Bajaj Consumer zooms 33% in 2 days post Q3 results, dividend announcement

Shares of Bajaj Consumer Care, on Thursday, shot up 11 per cent to hit a 52-week high of Rs 284 in intra-day trade on the BSE, thus zooming 33 per cent in the last two trading sessions after the company reported 17 per cent year on year (YoY) growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 57.30 crore in the December quarter (Q3FY21), on healthy revenue. The personal products company posted 17 per cent YoY jump in sales at Rs 248.39 crore.

Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) margins improved to 25.9 per cent in Q3FY21 from 24.9 per cent Q3FY20. The company said the market share recovery in Q2 continued in Q3 and has been consistently higher than last year across Q3 for the company. The both urban & rural market share has seen strong share growth in Q3.

On standalone basis, in Q3FY21, Bajaj Consumer posted 18.2 per cent YoY sales growth, against 5.0 per cent YoY sales growth recorded in Q2FY21. Ebitda margins however contracted to 26.6 per cent from 28.9 per cent in previous quarter, due to higher advertisement and sales promotion expenses.

The Hair oil market recovered significantly from Q1 decline of 25.3 per cent to a decline 1 and 1.4 per cent respectively for Q2 and Q3 with an overall year to date December decline of 9.4 per cent. Urban continues to remain subdued though there has been sequential recovery in Q2 and Q3 over Q1. The value growths continue to lag volume as consumer seeks value for money products and packs, the company said.

Meanwhile, the company's board has recommended an interim dividend at the rate of 600 per cent i.e. Rs 6 per share of Re 1 each of the company. The board has fixed February 12, as the record date for the purpose.

At 10:19 am, the stock was trading 6 per cent higher at Rs 272 on the BSE, as compared to 0.41 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. The trading volumes on the counter jumped over five-fold with a combined 7.4 million equity shares changing hands on the NSE and BSE, combined.