Feb 11 (Reuters) - Indian consumer goods maker Patanjali Foods reported an almost 60% rise in third-quarter profit on Wednesday, aided by steady edible oils sales and tax cuts that increased consumer demand.
The Sunrich brand oil maker's profit rose to 5.93 billion rupees ($65.33 million) for the three months ended December 31, up from 3.71 billion rupees a year earlier.
Demand for edible oil has remained strong over the past few quarters even as other consumer goods have faced a slowdown, as it is a staple for cooking in the world's most populous country.
Revenue from Patanjali's edible oils segment, which makes up about 70% of the company's total revenue, rose about 9% to 73.36 billion rupees.
That led to nearly 17% growth in overall revenue to 104.84 billion rupees.
“Driven by disciplined execution of our business strategies over recent quarters, the Company achieved its strongest financial performance to date across multiple metrics, even amid a dynamic operating environment," CEO Sanjeev Asthana said.
Revenue from the food and fast-moving consumer goods segment rose nearly 40%, helped by tax cuts.
Indian consumer goods makers such as Britannia, ITC and Dabur have been seeing a gradual recovery in demand, after several quarters of pressure, aided by the tax cuts and slowing inflation.
Earlier in the month, larger peer Adani Wilmar reported a slump in quarterly profit as it took a large one-off gain in the year-ago period due to sharp commodity price increases.
($1 = 90.7680 Indian rupees)
Reporting by Komal Salecha in Bengaluru; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar and Tasim Zahid
Source: Reuters