Varun Beverages Reported Third-Quarter Profit Growth on Higher Revenue, Margin

By Kosaku Narioka

Varun Beverages reported growth in net profit in the third quarter, thanks to increased revenue and higher margins.

The Indian soft-drink maker and PepsiCo franchisee said Monday that net profit rose 32% from a year earlier to 5.01 billion rupees ($60.2 million) for the three months ended Sept. 30 from INR3.81 billion a year earlier. That beat the estimate of INR4.76 billion in a poll of analysts by FactSet.

Third-quarter revenue increased 21% from a year earlier to INR39.38 billion, thanks to sales growth in Indian and international markets, said Varun, which operates in the South Asian nation, its neighboring countries and Africa.

Third-quarter gross profit margin improved to 55.3% from 53.7% a year earlier, primarily because of the softening of materials costs for plastic bottles, it said.

Varun Chairman Ravi Jaipuria said the company was taking strategic initiatives to strengthen its position in the global beverage industry and that a facility in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was expected to be commissioned in the coming months.

Write to Kosaku Narioka at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-06-23 0531ET