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Travel services company, Cox & Kings, posted a consolidated loss of Rs 7.6 crore in the third quarter as profits at subsidiary Holidaybreak Plc (HBR) dwindled on account of seasonal weakness. A creditable performance by HBR's standalone operations helped salvage the bottomline. HBR helped Cox and Kings' consolidated income soar by 163 per cent over the year to Rs 284.6 crore as robust domestic and global growth helped drive business But the seasonal nature of HBR's business meant the added business did not result in profit growth. Profits were also dented by interest expenses, which rose four-fold fold from the consolidation of HBR's debt into Cox and Kings books. EBIDTA was down by 41 per cent to Rs 22.7 crore as HBR reported an operating loss.

Airlines' troubles

India's three listed airlines have all posted losses in the recent December quarter, with high fuel cost and inability to raise fares being the main culprits. Kingfisher Airlines fared the worst with a loss of Rs 444 crore, followed by Jet Airways (Rs 101 crore) and SpiceJet (Rs 39 crore) respectively. Spice and Jet, unlike Kingfisher, saw losses narrow. Kingfisher's high cost structure continued to hurt it despite a lighter wage and fuel bill. Reason being curtailed operations did not allow forsales to expand. Hence, the cost-reduction really did not help margins. On the other hand, Jet Airways and SpiceJet grew sales by around 18 per cent and 52 per cent, thanks to robust demand. This helped restrict losses and lower fuel and employee costs as a percentage of sales.

Accelerating sales

The FMCG pack of companies had a stellar December quarter: Double-digit sales growth which was outpaced by profit growth. Costs also remained on a tight leash. This is even as most of Corporate India struggled to deliver growth. 15 FMCG companies, which announced their results, managed to expand their sales by 17-20 per cent this quarter, compared to the same quarter a year ago. Their combined profits vaulted by around 30 per cent. Price increases and volume growth across categories drove sales and profit growth. Most players claimed that they saw no slowing down in the offtake for FMCG products, despite inflation squeezing the consumer wallet. Rural demand continued to be strong, driven by a good monsoon and farm output. The 30 per cent profit increase managed by the FMCG sector makes it a top performer in the listed universe. Profit growth came from two key sources — price increases and cutbacks in advertising and promotional spends. With raw material prices cooling off and the rupee looking to bottom out, cost pressures for the sector look to be moderating.