Jubilant FoodWorks suffers nearly 11% fall in quarterly net

Jubilant FoodWorks suffers nearly 11% fall in quarterly netJubilant FoodWorks Ltd., the operator of widely popular Dominos Pizza and Dunkin' Donuts chains in India, suffered a decline of around 11 per cent in quarterly standalone net profit even as net sales jumped significantly.

The company on Tuesday announced that its standalone net profit slipped 10.9 per cent to Rs 33.59 crore in the three months ended December 31, 2013. Net profit slipped even as the company's net sales jumped from Rs 385.08 crore in the October-December quarter of 2012 to Rs 456.51 crore in the same quarter of 2013.

Shyam S. Bhartia, chairman of Jubilant FoodWorks, said the company's third quarter results reflected the changing conditions in India economy. He blamed inflation for hurting already fragile consumer confidence.

Commenting on the Q3 figures, Bhartia said, "We believe the overall stress in the market conditions during the year along with ongoing inflationary pressures have brought about an unfavourable constraint on an already fragile consumer confidence."

During the quarter under review, Jubilant FoodWorks' expenses jumped to Rs 408.76 crore, from Rs 331.97 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

However, the decline in profit couldn't discourage Jubilant FoodWorks from advancing with its expansion plans. The company said it would open 145 new Domino's Pizza restaurants and 20 Dunkin' Donuts restaurants by the end of this fiscal.