Shares of Bikaji Foods International tumbled as much as 13% during trading on Friday, February 7, after the company announced a sharp drop in profitability for the quarter ended December 2024 (Q3FY25).
Shares of the leading snacks maker fell as much as 12.97% to hit an intraday low of ₹638.55 per share on the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) on Friday. The stock rallied in six of the last seven sessions and has gained a total of 14% during this period.
The stock has now declined 9.6% in the last one month but is still up over 16% in the last one-year period.
In a stock exchange notification issued after market close on Thursday, Bikaji Foods announced that its standalone revenue from operations grew 14.5% year-on-year to ₹714.9 crore in Q3FY25. Volume growth remained modest at 3% year-on-year.
Bikaji Foods’ profit after tax (PAT) stood at ₹27.8 crore in the December quarter, down 39.6% compared to the same quarter a year ago.
The company’s operating profit, or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), declined 26% year-on-year to ₹55.5 crore due to strong inflationary pressures and unfavourable raw material prices.
EBITDA margin for Q3FY25 also declined by a massive 425 basis points to 7.8% compared to the same period last fiscal. Commenting on Q3 FY25 earnings, Deepak Agarwal, Managing Director, Bikaji Foods, said, “Our company has delivered resilient performance across categories despite facing significant inflationary pressures and weak demand sentiments in the market.
The traditional snacks category contributed 62% to our total revenues, followed by the packaged sweets category, which contributed 18%.” “With regard to commodity prices, we continue to experience year-on-year inflation in key inputs such as edible oil, potatoes, packaging materials and other essential commodities.
To offset these rising costs, we have implemented selective price increases,” Agarwal said. Shares of Bikaji Foods International were trading 10.5% lower at ₹656 per share on the NSE at 11:45 am.
