Brands
Lotus Chocolate turns up sweet results for FY ‘25
MUMBAI: Lotus Chocolate Co’s profits have soared, with the confectioner reporting a 240 per cent surge in annual profit to Rs 1,722.72 lakh for the financial year ended 31 March 2025.
The Hyderabad-based chocolate maker saw its revenue nearly treble to Rs 57,375.03 lakh, up from Rs 20,003.13 lakh in the previous year, according to the audited financial results approved by the company’s board on Monday.
The firm’s earnings per share jumped to Rs 13.42 from Rs 3.84 in the previous fiscal year, giving investors plenty to cheer about. The results suggest Lotus’s recipe for growth is hitting the sweet spot with consumers across India.
The company’s balance sheet reveals a substantial expansion in scale, with total assets ballooning to Rs 27,034.45 lakh from Rs 7,309.62 lakh. A significant portion of this growth appears in the company’s inventories, which jumped more than sevenfold to Rs 8,061.50 lakh, and trade receivables, which soared to Rs 13,308.49 lakh from Rs 2,689.51 lakh last year.
The chocolate maker has been on an aggressive expansion drive, with borrowings surging to Rs 14,837.71 lakh from Rs 528.80 lakh. This debt-fuelled growth strategy appears to be working, with the company’s equity rising to Rs 5,953.27 lakh from Rs 4,245.35 lakh.
The results incorporate the amalgamation of Soubhagya Confectionery Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary that was merged with Lotus following approval from the National Company Law Tribunal in August 2024.
The final quarter results tell a different story. Despite Q4 revenue more than doubling to Rs 15,745.39 lakh compared to Rs 6,581.79 lakh in the same period last year, the company’s quarterly profit plummeted by 65 per cent to Rs 141.55 lakh from Rs 400.27 lakh.
This stark contrast between revenue growth and profit decline in Q4 appears to be driven by several factors. Cost of materials consumed surged 152 per cent to Rs 13,124.71 lakh, while finance costs skyrocketed to Rs 299.62 lakh from Rs 22 lakh. The company also saw its other expenses double to Rs 1,082.85 lakh.
Adding to the quarterly squeeze, Lotus faced a tax expense of Rs 51.12 lakh, compared to a tax benefit of Rs 251.25 lakh in the same quarter last year—a swing that further eroded the bottom line.
Despite a dip in performance in the final quarter, the overall annual figures suggest Lotus Chocolate is successfully unwrapping new growth opportunities in India’s increasingly sweet-toothed market.
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.
