Food company Britannia Industries Ltd on Monday posted a 32.90 percent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 402.73 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2019.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 303.03 crore for the July-September period a year ago, Britannia Industries said in a BSE filing.

Net sales were up 5.88 percent to Rs 3,022.91 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 2,854.81 crore of the corresponding quarter previous fiscal.

Commenting on the results Britannia Industries MD Varun Berry said, “We continued to grow faster than the market with sequential revenue growth of 13 percent. In the base business, we continued our premiumisation and innovation journey... during this phase of sluggish demand, we continued to invest in enhancing our brand equity through focused product campaigns."

On the cost front, the company witnessed moderate inflation in the prices of key raw materials for the bakery business, while there was an inordinate increase in milk prices which impacted dairy business, he added.

"We, however, accelerated the drive on cost efficiencies and leveraged fixed costs which helped us in improving the shape of our business and deliver highest ever operating profits in the quarter," he noted.

Total expenses stood at Rs 2,617.64 crore during the period as against Rs 2,454.58 crore, up 6.64 percent.

Shares of Britannia Industries Ltd on Monday settled at Rs 3,116.25 apiece on the BSE, down 1.43 percent from the previous close.