New Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS): FMCG major Dabur India on Wednesday reported a rise of 13.02 per cent in its consolidated net profit for the third quarter (Q3) ended December 31, 2017.

The company's consolidated net profit for Q3 stood at Rs 333.03 crore as compared to the net profit of Rs 294.67 crore reported during the corresponding period of the last fiscal.

For the quarter under review, the total income of the FMCG major was reported at Rs 2,032.78 crore -- up 5 per cent -- from Rs 1,935.97 crore posted during Q3 2016-17.

"In a challenging business environment, Dabur India delivered a strong overall performance to end the third quarter of 2017-18 with a comparable India FMCG revenue growth of 17.7 per cent," the company said in a statement.

According to the company, the domestic FMCG business reported an underlying volume growth of 13 per cent during the quarter.

On a stand-alone basis, the net profit for Q3 FY18 rose by 15.9 per cent to Rs 265.47 crore from Rs 229.01 crore during the like period of last fiscal.

The total income was reported at Rs 1,509.89 crore -- up 11.05 per cent -- from Rs 1,359.69 crore posted during Q3 FY17.

"The medium to long-term prospects, particularly for India, remain robust and we are confident that domestic consumer demand, led by a revival in rural markets, will gain pace in months to come," Sunil Duggal, CEO, Dabur India, said in a statement.

"We have lined up a number of exciting initiatives and are committed to aggressively launch new products leveraging on our Ayurvedic heritage and cutting-edge science to grow ahead of the market," Duggal added.

Category-wise, Dabur's honey sales reported a growth of 33 per cent, driving the health supplements category growth to 19.5 per cent.

The FMCG major's homecare business posted a 36 per cent growth during the quarter, while the hair oils business rose by 16.7 per cent.

"In local currency terms, Dabur's business in Egypt grew by 46 per cent. Sales in GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) rose 20 per cent, led by Saudi Arabia which reported a 34 per cent growth during the quarter," the company said.

The Sub-Saharan Africa region reported a 24 per cent growth in local currency, it added.

Around 2.20 p.m., the company's scrips on the BSE were trading lower by 1.39 per cent at Rs 353.55 per share.