Kolkata, Jan 31 (IANS): Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company Emami Ltd on Thursday reported a six per cent decrease in its consolidated net profit to Rs 138.30 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal, as compared to Rs 147.16 crore in the year-ago period.

Its revenue from operations, during the quarter ended December 31, 2018, stood at Rs 810.90 crore, up 7.14 per cent from Rs 756.79 crore in the corresponding period of last financial year.

"During the quarter, gross margins at 67 per cent declined by 380 bps and EBIDTA (Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) margins at 32.9 per cent declined by 210 bps due to a sharp increase in raw material costs. Despite this, EBIDTA grew by 1 per cent and PBT (profit before tax) before exceptional items grew by 3 per cent. However, PAT (profit after tax) declined by 6 per cent due to an exceptional cost of Rs 9.8 cr pertaining to VRS paid at one of our units," the company said in a statement.

The city-headquartered company said it closed the quarter with net sales of Rs 800 crore with a growth of 8 per cent.

Owing to a delayed winter in some parts of the country resulting in a subdued performance by the winter brands, non-winter brands grew by 10 per cent during the quarter in the domestic business.

"The onset of winter this quarter has been overall weak with its delayed arrival in some parts of the country. Due to this, the performance of the winter brand portfolio has been moderate. Additionally, there has been a challenge of sharp increase in raw material prices," company's Director Mohan Goenka said.

However, targeted correctional steps for some leading brands in the domestic market and strategic initiatives in the international business, as adopted during the last quarter, have resulted in an encouraging growth in the respective sectors, he said.

Terming the company's performance in the quarter as a "mixed bag", its another Director Harsha V. Agarwal said: "While winter portfolio has been subdued, we are happy with the performance of our other major non-winter brands. We are optimistic to close the year on a positive outlook."

Its international business grew by 18 per cent during the quarter led by a strong performance in SAARC and MENAP (Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan) regions.