Varun Beverages Ltd, PepsiCo's largest franchise bottler, on Monday reported a more than two-fold jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 136.75 crore in the first quarter ended March 2021, helped by volume growth across domestic and international markets.
The Board of Directors of Varun Beverages Ltd at their meeting held on Monday considered, approved and recommended the bonus issue of equity shares in the proportion of 1 (One) Equity Share of Rs 10 each for every 2 (Two) equity shares of Rs10 each held by the shareholders of the Company as on the record date. It is subject to the approval of shareholders through Postal Ballot i.e. in compliance with the applicable laws.
The company, which follows the calendar year as its financial year, had posted a net profit of Rs 60.06 crore in the year-ago period.
Its total income during the quarter under review stood at Rs 2,275.60 crore, up 31.96 per cent from the same period a year ago. It was at Rs 1,724.51 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal, Varun Beverages said in a regulatory filing.
"PAT (Profit After Tax) growth was driven by higher revenues, improvement in margins and higher profitability from international operations," the company said in the filing.
Repayment of debt as well as lower average cost of borrowing resulted in reduced finance cost, which further aided PAT growth, it added.
Varun Beverages' total expenses were at Rs 2,080.91 crore in the latest March quarter as against Rs 1,650.18 crore in the year-ago period.
Varun Beverages Chairman Ravi Jaipuria said from a demand standpoint, it saw a notable recovery in the domestic markets in the first quarter.
"We have started the year 2021 on a healthy note delivering progressive performance across parameters in Q1. The company registered a strong volume growth of 33 per cent YoY (Year-on-Year)," he said.
The macro-environment in the quarter was largely supportive as consumption was almost nearing a sense of normalcy.
"This resulted in healthy volume growth of ~34 per cent YoY for our India business. The growth momentum continued in our international territories registering a ~26 per cent YoY volume growth during the quarter," Jaipuria said.
About the outlook, the company said the environment has evolved now with the onset of the second wave of COVID infections in the country and was now witnessing more localised, micro lockdowns and restrictions being imposed rather than a nationwide lockdown witnessed last year.
"Notwithstanding short-term non-linearity in business, we remain confident of the medium to longer-term outlook of the business," Jaipuria said.
In a separate filing, Varun Beverages said its board has recommended a bonus issue of equity shares in the proportion of one equity share for every two equity shares.
Share of Varun Beverages on Monday settled at Rs 1,003.70 on BSE, up 5.51 per cent from previous close.
