Costs bite into Havmor profit, even as summer demand soars

Havmor plans to continue expanding its franchise-led parlour network, which includes 250 outlets

- Gaurav Laghate

Havmor Ice Cream, owned by South Korea's Lotte Well Food Co. Ltd, is seeing a strong demand for its products this summer, but surging input costs have squeezed margins, Komal Anand, managing director of the company, said. While revenue continues to benefit from seasonal tailwinds, inflation in key commodities—especially chocolate and dairy—has put significant pressure on profitability, he said.

"This summer has been very strong from a demand perspective, but we're seeing severe headwinds on the bottom line. Cocoa prices have nearly tripled compared with last year, and white butter and skimmed milk powder prices are rising as well," Anand told Mint. "For a chocolate-heavy portfolio such as ours, this has a substantial impact."