Feb 3 (Reuters) - India's AWL Agri Business AWLA.NS reported a 35% slump in quarterly profit on Tuesday, with the cooking oil producer attributing the fall to a large one-off gain in the year-ago period due to sharp commodity price increases.
High commodity prices typically hurt packaged cooking oil makers by forcing price increases that squeeze sales volumes, though they can lead to a temporary boost through one-off inventory gains.
AWL, which makes the Fortune brand of cooking oil, reported a consolidated net profit of 2.69 billion rupees ($29.75 million) for the quarter ended December 31, compared to a profit of 4.11 billion rupees a year earlier.
The firm's edible oil business recorded an 8% growth in volumes during the quarter, with overall revenue climbing 10% to 186.03 billion rupees.
AWL Agri changed its name from Adani Wilmar in March last year after Indian conglomerate Adani Group exited the joint venture by selling its stake to Singapore's Wilmar International WLIL.SI.
Indian consumer goods makers have highlighted a rebound in demand after several quarters of lull, as the government's consumption tax cuts went into effect during the tail end of September, making their products more affordable.
($1 = 90.4325 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Mridula Kumar in Bengaluru and Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Eileen Soreng and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
((mridula.kumar@thomsonreuters.com))