Brands
Britannia FY-2014 ad and sales promo spends up 13 per cent; PAT up 52 per cent
BENGALURU: Indian food industry major Britannia Industries Limited (Britannia) advertisement and sales promotion expense (ASP) in FY-2014 at Rs 603.65 crore (8.7 per cent of Net Total Income from Operations or Op Inc) was 13 per cent more than the Rs 534.28 crore (8.6 per cent of Op Inc) that the company spent in the previous fiscal towards this head. However, in Q4-2014, the company’s ASP was 5.9 per cent lower at Rs 146.19 crore (8.1 per cent of Op Inc) than the Rs 155.28 crore (8.7 per cent of Op Inc) in Q3-2014 and 0.4 per cent less than the Rs 146.76 crore (8.9 per cent of Op Inc) in Q4-2013.
Note: 100,00,000 = 1 crore = 100 lakh = 10 million
In FY-2014, the company reported a 11.8 per cent jump in Op Inc to Rs 6912.71 crore from Rs 6185.41 crore in FY-2013. For Q4-2014, Britannia’s Op Inc at Rs 1812.44 crore was 1.1 per cent more than the Rs 1793.01 crore in the immediate trailing quarter and was 9.7 per cent more than the Rs 1651.66 crore in the year ago quarter Q4-2013.
Though in rupee value terms, Britannia’s ASP over eight quarters starting with Q1-2013 till Q4-2014 shows an upward linear trend, in terms of percentage of Op Inc., ASP expense seems to have flattened out linearly to about 8.7 per cent of Op Inc over this period (which is also the average ASP in terms if percentage of Op Inc over the 8 quarters). Over a five year period starting FY-2010 till FY-2014, the company’s ASP spent has been trending upward linearly, both in terms of rupees spent and in terms of percentage of Op Inc. Please refer to Fig. 1A and 1B below.
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Fig. 1B below is quite interesting. During the eight quarters under consideration, the two curves representing percentage changes of Op Inc and ASP between two corresponding quarters (Q-o-q) run side by side, except between Q1-2014 and Q2-2014 where they intersect. This suggests that a change in ASP spends definitely effects the Op Inc, a dip in ASP results in a dip in Op Inc growth, and an increase in ASP results in an increase Op Inc growth.
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Britannia reported PAT of Rs 395.35 crore (5.7 per cent of Op Inc) in FY-2014, which was a phenomenal 52.4 per cent more that the Rs 259.5 crore (4.2 per cent of Op Inc) in FY-2013. For Q4-2014, the company’s PAT at Rs 108.12 crore (6 per cent of Op Inc) which was 7.8 per cent more than the Rs 100.32 crore (5.6 per cent of Op Inc) in Q3-2014 and 17.2 per cent more than the Rs 92.26 crore (5.6 per cent of Op Inc) in Q4-2013. Across the eight quarters and the five years under consideration, PAT curves and ASP curves in terms of percentage of Op Inc run side by side and are almost parallel. The company’s PAT has been climbing upwards from 3.4 per cent of Op Inc in FY-2010 to 5.7 per cent of Op Inc in FY-2014. Across the eight quarters under consideration, PAT has climbed from 3.4 per cent of Op Inc in Q1-2013 to 6 per cent of Op Inc in Q4-2014. As mentioned above, ASP in terms of percentage of Op Inc seems to have flattened out. Please refer to Fig 2 below:
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Commenting on the performance, Britannia managing director Varun Berry said, “Overall, It’s been a good year with double digit revenue growth and a solid profit growth. This is the result of disciplined effort that focused on the primary building blocks of business viz. supporting our brands, an empowered and passionate front-line organisation delivering increased distribution depth in urban and width in rural India, consistently high product quality and improved operational efficiency. Toughening economic environment called for a focus on fundamentals and we did that. We have established a great platform to take our organization to greater heights.”
The board of directors has recommended a dividend of 600 per cent or Rs 12 per equity share of Rs 2 each.
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Brands
Havas reports solid Q1 2026 with 2.5 per cent organic net revenue growth
Advertising group maintains positive momentum and confirms full-year guidance.
MUMBAI: Havas has started 2026 on a strong note proving that even in uncertain times, its converged model continues to deliver. The global advertising and communications group reported net revenue of €638 million for the first quarter of 2026, representing organic growth of +2.5 per cent compared to the same period last year. This performance was driven particularly by a robust +7.4 per cent organic growth in the United States.
Total revenue for the quarter reached €667 million, with organic growth of +2.8 per cent. Recent acquisitions contributed a positive scope impact of +1.7 per cent, while foreign exchange movements had a negative impact of -5.8 per cent, mainly due to the US dollar and British pound.
Europe, which accounts for 50 per cent of net revenue, delivered +1.1 per cent organic growth, supported by a good performance in France. North America (36 per cent of net revenue) led the way with +7.4 per cent growth, thanks to strong contributions from both Havas Creative and Havas Media. APAC & Africa (8 per cent) saw a decline of -6.2 per cent, while Latin America (6 per cent) remained nearly stable at -0.6 per cent.
Havas chairman and CEO Yannick Bolloré said, “Havas has started 2026 on a solid footing, continuing its momentum and delivering organic growth in net revenue of +2.5 per cent. This performance, in line with our full-year 2026 guidance, was driven in particular by continued strength in the US.”
The group also continued its bolt-on acquisition strategy, acquiring majority stakes in four agencies during the quarter: Acento Public Affairs (Spain), Ctrl Digital (Sweden), Styleheads (Germany), and Eyesight (France).
Havas maintained its strong creative reputation, ranking as a top holding company in the WARC Creative 100 for the sixth consecutive year, with three agencies BETC, Havas Paris, and Havas India placing in the Top 50.
Looking ahead, Havas confirmed its 2026 guidance: organic net revenue growth between +2.0 per cent and +3.0 per cent, adjusted EBIT margin between 13.2 per cent and 13.5 per cent, and a dividend payout ratio of around 40 per cent. The group also reiterated its medium-term targets for 2028.
Despite ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, Havas enters the rest of the year with solid fundamentals and confidence in its ability to deliver sustainable, profitable growth.
In a challenging environment, Havas is proving that its integrated, client-centric model remains resilient delivering steady growth while continuing to invest in creativity and innovation. The first quarter results suggest the group is well-positioned to navigate the year ahead with confidence.
