May 6 (Reuters) - India's Godrej Consumer Products posted a 9.7% rise in fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, driven by strong volume growth in its India business and continued momentum in international markets.
The company, a unit of the real estate-to-dairy conglomerate Godrej Industries, reported consolidated net profit of 4.52 billion rupees ($47.78 million) for the quarter ended March 31, compared with 4.12 billion rupees a year ago.
Consolidated operating margin for the quarter stood at 21.7% in the quarter, compared with 21.6% a year ago.
Revenue from the sale of products rose 11.2% to 38.85 billion rupees, led by volume growth in the India business, which contributes 60.5% to overall sales.
In April, the company had warned that elevated crude and palm oil prices could raise costs by 6% to 9%, potentially pressuring margins.
However, calibrated pricing actions aided by better scale efficiencies and disciplined cost management helped earnings, the company said in an exchange filing.
The company said its India business is well placed to deliver continued growth in FY27 at stable margins, supported by improving demand trends and consistent in-market execution.
Its India business posted 8% underlying volume growth and 10% sales growth, driven by strong demand in home care categories, including household insecticides, air fresheners and fabric care.
Godrej Consumer's Africa, U.S. and Middle East business also grew 20% during the quarter, while Indonesia sales rose 3% as pricing pressures began to stabilise.
($1 = 94.6100 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Surbhi Misra in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Harikrishnan Nair)
