Colgate-Palmolive Q3 net profit down by 22.6% at Rs 128 crore

FMCG major Colgate-Palmolive India Ltd (CPIL) on Friday posted a 22.58% fall in standalone net profit at Rs 127.82 crore for the quarter ended December 31, hit by liquidity crunch post demonetization. The company had a net profit of Rs 165.11 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago, CPIL said in a BSE filing.

Its net sales were down 8.55% to Rs 981.62 crore during the period under review as against Rs 1,073.40 crore in the December quarter of the previous fiscal. "Reported net profit after tax at Rs 127.8 crore includes net tax reversal of Rs 16.5 crore. Excluding the impact of these reversals, net profit after tax for Q3/2016-17 is a decrease of 14.2%," the company said.

CPIL's total expenses fell 7.02% to Rs 811.33 crore during the quarter as against Rs 872.63 crore in the year-ago period. Issam Bachaalani, Managing Director, Colgate-Palmolive India said: "In the wake of liquidity crunch, we took proactive measures to support our business partners to ensure ease of business. We extended credit to our customers, provided additional incentives... we see gradual pick up in the market as the liquidity situation improves." Shares of Colgate-Palmolive India on Friday settled at Rs 880.50 on BSE, down 1.96% from previous close.