New Delhi, May 10 (PTI) FMCG products maker Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care Ltd on Wednesday reported a 60.44 per cent increase in profit after tax (PAT) to Rs 165.02 crore during the third quarter ended March 31, helped by tax gains and premiumisation of products.

The company, which follows the July-June financial year, had reported a PAT of Rs 102.85 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

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Its sales in the January-March quarter were down around 1 per cent at Rs 881.31 crore. It was at Rs 889.49 crore in the corresponding quarter, Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care Ltd (PGHH) said in a regulatory filing.

"In a challenging cost environment, the company continued to make sequential progress in profit growth with PAT at Rs 165 crore, up 17 per cent operationally vs year ago fueled by premiumisation and productivity interventions," said an earning statement from PGHH.

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PGHH's total expenses were at Rs 751.97 crore in the March quarter, down 9.20 per cent as against Rs 828.19 crore a year ago.

"The period also saw an impact on sales of 8 per cent due to one-time non-operating income in the base period. With this, the reported sales were down 9 per cent vs a year ago. Reported profit after tax was up 60 per cent vs year ago due to one-time tax impacts," it said.

The total income of PGHH, which owns popular brands such as Vicks in healthcare and Whisper in feminine care, was at Rs 897.53 crore, down 8.34 per cent.

Commenting on the results PGHH Managing Director LV Vaidyanathan said: "Despite a challenging operating environment, we delivered a resilient performance in the quarter, recording a strong sequential growth in profit. This has been possible behind our integrated growth strategies of a focused product portfolio, superiority, productivity, constructive disruption, and an agile and accountable organization structure."

Shares of Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care Ltd on Wednesday settled at Rs 13,713.80, down 0.53 per cent from the previous close.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)