MUMBAI: Keeping up with the trend of FMCG companies expanding media spends, Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care Ltd (PGHHCL) upped its advertising expenditure by 35.77 per cent for the second quarter ended 31 December. The company spent Rs 945.8 million in the second quarter compared with Rs 696.6 million a year earlier.

The ad spends exceeded the company‘s net profit in the second quarter by a wider margin compared with a year earlier. In the second quarter of FY13, the company‘s net profit was Rs 539.9 million, up 5.47 per cent from Rs 511.9 million a year earlier. Its total income in the second quarter grew by 32.68 per cent to Rs 4.71 billion from Rs 3.55 billion a year earlier.

The company‘s advertising spend to total income ratio was up marginally in Q2 FY13 to 20.09 per cent from 19.61 per cent a year earlier.

For the half year ended 31 December, P&G spent Rs 1.63 billion on advertising and promotion. This is a 22.56 per cent increase from H1 FY12‘s Rs 1.33 billion. The company‘s total income for the first half rose by 28.77 per cent to Rs 8.46 billion from Rs 6.57 billion a year earlier. The company‘s profit for the first half stood at Rs 992.6 million, up 5.63 per cent from Rs 393.7 million a year earlier.

P&G managing director Shantanu Khosla said, "Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care Ltd has sustained & improved the past quarter‘s strong growth momentum. We have registered robust sales and volume growth for the quarter ended December 31, 2012, as we implement our proven business model of delivering value to the consumers combined with effective pricing and productivity which is helping deliver consistent top and bottom-line growth."