Strong summer demand lifts Milky Mist's Q1 profit
Milky Mist Dairy Food Ltd, the Tamil Nadu-based value-added dairy products company, reported a nearly tenfold jump in net profit for the first quarter ended June 2026, its maiden quarterly results after a public market debut earlier in August. Profit after tax came in at Rs 64.7 crore (reported by The Hindu Business Line as ₹64.7 crore, and by The New Indian Express as Rs 64.68 crore), compared with Rs 6.5 crore in the year-ago quarter. Moneycontrol put the figure at Rs 64.5 crore against Rs 5.7 crore in the corresponding period, and described the profit growth as over 1,000%.
Revenue from operations rose 44% to Rs 973 crore from Rs 678 crore in the same quarter last year, as reported by both The Hindu Business Line and The New Indian Express. Moneycontrol reported a 45% rise to Rs 973 crore, with a comparison quarter figure of Rs 673 crore.
Category-wise performance
Paneer remained the company's largest contributor to total sales, with revenue growing 34% year-on-year, according to The Hindu Business Line, Moneycontrol, and The New Indian Express. Ice cream sales rose 60% year-on-year, while cheese and curd categories grew 38% and 27% respectively. Yogurt emerged as a standout performer, with revenue up 153% year-on-year, likely helped by premium protein and greek yogurt offerings, as The Hindu Business Line noted.
Management commentary
K Rathnam, Whole-time Director and Chief Executive Officer of Milky Mist, said the revenue growth was aided by strong year-on-year growth in the summer portfolio due to an extended summer season, particularly in South India. "We have further strengthened the growth through continued process and product innovation while improving our market penetration in existing markets as well as expanding to new geographies by adding nearly 200 additional distributors," he said, as quoted by The Hindu Business Line.
Rathnam also attributed gross profit expansion to "higher volume growth, improved product mix and pricing ability," a comment reported by both The Hindu Business Line and Moneycontrol. "As we look ahead to FY27, our focus will remain on driving profitable growth through portfolio expansion, operating discipline and investments in our manufacturing and distribution capabilities," he added.
Chief Financial Officer Biswajit Mishra said the company did not take any price hike in Q1FY27, with a roughly 11% price increase taken in Q4FY26 supporting margins in the June quarter. Mishra also noted that the company has taken some price increases in Q2FY27 due to rising milk procurement and other input costs, as reported by The Hindu Business Line.
Outlook and procurement expansion
The company expects to grow roughly 33-35% in FY27, in line with its growth over the last four to five financial years, Rathnam said at a media press conference, as reported by The Hindu Business Line. The New Indian Express reported that the company gives guidance of 30% growth for FY27.
On the supply side, Rathnam said the company's farmer network has grown to about 80,000-82,000 farmers from 75,000 a year ago, with daily milk collection rising to about 13 lakh litres in Q1 from 10 lakh litres in the previous quarter. The company plans to bring nearly 5,000 additional farmers into its network in the current financial year, he added.
Regulatory tailwind for paneer
Rathnam said the recent crackdown by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on analogue and other unorganised forms of paneer may lead to further expansion of the company's paneer capacity. He said that if the ban on analogue paneer catches up nationwide, the company may evaluate further capacity expansion in Q2, as reported by The Hindu Business Line. The New Indian Express similarly quoted Rathnam saying the crackdown on analog paneer will help organised players like Milky Mist grow in the segment.