Indian food products company Britannia Industries has appointed Varun Berry as its new CEO.
This appointment complements Berry’s existing roles as executive vice-chairman and managing director, as stated in the company’s stock exchange filing.
Berry succeeds Rajneet Kohli, who departed in March to join Hindustan Unilever as executive director of the foods business.
Having joined Britannia in 2013 as vice president and chief operating officer, Berry brings over 38 years of extensive experience from companies such as Hindustan Unilever and Pepsico, both in India and internationally.
The owner of acclaimed brands like Good Day, Tiger, and NutriChoice highlights Berry’s “successful track record in leading start-ups, joint ventures, and growing businesses.”
In conjunction with the CEO announcement, Britannia revealed its financial results for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year ending 31 March.
The company’s total revenue from operations for the quarter reached Rs44.32bn ($519m), signifying a year-on-year increase of 9.3%.
Total comprehensive income for the quarter increased by 4.2% to Rs5.56bn.
Net profit for this period rose to Rs5.59bn from Rs5.36bn in the previous year.
According to Berry, these performance highlights demonstrate the group’s “resilience in a challenging operating environment marked by rising commodity prices, changing channel dynamics, and subdued demand across FMCG categories.”
For the entire fiscal year, consolidated revenue from operations grew by 7%, totaling Rs179.42bn, while total comprehensive income edged up 2% to Rs21.84bn.
Moreover, net profit for the year slightly increased to Rs21.77bn from Rs21.34bn in the previous period.
Full-year basic and diluted earnings per share rose by 1.8% to Rs90.45.
The board has recommended a final dividend of Rs75 per equity share for FY2024–25, pending approval at the AGM.
Looking ahead, the new CEO stated that Britannia will “closely monitor commodity prices and evaluate their impact, while staying focused on driving healthy, profitable growth and strengthening our market leadership.”
