Tata Consumer Products Ltd’s shares have had investors’ love for some time now. In the calendar year 2020, the shares had appreciated as much as 84 per cent on the National Stock Exchange, easily making it one of the best performing consumer stocks in the country.

After the sharp re-rating, 2021 has begun on a relatively slow note with the shares gaining around 5 per cent so far. This is after accounting for nearly a 5 per cent drop in early deals on Friday after the company’s March quarter financial results disappointed the Street.

Consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) declined by 2.6 per cent over the same period last year to Rs 300 crore vis-à-vis Bloomberg consensus estimates of Rs353 crore. Ebitda margins contracted by 294 basis points year-on-year to 9.9 per cent. One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.

Overall, Tata Consumer’s revenues grew by 26 per cent year-on-year to Rs 3,037 crore. Weaker operating profit meant pre-tax and exceptional item earnings grew at a much slower pace of 5.8 per cent.