Brands
Britannia bites into growth as profits rise despite incentive crunch
Higher volumes lift Q3 numbers even as tax tweaks trim operating income.
MUMBAI: Biscuits may be everyday fare, but Britannia Industries Limited served up a fairly chunky set of numbers in the December 2025 quarter, proving that steady demand can still outweigh policy crumbs.
For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, Britannia reported total income of Rs 5,029.28 crore, up from Rs 4,655.08 crore a year ago. Revenue from operations came in at Rs 4,969.82 crore, driven largely by sale of goods worth Rs 4,885.23 crore, compared with Rs 4,463.30 crore in the same quarter last year.
Profit before tax rose to Rs 919.03 crore from Rs 778.39 crore a year earlier, while net profit for the quarter climbed to Rs 682.14 crore, up from Rs 582.30 crore in the December 2024 quarter. Earnings per share followed suit, rising to Rs 28.23 from Rs 24.15.
For the nine months ended December 31, 2025, the company posted revenue from operations of Rs 14,432.67 crore, compared with Rs 13,510.48 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net profit for the nine-month period stood at Rs 1,857.33 crore, up from Rs 1,618.73 crore, underlining consistent growth across quarters.
Costs, however, continued to nibble at margins. Total expenses for the December quarter rose to Rs 4,107.59 crore from Rs 3,874.65 crore a year ago, with higher employee benefits expense of Rs 214.73 crore and other expenses of Rs 955.28 crore reflecting inflationary pressures and scale-up costs.
A notable dent came from policy changes. Following a reduction in State Goods and Services Tax rates in September 2025, Britannia’s entitlement to state fiscal incentives fell, reducing other operating revenue by about Rs 65 crore in the December quarter. That said, the impact was partially cushioned by recognition of Rs 45.72 crore as fiscal incentive income relating to the period from April 2024 to September 2025, after receiving approval from a state government.
Other income for the quarter stood at Rs 59.46 crore, including dividends of Rs 34.53 crore received from subsidiaries. Over the nine-month period, dividend income from subsidiaries totalled Rs 93.47 crore, providing an additional buffer to the bottom line.
For context, in the year ended March 31, 2025, Britannia had reported revenue from operations of Rs 17,942.67 crore and net profit of Rs 2,177.86 crore, making the current nine-month performance broadly in line with its longer-term growth trajectory.
All told, while fiscal incentives may be shrinking, Britannia’s core business continues to rise to the occasion, showing that in the FMCG game, volume, brand loyalty and scale can still help a company keep its balance even when the policy recipe changes.
Brands
Lululemon picks former Nike executive to be its next chief
Heidi O’Neill, who helped grow Nike into a $45 billion giant, will take the top job in September
CANADA: Lululemon has found its next chief executive, and she comes with serious credentials. The athleisure giant named Heidi O’Neill as its new CEO on Wednesday, ending a search that has left the company running on interim leadership since earlier this year. O’Neill will take charge on September 8, 2026, based out of Vancouver, and will join the board on the same day.
O’Neill brings more than three decades of experience across performance apparel, footwear and sport. The bulk of that time was spent at Nike, where she was a central figure in one of corporate sport’s great growth stories, helping take the company from a $9 billion business to a $45 billion global powerhouse. She oversaw product pipelines, brand strategy and consumer connections, and played a significant role in shaping how Nike spoke to athletes around the world. Earlier in her career, she worked in marketing for the Dockers brand at Levi Strauss. She also brings boardroom experience from Spotify Technology, Hyatt Hotels and Lithia and Driveway.
The board was unequivocal in its enthusiasm. “We selected Heidi because of the breadth of her experience, her demonstrated success delivering breakthrough ideas and initiatives at scale, and her ability to be a knowledgeable change and growth agent,” said Marti Morfitt, executive chair of Lululemon’s board.
O’Neill, for her part, was bullish. “Lululemon is an iconic brand with something rare: genuine guest love, a product ethos rooted in innovation, and a global platform still in the early stages of its potential,” she said. “My job will be to accelerate product breakthroughs, deepen the brand’s cultural relevance, and unlock growth in markets around the world.”
Until she arrives, Meghan Frank and André Maestrini will continue as interim co-CEOs, before returning to their previous senior leadership roles once O’Neill steps in.
Lululemon is betting that a Nike veteran who helped build one of the world’s most powerful sports brands can do something similar for an athleisure label that has genuine love from its customers but is still chasing its full global potential. O’Neill has done it before at scale. The question now is whether she can do it again.
