Dairy major Hatsun Agro Product Ltd.’s (HAPL) standalone net profit (continuing and discontinued operations) for the quarter ended March contracted 16% from the year-earlier period to ₹25 crore due to inflation. Revenue from operations grew 10% to ₹1,789 crore and cost of materials consumed increased by 18% to ₹1,298 crore, the company said in a regulatory filing.
“FY23 was a challenging period for the dairy sector due to inflation and low yield. The price increase could not be passed on as it takes time to change the packaging,” said MD R.G. Chandramogan.
According to him, FY23 was a “non-normalcy period.” However, the situation has returned to normalcy since April and HAPL expects to post an increase in revenue during the current fiscal, he added. He also said that the pandemic had affected milk yield. To a question on capex, Mr. Chandramogan said that a major amount was incurred in the last two fiscals on enhancing production of ice cream, milk and curd at various facilities. This fiscal would see a small amount being spent on balancing equipment, he said.
