Tata Coffee on Thursday posted a more than two-fold jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 57.37 crore for the fourth quarter of the 2020-21 fiscal on strong income. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 24.05 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal, according to a regulatory filing.

Net income rose by 17 per cent to Rs 612.06 crore in the fourth quarter of 2020-21 from Rs 523.46 crore in the year-ago period. Expenses remained higher at Rs 529.48 crore as against Rs 475.71 crore in the said period.

Tata Coffee Managing Director Chacko P Thomas said: ”Despite challenging conditions, our overall performance has been strong.” Instant coffee exports during the quarter were higher despite logistics issues and fresh wave of lockdowns in Europe, which are expected to ease in the near future, he said. Thomas further said, ”We have seen stable performances across key geographies. Our Vietnam operations continue to be robust and the order pipeline continues to be healthy.”

However, the company sees slowdown in demand in some geographies in the short-term, especially in the ’out-of-home’ consumption due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said. ”We are also keeping a close watch on any other possible impacts of the second wave of this pandemic,” he said, adding that the company continues to drive aggressive cost optimisation initiatives across its operations.

Subsidiary firm Eight O’Clock Coffee also recorded improved performance, driven by higher sales realisations and favourable channel mix, he added. The board has recommended a dividend of Rs 1.50 per share for 2020-21 fiscal. Shares of the company settled up 0.35 percent at Rs 127.85 apiece on BSE on Thursday.

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