Leading manufacturer of personal and household products, Godrej Consumer Products had reported a dip in its net profit growth 7.3 per cent to Rs 40 crore for the third quarter ended December 2008, from Rs 43 crore for the corresponding quarter in the previous year.

In a filing to the BSE, GCPL said that it had a consolidated profit after tax of Rs 43 crore in the third quarter last fiscal.

Confirming the development, Adi Godrej (Chairman and Managing Director, GCPL) said, “Despite a challenging economic environment, GCPL is doing well and we will continue to introduce interesting and exciting products in future keeping in mind consumer preferences and needs.”

The company, recently had launched a new strawberry and walnut variant of its Godrej No 1 soap. The consolidated total income of the second-largest toilet soaps player rose to Rs 343.63 crore in the quarter from Rs 274.22 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

It had a profit after tax of Rs 41.47 crore in the third quarter ended December 31, 2007.

Besides this, GCPL said that one of its promoters, Godrej Industries Ltd (GIL) has taken a loan from JP Morgan Security India Pvt Ltd by pledging 7.78 per cent of its stake in the company.