Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting (WCCLG), the R3,000-crore FMCG division of Wipro, has reported a 26% surge in revenues for the third quarter ended December 2011, driven by strong seasonal demand for its products.
WCCLG?s revenue stood at R879 crore against R695 a year ago and R800 in the previous quarter. Profit before tax improved by 22% to R105 crore, while operating margins improved sequentially to 11.9%, from 11%. In the previous quarter ended September, revenues had grown by 20%, while margins had dropped by close to 100 basis points.
Vineet Agarwal, president, WCCLG, said, ?All three lines have done well. In consumer products, Santoor volumes grew by 16%, while Yardley outperformed our expectations.?
?In commercial lighting, our clear focus has been LED, and we have found that consumers do not mind the high upfront costs if it delivers long-term value. Our international range of furniture has done well, and the slowdown has not stopped people from spending on premium products,? Agarwal added.
For its international business, growth was led by China and Indonesia, at 25 and 28% respectively, and WCCL is currently looking at expanding into new geographies.
According to Agarwal, WCCLG is on track with its expansion plans, and will be adding 25% in its soap manufacturing capacities. ?Since Santoor is doing well, we will add there. We are running on full capacity in Haridwar and Tumkur, and we are looking at expanding by at least 20-25%,? Agarwal said.