Adhesive major Pidilite Industries reported a 1,277 percent year-on-year (YoY) jump in its profit after tax (PAT) for the April-June quarter. Net profit for the quarter stood at Rs 217.6 crore, up from Rs 15.8 crore in the corresponding quarter last year
Its operating revenue grew 121 percent to Rs 1,936.8 crore from Rs 877.8 crore. In comparison to its pre-COVID performance, Pidilite’s top-line and bottomline continued to suffer in 2021. Its PAT and operating revenue remained 26 percent and four percent lower than April-June, 2019 quarter.
In the quarter, Pidilite’s cost of materials consumed spiked 276 percent to Rs 911 crore from Rs 242 crore last year and its gross margin “contracted on account of sharp escalation in input costs partially mitigated by judicious pricing”, the company said.
“The second Covid wave disrupted business continuity from the second half of April with gradual closure across the country for May and part of June. Domestic subsidiaries suffered as a consequence of the lockdown in May, we have seen a sustained recovery in demand from June onwards,” it said
According to Bharat Puri, managing director of Pidilite Industries, high input costs remained a significant challenge. “We see these as peaking in the next quarter and then gradually softening over the second half of the year. Going forward, we remain cautiously optimistic on a sustained demand recovery. Our focus remains on delivering volume led competitive and profitable growth as well as the health and safety of our ecosystems.”