MAM
Britannia continues to increase ad spends
MUMBAI: Britannia Industries Ltd (BIL) has joined its peers in increasing ad spends in the first quarter ended 30 June 2012. The company increased its advertising and promotion spending by 19.93 per cent in the first quarter to Rs 986.7 million from Rs 822.7 million a year earlier.
BIL‘s ad spend in the first quarter accounted for 8.03 per cent of its standalone revenue, a 0.6 percentage point increase from last year‘s 7.43 per cent.
The company reported a 10.92 per cent increase in its standalone revenue to Rs 12.29 billion in the first quarter from Rs 11.08 billion a year earlier. It also reported an increase of 3.95 per cent in its net profit in the first quarter to Rs 434.5 million from Rs 418 million a year earlier.
Britannia has enhanced its premium cream portfolio with launch of several differentiated products including Bourbon Cappuccino, Pure Magic Praline and a new range of creamy flavours for Treat.
BIL managing director Vinita Bali said, “Our focus on strengthening the shape of our business has resulted in a 120 basis points increase in operating margin. We continue to work on the three priority areas of revenue management, cost management and innovation to improve the operational performance of all our categories – biscuits, bread, cake, rusk and dairy, both in India and overseas.”
MUMBAI: In India’s fast-moving payments race, Visa has just swiped in a new leader. The company has named Suresh Sethi as its India country head, marking a key leadership shift as it sharpens its focus on digital payments growth in the market. Sethi steps into the role following his recent exit from Protean eGov Technologies, where he served as chief executive officer. He succeeds Sandeep Ghosh, who has moved on after more than four years at Visa to pursue an external opportunity.
The appointment comes at a time when Visa is doubling down on its expansion strategy across India and the wider region, deepening partnerships and accelerating adoption in an increasingly competitive digital payments ecosystem.
Sethi brings with him a broad, cross-market perspective shaped by decades of experience across corporate banking, retail financial services, mobile money and large-scale government technology initiatives. He began his career at Citigroup, where he spent 14 years working across India, Africa, South America and the United States, focusing on transaction banking services within the corporate bank.
His appointment signals a blend of institutional experience and market familiarity qualities that could prove critical as Visa navigates a landscape where fintech innovation, regulatory evolution and consumer adoption are all accelerating at once.
As digital payments in India continue to scale rapidly, the leadership change underscores a simple reality, in a market where every tap, scan and swipe counts, who leads the charge can matter just as much as the technology itself.
