Heritage Foods, the Indian food manufacturer and retailer, has reported higher first-quarter sales and earnings, with the company’s largest division, dairy, enjoying increased revenue and profits.
The company booked group net profit of INR165.2m (US$2.5m) for the three months to the end of June, up from INR107.1m a year earlier. Revenue stood at INR6.34bn, compared to INR6.32bn in the first quarter of Heritage Foods’ 2015/2016 financial year.
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Heritage Foods’ dairy arm saw segment profit and revenue rise year-on-year. Segment profit stood at INR339.1m, versus INR293.4m a year ago. Revenue reached INR4.61bn, against INR4.6bn in the first quarter of the company’s previous financial year, an increase of 5.4%.
In a presentation posted with the Bombay Stock Exchange, Heritage Foods said its milk sales rose 7.3% to over 840,000 litres a day. The company claimed it saw a 19.7% increase in sales of “branded, value-added products”. Packaged curd, which accounts for three-quarters of the sales of branded, value-added lines, rose 24%.
Revenues from Heritage Foods’ four other businesses – retail, agri, bakery and renewable energy – rose.
However, the profitability of the divisions was mixed. Losses from Heritage Foods’ bakery business narrowed, although losses from its agri and retail businesses grew year-on-year. The profitability of Heritage Foods’ renewable energy business improved.
Heritage Foods has appointed KPMG to advise to find a “suitable strategic partner investor” for the company’s retail business. On average, the size of a store is 3,000 square feet, stocking more than 6,000 SKUs.
