Kolkata, India, July 29 - India's top biscuit maker Britannia Industries Ltd will spend 750 million rupees to 1 billion rupees ($18-$24 million) to raise capacity, and expects to maintain margins, a senior official said on Monday.
"We will fund the investments through internal accruals," Chief Financial Officer Durgesh Mehta told reporters after the annual shareholders' meeting.
The firm, a venture of France's Danone and India's Wadia Group, expects to maintain operating margins at the 2007/08 level of 9 percent despite a 15-20 percent rise in costs of raw materials such as wheat, milk powder and vegetable oil.
"We will maintain margins by reducing operating costs through better use of equipment and energy," he said.
The firm is also looking at introducing new products, he said, to take on increasing competition from rivals such as new entrant ITC Ltd, the top cigarette maker.
"We are also looking at both organic and inorganic growth opportunities abroad," he said, without specifying details.
Britannia earlier posted a 12 percent increase in quarterly net profit to 403 million rupees. ($1=42.5 rupees)