India's Godrej Consumer Products misses Q1 profit view as costs bite

BENGALURU, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Indias Godrej Consumer Products (GOCP.NS) reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit on Monday, hurt by mounting costs.

Consolidated net profit fell nearly 8% to 3.19 billion rupees ($38.57 million) for the first quarter ended June 30, the owner of the Cinthol soap brand said in an exchange filing.

Analysts, on average, had expected the company to report a profit of 4.77 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv data.

Total sales for the company, which is known for its soap, hair and detergent brands, rose nearly 11% to 34.18 billion rupees, with the India business contributing more than 50%. This was in-line with a double-digit percentage increase in sales that the company had earlier projected for the June quarter.

Total expenses, however, rose about 10% to 29.56 billion rupees, including a near-21% jump in employee costs, and an exceptional item of 817.8 million rupees, on account of acquiring the Raymond Consumer Care business, which ate into the companys bottom line.

Rival Dabur India (DABU.NS), reported a rise in first-quarter profit as easing inflation propped demand, while Marico (MRCO.NS) reported a bigger-than-expected rise in quarterly profit.

Separately, the company approved a capital expenditure of 9 billion rupees to set up new manufacturing sites in the states of Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh. With this, the Good Knight mosquito repellent maker plans to add about 20% of capacity to its Home Care and Personal Care categories, it said.

Godrej Consumers shares gained 11.7% In the April to June quarter, lower than a 13.7% gain in the broader Nifty FMCG index (.NIFTYFMCG).

($1 = 82.7170 Indian rupees)