BENGALURU (Reuters) - India's Adani Wilmar reported a 67.5% rise in its fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped by higher demand for its edible oil and softer raw material costs.
The "Fortune" branded cooking oil maker said its consolidated net profit rose to 1.57 billion rupees ($18.8 million) in the quarter ended March 31, from 936.1 million rupees a year earlier.
The company, which is a joint venture between Adani Enterprises and Wilmar International, sells edible oil variants, including mustard, sunflower and soybean.
Adani Wilmar said sales volume rose 11% during the January-March period, driven by strong festive demand and increased retail presence.
Its total expenses fell 6.6%, led by a 9% decline in raw materials costs.
Revenue from operations fell 4.6% to 132.38 billion rupees, its fifth consecutive quarter of decline. The company last month flagged lower revenue for fiscal 2024 due to weaker edible oil prices.
Revenue from its edible oil segment, which accounted for 77% of the total mix, declined 5.5%, while revenue from its food and fast-moving consumer goods segment, which sells products like basmati rice and sugar, increased 15.7%.
Rival Marico, which makes the Saffola brand of cooking oils, is expected to report its fourth-quarter results on Monday.
Shares of both Adani Wilmar and Marico fell 9.4% in the January-March period, underperforming the Nifty FMCG Index, which was down 5.3%.
($1 = 83.4746 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto and Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)
