Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) posted a surprise loss in the quarter ended March 31 as it took an exceptional charge after restructuring its businesses in Africa, the US and West Asia.

The company reported a consolidated loss of ₹1,893.21 crore in the January-March quarter compared with a profit of ₹451.14 crore in the year-ago period.

Sales rose to ₹3,365.11 crore against ₹3,172.21 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The one-time exceptional loss stood at ₹2,375.65 crore against ₹22.17 crore last year.

GCPL said in its notes to accounts that during the quarter, the group reviewed its long-term strategy for Africa and undertook some reorganisation during the period.

For the year ended March 31, exceptional items included impairment loss of ₹1,390.8 crore towards brand and goodwill for Africa, ₹927.2 crore relating to a loss on sale of subsidiaries and business in East Africa pursuant to changes in the business model and long-term strategy for Africa.

Another ₹71 crore loss was incurred on account of other group restructuring costs, including employees’ severance pay and inventory-related costs necessitated by the restructuring.

The exceptional items also included stamp duty payment and other costs in relation to the acquisition of Raymond Consumer Care for ₹87.8 crore.

For the year ended March 31, 2023, exceptional items comprised impairment loss of ₹6 crore towards brands, restructuring costs of ₹29.3 crore and ₹18.8 crore on
account of litigation settlement under VAT amnesty scheme in the consolidated
financial results.

Lupin profit rises

Lupin posted a consolidated net profit of ₹359.43 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31 against ₹235.96 crore in the same period of the previous year. It came on the back of sales increasing to ₹4,895.11 crore from ₹4,330.30 crore in the March quarter of 2023.

Marico net up 4.9%

Marico has posted a 4.9 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at ₹320 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 2024. It had clocked a consolidated net profit of ₹305 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal. Consolidated revenue from operations stood at ₹2,278 crore against ₹2,240 crore in the year-ago period.

Arvind profit jumps

Arvind reported a standalone net profit of ₹71.85 crore, up from ₹48.81 crore in the same period of the previous year. During the quarter, its revenues increased to ₹1,899.57 crore against ₹1,707.08 crore in January-March 2023.