(Reuters) -Indian biscuit maker Britannia Industries beat third-quarter profit estimates on Thursday, as price hikes helped it counter the impact of a rise in commodity prices.
The company, which sells ‘Jim Jam’ and ‘NutriChoice’ biscuits, reported a 5% increase in consolidated net profit to 5.82 billion rupees ($66.43 million) for the three months ended December 31.
Analysts, on average, had expected a profit of 5.21 billion rupees, according to estimates compiled by LSEG.
Consumer staple companies such as Britannia, Hindustan Unilever and Nestle India have had to contend with inflation in key commodities such as palm oil, cocoa and sugar.
As a result, the companies raised prices modestly to maintain margins.
Its revenue for the quarter rose 8% to 45.93 billion rupees.
Overall expenses rose 9% to 38.75 billion rupees.
($1 = 87.6130 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru and Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
