Britannia to invest Rs 1,000-mn in biscuit mfg units

Kolkata: Britannia Industries will invest nearly Rs 100 crore at its biscuit manufacturing units across the country this year, according to its Chairman, Mr Nusli N. Wadia.

The investment would be used for capacity expansion and procurement of new machinery at its existing plants, he said on the sidelines of the company’s annual general meeting here.

The company had invested Rs 200 crore over the last 18 months.

Mr Durgesh Mehta, Chief Financial Officer, said at a press conference following the AGM that Britannia was in talks with its co-promoter group Danone to settle disputes over the later using Britannia’s popular brand ‘Tiger’ in several counties outside India. Britannia had filed a case against its French partner Danone in Singapore and Malaysia over alleged unauthorised use and registration of the brand.

Earlier, addressing the shareholders Mr Wadia said he expects the dispute with Danone to be settled “soon”.

Tiger, the largest selling brand for Britannia, accounts for nearly 30 per cent of the company’s total sales.

Expressing concerns over the rising input costs of wheat, flour and edible oil by over 15 per cent in recent times, Mr Mehta said the company might have to partially pass on the cost hike to consumers by rising prices of products.

The company would also take measures to reduce operational costs by 2 per cent, he added.