Colgate-Palmolive Q2 net profit rises 18.31 per cent

FMCG major Colgate-Palmolive India on Wednesday posted an 18.31 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 129.58 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2014.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 109.52 crore for the same period of previous fiscal.

Net sales of the company rose to Rs 993.57 crore for the second quarter, up 10.92 per cent as compared to Rs 895.69 crore during the same period of previous financial year, Colgate-Palmolive India said in a filing to the BSE.

"The company's strong focus on driving efficiencies, reducing costs and innovating to drive premiumisation coupled with prudent price increases has led to a significant gross margin expansion by 290 basis points," Colgate said in a statement.

The company posted a volume growth of 7 per cent for the quarter on toothpaste and continued to enhance its leadership position in toothpaste category by registering a volume market share of 56.7 per cent for January'14-September'14, an increase of 80 basis points over the same period of the previous year, the statement said.

The flagship brands 'Colgate Dental Cream', 'Active Salt', 'Max Fresh' and 'Colgate Total' along with 'Visible White' have contributed to this growth.

The company said it has further strengthened its leadership position in the toothbrush category by registering a volume market share of 42.6 per cent for Jan'14-Sep'14, an increase of 110 basis points over the same period of the previous year.

Colgate-Palmolive is present in the segments of oral care, personal care, home care and professional oral care.

Shares of the company closed at Rs 1,714.35 on BSE, up 1.37 per cent from previous close.