Adani Wilmar Reports Rs 311 Cr Profit, Plans Acquisitions

New Delhi, Oct 24 (PTI) Edible oil firm Adani Wilmar Ltd on Thursday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 311.02 crore for the second quarter of this fiscal on higher income and said it is exploring a few acquisition deals for inorganic growth in cooking oils, speciality chemical and FMCG businesses.

The company had posted a net loss of Rs 130.73 crore in the year-ago period.

Its total income rose to Rs 14,565.30 crore during the July-September period of this fiscal from Rs 12,331.20 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year, according to a regulatory filing.

Adani Wilmar is a joint venture between Adani Group and Singapore-based Wilmar.

The company sells edible oils and other food items under various brands, including the flagship Fortune brand.

In an interview with PTI, Adani Wilmar Ltd MD and CEO Angshu Mallick said the company is doing due diligence for 3-4 acquisition deals across all verticals.

The company has Rs 250 crore fund from the initial public offering, and it will put more money if required, he added.

"We hope to close a few deals by March next year," Mallick said.

He said promoters will dilute 13 per cent stake before February next year to meet the minimum public shareholding norm of 25 per cent.

On the results, he said the company has delivered another strong quarter, with double-digit growth in both edible oils and food and FMCG segments.

The edible oils revenue grew by 21 per cent annually, and the Food and FMCG revenue grew by 34 per cent year-on-year (YoY), he said.

"The stability in edible oil prices augurs well for our business, allowing us to deliver strong profits over the past four quarters," Mallick said.

In the first half of this fiscal, he said the company achieved its highest-ever half-year operating EBITDA of Rs 1,232 crore and profit after tax of Rs 624 crore.

"We have been the 2nd and 3rd largest player in wheat flour and basmati Rice business, respectively. On the back of trust and quality, along with branding investments, our flagship brand 'Fortune' has been gaining good acceptance with consumers for the entire range of kitchen essentials," Mallick said.

This, along with the increasing retail penetration and new town reach, is leading to strong growth in the branded portfolio.

"Our other food products like pulses, besan, soya chunks, poha have also been growing in strong double digits, and they in aggregate have now reached Rs 1,500 crores on LTM (last twelve months) basis," he said.

The overall Food and FMCG business has crossed Rs 5,800 crore on an LTM basis, he said, adding that "we stay committed to building a very large packaged food business in India".