Feb 3 (Reuters) - India's Pidilite Industries posted a 12% rise in quarterly profit on Tuesday, helped by steady demand for its adhesives and sealants, and lower costs.
The firm's gross margins improved to 55.7% in the December quarter from 53.7% a year earlier, helped by lower input costs, Pidilite said in a press release. That, combined with a 10.2% rise in net sales, pushed up its bottom line for the eighth straight quarter.
The firm was expected to benefit from lower prices of vinyl acetate monomer, a key raw material for adhesives, during the quarter, Jefferies said in a December note.
Consolidated net profit rose to 6.18 billion rupees ($68.53 million) in the quarter ended December 31, up from 5.52 billion rupees a year ago.
The firm, which owns brands such as Fevicol, Dr. Fixit, reported a 10% rise in revenue to 37.1 billion rupees.
Revenue in its consumer and bazaar segment, which accounts for over 78% of the topline, grew 11%, while revenue from its business-to-business segment rose 2.7%.
Pidilite had said in November that it remained optimistic about demand, citing improving urban performance and momentum in construction-linked categories.
Going ahead, "the domestic operating environment will further improve, aided by favourable monsoons and the continued indirect impact of GST 2.0 on our demand," MD Sudhanshu Vats said in a statement.
Shares of Pidilite Industries closed 1.1% higher ahead of results.
($1 = 90.1770 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Aleef Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
