India's TTK Prestige posts profit slump as inflation hurts consumer spending

BENGALURU (Reuters) - India's TTK Prestige Ltd reported a 36.5% drop in third-quarter profit on Tuesday, hurt by higher inventory expenses as surging inflation hit demand for its home and kitchenware products.

"Kitchen appliances have seen a reduced share of wallet and tepid demand due to spending on alternate avenues," the company said in a statement.

TTK said it expects weaker demand due to inflation to persist through the fourth quarter.

The Bengaluru-based company's consolidated profit fell to 575.8 million rupees ($7.1 million) in the quarter ended Dec. 31, from 907 million rupees a year earlier.

The company said expenses for changes in inventory were 96.5 million rupees in the quarter, while it was a negative 503.9 million rupees in the year-ago period.

TTK's consolidated revenue slid 9.15% to 6.95 billion rupees in the quarter, with declines in all product categories.

Sales in its appliances division, which accounts for nearly half of the company's total sales, fell 7%.

Sales of cookers, including those of the Prestige brand, dropped 10%.

TTK's domestic sales slid 8.3%, while exports sank almost 40%. ($1 = 81.6740 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sohini Goswami)