • Net Sales rose 10.7 percent to Rs 2,842 crore
  • Net profit jumped 14 percent to Rs 301 crore
  • Ebitda up 13.3 percent at Rs 451 crore
  • Ebitda margin expands by 40 basis points to 15.9 percent
  • Volume growth seen between 7 to 10 percent
  • Says inflation would remain manageable next year
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