Shares of Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd. fell the most in three months on Wednesday after the company’s December quarter earnings missed estimates.

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The company on Wednesday reported consolidated revenue from operations of Rs 1,332 crore in the December quarter, 10 percent higher from the year-ago revenue of Rs 1,210.8 crore but 1.8 percent down from the CNBC-TV18 poll of Rs 1,356 crore.

Profit after tax (PAT) stood at Rs 80.4 crore, down 39.7 percent from Rs 133.2 crore in the year-ago quarter and 36.2 percent from the CNBC-TV18 poll of Rs 126 crore.

The company’s operating profit or EBITDA stood at Rs 286.4 crore, down 10.2 percent from Rs 319.1 crore a year ago and 12.4 percent down from the estimate of Rs 286.4 crore.

EBITDA margins also fell sharply to 21.5 percent from 26.4 percent in the year-ago quarter and were down 260 basis points from the estimate of 24.1 percent due to high inflation.

The management attributed the drop in margin to higher costs, particularly that of cheese, which is the highest in a decade, along with higher prices of wheat flour and hike in minimum wages in many states.

Shares saw sharp cuts after Domino's India reported flat Like-for-Like growth during the quarter, while a CNBC-TV18 poll had expected growth to be between 4-6 percent.

The company plans on getting the LFL growth back on track by focusing on providing excellent service to customers, doubling down on digital assets, enrolling customers in the loyalty program and planning geographic expansion carefully.

Jubilant Foodworks added 73 stores during the quarter, taking the total number of stores to 221.

Jubilant FoodWorks is India’s largest food service company and holds the franchise rights of the Domino’s Pizza brand in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal. It also enjoys exclusive rights to develop and operate Dunkin’ restaurants in India and Popeyes restaurants in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan.

Shares of Jubilant Foodworks ended 6.3 percent lower at Rs 455.95.

(Edited by : Rukmani Krishna)