Dabur Q2 profit rises 3% to Rs 507 crore

Dabur Q2 Results: Dabur India on Thursday reported 3.3 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 507.04 crore for September quarter 2023-24, helped by improvement in gross margins led by moderating inflation and volume growth.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 490.86 crore in the July-September period a year ago, according to a regulatory filing by the homegrown FMCG major.

Revenue from operations grew to Rs 3,203.84 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 2,986.49 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

The revenue growth was driven by steady performance of both Home & Personal Care and Health Care businesses. "The Q2 Revenue growth stands at 10.4 per cent on a Constant Currency basis," Dabur India said in an earnings statement.

Total expenses climbed 8 per cent to Rs 2,669.43 crore in the September quarter.

Total income of Dabur India in the September quarter was at Rs 3,320.25 crore, up 6.76 per cent.

"We have delivered steady revenue and double-digit operating profit growth with improvement in gross margins led by moderating inflation. We believe we are on the right path with our strategic playbook. We remain focused on managing our business with agility, leveraging our strong distribution footprint while enhancing our margins, quarter after quarter," Dabur India CEO Mohit Malhotra said.

On standalone basis, which consists of the domestic business, Dabur's revenue from operations increased 2.97 per cent to Rs 2,334.4 crore. It was Rs 2,266.88 crore in the corresponding quarter.

"The India Business saw our key brands and products posting category-leading growths with market share gains across 90 per cent of our product portfolio. The India FMCG Business ended the second quarter with a volume growth of 3 per cent," it said.

Dabur, which owns brands such as Dabur Amla, Dabur Vatika, and juice brand Real, witnessed a "marked sequential improvement" in urban demand, led by new-age channels.

"While the rural growth still lags urban demand, the gap has reduced," said Malhotra, adding, "We are increasingly optimistic of the future as we are seeing green shoots of recovery in rural sentiments." Dabur will continue to invest in the brands, distribution infrastructure and innovation to deliver volume-led profitable growth, he added.

In the July-September period, Dabur's consolidated revenue from the consumer care business was up at Rs 2,595.02 crore compared to Rs 2,410.92 crore in the year-ago period.

Revenue from the food business increased 8.19 per cent to Rs 540.03 crore. It stood at Rs 499.14 crore in the preceding year.

Revenue from retail business was 14.05 per cent higher at Rs 29.87 crore from Rs 26.19 crore in the second quarter of FY 2022-23.

Revenue from other segments fell 24.6 per cent to Rs 30.75 crore as against Rs 40.78 crore in the same quarter of FY23.

Meanwhile, in a separate filing, Dabur India informed that Sushil Chandra, former Chief Election Commissioner of India and former Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), has joined its board as an additional director in the category of Non-Executive Independent Director with effect from November 2, 2023 for a period of five years.

Shares of Dabur India on Thursday settled at Rs 530.40 apiece on the BSE, up 2.56 per cent from its previous close.