Ethnic snacks manufacturer Bikaji Foods International Limited (Bikaji) posted its fiscal first quarter profit at Rs 41.41 crore, up 163.8 per cent in comparison to Rs 15.70 crore during the corresponding quarter of FY23. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 481.69 crore, up 15.1 per cent as against Rs 418.51 crore during the quarter ended June 2022. While the total income during the quarter in review stood at Rs 487.72 crore, Bikaji Foods posted total expenses of Rs 431.88 crore during Q1. The company EBITDA margin, meanwhile, stood at 13.6 per cent (up 630 bps YoY and 20bps QoQ) led by operating efficiency and superior mix combined with impact of softening of input material prices.
“We have started fiscal year FY24 with strong double-digit value (up 15 per cent YoY) and volume growth (up 15.2 per cent YoY) in Q1, the performance was broad based across business segments and markets. We have delivered a resilient EBITDA margin in Q1 led by superior mix, operating leverage and effective cost management,” said Deepak Agarwal, Managing Director, Bikaji Foods International Limited.
Bikaji Foods’ Q1 performance across segments
Bikaji Foods posted revenue growth of 16.1 per cent on-year for its ethnic snacks category and the segment constitutes to about 75 per cent of the overall revenue. Packaged sweets posted a revenue growth of 10.5 per cent YoY, taking up around 7 per cent of the overall revenue. Western snacks, meanwhile, recorded a revenue growth of 19.3 per cent YoY and the papad segment revenue grew by 1.1 per cent on-year.
Furthermore, Bikaji Foods increased its direct coverage by 13k outlets in the first quarter, keeping on track to reach 1.5 lakh outlets by FY24. The company added 150 feet on ground in Q1. “We remain committed on strengthening our distribution network to achieve a deeper distribution across our core & focus markets and on track to expand our direct reach to 2.4 lakhs retail stores by FY24,” said Deepak Agarwal.
Bikaji Foods was launched in 1993 by Ratan Agarwal. The company as of March 31, 2023, has operations in 25 states and four union territories in India. The company also exports its products to 25 international countries, including North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific.