Britannia
Industries Limited one of the most respected player in the Indian Foods market.
The trade name Britannia is a household
name in India. It has a wide range of product like Tiger, Marie Gold, Good Day,
50:50,Treat and many more
The
Company was formed in the year 1918 as a public limited company. The company
has manufacturing facilities at Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai and Uttarakhand. Its
production facilities are well equipped with modern ovens and other amenities. The
company relied on quality and value. Soon the company built up a brand name
that carried the blessings of the Indian consumers. The company has a unique
credit of supplying service biscuits to the armed forces, which speaks volume
of its commitment to quality and value.
The
expansion of the company actually began in the year 1924 with a new facility at
Mumbai. In 1952 the Kolkatta facility was relocated at a larger complex,
Taratola Road. Two years back the company went on modernizing the factories
with automatic machines. In 1965, the
company started making Bread at a mew bakery in Delhi. It was in 1976 the
company expanded its Bread business to Calcutta and Chennai.
The
year 1978 was an important milestone for Britannia. After its Public issue, the
company changed its name to Britannia Industries Limited (BIL), which came into
effect from 3rd October, 1979
In
the year 1980 a collaboration arrangement was announced with Nebico Ltd, a
Nepal based company for technical know how for the production of biscuits.
During the year 1990, new brands of biscuits were launched. They
are Elaichi Cream and and Petit Beurre ,variant
of the brand Milk Bikis. These brands were well received by the Indian
consumers. The company also expanded its bread business with the launch of Milk Bread and Brown Bread and fruit Bread from its Bakery in Delhi.
In
1993 the Wadia group became equal partner in BIL in this year trhe company
entered into the dairy products market. The
company started marketing cakes filled with cream in two variants,
chocolate-vanilla and vanilla-orange. The Company also brought out flavored milk under the brand Zip-Sip. The
company launched Britannia Milkman
Butter, under the Milkman brand.
BIL
entered into agreement to acquire 49 per cent of Kwality
Biscuits in the year 2001.in the year 2002, the company announced a joint venture with the Fonterra Cooperative
Group, New Zealand's biggest diary co-operative group. With this Britannia New Zealand Foods Pvt. Ltd was born.
During
the year 2004, Britannia added more variants to its existing brands with great
success. In the year 200 BIL had forged
an alliance with CCD Daily Bread Pvt Ltd,
This was a Bangalore based Company engaged in manufacturing and retailing of bakery
products.In the year 2007, Britannia industries reported a joint venture with
the Khimji Ramdas Group and acquired a 70 percent stake in the Dubai-based Strategic Foods
International Co. LLC and 65.4% in the Oman-based Al Sallan Food Industries Co.
SAOG.
The
respected Business Today ranked this company
and gave the 27th rank
which speaks volume of the company.
In
the year September 1999 the company announced a bonus at the ratio of 1:2. In the
year 2010 March another bonus at the ratio of 1:1 was offered. In September
2010 the face value was split from Rs.10 to Rs.2.
According
to available data the gross sales for the period ending March 13 was 5564 Cr. The total
reported income was 5671 Cr. Total expenditure
of the company stood at 5244 Cr. The reported
profit after tax was 234 Cr. The EPS it
at 19.6 the dividend for the year ending March 13 was 425%. The face value of
the stock is Rs. 2/-
Some
of the prominent Mutual Funds that hold this stock in their portfolio are HDFC
Tax Saver Fund (65.99Cr.), Birla Sun Life
Frontline Plan A(G) , (22.52Cr.), Birla Sun Life Midcap Fund Plan A(G), 22.64Cr.)
HDFC Long Term Advantage Fund (G) (17.38 Cr.) Reliance Long Term Equity Fund
(G) (17.2 Cr.)
At
the time of writing this review the company’s shares were trading at Rs.679. in the
recent months many investors have parked their money in this counter. The BIL
has not let them down. The manner in which the company conducts its business
amid stiff competition has earned a good name for investment. Short term and
long term investors can consider this company for adding to their portfolio. This
share is most suitable for long term investment.
