Dabur India Ltd, the maker of ‘Real’ fruit juices and other fast-moving consumer goods, witnessed a 10.2% growth in its net profit for the third quarter of fiscal 2018-19 on the back of a robust performance of its domestic business.
During the quarter, the consolidated net profit of the homegrown FMCG major grew to Rs 366.1 crore from Rs 332.1 crore a year ago. The company reported an 11.8% growth in consolidated revenue to Rs 2,199.2 crore during the third quarter, up from Rs 1,966.4 crore a year ago. The performance on a standalone basis was even better. Standalone net profit during the third quarter went up 17.6% to Rs 312.1 crore from Rs 265.5 crore last year.
The domestic FMCG business grew 15.2%, with an underlying volume growth of 12.4% during the quarter, the company said in a statement on Thursday.
"While the global macroeconomic environment continues to be challenging and competitive intensity remains high, we have put in place strategies to move forward on our profitable growth track by efficiently managing the risks and challenges," said Sunil Duggal, CEO, Dabur India Ltd. “We are investing behind our brands, accelerating on product innovation efforts, and are confident of delivering sustainable long-term growth”
During the quarter, revenue growth was led by consumer care business (Rs 1,911.56 crore), followed by food (Rs 226.60 crore )and retail (Rs 34.24 crore) segments.
“On three year basis, average volume of Dabur has grown at 6.8%, HUL [Hindustan Unilever Limited] at 5.7% and GCPL [Godrej Consumer Products Limited] at 5.3%,” said Abneesh Roy, senior vice president of Edelweiss Securities.
Dabur’s Duggal expressed confidence that in the medium-term prospects for India remain robust. He added that the domestic consumer sentiment, particularly in the rural markets will gain pace in the months to come.
Dabur also announced a change at the helm of the company. From April 1, 2019, Mohit Malhotra will take over from Duggal as the CEO of Dabur. The 49-year old Malhotra is currently the CEO of the company's India business. Duggal has been the CEO of Dabur Ltd for 17 years.
Announcing the appointment of Malhotra, Dabur India chairman Dr. Anand C Burman said, “During the last few years, the Board of Directors of the Company had undertaken a succession planning exercise to identify the successor to take over the responsibility from Sunil Duggal, who has been the Dabur India Ltd CEO since 2002…As a result of this process, Mohit Malhotra was found to be suitable as a successor."
On Thursday, Dabur’s shares closed at 2.88% higher on the BSE at Rs 443.25.
