Patanjali Foods doubled its year-on-year (YoY) profit for Q2FY24 as on Wednesday it reported a significant increase in its net profit of Rs 255 crore.

The sharp rise in the net profit was primarily due to other income, which rose to Rs 24 crore from Rs 10.5 crore a year ago, besides an improved operational performance, said the company.

Its revenue from operations, however, declined 8 per cent on year to Rs 7,822 crore. Its operating profit, calculated as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) doubled on year to Rs 395 crore. Operating profit margin expanded a sharp 276 basis points to 5.05 per cent.

For Q2FY24, total expenses for the quarter, including finance costs, were Rs 7,511 crore, compared to Rs 8,371 crore a year ago.

The company accrued a revenue of Rs 41.65 crore through exports. Patanjali’s products are exported to 23 countries.

Raw material expenses dropped to Rs 5,145 crore during the quarter, from Rs 6,712 crore a year ago, and aided the expansion in the profitability.

Double-digit drop in revenue in the mainstay edible oils business weighed on the overall performance. As per the results, revenue from the edible oils business declined 13.4 per cent on year to Rs 5,421 crore.

Food and FMCG business reported 5.5 per cent growth in revenue to Rs 2,487 crore. Further, the food & FMCG segment’s contribution to the total sales improved sequentially to 31.80 per cent from 25.14 per cent.

Patanjali’s edible oil segment faced pricing pressure during the last quarter, which weighed on the overall performance.

“I am optimistic about the upcoming festival seasons and increase in consumer spending to drive the growth in the coming quarter,” said Sanjeev Asthana, CEO, Patanjali Foods.

Asthana said: “Despite the challenging macro and operating environment, the first half of the fiscal year has ended on a positive note. I am pleased to inform that in the quarter the company performed well on the profitability metrics with both EBITDA and PAT showcasing strong growth on a QoQ basis. This growth is despite a flat sequential performance in terms of revenue from operations/total income.”

The pricing pressure was mainly due to excessive imports that led to elevated inventory levels, impacting both revenue and margins, the company said.

The price trend remained consistent with that in the June quarter, displaying divergent price fluctuations between the physical and futures markets.