Colgate Palmolive’s (India) net profit for the October-December quarter fell 2.2 per cent to Rs 322.8 crore, missing analyst estimates, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The company attributed this to persistent softening in urban demand and a tight competition in the market. In the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal, Colgate-Palmolive India had posted a net profit of Rs 330 crore, the company said in a regulatory filing.
While revenue from operations rose 4.7 per cent to Rs 1,452 crore, the company's total expenses surged by 8.2 per cent, offsetting the sales growth.
"This has been a quarter of relatively soft demand, particularly in the urban market. In these market conditions and a heightened competitive landscape, we delivered a resilient performance this quarter with toothpaste reporting mid-single-digit intrinsic volume growth and continued competitive growth on toothbrushes,” said Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Prabha Narasimhan.
On the other hand, its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 3 per cent to Rs 454.3 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal year (Q3FY25) as compared to Rs 468.4 crore in the corresponding period in the previous year.
Its EBITDA margin (a measure of a company's profitability and operational health) stood at 31 per cent in the third quarter, as opposed to 33.6% in the corresponding period in the previous financial year.
The toothpaste maker is seeing a positive momentum in its premium portfolio, akin to the trend witnessed by its peers. However, ‘the near-term macro environment continues to look challenging’, the company added.