BENGALURU: Britannia Industries said disruption in wholesale channels following GST-related pricing changes in the biscuit market as well as higher fuel and freight costs arising from the West Asia conflict impacted growth during the March quarter, prompting the company to initiate calibrated price increases and cost-control measures.The maker of Good Day and Marie Gold biscuits reported a consolidated profit of Rs 679.7 crore for the quarter ended March 31, up 21.6% from Rs 559.1 crore a year ago. Total income rose 6.2% to Rs 4,774.4 crore from Rs 4,495.2 crore. For FY26, total income rose 6.6% to Rs 19,375.6 crore, while profit for the period rose 16.5% to Rs 2,537 crore.On the analyst call, managing director and chief executive Rakshit Hargway said Britannia’s domestic business was growing at about 9-9.5% before slowing in March, when the company faced disruption in international operations linked to the West Asia conflict.Britannia said its international business had been hit by ship unavailability and slow demand in the region, while fuel costs and ocean freight rates had also risen sharply following disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz.The company manufactures a significant portion of products for international markets in Oman and Dubai. Hargrave said Britannia has begun shifting part of its export-oriented production back to its Mundra facility to reduce reliance on West Asian shipping routes and expects the transition to be fully operational by mid-May.Britannia said that while wheat prices remain favourable, fuel and laminate prices have become inflationary. The company said it will make calibrated price increases and grammatic adjustments from the current quarter to compensate for rising input costs.The management also pointed to temporary disruption in the wholesale and rural channels when some biscuit makers moved to interim price points of Rs 4.5 and Rs 9 following the GST rate cut, while Britannia retained Rs 5 and Rs 10 packs, which form a major part of the industry’s sales.“About 60-65% of the biscuits we sell are at the Rs 5 and Rs 10 price point,” Hargrave said. He said this resulted in uneven trade margins and slow transactions in wholesale channels due to “double pricing”. The company said it expects those channels to stabilize during the current quarter.Britannia said volume growth during the quarter was about 5.5%, while modern trade and ecommerce channels continued to see double-digit growth. Quick Commerce now contributes about 70% of the company’s eCommerce business, with premium and impulse-based categories such as croissants, wafers and indulgent snacks seeing strong traction online. Ecommerce contributed 6% to its domestic business in FY26, up from 4% in FY25.
